What is your favorite twist?
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doug65oh — 9 years ago(May 01, 2016 10:22 PM)
I have to admit, I reacted
exactly
the same way to that one!
Im not sure I have a particular favorite when it comes to twist endings though. The first one comes to mind offhand would be The Man in the Bottle probably only because it literally scared the hell out of me when I first saw it. I wasnt very old (around 5 or so) but even then knew enough to be aware of who Hitler was, and what
evil
was. I didnt watch the show again for years after that, until I discovered other episodes like King Nine Will Not Return and Back There, both of which I enjoyed quite a lot.
It took me that long to disassociate
evil
with Rod Serling and
The Twilight Zone
! -
steely3000 — 9 years ago(May 02, 2016 04:08 AM)
The one I first thought of was "The Fugitive". If I were watching this episode with a friend, I would ask them to think about how they would handle this situation. It's a cute but great twist at the end.
But yeah "Nothing in the Dark" is quite good, especially from the two actors involved. "The Silence" is one of my favorite TZ episodes; the Franchot Tone character is such a jerk. -
Jennie_Portrait — 9 years ago(May 02, 2016 04:14 PM)
To me,
the Silence
reminds me more of an
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
type of story. The twist has that particular sort of sadism in which he seemed to specialize.
I agree it is a great episode with a totally unpredictable ending.
Never say never
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wordsatplaytoday — 9 years ago(May 03, 2016 09:21 AM)
So many.
I just watched this one last night on MeTv and can add it to my list.
An old Peddler is clairvoyant and gives people things they don't realize they need right away but find out they use them later.
Then a young man intimidates him and wants to take advantage of his talent.
I thought the old timer was going to get it but instead he saves himself in a way that no one could have seen coming.
Damn, I'm good. -
wordsatplaytoday — 9 years ago(May 03, 2016 06:51 PM)
Thank you.
Yeah, it was good to see the old guy come out as the winner when sometimes the one you think will win, doesn't.
Life isn't always fair and sometimes the TZ will reflect that.
For example, the couple that run around a town that is deserted and they think they will escape on a train but the train returns to the station.
And the twist is that they are stuck in a world as pets of a giant alien little girl.
That is another fave. even though it looks like there is no escape for them.
Damn, I'm good. -
richspenc — 9 years ago(May 11, 2016 04:21 PM)
I could not stand that man in "What you need", not the old peddler but the miserable jerk that harassed him. What kind of lowlife stalks and intimidates a little old man like that? And he even broke into his apartment and was waiting for him in the dark. I'm glad he got what was coming to him at the end of the episode.
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wordsatplaytoday — 9 years ago(May 11, 2016 06:08 PM)
I could not stand that man in "What you need", not the old peddler but the miserable jerk that harassed him.
That was the point. They wanted you to hate him and with you they succeeded.
And he even broke into his apartment and was waiting for him in the dark.
Oh man! That was creepy and so wrong!
Damn, I'm good. -
EtaoinShrdlu001 — 9 years ago(May 05, 2016 10:30 PM)
You're rooting for the mute old lady (Agnes Moorehead) being attacked by evil space aliens.
You cheer as she gets the upper hand and pummels the flying saucer on her roof with an axe.
You see the smashed UFO has some markings on it:
"U.S. AIRFORCE"
Have you been cheering for the wrong side?
You feel conflicted. -
doug65oh — 9 years ago(May 05, 2016 11:10 PM)
This came up somewhere not long ago (perhaps here, I'm not sure) and the first thing I thought of was "Okay, just a minute. I'd almost swear the "aliens" were human, and that tiny little ship was clearly marked "United States Air Force!"
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telegonus — 9 years ago(May 05, 2016 11:26 PM)
The "big" twists of the
To Serve Man
kind don't do it for me as much as the more subtle twists,or maybe quieter is a better way to put itsuch as the early
I Shot An Arrow Into the Air
, which I saw watched again for the umpeenth time, saw first or second run as a child; and the low key but still shocking final moment of the mannequin that looks just like you know who in
The After Hours
. Both are first season. Also from the same year,
Third From the Sun
, which has a neat twist. The
TZ
excelled at those it should be yin but it's actually yang endings. Their quality lies as much in the set up, in
how the story is told, acted and directed
as in the twist itself. I love
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
, which is a winner from start to finish. The twist is more charming than shocking, in keeping with the light but not quite comedy tone of the episode. For my tastes, the more "organic" the twist, which is to say the more it arises from the story as the viewer knows it till the Big Reveal is nearly always superior to the "divine intervention" kind that comes from Beyond, whether benign or sinister. -
duke4711-1 — 9 years ago(May 12, 2016 06:37 AM)
Will the Real Martian Please Stand up is the one that immediately comes to mind for me. I also like the twist in Time Enough at Last. I don't want to give it away if people haven't seen it, but is isn't scary, just kind of shocking. I'm also in complete agreement with Eye of the Beholder.
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koala_t_98 — 9 years ago(May 12, 2016 04:36 AM)
I'm like most of the people on here, in that I can't really state just one. I loved the episode with Art Carney as a derelict who becomes Santa Claus. The others that have been mentioned here are good, too, and I'd add "In Praise of Pip" with Jack Klugman.
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captxunderpants — 9 years ago(May 17, 2016 11:42 AM)
The one that comes to mind is definitely "A Nice Place To Visit".
I remember as a kid that Sebastian Cabot was still very much Mr. French to me, and a kind nice man, so it made the twist even better in my case.