# Rod Serling Screenplays: Where to Start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [January 2, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099 "2022-01-02T22:02:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099/1 "2022-01-02T22:02:26Z")
I watched his _ **Patterns** _, a refreshingly tense adult drama, on TV late last night. It got me wondering what other movies he had written in addition to his TV work. I found this list of his screenplays on Wiki. I’ve seen _ **Seven Days in May** _ and _ **Planet of the Apes** _, but (to the best of my recollection) none of the others. > **[Category:Films with screenplays by Rod Serling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_with_screenplays_by_Rod_Serling)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The following 16 pages are in this category, out of 16 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. I’m curious as to what other people think. Do you have strong opinions on any of them? Is there anything not on the list that should be? How would you rank the ones that are, and which would you especially recommend seeing? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099/2 "2022-01-02T22:26:04Z")
The only other one I’ve seen is _Requiem For A Heavyweight_. Not bad, but far from a favorite film. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099/3 "2022-01-02T22:35:17Z")
I saw _The Man_. It was — not great? Like he said: not bad, but not great. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099/4 "2022-01-02T23:14:21Z")
Anyone see _A Carol for Another Christmas?_ I saw it on TCM recently, one of the few times it has been broadcast. It’s a very strange version of the Dickens story. Star studded too. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099/5 "2022-01-02T23:42:31Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Anyone see _A Carol for Another Christmas?_ I saw it on TCM recently, one of the few times it has been broadcast. It’s a very strange version of the Dickens story. Star studded too. - I watched most of that, but it was heavy going. Rod could be awfully heavy-handed with his moralizing when the mood was upon him. Good cast, though. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rod-serling-screenplays-where-to-start/957099/6 "2022-01-03T00:14:17Z")
If Serling was writing for print, he would be a great short story writer and a pretty mediocre novelist. His forte was the twist ending which works much better in shorter formats like teleplays. Just about the only thing the final film kept from his script for _Planet of the Apes_ was his twist ending. When the Serling script was faithfully adapted for comics, it only took one issue. > **[Planet of the Apes: Visionaries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes:_Visionaries?wprov=sfti1)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > Planet of the Apes: Visionaries is a comic book based on the Rod Serling script for the first Planet of the Apes movie. > Astronauts John Thomas, Paul LaFever and Dodge are in deep hibernation when their spaceship automatically lands on an unknown habitable planet after a light-speed voyage. They discover their fourth crew mate, a man named Stewart, dead due to a malfunction of his pod. The three survivors set off to explore the planet on an all-ter...