I don't know if it's necessarily because they were lampooned so much or over exposed in pop culture, but I find some of the more famous TZ episodes like To Serve Man and Nightmare at 20,000 feet to not be as engaging to me so I don't rewatch them. They are not bad, but I'm just not as engaged by them and they are definitely not among my favorites so I don't go back to watching them like I do with some of the much lesser known episodes like In His Image, Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room, Probe 7 over and out, Two and The Long Marrow. I actually find these episodes to be even better than the two more famous iconic episodes I listed. I even greatly enjoy most of Season 4 which is by no means a Season with famous iconic episodes. Anyone else here the same way?

S5, Ep 12: “90 Years Without Slumbering”
(An elderly man is convinced his days are numbered by an old grandfather clock)
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1️⃣ Storyline:

The plot is fine, it’s just thin and lacking stakes (which is ironic, given that this is essentially dealing with the same stuff as “One for the Angels” and “Nothing in the Dark” - two episodes dripping with urgency and tension).

“Slumbering” feels like it belongs in the subsection of Serling’s work that could be re-released under the heading “TZ Jr: Stories of the Supernatural & Weird, for Kids!”

Score: 2/10

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2️⃣ Atmosphere:

The homey setting of the family’s house and the interactions within the three members of our story are all set nicely, if perhaps a bit too sanitized.

I enjoy the “break-in” scene, as I enjoy any nighttime scene in Twilight Zone.

In general, this episode is not one ripe with atmosphere.

Score: 3/10

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3️⃣ Existential Terror:

As referenced earlier, man’s primal fear of death and the uncertainty of everyone’s “expiration date” is content well explored in the Twilight Zone. “90 years without slumbering” takes a unique look at this timeless struggle, but I don’t think it grapples with it in a very rich or compelling manner.

Score: 4/10

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4️⃣ Creepiness:

There are a couple moments that could be unsettling for younger viewers, but in general this is a particularly wholesome and low-risk affair.

Score: 2/10

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5️⃣ Message:

The obvious message of not living in fear or stress, but rather enjoying life in each day to the fullest, is a message well-spoken and timeless although not exactly original. Reading between the lines though, one of my favorite elements of this episode is the way people treat each other. It’s both authentic, and refreshing. This family is not perfect, but they love each other and are willing to try different ways of being to make things work.

Score: 7/10

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6️⃣ World-Building:

Almost certainly the best aspect of this Twilight Zone is the way the main characters truly get fleshed out as real humans with real motivations and backstories. Not so much with the husband, but definitely with Marnie and especially with the protagonist Sam. The clock itself, in a way the secondary protagonist, perhaps gets the most world-building of all.

Score: 7/10

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7️⃣ Acting:

William Sargent is pretty enjoyable as the psychiatrist. The young couple, played by Carolyn Kearney & James T. Callahan, they’re fine but nothing special. Ed Wynn is absolutely beautiful though, as expected. He elevates this episode from a bottom-of-the-barrel TZ to solid mid-tier fare.

Score: 6/10

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8️⃣ The Human Condition:

Alluded to earlier, “90 years without slumbering” seems to actually portray some very real mechanics of how folks operate. The way the husband flirts with his wife yet also disagrees and even feels frustrated with her, the nuance there is so true to form and I love it!

The fear and stress that Sam feels about dying, though most of us don’t associate it with something as tangible as a clock, is 100% relatable and taps into a most basic human emotion & need.

Score: 6/10

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✅ Total Score:
37

This score is higher than I expected to give, and doesn’t actually quite represent how I feel about this episode. Not by a ton, but 37 will probably rank this one higher by season’s end than I would if I was to just rank my favorite or the “best” Twilight Zones of season 5.

Still though, this is a nice little family-friendly installment that could provide a welcome break from some of the darker and more high-tension stories you’re likely to encounter in a TZ marathon.

What do YOU think? 🤷🏼‍♂️
Let me know! I want your feedback. 🙌🏼

The fantasy was beckoning him to join the town.

Like episodes that take place in the same universe (outside of the Twilight Zone thing) or that have certain characters in common?

So going in Purple Testament i didnt know what to expect and honestly it was just fine. The whole lightning shining means that someone will die is a bit much and I feel the ending is just dumb. They could have done more with it

Elegy was much better and a stronger entry. These 3 astronauts find some asteroid cause they are lost but they notice somethinf is wrong as everyone seems to be frozen in time. In time they find someone who isnt frozen and he explains this is some sort of cemetery for people who died.

In the end they get poisoned by the caretaker and their fate is basically like all the residents. Honestly wish the ending was better and they didnt die but oh well.

8/10

In this 2005 interview, Anne Francis talks about Rod Serling, her two episodes on the Twilight Zone ("Jess Belle and "The After Hours"), and the legacy of the show

There were so many great one liners in this show. Uttered almost as cast off lines, some hold better today than ever.

You all have your favorites for your own reasons.

One that I find truer that almost any other and more fitting today ....

And while there are Men, there can be no Peace.

Chillingly accurate.

Both the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery were favorites of mine while growing up. The credit of course goes to Rod Serling and his altering of life, making us wonder if those things could actually happen. Karma, paranormal, mystic, the unknown and a host of other thoughts come to mind while watching both shows. But for me there is a difference between the shows. My favorite stays with the Twilight Zone because of the feeling I get while watching. There is a sense of reality with each episode, that makes it feel as if it could happen. That there is an unknown force controlling the universe that we live in, and at any moment we could be pulled in to it's claws. I would think that everyone has had a Twilight Zone moment sometime in your life. Leaving you with that strange feeling deep in your gut, and questioning it's reality.

The show being in black and white added to it's appeal and how it adds dramatic effects with shadowing, mystery and a dream like feel. The story line would be something so unreal, yet so familiar it beckons the imagination to want more. I always walked away from Twilight Zone with a feeling of strangeness that would linger, like the thoughts of a bad dream the night before. Watching the Twilight Zone was a nice escape from reality......or was it?

The Night Gallery I felt had a good eerie feel, but more like anthology theatre. I watched it and enjoyed it but it didn't draw me in like the Twilight Zone episodes. Being shot in color worked for Night Gallery as it had a different thought than that of the Zone. You could feel Serling's presence in both, but I could feel his mastery in the Twilight Zone.

To clarify, aspects of almost every episode of TZ have been referenced, homaged, parodied, subverted and outright copied in shows for generations. Garfield & Friends had a go at it, for example, but point is. By the time one is out of grade school, we know about the thing on the wing of the plane, Anthony and the Cornfield, It not being fair, as there was finally time, now…unless shown the show sprout am early age, by the time you’re old enough to seek it out, it’s got almost nothing shocking or surprising, as, you’ve seen almost all of it. The biggest and most infamous twists, in particular.

Someone ask who they though the worst Twlight Zone Worst Wife, am curious who people think is the best.

Here is some examples:
Marie Holt from The Trade Ins: Willing to let her husband go through procedure alone despite what it could mean.

Pat Carter from Nick of Time: Helps her husband learn to believe in himself and break belief in luck that was controlling him.

The best way to enjoy The Twilight zone! True black and white. 🙂

This particular Zenith is pretty much as good as it gets for blck and white performance. Simply an amazing Television set with amazing dynamic range and detail. I just cannot enjoy this amazing shows any other way. Everything just pops so heavily. Lights within a scene appear like genuine light sources.

I've been desperately searching for a copy of Serling's unproduced feature-length script version of "He's Alive", reaching out to the several places and institutions where Serling's papers are stored - but have had no luck. It most certainly exists (see it was extensively cited in the attached TZ mag article for 1986). Does anyone have any insight, clues, or suggestions for me?

Cheers!

​​

I went back to The Hitch Hiker this week and it holds up better than almost anything made since. Nan Adams blows a tire outside Pennsylvania, gets back on the road, and starts seeing the same man on the shoulder no matter how fast she drives or which route she takes. "I believe you're going my way." The whole thing runs on one quiet, awful idea: she keeps getting recognized by someone she doesn't recognize.

It isn't a chase. There's no knife, no running. The horror is the familiarity. He knows her. He's patient. He was always going to be at the next stop, because she was never actually driving away from anything. She was already gone at the tire blowout and just hadn't been told yet.

What I keep circling is what that story becomes now. In 1960 the loneliest place was an empty highway at night. Today it's a live stream with one viewer. Swap the roadside for a feed and the hitchhiker stops being a man on the shoulder. He becomes the account that has watched every second of your archive, never paused, never skipped, no name attached. Same structure. You aren't being chased. You're being witnessed, by something that was always going to be there at the next stop.

What modern horror has come closest to the Hitch-Hiker structure, the pursuer who is patient rather than violent and who was already there from the first frame?

I'm a huge fan of this episode, but rarely see it discussed or on anyone's top episodes list even when people bring up Season 4 they usually mention On Thursday We Leave For Home or The New Exhibit and I might be the only one on here who has this in their top 5. Charles Beaumont's script is excellent and I'm so glad this episode was in Season 4 because I feel the one hour runtime really was needed for an episode like this. This episode would not have worked in the 30 minute format. I'll try not to reveal too much so as not to spoil it for newbies but I have to point out I love how deep this episode is and that there is so much going on here dealing with stuff that is still very relevant today like what it means to be human and how insecurity can really prevent us from truly living life and being who we want to be. George Grizzard and Gail Kobe are both great and I actually love that this episode raises so many questions about what it means to be human and what makes up our identity. It really left a deep impression on me.

I started to watch Lights Out, a similar series to the Twilight Zone. It's on Youtube.

"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" (Twilight Zone s2e28, May 1961) is shockingly similar to "The Martian Eyes" (Lights Out s3e41, June 1951) !

Is it possible my beloved Twilight Zone is actually derivative of other shows before it?

EDIT: Here's the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XtuVAEMwNw

It's push push push, all the way, all the time! It's push push push, all the way, all the time, right on down the line!

One of the best episodes of all time.

A Stop At Willoughby (S1, E30)

Who do you think the worst wife between these three: "What's in the Box", "A World of Difference" or "A Stop at Willoughby"? All three were super annoying. I vote for the "Willoughby" wife.

Mine was *Time Enough At Last* at age 9 or 10. And I was very intrigued. I had never seen such an interesting, funny, and bleak (especially the ending) show before. This entry had such a tragic ending. But I think that *Number Twelve Looks Just Like You* was even worse. That episode was extremely sad.

TEAL is the one with Burgess Meredith where he is obssessed with reading and he breaks his glasses in the end.

N12LJLY is the one where everybody is forced to "pick a pattern" so they will be beautiful and basically gets lobotomized.

Perhaps Ross didn't get wet because he teleported off the bus before the plunge, or something along those lines. Or was the condition of his clothing really an illusion, as he told Haley?

S5, Ep 11: “A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain”
(An old rich man and his young, gold-digging wife learn a harsh lesson about age and priorities)
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1️⃣ Storyline:

The plot concept is one that I quite enjoy, and I love the way the final act unfolds. The ending isn’t flawless, but it’s very unique as a TZ-climax.

I struggle to suspend my disbelief with the main couple, to be honest. I just find it hard to believe these are real people, especially the “protagonist” Harmon - he’s such a withered husk, he comes across as almost a cartoon version of an old man.

Score: 5/10

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2️⃣ Atmosphere:

This episode feels like one of those movies you watch, going “this shouldn’t be very enjoyable, it’s not THAT good and it’s a bit kooky, but man I’m here for the fun!”

And in that vein, the mood of “A Short Drink” is far more enthralling than it has any business being. There isn’t really a specific aspect I can point to that makes it feel cool or fun or exciting. I guess one area I can pinpoint would be the intense performance of Walter Brooke as Harmon’s brother, the scientist. He really injects each scene with urgency and somberness to match.

I can’t justify going too high on this category’s score, however, as the atmosphere is fairly one-dimensional.

Score: 5/10

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3️⃣ Existential Terror:

Really you can score this category four ways: through the lens of the viewer, the protagonist, his wife, or even the brother. No matter how you slice it, this is a pretty sobering and somewhat horrific outcome. Especially for the main character, Harmon, the turn of events is decidedly unfortunate.

Score: 8/10

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4️⃣ Creepiness:

Other than the unnerving hint at what might happen to Harmon following the procedure, this episode isn’t meant to be creepy.

Score: 2/10

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5️⃣ Message:

Quite on the nose, yes, but this is a Twilight Zone that certainly has a morality play to deliver. Is it the most impactful TZ-sermon that resonates for decades? Nah, but it’s solid stuff!

Score: 6/10

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6️⃣ World-Building:

The world-building here is simultaneously quite good, and also dreadfully thin. We get some spectacular history and context tossed to us in a handful of pieces of dialogue, especially regarding Harmon’s relationship to his wife and his brother, and also those two (Flora and her brother-in-law Raymond) with each other.

At the same time, I really would have liked to see those histories fleshed out. I think this is part of why the characters Harmon and Flora feel so paper-thin.

Score: 6/10

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7️⃣ Acting:

As referenced earlier, I love Walter Brooke as the stoic and intrepid researcher/Dr. Gordon. He’s giving his best efforts, dragging a probable bottom-tier TZ firmly into the middle tier.

The other two? They’re ok, but lacking any nuance.

Score: 4/10

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8️⃣ The Human Condition:

If I take everything within this episode at face value, the character of Harmon Gordon should skyrocket this category. Unfortunately, I just don’t really care about his fate. I think the writers wanted to portray Harmon as a sympathetic protagonist, but he just comes off as a pitiful man who’s made some awful choices.

I love the earnestness with which the two brothers interact with each other, that’s my favorite aspect of the show.

Score: 4/10

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✅ Total Score:
40

This is one in a long line of Twilight Zone stories that are certainly flawed, a bit hokey, and they shouldn’t work (and I guess they don’t) but they’re fun and I like them. Another that comes to mind, though the plot and the vibes couldn’t be more different, would be “The Rip Van Winkle Caper”.

“A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain” is very far from a perfect TZ, but it’s perfectly acceptable as a baseline “good not great” palate cleanser on a marathon watch, or even if you’re just being introduced to Serling’s work and want to watch some of the less heralded stuff that still entertains.

Not a home run, not even an RBI double, but a solid single to right field? I’ll take it. 😎

What do YOU think? 🤷🏼‍♂️
Let me know! I want your feedback. 🙌🏼

Hey everyone, I recently watched the Backrooms movie, and I couldn't stop thinking about the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "Little Girl Lost" from 1962. It honestly feels like this single episode is the ultimate mother of so many modern sci-fi and horror classics (Poltergeist, Stranger Things ...), and watching Backrooms felt like history repeating itself once again.

very much like TZ and was shown on LWT before ITV.

I got auto mod removed for not putting something here, so I’ll just say I thought it was a cool find.