Jim Dugger's Favorite Original Twilight Zone Episodes.

This is a great episode, one that I hold a special fondness for. Your classic "Who done it?" mystery. Basically two cops check out a disturbance that leads them to an isolated diner where a Martian is hiding out amongst some people and they got to find out who it is. Has mystery, suspense, intrigue, even some humor.

I love showing this one to people who've never seen many (or any) Twilight Zone episodes...it gives a good indication of what the TV series is about. The ending has a nice twist that you won't see coming (the first time obviously).

It has moved around my top six but I should go with my gut feeling and keep it here, where it belongs...at least until I change my mind lol.

A true classic. Not only was I in a similar situation, I think most of us over the course of life can compare ourselves to Gart Williams, the lead character of this story about a man who is not happy with his job, his spouse, and to live in the society he lives in. His only salvation seems to be...A stop at Willoughby.

He lives in a world with a money-hungry woman who he doesn't get along with, a job and moreover a boss which he can't stand, and he just starting to crack under pressure. During the long train ride home one day he awakens to find himself the only passenger on a different train that seems to have gone back in time. The conductor comes by and offers him a chance to visit Willoughby, a town in 1888 - quiet little village where a man can slow down to a walk and live his life full measure.

He doesn't get off the first time, but every now and then he awakens on that train, being offered the chance to go. This story is great and very re-watchable. Over time this has crept up slowly on my favorite list to where it stands today. #4 on my list of closing narrative's too.

This episode is the one people talk about the most I think, and for good reason. Another one with a lot of good humor, it is a must watch, even if you've never seen an episode before. It's the ending that gets you in this one.

Burgess Meredith plays a scrawny, timid book worm of a husband to an over-bearing wife who dislikes his reading almost as much as she dislikes him. Even his boss is starting to dislike the very sight of him. Not sure which of those two dislike him more lol.

He never has time to himself and then after a hydrogen bomb hits, he suddenly finds that he has, Time Enough At Last.

Another classic. This episode has a great cast and it just gives you examples of what bad things people can do to each other. There is one big question that bugs me though...(What took Pete Van Horn so long to get back from one street over?).

It's about a handful of families that live on Maple Street. They hear what sounds like a meteor overhead and then everything stops working - electricity, water, automobiles, etc. Then they try to find out who the monster is, a regular witch hunt. Then they realize far too late their worst enemy is themselves.

It also has, in my opinion, the #1 closing narrative of any episode.

Rod Serling's favorite episode and for me it really hits home. Should be a top five episode, but to me this was almost done "too good" and it reminds me of Rod Serling's Night Gallery episode "Tearing down Tim Riley's Bar" which really hits the mark and can make it hard to watch depending on your mood.

This episode is about a man (Martin Sloan) who has a nervous breakdown, gets in his car, and drives away. He stops at a gas station where he calms down a bit and decides to get an oil change. The guy says about 30 minutes. He notices a sign that reads "Homewood - 1.5 Miles", the place where he spent his childhood. He goes "One and a half miles, that's Walking Distance" and instead of waiting, he decides to take a walk towards his old hometown where he grew up, some 25 years ago.

Slowly he realizes that he finds himself back in time where he meets his younger version and he desperately wants to talk to him about enjoying his childhood to the fullest because it goes quickly and it's a special and brief period. He keeps getting pushback from his parents, especially his dad telling him to go back and let be. The dialog they discussed at the end is just a stunning piece of wisdom, insight, and simply good advice that we all must keep in mind...it was brilliant.

This episode to me has the 2nd best closing narrative of any episode, just slightly behind "Monsters are due on Maple Street".

People's point of view vary I know, but to me this one can be classified as a comedy because it's got so many knee slappers when the main character rips on his own family. It's about a old and dying multi-millionaire Jason Foster who's family he despises comes to visit and say goodbye before he dies, then to eagerly start diving up the wealth amongst themselves. But he has a little plan for them before he goes off into the night. And it involves Masks.

Each character plays their role brilliantly. Well written with few flaws. I remember watching this with my brother and simply howling with laughter at some of the dialog.

It's a shame this episode is not in my top 5. There are times where I think it can be switched with any of the five preceding episodes and it wouldn't do injustice as this holds a special place in lore from those memories watching it with my brother. But being listed here is in no way shameful as it seems to rank around here for many others.

This is a classic that is one of my favorites. I love the plot...a guy "wakes up" but instead of being in bed he's out on a deserted road walking towards a town with no people, though there is evidence that people were just there. This was the pilot episode and I'm glad Rod Serling used it to sell the series.

It gives a great sense of eerie-ness to it, much like "King Nine Will Not Return" or to a lesser extent "Stopover in a Quiet Town" tries to do. You'll notice some episodes may use the same plot-line but do if differently. Usually one is real good and the other can vary from good to awful but this one is the real good version. If both versions are good, that shows the quality of the plot.

A great episode with William Shatner, even better I think than the one most people remember him in "Nightmare at 20,000 feet". It makes a great point at the end. It's about a honeymoon couple that had car problems...their fuel pump went bad and breaks down in a small city in Ohio called Ridgeview.

They go and get something to eat at a little diner that has some fortune telling napkin holders at some of the tables. Don Carter (William Shatner), already being a superstitious lot, tries it out and soon realizes for just a penny a question, he can gets answers to events in the future.

A very good episode that has Stafford Repp (Chief O'Harrah in the Batman show) playing a role. This is a good example of how a good thing that can be overdone and can cause some bad things (like gambling, over-eating, much less knowing too much of your own destiny, etc). Very well done.

This one freaked me out when I was younger. Love the doll's attitude. Nothing like it, except for maybe "Chuckie" lol. Telly Savalas' role was played brilliantly. Actually all three of them did well. Great story, great closing narrative (top 10).

Telly plays Eric Strader, a step dad to a Christy, a little girl who's mom buys her a doll named Talking Tina. Eric doesn't treat Christy (or the wife) very well and the doll ends up playing guardian for her and fights back...and Mr. Strader isn't going to go down easy. Talking Tina might have to resort to the old "putting your foot out from under a table"-like routine. The only thing that worked for my sister vs me in our battles during our younger days, lmao.

Sweet episode.

This one spooked me the most when I was younger, especially when one of the mannequins reached out to her. Another episode where there was some eerie moments. Story about a lady who visits a department store to buy a gold thimble. She starts seeing some strange things about the store and some of it's mannequins. She ends up passing out due to shock and upon awakening, she realizes she's been left at the store by herself. Trying to get out she gets into a mind of wills verse the mannequins with an unexpected twist.

Watching this episode as I type in my comments (lol). It's about a lady named Janet Tyler in a hospital who is wrapped in bandages, awaiting her fate after the 11th and last attempt to make her not look ugly. If I was in this predicament they'd have exterminated me long ago (not lol). In this place people who don't look normal are separated from those that are ugly.

A classic episode that has a superb closing narrative (#3 on my personal list), this one is an absolute gem for first time watchers. Highly recommended but after the first initial watch, it settles in to a more moderate but still very good episode. Even so, it still is a nice re-watch after knowing what you know. Rod Serling hits the nail on the head with this one.

A heck of a plot, will catch you off guard the first time you watch it. A classic as well. Kanamits, a race from a different planet far away, comes to earth suddenly, uninvited, bearing gifts of peace and prosperity to the human race. Some say they are parlor tricks. Some say we are looking a gift horse in the mouth. One of the Kanamits leaves a book behind. Hard to decode, they at first lick the title - To Serve Man. They relax a little, hoping the rest of the book offers the same level of reassurance. But they come to see later what the title really means. **Spoiler Coming**

Most soundtracks featuring the Twilight Zone will have this phrase that's uttered in this episode: "It's a cookbook!" :)

This is another classic that many people remember. It's a bit eerie and the ending will surprise you. Nan Adams is taking a trip from Pennsylvania to California via automobile and after a near crash due to a blowout, she starts seeing this hitchhiker everywhere she goes, no matter how fast she is going. Can she make it before he catches up to her? "You going, my way?" :)

Yet another great sci-fi classic. Ironic, William Shattener (an icon in Star Trek for being a captain of a fleet of people in space), plays a man that is scared of flying! Funny. Many probably would rate this one higher than I did. I think it's good and a classic, but with so many great episodes out there and considering my personal parallels that I like in other episodes it was hard for me to put it in my top 10. Still, you won't be disappointed when you watch it.

Here's one that has some eerie moments in it. Written well with good on screen chemistry. There are three astronauts. They used to exist. Their aircraft that carried those three men into space - that also used to exist. It don't any longer. See how three men go off into space and return, only to realize someone or something let them come back by mistake and was coming back to not only get them, but to remove their very existence...one by one. Inspired other episodes and movies.

This one appeals to me on certain levels because the main character of the story is much like myself in some ways. Barbara Jean Trenton, a movie star from another era, shuts herself off from the rest of the world because she doesn't like the way the world is becoming.

She watches films of herself made 15, 20, 25 years ago. At times I find myself doing this with the Twilight Zone series (lol). Her friends (all two of them) try to help her out but after some swing and misses, she deep down believes she can go back to those days if she wishes real, real hard. Can her wish come true?

She also directed an episode of the Twilight Zone - The Masks - in my top ten. She did a brilliant job in both her directorial and her acting roles in these episodes. She was married to a guy that was the star of another Twilight Zone episode called A World of Difference, #44 currently on my list.

Another good episode starring the late Mr. Burgess Meredith. 2 of his 4 episodes are in my top 20. This particular episode he's a condemned man named Mr. Wordsworth in a futuristic episode of a country who eliminates people if they are deemed "obsolete". He is a librarian in a time where books were outlawed. He gets to basically choose his poison, but he's got an Ace up his sleeve as he tries to make his point that no man is...obsolete.

It has a strong closing narrative, which is in my top 10 list.

The dummy in this episode is still one of the more eeriest of the bunch. Great cast and plot, It's a great re-watch. A ventriloquist is having a crazy obsession that he is battling a dummy. Or is he crazy? I viewed this episode with audio commentary by Cliff Robertson, the main character. Very intriguing some of the things he said.

If you like episodes where you try to pick up some clues and figure out the plot before it's revealed, then you'll like this one.

For me this solid episode was well written. Later a movie was made based off the premise of this show, though I can't think of the name at this moment.

This guy (An Army Major) wakes up and realizes he's in this room with a clown, a bag-piper, a hobo, and a ballet dancer. No reason, no way out, no explanation. Can they find the exit? What's outside that exit?

This one always had a certain type of appeal to me. Is it because the main character can stop time with a stopwatch? Or was it because of I can relate to the reactions McNulty got from others? (Ha). Maybe neither, maybe a little of both perhaps. But this one is a classic and it has some absolute laugh out loud moments!

The run-ins he had with the secretary, boss, patrons in a local bar he hangs out, and even the bartender himself are some of the best moments of this episode. A close second is the actual plot, which is makes this episode a well remembered one. The things he could have done if he wasn't so butter-fingered (relates to Henry Bemis of Time Enough at Last).

What happens in a world where the will to fight back is not limited strictly to humans and animals but to machines as well? Bartlett Finchley will soon find out and it's not pretty (lol).

This one is funny on many levels, and also adds a bit of eeriness in some scenes. Bartlett Finchley is a malcontent, either born too early or too late in the century. Whatever the case, you'll love this character as he annoys both people and machines in this classic.

An episode that's actually two stories in one, both with parallel consequences. It stars two ladies that live in New York City that are doomed living during a slow but agonizing death during where the world is getting hotter moment by moment as the Earth slowly and methodically gets closer and closer to the sun.

Play close attention to the "death" scene by one of the ladies...in my opinion one of the worst in cinema history (lol).

Underrated episode in my opinion. The story is very good and those wax figures do look a bit creepy, even now :) If I'm not mistaken, the one named "Andru" was a real person, standing still. It's about a guy named Martin who's been a faithful worker for Ferguson's Wax Museum for many, many years and let's just say "Loves his job" lol.

When the owner decides to retire, Martin cannot bear to see certain wax dummies (Murderer's Row Exhibit - five famous murderers including Jack The Ripper) be destroyed, so he volunteers to keep them in his basement until he finds a new home for them. But he likes taking care of those figures so much that he hardly puts any effort into doing so.

The urge to continue taking care of these figures without an income ends up destroying his savings, his marriage, and eventually his life.

A good episode that some may put in their top 15. It's about a couple from New York who wake up one morning after driving home from a party to find themselves in a strange bedroom. Then they find out gradually their in a strange house, neighborhood, and town.

Nobody is around, everything seems to be fake, and occasionally they hear laughter of a kid but can never pin-point where it's coming from. It's eerily quiet, and nothing makes sense. I think it's cool when they try to re-create their blank spot between what happened after they left the party and how they woke up, fully clothed in no harm, alone in a strange place.

They may not like what they find out ;)

P.S. The ending is sweet.

Stars such greats as Lee Marvin, James Best, and also includes Stafford Repp. This is a retelling of an old tale that is well known in America and the British Isles. In other versions, the victim is pinned by a stick, a post, a croquet stake, a sword, and a fork. Sometimes the victim is a little girl, as opposed to this version, which was a hit-man named Conny Miller.

For the most part, I like how this version was written. It stayed close to the earlier stories, and it kept me interested throughout. It's just at the very end how they had to try to justify another version of what might have happened to the victim that I thought was a little abstract for my tastes.

C'mon, how many people you know knew which direction the wind was blowing the night before, know which direction it is blowing now, and compare the two to use such flawed justification to make it seem like the supernatural was involved? A hundred different things could have been done instead that would have made it more plausible than what was done here. For shame, lol.

The town folk sure turned a blind eye to all other family members associated with the outlaw that Conny would eventually get hired to kill. And the sister of that outlaw was sure cordial to Conny, the guy that was hired to kill her brother. I would think there would be just a little more animosity than what was portrayed. A few small items like this was a little off, but again, overall it was done rather well.

A real good episode with a little twist in the end that you probably won't see coming, it holds up well. It's about a family, the husband in particular, on the eve of an all-out nuclear war he knows will happen in 48 hours or less. He teams up with a pilot of an experimental aircraft (that's capable of going to another planet) to bribe and plan their escape to another planet miles away that might hold salvation for both their families.

It may seem it's like the usual family trying to get out of town at the last moment cliché, but like I mentioned earlier, watch for the little twist at the end and then you'll know why I have this in my top 30. Some great actors in this one. Notice some of the camera angles used plus listen for some minor clues about the ending, especially to the first time viewer. Enjoy, my friends!

Much like "The Monsters are due on Maple Street", this is a great example of how people are and how they react when things get bad. Well written and performed great, it's an eye opener. I had a neighbor years ago that reminds me of one of the main character's neighbor as he was described on what he would do to stay alive - "He would claw you to pieces just for the privilege" (lol).

A story about a doctor, who was well loved and respected by his neighbors at a surprise birthday party in his honor. They tease him about his bomb shelter - the noise in the middle of the night, the constant truck traffic, and such for something he may never use. Then news spreads about a possible bomb headed near them and the neighbors slowly realize their salvation may lie in his bomb shelter. The things they do to rationalize each neighbor's right for survival ends up being almost as bad as the bomb itself.

If you like those mysteries involving reoccurring nightmares, then this one is for you. It involves a German submarine commander, who inexplicably finds himself on this doomed British vessel who's been separated from their convoy due to a thick fog. He doesn't remember getting on the ship or much of anything else, but then he slowly remembers clues about his origin and why he's on that vessel.

Many wouldn't rate this episode as high as this, but I like how this episode plays out. A couple uncomfortable scenes (one where Lanser yells at the Steward) but overall this one leaves you feeling somber thru most of it which is in line for how it's supposed to play out. An appearance by Patrick Macnee also never hurts.

Another classic. Most people would probably put this in their top ten, but to me there's so many other good episodes it does make it hard for me to have this one a little way's down. They made a sequel to this on one of the 80's TZ episodes called "It's still a good life" which I thought was a good follow up.

This original one is about a little boy named Anthony Freemont. At an early age he realizes he can make things come true, just by using his mind. He isolates the city he lives in and the people that are left are pitted against him for the right to survival.

A good episode featuring the late Jack Warden. He plays a prisoner on what I assume is a futuristic world where the incarcerated are isolated by themselves on asteroids where every three months a supply ship comes by for restocking purposes.

It explains on how lonely he is, what he does to keep occupied, and how he looks forward to those supply ships that give him a brief injection of companionship. The head of a certain supply ship takes pity on him and smuggles to him a female robot to keep him company. At first he resists, but her humanlike appearance slowly wins him over and he is happy...until he has to go back home.

Rod Serling really gets in his work in stories about Nazi Germany, and this one is no exception. Done very well on all levels and stars Dennis Hopper as Peter Vulmer, a guy who hungers for respect but rarely gets any, except when he meets a stranger, a gift from the sewers.

This has got some good funny moments, especially when he interacts with Ernest Ganz, a jewish guy who he met when he was a boy and pretty much acted like a father to him growing up. This one is a great re-watch just to see them two.

This one is a good to see how people can be manipulated, which is unfortunate.

This episode is the #5 closing narrative on my list. Just a shade better than the one from "The Obsolete Man". Both convey the same important message.

Two astronauts land on an asteroid to make repairs where one finds a race of little people that he makes contact with. Superbly acted story that has many laughs with a cool ending.

The best part is where the pilot gets on the co-pilot's case of his constant and irrational irritating behavior. The exchange they had is a classic.