“The most unfettered imagination belongs to young people, and they don’t walk through life; they fly” – Rod Serling in 1963.

Blank on Blank is a series of short animations featuring snippets of conversation and interviews of various celebrities and other assorted famous people which airs on PBS.

This particular segment features Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone, interviewed for Australian radio by Binny Lum back in 1963. And its a treat.

Serling begins by talking about air travel then plunges into a brief discussion on Japanese taxi drivers before moving on to topics like nostalgia, creativity, science fiction and of course The Twilight Zone.

For those of you out there that have not seen The Twilight Zone, first of all how is that possible? Well if you don’t know it was an anthology science fiction series that ran from 1959 to 1964. Every episode dealt with a strange or creepy occurrence usually set in a typically safe environment – a suburban home, a school or hospital, a police station –  and it typically ended with a twist or a shock.  The Twilight Zone was immensely innovative, inventive and hugely influential. Serling himself would introduce each episode with his unique voice and distinct, clipped style.

It was a great show.

In this interview Serling describes the show as, “anything that is imaginative, wild, or as we say in the States, kooky.” Which pretty much sums it up I guess. But in addition to just talking up the show he takes the time to praise young people for their imaginations and understands that the seemingly crazy and bizarre ideas kids come up with will more than likely will produce the next great invention or story. It is unfettered imagination that pushes us forward, advances us as a people, a species.

Furthermore, in defense of science fiction, he states:

People talk about science fiction being very far out, very wild; I don’t think its any of these things. Everything we see in the way of space travel, space concepts, scientific advancement, medical discoveries was already predicted by good science fiction 25 years ago.

And if that wasn’t enough in this short little video, he also has a touching little sentiment about nostalgia and childhood and the inability to go home.

Well worth the five minutes of your time to listen to a thoughtful creator reminisce on his life and his art.

Also, if you likes this you should check out the other videos by Blank on Blank at their YouTube channel. Well worth your time as well but be warned, you will probably be there for a while.