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Last week, I discovered that I now have access (legally) to the 1960s series of The Twilight Zone, just in time for this "Halloween month". Unwilling to watch all 5 seasons, I looked online for the "best 10 episodes". Doing so was problematic, and risky for those like me that are new to the series.

First, there are 156 episodes, so it isn't likely that you'll get a good consensus on what is the best ten. The IMDB episode ratings may be the closest thing to a consensus, but it's unlikely that everybody that rated episodes watched the full series. Looking at individual top-10 lists, personal preference in the kind of episode they prefer also creates a bias.

Second, though it's not that much of a big problem, is that most of those top-10 lists mention only the episode titles, not their number (season and episode-of-season number). I don't want to scan through the full 156 episode list to find a matching title each time I want to watch an episode.

Finally, and the biggest issue, is that most of those lists not only list the episode titles, but also a description of what happened in the episode, and sometimes even a screenshot of the episode that spoils the whole twist.

So I went through ten of those lists, giving more weight to the IMDB one, and here's the result. No spoilers, just the title and episode numbers.

  1. The Eye of the Beholder S02E06
  2. Time Enough at Last S01E08
  3. It's a Good Life S03E08
  4. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street S01E22
  5. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet S05E03
  6. To Serve Man S03E24
  7. Walking Distance S01E05
  8. Living Doll S05E06
  9. The Invaders S02E15
  10. Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? S02E28

Notice that none on these are part of season 4, which had hour-long episodes rather than 30 minutes.

Also, a few honourable mentions that showed up high enough is many lists.

  1. A Stop at Willoughby S01E30
  2. The Hitch-Hiker S01E16
  3. Five Characters in Search of an Exit S03E14
  4. Twenty-Two S02E17
  5. Long-Distance Call S02E22
  6. Nick of Time S02E07
  7. The Obsolete Man S02E29
  8. The Masks S05E25

Published on October 10, 2015 at 21:40 EDT

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