The Twilight Zone: 8 Best Time Travel Episodes, Ranked (2024)

Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone covered science fiction, crime thriller, and horror tropes over its original 156-episode run, including everything from alien invasions to mischievous genies in several daring and subversive plotlines. In addition to offering some of television's most memorable twists, The Twilight Zone was often remarkably precise when it came to predicting the future

This sense that the show's writers could see the future perhaps explains why trips into the eponymous Twilight Zone often involve time travel. Over a dozen episodes of the series focus on characters who find themselves cast adrift in history and either learn from their past or suffer its eternal curse.

Updated August 14, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: The Twilight Zone's cautionary tales, moral lessons, and mysterious parables stand the test of time. The whole series could be an example of time travel because it continues to resonate with modern audiences. Every story is different, and the time-travel feature might be described as hallucinations, visits from ghosts, alien technology, or a character that literally travels through time using a device or machine. Any of the above and more is possible in the Twilight Zone.

12 The Trouble With Templeton, S1E26

IMDb Rating: 7.1

• Directed By: Buzz Kulik
• Written By: E. Jack Neuman
• Starring: Brian Aherne, Pippa Scott, Sydney Pollack
• Air Date: December 9, 1960

The typical theme of a Twilight Zone episode is often a dark one, concerning a deeply flawed character who refuses to learn a lesson and suffers the consequences. "The Trouble With Templeton" is the story of an actor nearing the end of his career who pulls himself back from the brink after learning a valuable lesson from a brief visit to his past.

Booth Templeton is unhappy in his second marriage and is reminiscing about how happy he was with his former wife in the earlier years of his acting career. When he's late to rehearsal, the new and younger director doesn't recognize his talent and pushes Booth to be more committed to the production. Templeton leaves the theater, upset at the confrontation, and finds himself 30 years in the past.

Of course, Booth immediately goes to the old speakeasy to find his former wife and friends, and he does, but the reception isn't exactly what he dreamed it would be. However, they don't send him back to the present empty-handed, and when he returns to the theater he not only asserts himself with the new director but uses his clout to dismiss the producer, changing his future for the better.

11 Execution, S1E26

IMDb Rating: 7.2

• Directed By: David Orrick McDearmon
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: Albert Salmi, Russell Johnson, Than Wyenn
• Air Date: April 1, 1960

"Execution" opens with outlaw Joe Caswell, played by Albert Salmi, being sentenced to death. The remorseless murderer is offered a surprise reprieve when a time travel experiment inadvertently transports him from 1880 to 1960.

Caswell is overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the modern world, but he nonetheless chooses to resume his criminal spree. His actions result in the death of the naive scientist responsible for Caswell's extraction, but the killer nonetheless learns an important Twilight Zone lesson: Karma has a tendency to catch up with you.

With its memorably ruthless villain and fish-out-of-water protagonist, "Execution" is a solid installment in the classic anthology series. Caswell, who ranks among the series' most psychopathic villains, meets his match in the future with ironic consequences. Justice eventually finds its mark, even if it misses its initial target.

10

9 Of Late I Think Of Cliffordville, S4E14

IMDb Rating: 7.2

• Directed By: David Lowell Rich
• Adapted From: "Blind Alley" by Malcolm Jameson
• Starring: Albert Salmi, Julie Newmar, John Anderson
• Air Date: April 11, 1963

William Featherstone, played by Albert Salmi is a cruel businessman and is given the chance to start from scratch in his hometown of Cliffordville after he makes a deal with the satanic Miss Devlin, who also happens to be Batman's Julie Newmar. Arriving in Cliffordville in 1910, Featherstone uses his remaining money to purchase land that he knows will be found to contain oil.

However, he overlooks the fact that the drills needed to access the oil deposits will not be invented for nearly thirty years, by which time he will likely be dead. The episode was one of those remade as a radio drama, but its original iteration is perhaps the best take on the material. Featherstone's journey shows that pride comes before a fall.

8 Once Upon A Time, S3E13

IMDb Rating: 7.2

• Directed By: Norman Z. McLeod
• Written By: Richard Matheson
• Starring: Buster Keaton, Stanley Adams, Jesse White
• Air Date: December 15, 1961

The Twilight Zone covers a range of genres, from mind-bending surrealism to spine-tingling horror. However, the show rarely indulges in pure comedy, and even more rarely does so successfully. That "Once Upon a Time" is such a hidden gem is no doubt due to its star famous silent movie actor Buster Keaton gives an impressive performance as Woodrow Mulligan, a disgruntled janitor who is sent from 1890 to 1961 thanks to an experimental "time helmet."

While much of the episode's charm can be attributed to Keaton's trademark slapstick, efforts are also made to make the episode's "historical" sections as authentically retro as possible—complete with speech cards in place of spoken dialogue. The result is a quirky departure from The Twilight Zone norm, but one that remains an entertaining oddity.​​​​​​

7 A Kind of Stopwatch, S5E4

IMDb Rating: 7.5

• Directed By: John Rich
• Written By: Michael D. Rosenthal, Rod Serling
• Starring: Richard Erdman, Herbie Faye, Leon Belasco
• Air Date: October 18, 1963

The main character of this story is an unfortunate person named Patrick McNulty, and his superpower is being the dullest, most mind-numbing, and utterly boring person. Still, he's oblivious to how he makes other people feel, which makes him annoyingly self-important. Even when his attitude costs him his job, he doesn't learn.

McNulty's incessant chatter is so annoying it clears out a whole bar, except for one drunken patron, who speaks in strange, archaic phrases. He gives McNulty his stopwatch, which stops time for everyone but the person using it, and McNulty thinks that he can use this power to get his old job back. The wheel of fortune never stops turning in the Twilight Zone, however, and a time-travel adventure gone wrong puts McNulty in his place when the watch breaks mid-stop, and our hero is left alone on Earth and frozen in time.

6 Back There, S2E13

IMDb Rating: 7.5

• Directed By: David Orrick McDearmon
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: Russell Johnson, Paul Hartman, John Lasell
• Air Date: January 13, 1961

Following a hypothetical discussion about time travel, Peter Corrigan (Russell Johnson) slips a century backward in time. Finding himself in Washington just hours before the assassination of President Lincoln, Corrigan is desperate to thwart the infamous murder. Unfortunately, his pleas appear to fall on deaf ears. Is it really possible for a man to change the course of history, or are Corrigan's efforts in vain?

Rod Serling's script couples a literal race against time with themes of free will, predetermination, and destiny. Ultimately, "Back There" is a story about mankind's general impotence when faced with the tides of time. However, as the episode's climax shows, Corrigan's intervention may have borne fruit, albeit in an unexpected and trivial way.

5 The Rip Van Winkle Caper, S2E24

IMDb Rating: 7.6

• Directed By: Justus Addiss
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: Simon Oakland, Oscar Beregi, Jr., Lew Gallo
• Air Date: April 21, 1961

After stealing a million dollars of gold bullion, a criminal gang engages in one of The Twilight Zone's most elaborate methods of time travel. Hiding in a Death Valley cave, the crooks attempt to evade arrest by placing themselves in suspended animation for a century. Once the heat has died down, they will reawaken and be able to profit from their audacious heist. Naturally, this bold plan is far from foolproof because not all criminals survive their one-way trip to the future.

A power struggle ensues between the remaining criminals, although the future isn't quite what they expected. "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" has an ending that suits The Twilight Zone's reputation for neatly ironic twists, plus a cameo from a retro-futuristic car borrowed from the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet. If this episode has a moral, it is as follows: budding time travelers should be careful what they wish for, especially when moving through The Twilight Zone.

4

3 The Odyssey Of Flight 33, S2E18

IMDb Rating: 7.8

• Directed By: Justus Addiss
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: John Anderson, Paul Comi, Sandy Kenyon
• Air Date: February 24, 1961

No time travel series is complete without little plastic dinosaurs. Doctor Who featured them in 1974's "Invasion of the Dinosaurs," while The Twilight Zone used the charming technique in 1961's "The Odyssey of Flight 33." While this filmmaking method is unlikely to convince modern CGI-savvy audiences, it enhances rather than detracts from Rod Serling's tale of a passenger jet that zooms out of control and into the distant past.

Strong performances and true-to-life dialogue, thanks to Serling running the script past his brother, an aviation writer, make the episode one of The Twilight Zone's most iconic installments. Viewers will root for the passengers and crew of the displaced Boeing 707 as it makes its troubled voyage through time. Dinosaurs are a classic trope of fantasy and science fiction, even if their inclusion doesn't always result in a successful end product, but in the case of this episode, it's safe to say that the series delivers.

2 The Last Flight, S1E18

IMDb Rating: 8.0

• Directed By: William F. Claxton
• Written By: Richard Matheson
• Starring: Kenneth Haigh, Simon Scott, Alexander Scourby
• Air Date: February 5, 1960

Richard Matheson's first Twilight Zone script demonstrates why the writer became such a key player in shaping the original iteration of the series. A World War One-era pilot, Terry Decker, played by Kenneth Haigh, emerges from a cloud bank to find himself over forty years in the future. The authorities on the ground are initially skeptical, but Decker's insistence, and his knowledge of a fellow pilot who is now recognized as a hero, convinces his captors.

Decker admits to being a coward who chose the Air Force to avoid direct combat, and his realization that he has a vital but dangerous part to play in the course of history allows him to grow as a person, which results in one of the show's most bittersweet endings. "The Last Flight" is one of The Twilight Zone's more melancholy stories, but its character-driven nature indicates it's likely to resonate with viewers long after the credits roll.

1 A Hundred Yards Over The Rim, S2E23

IMDb Rating: 8.1

• Directed By: Buzz Kulik
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: Cliff Robertson, John Crawford, Miranda Jones
• Air Date: April 7, 1961

Pioneer Christian Horn, played by Cliff Robertson, leads a wagon train across the desert to reach the fabled land of California. However, the expedition is fraught with danger and problems. His son is dying of an unknown disease, morale is low among the travelers, and the rest of the party is ready to turn around and go back to Ohio.

Horn, who refuses to quit, goes out alone over a nearby hill. He expects to find water, but he does not expect to find himself transported nearly a century in the future. "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" is a fairly low-stakes episode of The Twilight Zone. While the lack of tension can detract from the story, this deficit is compensated for by the episode's cinematography.

The beautifully shot desert landscapes capture the Wild West era and contrast nicely with the modern, claustrophobic set used to represent a 1960s diner. It's also a rare episode with a happy ending, something far from the norm in The Twilight Zone's world of twists and turns.

The Twilight Zone

Horror

Mystery

Drama

Sci-Fi

Release Date

October 2, 1959

Creator

Rod Serling

Number of Episodes

156

Seasons

5