It’s difficult to imagine a version of The Twilight Zone without Serling’s inimitable input, and every subsequent take on the franchise has failed to catch that same lightning in the bottle. Nonetheless, some of the original series’ most iconic stories came from elsewhere, from the pens of authors like Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont.
Related
Every Twilight Zone Show And Movie, Ranked
The Twilight Zone has seen multiple TV revivals and movies, each with their ranking among the rest.
Without the input of these lesser-known figures, the classic anthology series would have been deprived of some of its finest installments. These writers also wrote books and teleplays like Rod Serling did, and their voices resonate throughout The Twilight Zone.
Updated October 10th, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: The Twilight Zone is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, and what better way to celebrate than by enjoying the classic series or its remakes and reboots? Then there are also the other shows that were inspired by the popular vintage series, such as Amazing Stories and Tales From The Crypt, which followed the same one-and-done format along with a creepy or uncanny story of the mysterious and strange. Various writers have taken on the same aesthetic to spin their tales, and even though Rod Serling was one of the greatest, he wasn’t alone in The Twilight Zone.
10 The Last Flight
Written By: Richard Matheson
- Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 9
- Directed By: William F. Claxton
- Starring: Kenneth Haigh, Simon Scott, Alexander Scourby, Robert Warwick
- Air Date: February 5, 1960
Some of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone explore the concept of time travel. “The Last Flight” focuses on Decker, a World War One pilot who touches down at an airbase in his own future. Instead of landing in 1917, Decker instead arrived in 1959, much to the confusion of the Cold War-era American officers. However, Decker soon comes to recognize the role that he has to play if history is to stay on track.
Richard Matheson’s debut Twilight Zone episode features a bittersweet resolution and a sensitively written protagonist in the form of Decker. The result is a touching ghost story about duty and sacrifice, representing the best that Serling’s anthology series has to offer.
9 A New Exhibit
Written By: Jerry Sohl, Credited To Charles Beaumont
- Episode Number: Season 4, Episode 13
- Directed By: April 4, 1963
- Starring: Martin Balsam, Will Kuluva, Maggie Mahoney, William Mims
- Air Date: April 4, 1963
This episode is a good old-fashioned horror romp for those who like some fear in their Twilight Zone twists. Ferguson’s Wax Museum has a wide variety of famous people on display, and our hero is the person who cares for and curates the section known as Murderer’s Row.
When the time comes for the museum to close and be renovated into a supermarket, Martin Lombard Senescu is devastated, and volunteers to keep the wax figures at his house until another home can be found for them. Then the murders start to happen, with Martin’s wife Martin being the first to go, stabbed by Jack the Ripper, or so it appears.
Another friend is killed by the figure of John Hicks, and the previous owner of the museum is the second to last victim, killed by a wax Henri Désiré Landru. Eventually, the wax figures are shipped to their new home in Brussels, with a final addition, the quietest and most covert murderer of all, Martin Lombard Senescu.
8 Two
Written By: Montgomery Pittman
- Episode Number: Season 3, Episode 1
- Directed By: Montgomery Pittman
- Starring: Charles Bronson, Elizabeth Montgomery
- Air Date: September 15, 1961
In addition to directing five episodes of The Twilight Zone, including the famous “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”, Montgomery Pittman contributed three scripts to the anthology show’s third season. His best, “Two,” kicks off the season with an unlikely love story.
A soldier, played by action star Charles Bronson, explores the ruins bombed-out city and encounters an enemy combatant, played by Elizabeth Montgomery. They are the last survivors of a terrible conflict, but will they be able to find peace in the post-apocalypse?
Related
8 Saddest Twilight Zone Episodes
The Twilight Zone had a lot of downer moments throughout its history. These are some of the most memorable.
“Two” is an interesting script in that it features little spoken dialogue. As such, the troubled relationship between the former foes is shown through their actions. The man offers the woman food, and they bond over beautiful clothes in a shop window, they give into paranoia and hold each other at gunpoint. It’s a tense, almost balletic conflict, but Pittman’s story of love against the odds remains one of The Twilight Zone‘s most iconic romances.
7 Stopover In A Quiet Town
Written By: Earl Hamner Jr.
- Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 30
- Directed By: Ron Winston
- Starring: Barry Nelson, Nancy Malone, Denise Lynn, Karen Norris
- Air Date: April 24, 1964
Long before Greta Gerwig’s Barbie earned praise for its toy-like set design, Earl Hamner Jr.’s “Stopover in a Quiet Town” brought that same sense of shallow unreality to The Twilight Zone. The morning after a night of heavy drinking, Bob and Millie Fraizer wake up in an unfamiliar bed. They are fully clothed and confused. What happened last night, and why are they trapped in a seemingly fake town?
Hamner Jr.’s script makes for entertaining viewing thanks to his snappy dialogue and imaginative flair. Admittedly, it’s possible to see the episode’s twist coming a mile away, but “Stopover in a Quiet Town” is still worth watching. Fans of the episode are also likely to enjoy Rod Serling’s “Where Is Everybody?”, an episode that tackles similar themes, albeit in a very different way.
6 Steel
Written By: Richard Matheson
- Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 2
- Directed By: Don Weis
- Starring: Lee Marvin, Joe Mantell, Chuck Hicks, Frank London
- Air Date: October 4, 1963
Of the sixteen scripts that Richard Matheson contributed to The Twilight Zone, Season 5’s “Steel” is perhaps his most underrated. Set in the then-far-off future of 1974, the episode depicts a world where boxing between humans has been outlawed. Instead, contestants use robots to fight one another.
Retired boxer Timothy Kelly finds himself in a sticky situation when his outdated robot malfunctions. To pay for the repairs, Kelly disguises himself as a robot and enters the ring, but can a former star survive six rounds with an android?
“Steel” features fewer twists than many entries in The Twilight Zone canon, but its character-driven nature will leave audiences rooting for the underdog. Interestingly, it’s not the only episode of the show to focus on robots in sport: Rod Serling’s controversial “The Mighty Casey” showed how androids might impact professional baseball. Matheson’s script is the better of the two, suggesting that while Serling was the boss, he did not shy away from promoting other talented storytellers.
5 The Hitch-Hiker
Written By: Lucille Fletcher, Adapted By Rod Serling
- Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 16
- Directed By: Alvin Ganzer
- Starring: Inger Stevens, Leonard Strong, Adam Williams, Russ Bender
- Air Date: January 22, 1960
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the teleplay of “The Hitch-Hiker” is credited to Rod Serling. The Twilight Zone heavyweight did come up with the episode’s unforgettable premise but he didn’t come up with the story. The episode’s key elements, a minor car accident, followed by a character being pursued by a mysterious figure, are present in a 1941 radio play of the same name, written by Lucille Fletcher.
Related
8 Best Twilight Zone Alternatives
Whilst some remember The Twilight Zone as one of the first and best anthology shows, there are still plenty of others worth a watch.
Serling adapted Fletcher’s tale for his own series, notably changing the protagonist into a young woman but it was hardly an original idea. Regardless of the episode’s true writer, it represents a high watermark for The Twilight Zone.
Inger Stevens gives a great performance as Nan Adams, a woman whose mounting sense of dread threatens to result in a horrifying revelation. The eponymous Hitch-Hiker, played by Leonard Strong, is uncannily relentless, and the character’s ominous final line, attributed to Serling, is one of the show’s most quotable.
4 Perchance To Dream
Written By: Charles Beaumont
- Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 9
- Directed By: Robert Florey
- Starring: Richard Conte, John Larch, Suzanne Lloyd
- Air Date: November 27, 1959
Several of Charles Beaumont’s Twilight Zone scripts have their roots in his earlier short fiction, and “Perchance to Dream” is no exception. Holding the distinction of being the first Twilight Zone episode to be written by someone other than Rod Serling, Beaumont’s tale is surreal and nightmarish.
Protagonist Edward Hall is gripped by the terrifying conviction that he will die if he falls asleep. He bases this fear on prior dreams involving a seductive woman, and if he sees her again, his heart will give out.
Hall’s visit to a psychologist does little to assuage the terror he feels, but his recounting of his nightmares results in some of The Twilight Zone‘s most inventive and dreamlike sets. Beaumont’s script is buoyed by memorable performances, particularly from the beautiful and menacing Suzanne Lloyd, but the strength of his writing showed that the series could benefit greatly from outside voices.
3 A World Of Difference
Written By: Richard Matheson
- Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 23
- Directed By: Ted Post
- Starring: Howard Duff, Eileen Ryan, David White
- Air Date: March 11, 1960
“A World Of Difference” is an early example of meta-drama, which is a type of writing for the screen that mixes elements of theater or “a play within a play.” It’s the kind of play on perception and reality that makes for a good premise for writers of The Twilight Zone.
Successful businessman Arthur Curtis goes to work but discovers his phone is actually part of a set, and he’s an actor named Gerald Raigan who’s going through a nasty divorce. The plot flips between Arthur and Gerald, finally pushing the main character to decide who he wants to be, and find his true destiny.
2 Nightmare At 20,000 Feet
Written By: Richard Matheson
- Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 3
- Directed By: Richard Donner
- Starring: William Shatner, Christine White, Edward Kemmer, Asa Maynor, Nick Cravat
- Air Date: October 11, 1963
Richard Matheson’s most famous script has been the subject of numerous parodies, including The Simpsons, The Muppets, and two different episodes of Saturday Night Live, as well as several remakes. It’s not just his talent that makes this episode special but also the touch of Richard Donner, who would go on to be one of Hollywood’s favorite action movie directors.
The episode is an adaptation of Matheson’s short story of the same name and concerns a nervous man named Robert Wilson, ironically played by William Shatner, who becomes increasingly agitated while traveling on an airplane. Wilson believes that the plane is under attack from a hideous monster out on the wing, but no one else believes him.
Related
7 Best Twilight Zone Actors
The Twilight Zone has seen many distinct and memorable actor performances in its rich history. These are the best of the best.
Wilson’s descent into madness is well handled, with the episode hedging its bets about whether Shatner’s character is really delusional. For fans who are scared of flying, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” is unlikely to cure their phobia, but it does represent one of The Twilight Zone‘s most unforgettable installments. Small wonder, then, that it ranks among the show’s most frequently remade episodes.
1 Living Doll
Written By: Charles Beaumont and Jerry Sohl
- Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 6
- Directed By: Richard C. Sarafian
- Starring: Telly Savalas, Mary La Roche, Tracy Stratford
- Air Date: November 1, 1963
Charles Beaumont wrote some of The Twilight Zone‘s most iconic early scripts, including “Perchance to Dream” and “Dead Man’s Shoes.” However, Beaumont’s health drastically declined during the show’s final years, and he was forced to turn to writer Jerry Sohl for support. This partnership resulted in three Twilight Zone scripts, all credited to Beaumont.
“Living Doll” represents the anthology series at its most terrifying. Terry Savalas plays Erich Streator, a frustrated man who becomes convinced that his step-daughter’s new doll, Talky Tina, is malevolent. His wife thinks he’s crazy, his stepdaughter thinks he’s a bully, and he thinks that he’s doing what’s right to protect his family. “Living Doll” examines the fault lines in post-war suburban America, but it’s Talky Tina’s creepy voice that will stick in viewers’ minds.
The Twilight Zone
- Release Date
- October 2, 1959
- Seasons
- 5
- Creator
- Rod Serling
- Number of Episodes
- 156