At the time of writing, it’s the first week of 2026, and most ring in the new year with lavish parties and copious amounts of champagne. However, for us perpetual 13-year-olds, New Year’s Eve means four things: chips, dip, non-alcoholic cider, and the triumphant return of “The Twilight Zone” marathon. Like the show itself, the history of the marathon is somewhat mysterious. Did the tradition begin in 1970s New York or in 1980s Los Angeles? We may never know for sure, though we do know that its status as a beloved holiday staple was solidified by SYFY (then The Sci-Fi Channel) back in the 1990s. Stations will try to replicate the marathon’s success with similar blocks on Thanksgiving and July 4th. It’s always a great time to watch “The Twilight Zone,” but something about the show and the New Year just seems natural. Simultaneously representing a vivid past and an unknown future, “The Twilight Zone” is an ideal choice for a new beginning.
Even with its status as an “old show,” I’m sure the vast majority of you are at least a little bit familiar with “The Twilight Zone.” You probably remember the one about the gremlin on the side of the plane or that story with the freaky little boy and his gnarly powers. Maybe you didn’t watch the actual episodes, but you have undoubtedly encountered them through the countless parodies. Nearly every major TV series has tackled “The Twilight Zone” at least once. Rod Serling’s anthology of the strange is a towering achievement in its medium, and most of you know the classic tales. When “The Simpsons” first began their annual Halloween specials, every installment had at least one “Twilight Zone” spoof. I can’t even guess how many times Talky Tina from “Living Doll” has been referenced in pop culture. I just know the answer is “a lot.” “To Serve Man” and “It’s a Cookbook!” are legendary; “Eye of the Beholder” was spoofed decades later on some random episode of “Saturday Night Live.” At least 10 episodes will remain eternally popular.
That’s all well and good. Having about 10 timeless episodes from a show that began in the 1950s is undeniably impressive. However, that’s about 10 episodes out of 156. My initial idea was to name the ten greatest episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” but half of them you would know all too well. I don’t need to tell you how sensational “Time Enough at Last” is. And if this is your first exposure to the show, there are about 800,000 lists of the best episodes, most of which will have similar selections. This list celebrates episodes that have stood out to me but have not received widespread acclaim. Tales from “The Twilight Zone” that have gone overlooked, underappreciated, or just misunderstood. To commemorate another year, we take a journey to the unexplored regions of “The Twilight Zone.”
1. One for the Angels
Opening Narration – “Street scene: Summer. The present. A man on a sidewalk named Lew Bookman, age sixtyish. Occupation: pitchman. Lew Bookman, a fixture of the summer, a rather minor component to a hot July, a nondescript, commonplace little man whose life is a treadmill built out of sidewalks. And in just a moment, Lew Bookman will have to concern himself with survival – because as of three o’clock this hot July afternoon, he’ll be stalked by Mr. Death.”
We begin with the second episode of the entire series. Despite its ghoulish reputation, “The Twilight Zone” was often a rather optimistic show that highlighted the good in all of us. “One for the Angels” is an example of the kind of soft-hearted fable Rod Serling excelled at. Less horror and sci-fi, more folktale. Ed Wynn (known to modern audiences as the voice of The Mad Hatter from Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland”) plays Lew Bookman, a pleasant peddler about to die of natural causes. Visited by Death himself, Bookman tricks the Grim One into letting him live until the moment he makes the greatest sales pitch of his life: “one for the angels.” Crafty Lew Bookman then refuses to make another sale, thus rendering him immortal. But Death must take someone, and that someone happens to be a little girl who is Lew’s friend/customer.
Beyond the twists and shadows, what made “The Twilight Zone” truly special was its love of humanity. Gruesome things often occurred in the Fifth Dimension, but it was never just gloom and horror. Rod Serling and his team imbued what could’ve been an unremarkable sci-fi series with a deep empathy. They were willing to explore the stories of people and aliens. “One for the Angels” is an early example of the show’s gentler side, made both moving and humorous by Ed Wynn’s fantastic turn as the old pitchman. Murray Hamilton, of “Jaws” fame, is also brilliant as Death, ominous without malice.
2. Perchance to Dream
Opening Narration – “Twelve o’clock noon. An ordinary scene, an ordinary city. Lunchtime for thousands of ordinary people. To most of them, this hour will be a rest, a pleasant break in a day’s routine. To most, but not all. To Edward Hall, time is an enemy, and the hour to come is a matter of life and death.”
“Perchance to Dream” was the 9th episode of the series and the first written by someone other than Rod Serling. That “someone” is Charles Beaumont, a writer of sci-fi and horror stories who specialized in the weird. Beaumont was involved with approximately 22 episodes, most of which were exactly as bizarre as you would expect. “Perchance to Dream” was based on Beaumont’s short story of the same name, which you most definitely read. (It also lent its title to a collection of Beaumont’s short stories published by Penguin Classics. I highly recommend it.) While all the preceding episodes have some macabre elements, “Perchance to Dream” was when the show truly got creepy.
To describe the plot would be a disservice. It’s about a man with a powerful imagination, and I’ll leave it at that. Beaumont’s script is chilling, of course. You never truly know what’s going on, making the action all the eerier. But beyond Beaumont, the other major figure at play here is director Robert Florey. For the first time in the show’s history, but certainly not the last, we are treated to a surreal style that gives the impression of a nightmare. The carnival scenes in particular are beautifully twisted. Florey was no stranger to this type of filmmaking, having previously directed the German Expressionist-style “Murders in the Rue Morgue” for Universal. He was also the original choice for “Frankenstein,” so the man knew his horror. And “Perchance to Dream” is certainly horrific.
3. And When the Sky Was Opened
Opening Narration – Her name: X-20. Her type: an experimental interceptor. Recent history: a crash landing in the Mojave Desert after a thirty-one hour flight, nine hundred miles into space. Incidentally, the ship and the men who flew her disappeared from the radar screen for twenty-four hours.
But the shrouds that cover mysteries are not always made out of a tarpaulin, as this man will soon find out on the other side of a hospital door.
Folks, of all the scary episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” this is the one that scares me the most. It concerns an experimental spaceship and three astronauts… or is that two astronauts? Like the previous entry on the list, this one feels like a nightmare. But unlike “Perchance…,” the events are grounded. If something this extraordinary were to happen, it would probably play out like this. One of the returning astronauts remembers the third man on their mission. Unfortunately, he appears to be the only one on the planet who does.
Speaking of three men, the three most remembered for writing “The Twilight Zone” as a whole are Rod Serling, Charles Beaumont, and Richard Matheson. “And When the Sky Was Opened” was based on the story “Disappearing Act” by Matheson, making this his first appearance on this list. (That said, Serling himself wrote the script.) Among the 14 “Zone” classics Matheson wrote are “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “Little Girl Lost,” and “The Invaders.” Outside of the show, Matheson penned many sci-fi horror favorites, including “I Am Legend.” He gave “The Simpsons” years’ worth of material to spoof.
4. A Penny for Your Thoughts
Opening Narration – “Mr. Hector B. Poole, resident of the Twilight Zone. Flip a coin and keep flipping it. What are the odds? Half the time it will come up heads, half the time tails. But in one freakish chance in a million, it’ll land on its edge. Mr. Hector B. Poole, a bright human coin – on his way to the bank.”
When you think of “The Twilight Zone,” you probably don’t think of comedy. Episodes like “A Most Unusual Camera” are funny, though they’re funny in a way that serves the horror. However, there are quite a number of “Twilight Zone” episodes that go for pure, light comedy. We, the devotees of “The Twilight Zone,” do not always agree when it comes to our beloved show. But there is one thing that unites most of us: we all agree that the comedy episodes are… less good. Personally, I’m more tolerant of them than most, but even I admit they just don’t work. Slapstick and broad comedy just don’t fit the tone of the “Zone.”
One of two exceptions I can think of is “A Penny for Your Thoughts,” the story of a sensitive bank clerk (played by Dick York) who gains the ability to hear thoughts. In my opinion, there are two reasons why this works. Reason #1 is the obvious one: the humor mostly lands. As for the second reason, it’s that the story remains in the spirit of “The Twilight Zone.” Despite the laughs, “A Penny for Your Thoughts” is actually an interesting examination of the consequences that mind-reading may have. While not in the way you would expect from this show, there is a bit of suspense that works as both comedy and tension.
5. Twenty-Two
Opening Narration – “This is Miss Liz Powell. She’s a professional dancer, and she’s in the hospital as a result of overwork and nervous fatigue. And at this moment, we have just finished walking with her in a nightmare. In a moment she’ll wake u,p and we’ll remain at her side. The problem here is that both Miss Powell and you will reach a point where it might be difficult to decide which is reality and which is nightmare, a problem uncommon perhaps but rather peculiar to the Twilight Zone.”
As an experiment in cost-cutting, a handful of episodes were shot on video. Most of these were actually fairly engaging stories in their own right. What sank their reputation among fans was their decidedly uncinematic look. For example, “Night of the Meek”–the Christmas episode–remains one of my favorite half-hours of television ever. But I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t have been just a little more merry if it didn’t look like it was discovered in the Black Hills Forest. None of these episodes was bad; they would’ve been improved if they had been shot on film. Well, all of them except for “Twenty-Two.”
In the case of “Twenty-Two,” the shot-on-video look enhances the horror. German Expressionism makes a return here, aided by the videotape format to create an uncanny atmosphere. It’s hard to discuss these without spoiling them for those who haven’t seen them, but fans of the 1944 horror anthology film “Dead of Night” may recognize this story. Both were influenced by “The Bus-Conductor”, a short story by E. F. Benson published in The Pall Mall Magazine in 1906. Modern horror fans may recognize some similarities between this and “Final Destination.”
6. Hocus-Pocus and Frisby
Opening Narration – The reluctant gentleman with the sizable mouth is Mr. Frisby. He has all the drive of a broken camshaft and the aggressive vinegar of a corpse. As you’ve no doubt gathered, his big stock in trade is the tall tale. Now, what he doesn’t know is that the visitors out front are a very special breed, destined to change his life beyond anything even his fertile imagination could manufacture. The place is Pitchville Flats, the time is the present. But Mr. Frisby’s on the first leg of a rather fanciful journey into the place we call the Twilight Zone.
Remember how I said “A Penny for Your Thoughts” was one of two comedy episodes that work for me? “Hocus-Pocus and Frisby” is the other one. Somerset Frisby, the wily and rotund teller of tall tales, is possibly my favorite protagonist in the entire series. He’s a liar and a braggart, but you can’t help but be enchanted by him. Andy Devine’s hoarse voice and wild charisma make his performance of Frisby simply delightful.
Unlike the average episode of “The Twilight Zone,” there’s no profound commentary on the nature of mankind. Really, the whole thing is a parable along the lines of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” A plucky hero with imagination and a motor mouth outsmarts aliens from outer space. “Hocus-Pocus and Frisby” is just a fun romp with a lovable lead. That said, the aliens are genuinely freaky. I bet at least a few dozen children were traumatized by them.
7. Elegy
Opening Narration: The time is the day after tomorrow. The place: a far corner of the universe. A cast of characters: three men lost amongst the stars. Three men sharing the common urgency of all men lost. They’re looking for a home. And in a moment, they’ll find home; not a home that is a place to be seen, but a strange, unexplainable experience to be felt.
And now we reconnect with our dear friend, Mr. Charles Beaumont. Three astronauts land on an asteroid where everything resembles different moments in Earth’s past. Everything appears to be frozen in time, save for an overly cheery caretaker played by Cecil Kellaway. This one, I will keep short. Preferably, you would go into “Elegy” completely blind. But since you’re here, I’ll just say three things: it’s deeply weird, it’s intensely creepy, and it resembles a famous Vincent Price movie. I won’t tell you which one. And like many “Twilight Zone” episodes, it recycles props from “Forbidden Planet.”
8. Jess-Belle
Opening Narration: The Twilight Zone has existed in many lands at many times. It has its roots in history, in something that happened long, long ago and was told about and passed down from one generation of folk to the next. In the telling, the story gets added to and embroidered on, so that what might have happened in the time of the Druids is told as if it took place yesterday in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such stories are best told by an elderly grandfather on a cold winter’s night by the fireside in the southern hills of the Twilight Zone.
Speaking of “Forbidden Planet,” Anne Francis stars in “Jess-Belle,” the story of a young woman who becomes a witch in order to win the love of the man who spurned her. Quite frankly, “Jess-Belle” is unlike any other episode of the show. For starters, it’s a rural fairytale that operates on the logic of such fables. Rod Serling does his normal introduction, but there’s no closing narration. Unless I’m mistaken, Jess-Belle is the only episode of the original series without such an outro. There’s also a folksy song that tells the tale of the tragic Jess-Belle.
Truthfully, Jess-Belle is the episode that inspired this list. Not many people outside die-hard fans are aware of it, and those die-hard fans are split down the middle. “Jess-Belle” has made appearances on best-of and worst-of lists. I could see how some would find it hokey, especially compared to the type of sophisticated storytelling we’ve come to expect from “The Twilight Zone.” Take it not as your traditional episode, but as the kind of folk yarn your grandmother might’ve told you before bed.
9. The Four of Us Are Dying
Opening Narration – His name is Arch Hammer, he’s 36 years old. He’s been a salesman, a dispatcher, a truck driver, a con man, a bookie, and a part-time bartender. This is a cheap man, a nickel-and-dime man, with a cheapness that goes past the suit and the shirt; a cheapness of mind, a cheapness of taste, a tawdry little shine on the seat of his conscience, and a dark-room squint at a world whose sunlight has never gotten through to him. But Mr. Hammer has a talent, discovered at a very early age. This much he does have. He can make his face change. He can twitch a muscle, move a jaw, concentrate on the cast of his eyes, and he can change his face. He can change it into anything he wants. Mr. Archie Hammer, jack-of-all-trades, has just checked in at three-eighty a night, with two bags, some newspaper clippings, an odd talent, and a master plan to destroy some lives.
What a title! It’s the kind that immediately draws you, even before you know the plot. And boy, is the plot a doozy! This is the story of a man who can change his face and assume the form of anyone. He’s four Mr. Hydes in one. Instead of being a monster story, it’s a gritty noir thriller about a man who can be anyone and decides to be the wrong people. Neon, jazz, and sci-fi come together for a crime drama that could only exist in “The Twilight Zone.”
10. Ring-a-Ding Girl.
Opening Narration – Introduction to Bunny Blake. Occupation: film actress. Residence: Hollywood, California, or anywhere in the world that cameras happen to be grinding. Bunny Blake is a public figure; what she wears, eats, thinks, and says is news. But underneath the glamour, the makeup, the publicity, the buildup, the costuming, is a flesh-and-blood person, a beautiful girl about to take a long and bizarre journey into The Twilight Zone.
Once again, I am faced with the problem of how to approach a summary. So many of these episodes are just better if you don’t know exactly what’s going on, and the best way to experience a story like this is to go in with little to no info. I cannot say whether it would have the same effect on me if I had first watched it as an adult, but “Ring-a-Ding Girl” took me completely by surprise the first time I saw it as a child. Bunny Blake was not who I thought she was, and I couldn’t even guess the basic premise. When you are trying to convince people to watch an episode, it helps to describe what makes it great. In the case of “Ring-a-Ding Girl,” it’s best not to know anything. Just trust me when I say it’s a heartbreaker. Ring-a-ding!
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