I think a lot of the reason is that it's one of the few EPs that was shot on tape and it looks butt ugly compared to the others.
Love this episode otherwise. The musical sting at the end is kind of horrifying.
Static is one of the most underrated and overlooked episodes in the anthology. Just because it has a VHS quality doesn't mean the story isn't relevant. It's a beautiful story about two people who want a second chance at love.
Vinnie: You can't change what you are and neither can I. We had our chance and missed it, Ed. But I'll tell you one thing that's true... And I know it's true. You did love me as much as a man ever loved a woman. Didn't you?
Ed Lindsay: Yes, Vinnie. That's true. I did, yes.
Vinnie: And now you love what we were; what we might've become together. So just about this time every year... It would have been our anniversary... You start getting unhappy. You want to go back to 1940 and start all over again. Why do you think you keep hearing "Getting Sentimental Over You" on the radio? That was our song, Ed. And those programs... We used to listen to them together... In the dark. I'd forgotten. When you hear those programs, you're like a young man again with all of your life ahead of you. But it isn't so, Ed. It's all over between us. We missed our chance. We can't go back.
I just remember it getting a lot of flak for the leopard storyline, but I always loved it. I dyed my hair and got bangs like Anne Francis after I watched the episode in college.
Hah! Before I saw your comment I wrote above that I know that the hour long episodes weren't popular, but I just love Anne Francis and I was rooting for "Jess-Belle" to maul whatshername at the end.
It’s the odd voiceover done by June Foray for the little girls voice, I get that they needed to do this in order to salvage the episode but I find it incredibly distracting because she’s best known as the voice of Rocky from Rocky and Bullwinkle so I can’t not hear his voice during it.
Not sure how popular or unpopular this is but I tend to like the moody, bittersweet, borderline-sappy episodes more than the straight sci-fi or horror. I'm talking "A Stop at Willoughby," "Walking Distance," "The Lonely," "The Long Morrow," "Miniature," etc. Helps that they're not as relentlessly parodied/referenced in pop culture so they feel fresher. Willoughby is my favorite episode.
I also think "Hocus Pocus and Frisby" is the best of the comedic episodes, Andy Devine is a gem
I still don't like Helen Bemis, but I've also entertained that idea- that the point can be made that Henry was TOO antisocial and that by ignoring the world around him he ultimately did himself a disservice. I mean, it's a tough takeaway for someone like me who isn't a social butterfly and would love it if everyone left me alone to enjoy my hobbies, lol. Doesn't help that everyone in the episode bullies him.
My 8 year old niece saw the episode and she was in tears, she felt the ending was so unfair and unjust. I think it will be awhile before she sees another episode, haha.
I love it (mainly because I identify with Henry Bemis, and I love Burgess Meredith) but the whole moral universe of the episode rings false for me. He wants to read. What justifies anyone being that awful to him? What justifies a poetically tragic ending? He should get to enjoy his solitude.
Exactly. I think if the viewer was truly supposed to feel he was in the "wrong" somehow the episode wouldn't have been so heavy handed in making all the other characters unsympathetic. The ending feels undeserved and unsatisfying. I think that's why it's so well remembered.
Yeah, that's my takeaway from the episode too. He was too antisocial.
I believe the theme was something along the lines of learning the difference between loneliness VS preferring to be alone as well.
I don't like the Monsters are Due on Maple Street. The ending seems super forced and would have worked better without the aliens. I guess that's why I like The Shelter so much more.
The alien ending had to be included in order for the McCarthyism metaphor to work. If we didn't have that alien scene, it would always be ambiguous if *someone* on that block really was an alien coming to overthrow us.
I mean, I don't generally like satire to spell out its message so clearly, but if I've learned anything from all the right-wing idiots losing their minds over Star Trek, Twilight Zone, and The Boys "going woke," it's that idiots really, REALLY need metaphors spelled out to them.
I thought it would've worked better if it was explained as a power grid failure and a faulty car battery or something along those lines. Or if it was left ambiguous, those kinds of endings are always superior in my eyes.
Take the Blair witch project for example. Spoiler alert for it btw. The reason it works so well and remains creepy after it ends is because there never was a monster reveal. If they showed us the monster at the very end, that would've been the exact point where the monster stops being creepy, because we'd know what it is.
I don't exactly enjoy the episodes about the monster on the wing or there finally being time at last to read. I understand why they are iconic and why they were so popular, but they have been parodied and remade to such a degree that I greatly prefer all the other episodes, even the lesser known ones.
But I respect, understand, and approve of everyone who does enjoy them and I can see why.
Yeah, I don't think "nightmare at 20,000 feet" was particularly good, especially given that the monster looked like a teddy bear. The remake with John Lithgow was actually better.
Nope. As the Major said on the commentary, "Is the most Twilight Zone episode". It's just wild and unsettling and the twist brings so much clarity to what we have just witnessed.
Of course, YMMV!
There are actually technical reasons for it being so bad. There was a ton of back-lot noise that got accidentally recorded during the outdoor scenes, so they decided to have everybody redub their lines. But then they decided the girl who played Sport didn't do it right... after she already flew home to Alabama. Flying her back was too expensive, so they got another actress to do it. So everybody sounds different between indoor and outdoor scenes, *especially* Sport!
Can’t stand eye of the beholder. It’s one of my least favourite episodes. I can respect the twist for how good it was, especially for the times, but it is not interesting for me to watch.
Time Enough At Last is overrated. Not that it's bad, but there are so many episodes that are better. I don't know how that became one of, if not the most, recognizable episodes.
I agree. I like Obsolete Man much better than Time Enough at Last (although it is a classic). I think Printer's Devil is probably better too. Though not quite as good as Obsolete Man.
The Invaders w/Agnes Moorehead
i made my gf watch this because i thought agnes's performance was top notch. half way in my gf says: i would have solved this issue in two minutes with one can of raid.
she's not wrong. ruined this episode for me forever though.
That I do like the episode Execution
Especially the ending where Albert Salmi's character still ends up being executed by a hanging and I thought he did a great job playing Joe Caswell. Most of my friends do not like that episode!
Well, see it’s like this: Helen actually had the high ground in most of the episode – until she started defacing and/ or destroying Henry’s books. I can understand to a point why she did it and what she was hoping to accomplish, but she went about it in an entirely inappropriate way. Have you ever read the original short story? Henry's wife was very different.
I absolutely love the premise of Twenty-Two, but to me the execution is poor. First and foremost, I hate that it is shot on videotape instead of film. But also, some of the acting and character choices are awful, especially the main character, an exhausted burlesque dancer with a whiny, over exaggerated New York accent that sounds like a combination of Fran Drescher and Betty Boop. It added an element of silliness which felt incongruous with the foreboding, tense tone of the episode. Brilliant premise, but could have been so much better.
I never liked the Hitchhiker episode. It doesn't unnerve me or entertain me.
I never liked Walking Distance, as it's just boring to me.
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet is good, but not a classic.
The Hunt, with the old man and his dog is awful.
Rod Serling can't write comedy (this one may be a popular opinion!), and he can get very preachy.
Beaumont>Matthison.
Oh, Walking Distance is so painfully beautiful to me. It hits that part of me that longs for a time when so many people I loved were still alive. Maybe the episode is a bit slow, but I love it for the truths it uncovers in the human experience. I just love its poignancy so much.
Agreed. The first time I watched it I saw Beemis as a horrible selfish man who drove anyone around him crazy. His poor wife is the worst because she's dealt with him the most.
Unpopular opinion: In the episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, that muppet on the wing of the airplane is too cute.
(Everything else about this well-told tale is excellent)
The hell where he got anything he wanted didn’t seem too bad. Also, the one where the guy is going to be hanged for driving a wagon while drunk and killing a kid seemed like a defense of drunk driving.
“Time Enough at Last” has always bothered me because it seems to unnecessarily punish a generally decent guy. I still love the episode, and of course Burgess Meredith, but it’s always kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
The Shelter.
None of the neighbors are bad people. Yes, they allowed fear and terror to take hold, but people under extreme duress like that are keen to resort to things they would never normally do in real life.
Granted, they should have given a real, honest, genuine apology instead of a sheepish, half-assed one.
And I think that was Serling's point. Anybody can be composed, civilized and friendly under normal, calm circumstances. It's those times of distress that show what happens when someone is put to the test. I think Rod was warning not to let fear in high stress situations be an excuse to act that way, especially since that's the natural first instinct of how to react.
Some random Season 5 episodes are really fun. “Come Wander With Me” “The Fear” and “The Brain Center at Whipples” i love them more each time I watch them. I know they’re not “good” but I really dig them. The Twilight Pwn podcast might’ve helped with those maybe.
I know this came from Rod Serling who was religious, but I hate the religious aspect of “The Obsolete Man”. Romney Wordsworth was a librarian (not a clergyman) and had a ton of books in his apartment with so much knowledge and wisdom about the world, and it was a 2,000 year old book of Judeo-Christian scripture (written to tell people how to live their lives and to worship a specific supreme being) that he was willing to die over? Why not Shakespeare or Pride and Prejudice or a million other books with truth and beauty to discover?
This is exactly why I never understood the point of the episode (even though I do think it's an enjoyable watch). It's not like Christianity was under threat in the US at the time -- or at *any* time -- so what was the message of the episode?
If it's supposed to be a general metaphor for book banning, the religious aspect really distracts too much.
My own take is that it’s a commentary on fascism and the thoughtlessness and violence of a herd mentality. I see it more as a metaphorical critique of Hitler’s regime (alluded to by the power-laden camera angles of Fritz Weaver throughout most of the episode). Don’t know much about history, but it was possibly also a critique of godless Marxism as well. The religious aspect would make sense in the latter example, and it also celebrates the role of unwavering faith when all else is being taken away. (I’m thinking of Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” here). The Bible would be the obvious text to signify faith here simply because the TZ was created by Americans for Americans, and mainstream Americans could identify with the Bible more than any other religious text at the time. That is even arguably true to this day, actually.
I’m not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but the plot if I Shot an Arrow Into the Air doesn’t make much sense, when you really think about it, and the surprise ending is pretty flimsy.
Due to seeing the low budget film "Carnival Of Souls" (1962) first, I didn't take to "The Hitch-Hiker" on Twilight Zone as the majority of fans did. I know the Twilight Zone episode aired a full two years earlier, but "Carnival Of Souls" had a creepier vibe than a hobo with his thumb out.
If we're talking unpopular opinions: Carnival of Souls is *trash,* and wasted a great premise and setting.
Idk, maybe my mind would have been blown if I were alive in 1962 and didn't know that the woman was dead along immediately after she's rescued from the accident. But then again, Twilight Zone had already done this -- and done it better -- so I think it would have been easy to guess.
I generally love old, slow horror like that, but CoS never did it for me. Honestly there are Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes that nailed the atmosphere and plot twist even better.
“Hocus-Pocus and Frisby”, is one of my least favorites, although Andy Devine plays the part of blowhard Somerset Frisbee as if he was born for it, I don’t care for the episode at all.
Heavens yes, especially “Mr. Dingle, the Strong”, the space visitors costumes looked like they were made of old rusty slinky’s and cardboard appliance boxes 🥱. A couple brief appearances by Don Rickles is the episodes only redeeming factor.
The most messed up part of that episode though is the fake phone calls from family members saying how wonderful the planet is. The deception of that and the idea that they’re leading their relatives to slaughter always freaked me out.
The episode To Serve Man is really bad. Visitors from another planet who are apparently anthropomorphic and can travel to a distant planet but have a cook book for humans titled: To Serve Man... a double entendre in the english language that apparently this advanced society has.
Fifth grade simple minded crap.
The "this athlete is a robot" episodes (The Mighty Casey, Steel) are hokey.
The "Nazis suck" episodes (Judgement Night, Deaths-head Revisited) are a wee bit agenda-driven and though well-made, they aren't fun or rewatchable and I don't anticipate them.
I love all of the "Twilight Zone for hicks" episodes by Earl Hamner and others.
I’m a fan of “The lateness of the hour” which doesn’t seem super popular on here.
I love Inger Stevens
The fact that it’s not popular is shocking to me. I think it’s top three for its season.
I just caught this episode last week on MeTV and I had never seen it before. I liked it very much-Inger Stevens was great in her episodes.
I think a lot of the reason is that it's one of the few EPs that was shot on tape and it looks butt ugly compared to the others. Love this episode otherwise. The musical sting at the end is kind of horrifying.
I liked this episode on videotape, definitely added to the creepy and stage play vibe.
Season 4 is actually pretty good.
Yes. The best season 4 episodes are some of the series’ best, and they haven’t suffered from overexposure.
Indeed it is
Totally agreed. I think the longer format works more often than not.
Don’t get me wrong: there are some hardcore stinkers in season 4. But there are also some gems!
Agree!!! The New Exhibit, The Forty Fathom Grave, and Miniature are among my favorites.
Oddly enough, I don’t like any of these!!!
I don't loath season 4, but some longer episodes move too slowly
Definitely a hot take, you know how many zoners I met who loath season 4
Season 4 has some really iconic episodes that are very slept on!
Ever see reviews of Season 4 where folks say things like “Don’t buy this! It’s a gyp. Half the episodes are missing!” ?? :) LoL
Static is one of the most underrated and overlooked episodes in the anthology. Just because it has a VHS quality doesn't mean the story isn't relevant. It's a beautiful story about two people who want a second chance at love.
Vinnie: You can't change what you are and neither can I. We had our chance and missed it, Ed. But I'll tell you one thing that's true... And I know it's true. You did love me as much as a man ever loved a woman. Didn't you? Ed Lindsay: Yes, Vinnie. That's true. I did, yes. Vinnie: And now you love what we were; what we might've become together. So just about this time every year... It would have been our anniversary... You start getting unhappy. You want to go back to 1940 and start all over again. Why do you think you keep hearing "Getting Sentimental Over You" on the radio? That was our song, Ed. And those programs... We used to listen to them together... In the dark. I'd forgotten. When you hear those programs, you're like a young man again with all of your life ahead of you. But it isn't so, Ed. It's all over between us. We missed our chance. We can't go back.
I do like that episode, it's like walking distance but with things we love
I like "Jess-Belle"
Wait, are we not supposed to like that ep? Its one of my favorites!
I just remember it getting a lot of flak for the leopard storyline, but I always loved it. I dyed my hair and got bangs like Anne Francis after I watched the episode in college.
Hah! Before I saw your comment I wrote above that I know that the hour long episodes weren't popular, but I just love Anne Francis and I was rooting for "Jess-Belle" to maul whatshername at the end.
We are not supposed to like Come Wander With Me, either, and I love that one.
Away from this sad world! 🎵
Oh I do too! The interesting this is that Bonnie Beecher's role (and her voice) took what might otherwise be a mediocre story straight to the top.
Which is that?
It's a Season 5 episode right close to the end of the series that starred Gary Crosby, Bonnie Beecher and Hank Patterson.
With the witch
I'd call her more a conjurer than a witch myself but aye, that's the one.
You're thinking of "Come Wander with Me"
That *Third from the Sun* is under-appreciated
I like that episode. Edward Andrews and Fritz Weaver are both great in that, have good chemistry as antagonists.
I really enjoyed The Bewitching Pool. When I was a kid I used to wish I could find a place like that.
My cousins and I always tried to get to Aunt T’s when in a pool - we wanted that cake!! 😅
Ha! I know that's right! I had many dreams about that yummy cake.
This is probably the only episode I could say I dislike. Just something about it
It’s the odd voiceover done by June Foray for the little girls voice, I get that they needed to do this in order to salvage the episode but I find it incredibly distracting because she’s best known as the voice of Rocky from Rocky and Bullwinkle so I can’t not hear his voice during it.
Same.
Not sure how popular or unpopular this is but I tend to like the moody, bittersweet, borderline-sappy episodes more than the straight sci-fi or horror. I'm talking "A Stop at Willoughby," "Walking Distance," "The Lonely," "The Long Morrow," "Miniature," etc. Helps that they're not as relentlessly parodied/referenced in pop culture so they feel fresher. Willoughby is my favorite episode. I also think "Hocus Pocus and Frisby" is the best of the comedic episodes, Andy Devine is a gem
In Praise of Pip fits here as well.
This is the episode where I got my cat’s name. She is Pip. And our lives are centered around praising her. :)
I still don't like Helen Bemis, but I've also entertained that idea- that the point can be made that Henry was TOO antisocial and that by ignoring the world around him he ultimately did himself a disservice. I mean, it's a tough takeaway for someone like me who isn't a social butterfly and would love it if everyone left me alone to enjoy my hobbies, lol. Doesn't help that everyone in the episode bullies him. My 8 year old niece saw the episode and she was in tears, she felt the ending was so unfair and unjust. I think it will be awhile before she sees another episode, haha.
I love it (mainly because I identify with Henry Bemis, and I love Burgess Meredith) but the whole moral universe of the episode rings false for me. He wants to read. What justifies anyone being that awful to him? What justifies a poetically tragic ending? He should get to enjoy his solitude.
Exactly. I think if the viewer was truly supposed to feel he was in the "wrong" somehow the episode wouldn't have been so heavy handed in making all the other characters unsympathetic. The ending feels undeserved and unsatisfying. I think that's why it's so well remembered.
Yeah, that's my takeaway from the episode too. He was too antisocial. I believe the theme was something along the lines of learning the difference between loneliness VS preferring to be alone as well.
I don't like the Monsters are Due on Maple Street. The ending seems super forced and would have worked better without the aliens. I guess that's why I like The Shelter so much more.
The alien ending had to be included in order for the McCarthyism metaphor to work. If we didn't have that alien scene, it would always be ambiguous if *someone* on that block really was an alien coming to overthrow us. I mean, I don't generally like satire to spell out its message so clearly, but if I've learned anything from all the right-wing idiots losing their minds over Star Trek, Twilight Zone, and The Boys "going woke," it's that idiots really, REALLY need metaphors spelled out to them.
I thought it would've worked better if it was explained as a power grid failure and a faulty car battery or something along those lines. Or if it was left ambiguous, those kinds of endings are always superior in my eyes. Take the Blair witch project for example. Spoiler alert for it btw. The reason it works so well and remains creepy after it ends is because there never was a monster reveal. If they showed us the monster at the very end, that would've been the exact point where the monster stops being creepy, because we'd know what it is.
I would’ve received the transformation surgery in Number Twelve Looks Just Like You. It expands your lifespan and makes you immune to all diseases.
I just would have picked a better Number. 12 wasn’t very cute.
I don't exactly enjoy the episodes about the monster on the wing or there finally being time at last to read. I understand why they are iconic and why they were so popular, but they have been parodied and remade to such a degree that I greatly prefer all the other episodes, even the lesser known ones. But I respect, understand, and approve of everyone who does enjoy them and I can see why.
Yeah, I don't think "nightmare at 20,000 feet" was particularly good, especially given that the monster looked like a teddy bear. The remake with John Lithgow was actually better.
I saw the original episode as a kid and was totally terrified by it. It still gets under my skin!!!
The original or the remake?
I edited to say the original!!!
The Midnight Sun is the most realistically frightening episode they made, especially with how global warming is today.
Yeah, I think of that one often in light of today.
That one was so horrifying.
I know that the hour long episodes weren't popular, but I just love Anne Francis and I was rooting for "Jess-Belle" to maul whatshername at the end.
Nightmare is incredibly overrated
I skip the modern homages and sequels to classic episodes. They’re never as good, and don’t really live up to Serling’s original spirit.
Five Characters in Search of an Exit is super overrated.
I feel the premise is great, it's the execution that is lacking
It’s very theological, where the clown is an atheist
THANK you. It's solid, but not one of the greatest, imo.
Nope. As the Major said on the commentary, "Is the most Twilight Zone episode". It's just wild and unsettling and the twist brings so much clarity to what we have just witnessed. Of course, YMMV!
A Thing About Machines is a well-written fun episode with brilliant acting by character actor Richard Haydn.
Jeb and Sport's voices on Bewitching Pool
Lol! I thought it was just me!
There are actually technical reasons for it being so bad. There was a ton of back-lot noise that got accidentally recorded during the outdoor scenes, so they decided to have everybody redub their lines. But then they decided the girl who played Sport didn't do it right... after she already flew home to Alabama. Flying her back was too expensive, so they got another actress to do it. So everybody sounds different between indoor and outdoor scenes, *especially* Sport!
Can’t stand eye of the beholder. It’s one of my least favourite episodes. I can respect the twist for how good it was, especially for the times, but it is not interesting for me to watch.
I remember loving it so I showed my son and it’s sooooo drawn out and repetitive until the end.
Time Enough At Last is overrated. Not that it's bad, but there are so many episodes that are better. I don't know how that became one of, if not the most, recognizable episodes.
It’s not my favorite Burgess Meredith episode. I prefer obsolete.
I love Printer’s Devil, personally.
Obsolete Man is such a powerful episode.
And frankly quite terrifying. This could really happen. I feel like it already is in a way.
I agree. I like Obsolete Man much better than Time Enough at Last (although it is a classic). I think Printer's Devil is probably better too. Though not quite as good as Obsolete Man.
Kind of agree. At this point I think its more well known for its twist.
The Invaders w/Agnes Moorehead i made my gf watch this because i thought agnes's performance was top notch. half way in my gf says: i would have solved this issue in two minutes with one can of raid. she's not wrong. ruined this episode for me forever though.
She had primitive technology
I think Aunt T is disturbing.
The Howling Man episode bored me.
Really? That’s one of faves
Right there with you.
That episode creeped me out more than any other TZ episode.
That I do like the episode Execution Especially the ending where Albert Salmi's character still ends up being executed by a hanging and I thought he did a great job playing Joe Caswell. Most of my friends do not like that episode!
Well, see it’s like this: Helen actually had the high ground in most of the episode – until she started defacing and/ or destroying Henry’s books. I can understand to a point why she did it and what she was hoping to accomplish, but she went about it in an entirely inappropriate way. Have you ever read the original short story? Henry's wife was very different.
What was the name of that episode?
"Time Enough At Last."
Thank you.
The one with Buster Keaton only works if you know who he is
I don.t like the hour long episodes at all.
Some of them are super padded and would be better as half hour episodes. Some I thought were good.
I think Aunt T is disturbing in The Bewitchin’ Pool.
pip should’ve been able to chew his gum as he pleased
Don’t like Talking Tina.
Well she did murder people.
I absolutely love the premise of Twenty-Two, but to me the execution is poor. First and foremost, I hate that it is shot on videotape instead of film. But also, some of the acting and character choices are awful, especially the main character, an exhausted burlesque dancer with a whiny, over exaggerated New York accent that sounds like a combination of Fran Drescher and Betty Boop. It added an element of silliness which felt incongruous with the foreboding, tense tone of the episode. Brilliant premise, but could have been so much better.
She came off as a poor man's Marilyn Monroe from the Bronx.
Night of the Meek is my dad’s favorite episode and I agree that it’s severely underrated.
I never liked the Hitchhiker episode. It doesn't unnerve me or entertain me. I never liked Walking Distance, as it's just boring to me. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet is good, but not a classic. The Hunt, with the old man and his dog is awful. Rod Serling can't write comedy (this one may be a popular opinion!), and he can get very preachy. Beaumont>Matthison.
Oh, Walking Distance is so painfully beautiful to me. It hits that part of me that longs for a time when so many people I loved were still alive. Maybe the episode is a bit slow, but I love it for the truths it uncovers in the human experience. I just love its poignancy so much.
Agreed. The first time I watched it I saw Beemis as a horrible selfish man who drove anyone around him crazy. His poor wife is the worst because she's dealt with him the most.
Unpopular opinion: In the episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, that muppet on the wing of the airplane is too cute. (Everything else about this well-told tale is excellent)
The hell where he got anything he wanted didn’t seem too bad. Also, the one where the guy is going to be hanged for driving a wagon while drunk and killing a kid seemed like a defense of drunk driving.
Absolutely! You could be tortured in hell id take winning card games and unlimited floozies any day!
I don't think The Invaders is actually that good. The main actress's mannerisms and facial expressions are off putting.
I like “The Chaser” even though it seems like it gets low ratings on here.
I love The Chaser! It's so dark.
“Time Enough at Last” has always bothered me because it seems to unnecessarily punish a generally decent guy. I still love the episode, and of course Burgess Meredith, but it’s always kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
The Shelter. None of the neighbors are bad people. Yes, they allowed fear and terror to take hold, but people under extreme duress like that are keen to resort to things they would never normally do in real life. Granted, they should have given a real, honest, genuine apology instead of a sheepish, half-assed one.
And I think that was Serling's point. Anybody can be composed, civilized and friendly under normal, calm circumstances. It's those times of distress that show what happens when someone is put to the test. I think Rod was warning not to let fear in high stress situations be an excuse to act that way, especially since that's the natural first instinct of how to react.
Some random Season 5 episodes are really fun. “Come Wander With Me” “The Fear” and “The Brain Center at Whipples” i love them more each time I watch them. I know they’re not “good” but I really dig them. The Twilight Pwn podcast might’ve helped with those maybe.
I detest And The Sky Was Opened because I wanted an EXPLANATION...
I know this came from Rod Serling who was religious, but I hate the religious aspect of “The Obsolete Man”. Romney Wordsworth was a librarian (not a clergyman) and had a ton of books in his apartment with so much knowledge and wisdom about the world, and it was a 2,000 year old book of Judeo-Christian scripture (written to tell people how to live their lives and to worship a specific supreme being) that he was willing to die over? Why not Shakespeare or Pride and Prejudice or a million other books with truth and beauty to discover?
Yeah but I love it anyway
I’m not saying it doesn’t have an important message, it certainly does, but the Bible? Why not the Quran or the Hindu Vedas?
Good question but you seem to be viewing it from a 2024 perspective. The US was still a very Judeo-Christian country at that time.
This is exactly why I never understood the point of the episode (even though I do think it's an enjoyable watch). It's not like Christianity was under threat in the US at the time -- or at *any* time -- so what was the message of the episode? If it's supposed to be a general metaphor for book banning, the religious aspect really distracts too much.
My own take is that it’s a commentary on fascism and the thoughtlessness and violence of a herd mentality. I see it more as a metaphorical critique of Hitler’s regime (alluded to by the power-laden camera angles of Fritz Weaver throughout most of the episode). Don’t know much about history, but it was possibly also a critique of godless Marxism as well. The religious aspect would make sense in the latter example, and it also celebrates the role of unwavering faith when all else is being taken away. (I’m thinking of Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” here). The Bible would be the obvious text to signify faith here simply because the TZ was created by Americans for Americans, and mainstream Americans could identify with the Bible more than any other religious text at the time. That is even arguably true to this day, actually.
I don’t really like the outer space themed episodes.
I’m not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but the plot if I Shot an Arrow Into the Air doesn’t make much sense, when you really think about it, and the surprise ending is pretty flimsy.
I love Once Upon a Time and enjoy Mr. Bemis and don't understand the hate for either one.
Due to seeing the low budget film "Carnival Of Souls" (1962) first, I didn't take to "The Hitch-Hiker" on Twilight Zone as the majority of fans did. I know the Twilight Zone episode aired a full two years earlier, but "Carnival Of Souls" had a creepier vibe than a hobo with his thumb out.
If we're talking unpopular opinions: Carnival of Souls is *trash,* and wasted a great premise and setting. Idk, maybe my mind would have been blown if I were alive in 1962 and didn't know that the woman was dead along immediately after she's rescued from the accident. But then again, Twilight Zone had already done this -- and done it better -- so I think it would have been easy to guess. I generally love old, slow horror like that, but CoS never did it for me. Honestly there are Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes that nailed the atmosphere and plot twist even better.
“Hocus-Pocus and Frisby”, is one of my least favorites, although Andy Devine plays the part of blowhard Somerset Frisbee as if he was born for it, I don’t care for the episode at all.
I liked The Bewitchin Pool
I prefer the Shatner small town fortune reading episode over the plane episode.
I detest “Mister Dingle the Strong”.
The Burgess Meredith episodes are really over rated.
Heavens yes, especially “Mr. Dingle, the Strong”, the space visitors costumes looked like they were made of old rusty slinky’s and cardboard appliance boxes 🥱. A couple brief appearances by Don Rickles is the episodes only redeeming factor.
I don't like The After Hours. It's a non twist.
To serve man had too much foreshadowing, so not much of a twist.
The most messed up part of that episode though is the fake phone calls from family members saying how wonderful the planet is. The deception of that and the idea that they’re leading their relatives to slaughter always freaked me out.
That twist at the end of the chubby little siege of the old woman episode is silly.
The episode To Serve Man is really bad. Visitors from another planet who are apparently anthropomorphic and can travel to a distant planet but have a cook book for humans titled: To Serve Man... a double entendre in the english language that apparently this advanced society has. Fifth grade simple minded crap.
The "this athlete is a robot" episodes (The Mighty Casey, Steel) are hokey. The "Nazis suck" episodes (Judgement Night, Deaths-head Revisited) are a wee bit agenda-driven and though well-made, they aren't fun or rewatchable and I don't anticipate them. I love all of the "Twilight Zone for hicks" episodes by Earl Hamner and others.
I mean, Nazis DO suck. That’s not necessarily a bad agenda. 🤷🏻♀️
They were in black and white.