Yesterday, one of my favorite comics writers Ed Brubaker retweeted this Mike Wallace interview with Rod Serling from 1959. The interview was conducted before The Twilight Zone aired in that same year, so Serling - although he had already written successfully for television - was far from a household name.
The interview touches on some very interesting topics: the future and quality of television, censorship, writing, and much more. Although obviously much in television has changed since 1959, so much has not. Serling certainly saw the potential for television and storytelling via television and was not afraid to fight for quality. As you can see and hear from the interview, Wallace, at times, clearly doesn't get it and you can see the frustration on Serling's face.
The quality of the film isn't very good and both guys smoke like stacks, but it's still essential viewing for Serling fans, Twilight Zone fans, or simply fans of quality TV.
Brubaker also tweeted this documentary of Serling which I have not yet watched, but plan to later today.
Serling's daughter Anne published a biography of her dad in 2013 called As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, a book I hope to read soon.
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