All 156 Episodes of The Twilight Zone Ranked 

This was a tremendous tribute to what I feel is the greatest tv series ever. I watched the original series 3 times over. A lot of that series was ahead of its time and is playing out today.

Decades after Twilight Zone, William Shatner appeared as Big Giant Head in sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun, starring John Lithgow. In this episode, he mentions that during his flight he saw something on the wing of the plane, to which Lithgow's character Dick mentions that the same thing happened to him before. Not only is this reference to the original TZ episode, but also a reference to the TZ movie from the 80s in which Lithgow played the same character that Shatner played in the original, therefore, both experiencing the same thing during their flights.

The Orwellian future of The Obsolete Man is what really terrified me as a kid.

Time Enough At Last blew my mind as a kid. It really drove home the "be careful what you wish for" mantra and frightened me. Number 1 IMO.

It’s very satisfying at my age and in our current global situation to see a young man enjoy something I’ve loved for over 60 years. Some of your lower ranked episodes you had to quickly review I actually had a hard time even remembering. I understand why you ranked “To Serve Man” so low but I still love it. I also just a few days ago saw an interview of Richard Kiel who revealed something I’d never known. He was involved in another project as this was being produced and he had a very long drive back & forth. The makeup also took a long time. Due to this he never knew his lines which ended up being done by another actor from another episode. The actor who played Satan in the pawn shop with the older couple you liked. A bit of trivia you might not know. Anyway I appreciate your eye for excellence in all the Twilight Zone stands for !! God Bless you !! 🙏🏻❤️

Impressive amount of work that this must have taken. Definitely want to see some of these now

DID YOU GUYS KNOW Rod Serling earned a Purple Heart for his extensive combat experience in WW2?

Ok so i havent seen this show but my goodness your a baller for ranking 156 episodes!!!

I got very excited about #5 lol. Deaths Head Revisited is one of my all time favorite episodes and I feel like no one ever talks about it. I was very happy to see it ranked so high on your list.

I've had a hard time sleeping all of my life and it was as a very young boy in the eighties that I learned of The Twilight Zone. When my parents were asleep, I would turn on the TV in my end of the house- the volume turned very low. It was on from like 12:30 - 1:00 AM. I fell in love with this show and am amazed to see a young man like yourself so fully engaged in it!!! Nice work!!!!

So glad I watched your video!! I was the set designer / art director for the version of TOT at Disneyland. I'm also glad you spotted the easter egg on the wall of the second floor of the Boiler Room set. But did you know that I put 99 easter eggs in that attraction? My favorite prop was going to a local Los Angeles custom eyeglasses maker. I had a picture of Burgess' glasses in Time Enough at Last. The man said he could make a copy in about 3 weeks. When I went to pick it up from him he said to me that he remembered making glasses like that for "another project" I found out that he had built the original glasses (5 pairs) for the actual TZ episode so many years ago. The glasses (complete with shattered lens) were in one of the bookcases in the TOT Library set. Another favorite easter egg of mine was by the telephone near the timeclock in the Boiler Room. I hung a pencil on a string on the phone dangling down. On the wall (in pencil) I scratched the names of all the murderers in all the TZ shows. A dented thimble is in the display case in the hallway in the man lobby set. I could go on and on. Though I gave Operations a list of all the easter eggs, nobody employee or guest on the attraction never even found them. Pity it's gone now.

Thank you for the tribute! Also my favorite tv show of all time as well as many who are here willing to see this major ranking! Glad to see everyone gathered and discussing, sharing, and promoting TTZ and their personal story of how it has affected them!

I loved Piano in the House. Such an interesting little story on how music plays on our subconscious. It’s exaggerated, but some truth to how music can flip emotions.

Excellent list! I think "The Self Improvement of Salvadore Ross" was underrated, but just my opinion. Also, "Number 12 looks just like you" is also excellent and under appreciated.

Dang! Good on you to rank all TZ episodes! That’s impressive! Solid list! I wonder how mine would differ 🤔

The obsolete man is also my favorite. With only a few differences, I concur with this list, and I have been watching for over 30 years, including the 80's episodes (of which a few were reboots of the OS). The absolute devotion to faith will always demonstrate power over the state.

You did a very good job at an impossible task! Your ranking is very good. Of course, everyone will end up with a different one. Twilight Zone was a great show. Some episodes are real marvels. Beyond pure entertainment, there is often a spiritual, or philosophical message, this is what I like.

Thanks for making this 💛💛💛

You did a fantastic job guiding us along - and your opinions/critiques were very, very good. This is suitable for a college class!

Room 22.Room for one more honey is my favorite. It still scares me.

I’m so glad you did this! I’ve wanted this for literally years!

Ashame to see Come Wander With Me so low on the ranking. That one was my all time favorite and scared me the most since I first watched TTZ. Not to mention that song has wormed its way so far into my brain, I’ve still been humming it years later

this is my favorite tv show of all time. thank you so much i’ve been looking for this vid forever

5 Chareters searching for an exit is my faviroute

The Lonely, The Hitch-Hiker, The Purple Testament, After Hours, Eye of the Beholder, the Passersby, Five Characters In Search of An Exit, To Serve Man, Ring-A-Ding Girl, The Masks.

My favorites: The Obsolete Man, Nothing in the Dark, Nick of Time, The Shelter, Deaths Head Revisited, The Night of the Meek, Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up, Once Upon a Time, Two, The Invaders (love how the entire story is told with little or no dialogue).

Thanks for sharing I really appreciate your content!

This is a brilliant undertaking !!!!I am loving this video

Good work with this list! I really enjoy most if not all the TZ episodes but To Serve Man will always be THE episode with the cleverest twist ending. BTW the concept for the movie Jacobs Ladder always struck me to have been borrowed from Death Ship.

Great work! I really can't wait to watch them, thanks so much for all your dedication and hard work.

Outstanding documentary. Thank you sir !

Wonderfully done!

As prolific as a show this is, I'm surprised there's not more TZ content on youtube (maybe some copyright bs I'm not aware of). Awesome video and keep up the great work!

Great Video!!! I agree with most of your choices!!!

Wow! You ranked 'The Man In The Bottle' high!

Really enjoyed this! Just Subscribed!

Brilliant! Loved your commentary on this masterpiece of a series! Your numbers 1 and three were my one and two, with Obsolete man coming in second! Burgess Meredith, what a legend!

You are awesome for ranking all these. Thank you Nathan for doing this. I have some serious TZ episode watching to do.

Love this episode. Thank you for sharing this!

Great work!

I'm glad you rated "On Thursday we leave for home" as your favorite season 4 episode, cause it's mine too. I personally think it's a top 10 episode. 👍

Superb video and I agree (with most of your rankings). I must say, I thoroughly enjoy your channel content as I'm a lifelong Hitchcock, classic film/tv and Twilight Zone fan as well. While TZ is undoubtedly my all-time favorite show, I would love to see a similar ranking video for the series "Night Gallery". I'm not sure if you've seen each episode of that series, but I enjoy the show and the actors who participated in the series almost as much as The Twilight Zone. Looking forward to more great content, keep up the good work!

Great job with this post! My all time favorite show and I really like your countdown and your insights. A Stop At Willoughby is my #1 but so many classics! A timeless show!

Thank you for taking the time to do this. I am old enough to remember TZ in prime time, then frequent syndication. I was a fan from the time I first saw it, I believe the first one I saw was "Eye of the Beholder". And speaking of eye of the beholder, the thing about the Twilight Zone is that each episode says a little something different depending upon the viewer. How old you are, what was on your mind when you watched the episode, and myriad other things combine to make that episode special to you. Of course, I put "Eye of the Beholder" first because those pig-faced people scared the daylights out of me as a little boy. I have both editions of Marc Scott Zicree's book, and I disagree with some of his assessments of some of my favorite episodes as well. I put "Night of the Meek" second, I watch it every Christmas. John Fiedler's dialog sounds like he's channeling Rod Serling (because he is), and I don't care for his acting, but that doesn't ruin it. After that, I don't rank them, there are just episodes I like and ones I don't like as much. No matter what order you rank them in, I think we all agree that the Twilight Zone was one of the best TV series ever aired.

This was an amazing video! You must have put a ton of effort into this. One of my favorite series ever, but I have to admit I haven’t seen every episode. A Stop at Willoughby is my number 1

Great list, I'd personally rank 'The New Exhibit' much higher, I think it's one of the most underrated episodes

got here because I was watching channel awesome's discussion about each episode - but excited to watch your ranking as well! esp all in a row .. let's go!

Quite a feat, taking on this amount of material. Well done!

To me, Eligy and Death Ship take place in the same world, and they are two of my favorites. Kick the Can is a great story, written by George Clayton Johnson, who later would co-write Logan's Run. I agree with nearly all your picks for the "near perfect" category. I got to hang with Bill Mumy for a few days at Comic Con and he was awesome. Very generous and kind. It's Good Life is in my top 5. Also I love Walking Distance, Midnight Sun, and A Stop at Willoughby.

SO GOOD! Thanks again!

Great job putting this together! What one sees in these episodes is in the eye of the beholder, of course. I'm old enough to have seen some of the episodes when they originally aired. I was around nine or ten years old at the time and back then the more fantasy-themed episodes with special effects like ‘Stopover in a Quiet Town’ were my favorites. As an old man now, I like the ones that deal with old age, longing to go back in time, etc. As a ten-year-old, “Static” would have been around the bottom of my list; now it's near the top.

so did you watch them all again...great job on the video...i will pay way more attention next year and watch your video again before the marathon begins. Happy New Year.

Thanks for sharing

awesome video, one of my all time favourite series.

Nice job. Several are among my "favorite episode." My favorite show of all time as well.

I love twilight zone. I watched them all too. Obsolete man I thought was good too, but my favorite is Walking distance

WE JUST DISCOVERED YOUR CHANNEL ❤❤❤❤ WE LOVE IT😊

To Serve Man is my #1 pick

Well done !

The Obsolete Man, an excellent cautionary tale against authorian utilitarianism, awesome number 1 pick. My personal favorite is The Rip Van Winkle Caper personally, it shows how futile greed is in the end, very powerful.

Big Kudos to you for an excellent job on this video. T Zone is my favorite TV show of all time. I remember it as a child. Just the music and introduction alone scared me. LOL !!

1. It's a Good Life 2. The Obsolete Man 3. Deathshead Revisited 4. Eye of the Beholder 5. And When the Sky Was Opened The immersive terror of It's a Good Life is unmatched!

My favorites are: Little Girl Lost, The Last Flight, Nightmare at 20,000 feet, Next Stop Willoughby and Night Call.

Wow! What a fantastic video find! I’m new here. I just subscribed buddy! Can’t wait to watch more videos from you! ❤

This is the first time I’ve watched your channel. Well done young man! I’m old enough to have seen the show when it first aired. I’ve watched them over the years on tv and a few years ago purchased the entire series on dvd. Here’s my top 10: 1)Walking Distance 2)Miniature 3)Living Doll 4)The New Exhibit 5)The Hitchhiker 6)Nightmare 20,000’ 7)Willoughby 8)The After Hours 9)The Dummy 10)Little Girl Lost / Honorable Mention: The Lonely, Mirror Image, Nick of Time. As a kid, “Living Doll” and “The Hitchhiker” scared me the most!!

You don't like Charles Bronson? Okay we're done here.

Great rankings and so happy that you picked my favorite, The Obsolete Man, as your favorite, too! I would have ranked The Passersby a little higher, but other than that, I agreed with most of your rankings. Thank you for an amazing video!

This is a phenomenal video. Thank you for making it. I gained exposure to a bunch of episodes that I have not seen!

Thanks for the review , Timeless Indeed.

Remarkable job Sir! Thank you.... and I am so glad you could kept breathing as you went thru your list...I almost thought you were going to pass out! LOL. Well done!!! I have them all on DVD. The Obsolete Man is probable my favorite as well...close second...The Changing of the guard. Such diverse stories thru the whole series...the best of TV. Thank you for taking the time to do this! Judging by your taste, I would like to suggest an old movie you might not have seen. PARK ROW 1952. Wonderful on all levels.

Thank you so much for this video!! I enjoyed it so very much. The Twilight Zone is too, my favourite television show.

The Obsolete Man and The Shelter are my top 2.

A Piano in the House was one of my favorite episodes, mostly because of how acting-driven it was and the character development. It could very easily be done on stage.

Great list - I mostly agree with your rankings - but gosh don't we always fondly recall the first episode we ever saw? For me, it was, believe it or not, "A Piano in the House", aired on a NY TV station as a fill-in when my dad's Yankees game was cancelled due to rain.

I kept thinking Billy Mummy was a young Ron Howard…

Well, you’ve hooked another! I have watched this video over a dozen times, and I also bought the entire series on blu-ray. (What a great gift!). I share your exact sentiment with “The Obsolete Man”. When he walks into the room, that pounding drumbeat, those super tall narrow doors, the long table, the Chancellor 20 feet up on a podium, the robotic “jurors”, the shadows, and that best of all time powerful narration. Wow!

The Changing of the Guard! So glad it placed high!

Dude, so glad I found you! I almost never find people my age that share my love for TZ, (most have literally never heard of it.) I have that t-shirt and one day someone in a grocery store got SO excited, it was a great moment of connection. Anyway. I also don't have a hat head so I feel your pain. Subbed! Edit: Thank you so much for giving Bewitchin' Pool some love, it's in my top 10, but I hear it slammed a lot.

the first video i saw from u was ur harry potter book ranking and its really interesting and cool seeing ur editing and camera presence now

A Most Unusual Camera has a plot hole as the prices for the race just run aren't put up for a few minutes after the race,negating the time advantage.

This is very impressive. The Twilight Zone is my favorite show too, and I started watching it when I was 13. I stumbled across it on Netflix, and asked my mom it I could watch it, and thought she was going to say no. She seemed a little surprised, but said yes, and here I am now, and the show has had a significant impact on me. While I have each season ranked, I don't have the entire series ranked. However, there are my bottom three and top fifteen. Also, I do collect signed trading cards, and have ones signed by Jack Klugman, Dean Stockwell, and Martin Landua, so I appreciate you showing yours. Bottom Three 3. The Monsters are Due on Maple Street (I'm sorry, I have tried to like it, but have never been able to understand what makes it so great.) 2. The Mighty Casey 1. The Incredible World of Horace Ford Top Fifteen 15. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet 14. Valley of the Shadow 13. The Hunt 12. Jess-Belle 11. Spur of the Moment 10. The Old Man in the Cave 9. The Shelter 8. The After Hours 7. Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? 6. Miniature 5. The Masks (Had a birthday cake based off this episode) 4. A Game of Pool 3. The Obsolete Man (In terms of quality, I would consider this the best episode of the series) 2. In Praise of Pip 1. Walking Distance (Martin's Speech to his younger self after accidentally causing him to fall off the merry-go-round is such a beautiful shot. I also had a birthday cake based off this episode, and a custom made shirt dedicated to it. That's how much I love it.)

"Mirror Image" was the first TZ that actually scared me. I was 10 in 1979 and a little local station showed one episode every Friday night at 10. I waited breathlessly for that time each week. And the shot of Alicia's blown-off face at the end of "The Lonely" just shocked me. To this day, when I watch it, I can feel my rising anxiety as that moment approaches. "A Stop At Willoughby" was the very first TZ I saw, Christmas Eve 1978. I had heard of the show but knew nothing about it...I was enormously surprised by the reveal at the end, and when that little local station started showing TZ the next year I was hooked.

Okay, you are truly one of the biggest Twilight Zone fans ever. What throws us viewers off is your Ranking your Favorites, not stating Greatest or most popular, or most talked about, etc. Your rankings can't be disputed as they are YOUR favorites. So I was really expecting "To Serve Man and It's a Good Life to be in your top ten. Kudos to you for listing every episode (in no particular order?). I do confess I only watched the 10 least favorite and the ten top favorites. Anyway, thank you for this. You don't appear to be old enough to have watch these in the early sixties. I did, and I must say that was the very best time to be a kid watching television. Twilight Zone, The Munsters, Adams Family, Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Outer Limits, which I dam well know you have seen everyone of those so lets hear about your favorites.

The Midnight Sun is one personal favorites. It's like an existential Mississippi seasons.

I have always wondered why, on “Time Enough at Last”, when the bomb hit the crystal on his pocket watch broke, but his glasses didn’t break at that particular time. Guess it would have been a short episode.

I disagree with you on "Queen Of The Nile." That one gave me the creeps, but in a twisted "Twilight Zone" way. The twist was pretty neat!

Fantastic!! Thank you so much for this video! Time to get watching. =) For those who'd like a list: 156 Mute 155 The Incredible World of Horace Ford 154 From Agnes - With love 153 I dream of Genie 152 A thing about machines 151 Static 150 Four O’Clock 149 Perchance to Dream 148 Come Wander with me 147 Sounds and silences 146 The Bard 145 The Last rites of Jef Myrtlebank 144 The Chaser 143 Jess-Belle 142 Mr Bevis 141 The Mighty Casey 140 Caesar and Me 139 The Last night of a jockey 138 A short drink from a certain fountain 137 Queen of th exile 136 Still valley 135 Execution 134 Black Leather Jackets 133 The lateness of the hour 132 Uncle Simon 131 The Mind and the Matter 130 Spur of the moment 129 A piano in the house 128 Steel 127 Calendar is coming 126 The big tall wish 125 The brain centre and Whipple’s 124 The self improvement of Salvador Ross 123 Dead Man’s Shoes 122 The Prime Mover 121 Young man’s fancy 120 The fear 119 In his image 118 The sixteen millimetre shrine 117 A most unusual camera 116 What’s in the box 115 The fever 114 No time like the past 113 The passerby 112 Long distance call 111 The mirror 110 Showdown with ranch mcgrew 109 The long morrow 108 Nervous man in a four dollar room 107 Two 106 Mr garrets and the graves 105 Person or persons unknown 104 King nine will not return 103 A world of difference 102 The trouble with Templeton 101 Passage on the lady Anne 100 The grave 99 Mr dingle, the strong 98 Of late I think of Cliffordville 97 The thirty fathom grave 96 What you need 95 The whole truth 94 The 7th is made up of phantoms 95 The purple testament 92 A quality of mercy 91 Long live Walter Jameson 90 Dust 89 The midnight sun 88 The parallel 87 You drive 86 Ninety years without slumbering 85 Probe 7, over and out 84 Twenty two 83 A penny for your thoughts 82 Escape clause 81 The last flight 80 The four of us are dying 79 The dummy 78 The odyssey of flight 33 77 Mr Denton on Doomsday 76 A world of his own 75 One more pallbearer 74 To serve Man 73 Third from the sun 72 A nice place to visit 71 And when the sky was opened 70 The Little People 69 The Lonely 68 The Arrival 67 The Valley of the shadow 66 The Gift 65 Miniature 64 I sing the body electric 63 Stopover in a quiet town 62 Hocus pocus and Frisby 61 Ring a Ding Girl 60 Printer’s Devil 59 The Fugitive 58 The After Hours 57 People are Alike all over 56 Judgment Night 55 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 54 Number 12 Looks just like you 53 Back there 52 Little Girl Lost 51 The Howling Man 50 A passage for trumpet 49 The Jungle 48 The Old man in the cave 47 The Bewitchin’ Pool 46 Night Call 45 He’s Alive 44 The Night of the Meek 43 The Hitch Hiker 42 Once upon a time 41 Death Ship 40 The Trade-ins 39 Kick the can 38 The Silence 37 The Hunt 36 The Rip Van Winkle Caper 35 The Jeopardy Room 34 A kind of Stopwatch 33 I am the night - color me black 32 The invaders 31 A hundred yards over the rim 30 I shot an arrow into the air 29 The new exhibit 28 On Thursday we leave for home 27 Living Doll 26 Elegy 25 Shadow Play 24 The Man in the Bottle 23 Where is Everybody? 22 A Game of Pool 21 In Praise of Pip 20 Walking Distance 19 The Encounter 18 Mirror Image 17 Nick of Time 16 Nothing in the Dark 15 Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up 14 It’s a Good Life 13 A Stop at Willoughby 12 The Masks 11 The Shelter 10 Eye of the Beholder 9 Nightmare at 20,000 Feet 8 Nightmare as a Child 7 One for the Angels 6 Five Characters in Search of an Exit 5 Deaths-Head Revisited 4 The Changing of the Guard 3 Time Enough at Last 2 The Monsters are Due on Maple Street 1 The Obsolete Man

Walking distance, the good life,five characters in search of an exit,THE after hours are my favorites

My favorite show of all time! Solid review man, need a Kubrick ranking ! Ps Bronson is awesome, maybe a deeper dive into some of his films may change that for ya! Keep up the great work

Jeff Myrtlbank THAT low? “If I ain’t a monster then you got nuthin to worry about…but…if I am…then I could burn your fields…and you better be nice to me”

Just name came across this - brilliant. I was dreading it a bit at first, figuring it would be another overly facile you tube thing. Wrong! 😀 Like the series itself, you were able to present a lot of thoughtful elements in 35 plus minutes. Kudos! I think your set of criteria was spot on. Many of these episodes are deep with my psyche because I watched them as a kid “real time” when they were first broadcast. (It’s a Good Life still scares the crap out of me) Twilight Zone still remains a very high benchmark. Thank you!

I’ve watched maybe 90% of Twilight Zone episodes as a kid, and this is a great way to revisit most of them! Love this vid and your personable approach! Although I have to say… “Mute” would’ve been in my personal Top 10. 😅 It’s my favorite Season 4 episode cause I was very compelled & intrigued throughout, and something about that kid breaking down at the end really shook me. “The Silence” is another favorite of mine. And the rest of the Top 10 would probably be the famous ones, similar to yours!

Very well done ! Its hard enough to put a list together ranking the episodes. Taking the time to a video recap is really incredible. I've been watching TZ for over 45 years and my only comments would be a game of pool, to serve man, living doll, shadow play & howling man ranked higher. One for the angels and changing of the guard wouldn't be in my top 10. Recommended reading: "twilight zone companion" & "everything i know i learned in the twilight zone"...

It was many years ago that I watched it, but there was a pretty stewardess in the episode "Nightmare at 20 000 feet" that I fell madly in love with. We all have our reasons, I guess, but that makes it my favourite episode for now, even though I have not even seen all the other episodes... yet. 😊

Good stuff.

Thanks for doing this, great video. You obviously put a lot of time and thought into this, and it got me to thinking about the series and I re-watched some of it and came up with my own Top Ten. I realized as I was working on this that the Top Ten I give you now is a lot different from one I would have given 30 or 40 years ago. I'm 60 now and grew up watching the series, re-watched a lot of them when I was in college and then in years after that. In some cases I found that episodes I loved as a child - such as Perchance to Dream and Walking Distance - no longer appealed to me as they once did. Others that I overlooked before I now find quite compelling. My earliest memories of Twilight Zone include the shock of hearing the line "It's a cook book!". That sort of burned itself into me, and, even now, I think that episode - To Serve Man - deserves to be considered a classic. I would like to submit one other line that I consider to be in the same league and that is from The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross. The line at the end "Compassion? Don't you remember, I sold it to you yesterday". A great line, overlooked by many, I suppose. Anyway, here's the list: A Stop at Willoughby A World of Difference Nick of Time Nightmare as a Child Death Ship The Silence The Obsolete Man The Self Improvement of Salvadore Ross To Serve Man Printer's Devil

I COULD SCREAM! I have ALWAYS WONDERED how many episodes they were AND how many I have seen and NOT seen. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I have been watching for 22 years and am thrilled to find out I still have 15 left to see!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh so excited to catch up=)

I'm so happy you picked The Obsolete Man. It' in the top 10 for me. The way he breaks him down with his faith in God is wonderful to watch.

I think "Come Wander With Me" is such an underrated episode.

My favorite show of all times also. You have a few episode placements I disagree with and think should be much higher but overall a great review. I appreciate your hardwork and effort. Great video!