The Twilight Zone produced some of the most iconic episodes of television of all time. By using fantastic elements to explore sensitive topics, The Twilight Zone could be thought-provoking, shocking, and, at times, controversial. The word controversial carries a connotation that it must mean bad, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Controversy can be meaningless if it only exists to offend, but when used intelligently, it’s able to start a conversation – to open a dialogue about behavior that needs to change even if it’s “acceptable” in the eyes of a current social climate. Rod Serling wasn’t afraid to make the audience uncomfortable if it meant they thought about society from a perspective they hadn’t previously considered. The following episodes of The Twilight Zone have the potential to create controversy with a modern audience, a testament to how impactful the show remains.
10
“What’s in the Box”
Season 5, Episode 24
A deeply unhappy couple make it their main focus to pick at the other in the season five episode “What’s in the Box.” Joe (William Demarest) has had enough of his wife Phyllis (Joan Blondell), and she feels exactly the same way. When a recently repaired television gives Joe a front row view of his own infidelity, he’s quick to turn the channel. However, when he sees a broadcast of him killing Phyllis, Joe has to wonder if he’s watching fiction or things to come.
One of the more mean spirited episodes, Joe and Phyllis’s interactions are reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s exchanges in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but more violent. As the bitter married couple engage in a physical fight that results in Joe punching Phyllis out a window to her death, one can assume anyone who has been the victim of domestic violence will find the episode hard to watch. That said, fans of the HBO anthology series Tales From the Crypt will consider this a lost episode of the show.
9
“The Chaser”
Season 1, Episode 31
Love, or the illusion of love, can come with a hefty price in the season three episode, “The Chaser.” Roger (George Grizzard) is hopelessly obsessed with the pretty and composed Leila (Patricia Barry), but she makes it clear that she doesn’t reciprocate his advances. Unphased, Roger is recommended the services of a mysterious man who can make a potion that will sway Leila into loving him. When Roger successfully uses the potion, he’ll learn there can be too much of a good thing.
Obviously, Roger is in the wrong and in need of a lesson to be taught, but he wouldn’t be embraced as a sympathetic protagonist by a new generation of viewers. Roger never sees Leila as an actual person with feelings or wants of her own – he can only see her as an object he can either possess or dispose of. The potion Leila drank is irreversible, outside the poison that Roger seriously considers, so even if Roger has “learned his lesson,” Leila is trapped in a devoted relationship she didn’t choose and, in her right mind, was vocally against.
8
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Season 5, Episode 22
A Confederate sympathizer faces execution by hanging from the Union forces before making a miraculous escape that seems too good to be true. Through sheer force of will, the man travels and survives the elements with the singular goal of making it back into the arms of his wife. At the end of the episode, he accomplishes his task, but before he can rejoice, the rope around his neck snaps tight, and he dies from hanging. The escape was merely a fantasy in the last moments of his life.
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is unique in that it was a short film that was actually re-edited to fit the format of The Twilight Zone. The short story of the same name by Ambrose Bierce has been adapted multiple times, but the episode could cause a stir with audiences not enthusiastic to watch a Confederate sympathizer as a protagonist. The Civil War doesn’t play a central role in the episode, but it is a period of time that reflects one of the ugliest eras of the US.
7
“The Fever”
Season 1, Episode 17
A free trip to Las Vegas has unforeseen costs for a couple in “The Fever.” Flora (Vivi Janiss) is excited about the change of scenery, but her husband, Franklin (Everett Sloane), has negative feelings about the city and even worse opinions about gambling. However, the beckoning call of a slot machine becomes louder and louder until it’s the only thing Franklin is able to hear. Even though they were only intended to stay for a few days, Franklin is doomed to spend his remaining days chasing the thrill of a win.
“The Fever” is about as straightforward of a morality tale as they come for The Twilight Zone, where the evils of addiction, in this case gambling, take center stage. While this may not be as shocking or controversial as other episodes, viewers who have either seen the destruction of addiction or experienced it firsthand will understand the weight of the story. “The Fever” is mostly light in its presentation, but as Franklin berates his wife for interrupting his time at the slots, the story speaks volumes regarding the damage caused by the affliction.
6
“The Changing of the Guard”
Season 3, Episode 37
At the end of his career, Professor Ellis Fowler (Donald Pleasence) finds himself questioning whether his life had any meaning. Determining that he offered nothing and his work was in vain, Ellis plans to kill himself on Christmas Eve. Before he can carry out his final wishes, he is beckoned to speak to the ghosts of his former students who were inspired by his words. At peace that his life had meaning – and his words were taken to heart by others, Ellis calmly embraces his retirement.
Suicide is a painful topic for the friends and family who have lost people close to them from the tragic actions. For those, the episode of “The Changing of the Guard” could potentially be greatly distressing to watch, even with a positive message as the core element of the story. In modern programming, there’s typically a warning regarding the content that will be featured in an episode, and regardless of where individual viewers stand on the effort, it’s a solace to those who need it.
5
“Twenty Two”
Season 2, Episode 17
Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols) is a dancer whose stay in the hospital is supposed to be calming to her overworked nerves, but it turns out to be the opposite in the season two episode “Twenty Two.” Each night, Liz is awakened and driven to investigate sounds that lead her to the hospital’s morgue, where a menacing nurse tells her, “Room for one more, honey.” Terrified, she attempts to tell her doctor and manager, but they dismiss it as rambling fantasies. When Liz checks out from the hospital, she does well to trust her instinct and ignore the men around her.
“Twenty Two” is an effectively creepy episode of The Twilight Zone that lingers on the horror side of the show’s offerings. The condescending way that both her male doctor and manager speak to her throughout the episode is a reminder of the gender inequality that’s still present in different aspects of modern society. In the end, Liz is left with no one to turn to, but she’s strong-willed enough to know what she saw was more than a meaningless dream.
4
“You Drive”
Season 5, Episode 15
While distracted behind the wheel, Oliver Pope (Edward Andrews) fatally hits a 12-year-old-boy on a bike delivering newspapers, and rather than stop to get help, he drives away in an act of cowardice and shame. Although Oliver refuses to come forward, his car has other ideas, and begins to frequently honk and stop at the intersection where the hit-and-run happened. Oliver allows someone else to take the blame for the death, but the car will make sure justice is served.
“You Drive” is another fantastic example of how dark season five of The Twilight Zone can be. Killing a boy on a bike would probably be further than most networks would be willing to go on prime-time television now. The age and innocence of the victim makes the impact of Oliver’s crime more egregious in the eyes of many parents, but that could also be a reason for outrage.
3
“The Mirror”
Season 3, Episode 6
“The Mirror” opens with a celebration in the wake of a successful government revolution in Central America. The leader, Ramos Clemente (Peter Falk), toasts his four closest friends who contributed to the victory, and they look forward to a new day of helping the people. However, Ramos quickly spirals into a murderous paranoia that claims the lives of his closest confidants, and eventually, himself.
Falk does an excellent job in the part of Ramos, but the idea of the pre-Columbo actor wearing makeup and using an accent to portray a Fidel Castro-type revolutionary would not go over well with modern audiences. “The Mirror” does an effective job of condensing the cautionary tale of power and corruption into the brief runtime, but it seems like it wouldn’t have been that hard to get someone of the correct nationality to play the part.
2
“Nightmare as a Child”
Season 1, Episode 29
In “Nightmare As a Child,” a woman has a chance encounter with a familiar child who knows entirely too much about her. Helen (Janice Rule) finds a strange child named Markie (Terry Burnham) outside her door who knows intimate details about her. When Helen is visited by a mysterious man from her childhood, she will be forced to relive terrifying moments of her past that reveal who Markie actually is.
“Nightmare As a Child,” is an effectively unsettling episode thanks to Burnham’s performance as the adult-like child with an otherworldly presence. Helen’s slow progression of unearthing buried childhood trauma will hit close to home for people who experienced abuse of any variety as an adolescent, which could be a painful watch. The crimes of the man who pays Helen a visit are not fully spoken of, but there is an implication of his feelings toward her as a child that would be controversial no matter what year it was created.
1
“The Encounter”
Season 5, Episode 31
“The Encounter” follows a young Japanese American man named Arthur (George Takei), who stops by the house of a stranger looking for work. The owner of the house, a World War II veteran named Fenton (Neville Brand), invites Arthur up for a drink and an offer to help him clean out the attic. The interaction starts calmly enough, but the presence of a cursed sword slowly pushes both men toward an altercation. Neither will survive.
In certain cases, the powers that be recognized controversy immediately, like when “The Encounter” first aired. Famously, the racially charged episode was pulled from airing after it’s initial premiere until 2016, making it a subject of curiosity among The Twilight Zone fans. While the racist undertones to the two men’s conversation is in the spirit of most other episodes in the anthology series, the plot reveals that Arthur’s father was a spy for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, perpetuating a harmful stereotype towards Japanese Americans.
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