Numerically ranking episodes of The Twilight Zone is notoriously difficult due to the sheer volume of great episodes. While there are generally agreed upon iconic episodes that often camp out in the top tier of many TZ best episode lists, one media group’s or blogger’s #3 might be ranked as another’s #23.
So I conducted my TZ rankings by categorizing the episodes; a group of seven unranked episodes in each category with a declared winner. Though an episode could rightfully appear in several of the categories, an episode is limited to only one category.
***BEST CHILDHOOD***
The Little People (S3, E28)
The Midnight Sun (S3, E10)
Five Characters in Search of an Exit (S3, E14)
Mr. Dingle, the Strong (S2, E19)
The After Hours (S1, E34)
The Odyssey of Flight 33 (S2, E18)
Elegy (S1, E20)
***BEST HORROR***
Twenty-Two (S2, E17)
The Dummy (S3, E33)
The Howling Man (S2, E5)
Living Doll (S5, E6)
Night Call (S5, E19)
The Jungle(S3, E12)
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (S5, E3)
***BEST DRAMA***
On Thursday We Leave For Home(S4, E16)
A World of Difference (S1, E23)
The Trouble with Templeton (S2, E9)
A Game of Pool (S3, E5)
The Lonely (S1, E7)
The Shelter (S3, E3)
The Obsolete Man (S2, E29)
***BEST THRILLER***
Nick of Time (S2, E7)
Where is Everybody? (S1, E1)
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (S1, E22)
Person or Persons Unknown (S3, E27)
The Old Man in the Cave (S5, E7)
Mirror Image (S1, E21)
The Hitch-Hiker (S1, E16)
***BEST CONCEPT***
Number Twelve Looks Just Like You (S5, E18)
People Are Alike All Over (S1, E25)
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (S5, E22)
Death Ship (S4, E6)
And When the Sky Was Opened (S1, E11)
A Nice Place to Visit (S1, E28)
It’s a Good Life (S3, E8)
***BEST IRONY***
The Masks (S5, E25)
I Shot an Arrow into the Air (S1, E15)
To Serve Man (S3, E24)
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? (S2, E28)
Time Enough at Last (S1, E8)
The Invaders (S2, E15)
Eye of the Beholder (S2, E6)
THE EXILE OBSERVER 