Love Rod Serling, of course! I am quite proud that there have only been two screenwriters who were chairman/CEO of the TV Academy (formerly, Academy of Televison Arts and Sciences) -- Rod Serling and myself.

I think Rod would not put Planet of the Apes up as his franchise statement. He adapted that from a book by Pierre Boulle (and gave it a different twist ending with the Statue of Liberty). He was quite proud of many of his live TV productions in the 50s, and he was incredibly prolific with them (something that you can accomplish writing 12-14 hours a day).

Rod Serling is a model for many writers.

Thanks for a fun read!