Alternate Timelines and Rubber Monsters Galore!

Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast ran for five years, from October 2016 to November 2021 (which sounds more impressive than it actually is, given the fact that I only managed to generate 69 total installments that entire time). It was always my intent to do some sort of Outer Limits-centric tangent-type episode at some point during those years, which the second half of the 2020 David J. Schow double feature extravaganza (detailed last time) did sorta satisfy… emphasis on sorta. 

See, back at the show’s inception, I seriously considered doing an Outer Limits podcast instead. At that time there were NO podcasts exclusively devoted to TOL and only a smattering of websites (this blog, We Are Controlling Transmission, maybe one or two others). The Twilight Zone, on the other hand, was well represented on both fronts. So why did I choose The Twilight Zone? I think it ultimately came down to---- which show did I know better? Which show had I loved longer? 

Do I regret my decision? If I’m being honest---- Christ, yes. 100%. Don’t get me wrong--- I’m (mostly) proud of the podcast, now that a bit of time has passed since it ended (but I struggled--- sometimes mightily so--- with that fucker while I was doing it). From Day One I was always nipping at the heels of established giants (The Twilight Zone Podcast and The Twilight Pwn, chiefly), and my little show never really took off as I’d hoped it would. Had I gone the OL route instead, I would’ve been the only game in town (until Victor Gamboa launched The Outer Limits Podcast in November 2017, that is). 

And you know what? I suspect I would’ve enjoyed the experience more had I done an OL podcast. 

When I started crafting the aforementioned Outer Limits-centric tangent-type episode for BL&S, I leaned hard into the Sophie’s Choice decision and imagined an alternate universe in which I had in fact taken that proverbial road less travelled. Marvel’s What If? had just finished its first season, so it felt like the perfect time to riff on the whole Multiverse thing.  

On November 11, 2021, mere weeks before the show breathed its last, I rolled out the inaugural (and only) installment of Between Awe and Mystery: An Outer Limits Podcast, which focused on the “Tourist Attraction” episode. It's basically the EXACT same format as Between Light and Shadow--- it’s got the same segment jingles, the usual customary music segment with Dr. Reba Wissner, the same lame dad jokes--- but with one critical difference: DJS was on board as essentially a co-host. Check it out:

We treated the whole thing as if we’d been doing The Outer Limits the whole time… and managed to confuse a couple of listeners in the process, who apparently weren’t hip to the whole super-meta in-joke thing. Jesus, the What If? bit at the beginning wasn’t enough of a hint? Sheesh.  

Remember “The Forms of Things Unknown,” which was shot two different ways in order to create both an Outer Limits episode and a pilot for a projected series called The Unknown? My chat with DJS about “Tourist Attraction” was similarly intended to serve two distinct purposes. After the podcast version, it would be rearranged and remixed to serve as a straight Blu-ray audio commentary for…. 

Well, what, exactly? That, kids, remains to be seen. We got the idea from our colleague Tim Lucas, who was commissioned by a fan in 2021 to record an ala carte commentary track for “It Crawled Out of the Woodwork.” There were eleven Outer Limits that didn’t receive the commentary treatment in either the Kino Lorber or the Via Vision Blu-ray releases, which became ten after Lucas’ effort… and now, with the finished (but presently homeless) “Tourist Attraction,” there are nine. I suspect DJS and I (and others) won’t rest until EVERY episode has at least one commentary track attached to it. WHERE these tracks might appear is the real question. 

Full disclosure: DJS and I briefly entertained the idea of doing a limited series podcast in which we’d cover only the episodes that never got audio commentaries. I even mocked up a graphic for it: 

...an obvious riff on his book The Outer Limits at 50. The plan was to release new episodes on a monthly basis throughout 2019 (leading up to the show’s 55th anniversary). We obviously never got around to it, but…. hey, you never know. Next year is the show’s 60th anniversary, after all (watch your back, Victor!). 

Next time: Betritt die Nachtgalerie...

Bare Dem Bones!

In May 2020, David J. Schow was kind enough to appear on my podcast to discuss---- in deliriously delightful detail (try saying that fast three times)--- the storied history behind Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine. DJS was represented many times in its pages, contributing both short stories and a multi-part overview of The Outer Limits (which he would later expand into The Outer Limits Companion). It was a great chat which, if you haven’t heard it before, can be found here:

You’ll need to carve out two-and-a-half hours to hear it all… but in truth, that’s nowhere near all of it. The raw, unedited conversation ran a bit over five hours, only half of which pertained to the subject at hand. But damn, there was so much other good stuff (including some Outer Limits crumbs)… so another two hours comprised my very next episode:

A few weeks later, Cimarron Street Books launched the first title in their David J. Schow Library, an ongoing campaign to bring all of his books back into print in definitive editions, augmented with new or relevant content. One of these titles, Seeing Red, was slated to appear (okay, reappear) in May 2021, and would include a transcript of our Twilight Zone Magazine conversation… titled, of all things, Between Light and Shadow!

Pretty cool, right? The idea that one could flip open a David J. Schow book and see not just my name, but an extended conversation between the two of us… it just blows my mind. It’s right there on my shelf, and yet I still don’t quite believe it sometimes. Get your own copy here.

Cimarron Street also publishes bare•bones, a quarterly mélange of deep-dive articles about books, films, television… plus R&D, a column by none other than DJS (a continuation of his legendary Raving & Drooling column for Fangoria). bare•bones seemed like the perfect home for a deep-dive article I’d been contemplating for quite a while, so I proposed it to them… and to my surprise and  delight, they went for it.

I Am Controlling Transmission: Collecting The Outer Limits on Home Video (with Apologies to Robert Duvall) was published in the spring 2021 issue of bare•bones (it actually streeted a couple of weeks before Seeing Red, so needless to say May 2021 was a good month for me; incidentally, Schow’s column in that particular issue is about Twilight Zone Magazine. See? Synergy, kids. Everything is connected).

My article covers the earliest VHS releases, the brilliant Via Vision Blu-ray release from 2020, and everything in between. But it isn’t just a dry checklist-type rundown---- it’s an autobiographical chronicle of my obsessive collecting (and recollecting) of the show. If you possess even a passing interest in the history of The Outer Limits on home video, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Here’s an excerpt from the sole Amazon review of this particular issue:

For me, the standout feature of BARE-BONES #6 was Craig Beam's often-hilarious account of his passionate (but bittersweet) pursuit of THE OUTER LIMITS on home video. Spanning as many years and formats as it did, his obsessive journey is almost Homeric!

And before you ask--- no, I didn’t write that. And if you’re expecting me to explain the Robert Duvall name-drop in the article’s title… well, tough toenails, mate. You’ll have to shell out ten bucks and snag your own copy to find out.

Next Time: Alternate Timelines and Rubber Monsters Galore!

The (Ron)dos and (Ron)don'ts of Pathetic Recognition Seeking

Everybody loves receiving awards, right? Some sort of tangible proof of accomplishment and subsequent congratulation… a medal, ribbon, trophy, or tchotchke to display proudly, a conversation piece with which to impress one’s friends and family. Something to periodically gaze lovingly at, particularly on days when one finds oneself feeling decidedly less than accomplished, to be reminded that there was a time (even just a single day) when one was, in the eyes of someone else, the best at something. 

I’m using the general and nonspecific “one” to describe my theoretical protagonist, but I’m really talking about myself. Me, I, Yours Truly, This Guy Right Here. *I* love awards---- or, more pointedly, the idea of awards---- having never won one. My dad made me do some kind of non-school-related wrestling thing in the third grade, and I never won a match. I played tennis my senior year of high school and, true to form, I never won a match (hey, at least I was consistent when it came to sports). I did well enough in school to land in the Honor Society, but I never quite managed a 4.0 GPA. I submitted several short stories to various periodicals in my early 20s, but never got published. I entered that annual NaNoWriMo thing once... but got cut in the first round.

I’m not characterizing myself as a loser... I’ve just never been a quote-unquote winner. Well, wait. Losing is exactly what you do when you don’t win, right? Okay, fine, I'll own it. Like Beck said---I’m a loser, baby (I’ll stop short of quoting the next line, though, in case I trip some sort of suicide prevention algorithm and get 86'd from Blogger, just like DJS did over on Facebook recently). 

I actively blogged about The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits for six years straight (which was really five years, since the blogs overlapped during one year, but since I was effectively double-blogging at that point, I’m comfortable calling it six). This entirely homespun enterprise was an endeavor with no inherent means of trophy winning; therefore, my hunger for a displayable commendation of some sort was never triggered. People read the blogs and liked them, and that was enough. But when my blogging mutated into podcasting… well kids, it was an entirely different story. I became aware at some point of the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, which honors films, television shows, books, home video releases, magazine articles (and, separately, magazine covers), websites and…. yup, even podcasts. 

Looking back, it appears I knew about the Rondos even before I launched my podcast. The second DJS Outer Limits opus (The Outer Limits at 50, now criminally out of print) was nominated in March 2015, mere weeks after this blog wrapped up its core mission with our coverage of "The Probe." I even posted about it, demanding that every single reader of these pages vote for it/him... and it appears our efforts had an impact, as his book tied for first place with Tom Weaver's The Creature Chronicles (in an interesting twist, DJS did some behind-the-scenes work on that book as well, so you could say he won for both books). Sadly, by that point I'd completely stopped blogging (except for a few random outbursts later on), so I never covered his victory (sorry, Dave).

As the name implies, the Rondo trophy is a rendering of none other than horror icon Rondo Hatton (I'm not going into his fascinating--- and a bit disturbing--- story here. Google him, why don'tcha? Oh screw it, here you go).

Needless to say, it became a consuming goal of mine to win a Rondo of my very own. Sad and pathetic? Okay, yeah. Again, I'll own it. And it seems the universe heard me: for the first three years of my podcast (2016-2018), I was nominated all three times. Did I win? No. I did, however, land in the Honorable Mention bracket for 2016.

Pretty cool, right? Gang, that's not even the cool part. In that second year (2017), Kino Lorber released the Outer Limits Blu-ray sets (to which I contributed seven audio commentaries), and both seasons were collectively nominated in the Best Package of DVD Extras category for the 2018 Rondos. This is an award that is typically given to the label, so it was Kino's to win. And they did!

However---- in an unprecedented move, the decision was made to bestow Rondo Awards upon each of the individual contributors to said Package of Extras...

...which means....

That's right, I scored myself a goddamned Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award after all! It's weird---- I posted new content in these pages a few times AFTER this incredibly satisfying event took place.... yet I never mentioned it. I have no explanation for this.

So the question now becomes---- when a loser suddenly wins something, where does he go from there? Stay tuned....

Next Time: Seven becomes eight, mate. G'day for now!

VOTE FOR US!!!!!!

Our (okay, MY) Twilight Zone podcast, Between Light and Shadow, has once again been nominated for a coveted Rondo Hatton Horror Award. I hope longtime readers of this blog are also faithful listeners of the podcast... I also hope (rather fervently) that each and every one of you will cast a vote in our favor. We're up against some seriously stiff competition (including Tom Elliot's The Twilight Zone Podcast, which won last year), but I think we can take it... with YOUR help. Please take a couple of minutes to click on the link above (or here, if you're extra lazy) and cast your vote for us (okay, ME). All it takes is a quick email to taraco@aol.com.I highly encourage you to look through all the categories and nominees and vote for some (or all) of them, but MAKE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you indicate that in Category #20 (Best Multimedia Site, which podcasts fall under) you vote for Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast. It's the first one on the list, so you can't miss it. 2019 is the 60th Anniversary of The Twilight Zone, so a vote for us (okay, ME) is actually a vote for both the series and the legacy of Rod Serling himself. The deadline is April 20th, so go vote RIGHT NOW while you're thinking about it. I really need a win, gang. This is the third year in a row we've (okay, I'VE) been nominated, and I really want to believe that the third time's the charm. Thanks in advance, and kids... play nice.

Crash.

Hey gang.

So the original plan was to launch the podcast in late September or early October. For a variety of reasons, this was pushed back to early January. My intent was to record lots of content in advance, so I’d never miss deadlines and therefore always get a weekly show out. After many delays (some of them admittedly my fault), my plan was to spend most of December banging out episodes for a three-day multi-episode January 2nd launch. Emphasis on was.

Long-time followers of my blog may remember that my laptop died a couple of years ago, a traumatic loss that threatened my ability to continue the blog. Workflow adjustments and the sprucing up of my old desktop PC resolved those issues. I’ve never replaced the laptop, mostly because I can’t afford to, but also because I haven’t really needed to: my tablet/Bluetooth keyboard combo works well enough for most of my usual laptop tasks, save for three: image editing (Photoshop), video editing (Adobe Premiere) and multi-track recording/editing (Adobe Audition). These processor-intensive applications were relegated to the aforementioned spruced-up desktop PC which handled the tasks (and more) effectively and reliably. Her name was MainBrain. Emphasis on was.

Three nights ago she basically imploded. I don’t know how else to put it. I pretty religiously use antivirus and anti-malware tools, so I don’t think anything nefarious happened… the old girl was just… well, old. I’ve had her for 10 years, and she was heavily used for most of that time (she became the general-purpose family PC when I switched to the laptop). That’s not a bad run for an electronic device in an age in which things aren’t designed to last. I was actually hoping to replace her in the next year or so, but I didn’t think she’d die on me before I got the chance.

It may sound silly, but that computer meant a great deal to me. I got her when we finished building my home office in 2005. I launched my blog with her. I edited hours and hours of videos of my kids with her. I captured countless screenshots and created countless memes with her. When I refurbished her in 2013, it was like being reunited with an old friend. Laugh if you want, but losing her hurts. A lot. I feel like I’ve lost a limb.

But… she’s just a thing, right? A tool. And broken tools can be replaced, right? Of course they can. I’ll have another computer, newer and faster and more powerful, at some point when money isn’t so tight (it’s Christmastime, after all, plus we’ve had some unexpected expenses come up that will affect us for the next several months). So I know this isn’t a permanent setback… but it’s most definitely a setback. I don’t have a computer now, which means I have no way to record and edit the podcast.
Like I said, I can’t afford a new computer, nor can I afford to have MainBrain fixed (and given her age and relatively modest specs by 2015 standards, that money would probably be better spent on a replacement anyway). This means that the early January launch isn’t happening, and right now I have no idea whatsoever when it will.

I tried to figure out a way to pull it off using other equipment in my arsenal. The aforementioned tablet seemed like the best possibility, but I haven’t found an app that does what I need it to do. My MainBrain setup could produce near-studio quality audio, and quality is something that’s really important to me (I refuse to put out a subpar podcast). It’s ironic--- bitterly so--- that I have all this great recording equipment thanks to the Kickstarter campaign… but it’s all useless without a computer at the center.

Ugh. Just ugh. I’m at a loss as I write this. I had such high hopes for this project, and despite the various setbacks I’ve experienced, I was still determined to get this thing launched….but it appears the universe has other ideas.


-CraB

January 2016

We're a bit behind schedule, but.... it's coming, kids. It'll be mostly Twilight Zone, but The Outer Limits will certainly creep in from time to time. And c'mon, if you like The Outer Limits, you gotta like The Twilight Zone too. You know I'm right.




Heh, I just realized that that promo kinda evokes the opening title for The Unknown, the Daystar TV pilot that became TOL's "The Forms of Things Unknown." 

It's completely coincidental... I actually took the pic at Arcadia Beach near Seaside, a favorite spot of Teresa and I.  Here's the original:




It's amazing what a little Photoshop can do. And hey, as long we're discussing Arcadia Beach, here's a really cool shot of Teresa, taken the same day as the above pic:



...anyhoo---- see (well, hear) ya in January, kids. Tune in or else.