Every New Year's, the Syfy channel runs a marathon of the original Twilight Zone episodes. If you've never seen the show, I HIGHLY recommend it. Created by Rod Serling in 1959, the show explores almost any genre you can think of; it's a mix of horror, comedy, science-fiction, drama, and superstition. For those of you who have not seen it, I've put together a list of 11 of my favorite episodes in the hopes that you will fall just as much in love with the show as I have (and all of these are on Netflix so you unless you don't have Netflix, you have no excuse).
1. Season 1, Episode 1: "Where is Everybody?"
This is the very first episode of the whole series and one of the best. A military man wanders around a small town searching for any sign of life and suffering from amnesia. He cannot remember who he is and he seems to be completely alone in this town - there are no animals or humans in sight.
2. Season 1, Episode 12: "What You Need"
A crook discovers an old man who can somehow give someone exactly what they need; like giving you a pair of scissors ten minutes before your scarf gets stuck in an elevator and starts to strangle you. The crook attempts to exploit this older man, with not-so-fortunate results.
3. Season 1, Episode 16: "The Hitchhiker"
A woman driving across the country is followed by a hitchhiker, who seems to appear and disappear out of nowhere everywhere she goes. Unaware that everything is not as it seems, she believes he is trying to kill her.
4. Season 1, Episode 22: "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"
After some strange occurrences occur, the residents of a peaceful suburban street begin to turn on each other as paranoia sets in and leads to disastrous consequences.
5. Season 2, Episode 6: "The Eye of the Beholder"
Packed with sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat anticipation, this one centers around a young woman who, for the most of the episode, is in a hospital bed with her head wrapped in bandages after the third attempt at a State-mandated surgery to make her face look "normal".
6. Season 2, Episode 28: "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?"
After receiving a phone call about an unidentified flying object, two police officers try to figure out which bus passenger in a snowed-in roadside diner is not human.
7. Season 2, Episode 29: "The Obsolete Man"
Set in a futuristic totalitarian society, a librarian is tried by the government and declared "obsolete".
8. Season 3, Episode 19: "The Hunt"
After returning from a hunt, an older man discovers that no one can see or hear him because he has died.
9. Season 3, Episode 21: "Kick the Can"
An old man living in a nursing home believes he has found the secret to eternal youth in children's games.
10. Season 5, Episode 6: "Living Doll"
After his step-daughter receives a doll for her birthday, a man begins hearing the doll say things such as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you".
11. Season 5, Episode 36: "The Bewitchin' Pool"
This episode is probably in my top 5 favorite episodes. It's about two children who escape their parents - who don't care about them in any way - by swimming through a portal in their pool to a land with lots of other kids watched over by a kind old woman.
