This Twilight Zone marathon is a bit unusual for me personally. It goes back to the infamous cancelled marathon of 2010. I’ll discuss all that in a follow up post in the near future though.
For now, since I’m running late, the basics. The episode order and times come from channelguidemagblog.com . The episode descriptions are my own. The Viewer’s Choice rankings for some of the episodes comes from a poll conducted by Syfy in late 2011. The top forty vote getters all appeared in last year’s New Year’s marathon.
Time
|
Episode
|
|
1
|
December 31, 2012
8:00 AM
|
The Fever
An uptight, puritanical guy vacations in Las Vegas.
Script: Rod Serling
|
2
|
8:30 AM
|
Perchance to Dream
A man, stalked in his dreams by a mysterious woman, believes that if he dies in his dreams, he will die in real life.
|
3
|
9:00 AM
|
One for the Angels
A street peddler makes a pitch to The Grim Reaper.
Script: Rod Serling
|
4
|
9:30 AM
|
The Prime Mover
Buddy Ebsen (Jed Clampett) has mind powers.
|
5
|
10:00 AM
|
Death’s Head Revisited
A Nazi war criminal returns to the scene of his crimes.
Script: Rod Serling
|
6
|
10:30 AM
|
What You Need
A street peddler gives people things they need at the right moment. Adapted from Lewis Padgett’s (AKA Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore) story. Moore is known to Weird Tales aficionados for her Jirel of Joiry stories among others. Henry Kuttner was a prolific pulp writer as well, who did some post-Howard sword &sorcery stories.
Script: Rod Serling
|
7
|
11:00 AM
|
The Jeopardy Room
A dissident seeks escape from a hotel room booby-trapped by Eastern Bloc agents.
Starring Martin Landau
|
8
|
11:30 AM
|
The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine
The delusional are due on Sunset Boulevard.
|
9
|
12:00 PM
|
Long Live Walter Jameson
A history teacher recounts historical events of long ago as if he had lived through them.
|
10
|
12:30 PM
|
A Piano in the House
A sadistic critic discovers a player piano with a knack for bringing out people’s true character.
|
11
|
1:00 PM
|
What’s in the Box?
A TV that tells the future and an unhappy marriage aren’t a good mix.
|
12
|
1:30 PM
|
Black Leather Jackets
I sometimes wonder if this story of alien invasion influenced The Third Wave.
|
13
|
2:00 PM
|
A Nice Place to Visit
A deceased criminal gets almost everything he wants in the afterlife, but what did he do to deserve such good fortune?
|
14
|
2:30 PM
|
The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms
National Guardsmen on training maneuvers near the Little Bighorn battlefield find themselves transported back to the time of Custer’s Last Stand.
|
15
|
3:00 PM
|
King Nine Will Not Return
A plane and its crew go missing over the Sahara during World War II.
|
16
|
3:30 PM
|
Mr. Denton on Doomsday
In the Old West, can a town drunk find salvation in a gun and a magic elixir?
|
17
|
4:00 PM
|
The Shelter
One man has the foresight to build a bomb shelter. His neighbors chuckle until a nuclear strike appears imminent.
Script: Rod Serling
|
18
|
4:30 PM
|
Night of the Meek
Art Carney portrays a down and out department store Santa Claus who finds a miraculous bag.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #23
|
19
|
5:00 PM
|
It’s a Good Life
Think happy thoughts! Think happy thoughts! Think happy thoughts, or little Anthony will wish you into the cornfield. A town lives in fear of a child with incredible mind powers.
Based on the story by Jerome Bixby.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #20
|
20
|
5:30 PM
|
Probe 7: Over and Out
An astronaut is stranded on another planet as nuclear war appears imminent back home.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #40
|
21
|
6:00 PM
|
A Kind of Stopwatch
A man gets a stopwatch that can stop time.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #38
|
22
|
6:30 PM
|
Little Girl Lost
When a little girl enters a doorway to another dimension, her parents and a neighbor attempt to rescue her. I never thought much of this episode. The short story it was based on is better.
Script: Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) based on his own short story.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #34
|
23
|
7:00 PM
|
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
Two state troopers find a crashed spaceship and track an alien to a diner where they find the diner’s counterman, a bus driver, and the bus’s passengers. Is someone in the diner really the alien in disguise?
VIEWER’S CHOICE #2
|
24
|
7:30 PM
|
The Eye of the Beholder
A woman is in a hospital and her face is heavily bandaged after she undergoes plastic surgery in the hope of becoming beautiful. This episode sometimes appears with the title “Private World of Darkness.” Listen to the Leader’s speech on the television in the background in some of the scenes. Like “Number Twelve Looks Just Like You,” this episode also goes beyond a commentary on looks. It warns against too much conformity, a tendency which ran amok in 1950s and early 1960s America.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #7
|
25
|
8:00 PM
|
The Invaders
An old woman is tormented by tiny aliens.
Script: Richard Matheson
VIEWER’S CHOICE #15
|
26
|
8:30 PM
|
Where is Everybody?
The first episode. A man finds himself in a deserted town, but always there are tantalizing hints that he’s just missed finding somebody.
|
27
|
9:00 PM
|
The Hitchhiker
A creepy hitchhiker follows a young woman (Inger Stevens) across the country. Adapted from Lucille Fletcher’s radio play.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #18
|
28
|
9:30 PM
|
To Serve Man
Aliens promising Utopia leave behind a book which reveals their true motives. Based on a Damon Knight story and originally broadcast over 20 years before the first version of V.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #3
|
29
|
10:00 PM
|
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
“There’s a man on the wing!” A passenger who’d only recently recovered from a nervous breakdown sees a gremlin sabotaging the airplane he’s on, only nobody else sees it or believes him.
Script: Richard Matheson (Author of I Am Legend) Based on his own short story.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #1
|
30
|
10:30 PM
|
Living Doll
She’s Talky Tina, and she doesn’t think she likes you.
Credited to Charles Beaumont, but actually written by Jerry Sohl.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #9
|
31
|
11:00 PM
|
The Masks
Greedy family members visit a dying old man during Mardi Gras. As a condition of inheriting his fortune, they must wear certain masks.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #12
|
32
|
11:30 PM
|
I Sing the Body Electric
Ray Bradbury’s story of three children and their android nanny (“Grandmother”).
VIEWER’S CHOICE #27
|
33
|
Happy New Year’s!!
January 1, 2013
12:00 AM
|
The Midnight Sun
It’s the hottest day in history as the world drifts towards the sun.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #13
|
34
|
12:30 AM
|
Stopover in a Quiet Town
A couple find themselves in a deserted town where they hear a child’s laughter.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #30
|
35
|
1:00 AM
|
Long Distance Call
One of the videotape episodes. A boy talks to his dead grandmother on his toy telephone.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #32
|
36
|
1:30 AM
|
The Old Man in the Cave
A town has survived a nuclear holocaust and its aftermath thanks to a mysterious old man.
|
37
|
2:00 AM
|
The After Hours
Mannequins!! Starring Anne Francis
VIEWER’S CHOICE #35
|
38
|
2:30 AM
|
Mr. Bevis
A down on his luck eccentric wishes his life was different.
|
39
|
3:00 AM
|
Twenty-Two
A beautiful woman in a hospital keeps having nightmares about Room Twenty-two and a creepy nurse. “Room for one more.”
|
40
|
3:30 AM
|
The Grave
Even though there isn’t much action, it’s a weird western with Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, and the “What we have here is failure to communicate” guy.
Script: Montgomery Pittman
|
41
|
4:00 AM
|
Night Call
An old woman receives a series of frightening phone calls.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #26
|
42
|
4:30 AM
|
Judgement Night
During World War II, a passenger on a ship has premonitions about a U-Boat attack.
|
43
|
5:00 AM
|
Nightmare as a Child
After a teacher encounters a blond girl singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” repressed memories of her own childhood begin coming back to her. The main character is named Helen Foley after one of Rod Serling’s favorite teachers.
|
44
|
5:30 AM
|
The Four of Us Are Dying
An unsavory character has the ability to look like other people.
|
45
|
6:00 AM
|
The Silence
A bet ends with an O’Henry twist.
|
46
|
6:30 AM
|
I Shot an Arrow Into the Air
A space ship crash lands, and the commander who tries to maintain order is pitted against a crew member who thinks survival means every man for himself. Based on an idea by Madelon Champion.
Script: Rod Serling
|
47
|
7:00 AM
|
In Praise of Pip
An alcoholic bookie gets a last chance to set things right with his son.
|
48
|
7:30 AM
|
Uncle Simon
A cruel Uncle and Robbie the Robot torment a gold digging niece.
|
49
|
8:00 AM
|
Queen of the Nile
Has an actress found the secret of eternal youth?
|
50
|
8:30 AM
|
A World of His Own
A writer brings women from his stories to life.
Script: Richard Matheson
|
51
|
9:00 AM
|
Mr. Garrity and the Graves
An Old West snake oil salesman offers to raise loved ones from the dead.
|
52
|
9:30 AM
|
A Thing About Machines
An angry snob blames all the people and machines around him for everything that doesn’t go right. The machines have had enough.
|
53
|
10:00 AM
|
The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
In early twentieth century Appalachia, a man returns from the dead, but friends and family react with superstitious fear. Featuring Comfort, one of the hottest Twilight Zone babes ever!
|
54
|
10:30 AM
|
Hocus Pocus and Frisby
A homespun variation of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” Adapted from Frederic Louis Fox’s story.
Script: Rod Serling
|
55
|
11:00 AM
|
A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain
Trying to keep up with his young wife, a rich old man volunteers for an experimental treatment to become younger.
|
56
|
11:30 AM
|
The Arrival
A plane arrives with no crew, no passengers.
Script: Rod Serling
|
57
|
12:00 PM
|
Escape Clause
A hypochondriac makes a deal with the devil.
|
58
|
12:30 PM
|
And When the Sky Was Opened
Three astronauts return to earth. When one disappears, the only person on earth who remembers him is one of his shipmates.
Based on the story “Disappearing Act” by Richard Matheson
Script: Rod Serling
|
59
|
1:00 PM
|
The Hunt
An old man and his dog go hunting in Appalachia and find themselves someplace else entirely.
Script: Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of The Waltons.
|
60
|
1:30 PM
|
People Are Alike All Over
After a crash landing on Mars, an astronaut discovers that people really are alike everywhere.
|
61
|
2:00 PM
|
Caesar and Me
A ventriloquist's dummy proves to be a bad influence.
|
62
|
2:30 PM
|
The Odyssey of Flight 33
An airliner travels back and forth through time.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #10
|
63
|
3:00 PM
|
A Penny for Your Thoughts
A coin lands on edge, and a man gains the power to read minds.
Script: George Clayton Johnson
VIEWER’S CHOICE #28
|
64
|
3:30 PM
|
Third From the Sun
Two families attempt to escape a world on the brink of nuclear war. Adapted from Richard Matheson’s story.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #16
|
65
|
4:00 PM
|
The Little People
Two astronauts land on a planet to repair their ship. One discovers a civilization of tiny people and sets himself up as their god.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #37
|
66
|
4:30 PM
|
Nick of Time
A couple stop at a diner and are amused at first by a devil headed fortune telling machine on their table. Will they let the machine’s cryptic yet unnervingly accurate predictions run their lives?
VIEWER’S CHOICE #24
|
67
|
5:00 PM
|
Number Twelve Looks Just Like You
Based on Charles Beaumont’s story “The Beautiful People.” A futuristic society pressures people into medical treatments to make themselves physically perfect and beautiful. Although, commentators often note how this episode warns against society’s increasing over emphasis on appearance resulting in eating disorders, use of Botox, and plastic surgery - its warning against anti-intellectualism often gets overlooked.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #29
|
68
|
5:30 PM
|
Hundred A Hundred Yards Over the Rim
A nineteenth century pioneer finds the future while trying to save his son and guide his wagon train to safety.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #36
|
69
|
6:00 PM
|
A Most Unusual Camera
Thieves find a camera that takes pictures of the future.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #31
|
70
|
6:30 PM
|
Five Characters in Search of an Exit
A soldier, a clown, a ballerina, a hobo, and a bag pipe player find themselves in a mysterious prison. Adapted from Marvin Petal’s story.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #25
|
71
|
7:00 PM
|
A Stop at Willoughby
Stressed out by work, a tyrannical boss, and an unsympathetic wife, a man finds a haven on the train ride home.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #5
|
72
|
7:30 PM
|
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
A parable of Cold War witch hunting. A mysterious object flies overhead, and a neighborhood loses all power. Then a select few regain and lose power. Suspicion grows that the flying object was an alien spaceship and that someone living on the street is an alien in disguise, preparing the way for an invasion.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #4
|
73
|
8:00 PM
|
The Howling Man
A traveler seeks shelter in an isolated monastery where a group of apparent fanatics hold a prisoner.
Script: Charles Beaumont. (Adapted from his own short story)
VIEWER’S CHOICE #11
|
74
|
8:30 PM
|
Time Enough at Last
A man who just wants time to read finds himself all alone with a library full of books after a nuclear war.
Adapted from Lynn Venable’s story.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #6
|
75
|
9:00 PM
|
The Bewitchin’ Pool
The last episode of the original series. Two Southern children seek escape from their feuding parents by traveling to another dimension where a Southern Mother Goose type takes runaway children under her wing.
Script: Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of The Waltons.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #14
|
76
|
9:30 PM
|
Kick the Can
Can the residents of an old age home find a little bit of magic and feel young again?
VIEWER’S CHOICE #22
|
77
|
10:00 PM
|
The Obsolete Man
Burgess Meredith is a librarian facing execution in a totalitarian society where books are banned.
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #8
|
78
|
10:30 PM
|
The Dummy
One of two episodes about evil dummies who torment the ventriloquists who work with them. This one stars Cliff Robertson.
Based on a story by Lee Polk
Script: Rod Serling
VIEWER’S CHOICE #17
|
79
|
11:00 PM
|
Dead Man’s Shoes
A homeless man puts on a pair shoes haunted by a gangster.
Script: Charles Beaumont and OCee Ritch
VIEWER’S CHOICE #19
|
80
|
11:30 PM
|
Game A Game of Pool
When an ambitious and talented pool shark says he could beat a deceased legend regarded as the best pool player ever, he gets a chance to prove it. The stakes? His soul.
Script: George Clayton Johnson
VIEWER’S CHOICE #33
|
81
|
January 2, 2013
12:00 AM
|
The Rip Van Winkle Caper
Criminals pull off a heist and seek to escape by going into suspended animation.
Script: Rod Serling
|
82
|
12:30 AM
|
I Am the Night, Color Me Black
A man faces execution for slaying a hate monger. Meanwhile, a strange darkness engulfs the town.
|
83
|
1:00 AM
|
Walking Distance
One of TZ’s most highly regarded episodes. A stressed out business executive tries to return to his childhood hometown.
Script: Rod Serling
|
84
|
1:30 AM
|
Ring-A-Ding Girl
Premonitions prompt a Hollywood star to return to the small town where she grew up in an attempt to save it.
|
85
|
2:00 AM
|
Mr. Dingle, the Strong
Aliens give a scrawny, sad sack salesman incredible strength.
VIEWER’S CHOICE #39
|
86
|
2:30 AM
|
The Lonely
A convict imprisoned alone on an asteroid gets an android in the form of a woman for companionship.
|
87
|
3:00 AM
|
Two
After an apocalyptic war, two soldiers, a man and a woman, from opposing armies meet. Starring Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha from Bewitched.)
Script: Montgomery Pittman
|
88
|
3:30 AM
|
The Brain Center at Whipple’s
Automation and poetic justice.
|
89
|
4:00 AM
|
The Last Flight
A World War I fighter pilot finds himself transported through time to a present day American Air Force base. (The present being 1960 when this episode came out.)
Script: Richard Matheson based on his short story “Flight.”
|
90
|
4:30 AM
|
The Purple Testament
This episode is set in the Philippines in World War II - January 1945 to be exact. A junior officer is cursed with the ability to foresee who is going to die next. Four of the men listed as casualties in this episode are named after men in Serling’s own unit who died in December 1944, one of whom was decapitated while standing next to Serling.
Script by Rod Serling
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