Picture it if you will, two men with the unique obsession to let a machine designate their very fates. Why? All for their own sense of amusement, a chuckle or too, but it’s only a matter of time before Michael and John discover there’s more than fun and games waiting for them on Stream Police. In this special Halloween edition, Michael and John each list their five favorite underrated Twilight Zone episodes and talk about the history of the show. There’s no going back now.
Check out our lists below if you want to know our pics but don’t want the twists spoiled! Happy haunting!
John’s List
5. The After Hours (6/10/1960)
Dir: Douglas Heyes
Writer: Rod Serling
Cast: Anne Francis, Elizabeth Allen, James Millhollin, John Conwell
Plot: A woman is treated badly by some odd salespeople on an otherwise empty department store floor.
4. Number 12 Looks Just Like You (01/24/1964)
Dir: Abner Biberman
Writer: John Tomerlin, adapted from the short story “The Beautiful People” by Charles Beaumont.
Cast: Collin Wilcox, Suzy Parker, Richard Long, Pam Austin
Plot: In a future society everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. One young woman desperately wants to hold onto her own identity.
3. And When the Sky Was Opened (12/11/1959)
Dir: Douglas Heyes
Writer: Rod Serling, based on the short story by Richard Matheson
Cast: Rod Taylor, Charles Aidman, Jim Hutton
Plot: Three U.S. astronauts blast off from Earth on an initial test flight in an experimental rocket-ship, but during the flight into space the ship disappears from radar, upon return the astronauts find themselves slowly vanishing from existence, one by one.
2. The Hunt (01/26/1962
Dir: Harold Schuster
Writer: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Cast: Arthur Hunnicutt, Jeanette Nolan, Titus Moede, Orville Sherman, Charles Seel, Robert Foulk, Dexter Dupont
Plot: Upon returning from a coon hunt, Hyder Simpson discovers that no one can see or hear him because he has passed on.
1. The Rip Van Winkle Caper (04/21/1961)
Dir: Justus Addiss
Writer: Rod Serling
Cast: Simon Oakland, Oscar Beregi, Jr., Lew Gallo, John Mitchum
Plot: After successfully stealing a gold shipment, a group of criminals and their scientist accomplice put themselves in suspended animation in a remote desert cave. When they awaken decades later, complications ensue when their truck is destroyed.
Michael’s List
5. The Invaders (01/27/1961
Dir: Douglas Heyes
Writer: Richard Matheson
Cast: Agnes Moorehead
Plot: When a woman investigates a clamor on the roof of her rural house, she discovers a small UFO and little aliens emerging from it. Or so it seems.
4. Five Characters in Search of an Exit (12/11/1961)
Dir: Lamont Johnson
Writer: Rod Serling from the short story “The Depository” by Marvin Petal
Cast: William Windom, Murray Matheson, Susan Harrison, Kelton Garwood, Clark Allen
Plot: An army major awakens in a small room with no idea of who he is or how he got there. He finds four other people in the same room, and they all begin to question how they each arrived there, and more importantly, how to escape.
3. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (02/28/1964)
Dir: Robert Enrico
Writer: Robert Enrico, based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce.
Cast: Roger Jacquet, Anne Cornaly, Anker Larsen
Plot: It is the end of the Civil War and Union troops have occupied the South. They are going to execute a Southern resistance fighter.
2. Deaths-Head Revisited (11/10/1961)
Dir: Don Medford
Writer: Rod Serling
Cast: Oscar Beregi. Jr., Joseph Schildkraut, Karen Verne, Robert Boon, Ben Wright
Plot: A former German SS captain returns to Dachau concentration camp and begins reminiscing on the power he enjoyed there, until he finds himself on trial by those who died at his hands.
1. Once Upon a Time (12/15/1961)
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod and Les Goodwins
Writer: Richard Matheson
Cast: Buster Keaton, Stanley Adams
Plot: Janitor Woodrow Mulligan gets a trip from 1890 to 1962 courtesy of his employer’s time helmet.
