October: the peak of fall, the leaves fully turn, Halloween decorations go up around neighborhoods, and TV stations start their spooky movie marathons. With so many festive films and TV shows surrounding the holiday of Halloween, it’s no surprise that October houses many staples of pop culture. This month, we’ll look at a classic black-and-white anthology series, an iconic stop-motion film that’s often the subject of debate, and a beloved Peanuts special.
On Oct. 2, 1959, the science fiction anthology series “The Twilight Zone” was broadcast for the first time on CBS. Each episode of the series focused on characters experiencing unusual or paranormal events, entering a state known as “The Twilight Zone.” Although the show’s ratings struggled when it first aired, it’s considered a classic in the present day, with marathons on New Year’s Eve and widespread acclaim. It’s often called one of the best TV shows ever made, with Variety recently ranking it #14 on their list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. “The Twilight Zone” has been remade three additional times, although all were met with rather mixed reviews. The franchise has evolved to house games, books, a radio series, and a rather infamous film. Most famously, however, is “The Twilight Zone” Tower of Terror in the Disney Parks. The ride uses footage of “The Twilight Zone” creator, Rod Serling, although they edited an impression on Serling, done by Mark Silverman, over the film. As for the future of “The Twilight Zone,” a newer film adaptation has been in the works for the past ten years, with “Severance” director Ben Stiller recently signed on to direct the movie.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween classic, featuring Henry Selick’s iconic stop-motion animation style, and Tim Burton’s gothic aesthetic. The film, directed by Selick, was released 32 years ago, on Oct. 29, 1993. The film follows Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, as he discovers Christmas, and plans to take over the holiday. The film stars Chris Sarandon (“The Princess Bride,” “Fright Night”) as Jack Skellington, Catharine O’Hara (“Home Alone,” “Beetlejuice”) as Sally, Ken Page (“Cats (1998),” “Kingdom Hearts”) as Oogie Boogie, and Ed Ivory as Santa Claus. The film’s music was written by Danny Elfman, who provides the singing voice for Jack Skellington, and also composed the score for many of Tim Burton films, including “Corpse Bride,” “Beetlejuice,” and “Edward Scissorhands.” He has also composed scores for 100+ additional movies, including “Men in Black” and “Good Will Hunting.” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a classic family Halloween movie, and has spawned books, comics, concerts, and even character appearances in the Disney theme parks.
Going even further back in time to another classic Halloween special, this time, released on Oct. 27, 1966: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Starring the famous Peanuts gang, the special centers around the trick-or-treating adventures of Charlie Brown, Lucy, and co, while Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the fabled Great Pumpkin, and Snoopy pretends to be a World War I flying ace. The film contains iconic scenes in pop culture, such as Lucy pulling a football away from Charlie Brown, Snoopy imagining he is in a WWI era France, and the opening shot of Snoopy blowing a leaf to rest atop a leaf pile. It was the third Peanuts special, after “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and the lesser-known “Charlie Brown’s All Stars!” The success of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” resulted in the creation of the Halloween special. It was broadcast every year until 2020, when it became an Apple TV+ exclusive.
With a month so full of festivities, from Fall kicking into full gear, to Halloween, it’s certainly a month with significant pop culture history, one that will almost certainly grow in years to come.
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