The 25 Best Twilight Zone Episodes...The Honorable Mentions

The historic television series, The Twilight Zone, turns 50 this year, and to commemorate Rod Serling's foresight, forethought, and legendary literary brilliance, the 25 best episodes will be chronicled here. Some are chilling. Some are thought-provoking. Some are whimsical. Many feature distinguished actors salivating at the opportunity to work with an accomplished script.

First, however, there is the business of acknowledging those well-conceived teleplays that fell just short of the list, nipping at the heels of #25, but landing on the outside looking in. To be sure, episodes 26 through 30 on this "best of" list, the result of an unscientific poll of 250 people in the New York metropolitan area who were asked to rank their favorite episodes based on writing, performance, and compelling subject matter, stack up artistically well with many of the elite Twilight Zone efforts.

Number 30

"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" - Cliff Robertson takes the star turn in this time travel installment written by Serling and directed by Buzz Kulik. Robertson's character, Christian Horn, is traveling as part of an 1847 wagon train through New Mexico on its way across the country to California. His eight year old son is sick, and he ventures over a rim in search of water only to find 1961, helpful people, penicillin, and encyclopedic information about the achievements of the son he's about to save with this futuristic medicine. Of note, here, is a bit part by John Astin, father of Sean Astin, who did his share of seemingly aimless traveling in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This episode is one of two Twilight Zone programs featuring Cliff Robertson, who also plied his science fiction acting wares in the era's other anthology series focusing on the other-worldly, the Outer Limits. In a remarkable feat of longevity, Robertson's acting legacy stretches from 1943 to today, including his turn as Tobey Maguire's father in Spiderman.

Number 29

"Time Enough At Last" - It's safe to say those who like Time Enough At Last are passionate advocates. Penned by Rod Serling and starring Twilight Zone regular Burgess Meredith, this episode regularly ranks much higher than 29 on all-time favorite TZ lists. Here, though, polling criteria focuses largely on writing, and while it is certainly a well-written teleplay, it does not feature much dialogue. As with many other Twilight Zone episodes, the specter of nuclear holocaust-based fear hangs heavily over the proceedings with Mr. Meredith surviving the blast in a bank vault. He ultimately breaks his reading glasses, though, before he has a chance to settle down with his long sought-after dream, the interruption-less task of scouring beloved volumes of literature, found fortuitously among the rubble that was the nearby library.

Number 28

"I Shot An Arrow Into The Air" - Written by Rod Serling and directed by Stuart Rosenberg, this episode is derived from the uncertainty and mystery surrounding the early days of space travel. Several of Serling's efforts centered on this theme as man first ventured beyond our atmosphere. Here, the ultimate irony takes place as an American space ship launches destined for worlds unknown and crashes in barren territory mistaken for another planet. The result is turmoil among men as all seems lost and skirmishes claim all but one astronaut, who discovers too late they have crashed only miles from their take-off site...on Earth.

Number 27

"Kick the Can" - Written by George Clayton Johnson and directed by Lamont Johnson, Kick the Can explores the wistful nature in many of us who long for the more innocent, playful, and less responsible days of youth. This is a particularly poignant story, because it is presented from the vantage point of the elderly, whose days are short and discomforts more tangible every day. Wouldn't it be wonderful, just once, for those dreams of revisiting youth and starting gleefully over to come true? Indeed they do in this episode, with the notable exception of one elderly gentleman who doesn't believe and is left behind...proving there is no room for non-believers in the Twilight Zone.

Number 26

"The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" - Another installment in the time warp, time travel package of Twilight Zone efforts, this episode, directed by Alan Crosland Jr., sends three present-day National Guardsmen on war-game maneuvers into General Custer's plight. Fascinating in its historical summarization of the events of that fateful day leading to the ultimate ambush, writer Serling ensures there's a payoff in the last scene when a Guardsman, young Greg Morris in pre-Mission Impossible days, finds the three soldiers' names commemorated in stone honoring their roles at Little Big Horn.

With these time-honored episodes accounted for, we will now turn our attention to the 25 best Twilight Zone episodes based on the aforementioned criteria. Many polled had great interest in writing and literature, so results tended to skew in the direction of the scripts. Nobody, however, can deny the impact of performance on the script, as actors such as Cliff Robertson, Gig Young, Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, and Burgess Meredith conducted virtual acting workshops in their episodes.

This is the first of a 25-part series honoring Mr. Serling and his signature masterpiece collection, with each article from here forward focusing and examining episodes and their appeal. Survey participants included college students at Ramapo University in New Jersey and Fordham University in New York, corporate professionals from Westchester, Bergen, Putnam and Orange Counties, and others.