“There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.”.

Greetings my fine readers of the PiercingMetal initiative and welcome back to the website once again as we steadily head towards the end of 2024. So if you’ve been following the site for a few years you were probably expecting or hoping for this article as its become a bit of a tradition by now as this post is the sixth go-round of the topic at hand. I’m talking about the absolutely legendary anthology series known as “The Twilight Zone”. The show first aired in 1959 and ran for five seasons with a total of 156 episodes that have remained as timeless and enthralling as they did some 65 years ago. Back in 2020, I decided to begin sharing the annual marathon that the folks over at the Syfy network do around this time. It’s a lengthy marathon that begins before and runs into the brand-new year and the Science Fiction and Mystery fans cannot get enough of it. Truth be told, back in 2020 it was better to be inside but I felt like continuing with this since its good Google traction and the show has remained one of my very favorites of all time. I’ve pointed out that many in my friendship circle don’t even go all out for New Year’s Eve anymore and I don’t mind that myself and would rather watch the ball drop on the television, field a few dozen text messages and then tune into some classic programming. This year’s marathon will begin in the early morning hours of the New Year’s Eve Day and run into the pre-dawn hours of January 2nd. All of the episodes appear to be from the original series with the exception of season #4 as no episodes appear to be from that one in the marathon. The marathon also seems to be a number of episodes shorter and runs for “113” as opposed to last year’s “142”. As a NYC resident that uses Spectrum as their cable provider, I culled the listings from their own Channel Guide and present it all down below for your consumption. If there are any last minute changes, don’t give me a hard time as once I cobbled together the post it went up online as is. You can send the network an email about it or complain on their social media channels. I still think that “113” episodes is a pretty beefy marathon so let’s take a look shall we?

Tuesday, December 31, 2024
3:00am – The Chaser
3:30am – The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross
4:00am – King Nine Will Not Return
4:30am – The Man in the Bottle
5:00am – A Kind of Stopwatch
5:30am – Steel
6:00am – Black Leather Jackets
6:30am – Stopover in a Quiet Town
7:00am – Twenty-Two
7:30am – What’s in the Box
8:00am – Mr. Dingle, the Strong
8:30am – The Prime Mover
9:00am – An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
9:30am – The Last Night of a Jockey
9:55am – The Mind and the Matter
10:20am – The Obsolete Man
10:45am – The Passersby
11:10am – The Mirror
11:35pm – The Grave
12:00pm – I Am The Night—Color Me Black
12:25pm – The Midnight Sun
12:50pm – The Jungle
1:15pm – Number 12 Looks Just Like You
1:40pm – Dead Man’s Shoes
2:05pm – Two
2:30pm – Showdown With Rance McGrew
2:55pm – Kick the Can
3:20pm – A Piano in the House
3:45pm – Four O’Clock
4:10pm – The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
4:35pm – Little Girl Lost
5:00pm – Person or Persons Unknown
5:25pm – The Gift
5:50pm – The Trade-Ins
6:15pm – Hocus Pocus & Frisby
6:40pm – The Masks
7:05pm – The Dummy
7:30pm – The After Hours
7:55pm – Time Enough at Last
8:20pm – Eye of the Beholder
8:45pm – Nick of Time
9:10pm – Execution
9:35pm – The Long Morrow
10:00pm – The Last Flight
10:25pm – The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms
10:50pm – Ninety Years Without Slumbering
11:15pm – Static
11:40pm – Spur of the Moment

Wednesday, January 1, 2025
12:05am – The Trouble with Templeton
12:30am – Back There
12:55am – The Odyssey of Flight 33
1:20am – A Hundred Yards Over the Rim
1:45am – The Rip Van Winkle Caper
2:10am – Once Upon a Time
2:35am – Walking Distance
3:00am – Sounds and Silences
3:25am – I Sing the Body Electric
3:50am – The Jeopardy Room
4:15am – The Encounter
4:40am – Ring-A-Ding Girl
5:05am – The Fear
5:30am – The Bewitchin’ Pool
6:00am – Mr. Denton on Doomsday
6:30am – Judgment Night
7:00am – What You Need
7:30am – The Fever
8:00am – A World of Difference
8:30am – The Big Tall Wish
9:00am – A Passage for Trumpet
9:30am – The Mighty Casey
9:55am – A World of His Own
10:20am – A Thing About Machines
10:45am – The Howling Man
11:10am – Dust
11:35am – Shadow Play
12:00pm – The Arrival
12:25pm – The Shelter
12:50pm – Deaths-Head Revisited
1:15pm – Still Valley
1:40pm – A Quality of Mercy
2:05pm – Nothing in the Dark
2:30pm – One More Pallbearer
2:55pm – The Hunt
3:20pm – The Fugitive
3:45pm – The Little People
4:10pm – Young Man’s Fancy
4:35pm – Cavender is Coming
5:00pm – In Praise of Pip
5:25pm – To Serve Man
5:50pm – The Monsters are Due on Maple Street
6:15pm – Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
6:40pm – The Invaders
7:05pm – Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
7:30pm – Five Characters in Search of An Exit
7:55pm – A Game of Pool
8:20pm – Living Doll
8:45pm – It’s a Good Life
9:10pm – Where is Everybody?
9:35pm – Mirror Image
10:00pm – The Four of Us are Dying
10:25pm – Perchance to Dream
10:50pm – The Hitchhiker
11:15pm – A Nice Place to Visit
11:40pm – A Stop at Willoughby

Thursday, January 2, 2025
12:05am – Long-Distance Call
12:30am – The Old Man in the Cave
12:55am – Escape Clause
1:20am – And When the Sky Was Opened
1:45am – Third From The Sun
2:10am – The Whole Truth
2:35am – A Penny for Your Thoughts
3:00am – The Silence
3:30am – Uncle Simon

*** end of rundown ***

PiercingMetal Thoughts: So there you have it, all “113” episodes of this year’s “The Twilight Zone” marathon. One has to wonder why they made this one a shorter television event but as I pointed out in the other section, “113” episodes is nothing to sneeze at. A whole lot of my favorites appear to be included and I will admit that I didn’t mind the excluding of the other incarnations of the show. I think one of these days they should offer a marathon of those incarnations provided that they leave this one alone. What do you think about that. So this year I’ve decided to record each and every episode so I can enjoy some binge watching. This was especially necessary since I doubt I will be up far past midnight when the ball drops and there is no way I would be channel surfing at 3AM when it all begins. I wasn’t going to do this but since I am recording less shows on the DVR of late I do have the room for them to do it this year. I don’t know if I will do the in order of airing viewing that I did once before but who knows. Either way I am once again excited to enjoy this very classic and influential show. Now for a little shameless plug. I will also be listing the rundown of “The Honeymooners” marathon that airs each year on PIX 11 once again but that post will be loaded up over on “The Chronicles of Piercing Ken” website.

As I wrap this one up, I want to wish you and yours the very best in the event that this is the day that you find yourself signing off on websites and social media to enjoy some hopefully quality time. I wish you all a very fun but safe New Year’s Eve celebration. If you keep it small and contained to only a few core friends, that’s fine as well. I’ve not done the big revelry stuff for years now. A lot of people view NYE as an amateur night and too much chaos can happen if too much celebrating is going on. Please be sure to chime in down below in the comments to let me know a few of your own very favorite episodes of “The Twilight Zone” because I’d love to know. See you next time around, the countdown to 2025 will be here before you know it so do stay safe out there.

Official: https://www.syfy.com/schedule
Official Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone_(1959_TV_series)