The Worst Episodes of The Twilight Zone

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Worst Episode
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   3.0/10(3 votes)

   #1 - The Card / The Junction

   S2:E82/21/1987

   A compulsive spender accepts "The Card" to keep up her habit. Unfortunately stringent penalties kick in for late payments. A modern-day miner has an argument with his wife and then goes off to work in the local mine. A collapse traps him, but he finds another survivor - a miner who claims to be from 1912. The two men figure out that somehow they have become connected through time. The modern-day man helps the 1912 miner to survive, and the latter is rescued. The modern-day miner appears trapped...but the rescuers look in an unexpected spot and find him. It turns out the 1912 miner wrote a letter marked for delivery 74 years later directing them where to search.

   Directors:Bradford May, Bill Duke

   Writers:Michael Cassutt, Virginia Aldridge

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   Directors:Bradford May, Bill Duke

   Writers:Michael Cassutt, Virginia Aldridge
2. 

   3.0/10(3 votes)

   #2 - Song of the Younger World / The Girl I Married

   S2:E117/17/1987

   In 1916 a girl and a young man from a reformatory for wayward boys fall in love and try to get away from her father, the superintendent. He finds out and doesn't approve of their love, locking away his daughter and punishing the boy. With the help of a wandering vagrant the girl finds a way to use a book to transfer both her and the boy into a primordial world where they become wolves and can live free and together. An attorney and his wife have successful careers. They feel something is lacking in their marriage. Soon, they encounter younger versions of their mates.

   Director:Noel Black

   Writers:J. M. DeMatteis, Anthony Lawrence

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   Director:Noel Black

   Writers:J. M. DeMatteis, Anthony Lawrence
3. 

   3.2/10(4 votes)

   #3 - The Leprechaun-Artist / Dead Run

   S1:E192/21/1986

   Vacationing in the United States, an Irish leprechaun is caught by three boys. To be freed, he must grant them three wishes. An out-of-work trucker takes on a bizarre job upon the recommendation of a friend: deliveryman of souls to Hell. He soon begins to realize that Hell is essentially out of control, running on momentum, and that the current regime is way too harsh. Resolved, he decides to begin choosing which among the supposed "damned" should try to make their way to Heaven.

   Director:Paul Tucker

   Writers:Alan Brennert, Greg Bear, James Crocker

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   Director:Paul Tucker

   Writers:Alan Brennert, Greg Bear, James Crocker
4. 

   3.3/10(3 votes)

   #4 - What Are Friends For? / Aqua Vita

   S2:E210/4/1986

   Alex Mattingly wonders whether his son Jeff's new friend Mike is real or imaginary. This episode is a cruel "fountain of youth" spin-off. A fortyish reporter is at risk of losing her anchor position on a network evening news broadcast to a younger reporter. She hears about a special type of bottled water from a friend of hers. She orders some at a relatively low cost. It works. Yet she finds she must drink it every day in order to retain her youth. When she orders another 5-gallon container. The price jumps up to $200. She talks to the water deliveryman. He refers he to her as "girlie". She remarks "girlie" is an old term and asks for his actual age. He says something along the lines of "I don't think you'd want to know". She is halfway done with the second bottle and is tearing apart her place looking for items to pawn when her husband shows up. They have no kids. She explains what has happened and decides to end her dilemma by balancing their situations.

   Directors:Paul Tucker, Gus Trikonis

   Writers:Rockne S. O'Bannon, J. Michael Straczynski

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   Directors:Paul Tucker, Gus Trikonis

   Writers:Rockne S. O'Bannon, J. Michael Straczynski
5. 

   3.3/10(3 votes)

   #5 - The Storyteller / Nightsong

   S2:E310/11/1986

   In the early 20th century a young woman takes a job as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. One of her students, Mica, secretly takes extra books home to read. When the teacher confronts him, she finds that the boy is reading the books to his ailing grandfather - who claims to be more than a hundred and forty years old! A young DJ working the graveyard shift at a radio station rediscovers a record album by her boyfriend who disappeared five years ago. When he suddenly appears again, she is surprised and upset.

   Directors:Paul Lynch, Bradford May

   Writers:Michael Reaves, Rockne S. O'Bannon

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   Directors:Paul Lynch, Bradford May

   Writers:Michael Reaves, Rockne S. O'Bannon
6. 

   4.2/10(5 votes)

   #6 - The Shadow Man / The Uncle Devil Show / Opening Day

   S1:E1011/29/1985

   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." Parents don't realize that the video their child watches demonstrates magic tricks like turning parents into lizards and giving dogs four eyes. A beautiful woman and her boyfriend plan to kill her husband on the first day of duck hunting season.

   Directors:John Milius, Joe Dante, David Steinberg

   Writers:Donald Todd, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Gerrit Graham, Chris Hubbell

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   Directors:John Milius, Joe Dante, David Steinberg

   Writers:Donald Todd, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Gerrit Graham, Chris Hubbell
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7. 

   4.8/10(4 votes)

   #7 - If She Dies / Ye Gods

   S1:E510/25/1985

   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. Cupid arrives in the modern world. A love spell for his target does not work as well as he hopes.

   Directors:Peter Medak, John D. Hancock

   Writer:Unknown

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   Directors:Peter Medak, John D. Hancock

   Writer:Unknown
8. 

   5.0/10(2 votes)

   #8 - Teacher's Aide / Paladin of the Lost Hour

   S1:E711/8/1985

   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. 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.

   Directors:Bill L. Norton, Gilbert Cates

   Writers:Harlan Ellison, Steven Barnes

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   Directors:Bill L. Norton, Gilbert Cates

   Writers:Harlan Ellison, Steven Barnes
9. 

   5.0/10(2 votes)

   #9 - The Beacon / One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty

   S1:E1112/6/1985

   When Dr. Dennis Barrows's car breaks down, he goes to an unusual town where visitors are disliked and townspeople are terrified of lighthouse and where it might shine. The house where Barrows stays the night is shined upon by the lighthouse. It holds a sick child, one which he helps with his medicine. Angry with his adult life, a man, Gus Rosenthal, returns to his childhood stomping ground in Ohio and while digging up an old toy soldier finds himself transported back to when he was a boy.

   Directors:Gerd Oswald, Don Carlos Dunaway

   Writers:Alan Brennert, Martin Pasko, Rebecca Parr Cioffi

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   Directors:Gerd Oswald, Don Carlos Dunaway

   Writers:Alan Brennert, Martin Pasko, Rebecca Parr Cioffi
10. 

    5.0/10(2 votes)

    #10 - Still Life / The Little People of Killany Woods / The Misfortune Cookie

    S1:E141/3/1986

    Finding an old trunk, a couple realizes that it has a false bottom containing a 70-year-old film from the Amazon. An old Irishman has often been called a fool for his stories about Leprechauns. He catches the leader of "The Little People" and gets greedy. A young man has had his heart broken recently. At a Chinese restaurant, he reads a fortune about finding new love and it comes true. His life seems perfect until he becomes greedy with his good luck. He only wants to read the fortune cookies. The old Chinese owner advises him of the bad luck of not finishing his meal before reading his fortune.

    Directors:Peter Medak, Allan Arkush

    Writer:Rockne S. O'Bannon

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    Directors:Peter Medak, Allan Arkush

    Writer:Rockne S. O'Bannon
11. 

    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Dream Me a Life

    S3:E510/22/1988

    Roger, a curmudgeonly man in a retirement home, has nightmares of an unknown woman trying to hold back some strange creature behind a door in a room filled with candles. He is shocked when that woman, a cataleptic, becomes his next-door neighbor. Roger soon comes to realize that he is somehow tied to the woman, and that even in the dream he can be hurt and possibly killed. The next time he is drawn into the dream he tries to help her, only to realize that she is holding something in - the spirit of her dead husband, as she can't let go of his memory. Roger releases him to pass on to the other side, and slowly begins to reconcile with the woman as she comes back to life.

    Director:Allan King

    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski

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    Director:Allan King

    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski
12. 

    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - The Trunk

    S3:E1412/24/1988

    A young man at a motel discovers an empty trunk that grants any wishes. He uses it for popularity, but at a party he discovers who his true friends are.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
13. 

    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - The Wall

    S3:E232/25/1989

    At a lab a dimensional portal appears. Major Alex McAndrews is sent through the portal to learn what is on the other side. He discovers a pastoral paradise. When he returns to Earth, he discovers that the military has plans for the portal.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski
14. 

    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Rendezvous in a Dark Place

    S3:E253/11/1989

    An old woman with an obsession with death attends funerals for entertainment. One night when an injured thief breaks into her home, she lets him die and waits for Death to come and collect him.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski
15. 

    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Crazy as a Soup Sandwich

    S3:E284/1/1989

    A man sells his soul to a demon for some racing tips. After being terrified by the demon he goes for help from the criminal boss he borrowed the track money from.

    Director:Paul Lynch

    Writer:Harlan Ellison

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    Director:Paul Lynch

    Writer:Harlan Ellison
16. 

    5.3/10(6 votes)

    #16 - Little Boy Lost / Wish Bank / Nightcrawlers

    S1:E410/18/1985

    A photographer torn between taking a plum overseas assignment and getting married, meets a strangely familiar little boy. Janice finds a magic lamp at a garage sale. Restrictions and lots of paperwork apply for her three wishes. A deputy trooper stops by a diner during a rainstorm where a Vietnam veteran's nightmares come to life.

    Directors:Rick Friedberg, William Friedkin

    Writers:Michael Cassutt, Philip DeGuere Jr.

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    Directors:Rick Friedberg, William Friedkin

    Writers:Michael Cassutt, Philip DeGuere Jr.
17. 

    5.3/10(3 votes)

    #17 - Her Pilgrim Soul / I of Newton

    S1:E1212/13/1985

    Two scientists named Kevin and Daniel are experimenting with a holographic device. One day they are confronted with a fetus in their machine. Growing, it becomes a woman whose life story fascinates and allures Kevin. A frazzled mathematics professor accidentally summons a demon who will let him riddle to get free of the contract he accidentally invoked. The professor, Sam, has three questions to find a task the demon can't accomplish, or a question he can't answer, then challenge him after the questions are answered. The demon appears omnipotent, but Sam gives the demon a simple command: "Get lost." The demon is banished and Sam goes back to work.

    Directors:Wes Craven, Kenneth Gilbert

    Writer:Alan Brennert

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    Directors:Wes Craven, Kenneth Gilbert

    Writer:Alan Brennert
18. 

    5.6/10(8 votes)

    #18 - Gramma / Personal Demons / Cold Reading

    S1:E182/14/1986

    A young boy is left to care for his old, scary grandmother. He finally confronts his fears and steps up to her, finding that she has no pulse. Then Gramma reaches out and grabs him... A screenwriter is having writer's block when strange impish creatures start haunting him. Sadly, only he can see them. An actor arrives at a radio station to perform a radio play. An old voodoo stick is accidentally activated and the play becomes more real that anything anyone expected.

    Directors:Peter Medak, Gus Trikonis, Bradford May

    Writers:Martin Pasko, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison

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    Directors:Peter Medak, Gus Trikonis, Bradford May

    Writers:Martin Pasko, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison
19. 

    5.7/10(3 votes)

    #19 - Welcome to Winfield / Quarantine

    S1:E172/7/1986

    The grim reaper arrives at a hospital to take possession of a dying man. The man's wife rescues him and takes him to the western town of Winfield where residents have been living for hundreds of years. Apparently, the reaper has failed to collect those living there. A man is awakened after several hundred years of cryogenic sleep. He finds a world where psychic powers abound. The people there want him to complete a mission that only he can accomplish.

    Directors:Martha Coolidge, Bruce Bilson

    Writer:Alan Brennert

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    Directors:Martha Coolidge, Bruce Bilson

    Writer:Alan Brennert
20. 

    6.0/10(3 votes)

    #20 - Act Break / The Burning Man / Dealer's Choice

    S1:E811/15/1985

    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. 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. 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.

    Director:Wes Craven

    Writers:Donald Todd, Ray Bradbury

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    Director:Wes Craven

    Writers:Donald Todd, Ray Bradbury
21. 

    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #21 - Dead Woman's Shoes / Wong's Lost and Found Emporium

    S1:E911/22/1985

    Shy Maddie finds a pair of shoes and after trying them on, is possessed by the vengeful spirit of a rich murdered woman. David Wong searches for something he lost. He seeks the Lost and Found Emporium where he finds others looking for their lost items.

    Directors:Paul Lynch, Peter Medak

    Writers:Alan Brennert, Charles Beaumont

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    Directors:Paul Lynch, Peter Medak

    Writers:Alan Brennert, Charles Beaumont
22. 

    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - Night of the Meek / But Can She Type? / The Star

    S1:E1312/20/1985

    A drunken storefront Santa is terminally depressed by the many children who go gift less and starving during Christmas. He is fired from his job at a department store when he shows up late, and subsequently finds a bag that he can pull any present anyone wants from it. An overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated secretary uses a Xerox machine and wakes up in a parallel reality where no one has heard of her. In this reality, however, secretaries are a revered, rare commodity. Onboard a spaceship an astrophysicist and a priest learn they have discovered a planet long dead and a transmitter emitting a signal for eons. They discover that the planet holds the last remains of a civilization, which died when their star went supernova.

    Directors:Gerd Oswald, Martha Coolidge

    Writers:Alan Brennert, Martin Pasko, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Rod Serling

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    Directors:Gerd Oswald, Martha Coolidge

    Writers:Alan Brennert, Martin Pasko, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Rod Serling
23. 

    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - Need to Know / Red Snow

    S1:E213/21/1986

    On a little town people started going crazy. Edward Sayers is sent by the senator to investigate. He makes the usual tests but doesn't find anything. He traces it to one person with a very special secret... A KGB investigator is sent to Siberia to investigate the deaths of communist party officials. Later, he discovers that Stalin's exiles are alive and well. He also discovers dead people drained of blood.

    Directors:Jeannot Szwarc, Paul Lynch

    Writer:Michael Cassutt

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    Directors:Jeannot Szwarc, Paul Lynch

    Writer:Michael Cassutt
24. 

    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - Take My Life...Please! / Devil's Alphabet / The Library

    S1:E223/28/1986

    A mainstream comedian is killed by the one from whom he stole his work from. When he comes to, he is in one strange stage show, but there is something extremely wrong... A college group holds their "Devil's Alphabet" meeting every year. When one of them dies, all the rest expect foul play. Landing a new job at a private library a girl is warned never to look at the books. Taking a peek she learns that there's a book for everyone alive. When a neighbor pesters her, she rewrites his biography.

    Directors:Gus Trikonis, John D. Hancock

    Writer:Anne Collins

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    Directors:Gus Trikonis, John D. Hancock

    Writer:Anne Collins
25. 

    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - A Day in Beaumont / The Last Defender of Camelot

    S1:E244/11/1986

    In the 1950s a flying saucer crashes on Earth. The crash is seen by a couple. They run into town, but no one believes them. "The Last Defender of Camelot" takes place in 1986 in London and, eventually, Cornwall. An extension of the story by Sir Thomas Mallory, a mid-50's man is drawn toward Cornwall with a sense of urgency. He is jumped by 3 young men, who are thrown aside like playthings. The old man forces one of the younger ones to take him to the boss. The boss is a late-30's woman, who reveals herself as Morgana. Lancelot is quested by her to see Merlin, who is asleep in a cave in Cornwall. Lancelot finds Merlin awakened. Merlin has different plans to resurrect a new king. What does the world's oldest magician have up his sleeve? Who can save mankind? Perhaps the Last Defender of Camelot?

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc

    Writers:David Gerrold, George R.R. Martin

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    Director:Jeannot Szwarc

    Writers:David Gerrold, George R.R. Martin