# LEAST favorite Twilight Zone episode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811 "2011-07-04T14:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/1 "2011-07-04T14:41:02Z")
The Twilight Zone is truly a wonderful show, fully deserving its iconic status. In its best episodes, it explored aspects of the human character that were not often talked about in the early '60s. We all know the great episodes, like “Eye of the Beholder”, “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”, “A Passage For Trumpet”, and so many others. This thread isn’t about them. No, this thread is for the stinkers. Serling himself admitted that perhaps a third were “pretty bad”. In the [Twilight Zone-a-Thon!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614894) thread, I referenced two such: > [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > There were some stinkers, though - I saw a couple of them today, including “Mr Dingle the Strong”, where a two-headed alien zaps nerdy Burgess Meredith with super-strength, and “The Bewitching Pool”, where kids run away from their parent’s divorce to an old lady who bakes cakes and set them to polishing shoes (WTF?). So, when SyFy runs their holiday Twilight Zone marathon, which ones do you automatically switch quickly away from – or perhaps watch helplessly in horrified fascination? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/2 "2011-07-04T15:17:28Z")
I have to admit the one with the Talking Tina doll never scared me. In fact, Telly Savalas’s ugly mug was a lot scarier than that doll. There’s another one with a young woman who keeps seeing a mysterious young girl who knows all about her past - that her parents were killed by a home intruder. Conveniently, an “old friend” of her parents pays her a visit on the same day and it turns out that he was her parents’ killer. Not a big surprise, not scary. Oh, and the “funny” ones - like the one with Carol Burnett and her guardian angel. (Was Jim Nabors her angel?) That one looked like it was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a series. But it didn’t belong in…'the Twilight Zone." ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/3 "2011-07-04T15:21:28Z")
In any long-running series, there are going to be some clunkers, and some episodes where the writers were in such a hurry to crank out a story by deadline that they cut corners and used ideas that have already been done to death. One good example is the episode where an astronaut is stranded on a planet with a beautiful female alien… and of course, they turn out to be Adam and Eve. Couldn’t see THAT coming 10 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/4 "2011-07-04T15:30:24Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I have to admit the one with the Talking Tina doll never scared me. In fact, Telly Savalas’s ugly mug was a lot scarier than that doll. > … Most TZ eps are more disturbing than scary. I hate almost all of the hour long eps. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/5 "2011-07-04T15:40:20Z")
"The Bewitching Pool " is indeed useless. It came on yesterday and I changed the channel pronto. I also avoid the ones with Jack Klugman. I have nothing against him but his episodes are always preachy and dull. And any that start with the typical “whimsical, 50s syle music” are not my cup of tea either. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/6 "2011-07-04T15:43:18Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I hate almost all of the hour long eps. Even the half hour shows move a bit slowly by current standards. But there were some very good hour shows, including Burgess Meridith’s tour de force, “Printers Devil”. But it also included some real dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/7 "2011-07-04T15:44:19Z")
[The Fear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fear_(The_Twilight_Zone)), which features a giant one-eyed balloon alien. OK, there’s a little more to it than that, but that was not a favorite of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/8 "2011-07-04T16:10:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > One good example is the episode where an astronaut is stranded on a planet with a beautiful female alien… and of course, they turn out to be Adam and Eve. > > Couldn’t see THAT coming 10 miles away. The funny thing is is that is one of my favorites because I saw it when I was a kid and to me, that wasn’t a cliche yet so the twist really got me. As I wrote in the other thread, most of the “funny” ones are kind of lame and I will add a lot of the heartfelt ones bore me (with a few notable exceptions like “Walking Distance”). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/9 "2011-07-04T16:34:35Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > We all know the great episodes, like “Eye of the Beholder”, “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”, “A Passage For Trumpet”, and so many others. This thread isn’t about them. Wow, I’ve never heard “A Passage For Trumpet” mentioned as an obvious great. In fact, I was going to bring it up in agreement with **WOOKINPANUB** about Jack Klugman’s episodes (although I was going to stick up for “Death Ship”). ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/10 "2011-07-04T16:48:08Z")
I recently watched one I thought was really lame. A woman was born “hideously deformed” in the face and she has the bandages still on from the last surgery they are willing to try to fix it. The whole episode only shows the the bandaged woman and you can hear the voice of the doctor talking but not see his face. Later, you can hear a nurse but not see her either. It was blatantly obvious what the twilight zone twist was going to be 30 seconds into it and the whole episode moves so ssssllllooowwwllyy. I only watched it to the end to see what the doctor really looked like. It had to be the worst costume I have ever seen on TV. You would have to work hard to find one that bad even at a dollar store these days. ETA: Oops, I just looked this one up and it is “Eye of the Beholder” listed in the OP as one of the greats. I guess the title is true then. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/11 "2011-07-04T16:50:33Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [The Fear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fear_(The_Twilight_Zone)), which features a giant one-eyed balloon alien. OK, there’s a little more to it than that, but that was not a favorite of mine. I actually like that one because of the lead up to it. I’ll nominate Black Leather Jackets. Great fun to mock with a group but other than that, totally eh. I agree that the hour long ones sucked. I hated the one with Dennis Hopper, He’s Alive. What’s supposed to be the shocking part–that a Neo Nazi is evil and meets a bad end? **Shagnsty** , you hated Eye of the Beholder?! ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/12 "2011-07-04T16:58:09Z")
what might make current viewing of some episodes less than enjoyable? the plots have been reused in other shows and stories and we now can smell it coming. people have become more exposed to literary methods and nothing can be surprising anymore. life was simpler back then and it took less to entertain people. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/13 "2011-07-04T17:24:13Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I recently watched one I thought was really lame. A woman was born “hideously deformed” in the face and she has the bandages still on from the last surgery they are willing to try to fix it. The whole episode only shows the the bandaged woman and you can hear the voice of the doctor talking but not see his face. Later, you can hear a nurse but not see her either. It was blatantly obvious what the twilight zone twist was going to be 30 seconds into it and the whole episode moves so ssssllllooowwwllyy. I only watched it to the end to see what the doctor really looked like. It had to be the worst costume I have ever seen on TV. You would have to work hard to find one that bad even at a dollar store these days. > > ETA: Oops, I just looked this one up and it is “Eye of the Beholder” listed in the OP as one of the greats. I guess the title is true then. Of course, after the bandages are unwrapped the face is puffy, swollen and there’s stitches, etc. As opposed to make up perfectly applied, etc. There’s a SNL parody of that epi. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/14 "2011-07-04T18:03:33Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Wow, I’ve never heard “A Passage For Trumpet” mentioned as an obvious great. In fact, I was going to bring it up in agreement with **WOOKINPANUB** about Jack Klugman’s episodes (although I was going to stick up for “Death Ship”). I was woolgathering. I was thinking of the episode with Klugman and Jonathon Winters, “A Game Of Pool”, which is excellent. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/15 "2011-07-04T18:08:41Z")
I agree about the Jack Klugman episodes, with the exception of “Death Ship.” In that one I just hate the Jack Klugman character, not the whole episode. But worst place is a 3-way tie between “The Bewitching Pool” and “Little Girl Lost” and “Come Wander with Me.” I really can’t decide which makes me more revolted. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/16 "2011-07-04T18:17:25Z")
I just remembered . . . For whatever reason, my ex had never watched TZ, so I showed him “Eye of the Beholder” (one of my favorites). He literally screamed when he saw the “normal” people. I think it permanently traumatized him. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/17 "2011-07-04T18:39:25Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > what might make current viewing of some episodes less than enjoyable? > > the plots have been reused in other shows and stories and we now can smell it coming. > > people have become more exposed to literary methods and nothing can be surprising anymore. > > life was simpler back then and it took less to entertain people. Like the old joke about the two Aggies who thought _Hamlet_ was “just a lot of quotations strung together.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/18 "2011-07-04T19:01:08Z")
The one that just aired was sub-par. “Franklin gets addicted to gambling and thinks the slot machine is The Devil.” Real subtle. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/19 "2011-07-04T19:19:21Z")
My kids loved “The Bewitching Pool”, but I agree that for an adult, it could be pretty lame. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811/20 "2011-07-04T19:37:06Z")
I thought “Steel” was the worst episode. The ending was totally pointless and horribly depressing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/587811.md?page=2)