The Twilight Zone is one of the greatest television series ever made. From intimate stories like “The Lonely” to sprawling ones like “Execution,” The Twilight Zone is widely known as a series that entertains and challenges its audience in equal measure. This is a list of the best Twilight Zone episodes ranked with a look back at what made these stories so important.
The Best Episodes of The Twilight Zone
30. The Mighty Casey
Manager of the fictional Hoboken Zephyrs from “The Mighty Casey”
“The Mighty Casey,” the penultimate episode of the first season, is certainly one of the shows goofiest. We follow baseball Manager Mouth McGarry in his desperate quest to put a winning team on the diamond. But of course, Garrys’ team stinks.
Everything changes when an odd man shows up to a practice and asks that his associate be allowed to pitch for the team. That pitcher is the mighty Casey, a robot.
As silly as the episode is, there are some very interesting points raised about the future of automation and the spirit of competition.
IN CONCLUSION
The Mighty Casey (Aired 6/17/60)
- Serling Narration: “Once upon a time, there was a major league baseball team called the Hoboken Zephyrs, who, during the last year of their existence, wound up in last place and shortly thererafter wound up in oblivion. There's a rumor, unsubstantiated, of course, that a manager named McGarry took them to the West Coast and wound up with several pennants and a couple of world championships. This team had a pitching staff that made history. Of course, none of them smiled very much, but it happens to be a fact that they pitched like nothing human. And if you're interested as to where these gentlemen came from, you might check under 'B' for Baseball...in The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
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Great Alien Episodes of The Twilight Zone
29. Hocus Pocus and Frisby
Mr. Frisby aboard the UFO in “Hocus Pocus and Frisby”
Many episodes of The Twilight Zone are fables. That is, their purpose lies in the telling of a moral. In “Hocus Pocus and Frisby," that moral is as simple as the boy who cried wolf. Mr. Frisby takes generous liberty with the stories he tells.
So when he’s actually captured by aliens, nobody is inclined to believe him. Thus lies in the tale that the truth is what sets us free.
IN CONCLUSION
Hocus Pocus and Frisby (Aired 4/13/62)
Creative Episodes of The Twilight Zone
28. A World of His Own
Rod Serling disappears in “A World of His Own”
"A World of His Own," is best known for breaking the fourth wall in a comedic manner. Mr. Gregory West is a world famous playwright, who by way of the twilight zone, is able to bring his characters to life.
When his wife finds out that he’s summoned one of his characters to be his mistress, complications arise. For all the fun the episode has with this story mechanic, it’s also a staunch reminder to not surround yourself entirely with fiction.
IN CONCLUSION
A World of His Own (Aired 7/1/60)
The Best Episodes of The Twilight Zone
27. Execution
Joe Caswell about to be hanged for murder in “Execution”
At the end of a noose, Joe Caswell accepts his fate as an irredeemable criminal in "Execution." But in the flash of an eye, he’s transported into the future. This episode explores the cyclical nature of crime and how justice always finds the criminal.
“Execution” also has some of the best production in any episode of The Twilight Zone. The episode spans sets from the wild west, to laboratories, to neon lit city streets.
IN CONCLUSION
Execution (Aired 4/1/60)
- Serling Narration: “Commonplace — if somewhat grim — unsocial event known as a necktie party, the guest of dishonor a cowboy named Joe Caswell, just a moment away from a rope, a short dance several feet off the ground, and then the dark eternity of all evil men. Mr. Joe Caswell, who, when the good Lord passed out a conscience, a heart, a feeling for fellow men, must have been out for a beer and missed out. Mr. Joe Caswell, in the last, quiet moment of a violent life.”
- IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
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Nightmare Episodes of The Twilight Zone
26. Five Characters in Search of an Exit
“Five Characters in Search of an Exit” - A collection of question marks
In "Five Characters in Search of an Exit," an Army Major wakes up to find himself trapped in a giant tube with a hobo, a ballerina, a bagpipe player, and a clown. This episode plays out like a thought experiment from Jean-Paul Sartre.
As the characters yearn for escape from this nightmare, we feel existential dread wash over the scene like a still-full milk shake on old toys in a city trash can.
IN CONCLUSION
Five Characters in Search of an Exit
(Aired 12/22/61)
- Serling Narration: “Just a barrel, a dark depository where are kept the counterfeit, make-believe pieces of plaster and cloth, wrought in a distorted image of human life. But this added, hopeful note: perhaps they are unloved only for the moment. In the arms of children, there can be nothing but love. A clown, a tramp, a bagpipe player, a ballet dancer, and a major. Tonight's cast of players on the odd stage...known as The Twilight Zone. ”
- IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
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Political Episodes of The Twilight Zone
25. The Trouble With Templeton
Booth Templeton is sent back in time in “The Trouble With Templeton”
In the episode "The Trouble with Templeton," Booth Templeton is a Broadway star who has lost his appetite for all that he once cared for. But after being overwhelmed by the pressure of the present, Templeton is sent back thirty years to reconnect with his dead wife.
While there, Templeton discovers that the grass is always greener when looking through rose-colored glasses and that nostalgia can be the thing that brings a man down. He returns to the present with a newfound fervor to live life to its fullest.
IN CONCLUSION
The Trouble With Templeton (Aired 12/9/60)
- Serling Narration: “Mr. Booth Templeton, who shared with most human beings the hunger to recapture the past moments, the ones that soften with the years. But in his case, the characters of his past blocked him out and sent him back to his own time, which is where we find him now. Mr. Booth Templeton, who had a round-trip ticket...into The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
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War Episodes of The Twilight Zone
24. King Nine Will Not Return
The marked grave of Sgt. William F. Kline in “King Nine Will Not Return”
The Season 2 premiere “King Nine Will Not Return” is one of the series most intimate episodes. This is the first episode where Rod Serling delivered his opening narration on screen.
Serling tells the audience that we are witnessing the site of a lost bomber plane, somewhere between Tunisia and the Southern tip of Italy. Captain James Embry awakes without the faintest clue where the rest of his crew has gone.
Serling, a former paratrooper in the U.S. Army, delivers his narration here with deep resonance. By the end of the episode, we see the toll that the sting of war has had on so many.
IN CONCLUSION
King Nine Will Not Return (Aired 9/30/60)
- Serling Narration: “Enigma buried in the sand, a question mark with broken wings that lies in silent grace as a marker in a desert shrine. Odd how the real consorts with the shadows, how the present fuses with the past. How does it happen? The question is on file in the silent desert, and the answer? The answer is waiting for us...in the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
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Best Cold War Episode of The Twilight Zone
23. The Shelter
The shell-shocked neighborhood in “The Shelter”
“The Shelter” is Rod Serlings’ brilliant response to cold-war hostility. On a night just like any other, a group of friends and neighbors share a cordial dinner together. But when a radio broadcast declares that nuclear annihilation is imminent, the group battle each other for spots in the fallout shelter.
With this story, Serling exposes the inherent evil within the hearts of people and that without any incentive whatsoever, humanity is intrinsically plagued with a desire to destroy itself.
At a time of escalating tension between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Serling inserts himself into the conversation, reminding both parties that we must be civilized to survive.
IN CONCLUSION
The Shelter (Aired 9/29/61)
The First Episode of The Twilight Zone
22. Where is Everybody?
The Twilight Zone, then and now - CBS News
The very first episode of The Twilight Zone “Where is Everybody” is one of its very best. It starts with a nameless man wandering into a diner. He tries to ring for service, but no one is there. He goes into town, but nobody is there either.
The man quickly loses his sanity in the ghost town. In a fit of delirium, he desperately presses a traffic signal button while ranting for help. In the end, it’s revealed that this seclusion is an experiment to test the limits of the human mind. With space travel just around the corner, the military is testing how long humanity can survive in absolute solitude.
IN CONCLUSION
Where is Everybody? (Aired 10/2/59)
The Greatest Episodes of The Twilight Zone
21. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
The monster appears at the window in “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”
In this classic episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," starring William Shatner, a man just recently released from an asylum is forced to confront the demons that caused his first mental breakdown.
Because on this fateful flight, he is haunted by a monster who appears to be sabotaging the flight-wing. The subsequent hysteria sends the flight into a deafening tailspin, into what Rod Serling calls ‘the darkest corner of The Twilight Zone.”
As an aside, the 2010 SNL parody sketch of this episode is one of the all time greats.
IN CONCLUSION
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (Aired 10/11/63)
- Serling Narration: “The flight of Mr. Robert Wilson has ended now, a flight not only from point A to point B, but also from the fear of recurring mental breakdown. Mr. Wilson has that fear no longer, though, for the moment, he is, as he has said, alone in this assurance. Happily, his conviction will not remain isolated too much longer, for happily, tangible manifestation is very often left as evidence of trespass, even from so intangible a quarter as The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 9.2/10
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Best Romance Episodes of The Twilight Zone
20. The Chaser
Roger Shackleforth buying a love potion in “The Chaser”
The Twilight Zone is a show that tackles dark themes like the haunting of war, or the loneliness in the stars, but in “The Chaser," Serling attacks the ever-modern notion of toxic relationships. Roger Shackleforth is an ordinary man who’s obsessed with a woman that wants nothing to do with him.
So when he’s presented the chance to buy a potion that will make her fall in love with him, he buys it up, although doubtful of its efficacy. But when the potion actually works, Roger finds that unconditional love can be rather suffocating. The twist at the end serves as a cautious reminder of what can come of blind lust.
IN CONCLUSION
The Chaser (Aired 5/13/60)
- Serling Narration: “Mr. Roger Shackelforth, who has discovered at this late date that love can be as sticky as a vat of molasses, as unpalatable as a hunk of spoiled yeast, and as all-consuming as a six-alarm fire in a bamboo and canvas tent. Case history of a lover boy, who should never have entered...The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
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Top War Episodes of The Twilight Zone
19. Two
The two war-torn lovers in “Two”
“Two” is an episode with very little dialogue. But both actors, Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson, give excellent physical performances. In what Serling says is “maybe a 100 years in the future, or two million years ago,” this nameless city is torn to ruins.
And the only two survivors are Bronson and Montgomery. This a love story between humans at their primal roots; desperate for meaning and affection. The ending is surprisingly optimistic by Twilight Zone standards, as the two embark back out into the hellscape but, this time, not alone.
IN CONCLUSION
Two (Aired 9/15/61)
Top Season 4 Twilight Zone Episode
18. On Thursday We Leave for Home
Sloane and Benteen in “On Thursday We Leave for Home”
In Season 4 of The Twilight Zone, CBS changed the shows format from half-hour to full-hour episodes. The result of this change was a largely negative one. In 30 minute episodes, the story followed the same general seven-set formula:
- Intro
- Breaking Moment Within First 5 Minutes
- Rising Action
- Midway Point (Commercial)
- Climax
- Falling Action
- Denouement and Outro Narration
IN CONCLUSION
On Thursday We Leave for Home (Aired 5/2/63)
Top Twilight Zone Episodes
17. Nick of Time
“The Future!” Clip in “Nick of Time”
The title crawl of the show features a mantra that states that The Twilight Zone is a place where science meets superstition. In “Nick of Time," superstition is put to the test when a honeymooning couple believe that a mystic box at a restaurant is predicting their future.
It’s not the rabbit foot, the four-leaf clover, or the astral chart that turns people into slaves of fate; it’s the belief that these idols have significant meaning on the outcome of things.
In Conclusion
Nick of Time (Aired 11/18/60)
- Serling Narration: “Counterbalance in the little town of Ridgeview, Ohio. Two people permanently enslaved by the tyranny of fear and superstition, facing the future with a kind of helpless dread. Two others facing the future with confidence — having escaped one of the darker places of the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
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Best Horror/ Scary Twilight Zone Episodes
16. The Hitch-Hiker
“Terror has a form” Clip in “The Hitch-Hiker”
In this episode titled “The Hitch-Hiker," Ms. Nan Adams is on a cross country road trip. Point of departure: New York City. Destination: Los Angeles. Travel party: Solo.
That is until she meets the physical embodiment of terror, the hitch-hiker. This is The Twilight Zone’s best ‘horror’ episode; one that is captivating and terrifying throughout.
IN CONCLUSION
The Hitch-Hiker (Aired 1/22/60)
Top Twilight Zone Episodes
15. Walking Distance
“Try Looking Ahead” Clip in “Walking Distance”
As Rod Serling suggests, it’s in the nature of every man to yearn for home. In “Walking Distance," Mr. Martin Sloan, an ad executive, travels back to his childhood home in the hopes he can rid himself of the forlorn feeling he’s plagued with. But when he arrives at the aptly named town of ‘Homewood,’ he’s transported back twenty-five years.
While there, he meets his mother and father, and a boyhood version of himself. “Walking Distance” is about cool Summer nights at the lake, sneaking popcorn bags to the movies, and all the other care-free privileges so many kids get to enjoy. Like the saying goes; “don’t be sad it’s over, just be happy that it happened.’
IN CONCLUSION
Walking Distance (Aired 10/30/59)
- Serling Narration: “Martin Sloan, age thirty-six, vice-president in charge of media. Successful in most things but not in the one effort that all men try at some time in their lives — trying to go home again. And also like all men, perhaps there'll be an occasion, maybe a summer night sometime, when he'll look up from what he's doing and listen to the distant music of a calliope, and hear the voices and the laughter of the people and the places of his past. And perhaps across his mind there'll flit a little errant wish, that a man might not have to become old, never outgrow the parks and the merry-go-rounds of his youth. And he'll smile then too, because he'll know it is just an errant wish, some wisp of memory not too important really, some laughing ghosts that cross a man's mind, that are a part of the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
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Top World War II Episodes of The Twilight Zone
14. Deaths-Head Revisited
The prisoners at Dachau in “Deaths-Head Revisited”
Rod Serling’s “Deaths-Head Revisited" is one of the most sobering stories of the Holocaust, and one of the most important statements on not shying away from traumatic history.
The episode follows a former Nazi SS Captain who returns to the scene of his many crimes, the Dachau extermination camp. He does this because he’s evil, pure evil, motivated by nothing but cruel and sickening intentions.
When he arrives back at Dachau, the apparitions of those he slaughtered come back to haunt him. A doctor in the city suggests that Dachau be torn down so that people can move past the pain.
In his final remarks, Rod Serling reminds us all that these diabolic horrors are not just things of the twilight zone, but things we must remember if we hope to not fall victim to the conscience of evil again.
IN CONCLUSION
Deaths-Head Revisited (Aired 11/10/61)
- Serling Narration: “There is an answer to the doctor's question. All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buchenwalds, the Auschwitzes — all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all, their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers. Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in the Twilight Zone but wherever men walk God's Earth.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
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Famous Twilight Zone Episodes
13. A Game of Pool
Rod Serling in “A Game of Pool”
In “A Game of Pool," Jesse Cardiff is a pool shark that wants nothing more than to be the best pool player there ever was. Despite his obsession, he’s always regarded as second to the great Fats Brown. But late one evening, Cardiff is offered a chance to prove himself when the long-deceased Fats Brown enters the pool hall.
After an intense game, with constant camera shots of each actors sweaty faces, Cardiff wins and inherits the title of the worlds’ greatest pool player. What he doesn’t realize, is that the price of that title is an eternal responsibility to defend it. This episode is a beautiful indictment of perfectionism; that chasing perfection will only lead to your demise.
IN CONCLUSION
A Game of Pool (Aired 10/13/61)
- Serling Narration: “Mr. Jesse Cardiff, who became a legend by beating one, but who has found out, after his funeral, that being the best of anything carries with it a special obligation to keep on proving it. Mr. Fats Brown, on the other hand, having relinquished the champion's mantle - has gone fishing. These are the ground rules...in The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8/10
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Scariest Twilight Zone Episodes
12. Time Enough at Last
There Was Time Now in “Time Enough at Last”
“Time Enough at Last” is one of the most depressing episodes of the series. The story follows a bank-teller named Henry Beemis who just wants to be left alone. He’s terrible at work because he’s always reading on the job. His wife is growing to resent him because he pays little attention to her.
But when a nuclear bomb is dropped, Henry Beemis finds the peace and quiet he’s always wanted; but as with all things in The Twilight Zone, it has a cost, and a hefty one at that.
IN CONCLUSION
Time Enough at Last (Aired 11/20/59)
- Serling Narration: “The best laid plans of mice and men...and Henry Bemis...the small man in the glasses who wanted nothing but time. Henry Bemis, now just a part of a smashed landscape, just a piece of the rubble, just a fragment of what man has deeded to himself. Mr. Henry Bemis...in the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 9.1/10
- Watch Now
DID YOU KNOW?
Several cast members of the 2019 reboot of The Twilight Zone cited “Time Enough at Last” as their favorite Episode of the original series.Near-Future Episodes of The Twilight Zone
11. The Obsolete Man
“No Man is Obsolete” Clip in “The Obsolete Man”
IN CONCLUSION
The Obsolete Man (Aired 6/2/61)
- Serling Narration: “You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future, not a future that will be but one that might be. This is not a new world, it is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super-states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: logic is an enemy and truth is a menace. This is Mr. Romney Wordsworth, in his last forty-eight hours on Earth. He's a citizen of the State but will soon have to be eliminated, because he's built out of flesh and because he has a mind. Mr. Romney Wordsworth, who will draw his last breaths...in The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
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Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes
10. It’s a Good Life
“A very bad man!” Clip in “It’s a Good Life”
Perhaps it’s true that the greatest monster is our own inhibitions. In “It’s a Good Life," a dwindling village is tormented by a six-year old boy who happens to have the power of a God and the temperament of a Devil.
When he begins to kill animals with reckless abandon, his parents fear the monster that he is becoming. However, they’re inhibited by fear into doing what’s necessary; killing the boy before he becomes too dangerous. This episode is also a commentary on blind optimism.
Since everybody is so afraid of the boy, they feed him positive reinforcement, even when he destroys things they love. Ultimately, it’s better to live a truthful life, albeit with sad periods, than a false life that’s filled with manufactured happiness.
IN CONCLUSION
It’s a Good Life (Aired 11/3/61)
- Serling Narration: “No comment here, no comment at all. We only wanted to introduce you to one of our very special citizens, little Anthony Fremont, age 6, who lives in a village called Peaksville, in a place that used to be Ohio. And, if by some strange chance, you should run across him, you had best think only good thoughts. Anything less than that is handled at your own risk, because if you do meet Anthony, you can be sure of one thing: you have entered The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
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Scary Twilight Zone Episodes
9. Eye of the Beholder
“Your Own Kind” Clip in “Eye of the Beholder”
“Eye of the Beholder” is one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone for three reasons. First, the story is innovatively told; for much of the episode, the protagonist is masked and no faces are shown.
Second, the production is excellent; the hospital set, makeup, and costuming are all top-notch. Third, there’s an excellent moral lesson to this episode — that beauty truly does lie in the eye of the beholder.
IN CONCLUSION
Eye of the Beholder (Aired 11/11/60)
- Serling Narration: “Now the questions that come to mind: "Where is this place and when is it?" "What kind of world where ugliness is the norm and beauty the deviation from that norm?" You want an answer? The answer is it doesn't make any difference, because the old saying happens to be true. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in this year or a hundred years hence. On this planet or wherever there is human life – perhaps out amongst the stars — beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Lesson to be learned...in the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 9.2/10
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Top Ten Twilight Zone Episodes
8. Shadow Play
The Jury sentence in “Shadow Play”
A convicted murderer is forced to undergo his execution over and over for eternity; that is, unless he can convince the world that they are living in a dream. “Shadow Play” is The Twilight Zone at its best. Because at the heart of the show, we are meant to believe that the twilight zone is simply what we struggle to comprehend.
By the end of “Shadow Play,” you’ll be questioning the very nature of reality and whether the twilight zone is something more tangible than a world across the cosmos.
IN CONCLUSION
Shadow Play (Aired 5/5/61)
- Serling Narration: “We know that a dream can be real, but who ever thought that reality could be a dream? We exist, of course, but how, in what way? As we believe, as flesh-and-blood human beings, or are we simply parts of someone's feverish, complicated nightmare? Think about it, and then ask yourself, do you live here, in this country, in this world, or do you live, instead...in The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
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Best World War II Episodes of The Twilight Zone
7. Judgment Night
Carl Lanser lost at sea in “Judgment Night”
In “Judgment Night," Carl Lanser finds himself aboard a British passenger ship on a foggy evening in 1942. He has no idea how he got there nor where he is going. Throughout the episode, Lancer incrementally discovers pieces of his forgotten identity.
And in the end, we’re shown that Lanser’s voyage on the S.S. Queen of Glasgow is none other than that of a fate condemned, forever sailing the seven seas of sin, on this, his judgement night.
IN CONCLUSION
Judgment Night (AIred 12/4/59)
- Serling Narration: “The S.S. Queen of Glasgow, heading for New York, and the time is 1942. For one man it is always 1942 — and this man will ride the ghost ship every night for eternity. This is what is meant by paying the fiddler. This is the comeuppance awaiting every man when the ledger of his life is opened and examined, the tally made, and then the reward or the penalty paid. And in the case of Carl Lanser, former Kapitan Lieutenant, Navy of the Third Reich, this is the penalty. This is the justice meted out. This is judgment night...in the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
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Famous Twilight Zone Episodes
6. The Howling Man
David Ellington and Brother Jerome in”The Howling Man”
IN CONCLUSION
The Howling Man (Aired 11/4/60)
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BEST TWIST EPISODES OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE
5. Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? Clip
The premise of “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” is so simple that the title nearly implies it all. Two police officers are investigating reports of a UFO when they discover unknown footprints in the snow that bring them to a diner. There, they discover a group of patrons, all seven of which claim they are passengers on the bus waiting outside.
The only problem is that the bus driver is absolutely sure that there were only six passengers when they left, therefore one of the people is not who they say they are. This leads to an elaborate game of clue where hostilities arise, confusion pervades, and twists occur in spades.
All in all, “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” may be the most fun episode of The Twilight Zone ever.
IN CONCLUSION
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
(Aired 5/26/61)
- Serling Narration: “Incident on a small island, to be believed or disbelieved. However, if a sour-faced dandy named Ross or a big, good-natured counterman who handles a spatula as if he'd been born with one in his mouth, – if either of these two entities walk onto your premises, you'd better hold their hands — all three of them — or check the color of their eyes — all three of them. The gentlemen in question might try to pull you in...to The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
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Top Ten Twilight Zone Episodes
4. The Lonely
“Can you feel pain?” clip from “The Lonely”
In “The Lonely," a man named Corry lives a life of solitude on a far-way asteroid while waiting out his 50 year prison sentence. They say he committed manslaughter, but Corry claims he acted in self-defense. Every three months, he’s brought supplies.
On one of these supply trips, a sympathetic ship captain brings Corry a robot woman to help ease his loneliness. Although Corry initially rejects the woman’s comfort, he eventually succumbs to the idea that he doesn’t have to be lonely.
IN CONCLUSION
The Lonely (Aired 11/13/59)
- Serling Narration: “On a microscopic piece of sand that floats through space is a fragment of a man's life. Left to rust is the place he lived in and the machines he used. Without use, they will disintegrate from the wind and the sand and the years that act upon them. All of Mr. Corry's machines, including the one made in his image, kept alive by love, but now obsolete...in The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
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Twilight Zone Episodes Ranked
3. A Stop at Willoughby
The Way of the World - “A Stop at Willoughby”
The episode titled “A Stop at Willoughby," Mr. Gart Williams is a man who greatly dislikes what the world is becoming. He views his job as superficial, his boss as demeaning, and his wife as disingenuous. The entire world seems to be suffocating him with pressure.
But one day on his commute home, he dozes off and imagines an idyllic place called Willoughby. There he imagines a much more simple existence; one where he can fish in the afternoon and listen at the bandstand in the evening.
After a complete breakdown, Gart Williams chooses to believe that Willoughby is a real stop on his commute; not a commute from work to home, but rather one from the world of the living to that of the dead. As the saying goes, “the past is a one way ticket.”
IN CONCLUSION
A Stop at Willoughby (Aired 5/6/60)
- Serling Narration: “Willoughby? Maybe it's wishful thinking nestled in a hidden part of a man's mind, or maybe it's the last stop in the vast design of things — or perhaps, for a man like Mr. Gart Williams, who climbed on a world that went by too fast, it's a place around the bend where he could jump off. Willoughby? Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity, and is a part of The Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
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Most Iconic Twilight Zone Episodes
2. To Serve Man
“It’s a Cookbook!” Clip in “To Serve Man”
The awfully sinister “To Serve Man” is a firm reminder that a healthy dose of skepticism can go a long way. When an alien race arrives on Earth, they announce their intentions to spread humanitarian aid throughout the galaxies. They leave a strange book that cryptographer Michael Chamber is only able to deduce the title of, To Serve Man.
Convinced of their good intentions, thousands of humans leave Earth to travel the stars with the aliens. But it’s revealed that their book is not a benevolent manifesto, but rather a cookbook; and that the only meal on their voyage across the cosmos, is man.
IN CONCLUSION
To Serve Man (Aired 3/2/62)
- Serling Narration: “The recollections of one Michael Chambers with appropriate flashbacks and soliloquy. Or more simply stated, the evolution of man. The cycle of going from dust to dessert. The metamorphosis from being the ruler of a planet to an ingredient in someone's soup. It's tonight's bill of fare from the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 9.1/10
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The Best Episode of The Twilight Zone
1. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
“Quick to Kill” Clip in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”
What will happen to the world when the lights go out? This is the question at the heart of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," the very best episode of The Twilight Zone. Is it true that we are products of achievement? That the cars, radios, and yes, the lights make us civilized?
For the residents of one Maple Street USA, it is certifiable that this is the truth. When these people find their amenities stripped away, they revert back to primal tendencies; possession, accusation, and violence.
It’s not some external factor we have to fear, not aliens and not the nuclear bomb. It’s something much worse than that, because it’s something that exists within us all. And that for no reason whatsoever, humanity seems keen on taking us all to the twilight zone.
IN CONCLUSION
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
(Aired 3/4/60)
- Serling Narration: “The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices...to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill...and suspicion can destroy...and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own — for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.”
- IMDB Rating: 9/10
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