Here are the best ‘Twilight Zone’ episodes ever
Ahead of SyFy’s annual “Twilight Zone” New Year’s marathon, take a look at the show’s top episodes, as ranked by fans at IMDb.
Rod Serling’s iconic, critically acclaimed The Twilight Zone took on issues of prejudice, war, government, and morality in a time when these issues were rarely—if ever—directly discussed on television, much less in polite conversation. Through blending fantasy, thriller, and science fiction, many of the themes and lessons from the memorable (and prescient) storylines still resonate today.
For the 28th year in a row SyFy will feature its Twilight Zone marathon, with its 2023 installment stretching from 5 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, to 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3.
The continued relevance of The Twilight Zone, which originally ran from 1959 to 1964, has inspired several reboots. A film version was produced by Steven Spielberg in 1983, and the show enjoyed two revivals in 1985 and 2002, respectively, before the latest iteration helmed by Jordan Peele along with fellow executive producers Simon Kinberg (X-Men, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and Glen Morgan (X-Files, Final Destination).
Still, fans have a sweet spot for the OG 156 episodes that started it all, so Stacker has put together the definitive top Twilight Zone episodes list here, based on IMDb fan ratings. Any ties that occurred during the ranking were broken by the volume of user votes (for example, if two episodes had the same rating of 9.2, the one with more votes was ranked above the other episode).
Keep reading to be reminded of old favorites, discover episodes you may have missed, and to see if any of your favorites ranked near the very top.
15. The Midnight Sun
IMDb score: 8.6 | Air date: Nov. 17, 1961 | Season 3, episode 10
Earth has been knocked out of orbit and is moving closer and closer to the sun. People are trying to escape the heat, which is so intense that paintings are melting, and two neighbors do their best to survive as everyone else flees their building. When one of the neighbors wakes up, she realizes that she’s had a fever the whole time and learns that the world is actually moving away from the sun and getting colder.
Jason Wingreen, who later appeared in Airplane! plays a neighbor in this episode.
14. And When the Sky Was Opened
IMDb score: 8.6 | Air date: Dec. 11, 1959 | Season 1, episode 11
Three astronauts go into space and crash into the desert. As they recover from the ordeal, one in the hospital and the other two in a bar, they start to disappear. Everyone around them forgets they ever existed.
Jim Hutton from The Green Berets stars in this one.
13. The Masks
IMDb score: 8.7 | Air date: March 20, 1964 | Season 5, episode 25
A dying rich man knows that all his heirs want is his money. He tells them that if they want to be left in the inheritance, they have to wear masks to his Mardi Gras party. The masks make their faces change to match their biggest flaws.
Ida Lupino, who directed this episode, is the only female director in the show’s original run.
12. The Shelter
IMDb score: 8.7 | Air date: Sept. 29, 1961 | Season 3, episode 3
In the middle of a dinner party, a group of suburbanites finds out that they’re about to get nuked. One man has built a bomb shelter for his family, and he won’t let anyone else inside. They find out that it was a false alarm; but not in time to save their friendships.
Jack Albertson, who played Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, is one of the shut-out neighbors.
11. Five Characters in Search of an Exit
IMDb score: 8.7 | Air date: Dec. 22, 1961 | Season 3, episode 14
In a fan-favorite episode, a major, a clown, a dancer, a hobo, and a bagpiper find themselves trapped together in a cylindrical room. They don’t know how they got there, how long they will be there, or even who they are. They try to escape, but fall down every time they hear a loud clang.
The script is based on a short story by Marvin Petal, who was reportedly paid $250.
10. A Stop at Willoughby
IMDb score: 8.7 | Air date: May 6, 1960 | Season 1, episode 30
An ad man tired of his life falls asleep on a train and discovers a town called Willoughby. His wife critiques his fantasies, and he decides that life is better there. He steps off a moving train to his death in order to stay in the town he loves.
The train station names used in the show are reportedly from the New Haven Railroad.
9. Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
IMDb score: 8.8 | Air date: May 26, 1961 | Season 2, episode 28
Policemen are investigating a reported flying saucer crash. They find a group of bus passengers stranded at a diner while they wait out a snowstorm. Only trouble is, there are one too many passengers. The cops try to figure out which one is the Martian, while the alien has his own plans for world domination. The episode mentions fellow real-life sci-fi/fantasy writer Ray Bradbury by name as part of the story.
This is the first Twilight Zone episode directed by Montgomery Pittman.
8. The Obsolete Man
IMDb score: 8.8 | Air date: June 2, 1961 | Season 2, episode 29
In a totalitarian society, a librarian is sentenced to execution because he’s deemed obsolete. The government allows the condemned man to choose how he will die. He requires the state’s chancellor to be there for a televised showing of his death.
Burgess Meredith, who played Mickey in the Rocky films, is the librarian. He returns on the list in “Time Enough At Last” at No. 4.
7. Living Doll
IMDb score: 8.9 | Air date: Nov. 1, 1963 | Season 5, episode 6
When a man’s wife and daughter come home with a new doll, he is immediately off-put by the toy. The doll starts telling him that it hates him and wants to kill him. He tries taking a blowtorch to the doll, but she, and a flight of stairs, get the better of him.
The house set was later used in the Twilight Zone episode “Ring-a-Ding Girl.”
6. It’s a Good Life
IMDb score: 8.9 | Air date: Nov. 3, 1961 | Season 3, episode 8
In an iconic performance by Billy Mumy, a 6-year-old boy reigns terror on his small town with his powers to read minds and get rid of anyone who thinks less-than-good thoughts. The adults slowly lose their patience and are sent “to the cornfield.” Some contemplate trying to kill him, but they don’t succeed. Cloris Leachman plays the boy’s mother.
In 2003, this episode became the only one to get a sequel. It’s widely recognized as one of the best episodes of the series, and was ranked No. 3 by TIME Magazine, behind “Time Enough At Last” (ranked No. 4 on our list) and “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” (No. 5 on our list).
5. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
IMDb score: 9 | Air date: March 4, 1960 | Season 1, episode 22
When the lights go out on a tree-lined, suburban street, someone suggests that aliens are attacking. As the weirdness continues, neighbors become suspicious of each other, escalating to mass hysteria. The aliens who do want to control the planet watch from a distance as humans do a perfectly fine job of destroying themselves.
Jack Weston, who played Max Kellerman in the classic film Dirty Dancing, is one of the neighbors.
4. Time Enough at Last
IMDb score: 9.1 | Air date: Nov. 20, 1959 | Season 1, episode 8
A banker who prefers books to everything else in his life is the sole survivor when a nuclear bomb goes off while he’s in the vault reading. Since his wife and boss never gave him time to read, he’s happy to be left alone with his books. Then his glasses break. The legendary actor Burgess Meredith, plays the banker. It remains a poignant, if ironic, ode to bibliophiles and introverts everywhere.
Series creator and writer Rod Serling said this was one of his favorite episodes.
3. To Serve Man
IMDb score: 9.2 | Air date: March 2, 1962 | Season 3, episode 24
Aliens come to Earth and appear to want to make peace. Though people are initially skeptical, they’re impressed by the extraterrestrials’ helpful additions to their lives. Then, when they leave behind a book, people work to decode what it means. It’s a cookbook.
The script is based on a story by sci-fi novelist Damon Knight.
2. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
IMDb score: 9.2 | Air date: Oct. 11, 1963 | Season 5, episode 3
In one of the most famous “Twilight Zone” episodes of all time, William Shatner stars as a man recovering from a nervous breakdown. He sees a monster attacking the plane he’s flying in, but he’s not sure if it’s real. At first, he tries to downplay his concern and asks his wife to make sure the pilot checks on that part of the plane. As he becomes more convinced, he has to choose between making his wife think that he’s still crazy and saving her life.
John Lithgow plays Shatner’s famous role in Spielberg’s film version of Twilight Zone in 1983. The episode has been spoofed and parodied numerous times in popular culture, including on Saturday Night Live, in The Lego Batman Movie, and on The Simpsons.
1. Eye of the Beholder
IMDb score: 9.2 | Air date: Nov. 11, 1960 | Season 2, episode 6
Perhaps the most classic episode of the series focuses on a woman recovering from her 11th facial surgery, undergone in order to make herself look pleasing enough to avoid being sent away to a colony of hideous people. When her bandages come off, revealing what would be, in our world, a beautiful woman, the doctor is disappointed. Then, we finally see what everyone else looks like. Serling’s critique of physical beauty and conformism through the story feels even more relevant today.
The legendary makeup artist William Tuttle, who created the dazzlingly creepy and unexpected looks for this episode, also created the effects for the Morlocks in the 1960 sci-fi film The Time Machine as well as a number of other iconic films as the head of makeup at MGM during his storied 40-year career. The music is provided by the iconic composer and frequent Hitchcock collaborator, Bernard Herrmann, who also wrote the theme for the series.
This piece was originally published by Stacker. You can read the original article, with the top 100 Twilight Zone episodes, here.