‘The Twilight Zone’: 8 Best Episodes to Watch Ahead of Jordan Peele’s Reboot

Jordan Peele‘s reboot of the The Twilight Zone has officially debuted, but there are some great classic episodes of the series that fans should watch ahead of streaming the new show.

While Peele’s reboot of the show is already receiving critical acclaim, the original episodes of the series greatly influenced the new series and many of the new episodes are stylized as sort of “spiritiual sequels” to some of the originals.

Below, we have put together a list of iconic Twilight Zone episodes that fans absolutely must-see, and should probably watch even before streaming the new series.

Scroll down to check out the list and let us know in the comments what your favorite Twilight Zone episode is!

“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”

Season 5, Episode 3

“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” is very likely the most iconic and well-known episode of The Twilight Zone ever. It starred a young William Shatner as a nervous flier who is tormented by a gremlin that is sabotaging the passenger plane he’s riding in.

The episode was later remade by George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) for 1983s Twilight Zone: The Movie, with John Lithgow starring as the panicked traveller.

In the new Twilight Zone reboot, the story is updated as “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” and former Parks & Rec actor Adam Scott plays the paranoid flier.

“The Dummy”

Season 3, Episode 33

In “The Dummy,” a struggling ventriloquist named Jerry Etherson begins to be tortured by one of his dummies, Willie, who he believes has come to life.

After trying to escape Willie, Jerry finds himself haunted by Willie’s voice. After attempting to destroy Willie, Jerry has a realization that changes everything for him.

According to reports, the Twilight Zone reboot has an episode that was heavily influences by this episode.

“Time Enough at Last”

Season 1, Episode 8

While “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” is probably the most memorable episode of The Twilight Zone, “Time Enough at Last” is certainly in the top three.

In this story, a man who loves nothing more than burying himself in a good book to escape his stressful reality finds himself the only survivor of a nuclear blast.

He now has “time enough” to read all he wants without people or responsibilities getting in the way, but this is the Twilight Zone we’re talking about so there is a twist and it is a doozy.

“It’s a Good Life”

Season 3, Episode 8

There might not be anything more terrifying than a child with the power manipulate the world to their every whim, and this is the exact premise of “It’s a Good Life.”

A young boy has mental powers that allow him to manifest anything he wants, or live out his every whim. Sometimes this comes as at cost to those around him, and thus they live in fear of the nightmarish tyke.

This episode was also remade for the Twilight Zone movie, and will reportedly influence an episode of the reboot series.

“Eye of the Beholder”

Season 2, Episode 6

So now that we’ve covered “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “Time Enough at Last,” the trifecta of most iconic Twilight Zone episodes is complete with “Eye of the Beholder.”

When woman winds up undergoing plastic surgery in order to correct what she and the society around her have deemed an extreme abnormality, but when her true face is unmasked, it’s revealed that everything is not as it would seem to be.

The patient is found to be beautiful by traditional standards of appearance, but the people around her are shown as what the real-world would describe as hideous pig-faced people who are disgusted by her.

While all Twilight Zone episodes have some significant, deeper meaning, this one has layers to it that its entirely possible we haven’t discovered yet.

“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”

Season 1, Episode 22

There are far more popular episodes of The Twilight Zone, as we have established, but there are few with a more resounding and relevant message than “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”

The residents if Maple Street, U.S.A. are enjoying a nice day when suddenly a bright, flashing light causes a shadow to hang over the neighborhood, and knocks out the power.

A young boy explains that the happenings they are all experiencing mimic ones that took place in a story he read about alien monsters, and everyone begins to suspect that their own neighbors are monsters in disguise.

As Maple Street descends into chaos, the residents begin to turn on one another and do more to conquer themselves than any real alien invasion ever could.

“I Am the Night—Color Me Black”

Season 5, Episode 26

Another socially relevant and important episode of The Twilight Zone is “I Am the Night—Color Me Black,” which is also about an area being shrouded in darkness.

In this episode, the villagers of a small town are going to execute a man after he was convicted for murdering a racist, bigot in self-defense.

The man, known simply as Jagger, is remorseless for his action, and the townspeople are consumed by their hate for him just as he was consumed by hate for his victim, who was consumed by hate for minority groups.

In the end, everyone involved discovers that their anger has done nothing but blind them.

“Kick the Can”

Season 3, Episode 21

The Twilight Zone has become renowned for it’s chilling sci-fi and horror elements, but sometimes it just delivered hard-to-swallow messages.

“Kick the Can” is an excellent example of this, as it is about a nursing home resident who is left out when all his friends are magically transformed into kids again.

Because of his refusal to believe that you’re only as old as you feel, Mr. Cox stands alone holding the can from a game of kick the can while everyone else runs off to relive their bets years.

This story was later updated for the Twilight Zone movie — along with “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “It’s a Good Life — as directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins).

No word on if this story will updated yet again for the new Twilight Zone remake, but fans can check out all the episodes as the they air on CBS All Access.

The first two episodes of the new series launched today.