LOC 68: Top 50 Twilight Zone Episodes

[MightyJack]

Hmm, lots of gooey stuff here. I guess I'm an old grump or cynic, I've always had an aversion to the sentimental ones -- not completely, I don't hate 'em by any means, and they are worthy of the list, but they frequently slipped in my rankings.

I have no memory of the Encounter... I'll have to watch that one next!

It's always nice to see ones you slotted make the list. I got two: Little Girl Lost, which is one of those weird, chilling ones I like. And the Lonely... I thought that end scene when Anna looks at Corey, with a wounded, confussed look on her face -just before the trigger is pulled- was devastating. Had the actress  played it cold, robotic, I don't know that the ep would have had the same impact on me.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

There are several so far I haven't seen, or don't remember, I'll have to check them out.

[MightyJack]

Yeah I made up a list of about 40 that I remember liking, and wound up watching a little over 50 eps. I've continued watching, but still have a ways to go.

Just finished with The Encounter - while I've always liked Takei, I never knew he was this good of an actor. I enjoyed the episode a lot, though I have to admit to laughed at the end, it's like they didn't really know what to do with George so lets just... BANZAI! It kind of broke the mood, but still an outstanding one.

Also caught The Shelter and wow, that was intense. Had I watched it earlier it might very well have made my top 25.

[Tripe]

Just finished with The Encounter - while I've always liked Takei, I never knew he was this good of an actor. I enjoyed the episode a lot, though I have to admit to laughed at the end, it's like they didn't really know what to do with George so lets just... BANZAI! It kind of broke the mood, but still an outstanding one.

It's the performances that make it my #1 pick. A lot of the cast of Trek were decent to good actors at one point*, sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise seemed to change that to one degree or another.

I also think the creepiness factor is pretty high in the episode, not a supernatural creepiness but one that's rooted in the unease you feel when a situation starts to sour rapidly in real life.

The thing about Banzai is I think it's become a casualty of pop culture, it actually had some serious significance at one point and still did for the most part at the time of the episode, it just sounds silly now really.

*yes even the one you immediately thought of.

[jasimon1]

30.     The Little People- 3/30/62
(29 points, 2 lists of 8, highest ranking: #9 Johnny Unusual)

Twilight Zone Theme: The world is not as it seems
Creepiness Factor: 7 out of 10

"The time is the space age, the place is a barren landscape of a rock-walled canyon that lies millions of miles from the planet Earth. The cast of characters? You've met them: William Fletcher, commander of the spaceship; his co-pilot, Peter Craig. The other characters who inhabit this place you may never see, but they're there, as these two gentlemen will soon find out. Because they're about to partake in a little exploration into that gray, shaded area in space and time that's known as the Twilight Zone."

Fletcher and Craig set down in the canyon to repair their ship. While scouting around, Craig finds a city populated by tiny people - no bigger than ants. He begins terrorizing the population by crushing their buildings, and he proclaims himself a god. Fletcher comes to inform him the repairs are done, but Craig pulls a gun on him, and orders him to leave alone; there's no room for two gods. Fletcher leaves, and immediately another ship lands. Two spacemen, big as mountains, emerge. One of them picks Craig up and accidentally crushes him.

"The case of navigator Peter Craig, a victim of a delusion. In this case, the dream dies a little harder than the man. A small exercise in space psychology that you can try on for size - in the Twilight Zone."

Cast:
•   Peter Craig: Joe Maross
•   William Fletcher: Claude Akins


 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ydbxuR_YV0Q" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ydbxuR_YV0Q</a>

[jasimon1]

29.     A World of His Own- 7/1/60
(29 points, 3 lists of 8, highest ranking: #2 Tripe)

Twilight Zone Theme: Mysterious object causes issues
Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10

"The home of Mr. Gregory West, one of America's most noted playwrights. The office of Mr. Gregory West. Mr Gregory West - shy, quiet, and at the moment very happy. Mary - warm, affectionate. [Narration interrupted by character action and dialogue.] And the final ingredient - Mrs. Gregory West."

Victoria West sees her husband and a blonde through a window, sharing drinks. But when she barges into his office, he is alone. Gregory tells her that by describing something into his dictation machine, he can bring anything into being. To make it disappear all he needs to do is throw the tape in the fireplace. He demonstrates by describing an elephant in the hall. Victoria ignores the evidence and informs Gregory she is going to have him committed. Gregory removes an envelope from a wall safe, and tells her it contains the tape that describes her. Victoria grabs the envelope and throws it into the fireplace, and promptly disappears. Gregory quickly begins to redescribe Victoria, then reconsiders and begins to describe Mrs. Mary West. A loving Mary appears mixing her husband a drink.

"We hope you enjoyed tonight's romantic story on The Twilight Zone. At the same time, we want you to realize that it was, of course, purely fictional. In real life, such ridiculous nonsense could never...[Narration interrupted by Gregory West's chastising Rod, pulling a piece of tape from an envelope marked "Rod Serling," and throwing the tape into the fire.] Well, that's the way it goes..."
(Rod Serling made his first on-camera appearance at the end of this episode. He walks out and addresses the audience. "We hope you enjoyed tonight's romantic story on the Twilight Zone. At the same time we want you to realize that it was, of course, purely fictional. In real life, such ridiculous nonsense -" "Rod, you shouldn't!" says West. He pulls an envelope out of the wall safe marked "Rod Serling." "I mean, you shouldn't say such things as 'nonsense' and 'ridiculous'!" He takes the tape out of the envelope and throws it into the fire. Serling says, "Well, that's the way it goes." And then he disappears.)

Cast:
•   Gregory West: Keenan Wynn
•   Victoria West: Phyllis Kirk
•   Mary: Mary La Roche
 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/MVHfJ3Kb61A" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/MVHfJ3Kb61A</a>

[jasimon1]

28.     A Small Talent for War- 1/24/86
(30 points, 3 lists of 8, highest ranking: #9 Tripe)

Twilight Zone Theme: Aliens are bad
Creepiness Factor: 6  out of 10

An emissary from an alien race arrives to claim to have genetically engineered Humanity. He directly challenges the United Nations to prove Humanity's worth, displeased over their "small talent for war". He then tells them that Mankind has failed to produce the potential that the aliens nurtured in them thousands of years ago, and as a result, all life on Earth will be destroyed in 24 hours. With the survival of Humanity at stake, the UN hurriedly establishes an accord for lasting global peace and presents it to the emissary.

However, the emissary was, in fact, seeking a greater talent for war, as the aliens routinely breed warriors to fight for them across the galaxy. Humanity's "small talent" for war (crude weapons, petty bickering over borders) is not significant enough to be of any use to them, and worst of all, the ultimate goal of Humanity is peace. As the ambassador calls down a fleet of spaceships to destroy the Earth, he praises the humans for their "delightful sense of the absurd", and his parting comment repeats the dying words attributed to several English-language actors: "Dying is easy, comedy is hard".

Cast:
Alien Ambassador: John Glover
American DiplomatMary: Peter Michael Goetz
 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/gP2w56IiAeM" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/gP2w56IiAeM</a>

[jasimon1]

27.     To  See the Invisible Man- 1/31/86
(31 points, 2 lists of 8, highest ranking: #8 Compound)

Twilight Zone Theme: Parallel worlds
Creepiness Factor: 6  out of 10

Mitchell Chaplin, a man living in a world parallel to ours, has been found guilty of the crime of "coldness" - of not being friendly or open enough with those around him. According to the State, his punishment is to be rendered "invisible", a social outcast, for one year. A scarring implant placed on his forehead warns others to ignore him on penalty of being sentenced to a similar fate.

What seems like a welcome chance to be left alone becomes a lesson in humility, compassion, and empathy, as Chaplin begins to feel the consequences of social isolation. Under the omnipresent eye of floating security drones that monitor their society, people continually shun him. A blind man he meets, unable to see his mark, is refreshingly cordial, until a passing woman whispers the warning "invisible" to him. The blind man furiously curses Chaplin and turns away.

Misfortune after misfortune befalls Chaplin, with his lowest point reached when he is denied medical care after being hit by a car. Finally, on the last day of his sentence, two guards enter his apartment and remove the implant, restoring him back to society.

Four months after completing his sentence, Chaplin is accosted in public by a young woman (whom he encountered during his term of invisibility) who also wears the scar of an implant. Knowing the law, initially he ignores her, but her crying moves him to turn around and hug her. As they are surrounded by drones warning him of a new sentence of invisibility for his crime, he declares that he can see the woman, and that he cares.

Cast:
Mitchell Chaplin: Cotter Smith

 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/j4U-UUFYPLE" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/j4U-UUFYPLE</a>

[jasimon1]

26.     A Stop at Willoughby- 5/6/60
(31 points, 2 lists of 8, highest ranking: #4 George Harrison)

Twilight Zone Theme: The world isn’t what it seems
Creepiness Factor: 4  out of 10

"This is Gart Williams, age thirty-eight, a man protected by a suit of armor all held together by one bolt. Just a moment ago, someone removed the bolt, and Mr. Williams' protection fell away from him and left him a naked target. He's been cannonaded this afternoon by all the enemies of his life. His insecurity has shelled him, his sensitivity has straddled him with humiliation, his deep-rooted disquiet about his own worth has zeroed in on him, landed on target, and blown him apart. Mr. Gart Williams, ad agency exec, who in just a moment will move into the Twilight Zone--in a desperate search for survival."

Gart Williams is a very unhappy man. He has a terrible boss and a shrewish wife. Riding home on the train one day he falls asleep, and dreams it is 1880, and he is entering a small town called Willoughby. The conductor tells him Willoughby is a town where "a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure." Williams realizes this is the place for him, but he receives only ridicule from his wife. The pressure of his job being too great, he finally cracks. He calls his wife to tell her he is quitting, but she hangs up on him. On the train home, he suddenly finds himself back in Willoughby. The townsfolk all greet him by name. He's there for good this time. Meanwhile, the train has stopped. A Mr. Williams has jumped from the train yelling something about "Willoughby." The body is loaded in a hearse that bears the name "Willoughby Funeral Home."

"Willoughby? Maybe it's wishful thinking nestled in a hidden part of a man's mind, or maybe it's the last stop in the vast design of things - or perhaps, for a man like Gart Williams, who clmbed on a world that went by too fast, it's a place around the bend where he could jump off. Willoughby? Whatever it is, it comes with sunlight and serenity, and is part of the Twilight Zone."

Cast:
•   Gart Williams: James Daly
•   Jane Williams: Patricia Donahue
•   Mr. Misrell: Howard Smith

 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ca0dGWbXJxk" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ca0dGWbXJxk</a>

[MightyJack]

Surprised Willoughby only made two lists, I thought that was considered one of the better eps. Without going overly TMI, that one kind of hit me where I live, might be one reason why I placed it so high.

Little People was ultimately pushed out of my top 25, but I liked it. World of His Own was a goodie too.

[jasimon1]

25.     Mr. Garrity and the Graves- 5/8/64
(33 points, 2 lists of 8, highest ranking: #3 Tripe)

Twilight Zone Theme: Scam artist and the people they hurt
Creepiness Factor: 7  out of 10

"Introducing Mr. Jared Garrity, a gentleman of commerce, who in the latter half of the nineteenth century plied his trade in the wild and wooly hinterlands of the American West. And Mr. Garrity, if one can believe him, is a resurrecter of the dead - which, on the face of it, certainly sounds like the bull is off the nickel. But to the scoffers amongst you, and you ladies and gentlemen from Missouri, don't laugh this one off entirely, at least until you've seen a sample of Mr. Garrity's wares, and an example of his services. The place is Happiness, Arizona, the time about 1890. And you an I have just entered a saloon where the bar whiskey is brewed, bottled and delivered from the Twilight Zone."

Mr. Garrity promises the townspeople that at midnight, all the inhabitants of the town cemetery will get up and return to life. As the time grows nearer, people start to have second thoughts and convince Mr. Garrity, for a price, to cancel his services. As he leaves town he fails to notice the cemetery and all its inhabitants rising and returning to town.

"Exit Mr. Garrity, a would-be charlatan, a make-believe con man and a sad mijudger of his own talents. Respectfully submitted from an empty cemetery on a dark hillside that is one of the slopes leading to the Twilight Zone."

Cast:
•   Jared Garrity: John Dehner
•   Gooberman: J. Pat O'Malley
•   Ace: John Mitchum


 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mbkvjW5XElk" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/mbkvjW5XElk</a>

[jasimon1]

24.     Number 12 Looks Just Like You- 1/24/64
(33 points, 3 lists of 8, highest ranking: #10 Sicgirl)

Twilight Zone Theme: The future will be better?
Creepiness Factor: 7  out of 10

"Given the chance, what young girl wouldn't happily exchange a plain face for a lovely one? What girl could refuse the opportunity to be beautiful? For want of a better estimate, let's call it the year 2000. At any rate, imagine a time in the future when science has developed a means of giving everyone the face and body he dreams of. It may not happen tomorrow - but it happens now in the Twilight Zone."

Marilyn Cuberle doesn't want to submit to the Transformation, a supposedly voluntary operation that makes them identical to everyone else. Her family and friends try and convince her to go ahead with the Transformation. She tries to escape from a hospital, and ends up in a room with a doctor and nurse. She emerges from the hospital looking and thinking just like everyone else.

"Portrait of a young lady in love - with herself. Improbable? Perhaps. But in an age of plastic surgery, body building and an infinity of cosmetics, let us hesitate to say impossible. These and other strange blessings may be waiting in the future - which after all, is the Twilight Zone."

Cast:
•   Marilyn Cuberle: Collin Wilcox
•   Lana Cuberle/Simmons/Doe/Grace/Jane/Patient/#12: Suzy Parker
•   Uncle Rick/Dr. Rex/Sigmund/Friend/Dr. Tom/Attendant: Richard Long


 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/e2QZaX2R9Sg" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/e2QZaX2R9Sg</a>

[jasimon1]

23.     Wordplay- 10/4/85
(34 points, 2 lists of 8, highest ranking: #7 Compound)

Twilight Zone Theme: The world is not as it seems
Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10

Bill Lowery is a salesman whose company has switched to a medical supply product line forcing him to stay up nights memorizing medical terms in order to be ready to sell the line in a week's time. His wife tells him that she’s worried about their son who’s ill. As Lowery leaves for work, his neighbor refers to his dog as an "encyclopedia" but Lowery shrugs it off, thinking he heard wrong. Lowery puts in a full morning of trying to cope with the new terms, the jibes from the younger salesmen (about teaching old dogs new "trumpets"), and the surprising usage of words completely out of place.

As Lowery leaves for lunch at home, a subordinate asks for a referral to a good place to go for "dinosaur". Lowery tries to find out why the co-worker is not using the correct word ("lunch"), but the co-worker just walks away annoyed. Lowery arrives home where his wife says their son is feeling worse. When she complains that he didn't eat his "dinosaur", Lowery thinks his wife and co-workers have been pulling a practical joke. He soon realizes, however, that he is the one out-of-sync.

Returning to the office, Lowery becomes frustrated by the increasing level of gibberish. He goes back home to find his son suffering from a very high fever. Bill picks up the boy and takes them to the emergency room, where his wife has to handle everything because Lowery cannot make himself understood. The doctors finally come out to tell them that their son is okay.

Later on, Bill sits down in his son's bedroom and picks up one of his ABC books, studying the basics of the language that he now needs to re-learn. Under the picture of a dog, the word is "Wednesday"...

Cast:
•   Bill Lowery: Robert Klein
•   Katherine Lowery: Annie Potts
•   Mr. Miller: Robert Downey Sr.


 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2_Ucw9cPH-8" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/2_Ucw9cPH-8</a>

[jasimon1]

22.     The Masks- 3/20/64
(35 points, 2 lists of 8, highest ranking: #6 Pak)

Twilight Zone Theme: Bad people get what they deserve
Creepiness Factor: 7 out of 10

"Mr. Jason Foster, a tired ancient who on this particular Mardi Gras evening will leave the earth. But before departing he has some things to do, some services to perform, some debts to pay - and some justice to mete out. This is New Orleans, Mardi Gras time. It is also the Twilight Zone."

Jason Foster, knowing he is dying, summons his heirs to a Mardi Gras party. He gives each a grotesque mask that reflects their true nature. Fearing they'll be disinherited, they put on the masks. At midnight Jason dies, his family, glad he is gone, removes their masks. To their horror, they discover their faces are permanently disfigured; each matches the masks they were wearing.

"Mardi Gras incident, the dramatis personae being four people who came to celebrate and in a sense let themselves go. This they did with a vengeance. They now wear the faces of all that was inside them - and they'll wear them for the rest of their lives, said lives now to be spent in shadow. Tonight's tale of men, the macabre and masks - on the Twilight Zone."

Cast:
•   Jason Foster: Robert Keith
•   Emily Harper: Virginia Gregg
•   Wilfred, Jr.: Alan Sues


 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/P-c468mpNng" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/P-c468mpNng</a>

[jasimon1]

21.     Nothing in the Dark- 1/5/62
(35 points, 3 lists of 8, highest ranking: #7 Tyrant)

Twilight Zone Theme: Death is ok (and pretty sexy)
Creepiness Factor: 8 out of 10

"An old woman living in a nightmare, an old woman who has fought a thousand battles with death and always won. Now she's faced with a grim decision - whether or not to open a door. And in some strange and frightening way she knows that this seemingly ordinary door leads to the Twilight Zone."

Wanda Dunn is so scared that "Mr. Death" will kill her with his touch, she has barricaded herself in her apartment for years. When a policeman is shot outside her door, she overcomes her fear and drags him inside. A man breaks into her apartment, and Wanda thinking it's Mr. Death, faints. When she comes to, he explains he is a building contractor and that he is to demolish the building the next day. After he leaves Wanda realizes that he couldn't see the policeman - he is Mr. Death. But rather than being a monster, she sees him as a gentle deliverer. She takes his hand and he leads her outside into the sunlight.

"There was an old woman who lived in a room and, like all of us, was frightened of the dark, but who discovered in the minute last fragment of her life that there was nothing in the dark that wasn't there when the lights were on. Object lesson for the more frightened amongst us - in or out of the Twilight Zone."

Cast:
•   Wanda Dunn: Gladys Cooper
•   Harold Beldon: Robert Redford
•   Man: R.G. Armstrong


For some reason, none of the videos for this will work...