50 Years of 'The Twilight Zone'

The esteemed sci-fi anthology celebrates 50 years of thought-provoking television

MSN TV

Submitted for your approval, 50 years ago Rod Serling first took TV audiences on their first trip through a "dimension of sound and sight" know as "The Twilight Zone." Serling, the ubiquitous narrator, created the iconic TV series after his pilot script was bought by CBS and televised on another anthology series garnering more praise from audience and critics than any other installment of that show.

CBS decided to give Serling a shot at creating his show using a mixture of self-contained fantasy, science fiction and suspense often with a twist ending. He was executive producer and head writer. In fact, Serling ended up writing 92 of the 156 episodes of the original series. Serling was also notable for hiring noted science fiction authors, Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson, as writers on the show.

To celebrate this milestone, here is our top 10 favorite episodes of "The Twilight Zone":

1. "To Serve Man"

The Kanamits, nine-foot tall aliens, arrive on Earth with one lofty goal: To Serve Man. They end war, they end famine. They make the military wonder: what's the catch? Look for Richard Kiel, who played the villainous Jaws opposite Roger Moore's James Bond in the 1970s, as the aliens.

2. "Time Enough At Last"

A bookworm (Burgess Meredith) yearns for more time to read - then a nuclear holocaust leaves him alone in the world with lots of time, plenty to read and one ironic twist!

3. "The Howling Man"

During a walking trip of central Europe following WWI, Ellington loses his way. Exhausted, he comes upon a monastery where an insane monk claims he's captured the Devil himself!

4. "Two"

Two lone survivors (Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson) of a nuclear holocaust must start the world anew - a difficult prospect since they are from opposing sides in the war!

5. "The Obsolete Man"

In a future state where religion and books have been banned, a librarian is judged obsolete by the Chancellor and sentenced to death.

6. "Third from the Sun"

With all-out nuclear war about to ignite, William Sturka and a friend steal an experimental spaceship, load their families and set out for an unknown planet.

7. "The Invaders"

A flying saucer lands in the attic of an isolated house inhabited by an impoverished woman (Agnes Moorehead) - who soon becomes panic-stricken as tiny spacemen begin to stalk her!

8. "A Penny for Your Thoughts"

The lucky flip of a coin seems to give a mild-mannered bank clerk (played by Dick York of "Bewitched") the power to read minds. But he soon learns that you can't believe everything that you read.

9. "The Odyssey of Flight 33"

Flight 33 picks up a peculiar tailwind and is blown off-course. After apparently correcting the problem, the flight arrives at its destination - a billion years ahead of schedule!

10. "Cavender Is Coming"

Carol Burnnett stars as Agnes Grep in this tale of a klutzy usherette "rescued" from poverty by a guardian angel. This charming episode was considered as a pilot for a new TV show.

Honorable mentions: Some cite "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" as a classic since it was recreated in the "Twilight Zone" movie, but this version, which starred William Shatner as the passenger who's convinced a monster is on the airplane wing, is not as good as the movie version where John Lithgow was brilliant in the Shatner role. "The Passersby" is a popular episode that followed a Confederate soldier who stops to rest at a widow's manor on his way home after the war. This one is notable for its killer twist ending.