Twilight Zone Episodes Ranked
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- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsBurgess MeredithFritz WeaverJosip ElicIn a future totalitarian society, a librarian is declared obsolete and sentenced to death.The first episode I ever saw. The more I see it the more I love it. It really is like Fahrenheit 451 but even better.
You can take just about any quote from the episode and apply it to today. It’s that powerful, it’s that rich in themes. It’s that timeless.
The camera angles are eerie. We look down at the characters, establishing a sense of seniority. We look up at the characters as if they belittle us.
the symbolism is as present as ever - Mr. Wordsworth’s name being a librarian says enough.
I love mr. Wordsworth. I love his courage and I like to think about his life up to this point. I love what he stands for. He is so wise and confident. Burgess Meredith gives a fantastic performance.
The ending is eerie, yet satisfying. - 1959–196425mTV-PG8.9 (6.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorRon WinstonStarsRod SerlingClaude AkinsBarry AtwaterOn a peaceful suburban street, strange occurrences and mysterious people stoke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensity.“We’ll let them destroy themselves”
If you don’t believe in perfect, watch this. I love everything from the opening monologue to the closing monologue. I can’t believe that such a perfect story can be told in 25 minutes, it seems like a whole movie could be made out of this, but then again, that might tarnish what’s specially about this one. The TZ is incredible at showing real, accurate, human nature and here it’s painted in the small community of Maple Street. When monsters are declared to be amongst the neighbors, everyone’s finger is pointing and no one can be trusted. To see how fast a small community can turn against one another is what makes this episode as good as it is. Man is their own greatest enemy. My favorite part of the entire episode is the final 5 minutes of havoc, yelling, close-up shots, violence, and anarchy. Then the reveal is just the cherry on top and makes the story that much more satisfying and endearing. Isn’t it sad that 60 years later this episode feels just as applicable as the night it aired? No battle is necessary for extra-terrestrials, just leave the people alone together… and let them destroy themselves. - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsBurgess MeredithVaughn TaylorJacqueline deWitA henpecked book lover finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war.Burgess Meredith’s zany acting and fun character is such a joy to watch on screen. A true Twilight Zone ending, maybe the best one? It’s the episode’s ending that traumatized my little sister, that has been referenced in countless pop culture items, and is the epitome of a cliff hanger.
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsDonald PleasenceLiam SullivanPhilippa BevansHaving being forced to retire after teaching for fifty-one years in a New England university for boys, Professor Ellis Fowler contemplates suicide when he doesn't feel that he's made a positive difference in the world.I saw this episode for the first time about a year ago. I just rewatched it a couple of days ago and the fact that I’m talking about it in my Top 5 shows how high quality this episode is.
I know I’ve mentioned other episodes compare to It’s a Wonderful Life, but this is the ultimate example. What makes It’s a Wonderful Life as good as it is, is its theme of impact. Every person’s life is important for the fact that if you removed it, it would affect everything and every one around you. The Changing of the Guard uses that same theme, but with a teacher and his students. And yeah, it’s really good. Not just for its themes, but also Donald Pleasance’s outstanding and emotional performance, and the Christmas setting. - DirectorDon MedfordStarsJoseph SchildkrautOscar Beregi Jr.Karen VerneFormer German SS Captain Gunther Lutze returns to Dachau concentration camp and begins reminiscing about the power he enjoyed there during "the good old days", until he finds himself on trial by the ghosts of those who died at his hands.This in my eyes is the most mature Twilight Zone episode. Though many episodes nod to World War 2, none put us on a concentration camp. Seeing this ex-Nazi go insane is so satisfying and justified. I love that the finale of this episode has to say (play clip?)
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.5 (3.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorLamont JohnsonStarsSusan HarrisonWilliam WindomMurray MathesonAn Army major awakens in a small room with no idea of who he is or how he got there. He finds four other people in the same room, and they all begin to question how they each arrived there, and more importantly, how to escape.A classic Twilight Zone twist
In Rod Sterling’s opening monologue, he says “We will not end the nightmare, we’ll only explain it,” and man do they explain it. This may very well be the episode that contains my favorite reveal, my favorite twist, however you want to describe it. It’s one of those stories you love the first time because of the mystery, and arguably even better the 2nd time because you know the answer! There’s not one bad performance, but there is a great one, and that’s from Murray Matheson as the clown. He definitely stands out to me, but all the characters together are what make this episode. On a first watch you seriously are so confused as to why all these character are “trapped” together. I ain’t spoiling it here, if you haven’t seen this one, watch it ASAP! It’s a great holiday watch… - DirectorRobert ParrishStarsRod SerlingEd WynnMurray HamiltonA pitchman is visited by Mr. Death and is forced to get his priorities in order.Ed Wynn is what makes this episode so great.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsWilliam ShatnerChristine WhiteEd KemmerA man, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, becomes convinced that a monster only he sees is damaging the plane he's flying in.This is the classic “boy who cried wolf” story done in such a creative way. The episode sets itself up perfectly by starting a character who has recently been released from mental health care. He’s been declared as cured, yet still worries about riding a plane . The stage is set and everything that happens after is just history. This is definitely one of the most iconic episodes of all time. Every time I revisit it, I wonder if it’ll hold up, and yeah it always does.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsRobert KeithMilton SelzerVirginia GreggDieing millionaire Jason Foster invites his greedy Boston heirs to a Mardi Gras party where they must wear the masks he had custom-made for them - or else be cut off from their considerably large inheritance.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsEarl HollimanJames GregoryPaul LangtonMike Ferris finds himself alone in the small Oakwood town and without recollection about his name, where he is or who he is. Mike wanders through the town trying to find a living soul.The perfect starter. Really sets the tone for the show.
Rewatched 7/27/22 - DirectorRobert ParrishStarsRod SerlingJames DalyHoward SmithTired of his miserable job and wife, a businessman starts dreaming on the train each night, about an old, idyllic town called Willoughby. Soon he has to know whether the town is real and fancies the thought of seeking refuge there.
- DirectorRobert ButlerStarsNeville BrandGeorge TakeiRod SerlingPost-WWII Hawaii. Two men of once-opposing races are stuck in an attic full of war trophies, including a samurai sword waiting to dutifully avenge its slain master.This episode was banned for years because of the racial topics it addresses. I personally saw it for the first time just a few months ago and really enjoyed the way it tackles these issues. Race is a clear plot line, and so of course it’ll be brought up. Twilight Zone is so good at tackling these controversial issues and for whatever reason, sticking two sweaty men who were affected by the war in an attic together for one afternoon, was the best way to do this. I love the performances, the dialogue, and the ending, including the door opening.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsLarry GatesJoseph BernardJack AlbertsonA dinner party for Bill Stockton's birthday is interrupted by a bulletin warning of an impending nuclear attack. As the neighbors scramble to prepare, they turn against the Stockton's, the only family that installed a bomb shelter.This is very similar to The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street in the sense that it shows true human nature. It doesn’t affect me quite as much as Maple Street, but man does it still pack a punch. I love seeing the neighborhood go from kind and unified, to absolutely in contention and carelessness. This “every man for himself” attitude is what makes The Shelter so great, and the final monologue from Doctor at the end is just the icing on the cake.
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsRod SerlingJanice RuleShepperd StrudwickA schoolteacher keeps seeing a strange little girl in her apartment building.This one has always creeped me out
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsMaxine StuartWilliam D. GordonJennifer HowardA young woman lying in a hospital bed, her head wrapped in bandages, awaits the outcome of a surgical procedure performed by the State in a last-ditch attempt to make her look "normal."Even after knowing the twist ending to this episode, it’s still such a fun time to watch. Can we all just appreciate all the work that goes into shielding the doctors’ faces from view? Even moving shots has their faces covered. It is very impressive to me. On top of this it’s just creepy! Our main character is someone covered up in bandages for 2/3 of the episode. I remember being a kid and just feeling uneasy! Obviously this episode also has an amazing message and theme to it of beauty being decided by the beholder. “When doctor? When will the bandages be taken off?
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsJohn LarchCloris LeachmanDon KeeferOn an isolated family farm in Peakesville, Ohio, young Anthony Fremont, who has vast mental powers but lacks emotional development, holds his terrified family and neighbors in thrall to his every juvenile wish.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.7 (4.4K)TV EpisodeDirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsJohn HoytJean WillesJack ElamFollowing a frantic phone call about a crashed spaceship on a winter night, state troopers Bill Padgett and Dan Perry try to determine who among the bus passengers at a snowed-in roadside diner is a visitor from another world.Great “who dunnit” episode
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsGladys CooperRobert RedfordR.G. ArmstrongElderly urban dweller Wanda Dunn has fought with Death a thousand times and always won. Now she is afraid to let wounded policeman Harold Beldon in her tenement's door for fear that he is Death incarnate. Is he?Young Robert Redford is amazing. This plot line is so intriguing to me. An elderly woman constantly cheating death. So well, that’s it’s gotten to a point where she doesn’t even leave the house. When she’s faced with deciding whether to help this young man dying in the snow, it makes it all the more unsettling to watch. I love the uncertainty with this episode and the ending.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsWilliam ShatnerPatricia BreslinGuy WilkersonA pair of newlyweds stopping in a small town are trapped by their own superstition when playing a fortune-telling machine in a local diner.It’s just fascinating. Nothing too exciting by any means, just a good watch.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsRod SerlingVera MilesMartin MilnerWhile waiting in a bus station, Millicent Barnes has the strange feeling that her doppelganger is trying to take over her life.This is the epitome of Twilight Zone. Where logic is thrown out the window. I love how the “twins” are almost evil, always smiling and almost taunting the main characters.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsRod SerlingGig YoungFrank OvertonA man, fed up with where he's at in life, finds himself not only in his old hometown, but back to the time when he was a boy.I love the nostalgia feel to this
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsJack KlugmanJonathan WintersDee SharonFrustrated pool champion Jesse Cardiff has beaten everyone except for the deceased James Howard "Fats" Brown. Jesse can only curse his name. But guess who just walked into the pool room on Randolph Street?Two great actors facing off in a game of pool. Amidst the game, there’s meaningful discussion about life and what it really means to be the best at something. Nothing too exciting ever happens, but sometimes dialogue and sweat is exciting enough.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsJack KlugmanConnie GilchristBobby DiamondWearied bookie Max Phillips, learning of his grown soldier son Pip getting killed during combat in South Vietnam, gets to spend one last delightful hour with a ten-year-old version of Pip at an amusement park after dark.It’s just so sweet! The love a father has for his son
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsLuther AdlerVivi JanissJoseph RuskinA luckless couple stumbles upon fortune when a genie materializes from a bottle in their antique shop. The genie grants them four wishes but warns them, prophetically, to be careful what you wish for.I totally dug this one. It was predictable that the wishes would go wrong but I loved what I got out of this episode. There are creative consequences to each wish.
Rewatched 7/27/22 - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsDennis WeaverHarry TownesWright KingConvicted killer Adam Grant is trapped in a recurring nightmare in which he is sentenced to death by electrocution. He tries to convince those around him that they are imaginary and will cease to exist if he is executed.