Favorite Twighlight Zone episode?

[TroyF]

There was some talk of the old Twilight Zone episodes that ran on the sci-fi channels marathon a couple of weeks ago. What is your favorite show of the series?

The one I made sure I recorded was the "To Serve Man" one. I loved the ending.

I also like the one where aliens give Burgess Merideth more strength than any human in the world. Funny stuff.

On a side note, this is my 4,000 post. What a strange ride it's been.

TroyF

[Noble_Platypus]

I like the one with Jonathon Winters and Jack Klugman playing pool. I dont remember the episode name though.

[Swaggs]

Is "To Serve Man" the one about the dog that keeps its owner from being tricked into entering hell? That is an excellent one if so.

I also like the one with the astronauts that think they have crashed onto a desolate planet and begin to turn on one another. After only one remains (b/c he did not want to share the provisions), he climbs a hill and sees a sign that indicates that they have crashed in Nevada.

Ever notice that the guy that played Roscoe P. Cotrane on the Dukes of Hazard is in several of those Twilight Zones?

[samifan24]

"To Serve Man" is the one where the aliens show up with a book entitled "To Serve Man," and it's only in the end that someone finally figures out what the aliens are really talking about.

[Blackadar]

The one with Burgess Meredith, the nuclear war, his books and his glasses.

[RPI-Fan]

But that's not fair. It's just not fair.

[Cards4ever]

I always liked the one with the family that had the bomb shelter and once they found out a bomb was coming, everyone freaked and wanted into his bomb shelter.

[cthomer5000]

The one were a guy tossed a quarter to some beggar/street performer, and the coin landed perfectly on its side. All day long he could hear the thoughts of people, and became convinced his coworker was planning to rob the bank they worked at.

[Anrhydeddu]

One of my favorite books in my library

Twilight Zone Companion

It has the details (like casting), synopsis, behind the scenes and anecdotes on every single original Twilight Zone episode.

I of course love the Civil War ones (since the Centennial was going on at the same time). My favorite is the classic "Eye of the Beholder" (which still gives me nightmares). But surprisingly, the other 9 of my top 10 favorite episodes comes from the New Twilight Zone that was shown in the 1980s.

[ctmason]

"Printer's Devil" With Burgess Meredith. "Fancy that, a grown man believing in the devil..."

The one with Peter Falk playing a Castro-esque character where he sees his enemies in a mirror.

"The Midnight Sun" is probably one of the more intense ones ever produced. One of Serling's best teleplays.

And who could forget one of the more interesting ones, the last episode in fact..."The Bewitchin' Pool."

The one with Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters is called, "A Game of Pool." That's a good one, too.

I've always said that the two people most responsible for our modern science fiction are Ray Bradbury and Rod Serling. I like Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and all the rest, but I think Serling and Bradbury did the most interesting stuff.

Serling was the man, correct me if I'm wrong Anrhydeddu, but he was a 4 pack a day man, right? Not 5 like The Duke.

[Anrhydeddu]

ctmason, I don't recall the amount but the only he didn't smoke was his brief on-camera introduction. I think this was the reason he died young.

To give you an example of a short episode from the New Twilight Zone, here was one with Sherman Helmselly (sp) playing a college professor and Tim Reid playing Satan. The professor was struggling with a complicated math/physics problems and cried out for the ability to solve it. Satan offered him a puzzle in that the prof would get the answer if he could stump Satan on a question or action. Satan added that he knows everything and been everywhere so the prof cannot win. The prof thought about it for a minute and the told Satan to "Get lost." The prof got the answer to his problem.

[Swaggs]

After listening to all of the favorites, I think I may have seen nearly all of the "classic" episodes.

I remember seeing the Sherman Helmsley one when I was a little kid (sorry to make you feel old again, Steve) and thinking that I would have to remember that if the situation ever occurs.

[MylesKnight]

"The Howling Man" is a excellent episode.. One of my all-time favorites.. There's nothing like seeing these old episodes for the first time and trying to figure out what the ending will be.

Just the whole buildup of suspense and at times horror and the way that the Twilight Zone put it together is really unlike anything I see on TV nowadays..

Another one I really liked, and I don't remember the name of the episode, is about the a guy who replaces his old, broken down Robot Boxer (in the episode, Human Boxing is outlawed in favor of Robots that look Human), and takes on one of these Human Robots in the ring. I won't tell the ending for those of you that haven't seen it..

"The Hitchhiker" is another freaky one to watch late at night in a dark room.. and "Where is Everybody?", the first episode is pretty freaky as well.

There are so many good ones though, it would take too much time to mention them all..

A cool site to check out is The TZ Site.com.. Great episode recaps and other neat stuff to check out.. They even have a TZ Chat Session every Sunday, so it says..

[Swaggs]

...back from the dead.

I recently got a book about the Twilight Zone that I thought some of you all might like. It is called The Twilight Zone Companion and it basically gives you a short summary of each episode (including a screenshot, the castlist, backstory, and a critique). It was written (I believe) in the early 80s, so it doesn't cover the newer series, but the edition I got had an additional (brief) chapter on the movie and the 80s series.

Well worth the $10-15 for a reference-type book with some of the appeal of a book of short stories.

[Swaggs]

Dola... damn.

Reading this through, looks like Bucc/Arny already mentioned this book.

[pennywisesb]

I remember seeing one where all the people in the show had snout noses (like pigs) and the people who didn't have the snouts and had regular noses were the outcasts and considered "ugly". There was even plastic surgery being performed to try to make the regular noses into snouts. That one totally tripped me out when I was alittle kid watching the re-runs. I have no idea what the title of it was though.

[Arles]

My fav is "The Hunt". It was mentioned here earler - the one where the dog saves his master from going to hell.

Some other good ones:
"The Obsolete Man" with Burgess Meredith - Meredith is a librarian deemed obsolete and uses some trickery to escape his fate.

"Will the Real Martian Please Stand up" - interesting one about a search for a martian in a snow storm.

[Vegas Vic]

"The Invaders"

The story opens with an old woman in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.
There is no electricity or running water, and she is simply preparing a meal when something lands on her roof. She investigates and finds a small flying saucer. Soon, two little beings, no bigger than children's toys, invade her home, using their space age weapons on her as she uses her own simple instincts to fight back.

I found myself rooting for her, but then at the end we find out that the spacemen are American astronauts and she is a giant alien.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

"The Invaders"

The story opens with an old woman in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.
There is no electricity or running water, and she is simply preparing a meal when something lands on her roof. She investigates and finds a small flying saucer. Soon, two little beings, no bigger than children's toys, invade her home, using their space age weapons on her as she uses her own simple instincts to fight back.

I found myself rooting for her, but then at the end we find out that the spacemen are American astronauts and she is a giant alien.

Saw it over Memorial Day. I love Sci-Fi!

[markprior22]

Talking Tina...mom buys daughter a talking doll that dad hates because they can't really afford it. When dad is alone with the doll, it makes all kinds of nasty comments..."I don't like you", "I'm gonna kill you", etc. In the end, the doll's goal is accomplished by tricking dad into falling down the stairs.

[cthomer5000]

Just re-joined NetFlix and put a bunch of these at the top of my list.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by markprior22

Talking Tina...mom buys daughter a talking doll that dad hates because they can't really afford it. When dad is alone with the doll, it makes all kinds of nasty comments..."I don't like you", "I'm gonna kill you", etc. In the end, the doll's goal is accomplished by tricking dad into falling down the stairs.

Featuring the greatness of Telly Savalas.

[HornedFrog Purple]

I really liked the two with William Shatner. One of them was where he and his girl are in a cafe and they start putting coins in a fortune teller machine on the table that has a head resembling a devil.

The other one was where he is the claustrophobic flying in the airplane and sees something outside on the wing tearing up the engine and no one believes him. They redid this one in "Twilight Zone the Movie"

[Maple Leafs]

Two that I remember seeing as a kid:

- The one where the guy has to play poker against Death
- The one where the guy discovers the secret of the world, and everyone he tells goes insane.

[Karlifornia]

Twilight Zone has to be one of the my favorite shows. I bought one of the box sets recently. Here are some of my favorites:


The Invaders-Yeah..someone mentioned this one. The lady does a pretty good job, not being able to speak and whatnot.

The Howling Man-Good episode to watch on an overcast, rainy day (really, they all are).

Nick of Time- William Shatner and his wife at the cafe with the penny fortune telling machine.

There's an episode the name of which escapes me, but a dying man has these asshole kids, and they're waiting at his bedside for him to die so that they can inherit his money. The father says that to get their chunk of the inheritance, each of them must wear one of these masks he provides. I won't spoil the rest.

[MylesKnight]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

There's an episode the name of which escapes me, but a dying man has these asshole kids, and they're waiting at his bedside for him to die so that they can inherit his money. The father says that to get their chunk of the inheritance, each of them must wear one of these masks he provides. I won't spoil the rest.

That one is excellent..

Oh, and BUMP!

[BigJohn&TheLions]

The one where the guy is a real ass who goes to heaven, where he can't lose at anything... Then when he gets bored and wants to lose occassionally he tells the host that "If this is heaven, I want to go to the other place." and the guy tells him "This IS the other place!"

Another one is when the guy dies with his dog and they won't let the dog into heaven so he keeps walking... Then finds out that the first "heaven" was a trick, and the dog saved him from going to "the other place."

[sachmo71]

i saw an episode of the new Twilight Zone.

Meh. Something to do before the games on Sunday.

[Neon_Chaos]

Anyone see the new one with Lou Diamond Phillips?

[Galaril]

Does anyone know if the original twi-lights are on DVD I would love to get the original Star TreK's, Lost in Space's and twi-lights.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Does anyone know if the original twi-lights are on DVD I would love to get the original Star TreK's, Lost in Space's and twi-lights.

Yeah, they are. What i don't really like is how essentially random episodes are grouped together though.

The Volumes aren't in any sort of chronological order.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Yeah, they are. What i don't really like is how essentially random episodes are grouped together though.

The Volumes aren't in any sort of chronological order.

Actually I just checked out Amazon and they are releasing remastered(sound and visual) boxed sets for each season six, dvd sets.they will include commentary from cat and crew. There will be the Rod Sterling Next week presents part at the end of each show. Great stuff. They will be releasing the other four seasons as well on six dvd sets grouped for each season in the order they aired originally.

Twilight Zone The Definitive Collection: Season 1 1959-1960 DVD Box Set

[duckman]

One of favorite episodes is the one where the man make a pact with the Devil to send him back into time and make him young again. The man uses this opportunity to buy up land that had oil under it. The Devil does him over pretty good in that one.

[Bubba Wheels]

The one were Billy Mummy is a kid living in a farmhouse with his parents. He has to have everything his own way, or he closes his eyes and turns someone into a jack-in-the-box. Then his father has to tell him 'Billy (whatever his name is in the episode), send him to the corn fields." "He made me mad!" "BILLY, SEND HIM TO THE CORNFIELDS!"

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Bubba Wheels

The one were Billy Mummy is a kid living in a farmhouse with his parents. He has to have everything his own way, or he closes his eyes and turns someone into a jack-in-the-box. Then his father has to tell him 'Billy (whatever his name is in the episode), send him to the corn fields." "He made me mad!" "BILLY, SEND HIM TO THE CORNFIELDS!"

Didn't they remake that one in the movie? I think it was the last part with Karen Quinlin (or something like that).

I wish I could describe my favorite episodes from the 1980s New TZ. I would have to watch my tape again to remember. I recall the hour-long Elvis one that was really good.

[AENeuman]

Hmm.. some great 80's ones:
Waking up and english language is diffrent
Fortune cookie of death!
Stopping time before nuclear war
Knowing the secret to the universe, and then dying

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by AENeuman

Hmm.. some great 80's ones:
Waking up and english language is diffrent
Fortune cookie of death!
Stopping time before nuclear war
Knowing the secret to the universe, and then dying

David, you remember my favorite one? It was where the alien came to the UN and told the members that since the aliens planted the seed for the human race on earth, the experiment has become a failure because of petty disputes and barbaric weapons and now the earth was going to be destroyed. The members then asked for a little time to make global peace and produced a document for disarmament and such. But when the alien came back, he laughed because they misunderstood him. They bred warriors to fight in the galaxies and the experiment was truly a failure now because in the their hearts, we longed for peace.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by samifan24

"To Serve Man" is the one where the aliens show up with a book entitled "To Serve Man," and it's only in the end that someone finally figures out what the aliens are really talking about.

I haven't seen that one but it explains the Treehouse of Horror ep with the book in it.

SI

[RPI-Fan]

Thanks to those who mentioned the book earlier in this thread... I've ordered it for my dad for X-mas. Great, inexpensive gift.

[Ramzavail]

Originally Posted by RadioFriendlyUnitShifter

There's an episode the name of which escapes me, but a dying man has these asshole kids, and they're waiting at his bedside for him to die so that they can inherit his money. The father says that to get their chunk of the inheritance, each of them must wear one of these masks he provides. I won't spoil the rest.

That one is called the Masks...and that is my favorite one. Classic.

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

David, you remember my favorite one? It was where the alien came to the UN and told the members that since the aliens planted the seed for the human race on earth, the experiment has become a failure because of petty disputes and barbaric weapons and now the earth was going to be destroyed. The members then asked for a little time to make global peace and produced a document for disarmament and such. But when the alien came back, he laughed because they misunderstood him. They bred warriors to fight in the galaxies and the experiment was truly a failure now because in the their hearts, we longed for peace.

Brother Buc, great old one! I remember that the UN guy in charge played the jury formen in 12 Angry Men. Have not really thought about it before, but I think you could make the case that the good Quantum Leap's would also be good T Zones.

[Galaril]

I finally got the 1st season dvd box set (7 discs) and it is awesome. I feel like I have gone back to the 1960's and am watchung them on TV. They have the Rod Serling Next week's show piece after every episode previewing the next episode. They got some great commentary and interviews. They also, threw in the Twilight Zone Companion book that gives a history of the show and summaries of all the episodes for all 6 seasons.Nice! I would definitely recommend this for fans of the old shows.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Dont know the name of the episode but it was about a Rock singer who mets a girl in the boonies and she sings about ''his'' future.....wont spoil the rest.
Im also partial to the one where a man is guided to heaven by his dog. Still makes me smile when I see it.

[Suicane75]

Great thread, thanks for the heads up on the book, I just purchased it and a couple of the single episode DVD's off of amazon. Impulse shopping, gotta love it.

[waitforit]

Monsters on Maple Street

[Galaril]

thats a good one.

[Bubba Wheels]

Robert Redford plays a policeman who is shot chasing a robber or something and lies dying in the snow outside of an old woman's door, pleading to her for help. As the story gets a little deeper, not at all what it appears to be. Good one.

[Karlifornia]

How about the one where a group of people are trapped in a diner and they try to figure out which one is the alien?