To serve readers: Ten forgotten "Twilight Zone" episodes you need to see

Fifty years after its television debut, "The Twilight Zone," Rod Serling's CBS sci-fi anthology series, still holds resonance in the age of Twitter and the Snuggie.

Billy Mumy's six-year-old sociopath in "It's a Good Life" scared the townspeople of Peaksville, Ohio - and TV viewers from the age of Eisenhower to the present. And a half-century after the "To Serve Man" episode, fans still remember what "It's a cookbook!" really means. Not bad for a black-and-white drama whose heyday ended before Beatlemania.

Besides the classic moments couch potatoes know by heart, there are many other less-iconic, but still compelling, shows in the show's 156-episode history. Submitted for your approval, as Rod Serling would say, here's a list of ten obscure "Twilight Zone" shows worth checking out:

* "The Obsolete Man": Burgess Meredith starred in four "Twilight Zone" episodes, with his most famous role being that of bespectacled, bad-luck bookworm bank teller Henry Bemis in "Time Enough at Last" episode. But "The Obsolete Man," which also features books as part of the plot line, is also worth remembering. In the episode, the state declares Meredith's librarian character obsolete and sentences him to death. But Meredith is able to turn the tables on the chancellor, and make that authority figure obsolete.

* "Number 12 Looks Just Like You": This episode is not as well-known as "Eye of the Beholder," an famous "Twilight Zone" episode about society's obsession with beauty. But "Number 12" has even sharper observations. This dark episode features a teenager who doesn't want to undergo "The Transformation," a surgery where her body - and mind - will be radically changed. Think "The Stepford Wives" was ahead of its time? "Number 12" touched on the same themes a decade earlier.

* "Mr. Garrity and the Graves": In this episode, set in the Old West, a con man shows up in the ironically-named Happiness, Arizona with a promise - to raise the dead. The townspeople have their own reasons why this isn't a good idea, so they pay him off. As it turns out, Mr. Garrity's talents are much better than he realizes, as the people of Happiness will soon discover.

* "The Big Tall Wish": Nobody believes in a broken-down African-American boxer - except for one young boy, who wishes that the prizefighter wins his fight. But when the boxer is reluctant to believe that such wishes can really come true, his fortunes change for the worse. And the once-hopeful child grows cynical. Get your Kleenex ready - this topical episode, ahead of its time in featuring a nearly all-black cast, might be the most poignant "Twilight Zone" episode ever.

* "Twenty Two": A stripper hospitalized for exhaustion is haunted by the same nightmare every evening. In the dream, a nurse welcomes her to the morgue, saying, "Room for one more, honey." Turns out that this horrible vision is trying to send her an important message, something she needs to hear before boarding a plane.

* "A Most Unusual Camera": A gadget with mysterious powers is also the subject of this episode, in which a larcenous couple grabs a camera that shows the future. Money - and mayhem - ensues, especially after a crafty French bellhop gets involved. Although the "Twilight Zone" sometimes tried to be funny - and failed - with several episodes, most notably with the Carol Burnett episode "Cavender Is Coming," the humor in this episode works.

* "The New Exhibit": If you work at a wax museum, don't take your work home with you, especially when the figures are of the world's worst killers. This seems to be the message of this creepy episode. Martin Balsam's waxworker is a little too enchanted by his museum's "Murderers' Row." This is one of the show's 18 one-hour episodes, so it's not often seen in syndication.

* "Miniature": It's always fun to see future stars on "The Twilight Zone" - Carol Burnett, William Shatner, Robert Redford, and Charles Bronson were among the talent on the show. In this one-hour episode, future Oscar-winner Robert Duvall portrays a misfit loner who becomes obsessed with a doll in a museum exhibit. He thinks the woman in that dollhouse is alive, and he's sort of right.

* "Stopover in a Quiet Town": Speaking of dollhouses, don't drive drunk, or you too might end up in a dollhouse from another planet. While all of the smoking Rod Serling does while narrating "Twilight Zone" episodes looks dated - and unhealthy - "Stopover" was ahead of its time in showing how one young New York couple's bender turns their world upside down, even if the real-life consequences of such an act aren't quite as dramatic.

* "The Old Man in the Cave": It's 1974 in a post-apocalyptic earth. The frightened survivors get critical life advice from the title character. But when they find out the old man is really a computer, they stop listening to what he says. Unfortunately, this triumph of reason over faith doesn't end very well for them; that old man/computer knew what he was talking about when it came to contaminated food.

So next time you want to step into the "Twilight Zone," take a trip to the unknown with one of these overlooked episodes.

Comments

[Jonmouk71]

Great column and great episodes all - my daughter just bought me for my birthday The Definitive Edition, Season 2 of the Twilight Zone and there were several memorable ones there as well: The Trouble With Templeton about an actor living in the past; The Silence about an unusual bet; and the classic Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? I also like the two Jack Klugman starring episodes, where he's a pool player with Jonathan Winters; and another where he is a trumpet player who meets another musician named Gabe (played by the actor who played Judge Landis in Eight Men Out).

[Lisa Swan]

Very cool - I wish somebody would gift me with a Twilight Zone DVD. As it is now, all I have is taping episodes off Syfy!

[bran]

I've seen them all except for that one about raising the dead... Good stuff. I would add to that the one where the bus breaks down, and everyone is at the diner, and they try and figure out which one of them is an alien... That's my favorite one I think.

[redsoxbluestates]

Off I go to add these DVDs to the Netflix queue!! I remember some but definitely not all, but what a great show! Cheers!

"Paul from Boston"

[Sogn Mill-Scout]

These are great, Lisa; I share your take for the most part. In particular, ‘Number Twelve’ seems unjustly obscure, and is a truly creepy ep with a message that may well prove prescient - maybe not in its specifics, but in the convergence of technology & our society's obsession with beauty & youth.

@Jonmouk71: I think all 4 Klugmans are excellent; he did one of the 4th season 1-hr eps (‘Death Ship’) that, IMO, is one of the best of a slightly weak (IMO) season.

I own the set of DVDs for all 5 seasons. I can't recommend that investment enough for fans, since SciFi - excuse me, "SyFy" - butchers the eps for more ad room. A couple are missing moments that are key to the plot; the wonderful ‘Kick the Can’ comes to mind.

Of Lisa's 10 picks I like ‘The Obsolete Man’ best. I think 3 of Meredith's 4 Zones are good to great; alas, ‘Mr Dingle the Strong’ is one of those failed comedic attempts, but it's still fun to watch Meredith.

[TheOmnipotentQ]

I put up link for your new site on my blog tonight, Lisa. Nice start to it...

[Lisa Swan]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I added the Twilight Zone DVD set to my Amazon wish list. Ya never know!

In the meantime, I have all the SyFy TZ episodes tape automatically on my DVR, and I've seen a few clunkers lately. "Cavender Is Coming" is called the worst Twilight Zone episode by the fan base, but "From Agnes - With Love" also deserves a few votes!

[Sogn Mill-Scout]

For years I deemed ‘Cavender’ the worst Zone, but recently I sat through the excruciating ‘From Agnes - With Love’ for the first time in many years, and as repugnant as Cavender is, ‘Agnes’ is truly blood-curdling!

I always thought ‘The Bewitchin' Pool’ might instead be the worst, but the poignant premise slightly redeems it. However, the acting & other execution aspects are terrible.

IMO,‘What's in the Box’ and ‘The Brain Center at Whipple's’ are also abominations - by the very high TZ standards, of course.

[Marc Pellerin]

I especially liked the episode where the strait-laced Franklin is chased around by the slot machine. SyFy hardly ever shows this one.

[Generic Viagra]

It was my favorite tv program. Thanks for the recommendations. I will have to take the time to watch those episodes.

[vibram five fingers]

This seems to be the message of this creepy episode.

[Generic Viagra]

I can't remember so well for the name of the episode, but there's another one in which a men all his workmates sing him this song "Good Fellow", traumatic.

[vibram five fingers]

This episode is not as well-known as "Eye of the Beholder,"

[moncler coats]

Incredible voice, incredible smile - she sings for the joy of doing and sharing her gift! I'm in Japan too (18 years and counting) and Dre-com, along with Sazan are two joyful music making groups that make up for all the junk here ... and there ... maybe ?

[Em Kae]

For a truly "forgotten episode" check out THE ENCOUNTER from season 5, first aired May 1 1964.
This episode was pulled from regular USA syndication due to it's controversial "racial overtones".

I've only seen it one time; during the 80's. It's never included in the Twilight Zone marathons even to this day!