Favorite Twilight Zone Episodes

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling. Each episode explores fantasy, horror, science fiction, and/or political themes. This show holds a special place in my heart. My mom grew up watching the Twilight Zone, and she introduced me to the show. Now, I have fallen in love with the surrealist television show. Let’s talk about my ten favorite Twilight Zone episodes. My favorite episodes are not in any particular order.

First, we have The Hitchhiker from 1960. This episode follows Nan Adams as she drives across the country while trying to evade a mysterious man. I love the suspense and unease of this episode. There is really no way to gauge if this man is there for evil or good. As the story continues, Nan becomes more frantic, and it really feels like I am watching a thriller with a potentially tense ending. I love it.

Next, we have The After Hours from 1960. In this episode, we meet Marsha as she has some strange encounters in a department store. When I first watched this episode, I was confused until the big reveal. This episode feels so quintessentially the Twilight Zone. We are in a world that, on the surface, closely resembles our own, but we soon learn that it differs greatly. The set design, hair and make-up all deserve awards for their talents in this episode. Quick tangent: I talked to mannequins when I was a child, so this episode was relatable.

The third episode is the Howling Man from 1960. This is an episode that I liked because of its concept and not necessarily because of the on-screen depictions. We meet David Ellington as he stumbles upon a monastery and an unusual howling man. Spoilers for a fifty year old show, the howling man is the devil. Notably, I do not like the depiction of the devil because it feels a bit bigoted. The monks have somehow trapped the devil through the power of God, I guess. That is just a fascinating concept to me. The episode reminds me of the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels. I am not sure how the devil keeps getting into these scrapes, but it makes for a fun ride.

Our fourth episode is The Odyssey of Flight 33 from 1961. This is not Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. Although, there might be just as many characters. This story follows a full flight as they jump through time. Yep. That’s it. I find this to be a fun episode that offers a glimpse into what flights were like in the 60s. Wow. That leg-room is incredible. Why are there so many people in the cockpit? That one guy has a dining room chair, according to my mom. Also, I barely tolerate flying now, so the idea of being stuck on a time-traveling plane sounds like one of my worst nightmares.

The fifth episode is The Silence from 1961. My mom does not like this episode, but I think it is hilarious. We see Mr. Tennyson, a member of a gentlemen’s club, who seems to never shut up. Another member bets that Tennyson can’t remain silent for a whole year. If Tennyson wins, he earns $500,000 which is $5.4 million in today’s money. Tennyson needs the money, and everyone kind of wants him to shut up. He has to live in the club and is constantly monitored by microphones and glass walls. He proudly remains silent for a whole year. At the end, we learn that this fool has cut his vocal chords to win this challenge. Permanent surgery to win a bet? Now, I would love $5 million, but I wouldn’t permanently alter my communication to win a bet. They did not have a contract. Unfortunately for Mr. Tennyson, he did not get the money in the end. Now, he is just silent, broke, and sad.

The sixth episode is A Piano in the House from 1962. We follow Mr. Fitzgerald Fortune as he uses a magical piano to learn people’s secrets. This is another episode that I feel perfectly reflects many people’s idea of a Twilight Zone episode. We start off finding a piano that plays itself, which is common enough. Then we learn that the piano has the ability to bring out a different side to people. It makes people reveal things that they normally would not. I looked up the music in this episode to figure out which piece elicited different emotions to see if there was a reason behind the song selections. I could not find any particular correlation between song and emotion. One thing that shocked was seeing that Mr. Fortune was balding. I thought he was going to have luscious locks and be a debonair silver fox, but he was balding hard. His name is fortune, so you’d think he would have money for beautiful hair or to go bald.

Anyway, on to episode seven which is Miniature from 1963. [sigh] Poor Charley Parkes. He is struggling to fit in with people at work and at home. He’s a diligent worker, quiet, and keeps to himself. And for that he should be taken out back and fed to the fishes. At least, that seems to be the general consensus of the people in his life. One day, Charley goes to a museum and finds a miniature house with a woman living inside. She has a maid, a piano, and a big house, but she seems lonely. Charley understands feeling lonely. He bonds with this miniature woman. Despite people trying to keep him from his girl, he finds his way back to her. I love this episode because it is so sweet and hopeful. Charley gets a happy ending, as he deserves.

Episode eight is so good. Ring-A-Ding Girl from 1963 is about a famous actress named Bunny as she goes to visit her small hometown. She hangs out with her sister Hildy and Hildy’s son as the town is preparing for an annual festival. Bunny keeps getting these strange premonitions from this giant ring on her finger. She decides to put on a show in town at the same time as the festival which confuses and angers some people. Eventually, we learn that there is a major storm, Bunny’s plane crashes into the festival, and she dies. Thankfully, many of the townspeople decided to see her show instead of the festival, so lots of people were saved. It is such a sweet episode about love and family and sacrifice. Ugh. I love it. I love Bunny Blake with my whole heart. 

Okay. Our ninth episode is a very popular one. The Masks from 1964 is about a rich family who learns to see their inner selves. We meet Jason Foster, the rich patriarch, as he explains his new will to his daughter Emily Harper, her husband, and their two adult children. Now, this family is rough from the jump. The Harpers are lying, thieving, conniving, and even violent at times. They do not care about anything except themselves and getting richer. Mr. Foster knows this, so he has devised a plan to screw over his family after his demise. He has them all wear disturbing masks that they cannot take off until midnight or else they will not get his money. Well, once midnight hits, they take off the masks and their faces have morphed into the shapes of the masks. Spooky. It is a fun story that really embodies the morals of the Twilight Zone.

Our final episode is very fitting as it was the last episode aired. Let’s talk about The Bewitchin’ Pool from 1964. This story follows two children Jeb and Sport. They love swimming, drawing, and having fun like most other children. Their parents are constantly arguing. A boy pops up in their pool and invites them to swim with him. They dive into the pool, and when they resurface, they are in a different world. There are a whole bunch of children who are all being taken care of by an old lady named Aunt T. She comforts them and lets them know that they can live here with her now. But Sport insists that they need to go back home or else their parents will be worried, but they’re told that if they leave they cannot come back to Aunt T’s. The kids go back home, and we learn that their parents have decided to get a divorce. The children are devastated and think it is their fault. They dive into the pool, and make their way back to Aunt T’s home. Wow. What a lovely story about found family. Sometimes people have bad parents, and this episode asks “what if you could just run away from it all?” I hope that anyone who is going through a rough relationship (romantic, familial, or otherwise) finds their Aunt T.

Thank you all for reading this love letter to the Twilight Zone. Please let me know if you have a favorite Twilight Zone. If you have not seen the show, please watch it! Rod Serling and the other writers on the show added a lot of good political commentary to many episodes. If you don’t want political commentary, then you can still enjoy many strange, fun episodes.