The Best Episodes of The Twilight Zone Season 1
Every episode of The Twilight Zone Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Twilight Zone Season 1!
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
Season 1 Ratings Summary
The best episode of "The Twilight Zone" season 1 is "Shatterday", rated 7.5/10 from 915 user votes. It was directed by Wes Craven and written by Alan Brennert, Harlan Ellison. "Shatterday" aired on 9/27/1985 and is rated 0.3 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "A Little Peace and Quiet".
7.5/10 915 votes#1 - Shatterday
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/27/1985
A man named Peter Jay Novins accidentally dials his home phone number, and it's answered by Peter Jay Novins.
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Alan Brennert, Harlan Ellison
7.2/10 635 votes#2 - A Little Peace and Quiet
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1985
A harried housewife finds a medallion that gives her the power to freeze time.
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: James Crocker
7.0/10 498 votes#3 - Wordplay
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1985
Salesman Bill Lowery wakes up one morning and discovers, to his horror, that people around him are slowly degenerating their talk into gibberish that he cannot understand. His ability to communicate is needed more than ever when his son becomes sick. Lowery manages to get his son the treatment he needs and discovers he must relearn everything from scratch.
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Rockne S. O'Bannon
7.1/10 575 votes#4 - Dreams for Sale
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/4/1985
On an idyllic outdoor picnic with her husband and their twins a nameless woman becomes confused and disoriented when events begin to repeat themselves. Then she awakens and discovers she is in a futuristic dream-making machine - she is only a drone in a future where no "outside" exists since Man has grown over the whole planet and turned it into factory, and the only escape is a 15-minute virtual reality scenario once a week. Despairing of her future, the woman returns to the reality which breaks down, "trapping" her there forever.
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Writer: Joe Gannon, Rockne S. O'Bannon
5.8/10 405 votes#5 - Chameleon
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/4/1985
A space shuttle returns from a mission and NASA discovers that something unusual has been picked up. They discover that they have a shape-changing alien in their holding tank that poses a danger to all.
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: James Crocker
7.7/10 599 votes#6 - Healer
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/11/1985
Cat burglar Jackie Thompson breaks into a museum to steal ancient artifacts and takes a rare gem that has strange healing powers - he is shot but the gem heals him. Taking on the name of Brother John, Jackie becomes a faith healer but soon becomes too greedy. Meanwhile an old Indian man, Duende, shows up and tells Jackie the relic must go back to where it belongs. Jackie starts to have second thoughts but his partner Harry leaves with the cash and his old bullet wound opens up and he begins dying again. A young deaf boy he had previously rejected because of lack of payment heals Jackie with it, then Jackie heals the boy and Duende leaves with the stone.
Director: Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
Writer: Alan Brennert
7.0/10 513 votes#7 - Children's Zoo
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/11/1985
A little girl's parents are always fighting and screaming at each other. She takes them to the Children's Zoo with a special invitation and she gets something very special, something her parents could not even imagine.
Director: Robert Downey Sr.
Writer: Chris Hubbell, Gerrit Graham
6.7/10 436 votes#8 - Kentucky Rye
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 10/11/1985
Bob Spindler, a drunk driver, arrives at the "Kentucky Rye" bar where the customers are all victims of drunk drivers.
Director: John D. Hancock
Writer: Richard Krzemien, Chip Duncan, Delree Todd
6.8/10 464 votes#9 - Little Boy Lost
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 10/18/1985
A photographer torn between taking a plum overseas assignment and getting married, meets a strangely familiar little boy.
Director: N/A
Writer: Michael Cassutt
6.9/10 477 votes#10 - Wish Bank
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 10/18/1985
Janice finds a magic lamp at a garage sale. Restrictions and lots of paperwork apply for her three wishes.
Director: Rick Friedberg
Writer: Michael Cassutt
6.8/10 353 votes#11 - Nightcrawlers
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 10/18/1985
A deputy trooper stops by a diner during a rainstorm where a Vietnam veteran's nightmares come to life.
Director: William Friedkin
Writer: Philip DeGuere Jr.
7.6/10 485 votes#12 - If She Dies
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 10/25/1985
A year after his wife died a man is involved in a car accident that leaves his young daughter in a coma. On his way home the man has a vision.
Director: John D. Hancock
Writer: N/A
7.0/10 399 votes#13 - Ye Gods
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 10/25/1985
Cupid arrives in the modern world. A love spell for his target does not work as well as he hopes.
Director: Peter Medak
Writer: N/A
6.6/10 340 votes#14 - Examination Day
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 11/1/1985
In the far future, twelve-year-old Dickie must pass the government intelligence test. He is very nervous about the outcome of the test but eager to show how smart he is. At the end his parents get the news - Dickie "passed" the test...but the government kills anyone who is too intelligent.
Director: Paul Lynch
Writer: Henry Slesar, Philip DeGuere Jr.
7.3/10 421 votes#15 - A Message From Charity
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 11/1/1985
In 1985, a fever-stricken Peter Wood finds himself in telepathic contact with Charity Paine, a sick girl his age living in Puritan New England. The two rejoice in sharing their thoughts, and Peter gives Charity the chance to see things that she'd never experienced in her limit time and place. However, their new-found contact turns to horror when Peter's knowledge of the future endangers Charity's life. She inadvertently speaks of the future, causing the villagers to believe she is a witch. With help from Peter, she convinces the witch-hunter to drop the case by hinting she can reveal information about him that Peter has found in the future. Eventually their contact breaks, but Peter receives one last message telling him to look on a rock...where the words "CP+PW" are inscribed.
Director: Paul Lynch
Writer: Alan Brennert
6.9/10 376 votes#16 - Teacher's Aide
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 11/8/1985
A teacher on a violent and gang infested high school has trouble controlling her students. The building is warded by some mysterious gargoyles, which give some special powers to the teacher.
Director: Bill L. Norton
Writer: Steven Barnes
6.6/10 401 votes#17 - Paladin of the Lost Hour
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 11/8/1985
A Vietnam Vet named Billy saves an old man named Gasper from a mugging at a cemetery. He discovers that this old man holds the future of time in his watch.
Director: Gilbert Cates
Writer: Harlan Ellison
6.5/10 431 votes#18 - Act Break
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 11/15/1985
A landlord hounds a playwright named Maury for his rent. When the playwright's partner dies of a heart attack, he wishes he could become the greatest playwright ever. Maury is transported back in time and meets Shakespeare.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.5/10 354 votes#19 - The Burning Man
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 11/15/1985
During a heat wave in the 1930's a mother and her son enjoy a drive in the country. They encounter a strange man who wants a ride.
Director: N/A
Writer: Ray Bradbury
7.7/10 576 votes#20 - Dealer's Choice
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 11/15/1985
Four friends and a fifth's stand-in get together for a game of poker. The fifth man, Nick, has an uncanny knack for drawing three-of-a-kinds...in 6s. The men figure out that Nick is the Devil, come to claim one of them. The unlucky man offers to play the Devil a game of poker to get his soul free. The Devil agrees, and the game is lowball...but the condemned man gets an incredibly good hand. The simple-minded Marty decides to touch the cards, disspelling the Devil's illusion that he didn't have four sixes. Caught out cheating, the Devil apologies and leaves the men a kitchen full of beer and food to make it up to them.
Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Donald Todd
6.9/10 345 votes#21 - Dead Woman's Shoes
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 11/22/1985
Shy Maddie finds a pair of shoes and after trying them on, is possessed by the vengeful spirit of a rich murdered woman.
Director: Peter Medak
Writer: Charles Beaumont
7.0/10 298 votes#22 - Wong's Lost and Found Emporium
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 11/22/1985
David Wong searches for something he lost. He seeks the Lost and Found Emporium where he finds others looking for their lost items.
Director: Paul Lynch
Writer: Alan Brennert
7.0/10 313 votes#23 - The Shadow Man
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 11/29/1985
The smartest boy in school is a target for bullies. At home in bed after an attack, the boy meets the "Shadow Man" under his bed who offers him a solution. The "Shadow Man" is a serial killer, but tells the boy that it never kills the one underneath whose bed he lurks. In defiance of all the curfews, the boy goes out and taunts the killer to show his courage. As the other kids run, the boy stands confident as the "Shadow Man" approaches, only to be told, "I'm not the Shadow Man under your bed."
Director: Joe Dante
Writer: Rockne S. O'Bannon
6.4/10 311 votes#24 - The Uncle Devil Show
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 11/29/1985
Parents don't realize that the video their child watches demonstrates magic tricks like turning parents into lizards and giving dogs four eyes.
Director: David Steinberg
Writer: Donald Todd
NaN/10 0 votes#25 - Opening Day
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 11/29/1985
A beautiful woman and her boyfriend plan to kill her husband on the first day of duck hunting season.
Director: John Milius
Writer: Chris Hubbell, Gerrit Graham