Twilight Zone Top 50 Episodes

There’s a lot of classic episodes on this list I’ve linked below, to be sure, but I don’t agree that the one the author placed at the top spot deserves to be #1. I like that episode okay but there’s a whole lot of other choices I would place above it.

As I was looking over this list I realized I was hearing some of the music scores in my mind, which of course was a huge part of the show’s mood and maybe doesn’t get enough discussion. (Bernard Herrmann was one contributor to several great episodes).

The 50 Best Episodes of 'The Twilight Zone'

 

I think it is a perfect #1. The most overrated episodes are 4-9 on that list.

Otherwise I think After Hours (your avatar), Eye of the Beholder, and It's a Good Life all vie for the top.

Some underrated episodes in general include:

The Trouble with Templeton
Lateness of the Hour
Piano in the House
Perchance to Dream
Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room (should be remade with the man a junkie instead of a thug)
In His Image
Self Improvement of Salvatore Ross
Ring a Ding Girl
What's in the Box

 

I recently updated my personal Top 10 list and 10 of them are on this list, so I think it's fairly decent. I agree the their #1 is a little heavy-handed. It's around #20 for me.

 

Agreed, except for The Invaders

 

Just watched #36 for the first time. It might be the worst episode of the series i've seen to date

 

Wow, off the top of my head...

"A Very Special Camera"
"The Howling Man"
"To Serve Man"
"Time Enough at Last"
"It's a Good Life"
"Living Doll"
"The Invaders"

and that's just from memory, without checking any internet references. There were something like 150 original B&W Twilight Zone episodes, so it's very hard to confine a favorites list down to only a fraction of what was produced.

BTW, anybody who wants to know more about the show, read the 800-page (!!!) reference The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic, which is an extraordinary book. It will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how the shows were conceived, written, and produced (and some that were not produced).

https://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Zone-Unlocking-Television-Classic/dp/0970331096

I know not a lot of people liked the 1980s CBS reboot of the Twilight Zone show, but I worked on a few episodes that I thought were really good. One was "Profile in Silver," about a historian from the future who goes back in time to observe the 1963 assassination of JFK, but winds up accidentally preventing it from happening (with dire results), and "A Matter of Minutes," about a couple who discovers that the world actually disintegrates inbetween the ticks of the clock and is instantly rebuilt by a massive cosmic construction crew. Terrific episodes. I think the reboot failed because a lot of it was humorless and very downbeat, plus the shows were extremely uneven. But some were brilliant. (I think Amazing Stories had the same problems.)

 

I don't agree with the second half of the top 10, either. And I think "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" is highly overrated. "The Obsolete Man" should rank much higher.

I just (almost) wasted two hours going over all of the episodes and found 56 favorites.

 

Walking Distance should be top 3

 

The Howling Man was one that has always been a favorite and doesn’t get enough praise.

My favorite on the list is Nothing in the Dark.

 

great ep: In Praise Of Pip!

 

Walking Distance should be higher. It's my #1.

Howling Man is in my top 5.

 

Just watched "It's A Good Life" again. All of a sudden, it reminded me of a certain elected public figure...

 

It's A Good Life was my favorite since I was in the 7th grade. I still like it a lot but my number one favorite now is "What You Need."

 

Poll ?

 

In His Image i always thought was overlooked. a fine start to an often maligned season 4 and the hour long eps

 

I really like that episode, but why did the invaders have to be so damn chubby?

I would like to throw in The Lonely as a great underrated episode.

 

I can't remember the details but 'Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge ' was shown as a ' Twilight Zone ' episode for some reason.
It's not part of the canon but it was excellent. Saw it the first time when I was young and it blew my wee mind.

 

Leaving off "Mr.Denton on Doomsday", "What You Need" and placing "Willoughby" and "Walking Distance" so far down on list is all I need to remind me...These lists are stupid.

 

Yes, The Lonely is incredible.

Another underrated episode - Perchance to Dream

 

The Escape Clause is a fun one too.

 

A totally crappy episode is the comedy ( with laugh track !) starring Carol Burnett.
I only saw it once and it disturbed me. Not enjoyable , not funny , not ' The Twilight Zone '
I know she was a big fan of Rod Seeing so maybe he just wrote an episode for her.

 

It is included in the DVD boxed set.

 

Any Twilight Zone list is ok by me.

I didn't particularly like the monsters/maple street episode when it aired (a really good Route 66 was on that night and a really good Checkmate the night after ). In fact, Monsters/maple could've been fantastic as a tweaked Route 66 episode.

I'll tell ya though, those various focus scenes in The New Exhibit sent actual scare jolts through me when it aired. The hour format was a little tedious, but geez. Every few moments, you're realizing the creepiness down there in the basement...and every time the camera goes down there and you see those faces......

 

The Bewitching Pool written by Earl Hamner Jr...of the Walton's fame...

 

That's a good thing because it's excellent.
There was some thing going on with why it was used. Budget problem possibly ?