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Title: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: JaseSF on March 19, 2009, 07:58:44 PM
When it comes to genre series, it doesn't get much better than the original, classic  Twilight Zone. Hosted and Narrated By Rod Serling, the show often had outstanding writing, acting and directing. Its stories were about people at heart (what makes  people the way they are, what's right and what's wrong, injustice, social and political issues) all wrapped up in the pretext of horror & science fiction twists.
At its best The Twilight Zone makes the viewer stop and think and reflect upon what he/she has just watched. Even lesser episodes which never managed to really  accomplish this still generally managed to capture audience interest and be entertaining.

The main three writers on The Twilight Zone were Rod Serling himself (who wrote an unbelievable 92 episodes!), Charles Beaumont (21 epsiodes) and prolific writer Richard Matheson (16 episodes). Earl Hamner Jr. and George Clayton Johnson also
wrote several episodes.

Also such reknown directors as Ida Lupino, Christian Nyby, Ted Post, Boris Sagal, Don Seigel, Buzz Kulik, John Brahm, Richard Donner and even Jacques Tourneur directed episodes..but that's just some of them.

Everyone has their favourite Twilight Zone episodes.  My personal faves include the following:

1) Time Enough At Last: Burgess Meredith starred in several of the very best Zone episodes and this one is arguably the best...a man who can never find enough time to read finally gets his wish but all isn't roses.

2) Nightmare At 20000 Feet: William Shatner stars as a former mental patient who swears there's a goblin on the outside of his plane.

3) The Masks: An old man makes his greedy inheritors wear masks in order to qualify for his inheritance.

4) Miniature: A lonely man sees the doll of his dreams come to life in a museum in this wonderful, albeit slightly disturbing, romantic fantasy episode.

5) The New Exhibit: a man who takes care of horrifying wax figures of the world's most notorious murderers begins to fancy seeing the figures come to life.

6) A Quality of Mercy: An American soldier with a strong hatred of 'the enemy' suddenly finds himself one of "them".

7) The Obsolete Man: A man is declared obsolete by the state and must choose his own form of execution. Stars Burgess Meredith yet again.

8) The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street: A study in paranoia...people believe that alien creatures may live amongst them.

9) The Shelter: When it seems a nuclear attack is imminent..one man's bomb shelter becomes an horrifying object of dispute with neighbours who weren't so prepared.

10) Nightmare As A Child: A woman encounters a little girl who helps her to remember what she had locked away inside of her.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 19, 2009, 08:58:19 PM
* TIME ENOUGH AT LAST

* TO SERVE MAN

* TALKY TINA


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: peter johnson on March 20, 2009, 11:13:04 AM
I think it's called "100 Yards Over The Rim" -- Cliff Robertson in a very understated performance as a pioneer who experiences a time warp & ends up in 1961.  Favorite.

Second Favorite:  "One For the Angels" -- Ed Wynn as a sidewalk pitchman who bargains with Death.

"It's a Good Life" -- Billy Mumy in the Jerome Bixby short story.  Don't go into the cornfield . . .

Can't remember the name, but Jonathan Winters as a demonic ghost plays pool with Jack Klugman.  Winters is perfectly chilling & proved once and for all that he really could act.

"In Praise of Pip" -- A dying Jack Klugman visits with ghostly Billy Mumy.

The Zone rules, dooood --

peter rod/denny serling


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: RCMerchant on March 20, 2009, 01:58:46 PM
I loved ALL of them! A lot of my favorites have already been mentioned.

I always liked 'Eye of the Beholder"...ya know...the one with the ugly pig people?

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/534297183_a8e2bbcc56.jpg)

Also...
"the Invaders'-Agnes Moorehead has a tiny ufo land in her house!
"I Sing the Body Electric"-It's written by Ray Bradbury!!!
.'the Midnight Sun'-Kinda like the DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE. I remeber reading this story in one of those Twilight Zone paperbacks as a kid before I ever seen the show itself!


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: WingedSerpent on March 20, 2009, 05:21:06 PM
I think my favorite would have to be On Thurday, We leave for home.  Its about a lost colony of space explorers.  The leader of the colony rulespretty much all aspects of their lives and keeps them happy with stories of Earth.  When a rescue ship finally arrives, the leader finds he has trouble with the idea of losing his authority over his colony.

It's one I watch when ever sci-fi channel has one of its marathons.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Allhallowsday on March 21, 2009, 08:57:38 PM
"It's a Good Life" based on the classic Science Fiction story by JEROME BIXBY: BILLY MUMY is a willful, vindictive godling who can do as he pleases. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfGWvexg90w


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: JaseSF on March 22, 2009, 03:11:57 PM
Great picks guys.  :thumbup:

"It's a Good Life", "To Serve Man", "Eye of the Beholder", "One For the Angels", "In Praise of Pip", "The Invaders", "The Midnight Sun" are all top notch episode for sure. I really like the nightmarish quality of "Perchance to Dream" which features a frightened man visiting a psychiatrist's office absolutely terrified of falling to sleep. "I Shot an Arrow into the Air", a kind of forerunner perhaps to PLANET OF THE APES, is a dark story of survival as four crew members of a crashed space expedition must try and survive on what is apparently a barren, desolate asteroid.



Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: ER on March 28, 2009, 03:43:31 PM
The Twilight Zone just might be the finest show in television history. Way too many good episodes to cite, but one I always particularly liked was The Changing of the Guard.



Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: hotspur on March 29, 2009, 08:00:30 PM
There was an episode about a guy with a suitcase full of odd things that he gives to people, just before they need them: bus tickets, a leaky fountain pen, etc.  It was one of the first ones I saw, I really liked it and I've never seen it since.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Raffine on March 30, 2009, 01:26:21 PM
There was an episode about a guy with a suitcase full of odd things that he gives to people, just before they need them: bus tickets, a leaky fountain pen, etc.  It was one of the first ones I saw, I really liked it and I've never seen it since.

The title of that one is, funny enough, "What You Need".

Some great episodes not mentioned, I think:
Walking Distance - A business man revisits the small town of his youth.
The After Hours - A young woman goes to a department store to purchase a thimble.
A Nice Place to Visit - A small time crook is given everything he desires by the mysterious Mr. Pip (Sebastian Cabot).
The Hitch-Hiker - A woman driving across country keeps seeing a mysterious hitchihiker. Written by Mrs. Bernard Herrmann (Lucille Fletcher)!
The Howling Man - A traveller aids a mysterious man kept captive by an order of Monks.
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? - A group of bus passangers are standed in a diner by a snowstorm, but one of them may not be what he or she seems...

One episode that's considered by 'The Experts' to be one of the lesser ones, but one I really like is Five Characters in Search of an Exit. That's the one with the Army officer, the ballerina, the clown, the hobo, and the bagpiper trapped in a mysterious, featureless room.

 




Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: JaseSF on March 30, 2009, 06:29:36 PM
Good stuff Raffine  :thumbup:

You mentioned a lot of memorable goodies there. I especially liked "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?", "Five Characters in Search of an Exit", "The Howling Man" and "Walking Distance" myself.

A couple of more goodies not yet mentioned:

"Where is Everybody?" - the pilot in which a man finds himself suddenly in a deserted world.

"Night of the Meek" - a Christmas themed episode that sees a drunken Santa (played by Art Carney) find redemption from a msyterious sack that gives people what they most want for Christmas.

"A Kind of Stopwatch" - An endlessly talkative blabbermouth finds a stopwatch which seems capable of stopping and restarting the world!

"Number 12 Looks Just Like You" - a woman actually wants to keep her face when she turns 19 instead of accepting the state funded Transformation that will give her whatever beautiful face she might desire...just like everyone else does.

Actually there's even more goodies from this series that deserve mention.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: WilliamWeird1313 on March 31, 2009, 08:48:32 AM


My personal favorite is The Obsolete Man. Burgess Meredith is one of my favorite actors, and Time Enough Last is great n' all, but I always preferred The Obsolete Man, which I feel doesn't get enough due (as opposed to Time Enough, which EVERYONE brings up ANY time you're talkin' 'bout Twilight Zone).



Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: WingedSerpent on March 31, 2009, 11:34:10 AM


My personal favorite is The Obsolete Man. Burgess Meredith is one of my favorite actors, and Time Enough Last is great n' all, but I always preferred The Obsolete Man, which I feel doesn't get enough due (as opposed to Time Enough, which EVERYONE brings up ANY time you're talkin' 'bout Twilight Zone).



There are a few that people bring up probably just because they are well known episodes.  And there were plenty of under-rated and over rated episodes.  I personally was never a big fan of "It's a Good Life". 

Another one I like is one where a cowardly, low level crook has a conversation with his better half in a mirror.  In the end, the better half takes over, and the man goes out to live (we assume) a better more productive life.  This show was know for being macabe, but there were a few epsidoes that were actually postitive and gave a sense of hope.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: peter johnson on March 31, 2009, 01:58:39 PM
I think the cowardly, low-level crook is Mickey Rooney, who also was alone in his hotel room for "Last Night of a Jockey" -- Rooney sure could act, a fact overshadowed by some poor role choices/bad agents during his career --

"The Obsolete Man" has Fritz Weaver as the judge -- what a great cast the ol' Zone had!!

Ever see the one with Robert Redford as the Angel of Death?  Priceless! 

peter johnson/denny crane


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: 316zombie on April 03, 2009, 03:45:15 PM
okay, maybe y'all can help me out.can anyone tell me what the differences are, if any, between buying the"collection" boxes,the"definitive edition "boxes, or the individual volumes? i haven't seen anything ob imdb that shows any major differences,although it was about a year ago that i checked.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: 316zombie on April 06, 2009, 03:15:21 PM
is there another thread i could post this question on, maybe? i'm very curious about this! besides the financial aspect of buying them!


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: JaseSF on April 06, 2009, 11:19:43 PM
The Definitive Editions are supposed to be the seasons in their proper order and with extras like next episode intros etc. or so I understand it. Sounds like the best choice. I have the collections but I bought that before the Definitive sets were released.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: StatCat on April 08, 2009, 01:51:33 AM
okay, maybe y'all can help me out.can anyone tell me what the differences are, if any, between buying the"collection" boxes,the"definitive edition "boxes, or the individual volumes? i haven't seen anything ob imdb that shows any major differences,although it was about a year ago that i checked.

The complete definitive edition with the entire series, 5 seasons, is the way to go. I couldn't believe it was being sold on amazon.com recently (only for about half a day) at $94, dropped from like $180 something! I bought it off a seller on ebay cheap for $117 but I don't think any price will ever top that amazon deal.

It's 28 dvds, and lots of the episodes have isolated music scores and commentaries. There's also a lot of great bonus features as well as a dvd with a documentary about Serling so 27 dvds with the series episodes in the original order with a bonus documentary dvd. 

The older collection boxes as I remember were more dvds and without all of the features of the set. Don't quote me on that though I'm not positive but really the best way to go would be to get the entire boxset cheap if you can.

I can tell you the differences between the individual definitive collection seasons- they're more money but packaged better (the definitive edition complete boxset is a bit filmsy cardboard) The discs are exactly the same.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: StatCat on April 08, 2009, 02:02:45 AM
oh and not to ignore the original message, but I haven't seen all of the episodes. I was never a huge fan but always liked it but found tv not the way to watch it so much (sci-fi channel cuts the episodes for example) but of what I've seen (haven't dug too much into the boxset- it's HUGE) mostly the well known ones I've always known:

where is everybody?, living doll, to serve man, the dummy, the after hours, twenty two...


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: 316zombie on April 09, 2009, 01:35:04 PM
thanks for the info, guys! much appreciated! :cheers:


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Raffine on April 10, 2009, 11:24:42 AM
This is pretty nifty, I think: Serling's PLANET OF THE APES edited into a 30 minute Twilight Zone episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPjGYD5H1OI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qqCkPlZbwk&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mNm0REdNJk&feature=channel


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 10, 2009, 06:37:32 PM
No mention of AN OCCURENCEAT OWL BRIDGE CREEK? Maybe it's not considered canonical, since it wasn't produced for the series.  But it was very influential on a lot of feature films tht came after it.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: blu_clover on June 06, 2009, 09:04:43 PM
That's so easy for me. It's called I sing the body electric.
I loved the Twilight Zone.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Nightowl on June 16, 2009, 07:49:40 PM
Twilight Zone is one of the great classics.

Top Ten (In No Particular Order):

1.The Mask
2.Where Is Everybody?
3.The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
4.Time Enough At Last
5.The Most Unusal Camera
6.A Penny For You Thoughts
7.The Silence
8.The Midnight Sun
9.Escape Clause
10.The Eye Of The Beholder




Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: WingedSerpent on June 16, 2009, 08:29:19 PM
I think it's called "Made of Steel" or something.  A young Dennes Hopper plays a neo-nazi who is influnced by the ghost of Adolf Hitler.

And like I said there were some that gave you a good feeling instead of dread or shock.  One of those has Donald Pleasance playing a teacher about to retire.  He thinks his life was meaningless because he never did anything. Ghost(premonitions) of students who due great things and that owe there success to him come to tell hi the positive impact he had on their life.  He retires happily.



Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 18, 2009, 03:24:40 PM
I don't remember the title, but I really found the episode where the guys who stole a bunch of gold fled into the future with it to be my favorite.  I love the ending where in the future it turns out gold is now manufactured and they had completely wasted their time and their lives for nothing.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: princess dragonmom on June 18, 2009, 03:55:27 PM
I don't remember the title, but I really found the episode where the guys who stole a bunch of gold fled into the future with it to be my favorite.  I love the ending where in the future it turns out gold is now manufactured and they had completely wasted their time and their lives for nothing.



That's The Rip Van Winkle caper, good episode, very ironic ending.


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Allhallowsday on June 27, 2009, 11:42:13 PM
There are a few that people bring up probably just because they are well known episodes.  And there were plenty of under-rated and over rated episodes.  I personally was never a big fan of "It's a Good Life". 
Well, I "personally" think you don't know much about Science Fiction.   :wink:

"Mirror Image" I caught the end of on SciFi's marathon... VERA MILES chases her elusive doppelganger around a bus terminal, eventually kindly betrayed by MARTIN MILNER, he puts his own suitcase in the wrong spot and finds himself chasing his own opportunistic doppelganger... one of the creepiest and beautiful Science Fiction!!


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: JaseSF on January 11, 2010, 05:14:23 PM
The above-mentioned neo-Nazi episode with Hitler coming back is entitled He's Alive actually. The Donald Pleasance episode is entitled The Changing of the Guard

Some more goodies:

One For the Angels: A kindly good natured sidewalk salesman makes his greatest pitch ever to one Mr. Death.

The Purple Testament: A Lieutenant Fitzgerald (William Reynolds), a young man serving in a United States Army infantry platoon unit located on the Philippine Islands during 1945, gains an unexpected and most decidedly unwanted foresight, the ability to read death upon the faces of men about to die in the war. Features a good performance from Dick York.

Steel: A tough and stubborn robot boxing manager decides to takes his broken down robot's place hoping to win five hundred dollars he desperately needs to survive.

Night Call: A bitter lonely old woman begins getting mysterious and terrifying phone calls in the middle of the night.



Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Flu-Bird on March 29, 2010, 11:54:15 PM
THE ODDESY OF FLIGHT 33 when that 707 gose backwards in time and ends up in the prehistoric days and theres that dinasoar feeding on the folage down below


Title: Re: Classic Twilight Zone - Your Favourite Episodes?
Post by: Giant Claw Jr on March 31, 2010, 12:42:43 AM
HUNDRED YEARS OVER THE RIM where the pioneer man walks over the hill and ends up on our time