How can The Twilight Zone be so consistently good…could it be a deal with the Devil?
You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone. Rod Serling is here to take your hand and guide you through your dreams and nightmares.
The Twilight Zone—Season 2 is a science-fiction anthology series. The season aired from September 20, 1960 to June 2, 1961 on CBS. The season received Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography and Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama with nominations for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama.
Contacts really are pain for me…
The Twilight Zone continues one of the strongest television series ever to make it to air. With its clever episodes and twists The Twilight Zone—Season 2 steps in right where Season 1 ended in bringing some of the best science fiction writing to television.
Visually, The Twilight Zone did a great job with what was available, but the strong writing makes even the cheesiest of effects palpable and fun. It might not be the biggest blockbuster effects ever, but they work for what they are. The makers also dabble in video with “The Lateness of the Hour”, “Night of the Meek”, “The Whole Truth”, “Twenty Two”, “Static”, and “Long Distance Call” all were shot on video due to budget constraints of the length of the season. They are of a lesser quality, and it is too bad because there are some good episodes.
Get your dose of Twilight Zone!
There are some fantastic and classic episodes in this season. “The Eye of the Beholder”, “The Invaders”, and “Will the Real Martian, Please Stand Up” are great twists and fun and all are nicely directed and will stick with you for years. If you have to pick a “Best of the Best” for episodes of The Twilight Zone, these episodes definitely would be included in the mix.
If you’ve never entered The Twilight Zone, you need to check out the series. Younger viewers might be kind of jaded toward the obvious twists, but they have to try to remember the innovative nature of show, how it was shot, and the sheer quantity of quality episodes in the longer seasons. It is one of the best series ever to be broadcast and still few series have lived up to The Twilight Zone. If you know The Twilight Zone check out some of the nice full season collections that really demonstrate the strength of the show.
The Twilight Zone—Season 2 Complete Episode Guide (numbers in the parenthesis are the traditional—non-season numbering):
“King Nine Will Not Return”
2.1 King Nine Will Not Return (Episode #37) Airdate: 09/20/60
A World War II plane on a bombing run crashes in the Tunisian desert. Captain James Embry (Robert Cummings) finds he’s the only one of the crew still at the wreck and questions where everyone else has disappeared to. As he wanders the desert, he wonders if he is trapped in a nightmare or something worse.
“The Man in the Bottle”
2.2 The Man in the Bottle (Episode #38) Airdate: 10/07/60
Arthur Castle (Luther Adler) and his wife Edna (Vivi Janiss) think their luck has turned around when they find a genie (Joseph Ruskin) in a bottle. Now they have four wishes to change their luck, but wishes have consequences.
“Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room”
2.3 Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room (Episode #39) Airdate: 10/14/60
A small time crook named Jackie Rhoades (Joe Mantell) debates doing a kill-or-be-killed job and realizes the only person who can help him might be himself.
“A Thing About Machines”
2.4 A Thing About Machines (Episode #40) Airdate: 10/28/60
Bartlett Finchley (Richard Haydn) fears that machines, and electronics seem to hate him…and he might be right.
“The Howling Man”
2.5 The Howling Man (Episode #41) Airdate: 11/04/60
David Ellington (H.M. Wynant) remembers a trip to the the countryside and the discovery of a mysterious howling man (Robin Hughes) being held by a religious sect. When he learned the convent leader (John Carradine) believed the man to be the Devil, Ellington set out to discover the truth for himself.
“Eye of the Beholder”
2.6 Eye of the Beholder aka Private World of Darkness (Episode #42) Airdate: 11/11/60
Janet Tyler (Maxine Stuart and Donna Douglas) was born with a hideously deformed face. She is hated by the society and her only hope is one last surgery before she is sent off to be among others like herself. With the surgery take or will Janet remain a monster forever?
“Nick of Time”
2.7 Nick of Time (Episode #43) Airdate: 11/18/60
A honeymooning couple (William Shatner and Patricia Breslin) are stuck in a small Ohio town when their car breaks down and find their future being predicted by a dime-store mystic seer machine.
“The Lateness of the Hour”
2.8 The Lateness of the Hour (Episode #44) Airdate: 12/02/60
Jana Loren (Inger Stevens) hates the perfect life her father Dr. Loren (John Hoyt) and her mother Mrs. Loren (Irene Tedrow) have made for her. Surrounded by robotic servants, Jana begs for freedom, but freedom might not be possible.
“The Trouble with Templeton”
2.9 The Trouble with Templeton (Episode #45) Airdate: 12/09/60
Actor Booth Templeton (Brian Aherne) is caught in his past and neglecting his life as he continues to mourn his long dead wife. When his new wife begins cheating and a new director (Sydney Pollack) is brought in on his play, Templeton longs for his past but finds the past cannot be recaptured.
“A Most Unusual Camera”
2.10 A Most Unusual Camera (Episode #46) Airdate: 12/16/60
Three small time crooks (Fred Clark, Jean Carson, and Adam Williams) accidentally steal a camera that shows the user five minutes into the future. With dreams of getting rich, the crooks try to find a way to profit from their find.
“Night of the Meek”
2.11 Night of the Meek (Episode #47) Airdate: 12/23/60
A drunken Santa Claus named Henry Corwin (Art Carney) is fired by his boss (John Fiedler) on Christmas Eve. With dreams of helping the poor and wanting, Henry discovers a bag that is able to provide those with what they most desire.
“Dust”
2.12 Dust (Episode #48) Airdate: 01/06/61
A son named Luis Gallegos (John Alonzo) is sentenced to hang for the accidental death of a girl in a small border town. When a con-artist salesman (Thomas Gomez) promises the father of Luis magic dust to save him, the father (Vladimir Sokoloff) hopes for a miracle.
“Back There”
2.13 Back There (Episode #49) Airdate: 01/13/61
A group discusses the idea of time travel and changing the past. When Peter Corrigan (Russell Johnson) gets the opportunity to stop Lincoln’s assassination, will he be able to do it?
“The Whole Truth”
2.14 The Whole Truth (Episode #50) Airdate: 01/20/61
A slick used-car dealer named Harvey Hunnicut (Jack Carson) finds he has a problem when he purchases a junker that forces him to tell the truth.
“The Invaders”
2.15 The Invaders (Episode #51) Airdate: 01/27/61
A woman (Agnes Moorehead) finds alien invaders have landed at her home and she battles the small monsters as they try to overpower her. When she discovers their spaceship, are they really the invaders?
“A Penny for Your Thoughts”
2.16 A Penny for Your Thoughts (Episode #52) Airdate: 02/03/61
Hector Poole (Dick York) discovers he has new powers when he lands a coin on its side. Being able to read minds might cause him problems, but it could change his life forever.
“Twenty Two”
2.17 Twenty Two (Episode #53) Airdate: 02/10/61
A dancer named Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols) suffers from repeat nightmares of a woman (Arlene Martel) inviting her to the hospital morgue. As her doctor (Jonathan Harris) tries to convince her that they are hallucinations, Liz continues to believe they are reality.
“The Odyssey of Flight 33”
2.18 The Odyssey of Flight 33 (Episode #54) Airdate: 02/24/61
A flight from London to New York suffers problems during the flight and discovers they have journeyed back in time…can they ever get back?
“Mr. Dingle, the Strong”
2.19 Mr. Dingle, the Strong (Episode #55) Airdate: 03/03/61
Mr. Luther Dingle (Burgess Meredith) is always the scapegoat of Bettor (Don Rickles). When Martians decide to make him the subject of an experiment, Dingle finds he has superhuman strength.
“Static”
2.20 Static (Episode #56) Airdate: 03/10/61
Ed Lindsay (Dean Jagger) finds himself stuck in the past when he falls in love with a radio able to broadcast old shows. Is he imagining it or has he really discovered some type of time warp.
“The Prime Mover”
2.21 The Prime Mover (Episode #57) Airdate: 03/24/61
Ace Larsen (Dane Clark) finds his friend Jimbo Cobb (Buddy Ebsen) has mental powers. When Ace decides to take over Las Vegas using Jimbo, Jimbo questions if Ace is really his friend.
“Long Distance Call”
2.22 Long Distance Call (Episode #58) Airdate: 03/31/61
A boy named Billy Bayles (Billy Mumy) and his grandmother (Lili Darvas) are extremely close…closer than a mother and her son. When the grandmother’s life ends, a magical telephone allows them to communicate…but the grandmother might want her son back.
“A Hundred Yards Over the Rim”
2.23 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim (Episode #59) Airdate: 04/07/61
A pioneer named Christian Horn (Cliff Robertson) lost in the desert with his family while travelling from Ohio to California finds himself transported from 1847 to 1961 when searching for help for his sick son.
“The Rip Van Winkle Caper”
2.24 The Rip Van Winkle Caper (Episode #60) Airdate: 04/21/61
A group of criminals (Simon Oakland, Oscar Beregi, Jr., Lew Gallow, and John Mitchum) rob a gold shipment and escape by sleeping for one hundred years in a Death Valley Cave…but is it the perfect crime?
“The Silence”
2.25 The Silence (Episode #61) Airdate: 04/28/61
A constant talker named Jamie Tennyson (Liam Sullivan) is bet $500,000 that he cannot remain silent for a year by Colonel Archie Taylor (Franchot Tone) when Taylor grows tired of Tennyson’s yammering. When Tennyson realizes he is in desperate need of money, he accepts the offer, but which man will win?
“Shadow Play”
2.26 Shadow Play (Episode #62) Airdate: 05/05/61
Adam Grant (Dennis Weaver) suffers from a recurring nightmare that he is going to be executed. As the time approaches, Adam tries to convince his attorney Henry Ritchie (Harry Townes) that he is trapped in a dream and the cycle must be broken.
“The Mind and the Matter”
2.27 The Mind and the Matter (Episode #63) Airdate: 05/12/61
Archibald Beechcroft (Shelley Berman) hates the traffic and crowds of the city. When Archibald finds a way to get rid of everyone by the power of the mind, he wonders if it is worth it.
“Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”
2.28 Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? (Episode #64) Airdate: 05/26/61
A report of a UFO leads the police to a diner where a bus has pulled in during a snowstorm. The bus driver realizes there is one extra passenger, and the alien is hiding among them…who is the alien and what is their plan?
“The Obsolete Man”
2.29 The Obsolete Man (Episode #65) Airdate: 06/02/61
A librarian named Romney Wordsworth (Burgess Meredith) is deemed obsolete by a totalitarian society. As Wordsworth prepares for liquidation, he has a plan to get even with the chancellor (Fritz Weaver) who sentenced him.
Related Links:
The Twilight Zone—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Twilight Zone—Season 3 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Twilight Zone—Season 4 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Twilight Zone—Season 5 Review and Complete Episode Guide
