wolfpangs ([personal profile] wolfpangs) wrote2007-03-08 06:13 pm

Between science and superstition.

Most of you already know that I love The Twilight Zone. At its best, it's a work of art. And at its worst...it's still pretty good TV. Also, Rod Serling is a genius. A hot genius. On that note, here is a list of some of my favorites and a list of some of the classics. It's by no means definitive--it's a dip of the toe into the must sees.


Favorites:

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street--A classic, yes, and one of the finest examinations of human paranoia.

People Are Alike All Over--"You're looking at a species of flimsy little two-legged animals with extremely small heads whose name is Man. Warren Marcusson, age thirty-five. Samuel A. Conrad, age thirty-one... They're taking a highway into space, Man unshackling himself and sending his tiny, groping fingers up into the unknown. Their destination is Mars, and in just a moment we'll land there with them."

A Stop At Willoughby--Modern life is noisy and hard and loud and Willoughby is so peaceful. Which would you choose?

The Howling Man--Stop me if you've heard this one before: A man seeks shelter during a storm in a monastery, in which is locked a noisy fellow whom they claim is someone famous. Are the monks crazy or are they right?

Deaths-Head Revisited--A Nazi returns to Dachau. Features perhaps the finest of Serling's opening and closing monologues. Oscar Beregi is good but Joseph Schildkraut is amazing.

Five Characters in Search of an Exit--Exactly what it sounds like. Five characters stuck in a peculiar metal cylinder, with no clue to their surroundings but an occasional loud bell.

Nothing in the Dark--Woman lets a young Robert Redford (no, the real one) in her house. Can you figure out who he is before she does?

The Hunt: If Heaven ain't a lot like Dixie and doesn't let me bring my dog(s), I don't wanna go.

Stopover in a Quiet Town--This is why you shouldn't drink and drive.



Classics:

Time Enough At Last--Be careful what you wish for.

I Shot An Arrow Into the Air--A common theme in TZ episodes: The inability to trust our surroundings.

Eye of the Beholder--What is ugly exactly? Who decides?

The Invaders--Tiny men crash land into woman's attic and start shooting at her. What would you do?

It's a Good Life--You don't want to get wished into the corn, do you?

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet--Am I crazy or is there a rabid teddy bear on this airplane's wing?

The Masks--U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi.


Crossposted at Boob Tube because I can.

[identity profile] mortalmax.livejournal.com 2007-03-08 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I love A Stop at Willoughby. It's just so out of character from the regular twists on regular Twilight Zones.