# What was your favorite Twilight Zone episode? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [October 12, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971 "2005-10-12T22:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/41 "2005-10-13T13:35:31Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ll go with “It’s a Cookbook.” It was even spoofed in a Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. The title of that ep was “To Serve Man.” ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/42 "2005-10-13T13:36:55Z")
> [@mstay](#): > > I enjoyed the one where the entire town is afraid of the little boy with the horrible powers. “It’s a Good Life.” ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/43 "2005-10-13T13:39:20Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > From _The New Twilight Zone_ - > > _A Small Talent for War_ - > > With the most chilling last line ever - “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard!” > > and _Eye of Newton_. The phrase on the devil’s t-shirt keeps changing. > > Regards, > Shodan the quote in your spoiler is actually attibuted to a very famous 19th century british actor whose name escapes me ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/44 "2005-10-13T14:06:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > From _The New Twilight Zone_ - > > _A Small Talent for War_ - > > With the most chilling last line ever - “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard!” > > and _Eye of Newton_. The phrase on the devil’s t-shirt keeps changing. > > Regards, > Shodan Great picks Shodan. I’ve seen the old episodes many many times, but it has been tough to catch the equally outstanding episodes from the 80s (including the creepy intro music by The Grateful Dead). I have the DVDs on my Christmas list, hopefully Santa will hear me 😉 That said, of the newer episodes, since the show was never remade in the 21st century, episodes that stand out are: Gramma - because it was kind of neat seeing a Stephen King story make the show, and this was a wonderfully scary one Dealer’s Choice - a great quirky story, good cast, and any games with the devil make for good entertainment Shadow Man - not the best story out there, but it sticks in my head and has a devious twist at the end. I’m looking at the one or two sentence synopses of the stories online and am having vague memories of other fantastic stories. Most of them were obvious, like ‘Button, Button’ and ‘The After Hours’, but that does not diminish their quality. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/45 "2005-10-13T14:28:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > …and _Eye of Newton_. The phrase on the devil’s t-shirt keeps changing. I love this one. (I believe the title is “I of Newton”, though.) Sherman Hemsley plays a mathematician to Ron Glass’ Satan. I read the short story years ago but forgot who authored it (Joe Haldeman) until you mentioned the title and I could look it up, so…thanks. Larry Niven’s short story “Convergent Series” (found in a collection by the same name) is quite similar–almost plagiaristically so–but not nearly as well written. “Get lost.” Classic. Two more I liked from the new version of _The Twilight Zone_ (I’m guessing at the titles, based upon IMDb listings): “A Matter of Minutes”: A woman finds a stopwatch that stops time. “Quarantine”: A guy who has a bomb shelter under his house is trapped with a neighbor after a nuclear attack. IIRC, this show was a worthy successor to the original _The Twilight Zone_, and much superior to _Amazing Stories_ and the redone _The Outer Limits_. What it lacked from being in color rather than the more stylistic (and creepier) black and white, it made up for in being more consistant with the quality of the stories. I didn’t realized they’d released any of it on DVD; I’ll have to find a set and check it out to see if it matches my memory of it. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/46 "2005-10-13T14:57:43Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > The title of that ep was “To Serve Man.” And it’s based on a short story by Damon Knight, who gets ignored all too much for writing the line. If we’re talking about the original series, the best was Richard Matheson’s “Nick of Time,” with William Shatner as a man who discovers a sinister fortune-telling machine in a small town. Subtle and brilliant attack on superstition. ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/47 "2005-10-13T15:32:21Z")
_Midnight Sun_ - we see 25 minutes of panic as humans race to save themselves following while the Earth, off-axis, hurtles towards the sun only to find that the whole thing is a delusion of a young woman come down with a raging fever, due to the fact that the Earth has spun off-axis and is hurtling away from the sun. And, um, there’s one where this couple’s car breaks down, and they are in this diner, feeding some kind of fortune telling machine? I love that one. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/48 "2005-10-13T15:42:25Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > the quote in your spoiler is actually attibuted to a very famous 19th century british actor whose name escapes me Actually, the author of that quote was Rex Harrison. He was British but decidedly 20th century. It’s attributed to him in a book called _Famous last Lines._ ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/49 "2005-10-13T15:52:54Z")
> [@marque elf](#): > > Actually, the author of that quote was Rex Harrison. He was British but decidedly 20th century. It’s attributed to him in a book called _Famous last Lines._ no no no He was quoting a much more reknowned 19 c. actor i am 100% positive of that and i’m almost as positive that it was Charles Kean where can i find a transcript of My Favorite Year with Mark Lynn Baker and Peter o’Toole? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/50 "2005-10-13T16:09:53Z")
> [@NotWithoutRage](#): > > …snip… > And, um, there’s one where this couple’s car breaks down, and they are in this diner, feeding some kind of fortune telling machine? I love that one. Shatner’s other less famous Twilight Zone. Excellent ep. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/51 "2005-10-13T21:46:39Z")
My fave is also “Night of the Meek”. One that hasn’t been mentioned is “Twenty-two” - “Room for one more, honey.” I think it’s one of the creepiest episodes. > [@anyrose](#): > > > [@marque elf](#): > > > > Actually, the author of that quote was Rex Harrison. He was British but decidedly 20th century. It’s attributed to him in a book called Famous last Lines. > > no no no > He was quoting a much more reknowned 19 c. actor > i am 100% positive of that > and i’m almost as positive that it was Charles Kean It’s been attributed to a number of actors. I first heard it attributed to Edmund Gwenn, Kris Kringle in “Miracle on 34th Street”. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/52 "2005-10-13T23:35:53Z")
> [@hillbilly queen](#): > > One of my favorites has rarely been shown. And when I describe it, nobody remembers it. > > It takes place during Mardi Gras. The patriarch of a wealthy family is on his deathbed. His nasty, greedy relatives are gathered around and wearing masks, (he may have requested the mask wearing). The masks are not very flattering. He lets each member know what he thinks about them, (again, not very flattering). After much bickering and whining from the relatives, the old guy dies. > Then… > > They take off their masks only to discover, their faces have changed to look identical to the mask they were wearing. I had nightmares about this episode for years. :eek: Totally freaked me out. This was back in the day when parents routinely told their kids, “don’t make ugly faces, they’ll freeze like that.” Right around this time I met a kid with a disfiguring facial condition and one of my parental units said “See this is what can happen.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/53 "2005-10-13T23:51:30Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > I had nightmares about this episode for years. :eek: Totally freaked me out. This was back in the day when parents routinely told their kids, “don’t make ugly faces, they’ll freeze like that.” Right around this time I met a kid with a disfiguring facial condition and one of my parental units said “See this is what can happen.” :eek: Wow you have sadisticly cool parental units. Nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/54 "2005-10-14T00:16:17Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Two more I liked from the new version of _The Twilight Zone_ (I’m guessing at the titles, based upon IMDb listings): > > “A Matter of Minutes”: A woman finds a stopwatch that stops time. Is that the one that ends with a nuclear attack? She stops time with everyone in a panic, a nuclear missile about to detonate visible in the sky overhead, and wanders around wondering what to do? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/55 "2005-10-14T01:03:58Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Is that the one that ends > > with a nuclear attack? She stops time with everyone in a panic, a nuclear missile about to detonate visible in the sky overhead, and wanders around wondering what to do? Actually, that’s “A Little Peace and Quiet” from the first episode of the 1980’s version. The other one from that episode,“Shatterday”, was a really well-done episode (starring that guy from Moonlighting). Those two are my favorite of that series. Wasn’t “Matter of Minutes” the Truman-show like one with the Blue Man Group behind everything? I always liked “I Shot an Arrow into the Air”. It didn’t rely on the twist ending; that ending simply intensified it. Even if the premise wasn’t terribly scientific. A spaceship crash lands on an unknown planet or asteroid. The survivors end up fighting in what they know are their last days, and at the end discover they actually crashed back to earth. “Nothing in the Dark” (featuring Robert Redford ) is a nicely done, almost understated episode. In contrast to that, one of the more heavy-handed ones was “The Obsolete Man” with Burgess Meredith. It did have one sort-of well done part, He actually does die. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/56 "2024-07-09T22:11:05Z")
For me, _Walking Distance_ had a beautiful message that was a subplot but more powerful than the one Rod Serling presented as a main plot. A man, Martin Sloane, is tired of life is on his commuter train and goes back to his home town 25 years in the past and attempts to recapture his lost youth. Part of it is visiting his parents but as a 30 something and not their 11 year old son they refuse to believe him and he goes away. Later in the denouement, his father brings Martin his 1960s wallet and tells Martin he believes his story and has a heart-to-heart with him about his life in the present. Even as a child seeing it the first time it struck me that no matter the circumstances, you are always a parent to you children. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/57 "2024-07-09T22:41:29Z")
One that never got its due was “The Silence.” Obnoxious young man bores everyone at the club with his nonstop boring stories interspersed with business pitches where someone else puts up all the money. Finally, the crusty obnoxious elder club member offers the man $500,000 (about $5.2 million today) if he will remain silent under 24/7 observation for a full year. The old man teases the young man with stories about his wife cheating on him, and offers of smaller but still substantial sums if the young man gives up. The young man stays silent for the entire year and attempts to collect the bet, only to have the old man admit he didn’t have the money. Disgraced, he resigns from the club. Then the young man opens his collar to reveal the scars from having his vocal cords severed, so he couldn’t speak ever again. A real O Henry twist. . . if O Henry had been an evil sadist. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/58 "2024-07-09T23:07:00Z")
My personal favorite is **The Jeopardy Room** starring a young Martin Landau and directed by Richard Donner, from the original show’s final season. Landau plays a Soviet major trying to defect to the West. He is cornered in a hotel room by an assassin, who reveals that he has hidden a bomb in the major’s room. If the major can find and defuse it, he will be allowed to go free. If not, he will be blown to kingdom come. It is revealed that the bomb is hidden in the room’s telephone, but is only armed when there is an incoming call. The major nearly picks the phone up when called by the assassin, but thinks better and is able to escape out the door. Later, the assassin and his assistant are in the room debriefing when another call comes in. The assistant absent mindedly picks the phone up, blowing up both of them. The scene then cuts to the other end of the call…the major, who proceeds to depart for freedom. A rare TZ episode that does not feature anything supernatural. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/59 "2024-07-09T23:09:34Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > A real O Henry twist. . . if O Henry had been an evil sadist. Based on a Chekov story no less. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971/60 "2024-07-09T23:48:46Z")
> [@Qwertyasdfg](#): > > “The Martians on Maple Street,” where a neighborhood mysteriously loses electricity after something flies overhead, and paranoia causes all the neighbors to turn against eachother. The correct title is _The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-twilight-zone-episode/325971.md?page=4)