The Rod Serling Foundation has named the 2016 winners of The Serling Award, who have proven adept at keeping the master’s name alive,

Throughout his writing and educational careers, Mr. Serling provoked thought wherever his influence reached. His pen planted seeds of imagination into the minds of old and young alike, even after his passing.

It is no surprise that to this day, art blossoms from his inspiration. The memory of Rod Serling can be found in many facets of the creative world, and we would like to honor a select few individuals who excel at this.

The first winner on the list is a blog often cited here at File 770 for taking a fresh look at sf of the Sixties:

Blog
The Traveler
Galactic Journey

While not exclusively subjected to The Twilight Zone, The traveler documents and reviews golden age science fiction from the point of view of someone living in the past writing about a then-contemporary work. He has dedicated seven years to the analysis of popular science fiction from the past and at times provides a Serlingesque breakdown of its ties to allegory.

An immensely fun read, the Traveler maintains anonymity while providing a unique perspective to the nature of science fiction as a whole. He does a great job of breaking down the elements of The Twilight Zone, while applying them to other works as well.

Film
Becky Sloan & Joseph Pelling
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared

 Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared is an intriguing abstract piece that could be pitched as “What if David Lynch wrote for Sesame Street?” The most blatant aspect of this enigmatic film series has to be the social consciousness of it. It takes a faux kids show and breaks down the perversion that advertising has on children’s programming.

Music
Dominic Francisco | Space Monkey Death Sequence
People Are Alike All Over

Under the moniker “Space Monkey Death Sequence,” musician Dominic Francisco dove into the depths of The Twilight Zone with his album People Are Alike All Over. Sharing a title with the Twilight Zone episode, the album dives into Mr. Serling’s allegory of animal rights.

Podcast
Andrew Kaberline & Matthew Schott | Critical Point Theatre
The Grayscale

Critical Point Theatre’s Andrew Kaberline and Matthew Schott have teamed up to create a podcast that is essentially a radio drama equivalent of The Twilight Zone. Through the same shade of gray as Mr. Serling’s best-known work, the duo offers a continuation of Rod’s efforts in an honorific vessel.