Summary
Themost fear-inducing episodes ofThe Twilight Zonemake viewers feel that reality isn’t what it seems and anything could happen. Thesci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology series premiered in 1959 on CBSand aired for five seasons before coming back for three more revivals. It’s interesting to compare the1985, 2002, and 2019 revivals, especially since the most recent one was developed byhorror filmmaker Jordan Peele. There are severalThe Twilight Zoneepisodes that are talked about the most, and that includes the episode based on a short story byStephen King.
Much of King’s work has been adapted for TV and movie with what many fans would say are mixed results. For instance,Miseryis a work of art, but the remakes ofPet SemataryandFirestarteraren’t much to write home about. However, when one of King’s best short stories was adapted for an episode ofThe Twilight Zone,a beloved sci-fi author wrote this memorable episode, and that was a great decision.
What Happens In “Gramma,” The Twilight Zone Episode Harlan Ellison Wrote?
Harlan Ellison wroteseason 1, episode 18 ofThe Twilight Zonecalled “Gramma"which aired on February 14th, 1986 and wasbased on Stephen King’s short story, which was published in the 1985 collectionSkeleton Crew.The story centers around a boy named Georgie (Barret Oliver) who is spending time with his grandmother, who isn’t well. As George pretends he is no longer afraid of his grandmother, he learnshis grandmother is a witch, which is the first sign that something is wrong.
Adapting a short storycan be tricky if there isn’t a clear ending or strong character work. But, of course, King is a legend for a reason and his story “Gramma” hasa relatable main character, a creepy villain, and a scary conclusion.
While Ellison’sThe Twilight Zoneepisode “Gramma"alters the ending of King’s storyslightly, the overall tone and vibe are the same. Ellison did an incredible job ensuring that King’s tale was as chilling as ever, perhaps even more so. “Gramma” has a memorable and terrifying ending asGramma touches Georgeand they become one person. In the final moments of the episode, George/Gramma tells his mom that Gramma died. When his mom hugs him,George has red eyes.
While some of thebestTwilight Zoneepisodes were written by Rod Serling, Ellison’s “Gramma” is one of the most well-written and unforgettable episodes of the show’s entire run. Ellison was the right writer to adapt King’s short story “Gramma” as he was alegend in the world of science fiction and fantasy. Besides writing theStar Trekepisode “The City on the Edge on Forever,” which was released in 1967, he wrote countless short story collections, non-fiction, and novels. One of his most famous stories is"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream,” which was published in 1967.
WhilesomeThe Twilight Zoneepisodes are humorousandothers stirred up controversy, “Gramma” proves why the anthology horror series remains so influential and powerful. The show always makes viewers wonder what’s real and what’s imagined, and it’s hard not to think that every story is simply a dream (or a nightmare).“Gramma” takes an ordinary character (a grandmother) and makes them terrifying, and while many of King’s short stories could be adapted forThe Twilight Zone, this one worked particularly well.
What Other Adaptations Are There Of The Stephen King Short Story “Gramma”?
Stephen King’s short story “Gramma” was alsoadapted into the movieMercy,which was ahorror movie produced by Blumhouseand released in 2014. The movie stars Chandler Riggs as George Bruckner and the cast includes Amanda Walsh, Mark Duplass, Dylan McDermott, Joel Courtney, Shirley Knight, and Frances O’Connor. This adaptation isn’t talked about much, likely because it was a straight to DVD release.
In 2014, Jason Blum spoke toCollideraboutMercyandtalked about why the title was chosen. When asked ifGrammawouldn’t be “marquee friendly,” Blum said:
“The title came about for exactly the reasons that you’re saying. The movie isn’t camp at all, so we wanted to steer away from that. Is it too close toMisery? Well, I don’t know, that could be good or bad, I suppose. I thoughtMiserywas a great movie. I don’t think so, but I guess we’ll find out.”
Blum also talked aboutthe Blumhouse filmmaking modeland said they want “low-budget, high-concept movies, which are very different than typical independent movies.“Blumhouse has adapted a few Stephen King works, includingthe Netflix movieMr. Harrigan’s Phoneand aremake ofFirestarterstarring Zac Efron.
