Jim Dugger's Favorite Original Twilight Zone Episodes.
These are in order my favorite Twilight Zone Episodes in order from favorite to least favorite. I tried to blend how good the episode was to other factors like re-watchability and how it correlates to my own experiences. Been an avid watcher since the mid-80's.
I have watched every episode numerous times, and I am always doing a little reshuffling so that one day I can get it perfect and I also want to have comments for each episode. Theoretically, some of these episodes can be moved up or down maybe up to 7 spots from where they currently are. But in the meantime, currently this is how my list goes...
I have watched every episode numerous times, and I am always doing a little reshuffling so that one day I can get it perfect and I also want to have comments for each episode. Theoretically, some of these episodes can be moved up or down maybe up to 7 spots from where they currently are. But in the meantime, currently this is how my list goes...
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- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.7 (4.4K)TV EpisodeDirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsJohn HoytJean WillesJack ElamFollowing a frantic phone call about a crashed spaceship, two policemen try to determine who among the bus passengers at a snowed-in roadside diner is from another world.This is a great episode, one that I hold a special fondness for. Your classic "Who done it?" mystery. Basically two cops check out a disturbance that leads them to an isolated diner where a Martian is hiding out amongst some people and they got to find out who it is. Has mystery, suspense, intrigue, even some humor.
I love showing this one to people who've never seen many (or any) Twilight Zone episodes...it gives a good indication of what the TV series is about. The ending has a nice twist that you won't see coming (the first time obviously).
It has moved around my top six but I should go with my gut feeling and keep it here, where it belongs...at least until I change my mind lol. - 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.A true classic. Not only was I in a similar situation, I think most of us over the course of life can compare ourselves to Gart Williams, the lead character of this story about a man who is not happy with his job, his spouse, and to live in the society he lives in. His only salvation seems to be...A stop at Willoughby.
He lives in a world with a money-hungry woman who he doesn't get along with, a job and moreover a boss which he can't stand, and he just starting to crack under pressure. During the long train ride home one day he awakens to find himself the only passenger on a different train that seems to have gone back in time. The conductor comes by and offers him a chance to visit Willoughby, a town in 1888 - quiet little village where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure.
He doesn't get off the first time, but every now and then he awakens on that train, being offered the chance to go. This story is great and very re-watchable. Over time this has crept up slowly on my favorite list to where it stands today. #4 on my list of closing narrative's too. - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsBurgess MeredithVaughn TaylorJacqueline deWitA henpecked book lover finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war.This episode is the one people talk about the most I think, and for good reason. Another one with a lot of good humor, it is a must watch, even if you've never seen an episode before. It's the ending that gets you in this one.
Burgess Meredith plays a scrawny, timid book worm of a husband to an over-bearing wife who dislikes his reading almost as much as she dislikes him. Even his boss is starting to dislike the very sight of him. Not sure which of those two dislike him more lol.
He never has time to himself and then after a hydrogen bomb hits, he suddenly finds that he has, Time Enough At Last. - 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.Another classic. This episode has a great cast and it just gives you examples of what bad things people can do to each other. There is one big question that bugs me though...(What took Pete Van Horn so long to get back from one street over?).
It's about a handful of families that live on Maple Street. They hear what sounds like a meteor overhead and then everything stops working - electricity, water, automobiles, etc. Then they try to find out who the monster is, a regular witch hunt. Then they realize far too late their worst enemy is themselves.
It also has, in my opinion, the #1 closing narrative of any episode. - 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.Rod Serling's favorite episode and for me it really hits home. Should be a top five episode, but to me this was almost done "too good" and it reminds me of Rod Serling's Night Gallery episode "Tearing down Tim Riley's Bar" which really hits the mark and can make it hard to watch depending on your mood.
This episode is about a man (Martin Sloan) who has a nervous breakdown, gets in his car, and drives away. He stops at a gas station where he calms down a bit and decides to get an oil change. The guy says about 30 minutes. He notices a sign that reads "Homewood - 1.5 Miles", the place where he spent his childhood. He goes "One and a half miles, that's Walking Distance" and instead of waiting, he decides to take a walk towards his old hometown where he grew up, some 25 years ago.
Slowly he realizes that he finds himself back in time where he meets his younger version and he desperately wants to talk to him about enjoying his childhood to the fullest because it goes quickly and it's a special and brief period. He keeps getting pushback from his parents, especially his dad telling him to go back and let be. The dialog they discussed at the end is just a stunning piece of wisdom, insight, and simply good advice that we all must keep in mind...it was brilliant.
This episode to me has the 2nd best closing narrative of any episode, just slightly behind "Monsters are due on Maple Street". - DirectorIda LupinoStarsRobert KeithMilton SelzerVirginia GreggWealthy Jason Foster is dying and he invites his greedy heirs to a Mardi Gras party where they must wear the masks he specially had made for them or else be cut off from their inheritance.People's point of view vary I know, but to me this one can be classified as a comedy because it's got so many knee slappers when the main character rips on his own family. It's about a old and dying multi-millionaire Jason Foster who's family he despises comes to visit and say goodbye before he dies, then to eagerly start diving up the wealth amongst themselves. But he has a little plan for them before he goes off into the night. And it involves Masks.
Each character plays their role brilliantly. Well written with few flaws. I remember watching this with my brother and simply howling with laughter at some of the dialog.
It's a shame this episode is not in my top 5. There are times where I think it can be switched with any of the five preceding episodes and it wouldn't do injustice as this holds a special place in lore from those memories watching it with my brother. But being listed here is in no way shameful as it seems to rank around here for many others. - 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.This is a classic that is one of my favorites. I love the plot...a guy "wakes up" but instead of being in bed he's out on a deserted road walking towards a town with no people, though there is evidence that people were just there. This was the pilot episode and I'm glad Rod Serling used it to sell the series.
It gives a great sense of eerie-ness to it, much like "King Nine Will Not Return" or to a lesser extent "Stopover in a Quiet Town" tries to do. You'll notice some episodes may use the same plot-line but do if differently. Usually one is real good and the other can vary from good to awful but this one is the real good version. If both versions are good, that shows the quality of the plot. - 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.A great episode with William Shatner, even better I think than the one most people remember him in "Nightmare at 20,000 feet". It makes a great point at the end. It's about a honeymoon couple that had car problems...their fuel pump went bad and breaks down in a small city in Ohio called Ridgeview.
They go and get something to eat at a little diner that has some fortune telling napkin holders at some of the tables. Don Carter (William Shatner), already being a superstitious lot, tries it out and soon realizes for just a penny a question, he can gets answers to events in the future.
A very good episode that has Stafford Repp (Chief O'Harrah in the Batman show) playing a role. This is a good example of how a good thing that can be overdone and can cause some bad things (like gambling, over-eating, much less knowing too much of your own destiny, etc). Very well done. - DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsTelly SavalasMary LaRocheTracy StratfordA frustrated father does battle with his stepdaughter's talking doll, whose vocabulary includes such phrases as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you".This one freaked me out when I was younger. Love the doll's attitude. Nothing like it, except for maybe "Chuckie" lol. Telly Savalas' role was played brilliantly. Actually all three of them did well. Great story, great closing narrative (top 10).
Telly plays Eric Strader, a step dad to a Christy, a little girl who's mom buys her a doll named Talking Tina. Eric doesn't treat Christy (or the wife) very well and the doll ends up playing guardian for her and fights back...and Mr. Strader isn't going to go down easy. Talking Tina might have to resort to the old "putting your foot out from under a table"-like routine. The only thing that worked for my sister vs me in our battles during our younger days, lmao.
Sweet episode. - DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsRod SerlingAnne FrancisElizabeth AllenA woman is treated badly by some odd salespeople on an otherwise empty department store floor.This one spooked me the most when I was younger, especially when one of the mannequins reached out to her. Another episode where there was some eerie moments. Story about a lady who visits a department store to buy a gold thimble. She starts seeing some strange things about the store and some of it's mannequins. She ends up passing out due to shock and upon awakening, she realizes she's been left at the store by herself. Trying to get out she gets into a mind of wills verse the mannequins with an unexpected twist.
- 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."Watching this episode as I type in my comments (lol). It's about a lady named Janet Tyler in a hospital who is wrapped in bandages, awaiting her fate after the 11th and last attempt to make her not look ugly. If I was in this predicament they'd have exterminated me long ago (not lol). In this place people who don't look normal are separated from those that are ugly.
A classic episode that has a superb closing narrative (#3 on my personal list), this one is an absolute gem for first time watchers. Highly recommended but after the first initial watch, it settles in to a more moderate but still very good episode. Even so, it still is a nice re-watch after knowing what you know. Rod Serling hits the nail on the head with this one. - DirectorRichard L. BareStarsLloyd BochnerSusan CummingsRichard KielAn alien race comes to Earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the aliens' language, using a book whose title they deduce is "To Serve Man."A heck of a plot, will catch you off guard the first time you watch it. A classic as well. Kanamits, a race from a different planet far away, comes to earth suddenly, uninvited, bearing gifts of peace and prosperity to the human race. Some say they are parlor tricks. Some say we are looking a gift horse in the mouth. One of the Kanamits leaves a book behind. Hard to decode, they at first lick the title - To Serve Man. They relax a little, hoping the rest of the book offers the same level of reassurance. But they come to see later what the title really means. **Spoiler Coming**
Most soundtracks featuring the Twilight Zone will have this phrase that's uttered in this episode: "It's a cookbook!" :) - DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsInger StevensAdam WilliamsLew GalloA young woman driving cross-country becomes frantic when she keeps passing the same man on the side of the road. No matter how fast she drives, the man is always up ahead, hitching her for a ride.This is another classic that many people remember. It's a bit eerie and the ending will surprise you. Nan Adams is taking a trip from Pennsylvania to California via automobile and after a near crash due to a blowout, she starts seeing this hitchhiker everywhere she goes, no matter how fast she is going. Can she make it before he catches up to her? "You going, my way?" :)
- 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.Yet another great sci-fi classic. Ironic, William Shattener (an icon in Star Trek for being a captain of a fleet of people in space), plays a man that is scared of flying! Funny. Many probably would rate this one higher than I did. I think it's good and a classic, but with so many great episodes out there and considering my personal parallels that I like in other episodes it was hard for me to put it in my top 10. Still, you won't be disappointed when you watch it.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.3 (5.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorDouglas HeyesStarsRod TaylorJim HuttonCharles AidmanThree astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself.Here's one that has some eerie moments in it. Written well with good on screen chemistry. There are three astronauts. They used to exist. Their aircraft that carried those three men into space - that also used to exist. It don't any longer. See how three men go off into space and return, only to realize someone or something let them come back by mistake and was coming back to not only get them, but to remove their very existence...one by one. Inspired other episodes and movies.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG6.8 (5K)TV EpisodeDirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRod SerlingIda LupinoMartin BalsamBarbara Jean Trenton is a faded film star who lives in the past by constantly re-watching her old movies instead of moving on with her life, so her associates try to lure her out of her self-imposed isolation.This one appeals to me on certain levels because the main character of the story is much like myself in some ways. Barbara Jean Trenton, a movie star from another era, shuts herself off from the rest of the world because she doesn't like the way the world is becoming.
She watches films of herself made 15, 20, 25 years ago. At times I find myself doing this with the Twilight Zone series (lol). Her friends (all two of them) try to help her out but after some swing and misses, she deep down believes she can go back to those days if she wishes real, real hard. Can her wish come true?
She also directed an episode of the Twilight Zone - The Masks - in my top ten. She did a brilliant job in both her directorial and her acting roles in these episodes. She was married to a guy that was the star of another Twilight Zone episode called A World of Difference, #44 currently on my list. - DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsBurgess MeredithFritz WeaverJosip ElicIn a future totalitarian society, a librarian is declared obsolete and sentenced to death.Another good episode starring the late Mr. Burgess Meredith. 2 of his 4 episodes are in my top 20. This particular episode he's a condemned man named Mr. Wordsworth in a futuristic episode of a country who eliminates people if they are deemed "obsolete". He is a librarian in a time where books were outlawed. He gets to basically choose his poison, but he's got an Ace up his sleeve as he tries to make his point that no man is...obsolete.
It has a strong closing narrative, which is in my top 10 list. - DirectorAbner BibermanStarsCliff RobertsonFrank SuttonGeorge MurdockVentriloquist Jerry Etherson is convinced that his dummy, Willie, is alive and evil. He locks Willie in a trunk and makes plans for a new act with a new dummy. Too bad he didn't clear those plans with Willie first.The dummy in this episode is still one of the more eeriest of the bunch. Great cast and plot, It's a great re-watch. A ventriloquist is having a crazy obsession that he is battling a dummy. Or is he crazy? I viewed this episode with audio commentary by Cliff Robertson, the main character. Very intriguing some of the things he said.
- 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.If you like episodes where you try to pick up some clues and figure out the plot before it's revealed, then you'll like this one.
For me this solid episode was well written. Later a movie was made based off the premise of this show, though I can't think of the name at this moment.
This guy (An Army Major) wakes up and realizes he's in this room with a clown, a bag-piper, a hobo, and a ballet dancer. No reason, no way out, no explanation. Can they find the exit? What's outside that exit? - DirectorJohn RichStarsRichard ErdmanHerbie FayeLeon BelascoA man is given a stopwatch that halts time.This one always had a certain type of appeal to me. Is it because the main character can stop time with a stopwatch? Or was it because of I can relate to the reactions McNulty got from others? (Ha). Maybe neither, maybe a little of both perhaps. But this one is a classic and it has some absolute laugh out loud moments!
The run-ins he had with the secretary, boss, patrons in a local bar he hangs out, and even the bartender himself are some of the best moments of this episode. A close second is the actual plot, which is makes this episode a well remembered one. The things he could have done if he wasn't so butter-fingered (relates to Henry Bemis of Time Enough at Last). - DirectorDavid Orrick McDearmonStarsRichard HaydnBarbara StuartBarney PhillipsBartlett Finchley's paranoia about the machines around proves true.What happens in a world where the will to fight back is not limited strictly to humans and animals but to machines as well? Bartlett Finchley will soon find out and it's not pretty (lol).
This one is funny on many levels, and also adds a bit of eeriness in some scenes. Bartlett Finchley is a malcontent, either born too early or too late in the century. Whatever the case, you'll love this character as he annoys both people and machines in this classic. - DirectorAnton LeaderStarsLois NettletonBetty GardeTom ReeseWhen Earth deviates from its normal orbit, getting closer to the sun, two women try to cope with increasingly oppressive heat in a nearly abandoned city.An episode that's actually two stories in one, both with parallel consequences. It stars two ladies that live in New York City that are doomed living during a slow but agonizing death during where the world is getting hotter moment by moment as the Earth slowly and methodically gets closer and closer to the sun.
Play close attention to the "death" scene by one of the ladies...in my opinion one of the worst in cinema history (lol). - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsMartin BalsamWill KuluvaMargaret FieldA wax-museum employee fights to preserve five figures of famous murderers.Underrated episode in my opinion. The story is very good and those wax figures do look a bit creepy, even now :) If I'm not mistaken, the one named "Andru" was a real person, standing still. It's about a guy named Martin who's been a faithful worker for Ferguson's Wax Museum for many, many years and let's just say "Loves his job" lol.
When the owner decides to retire, Martin cannot bear to see certain wax dummies (Murderer's Row Exhibit - five famous murderers including Jack The Ripper) be destroyed, so he volunteers to keep them in his basement until he finds a new home for them. But he likes taking care of those figures so much that he hardly puts any effort into doing so.
The urge to continue taking care of these figures without an income ends up destroying his savings, his marriage, and eventually his life. - DirectorRon WinstonStarsBarry NelsonNancy MaloneDenise LynnA hung-over couple awaken to find themselves not only in a strange house, but in a deserted town, where nothing is as it should be.A good episode that some may put in their top 15. It's about a couple from New York who wake up one morning after driving home from a party to find themselves in a strange bedroom. Then they find out gradually their in a strange house, neighborhood, and town.
Nobody is around, everything seems to be fake, and occasionally they hear laughter of a kid but can never pin-point where it's coming from. It's eerily quiet, and nothing makes sense. I think it's cool when they try to re-create their blank spot between what happened after they left the party and how they woke up, fully clothed in no harm, alone in a strange place.
They may not like what they find out ;)
P.S. The ending is sweet. - DirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsLee MarvinJames BestStrother MartinOld West lawman Conny Miller visits the grave of a man who he failed to track down to prove he was never afraid of him but gets more than he bargained for.Stars such greats as Lee Marvin, James Best, and also includes Stafford Repp. This is a retelling of an old tale that is well known in America and the British Isles. In other versions, the victim is pinned by a stick, a post, a croquet stake, a sword, and a fork. Sometimes the victim is a little girl, as opposed to this version, which was a hit-man named Conny Miller.
For the most part, I like how this version was written. It stayed close to the earlier stories, and it kept me interested throughout. It's just at the very end how they had to try to justify another version of what might have happened to the victim that I thought was a little abstract for my tastes.
C'mon, how many people you know knew which direction the wind was blowing the night before, know which direction it is blowing now, and compare the two to use such flawed justification to make it seem like the supernatural was involved? A hundred different things could have been done instead that would have made it more plausible than what was done here. For shame, lol.
The town folk sure turned a blind eye to all other family members associated with the outlaw that Conny would eventually get hired to kill. And the sister of that outlaw was sure cordial to Conny, the guy that was hired to kill her brother. I would think there would be just a little more animosity than what was portrayed. A few small items like this was a little off, but again, overall it was done rather well. - DirectorRichard L. BareStarsFritz WeaverEdward AndrewsJoe MarossTwo families of Government employees plan to steal a spaceship and travel to another planet just prior to a nuclear war. They must also deal with a stooge who wants to stop them.A real good episode with a little twist in the end that you probably won't see coming, it holds up well. It's about a family, the husband in particular, on the eve of an all-out nuclear war he knows will happen in 48 hours or less. He teams up with a pilot of an experimental aircraft (that's capable of going to another planet) to bribe and plan their escape to another planet miles away that might hold salvation for both their families.
It may seem it's like the usual family trying to get out of town at the last moment cliché, but like I mentioned earlier, watch for the little twist at the end and then you'll know why I have this in my top 30. Some great actors in this one. Notice some of the camera angles used plus listen for some minor clues about the ending, especially to the first time viewer. Enjoy, my friends! - DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsLarry GatesJoseph BernardJack AlbertsonA suburban dinner party is interrupted by a bulletin warning of an impending nuclear attack. As the neighbors scramble to prepare themselves, they turn against the one family that installed a permanent bomb shelter.Much like "The Monsters are due on Maple Street", this is a great example of how people are and how they react when things get bad. Well written and performed great, it's an eye opener. I had a neighbor years ago that reminds me of one of the main character's neighbor as he was described on what he would do to stay alive - "He would claw you to pieces just for the privilege" (lol).
A story about a doctor, who was well loved and respected by his neighbors at a surprise birthday party in his honor. They tease him about his bomb shelter - the noise in the middle of the night, the constant truck traffic, and such for something he may never use. Then news spreads about a possible bomb headed near them and the neighbors slowly realize their salvation may lie in his bomb shelter. The things they do to rationalize each neighbor's right for survival ends up being almost as bad as the bomb itself. - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsRod SerlingNehemiah PersoffDeirdre OwensIt's 1942, and a man finds himself on a ship in the Atlantic, not knowing who he is, nor how he got there. He does know the ship will soon be attacked by a German U-boat.If you like those mysteries involving reoccurring nightmares, then this one is for you. It involves a German submarine commander, who inexplicably finds himself on this doomed British vessel who's been separated from their convoy due to a thick fog. He doesn't remember getting on the ship or much of anything else, but then he slowly remembers clues about his origin and why he's on that vessel.
Many wouldn't rate this episode as high as this, but I like how this episode plays out. A couple uncomfortable scenes (one where Lanser yells at the Steward) but overall this one leaves you feeling somber thru most of it which is in line for how it's supposed to play out. An appearance by Patrick Macnee also never hurts. - DirectorJames SheldonStarsJohn LarchCloris LeachmanDon KeeferOn an isolated family farm, a young boy with vast mental powers, but lacking emotional development, holds his terrified family in thrall to his every juvenile wish.Another classic. Most people would probably put this in their top ten, but to me there's so many other good episodes it does make it hard for me to have this one a little way's down. They made a sequel to this on one of the 80's TZ episodes called "It's still a good life" which I thought was a good follow up.
This original one is about a little boy named Anthony Freemont. At an early age he realizes he can make things come true, just by using his mind. He isolates the city he lives in and the people that are left are pitted against him for the right to survival. - DirectorJack SmightStarsRod SerlingJack WardenJohn DehnerA convict, living alone on an asteroid, receives from the police a realistic woman-robot.A good episode featuring the late Jack Warden. He plays a prisoner on what I assume is a futuristic world where the incarcerated are isolated by themselves on asteroids where every three months a supply ship comes by for restocking purposes.
It explains on how lonely he is, what he does to keep occupied, and how he looks forward to those supply ships that give him a brief injection of companionship. The head of a certain supply ship takes pity on him and smuggles to him a female robot to keep him company. At first he resists, but her humanlike appearance slowly wins him over and he is happy...until he has to go back home. - DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsDennis HopperLudwig DonathPaul MazurskyA tiny neo-Nazi organization struggles pathetically to succeed in a big city. A mysterious figure begins to ruthlessly guide a young, insecure U.S. Nazi leader, and the group begins to draw more attention.Rod Serling really gets in his work in stories about Nazi Germany, and this one is no exception. Done very well on all levels and stars Dennis Hopper as Peter Vulmer, a guy who hungers for respect but rarely gets any, except when he meets a stranger, a gift from the sewers.
This has got some good funny moments, especially when he interacts with Ernest Ganz, a jewish guy who he met when he was a boy and pretty much acted like a father to him growing up. This one is a great re-watch just to see them two.
This one is a good to see how people can be manipulated, which is unfortunate.
This episode is the #5 closing narrative on my list. Just a shade better than the one from "The Obsolete Man". Both convey the same important message. - DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonStarsJoe MarossClaude AkinsMichael FordOn a desolate planet, two astronauts discover an entire society populated by incredibly small beings. One of the astronauts decides to rule the society as a god.Two astronauts land on an asteroid to make repairs where one finds a race of little people that he makes contact with. Superbly acted story that has many laughs with a cool ending.
The best part is where the pilot gets on the co-pilot's case of his constant and irrational irritating behavior. The exchange they had is a classic. - DirectorRobert ButlerStarsJackie CooperMorgan BrittanySarah SelbyWhen Irish ventriloquist Jonathan West cannot find any work, his dummy Caesar suggests that he turn to burglary.Another episode where they use that same dummy as before on...well, "The Dummy" lol. This time instead of being eerie, he has a rapport with a Mr. Johnathon West whom he lures to America from Ireland for a promise of a better life.
But the dummy (Caesar) gets tired of his failures and tells Johnathon that he's calling the shots where he begins to lead a life of crime. Pay special attention to the landlord's niece Susan, who belittles Johnathon and gets in a few good funny rips on him :) - DirectorJohn RichStarsFred ClarkJean CarsonAdam WilliamsWhen three unintelligent crooks get ahold of a camera that takes pictures of the future, they set out to make a quick fortune with their new toy.This one is another episode which portrays the stuff that many good episodes have: Little Black Magic, Comedy, and it gets to the point quickly so there can be some time devoted the main object in point - which in this case was the camera. This camera once the picture is taken, it develops a quick picture of something that is going to happen like 10 seconds in the future. Kind of like getting a Polaroid...ahead of it's time, I'll tell you the truth.
One thing thought I'm not sure I have more awe for is either the camera taking pictures of something that is going to happen in the very near future, or that their first couple pictures taken (to find out this fact) was at the exact time where something in the near future was going to happen (ha). I mean, what were the odds of them taking pictures at some other random spot at the same time? They weren't like partially off or anything, I mean dead-on center! lol - DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsJohn McIntirePatricia BarryGeorge GrizzardA young man obsessed with winning over an uninterested beauty gets more than he bargained for when he buys a love potion to gain her affection.One of those episodes that brings up the old adage "Be careful what you wish for...you just may get it". The main character Roger is in love with this girl named Leila. She has less than a passing interest in him and he tries desperately to be near her but to no avail.
He bumps into a stranger that gives him a card which leads him to a guy names Professor Daemon who sells all kinds of things like powders, ointments, insurance (lol), potions and such. He tries to sell him power, fame, wealth - but all Roger wants is Leila. Daemon shakes his head and tells him he's disappointed in him. He offers him just about anything in the world and all he wants is some chick.
Reluctantly, he sells him a love potion, 100% guaranteed to work for only a $1. Roger jumps on it, saying he doesn't believe it but he'll try anything. Well, let me say it kinda backfires and to fix it, costs $1000! Too hilarious, and nicely set up. I won't mess up the ending, but this one is solid. - DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsJohn CarradineH.M. WynantRobin HughesSeeking refuge from a storm, a traveler comes upon a bizarre abbey of monks, who have imprisoned a man who begs for his help. When he confronts the head monk, he is told that the man is the Devil, and he must decide whom to believe.The Howling Man is a good solid episode that fits in well when watched around Halloween time. It just has this flaw in it that just bugs the heck out of me I suppose. At the beginning of the episode he's explains his story to what I suppose is the housekeeper. Then the story plays out. It takes him hard work and many years but he finally makes up for a bad thing he did years prior.
He tells the housekeeper he has some arrangements to do, and that he will be back in just a few minutes. As soon as he leaves she hears a howl, goes over to the door where it is being held, and tentatively opens it. So within seconds she wrecks what the poor guy did that took him years to do!
And what was the reason why she had to be there in the first place? If he was going to be gone for just a few minutes, what was the need of telling the housekeeper the story and have her there while he was gone? Was he boiling some water and didn't want to leave it unattended? That is a hard pill to swallow for me, but otherwise like I said a solid episode.
I like how the camera angles were done in some shots, and John Carradine did a fantastic job in this episode. His acting of a vampire was less than desirable in other movies I saw him in, but this one (and his role in the motion picture ironically titled The Howling) were his better ones. He had a cameo in a Night Gallery episode as well that was even better than his vampire roles lol. - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsDennis WeaverHarry TownesWright KingAdam Grant is trapped in a recurring nightmare, in which he is sentenced to death by execution. He tries to convince the people around him that they are imaginary and that they will cease to exist if the execution is carried out.A good solid episode here. Re-watchable and holds up to the test of time.
This is a story about a man named Adam Grant. He is trapped in a recurring nightmare, in which he is sentenced to death by the electric chair. He tries to convince the people around him that they are a part of his dream and are not real, and their lives will cease to exist if the execution is carried out.
Basically he's having the same dream night after night, where he suddenly finds himself in a courtroom and the always guilty verdict is carried out. He eventually gets electrocuted and wakes up screaming in pain...and he's tired of it. He believes that if he were to get a stay of execution he could delay the inevitable outcome, enjoy the rest of his sleep, and break this endless loop. But no matter what he does, says, or tries, it always ends with the same terrible fate.
Of course everyone thinks he's nuts, but the News Editor of the local paper thinks maybe he is onto something and pleads with the District Attorney to get a retrial or plead insanity to spare his life in case he is right or if he is just a bit mental upstairs (They don't fry people with loose cogs as one man says). With just minutes to spare, the DA is convinced and tries to get a stay of execution.
Does he break this loop this time you might ask? Let me say it comes down to the last second :) Good closing narrative. - DirectorAnton LeaderStarsKevin McCarthyEdgar StehliEstelle WinwoodA father forbids a history professor from marrying his daughter when he discovers that the captivating lecturer is actually an immortal who has lived for thousands of years.Starring Kevin McCarthy (who played in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie, The Howling, and many others). It's a tale of a teacher who was so good at explaining the past, it was almost like he had lived it...
Kevin McCarthy plays Professor Walter Jameson, a history teacher. Another teacher, a Professor Sam Kittridge (who's daughter Susanna is engaged to Walter) sits in on a lecture while Walter talks about a man in the civil war named Major Hugh Skelton. He begins to get curious about this guy, as he thinks Walter knows a little too much about him.
He later gets him to confess that Hugh Skelton and Walter Jameson are the same person and that he has been walking the earth for over 2000 years now. Sam says he cannot marry his daughter, Walter says it's too late as he is already madly in lover with her.
I won't spoil the ending but this is a rather good story played by some good actors. A short but rather sweet closing narrative. - DirectorBuzz KulikStarsJack KlugmanJonathan WintersDee SharonA frustrated pool champion has beaten everyone. Everyone except one man - the legendary Fats Brown. Brown is dead and the champ can only curse his name. But guess who just walked in.A good episode starring two pool players. One is the current pool champ, the other is a ghost of a past pool champion (the best still most still consider). The current one (Jesse Cardiff) who is annoyed by the constant stories of the past champion (Fats Brown) and thinks he would have beaten the "unbeatable" past champion and calls him out one lonely night at a pool hall by himself and Fats answers the challenge!
During the episode there is a lot of very interesting dialog about pool, sports, and life and I think people should watch it, if for anything, just to listen to them talk and watch this classic struggle between the young and energetic vs the older but more experienced challenger.
The Twilight Zone in the 80s re-did this episode, but I didn't like who played Jesse's part. I did like the ending, so it was a give-and-take type of result, but worth watching. - DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsRod SerlingJanice RuleShepperd StrudwickA schoolteacher keeps seeing a strange little girl in her apartment building.This episode has always intrigued me. The creepiness factor is above average in this one. Every one of the characters have something unsettling, from Peter's demeanor and sly smile, to Markie's excellent "matter-of-fact" dialog, even to Helen Foley's eyelashes lol...just, I don't know...creepy! Great performances all around.
The story in a nutshell is about Helen Foley, a schoolteacher who one day meets a little girl sitting on the steps just outside her apartment door nicknamed Markie (as she wouldn't tell Helen her real name). As the conversation goes on, Helen notices that this girl knows way more about her than she should know. She for-warns her of some impending trouble, and - as Mr. Serling said it best - Takes her by the hand and leads her into a nightmare. Is it to trap her? Or does it lead to her salvation? Watch, and you shall see my friends :)
There's some really good scenes in this one. From the flashback she had of the night where her mom was murdered, to the numerous "duhm-duhm-duhhhm" moments Markie provided, to the scene were you see Markie the last...where Helen tells her something and if you notice, Markie is mouthing those same words Helen was saying, as she was saying it! Not sure if they put that in there purposely or what, but once I noticed that, it creeps me out every-time I tell yah!
And right after that scene where she stands up and Markie is gone and in her place Peter stands (where the piano music bursts out right at her realization he is there) makes me jump a little to this day. Real good not so popular episode. - DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsGladys CooperRobert RedfordR.G. ArmstrongAn old woman has fought with death a thousand times and has always won. But now she finds herself afraid to let a wounded policeman in her door for fear he is Mr. Death. Is he?Ah yes, here is another classic episode. A young Robert Redford is in it, as well as the seasoned veteran Gladys Cooper. Also in it is R.G. Armstrong, known for various roles including the one I am going to mention - a small part in the TV Movie "Devil Dog The Hound of Hell". This is another good one where there are very few characters in it.
An elderly lady named Wanda has a knack of knowing how to see Mr. Death as she is getting older and her time was coming, so she avoids him as best she can, as she does not want to die and Death is looking for her, stalking her, trying to take her...but not if she can help it. One particular day a policeman gets shot right outside her apartment, and she very reluctantly lets him in. She helps Harold (the officer) and later she tells him about Mr. Death.
Meanwhile the contractor for the building she is living in comes by and demands she leaves the area, as the building is coming down soon. She fears that he may be Death and won't do it, but he explains all he is there to do is a job, he doesn't get kicks out of what he is doing.
I'll leave the rest up to you when you watch it, but this is a good episode with a twist ending you may not see at first. - DirectorRalph NelsonStarsKeenan WynnPhyllis KirkMary LaRocheA writer demonstrates he can control reality simply by dictating changes.This one I am a bit biased towards, as I still love using the plain old tape recorder myself LOL. It's one of those where I would love to have the power that the main character has. Mr. Gregory West has the power to control reality simply by dictating changes. I like this type of story. Stephen King did a version of this in his story "The word processor of the Gods" and I believe an episode of the 80's Twilight Zone had something similar, when someone found the book of her life and when she changed a line she changed parts of her life.
This episode has a little bit of everything - humor, well written, that Elephant scene, story centered on just a few actors...even Rod Serling makes an appearance near the end that is classic. The dialog between Mr. and Mrs. West has some priceless lines, and Mary LaRoche as, well, Mary LaRoche (lol) is no slouch either, as she also appeared in the episode Living Doll. - DirectorTed PostStarsHoward DuffDavid WhiteFrank MaxwellA businessman sitting in his office inexplicably finds that he is on a production set and in a world where he is a movie star. Uninterested in the newfound fame, he fights to get back to his home and family.A business man, who is happy and content in his life, is sitting in his office and inexplicably finds that he is on a movie set and in a world where he is really an unhappy, drunk movie star that is holding onto his job by a thread.
He insists he's Arthur Curtis, a happily married businessman with a daughter named Tina. They think he's nuts, and his agent Brinkley tells him that the only information about this Arthur Curtis is in the pages of a script. He explains that he is really Gerry Raigan, a nice but unhappy man going thru divorce and is losing his job.
Brinkley goes on tell him that he too wishes he can escape from this turmoil. To go to a simpler place. And that for his sake that he wishes it was true he was Arthur Curtis. But when he finds out that they are tearing down the set, he fights to get back to his home and family in that other world.
Good story, as I myself have at times believed I'm really a happily married guy with a great job and family instead of this reality of a semi-happy near-do-well being disgusted with his choices in life ;) - DirectorBoris SagalStarsHarold J. StoneFredd WayneNoah KeenFederal aviation investigator Grant Sheckly must deal with a mystery when a plane lands at an airport without pilots, passengers or luggage.Federal Aviation Investigator Grant Sheckly must deal with a mystery when a plane lands at an airport without pilot, passengers, or luggage. Another example of a good episode where you slowly pick up clues along the way and you try to figure out the plot before it's revealed.
Good cast with a good story, it goes to show you how some failures, no matter how long ago happened, can cling onto your psyche unless you can get some closure. Might be hard to understand for some, but people who have had to go thru that sure get the point of this story.
The ending may need you to allow for some stretching of the imagination to gain plausibility, but the overall message and closing narration does much to help in getting the point across. - DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsErnest TruexRussell CollinsJohn MarleyAn old man living in a rest home thinks he's found the secret of youth in children's games.This is one of those stories that may be best described as being so good, it's hard to watch. That's why many might think I'm nuts ranking this classic way down here, but I tell you it is such a good story it may hit kinda hard, get you thinking of how short life is.
Charles Whitley (Ernest Truex) is an old man living in a rest home with his friend Ben Conroy (Russell Collins). Charles believes that he has found the secret of youth in children's games. Ben doesn't buy that for a second and tries to soothe his buddy by saying it's ok to get old, as it happens and that's life.
Charles later persuades the other members there to play a quick game of kick the can as it may bring back a glint of their youth. He tries to persuade Ben but he won't budge. When they begin to play Ben tells the superintendent that Charles coaxed all the tenants to play this game in the middle of the night and someone could get hurt.
I won't spoil the ending but let me tell you, it's cool. I also like the version they did in Twilight Zone: The Movie. - DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRod SerlingDavid WayneThomas GomezA hypochondriac man sells his soul to the devil, exchanging it for several thousand years of immortality.To be immortal like Walter Bedeker lol.
David "Bruce" Wayne plays a hypochondriac named Walter Bedeker. His constant complaining attracts the likes of old Satan himself (played brilliantly by Thomas Gomez) who doesn't always go by the Satan name. Instead, currently, he is known as Cadwallader (you gotta love it). He has all the charm of a well tipped butler and he offers Walter a chance at mortality for the "small" price of his soul.
Walter is funny when he's scared of dying, but he is even more so after he achieves immortality (ha!). Some people in real life like to take things to the extremes, and this dude is a perfect example of this. The things that he could have done with this power. Instead, he fritters it away. He never even spent any of the money he received. I would have kicked that nagging wife of his who he didn't even like anyways to the curb and had at least one good party with a couple strippers and some hard drugs...he's perfectly immune.
Ah, to have had the opportunity to make that trade myself. I have been offering my soul to the devil for years and he's never taken it. Either my soul sucks...or maybe there's no devil ;) But anyways, this is a good episode and the twist at the end is cool. - DirectorJacques TourneurStarsGladys CooperNora MarloweMartine BartlettTelephone calls begin to haunt a disabled elderly woman.This episode can get real creepy at times. And Mr. Serling's introduction on this one is very good. It has a good plot and Gladys Cooper dose a real fine job, but in between the good parts the story at times it seems to just plod around, and not very exciting. But I'm glad this wasn't one of those one hour episodes, as this would have meant a lot of filler.
One night an elderly woman begins to receive disturbing phone calls in the middle of the night. At first they come thru as static, but then they become more clear and the best part of this episode is the dialog between her and who is on the other end. She finds out where they are coming from and the "duhm-duhm-duhhhm" moment is when she realizes who is calling and harassing her.
The end is good but it's almost as disturbing as when Mr. Bevis breaks his glasses on Time Enough at Last. Such a pity. But that is to be expected at times - especially, on the Twilight Zone! - DirectorPaul StewartStarsSarah MarshallRobert SampsonCharles AidmanAwakened in the middle of the night by the cries of his daughter, a father enters the girl's room to find that she has vanished - even though he can still hear her crying out for help.Another good creepy episode. One where you can't look me in the eye and say the 1982 classic Poltergeist did not copy some of the premise from lol. A couple's little girl inexplicably enters into another dimension, and they have a hard time trying to identify what has happened to her. The ending on this one is exciting, and the musical score was done well.
A couple of things bother me in this otherwise good episode. How the daughter not only fell off the bed, but rolled under it, then rolled towards the wall to where the other dimension lies? When I was little I fell out of the bed a couple times. My brother did too. My nephews and niece likewise. None of us ever rolled under bed and rolled towards the wall. It would have been better had they were playing hide and seek or something.
This couple also happened to know a physicist who was available on a short notice. Also, the lines he drew on the wall...some overlapped other lines, and it wouldn't be possible to have it looked like it ended up when he was done. But again, otherwise a good episode. But like most Twilight Zone or any TV episode, there might be some things you have to sweep under the rug per say.
Did the little girl get saved you ask? Well, watch and you shall see :) - DirectorRobert FloreyStarsRichard ConteJohn LarchSuzanne LloydA fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.They should have called this episode Perchance to Nightmare because this was more of a nightmare for the main character. The scenes were he was in his nightmare are cool, they bend and twist out of shape. The cheap screams give it more of the horror edge. The seductiveness of Maya involves beauty and passion, things that shouldn't be overlooked in a good horror episode.
Edward Hall visits a psychiatrist - Dr Rathmann, who was recommended by his doctor. Mr Hall tells the doctor he's very tired - since he's purposefully not slept for almost a week. Edward thinks if he sleeps, he'll die. He's been dreaming in "chapters", with 2 characters; himself, and a woman named Maya, the Cat Woman, and he believes she will kill him in his next nightmare.
A good solid episode involving just few characters - nice touch. This one goes back and forth on the over/under of being in top 50 lol. Does he escape the nightmare? Watch and you shall see... - 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.Millicent Barnes, age 25. You woman waiting for a bus on a rainy November night. Not a very imaginative type is Miss Barnes. Like most young career woman she has a generic classification of quote "girl with a head on her shoulders" end of quote. All of which is mentioned now because the head on Miss Barnes shoulders will be put to a test. Circumstances will assault her sense of reality and a chain of nightmares will make her wonder if she's going mad.
There are some eerie scenes in this one, but you can't help feeling that this episode could have potentially been so much better with all this good material, but it does stand up to the test of time.
There are a couple loopholes that could have been easily caught in the real world (like the one where she looked up and saw her doppelganger sitting in one of the seats). I mean, right there a simple "Hey Everyone, who is this woman that looks and dresses exactly like me doing up there"?!
But instead, she screams and runs back into the bus depot which easily allows the evil twin to take over her world. If you can get past a couple things like that, then it's a real good episode. - DirectorDon MedfordStarsPeter FalkWill KuluvaAntony CarboneA Central American revolutionary comes into the possession of a mirror that shows him his potential assassins.Peter Faulk is Ramos Clemente...once a beardless, nameless, worker of the dirt who plodded behind a mule furrowing someone else's land. He looked up at a hot central American sun and he pledged the impossible.
He made a vow that he would lead an avenging army against the tyranny that put the ache in his back and the anguish in his eyes. Well, the dream of the impossible has turned into reality.
He soon finds out about a mirror owned by the former dictator, a General De Cruz. The general explains that an old woman left this to him when he first got into office. She claimed that if you looked in the mirror, you can see who your assassins are.
Clemente is intrigued by this. A little later he starts to see images of his friends trying to assassinate him. Everyone is a suspect. Eventually he loses all trust in everybody. The taste of victory is not as sweet as anticipated.
Good episode, and with Peter Faulk (who both my parents loved as Columbo and the taxi man on It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World) you can do no wrong :) - DirectorBuzz KulikStarsBrian AhernePippa ScottSydney PollackA nostalgic actor revisits his late wife and friends at their old haunt, only to find that he is now out of place there.There are some parallels with this episode that sorta correlates to certain aspects of my own experiences that make this a hard watch at times, but a very solid watch that most would agree.
Booth Templeton, a seasoned actor, is unhappy in his current life. His present wife who is much younger doesn't even hide the fact anymore that she is out hanging around other guys her own age instead of him. And to make matters worse is that Booth doesn't even love her either.
He yearns for the days of yesteryear, when he was married to his first wife Laura, both at the time in their youthful twenties. She died young, and his heart never fully healed. He continued his career, but he could never be as happy as he was with Laura.
One day he inexplicitly finds that he has stumbled back in time to when Laura was alive. He decides to revisit his old haunt to meet up with her and a friend of his Barney, who for many years have been only a memory to him. I won't go into detail of what transpired in that meeting, but let me say there were some brilliant moments in the dialog, as well as the interaction between them, especially once you realize why what happened, happened.
There's a scene where Booth is desperately trying to get Laura's attention, but all she wants to do is shake her money maker and dance. And when she does, I tell you I wish I could hit that foxtrot likes she did, she was tearing it up! Barney in the background, rooting her on. Too funny and done really well.
What they ended up doing to Booth looked kinda mean at first, but like I mentioned above, later you see why they did it that way. Yet another good story that is done so well it may be tough to watch if this hits home with you on any level. - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsBurgess MeredithJames WesterfieldEddie RyderA timid vacuum-cleaner salesman is given the strength of 300 men by some experimenting aliens.I think Burgess Meredith was underrated in this one. Another episode with a great cast (including Don Rickles) and some rather hilarious moments. How they ripped on his character near the end when the two species of aliens met was classic!
Basically Burgess plays a character named Luther Dingle, pretty much what we call today a "loser" (lol). These Martians, as an experiment, makes him 300 times stronger than normal human beings. The results crack me up.
They end up taking the powers away, but then some Venetians (From Venus) come in, asking the Martians if they know any sub-mental human species to use as an experiment. They go "That one over there, named Dingle. He's definitely sub-physical, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he's sub-mental too"....haaaaa! - DirectorAllen H. MinerStarsGeoffrey HorneNico MinardosCliff OsmondA man from the stars comes with a gift to a small Mexican village whose residents do not welcome this stranger.This one has grown on me over the years. The characters play their roles very well in this classic tale in that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth.
A nice alien lands in a Mexican village where they all speak English with a heavy accent. People are automatically scared of him, except a young boy named Pedro. He is a rootless little boy who's just not in poverty, but he IS poverty.
He takes in this visitor from beyond the stars and quickly becomes friends...before the owner of the bar where he was staying "Judas's" him by ratting him out to the police, where an "epic" ;) manhunt begins. This one has a good lesson to learn, even if you don't like the religious-like ending. - DirectorJohn BrahmStarsEdward AndrewsHelen WestcottKevin HagenAfter being involved with a hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of a child, Oliver Pope is haunted by his car.Edward Andrews, who plays the protagonist Oliver Pope in this episode, is a perfect fit for this villain-ish role...as he had done in another Twilight Zone episode Third From The Sun. Episode keeps you interested throughout. And I couldn't resist ranking it right at "55"...to be reminded of that Sammy Hagar song I Can't Drive 55 lol. Kevin Hagan, who played Pete Radcliff, and like Edward played in more than one Twilight Zone episode...you gotta give him props on his performance in this episode. The interaction between them is great. Helen Westcott plays a great wife and her presence is not to be ignored either.
For Oliver, how incredibly lucky he got away from scene before anyone got a real good look at him or the license number, the car haunting him but he prevails thru, the temporary satisfaction of him getting rid of his enemy plus getting off scott-free for a murder. Then at the end when he is forced to eat crow (and more than that later most likely) and confess to the murder - that made a heck of a story.
Want to particularly mention probably the best parts of the episode is where the car gets a mind and conscious of its own and tries to get Oliver to break down and confess up to it. The confrontations between them is spooky and a little funny at times. His wife gets caught up in this too, not knowing the reasons why things are happening they way they are. She is really spooked of the thing. Complains someone must be in the garage. Also, Oliver slowly realizes that he knows the car knows about the murder and wants him to give himself up, so he is more frustrated than being scared.
And near the end, that scene where the car runs right up to Oliver's head and the cry he let out...still cracks me up to this day! Found out later that scene was shot backwards. A cool little tid-bit for you :) - DirectorJames SheldonStarsDick YorkJune DaytonDan TobinGaining telepathic abilities when his coin lands on its edge, bank clerk Hector B. Poole learns about the difference between other people's plans and fantasies.Dick York (Bewitched) plays the role of Hector B. Poole, a bank clerk. One day on his way to work when buying a newspaper he tosses a coin for payment to the newsboy. It lands on it's edge. The newsboy looks at it in astonishment and tell Hector that what he just did won't happen again in a million years.
He then begins to feel funny and over some trial and error he slowly starts to realize that he is now the accidental possessor of telepathic abilities. He can read people's thoughts. He learns about the ugliness people hide inside.
There is a good line in this episode that I think is very true. He says "You know, some people do things without even thinking about it. And some people think things without the slightest intention on ever doing them".
I also like the character Mr. Smithers and his view on life, as it is parallel to my thinking :) - DirectorDavid ButlerStarsJack WestonJohn McGiverDoro MerandeJulius Moomer, a talentless, but relentless, self-promoting hack who dreams of becoming a successful television writer, uses a book of magic to summon William Shakespeare to write dramatic teleplays that Moomer will pass off as his own. Shakespeare becomes irritated by Moomer's lack of appreciation and is even more appalled when he discovers the changes wrought on his plays by cynical television executives.Not only this one is an acquired taste, but to me it's the little things this show does that is so cool. For example, I'm also a fan of the Rocky movies. In the beginning the main character is a wanna-be writer. He explains a plot to his agent that is almost identical to Rocky.
A couple of other plots are eerily similar to other movies I've watched. Also, Burt Reynolds plays a character called "Rocky Rhodes", who gets socked by another character. And many people don't know this, but it was Burt Reynolds that the movie execs wanted to originally play Rocky.
Glad Sylvester Stallone held out for that role himself, but the coincidences can't be ignored ;)
This is a story of Julius Moomer, who was a street car conductor who lost his job and is trying to make a living at writing. He is as good at writing as I am with turbine engines! Trying at a one last ditch attempt, his manager gives him first dib's at this TV series idea about Witchcraft. He tries to do some research by getting a book about the subject. He stumbles upon a book that allows him to conjure up anybody he wants and when he mentions William Shakespeare, well, that's where the hilarity really begins!
This one has some very funny moments as well as Rod Serling's twist on how sponsors can try and change a story and it ends up totally different that what the writer intended. So true, then and now. - 1959–196451mTV-146.1 (1.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorAbner BibermanStarsPat HingleNan MartinRuth WhiteToymaker Horace Ford is increasingly preoccupied with memories of his childhood, endangering his job and marriage - but a visit to his old neighborhood brings a haunting encounter, suggesting the time was not as idyllic as he remembers.This one I didn't like at first. I was put off by the Horace Ford character - he acted goofy for an adult. But when I realized that this episode was supposed to be about a guy who loved his childhood days so much, he started acting and talking like a kid. Now I cherish his crazy moments (lol). This one also hits home with me, but I can see why some people may not like this one. But you should give it time and approach his character with a tongue-in-cheek open mind.
Horace Ford is a guy who loves his childhood time, but he forgets to look in a mirror every now and then to remind himself those days are long gone. He gets trapped in this reoccurring set of events that eventually brings out the truth he's hidden to himself about those days of yesteryear.
Will he be able to break this pattern and begin to live his age? We shall see my friends...we shall see.
P.S. The radio version of this episode is a must listen :) - DirectorWalter GraumanStarsRobert DuvallPert KeltonBarbara BarrieMousey misfit Charley Parkes finds the world unfolding before him in a museum doll house to be more real than his boring job and overbearing mother.Robert Duvall looks so young when he did this episode. Great accomplished actor that was in movies like The God Father, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Road to name just a few. He did a real good job in this hour long episode. He plays a character named Charlie Parkes. A bit of a momma's boy, which he did perfectly. Oh, the range that guy has on what type of person he can play. Gotta love it.
And don't forget Pert Kelton, who played the original Alice in The Honeymooners (by the way, just to be clear, I enjoyed Aubrey Meadows portrayal of Alice much better, lol), had the role of Charlie's mother in this one...and you couldn't have picked a better person :) CBS kicked her off the show in the early 50's (most say blacklisted) and then some time later has her in this 1963 episode. Audrey may have been a better Alice, but nobody would have done a better job as Charlie's mother than Pert. Funny how life can work out.
Myra, his sister, tries to hook him up with this girl who's (ahem) looks like the type that has been around...the hilarity that ensues is great! Myra's husband Buddy cracks me up. William Windom played his role as psychiatrist great. Just some great casting overall.
This is one of those few episodes that makes good use of it's hour long existence, the ending I liked too, and again some great scenes...but alas, I wouldn't consider it a classic. I can't pinpoint anything in particular as to why. Very solid perhaps. It's in my top 60 of 156 so it can't be all that bad, just not all that good either. But still, watchable and re-watchable. - DirectorAlan Crosland Jr.StarsSteve ForrestJacqueline ScottFrank AletterAstronaut Robert Gaines returns from space to a world that is not exactly the one he left from.A real good sci-fi episode. When I was younger I was big into those Choose Your Own Adventure Books. In the CYOA series #21 Hyperspace by Edward Packard, touches upon this type of subject matter and it has always intrigued me so it holds some special memories.
Many of the hour long episodes could be done better in a half hour format, but this one makes good use of the hour. I like many aspects of this episode, with a good story and it slowly builds up the intrigue. Casting was pretty good and I think this one goes under the radar for many, but this one I believe is a diamond in the rough.
The one thing that gets me is towards the end, when he is one second on the ground next to his vehicle and the next he is in his suit while flying like he's never missed a beat. How they found him wasn't so bad, it was buy-able. But the getting back was a bit of a head scratcher.
I would just like to know if his doppelganger made it back home? The world may never know... - 1959–196425mTV-PG7.5 (1.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorDon SiegelStarsDon GordonGail KobeVaughn TaylorSalvadore Ross has a unique talent where he can trade physical characteristics with other people and will do anything to get the love of Leah Maitland.Man, I wish I had the power like Salvadore Ross has in this good episode of the Twilight Zone. You don't get a reason how all of a sudden he got this power (I am sure it has something to do with not never getting what he wants) but in the hospital for breaking his hand he is in the same room with an old guy with a bad cold.
Salvadore cannot believe this old man is griping over a head cold. He says for him it can turn into pneumonia, but if he was Salvadore's age he could be good inside three days. Salvadore says if you think a busted hand is better, then let's swap - my bad hand for your cold. The old man laughs and jokingly says it's a deal.
Sometime later Salvadore realizes his hand is all better now, and that he has a cold. The old man is now cough free, but his hand is broke! He begs Salvadore to switch back, as the hand will never heal at his age. Salvadore says no refunds and gets ready to leave the hospital.
He later starts trading with others to improve his economic situation, his living quarters, the way he talks, and to impress Leah, a girl who he has been trying to lure for some time. He now has just about everything, but still cannot tempt Leah. She says he lacks compassion.
He gets desperate and attempts to trade money for compassion to Leah's dad (who has always been against Salvadore). But this last trade has it's drawbacks to Salvadore, who ends up with Leah once he obtains compassion. It's a trade that gets him in the end, something you will have to watch to see. - DirectorJack SmightStarsArt CarneyJohn FiedlerRobert P. LiebAfter a derelict Santa Claus is fired on Christmas Eve, he finds a mysterious bag that gives out presents. With this bag he sets out to fulfill his one wish - to see the less fortunate inherit the bounties of Christmas.The great Art Carney, a favorite of mine during The Honeymooners era, plays Henry Korwin, a derelict Santa Claus who ends up having a little more of "Grandpa's Cough Medicine" (lol) than he can handle and arrives late from his break all drunk. He works on one customer and is so bad he ends up getting fired on the spot.
This is a great Holiday episode for the Xmas season. Though he is a bit of a drunk, he's a loveable drunk that few like Art Carney can pull off. He pulls off a "Linus-like" (from Peanuts) explanation on what Christmas really means and ends up having a reversal of fortune by inexplicably getting handed a magical bag that hands out whatever the receiving person want and in turn hands out gifts to the less fortunate in that town he lived in, and at midnight he gets asked what he wants, and he replies he would like to do this every year...then he gets handed the reins of being Santa Claus.
You gotta just love this episode. A good job was done with the cast of characters and the story just simply holds up over time. I watch this episode multiple times over the Holiday season. - DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMartin LandauJohn van DreelenBob KelljanA defector is trapped in a hotel room and given three hours to find a hidden bomb.
- DirectorDavid GreeneStarsBarry MorseJoan HackettDon DurantSadistic and hated theater critic Fitzgerald Fortune buys a player piano that has the power to reveal the souls of all who hear it.
- DirectorDavid Orrick McDearmonStarsRussell JohnsonPaul HartmanBartlett RobinsonAt a prominent club in Washington, D.C., a socialite argues about whether it would be possible to change history by traveling back in time. When he leaves the club he finds himself in 1865, on the night that President Lincoln will be shot.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsJoseph SchildkrautOscar Beregi Jr.Karen VerneA former German SS captain returns to Dachau concentration camp and begins reminiscing on the power he enjoyed there, until he finds himself on trial by those who died at his hands.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRoddy McDowallSusan OliverPaul ComiFearing the worst, the lone survivor of a crash-landing on Mars finds the native inhabitants, to his relief, very hospitable indeed, but there's a catch.
- DirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsWarren StevensRichard DevonJoan MarshallA homeless man takes the shoes off a dead gangster and steps into his life.
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsSteve CochranErnest TruexRead MorganA small time crook plans to exploit an old street peddler who has the uncanny knack of selling people exactly what they will shortly need.
- DirectorDavid Orrick McDearmonStarsAlbert SalmiRussell JohnsonThan WyennWhen a 20th-century scientist tests out his time machine he accidentally retrieves a murderer from 1880, saving him from the hangman's noose. Unaware of the man's history, the scientist attempts to acclimatize him to his new surroundings.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsRichard LongFrank SilveraShirley BallardPaying homage to It's a Wonderful Life (1946), David Gurney wakes up to another ordinary day. Except today, nobody knows who he is including his own wife Wilma.
- 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.
- DirectorHarold D. SchusterStarsArthur HunnicuttJeanette NolanRobert FoulkUpon returning from a coon hunt, Hyder Simpson discovers that no one can see or hear him because he has passed on.
- DirectorAlan Crosland Jr.StarsJames CoburnJohn AndersonJosie LloydIn a post-apocalyptic settlement in 1974, the inhabitants' survival is dependent on the advice of an unseen man living in a nearby cave. This dependence is tested when a band of soldiers descends on their town.
- 1959–196451mTV-147.2 (1.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid Lowell RichStarsAlbert SalmiJohn AndersonWright KingAging tycoon William Feathersmith is bored with life and makes arrangements through a devilish travel agency to return to the Cliffordville of his youth and start all over again.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.1 (3.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorBuzz KulikStarsCliff RobertsonJohn CrawfordEvans EvansA settler from a wagon train in 1847 sets off to find something to help his ill son and stumbles into 1961 New Mexico.
- DirectorTed PostStarsPeter Mark RichmanHazel CourtRod SerlingCharlotte Scott and state trooper Robert Franklin seem to be stalked by giants.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsInger StevensJohn HoytIrene TedrowThe daughter of an inventor objects to their "perfect" home where they are waited on by mechanical servants.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsDean JaggerCarmen MathewsRobert EmhardtAn old radio is taking bitter bachelor Ed Lindsay back to a happier time before what he considers worthless tripe on television when he starts picking up radio programs from the 1930's and 1940's.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsPhyllis ThaxterAlex NicolWallace RooneyNewlywed Alex Walker finds himself being pulled back to his childhood and back to his widowed mother in the house where he grew up.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsJoseph WisemanKatherine SquireTrevor BardetteMillionaire Paul Radin tries to convince three people who wronged him in the past to apologize to him by offering them shelter from a staged and phony nuclear war scenario.
- 1959–196451mTV-148.1 (2.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorBuzz KulikStarsJames WhitmoreTim O'ConnorJames BroderickThe first human space colony is about to be rescued from the forsaken planet they've been on for three decades. But their leader's having a hard time accepting that change will happen when they get back to Earth.A bit of an underrated episode about a futuristic colony (well, futuristic when this was made in 1963 but old for the current society watching it) that decides to leave the earth to make a better society by making roots on an asteroid millions of miles away.
For a group of futuristic 1990's colony that was obviously good at making a spaceship and travelling millions of miles and landing, they are absolutely horrible at any pre-planning skills (ha). Didn't anyone realize that they were moving to a place that had no night, was always terribly hot, had no raw materials, and couldn't put any roots in that soil?
They are currently lead around by the nose by a guy named Captain Benteen, who loved power as much as Picasso loved paint! They make contact with Earth and they send a message that they are sending a ship back to pick them up and take them back. But when they arrive he soon begins to realize that his iron grip power he held over these people will cease to exist, and that's where...well, I'll let you watch it and find out ;) - DirectorJustus AddissStarsJohn AndersonPaul ComiSandy KenyonPassing through the sound barrier, a commercial airliner inadvertently travels back in time.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsDane ClarkBuddy EbsenChristine WhiteA compulsive gambler cajoles his friend to use his telekinesis to affect the results of the gambling tables in Las Vegas.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsLee KinsolvingShelley FabaresMichael ForestThree leather-jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding men invade a peaceful neighborhood.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG7.1 (2.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsJames BestSherry JacksonEdgar BuchananA young man wakes up during his own funeral and wants to know what the hell is going on. The townsfolk are glad to see him back, but they begin to wonder if he's a man - or something else.
- DirectorTed PostStarsRichard BasehartAntoinette BowerHarold GouldColonel Adam Cook, stranded on a distant planet with no hope for rescue, meets a woman who is the sole survivor from another planet.
- 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.
- DirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsElizabeth MontgomeryCharles BronsonRod SerlingTwo survivors of an apocalyptic battle, a man and a woman from opposing sides, approach each other suspiciously.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsLee MarvinJoe MantellChuck HicksIn 1974, boxing has been outlawed and is performed by mechanical robots. With his next and possibly last fight approaching and his robot in need of repair, he resorts to one last desperate gamble.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsJack KlugmanRoss MartinFred BeirAn interplanetary expedition from Earth finds an exact duplicate of their ship and themselves crashed on the planet they were surveying. Should they stay or risk taking off and crashing?
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsAnne FrancisJames BestLaura DevonAppalachian beauty Jess-Belle can't bear to lose the object of her passion to the local rich girl, so she turns to the local witch for aid. The results bring unexpected and tragic consequences.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsThomas GomezJohn LarchVladimir SokoloffA sympathetic sheriff and a callous con man are among the many who gather in a desert town on a hot day to see a man hanged for killing a child while drunk.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG6.6 (2.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorDouglas HeyesStarsJoe MantellWilliam D. GordonRod SerlingSmall time criminal Jackie Rhoades must face both his past and his conscience while waiting for his next assignment.
- DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonStarsKenneth HaighAlexander ScourbySimon ScottA World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in 1959 France.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsDiana HylandMarsha HuntPhilip OberAn engaged heiress is terrorized by a middle-aged woman on a horse pleading with her not to go through with her impending marriage.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsLarry BlydenSebastian CabotJohn CloseWhen bad guy Henry Francis Valentine dies in a shootout with police, he wakes up in the next world where his every wish is granted forever, and ever.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsWally CoxRalph TaegerSue RandallA computer technician begins to take advice for his love life from Agnes, the computer he works with.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsRod SerlingEverett SloaneVivi JanissA middle-aged man catches gambling fever from a slot machine that he believes is calling his name.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.3 (2.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert EnricoStarsRoger JacquetAnne CornalyAnker-Spang LarsenDuring the American Civil War in 1862, a condemned Confederate prisoner, Peyton Farquhar, is due to be hanged by Union troops.This is a pretty good episode, and it probably should be rated a little higher, but this one wasn't made thru Cayuga Productions, so I was in a quandary on how to rate this episode. This is the only episode I rated a bit differently than others.
Part of me didn't want to put an episode not done by Cayuga in the top 100. At first #101 sounded like a good place. Though #95 would be more accurate, I did put a disclaimer that any of these episodes could be moved up or down up to seven spots. So I ended up putting it right here at #100, figuring that was a good landing spot.
Not much dialog, but it still has some incredible deep scenes that few episodes touch upon. The best example is when he realizes he has evaded death (for now) and this nice melody starts playing and he looks around and notices things that most of us take for granted or overlook...the leaves on a tree, caterpillars, a spider's web with a spider at work. Utterly beautiful and poignant in a way. I like the dual ending aspect of it as well.