The Twilight Zone ran for 5 seasons from 1959-1964 and was revived for the first time in 1985-1989, the second revival in 2002-2003, and most recently, Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone has just begun to release episodes on the first of April. The new series is being released on CBS All Access (looks like I need to make an account!)
With the excitement of the show being revived again, and by none other than Jordan Peele, I wanted to reflect upon the original episodes.
This amazing show tackled a variety of topics which are still topics of discussion to this day such as:
-Beauty standards
-Twisted justice/vengeance
-Accepting death
-Parallel universes
-Be careful what you wish for
-Can you fight fate?
-Artificial intelligence
-Humans are the real monsters
-Time travel
Note: This top list only includes episodes from seasons 1,2,3, and 5. Unfortunately, I can not include season 4 in my list because it is not available to view on Netflix.
A Penny For Your Thoughts (Season 2, Episode 16)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUhthnDQLiU
"Gaining telepathic abilities when his coin lands on its edge, bank clerk Hector B. Poole learns the difference between people's plans and fantasies."
-Netflix's episode description
A Stop At Willoughby (Season 1, Episode 30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf1jD0Z5L6M
"While napping on the train home, a harried adman dreams of Willoughby, a Utopian 1880 town, then gets a chance to make Willoughby his final last stop."
-Netflix's episode description
The Jeopardy Room (Season 5, Episode 29)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMMs7d31Q5E
"A defector is trapped in a hotel room and given 3 hours to find a hidden bomb."
-Netflix's episode description
Nightmare At 20,000 Feet (Season 5, Episode 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6gv2_KhiOg
"A man, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, becomes convinces that a monster only he sees is damaging the plane he's flying in."
-Netflix's episode description
The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street (Season 1, Episode 22)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT4N6QqGsSI
"On a peaceful suburban street, strange occurences and mysterious people stroke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensty."
-Netflix's episode description
One For The Angels (Season 1, Episode 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1tzL0QZlKI
"When Death informs salesman Lou that he'll die at midnight, Lou talks Death into a stay of execution to make a final, seemingly perfect sales pitch."
-Netflix's episode description
The Rip Van Winkle Caper (Season 2, Episode 24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mpIzO30SSE
"After a successful gold heist, the criminals and a scientist cohort put themselves in suspended animation. Decades later, they have a rude awakening."
-Netflix's episode description
The 7th Is Made Up Of Phantoms (Season 5, Episode 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTYcOIjJDK8
"Three 1960s National Guard soldiers on maneuvers near the Little Big Horn battle site find themselves unwittingly involved in Custer's last stand."
-Netflix's episode description
The Hunt (Season 3, Episode 19)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F1SxicAZ4
"Upon returning from a coon hunt, Hyder Simpson discovers that no one can see or hear him because he has passed on."
-Netflix's episode description
The Passerby (Season 3, Episode 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09oC4MTTvi8
"Near the end of the Civil War, a sergeant stops at the remains of the home of Lavinia Godwin, who's been watching wounded soldiers parade by."
-Netflix's episode description
The Man In The Bottle (Season 2, Episode 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bGbRUALaFk
A couple's luck turns when a genie springs from a bottle in their antique shop. He grants them four wishes but warns, "be careful what they wish for."
-Netflix's episode description
Living Doll (Season 5, Episode 6)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hfTP-LgW8E
A father does battle with his stepdaughter's talking doll, whose vocabulary includes such phrased as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you."
-Netflix's episode description
A Most Unusual Camera (Season 2, Episode 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hshN_LImdBU
"When three dum-dum crooks get ahold of a camera that takes pictures of the guture, they set out to make a quick fortune with their new toy."
-Netflix's episode description
The Shelter (Season 3, Episode 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TghYXxm3wq8
"As a neighborhood scrambles to prepare for an impending nuclear attack, everyone turns against the one family that installed a bomb shelter."
-Netflix's episode description
What You Need (Season 1, Episode 12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIsm97HL0EU
"When a crook learns that a psychic peddler is selling people items they'll need in the future, he attempts to exploit the gift, with dubious results."
-Netflix's episode description
To Serve Man (Season 3, Episode 24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5NWCD7D5n8
"An alien race comes to earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the aliens' language."
-Netflix's episode description
Execution (Season 1, Episode 26)
"In 1880, as outlaw Joe is about to be hanged, he's teleported to the future by a scientist, who gets a rude surprise when he tries to send Joe back."
-Netflix's episode description
Nick Of Time (Season 2, Episode 7)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=405IKLIMvJo
"A pair of newlyweds stopping in a small town are trapped by their own superstition when playing a fortune telling machine at a local diner."
-Netflix's episode description
The Midnight Sun (Season 3, Episode 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCEWd7usi_M
"When the Earth falls out of orbit, two women try to cope with the increasingly oppressive heat in a nearly abandoned city."
-Netflix's episode description
Little Girl Lost (Season 3, Episode 26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFmIIiixrA
"Awoken by the cries of his daughter, a father enters the girl's room to find she's vanished -- even though he can still hear her crying out for help."
-Netflix's episode description
Back There (Season 2, Episode 13)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clTlP_yB9jk
"After debating whether time travel can change history, a prominent Washington man finds himself in 1865, on the night President Lincoln will be shot."
-Netflix's episode description
Mirror Image (Season 1, Episode 21)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVSOCbXzdO0
"While waiting in a bus station, Millicent Barnes has the strange feeling that her doppelganger is trying to take over her life."
-Netflix's episode description
An Occurrence At Owl Creek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByOlA8fQTbw
"It is the end of the Civil War and Union troops have occupied the South. They are going to execute a Southern resistance fighter."
-Netflix's episode description
