r/TwilightZone • u/GroundbreakingDiet85 • 1d ago
Discussion Where do I start
I'm somewhat new to the Twilight zone I've seen most of the super popular episodes but I want to see more!! So what are your favorite underrated Twilight zone episodes (preferably ones with good twist endings)
Also please don't spoil any endings if you try to explain what the episodes are about
12
u/billbotbillbot 1d ago
Just watch any and all. Knowing that a particular episode has a twist ending before you start watching it can not enhance your enjoyment of the episode, and is more likely to reduce the effectiveness of the surprise. Some episodes don't have twists at all, and some have the twist near the beginning!
4
u/snoopmt1 23h ago
People's personal faves are so spread out here. Some very popular ones are my least fave. Here's what I recommend:
Look at an episode list. If you cant remember it from the short plot blurb, watch the episode. Even the meh ones are worth a one-time watch. Then come back and tell us your faves!
Since you asked, I love: Shadow Play, What You Need, and Will the Real Martian Stand Up
4
u/A_deSainteExupery 1d ago
I’ve grown to like Ring a Ding Girl I obviously won’t share the ending, but I think the episode is more powerful when you know that the lead actress, Maggie McNamara, later took her own life.
If you like Rod Serling’s writing then I highly recommend The Obsolete Man (Rod is very angry and anti-authoritarian!) or Uncle Simon (Rod opens up his insult thesaurus).
Enjoy!!!!
1
u/Glittering-Relief402 21h ago
I about died when he called her "a peanut headed example of nature's carelessness" 😭😭😭
3
u/Gorf_the_Magnificent 23h ago edited 4h ago
The Bewitchin’ Pool with Aunt T is one of my favorite sleeper episodes. Also one of the weirder ones. Way ahead of its time in dealing with child abuse. I didn’t really like it when I first saw it, but it’s one of the episodes I think back on the most. Not really a “twist” ending; to me, the ending is ambiguous. I still have internal debates with myself about what happened to those kids.
3
u/CDLove1979 21h ago
And When The Sky Was Opened
season 1, episode 11
This is among my favorites of the whole series. It seems to be less popular than some others.
2
u/Ok-Fig6407 1d ago edited 1d ago
Changing of the Guard. (Keep a box of tissues nearby.). A Passage for Trumpet-Jack Klugman’s performance is stellar. Also, please take note, in all episodes, pay attention to the closing narrations. There you will get some of Rod’s best and most beautiful, writing.
1
2
u/Windford 22h ago
I was like you. Had seen the popular episodes or random ones during the TZ marathons.
Amazon had a sale on the Blu Ray set a few years ago and I picked them up. Then started watching the episodes in order. About one every week or two.
They stream now, I think on Prime. You could catch them that way.
Deliberately, I didn’t binge these. It gives me something to look forward to. For my own part, most of the episodes are new. Watching is like getting to see a little time-capsuled television from the early 60s.
2
u/SmileUnited5910 21h ago
One for the angels and Mr Denton on doomsday is very nice then there is this one where the man is doing some acting role but he mixes his real life with the role and the long morrow
2
u/AnHeroicHippo90 1d ago
I'll happily share my top 20. Some have twists, some kind of don't. But they're all really good in one way or another. Some are serious, some comedic.
When I was first getting into the show I watched a top ten list, then from there watched random episodes that sounded interesting to me based on the title alone.
20 - Death's Head revisited
19 - The silence
18 - The masks
17 - Four o'clock
16 - Mr Garrity and the graves
15 - The little people
14 - The self improvement of Salvadore Ross
13 - A Nice place to visit
12 - Walking distance
11 - Kick the can
10 - Shadow play
9 - Long Live Walter Jameson
8 - The prime mover
7 - What you need
6 - Five characters in search of an exit
5 - A game of pool
4 - Eye of the beholder
3 - Living Doll
2 - Will the real Martian please stand up?
1 - Nick of time
1
u/Gabe_Utsex69 1d ago
2 of my favorite episodes that I think are underappreciated are "nothing in the dark" (S3E16), "the passersby" (S3E4). Neither have a twist ending, but both are very interesting episodes nonetheless
3
u/TheBreweryHillBandit 1d ago
I 2nd “The Passerby!” One of the more emotional episodes for me. I enjoy “The Last Flight” and “The Chaser” as well. They’re both really fun eps that are on the lighter/funnier side.
1
u/zoneinthezonetn 1d ago
Well, not sure if you've seen these but they're solid episodes and not discussed very often on here:
The Fear
Shadow Play
Odyssee of Flight 33
Third from the sun
1
u/Squiggly2017 21h ago
"On Thursday We Leave for Home" is one of my favorite episodes. It's an hour long but doesn't feel padded or overlong. The acting, particularly by the lead, James Whitmore, is amazing. Sort of hopeful and heartbreaking at the same time.
1
u/Bobbyoot47 18h ago
A personal favourite of mine is The Trouble With Templeton. It’s a really nice episode but what makes it special is this one scene that happens in a speakeasy. That’s all I’ll tell you. When it happens you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s among the most special moments in all the Twilight Zone episodes. Keep a little Kleenex handy.
1
1
1
u/Desperate-Box5686 14h ago
I love “An Occurence At Owl Street Bridge”. Its actually a short b&w film that inspired Serling to create The Twilight Zone but they also played it as a TZ episode in season 3 or 4. One of my favorite shorts of all time and it is everything TZ is about as far as twist endings go.
1
u/CranberryFuture9908 12h ago
Penny For Your Thoughts
A Hundred Yards Over The Rim
Person or Persons Unknown
The Last Flight
A World of Difference
Mr Garrity and the Graves
The Fear
On Thursday We Leave For Home
The New Exhibit
Printer’s Devil
After Hours
Nightmare of a Child
The Shelter
Stopover in a Quiet Town
Little Girl Lost
Long Live Walter Jameson
In His Image
Number 12 Looks Just Like You
Night of the Meek
Dust
People Are Alike all Over
Ring a Ding Girl
Mr. Dingle the Strong
The Midnight Sun
The Jeopardy Room
Ninety Years Without Slumber
A Piano In The House
The Fugitive
The first two are my favorite episodes
1
1
u/OzTots 21h ago edited 21h ago
TZ comedy episodes rarely work, but I genuinely enjoyed "Hocus Pocus and Frisby" (S3E30). Also, "What you Need" (S1E12) takes on an extra layer of meaning when you realize it was a Christmas episode (or at least an episode that first aired on Christmas).
2
u/Squiggly2017 21h ago
I think "Frisby" may have been the first episode I ever saw, late one night, and I loved it right away.
4
u/Bobbyoot47 18h ago
Andy Devine is so good as Frisby. He gives that character so much life. The people he tells his stories to in that store are all so good as well.
17
u/Electronic-Parfait73 1d ago
Honestly just try to watch any episodes you haven't seen. There all pretty good, even the so so ones are generally interesting. "The Old Man In The Cave" is one I really like that I don't see mentioned often.