This or The Twilight Zone? - Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) Discussion

[–] Synthia7 8 years ago

I prefer Hitchcock Presents /Hitchcock Hour because the story design is often better and the character development/motivations/actions are more intriguing.

The story seems to have a meaningful or impactful culmination, as it is driven by character's desire and puts a spotlight on human behavior.

With Twilight Zone, seems like the WTF factor is the biggest draw. And mysticism drives the plot more than the character.

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[–] glitterrose 8 years ago

I really did a flip. When I was younger I preferred TZ over AHP and now it's reversed and I prefer AHP over TZ.

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[–] disinterested_spectator 8 years ago

I too prefer Alfred Hitchcock Presents over The Twilight Zone, because the supernatural element in the latter (or whatever you want to call it) detracts from the suspense and mystery rather than adds to it. In fact, my favorite Twilight Zone episode is "Nick of Time," because it illustrates how belief in the supernatural can take over a person's life.

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[–] telegonus (727) 4 years ago

I don't have any problems with comparisons and comments, whether regarding people, TV shows, politicians or religion. We come here to post and discuss, and enjoy ourselves while doing so. Nothing's graven in store, and where movies and TV series are concerned I doubt that this can ever happen.

As to preference, I like both shows, each for somewhat different reasons. Twilight Zone offers sci-fi, fantasy and even horror in what are usually dramatic tales in which the outcome or resolution nearly always comes from a supernatural (or, if one prefers, fantastic) element, whether good or bad. This is a style of storytelling that I find highly entertaining.

The Hitchcock half-hour (the hour long was really a different animal) was far more of a dramatic or, to be more specific, a melodramatic one, which focused on people more than ideas. It was not devoid of ideas by any means, and the irony was often laid on as thick as in any TZ, yet it arose from the people the stories were about, not a creature from outer space or a figure from the past intervening (divinely?) in the present, and vice versa.

If I have a bit of a preference for the Hitch show it's because it feels more adult, deals with matters that mostly concerned grownups, and as a grownup I find this easier to relate to. The Zone was more adult when it began, but when it was discovered that the show had a huge following among schoolchildren and teens, the emphasis shifted somewhat. It never became a kid's show, but the tone, some of its stories and many of its characters came to seem simpler and easier to understand. Not always, not every show, but more often.

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[–] kr-1959 8 years ago

Well of course they both have their pros and cons, but I prefer TZ. I enjoy the sci-fi stuff, of which AHP has little. Still love AHP, though.

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

Yet again, another incredibly stupid "which is better?" thread.

Class, please take note: These are two completely different TV shows, and
comparing them is ridiculous. AHP is a crime drama (as Hitch stated at the
show's birth, "We're bringing murder back where it belongs - in the home"); TZ
is a fantasy series, examining ordinary people in extraordinary situations.

Comparing them is truly unfair to the legendary status of both.

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[–] MissMargoChanning 8 years ago

Comparing them is truly unfair to the legendary status of both.

I agree. Why compare? They are two entirely different shows. I love them both.

The only thing they have in common is that they are both anthologys.

I love the storys and twist endings of AHP.
I love the storys and twist endings of TZ.
Both shows had a great line up of actors and so many were superb.

"Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night"

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

Well put.

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[–] m_antonioni 8 years ago

I think it's valid to compare the two. This is because Twilight Zone is better known today that AHP, but upon happening upon AHP episodes recently, I am surprised at how compelling, entertaining, and tight they are.

But the comparison is silly in that, if you are going to compare these two anthologies, you should also consider The Outer Limits. I would say The Outer Limits is the best of the bunch, with AHP coming in second. But that should not be surprising, since fantasy is a genre more interesting to children than to adults.

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

"I think it's valid to compare the two. This is because 'Twilight Zone' is better
known today than AHP"

This sentence makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.

This akin to saying we should compare "Bewitched" to "My Favorite Martian",
because the former is "better known today." Ridiculous.

TZ and AHP are two DIFFERENT TV shows. Period.

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[–] PrometheusTree64 8 years ago

I think it's a reasonable question, comparing two anthology series of a macabre nature from the late-Eisenhower/Kennedy/PSYCHO years when the world was approaching nuclear annihilation and everybody knew it.

It had a vibe.

I myself lean toward the ZONE but there's a lot to like about AHP.

--
LBJ's mistress on JFK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXeutDmuRA

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[–] glitterrose 7 years ago

I get what you mean by that post. Even though the shows are completely different, I look at it like this. There are a lot of shows that are still appreciated in this day and time, they get a lot of praise. You constantly see them 'best shows of all time" lists. I don't want to make it sound like I think AHP and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" are treated like a forgotten one hit wonder that never gets played anywhere. Both series have some incredible episodes and I just don't understand why they don't get more praise than they do?

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 4 years ago

^This. Which is better: kitty litter, or flossing your teeth? After all, both address issues of hygiene issues!

As Danny Thomas often said, Sheesh!

Why is this even a topic?

This was a reply to, and in support of, Miss Margo Channing’s post, and which this weakling site has dumped HERE, “Moderator Jack,” I mean 5, although I CLEARLY clicked on Reply to Miss Margo’s post.

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[–] jasonbourne (1027) 6 years ago

I liked TZ better and got the whole original series on VHS and DVD. AHP is something that was hit or miss with me on late night TV and Nick at Night. I have several episodes on DVD, but not the whole collection. They are different genres of TV shows, but it's a fair question if we're comparing TV shows and their popularity. Now that I know about AH better, I am trying to watch all of AHP. Haven't even gotten to AHH. In terms of re-watchability, TZ is better, but some of the episodes of AHP rank right up there and are top notch. I like the intro and closing without the commercials of AHP as AH's humor is subtle and funny.

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[–] telegonus 8 years ago

I'm fond of both shows very much, don't like to choose, as each had qualities the other lacked, however the Hitchcock presents series had what I've always found to be dull, almost depressing production values. There was a pallor to it, a washed out quality that made the show look boring even when an episode was well written and acted. The Twilight Zone, which I have my issues with, had excellent production values even in its modestly budgeted episodes, with maybe the exception of those done on videotape, and even those play well (for me). The production crew really gave the series a kind of dark, noirish charisma that makes nearly all the episodes if nothing else watchable, good to look at. Maybe it comes down to this: The Twilight Zone was a masculine show; it had a way of jumping off the screen, holding the viewer's attention. There was an intensity to even its blandest, most generic episodes. The Hitchcock half-hour feels more feminine. Maybe it's the large number of episodes about cheating and/or murdering husbands and wives; or the fact that its stories tended to be about middle or upper middle class people. There was a softness to it, to the way it looked, with most episodes seeming to be threatening to become soap operas at the drop of a hat.

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[–] PrometheusTree64 8 years ago

Someone once described PRESENTS as having a "drab, tweedy Britishness" about it.

Although it wasn't a criticism. :D

--

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[–] telegonus 8 years ago

It did sort of have that British quality, could at times, in certain episodes, passed for a British TV series of its era. The hour long show was edgier, though the production values in many cases weren't that much better than the half-hour, in general it was a nicer looking series, with the more horror-like episodes looking the best of all.

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

Just because they are anthology shows doesn't mean they are comparable. They
are not. Good grief.

As for the hour-long eps, very few sustain their length and come nowhere near
the half-hour seven seasons that precede it.

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[–] PrometheusTree64 8 years ago

But not everybody can defines things in the same way you do.

--

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

Nor you - apparently.

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[–] telegonus 8 years ago

We're just having some fun here on the TZ boards, right Prometheus? It's not rocket science, nor serious criticism of drama, genre or anything formal. More like a place to relax and toss around ideas, impressions, memories and the like. I hope we can keep it that way.

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[–] PrometheusTree64 8 years ago

gbennett is infamous across the boards. Even if you agree with him, he bitchslaps everybody anyway.

He wants you to march in lockstep not only with his opinions but also his preferred terminology.

I love it when he gets into fights with InherentlyYours/SimpleMindedSociety because of the raging duel illness of it all.

--

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

"We're just having some fun." And also posting your opinions - like
everyone else.

And Prometheus Tree64 would know...as they "follow" people across those
boards.

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[–] telegonus 8 years ago

Anyway...both the Zone and Hitchcock shows dealt with offbeat material, strange happenings, with the the former never just pure suspense, the latter occasionally featuring sci-fi episodes or eps that offer no rational explanations for what happened. I suppose the TZ The Silence could have been a Hitch half-hour, Human Interest Story a Zone. Then there was the in a class by itself One Step Beyond, which I can enjoy in small doses, which some eps that truly are uncanny.

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[–] PrometheusTree64 8 years ago

Right, and of all the macabre anthology series of that era, PRESENTS and ZONE were, obviously, the most successful. So the comparison is a logical one -- which is why people compare them so very often.

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

And The Golden Girls is JUST LIKE The Cosby Show. You know, half hour
sitcoms from the '80's, shot on video tape in front of a studio audience.
Exactly alike...just like TZ and AHP. In fact, those sitcoms ARE SO ALIKE,
I think we need to compare them. Can't believe how many idiots there are
on these boards.

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[–] telegonus 8 years ago

There's no need for that kind of mean-spirited sarcasm in response to a civil post. That's real nasty, dude. You must be a miserable human being.

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[–] SilentNightDeadlyNight2807 7 years ago

And The Golden Girls is JUST LIKE The Cosby Show. You know, half hour
sitcoms from the '80's, shot on video tape in front of a studio audience.
Exactly alike...just like TZ and AHP. In fact, those sitcoms ARE SO ALIKE,
I think we need to compare them. Can't believe how many idiots there are
on these boards.

Do you take everything this personally?

"It's incredible that they censor films. It's sad." - Dario Argento.

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[–] glitterrose 7 years ago

Oh, I disagree with that! I enjoy AHH as much as I do AHP. But I'll be honest and say both shows have a few "turd in the punchbowl" episodes that I'm not crazy about and I usually skip.

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[–] jasonbourne (1027) 6 years ago

Interesting. If I was going to be stuck on a desert island for a year and only could bring genres of movies and shows to watch, I would pick sci-fi/horror and film noir/neo-noir. With AHP, I like the noirish shows. For example, in Man with a Problem. Elizabeth Montgomery played a different kind of femme fatale in being the wife of a mundane husband who wants to run off with another man, but even after she is dumped, we find she does not want to return to being the wife again to the point of suicide. With noir, crime is usually involved but this one didn't have criminals but normal people with different motives.

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[–] whatwazdat 7 years ago

Apples and oranges?

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[–] dlynch843 7 years ago

Alfred Hitchcock Presents had some pretty unsavory characters, truly evil, for such a sedate decade like the 50s, where Ozzie and Harriet ruled.
And AH rarely went into the supernatural--his show proved that real humans can be demented in a surreal way. (spoilers--One episode did have Steve McQueen as a martian). But I think TZ had a smaller percentage of classic episodes.
And Hitchcock's intros by themselves were the best of any host, anytime. He was both part of the macabre, and above it.

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[–] detataandrea 7 years ago

I love both shows but I like Twilight Zone better...

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[–] AngularTurnip (3333) 7 years ago

The Twilight Zone had more substance. Alfred Hitchcock Presents though is still pretty great.

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[–] [email protected] (1732) 4 years ago

Substance? TZ also has a higher ratio of shitty episodes than AHP.

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