The Twilight Zone: Episodes Ranked
A ranking of all 156 episodes that comprise the original version of The Twilight Zone, presented in order of best to worst.
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156 titles
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsBurgess MeredithVaughn TaylorJacqueline deWitA henpecked book lover finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.9 (6.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorRon WinstonStarsRod SerlingClaude AkinsBarry AtwaterOn a peaceful suburban street, strange occurrences and mysterious people stoke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensity.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsMaxine StuartWilliam D. GordonJennifer HowardA young woman lying in a hospital bed, her head wrapped in bandages, awaits the outcome of a surgical procedure performed by the State in a last-ditch attempt to make her look "normal."
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsLloyd BochnerSusan CummingsRichard KielAn alien race comes to Earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the aliens' language, using a book whose title they deduce is "To Serve Man."
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.7 (4.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsJohn HoytJean WillesJack ElamFollowing a frantic phone call about a crashed spaceship, two policemen try to determine who among the bus passengers at a snowed-in roadside diner is from another world.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsWilliam ShatnerChristine WhiteEd KemmerA man, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, becomes convinced that a monster only he sees is damaging the plane he's flying in.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsGladys CooperRobert RedfordR.G. ArmstrongAn old woman has fought with death a thousand times and has always won. But now she finds herself afraid to let a wounded policeman in her door for fear he is Mr. Death. Is he?
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsDennis WeaverHarry TownesWright KingAdam Grant is trapped in a recurring nightmare, in which he is sentenced to death by execution. He tries to convince the people around him that they are imaginary and that they will cease to exist if the execution is carried out.
- DirectorRobert ParrishStarsRod SerlingJames DalyHoward SmithTired of his miserable job and wife, a businessman starts dreaming on the train each night, about an old, idyllic town called Willoughby. Soon he has to know whether the town is real and fancies the thought of seeking refuge there.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.5 (3.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorLamont JohnsonStarsSusan HarrisonWilliam WindomMurray MathesonAn Army major awakens in a small room with no idea of who he is or how he got there. He finds four other people in the same room, and they all begin to question how they each arrived there, and more importantly, how to escape.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.3 (2.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert EnricoStarsRoger JacquetAnne CornalyAnker-Spang LarsenDuring the American Civil War in 1862, a condemned Confederate prisoner, Peyton Farquhar, is due to be hanged by Union troops.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsJohn LarchCloris LeachmanDon KeeferOn an isolated family farm, a young boy with vast mental powers, but lacking emotional development, holds his terrified family in thrall to his every juvenile wish.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsRobert KeithMilton SelzerVirginia GreggWealthy Jason Foster is dying and he invites his greedy heirs to a Mardi Gras party where they must wear the masks he specially had made for them or else be cut off from their inheritance.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsAgnes MooreheadDouglas HeyesRod SerlingWhen a woman investigates a clamor in the attic of her rural house, she discovers a small UFO with little aliens emerging from it. Or so it seems.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsLarry GatesJoseph BernardJack AlbertsonA suburban dinner party is interrupted by a bulletin warning of an impending nuclear attack. As the neighbors scramble to prepare themselves, they turn against the one family that installed a permanent bomb shelter.
- DirectorAnton LeaderStarsLois NettletonBetty GardeTom ReeseWhen Earth deviates from its normal orbit, getting closer to the sun, two women try to cope with increasingly oppressive heat in a nearly abandoned city.
- 1959–196451mTV-148.1 (2.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorBuzz KulikStarsJames WhitmoreTim O'ConnorJames BroderickThe first human space colony is about to be rescued from the forsaken planet they've been on for three decades. But their leader's having a hard time accepting that change will happen when they get back to Earth.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsRod SerlingAnne FrancisElizabeth AllenA woman is treated badly by some odd salespeople on an otherwise empty department store floor.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsFranchot ToneLiam SullivanCyril DelevantiAnnoyed by a club member's constant chatter, a man bets him he cannot remain silent for a year, living in a glass enclosure in the club basement.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.3 (5.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorDouglas HeyesStarsRod TaylorJim HuttonCharles AidmanThree astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsBurgess MeredithFritz WeaverJosip ElicIn a future totalitarian society, a librarian is declared obsolete and sentenced to death.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsTelly SavalasMary LaRocheTracy StratfordA frustrated father does battle with his stepdaughter's talking doll, whose vocabulary includes such phrases as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you".
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsJack KlugmanJonathan WintersDee SharonA frustrated pool champion has beaten everyone. Everyone except one man - the legendary Fats Brown. Brown is dead and the champ can only curse his name. But guess who just walked in.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsFritz WeaverEdward AndrewsJoe MarossTwo families of Government employees plan to steal a spaceship and travel to another planet just prior to a nuclear war. They must also deal with a stooge who wants to stop them.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsWilliam ShatnerPatricia BreslinGuy WilkersonA pair of newlyweds stopping in a small town are trapped by their own superstition when playing a fortune-telling machine in a local diner.
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsInger StevensAdam WilliamsLew GalloA young woman driving cross-country becomes frantic when she keeps passing the same man on the side of the road. No matter how fast she drives, the man is always up ahead, hitching her for a ride.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.1 (2.7K)TV EpisodeDirectorAbner BibermanStarsCollin Wilcox PaxtonRichard LongPamela AustinIn a future society, everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. One young woman desperately wants to hold onto her own identity.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsRod SerlingVera MilesMartin MilnerWhile waiting in a bus station, Millicent Barnes has the strange feeling that her doppelganger is trying to take over her life.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsJoseph SchildkrautOscar Beregi Jr.Karen VerneA former German SS captain returns to Dachau concentration camp and begins reminiscing on the power he enjoyed there, until he finds himself on trial by those who died at his hands.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsEarl HollimanJames GregoryPaul LangtonMike Ferris finds himself alone in the small Oakwood town and without recollection about his name, where he is or who he is. Mike wanders through the town trying to find a living soul.
- DirectorWalter GraumanStarsRobert DuvallPert KeltonBarbara BarrieMousey misfit Charley Parkes finds the world unfolding before him in a museum doll house to be more real than his boring job and overbearing mother.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsDick YorkJune DaytonDan TobinGaining telepathic abilities when his coin lands on its edge, bank clerk Hector B. Poole learns about the difference between other people's plans and fantasies.
- DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonStarsKenneth HaighAlexander ScourbySimon ScottA World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in 1959 France.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsRod SerlingGig YoungFrank OvertonA man, fed up with where he's at in life, finds himself not only in his old hometown, but back to the time when he was a boy.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG8.1 (3.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorBuzz KulikStarsCliff RobertsonJohn CrawfordEvans EvansA settler from a wagon train in 1847 sets off to find something to help his ill son and stumbles into 1961 New Mexico.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsJohn CarradineH.M. WynantRobin HughesSeeking refuge from a storm, a traveler comes upon a bizarre abbey of monks, who have imprisoned a man who begs for his help. When he confronts the head monk, he is told that the man is the Devil, and he must decide whom to believe.
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsDonald PleasenceLiam SullivanPhilippa BevansAfter being forced to retire, Professor Fowler contemplates suicide when he doesn't feel he's made a difference in the world.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsRichard LongFrank SilveraShirley BallardPaying homage to It's a Wonderful Life (1946), David Gurney wakes up to another ordinary day. Except today, nobody knows who he is including his own wife Wilma.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsMartin BalsamWill KuluvaMargaret FieldA wax-museum employee fights to preserve five figures of famous murderers.
- DirectorAbner BibermanStarsCliff RobertsonFrank SuttonGeorge MurdockVentriloquist Jerry Etherson is convinced that his dummy, Willie, is alive and evil. He locks Willie in a trunk and makes plans for a new act with a new dummy. Too bad he didn't clear those plans with Willie first.
- DirectorJustus AddissStarsJohn AndersonPaul ComiSandy KenyonPassing through the sound barrier, a commercial airliner inadvertently travels back in time.
- DirectorAnton LeaderStarsKevin McCarthyEdgar StehliEstelle WinwoodA father forbids a history professor from marrying his daughter when he discovers that the captivating lecturer is actually an immortal who has lived for thousands of years.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsGladys CooperNora MarloweMartine BartlettTelephone calls begin to haunt a disabled elderly woman.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsArt CarneyJohn FiedlerRobert P. LiebAfter a derelict Santa Claus is fired on Christmas Eve, he finds a mysterious bag that gives out presents. With this bag he sets out to fulfill his one wish - to see the less fortunate inherit the bounties of Christmas.
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsSteve CochranErnest TruexRead MorganA small time crook plans to exploit an old street peddler who has the uncanny knack of selling people exactly what they will shortly need.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsRod SerlingJack KlugmanJohn AndersonA suicidally despondent trumpet player finds himself in a bizarre world where he seems to be invisible to everyone, except for one helpful other musician.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsJoseph SchildkrautNoah KeenAlma PlattAn elderly couple shop for younger replacement bodies, then resort to desperate measures to cover the cost.
- DirectorPaul StewartStarsSarah MarshallRobert SampsonCharles AidmanAwakened in the middle of the night by the cries of his daughter, a father enters the girl's room to find that she has vanished - even though he can still hear her crying out for help.
- DirectorRalph SenenskyStarsRobert SterlingPat CrowleyBurgess MeredithA man sells his soul to the Devil to save his failing newspaper and gets more than he bargained for.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsRobert LansingMariette HartleyEdward BinnsBefore leaving on a decades-long solo mission, astronaut Douglas Stansfield meets a woman and falls in love.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsEdward AndrewsHelen WestcottKevin HagenAfter being involved with a hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of a child, Oliver Pope is haunted by his car.
- DirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsElizabeth MontgomeryCharles BronsonRod SerlingTwo survivors of an apocalyptic battle, a man and a woman from opposing sides, approach each other suspiciously.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsRod SerlingJack WardenJohn DehnerA convict, living alone on an asteroid, receives from the police a realistic woman-robot.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsJack KlugmanRoss MartinFred BeirAn interplanetary expedition from Earth finds an exact duplicate of their ship and themselves crashed on the planet they were surveying. Should they stay or risk taking off and crashing?
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsRoddy McDowallSusan OliverPaul ComiFearing the worst, the lone survivor of a crash-landing on Mars finds the native inhabitants, to his relief, very hospitable indeed, but there's a catch.
- DirectorJames SheldonStarsPhilip AbbottLili DarvasPatricia SmithA toy telephone becomes the link between a young boy and his dead grandmother.
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsRod SerlingJanice RuleShepperd StrudwickA schoolteacher keeps seeing a strange little girl in her apartment building.
- DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonStarsJoe MarossClaude AkinsMichael FordOn a desolate planet, two astronauts discover an entire society populated by incredibly small beings. One of the astronauts decides to rule the society as a god.
- DirectorMontgomery PittmanStarsLee MarvinJames BestStrother MartinOld West lawman Conny Miller visits the grave of a man who he failed to track down to prove he was never afraid of him but gets more than he bargained for.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsErnest TruexRussell CollinsJohn MarleyAn old man living in a rest home thinks he's found the secret of youth in children's games.
- DirectorRon WinstonStarsBarry NelsonNancy MaloneDenise LynnA hung-over couple awaken to find themselves not only in a strange house, but in a deserted town, where nothing is as it should be.
- DirectorTed PostStarsHoward DuffDavid WhiteFrank MaxwellA businessman sitting in his office inexplicably finds that he is on a production set and in a world where he is a movie star. Uninterested in the newfound fame, he fights to get back to his home and family.
- DirectorTed PostStarsJohn DehnerStanley AdamsJ. Pat O'MalleyMr. Garrity comes into town of Happiness, Arizona offering to resurrect the dead and to reunite the town-folk with their departed loved ones out of the goodness of his heart. Do the town-folk want these miracles?
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsJack KlugmanConnie GilchristBobby DiamondA wearied bookie, learning of his grown soldier son Pip dying in South Vietnam, gets to spend one last delightful hour with a ten-year-old version of him at an amusement park.
- DirectorJustus AddissStarsSimon OaklandOscar Beregi Jr.Lew GalloAfter successfully stealing a gold shipment, a group of criminals and their scientist accomplice put themselves in suspended animation in a remote desert cave. When they awaken decades later, complications ensue when their truck is destroyed.
- DirectorAlan Crosland Jr.StarsMaggie McNamaraMary MundayDavid MacklinMovie star Bunny Blake receives a ring from her hometown which is giving her warnings to come home while she flies cross country.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsDennis HopperLudwig DonathPaul MazurskyA tiny neo-Nazi organization struggles pathetically to succeed in a big city. A mysterious figure begins to ruthlessly guide a young, insecure U.S. Nazi leader, and the group begins to draw more attention.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsGladys CooperWilfrid Hyde-WhiteCecil KellawayA young American couple, the Ransomes, who are trying to salvage their troubled marriage, insist on booking passage on an old trans-Atlantic cruise liner. But other passengers try to persuade them to disembark immediately.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsBarbara NicholsJonathan HarrisFredd WayneWhile in the hospital recovering from overwork, Liz Powell keeps dreaming about going down to the hospital morgue.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsRichard ConteJohn LarchSuzanne LloydA fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.
- DirectorRobert ParrishStarsRod SerlingEd WynnMurray HamiltonA pitchman is visited by Mr. Death and is forced to get his priorities in order.
- DirectorAlan Crosland Jr.StarsSteve ForrestJacqueline ScottFrank AletterAstronaut Robert Gaines returns from space to a world that is not exactly the one he left from.
- DirectorAlan Crosland Jr.StarsJames CoburnJohn AndersonJosie LloydIn a post-apocalyptic settlement in 1974, the inhabitants' survival is dependent on the advice of an unseen man living in a nearby cave. This dependence is tested when a band of soldiers descends on their town.
- DirectorDavid Orrick McDearmonStarsRussell JohnsonPaul HartmanBartlett RobinsonAt a prominent club in Washington, D.C., a socialite argues about whether it would be possible to change history by traveling back in time. When he leaves the club he finds himself in 1865, on the night that President Lincoln will be shot.
- DirectorJohn RichStarsFred ClarkJean CarsonAdam WilliamsWhen three unintelligent crooks get ahold of a camera that takes pictures of the future, they set out to make a quick fortune with their new toy.
- DirectorRichard L. BareStarsRod SerlingDick YorkWilliam ReynoldsA U.S. Army lieutenant serving in the Philippines during WWII develops a harrowing ability to see in the faces of the men of his platoon, the men who will be the next ones to die.
- DirectorDavid GreeneStarsBarry MorseJoan HackettDon DurantSadistic and hated theater critic Fitzgerald Fortune buys a player piano that has the power to reveal the souls of all who hear it.
- DirectorRobert ButlerStarsNeville BrandGeorge TakeiRod SerlingPost-WWII Hawaii. Two men of once-opposing races are stuck in an attic full of war trophies, including a samurai sword waiting to dutifully avenge its slain master.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG7.4 (2.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorAbner BibermanStarsMichael ConstantinePaul FixGeorge LindseyThe Sun doesn't rise on a small town where an execution is scheduled to take place.
- DirectorPerry LaffertyStarsGeorge GrizzardGail KobeKatherine SquireA young man grapples with an urge to kill and confusion about his origins.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsLarry BlydenSebastian CabotJohn CloseWhen bad guy Henry Francis Valentine dies in a shootout with police, he wakes up in the next world where his every wish is granted forever, and ever.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG7.5 (1.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorDon SiegelStarsDon GordonGail KobeVaughn TaylorSalvadore Ross has a unique talent where he can trade physical characteristics with other people and will do anything to get the love of Leah Maitland.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMartin LandauJohn van DreelenBob KelljanA defector is trapped in a hotel room and given three hours to find a hidden bomb.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsKeenan WynnPhyllis KirkMary LaRocheA writer demonstrates he can control reality simply by dictating changes.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsLee MarvinJoe MantellChuck HicksIn 1974, boxing has been outlawed and is performed by mechanical robots. With his next and possibly last fight approaching and his robot in need of repair, he resorts to one last desperate gamble.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsJames GregoryJoanne LinvilleRex HolmanWhile headed home, a Confederate soldier meets an anguished woman at the end of the Civil War.
- DirectorJohn RichStarsRichard ErdmanHerbie FayeLeon BelascoA man is given a stopwatch that halts time.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsHarold J. StoneFredd WayneNoah KeenFederal aviation investigator Grant Sheckly must deal with a mystery when a plane lands at an airport without pilots, passengers or luggage.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsBuster KeatonStanley AdamsJames FlavinJanitor Woodrow Mulligan gets a trip from 1890 to 1962 courtesy of his employer's time-machine helmet.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsRod SerlingNehemiah PersoffDeirdre OwensIt's 1942, and a man finds himself on a ship in the Atlantic, not knowing who he is, nor how he got there. He does know the ship will soon be attacked by a German U-boat.
- DirectorHarold D. SchusterStarsArthur HunnicuttJeanette NolanRobert FoulkUpon returning from a coon hunt, Hyder Simpson discovers that no one can see or hear him because he has passed on.
- DirectorDouglas HeyesStarsCecil KellawayJeff MorrowDon DubbinsThree astronauts touch down on an asteroid, where they discover a world of people that appear to be frozen in time. Confused, they theorize as to why everyone is motionless, until a man springs to life and explains.
- DirectorPerry LaffertyStarsDavid OpatoshuEd NelsonNatalie TrundyA reporter stumbles into a peaceful town where miracles seem to occur due to technology and the townsfolk won't let him leave.
- DirectorRon WinstonStarsRod SerlingIvan DixonSteven PerryAn aging boxer finds himself the winner of a match he thought he had lost, the result a six-year-old's frantic wish. But can a world-weary, embittered man still believe in miracles, or will he turn his back on them?
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsAndy DevineMilton SelzerHoward McNearA rural gas station attendant given to telling tall tales about himself is kidnapped by aliens who believe him to be one of Earth's leading intellects.
- 1959–196425mTV-PG6.9 (1.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorRoger KayStarsEd WynnCarolyn KearneyJames T. CallahanAn old man believes that his life will end the moment his grandfather clock stops ticking.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsBrian AhernePippa ScottSydney PollackA nostalgic actor revisits his late wife and friends at their old haunt, only to find that he is now out of place there.
- DirectorDon MedfordStarsLuther AdlerVivi JanissJoseph RuskinA luckless couple stumbles upon fortune when a genie materializes from a bottle in their antique shop. The genie grants them four wishes but warns them, prophetically, to be careful what you wish for.
- DirectorAllen ReisnerStarsRod SerlingDan DuryeaMartin LandauThe town drunk in the old-west faces his past when Fate lends a hand.
- DirectorTed PostStarsPeter Mark RichmanHazel CourtRod SerlingCharlotte Scott and state trooper Robert Franklin seem to be stalked by giants.