Editing Rod Serling (section)

===Television===
[[File:1976 Sad Lonely Sundays Oath Jack Albertson Sam Jaffe.jpg|thumb|[[Sam Jaffe]] and [[Jack Albertson]] in Serling's 1976 posthumous television special "The Sad and Lonely Sundays", an episode of the abandoned series ''The Oath'']]
Serling began his career when television was a new medium. The first public viewing of an all-electronic television was presented by inventor [[Philo Farnsworth]] at the [[Franklin Institute]] in Philadelphia on August 25, 1934, when Serling was nine years old. Commercial television officially started on July 1, 1941. At the time, there were fewer than seven thousand television sets in the United States, and very few of those were in private homes.<ref name=McMahon2007/>{{rp|21}} Only five months later, the U.S. entered World War II, and the television business was put on hold until the war's end,<ref name=McMahon2007/>{{rp|22}} as many of the unsold sets were obtained by the government and repurposed to train air-raid wardens.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|57}} After World War II ended, money began flowing toward the new medium of television, coinciding with the beginning of Serling's writing career. Early programming consisted of newsreels, sporting events and what would be called [[public-access television]] today. It was not until 1948 that filmed dramas were first shown, beginning with a show called ''[[Public Prosecutor (TV series)|Public Prosecutor]]''.<ref name=McMahon2007/>{{rp|25}} Serling began having serious dramas produced in 1950 and is given credit as one of the first to write scripts specifically for television. As such, he is said to have helped legitimize television drama.<ref name=Sander1992/>{{rp|28}}

Serling worried that television was on the verge of suffering the same decline as radio. He encouraged sponsors to see television as a platform for the kind of dramatic entertainment that could address important social matters through subtle meanings, instead of being "an animated billboard".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Murray|first=Brian|date=Winter 2016|title=The Enduring Legacy of "The Twilight Zone"|journal=The New Atlantis|volume=48|issue=48|pages=90–112|jstor=43766985}}</ref>

The format of writing for television was changing rapidly in the early years, but eventually, it settled into a pattern of commercial breaks on each quarter-hour. Writers were forced to work these breaks into their scripts. Serling's response to this convention was, "How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? No dramatic art form should be dictated and controlled by men whose training and instincts are cut of an entirely different cloth. The fact remains that these gentlemen sell consumer goods, not an art form."<ref name="AmericanMasters" /> Throughout his career, Serling helped to mold the future of television.

====Writing for multiple media====
As early as 1955, Jack Gould, of the ''New York Times'', commented on the close ties that were then being created between television and movies. Serling was among the first to use both forms, turning his early television successes, "Patterns" and "The Rack", into full-length movies.<ref name=gould>Gould, Jack. "Some Reason for Optimism". ''New York Times'', April 24, 1955. p. X11. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: ''New York Times'' (1851–2006).</ref> Up to that time, many established writers were unwilling to write for television because the programs were viewed only once and then stored in a vault, never to be seen again.<ref name=Twice>Gould, Jack. "TV: Twice-Told Tale". ''New York Times'', February 11, 1955. p. 31. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, ''New York Times'' (1851–2006)</ref>

====Beginning of the rerun====
After the first showing of "Patterns", the studio received such positive feedback that it produced a repeat performance, the first time a television program had been replayed at the request of the audience. Although successful shows had sometimes been recreated after two years or more, this was the first time a show was recreated exactly—with the same cast and crew—as it had been originally broadcast.<ref name=":3">Adams, Val. "Kraft to Repeat 'Patterns' on TV". ''New York Times'', January 20, 1955. p. 38. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, ''New York Times'' (1851–2006).</ref> The second live performance, only a month later, was equally successful and inspired ''New York Times'' critic Jack Gould to write an essay on the use of replays on television. He stated that "Patterns" was a prime example of a drama that should be seen more than once, whereas a single broadcast was the norm for television shows of the day. Sponsors believed that creating new shows every week would assure them the largest possible audience, so they purchased a new script for each night. Gould suggested that as new networks were opened and the viewers were given more choices, the percentage of viewers would spread among the offerings. "Patterns" was proof that a second showing could gain more viewers because those who missed the first showing could see the second, thus increasing the audience for sponsors.<ref name=Twice/>