Despite the fact that it debuted in 1959, The Twilight Zone is still the greatest anthology television series of all time. That’s not just because of its various plots, which run the gamut from sci-fi to fantasy to realism. Creator Rod Serling understood well enough that memorable stories are largely character-driven stories. This is not to say that all the characters in the Zone will pop out, even in episodes that are great overall, but the people that do are very interesting indeed.
Sometimes the stories are so plot-driven that a character can be more or less reduced to a type, or pushed into the background. Sometimes a character is well-written and well-acted, but doesn’t have much to do or represent. Then there are times when everything coalesces perfectly, and we’re given a character who makes us think about not just the story but the world around us. Not every remarkable character in The Twilight Zone is entirely sympathetic or even human, but they’re all still fascinating to this day and elevate their particular stories to great heights.
10
Les Goodman
From “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” (Season 1, Episode 22)
Les Goodman (Barry Atwater) and his family have lived on Maple Street for five years, but people start to distrust him anyway when his car suddenly becomes the only one in the neighborhood that works. It turns on and off all by itself, and the vehicle’s bizarre behavior makes his neighbors think about all his other “oddball” traits. While some aren’t named explicitly, the man is said to look up at the sky in the middle of the night while everyone else is asleep.
There’s an easy explanation: he has insomnia, and sometimes watches the stars to pass the time. But the mob turns against him at first, at which point he nervously yells at all of them. This character is a good representation of an innocent man who’s scapegoated for his idiosyncrasies, which makes him all the more interesting when he himself joins the mob at the end, when they start blaming someone else. That subtle yet significant detail makes him ultimately represent the hypocritical nature of humankind. Overall, Les’ character helps “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” feel like one of those mini-masterpieces that could be expanded into a movie.
9
Jerry Etherson
From “The Dummy” (Season 3, Episode 33)
Jerry (Cliff Robertson) is a talented ventriloquist who’s been having serious issues for such a long time that his agent has had just about enough. Jerry is troubled by the fact that his dummy, Willie, is alive. Willie says things Jerry didn’t write, but no one notices but Jerry. It’s clear that his alter ego is consuming him, a conflict that’s perfectly encapsulated in the very first scene—when we see Jerry doing a bit in which he briefly pretends to be a dummy that Willie is controlling.
This ventriloquist drinks to compensate, but he has a better idea now: simply replace his old dummy with a new one. Unfortunately for him, Willie isn’t a fan of this idea at all. Watching him struggle with a truth that no one else will ever believe and a dummy whose repetitive routine brought him to life is very compelling. Cliff Robertson’s performance is top-shelf, and his character’s fate is one of the most disturbing in The Twilight Zone.
8
Nan Adams
From “The Hitch-Hiker” (Season 1, Episode 16)
Nan Adams (Inger Stevens) is just trying to take a cross-country trip from New York to California, but there’s a problem. Ever since her tire blew out in Pennsylvania, Nan has been seeing this hitch-hiker on the side of the road so frequently that she’s become uneasy. It doesn’t take long for her to become alarmed, as it seems like the man is someone following her. No one else sees him, but she sure does. Practically all he does is stand there, but his omnipresence is what makes him so scary.
Nan’s descriptions of him only make her more engaging and her story more absorbing. One of her best lines is when she says her fear is as vague as the man himself, something we can imagine Rod Serling saying in one of his classic monologues. Inger Stevens does terrific work as this woman who’s losing her mind over this impossibly fast hitch-hiker. Her performance is key to the story’s suspense, and we’re absolutely sold. There’s a great plot twist at the end of “The Hitch-Hiker” that brings her arc to a close, and her state of numb acceptance is a perfect end to a great episode about something we can all relate to.
7
Henry Bemis
From “Time Enough at Last” (Season 1, Episode 8)
The Twilight Zone is no stranger to wild plot twists, but it can also have much less spectacular plot twists that are no less devastating. A pair of broken glasses, for instance, is enough to devastate in season one’s “Time Enough at Last.” Played charmingly by Burgess Meredith, Henry Bemis is a guy who reads so much that it’s ruined his reputation at work and his relationship with his wife. She literally hides books from him.
Amusingly, Bemis goes into his bank’s vault to take a reading break. This is the kind of isolation he seeks, and that’s the kind of isolation he gets—permanently. The hydrogen bomb goes off while he’s safe in the vault, leaving him all alone after he emerges. Well, no one’s around to badger him about all those books now. In a dark way, things should be perfect, right? Wrong—making for one of the best characters in one of the show’s most famous entries.
6
Jason Foster
From “The Masks” (Season 5, Episode 25)
Mr. Jason Foster (Robert Keith) is filthy rich, he’s about to die, and boy, does he hate his family. All they care about is the old man’s money and their superficial, material possessions. This backstory makes for a riveting conflict, as he is going to die very soon and expresses his doubts about giving over his inheritance to his progeny. In fact, he expresses his disapproval of them bluntly. If they want his money, then they have to do something first.
He wants them to wear a mask in celebration of Mardi Gras until midnight. Why? Well, that’s an interesting question. He doesn’t seem to be in the most festive spirit, but the man knows what he wants. He even puts a mask on himself. The guy clearly failed as a father, but he definitely succeeds as a master manipulator—as the legendary plot twist at the end of “The Masks” proves. This is one of the best episodes ever, and Jason Foster is the bitter, driving force behind it.
5
The Clown
From “Five Characters in Search of an Exit” (Season 3, Episode 14)
In one of the greatest Twilight Zone episodes ever, we’re presented with a homeless man, a clown, a ballerina, a bagpiper, and an army major—all stuck in a hole of some kind. They can’t dig their way out, the walls are too smooth and tall for any one person to climb, and calling out doesn’t help. The major (William Windom) is new here, so he’s frantically trying to escape; the others have lost hope. While the major is an excellent driving force for the plot, it’s the clown (Murray Matheson) who really stands out.
This clown may not remember being a clown, but he’s quite good at acting like one. He’s the first person the major notices, and he instantly jumps to life. The way he salutes, holds his parasol, smiles, slides down the wall—the physical whimsy is ever-present. Murray Matheson also delivers his lines with the sophisticated silliness of a top-tier Shakespearean fool. Along with how he tries to get the major to stop trying to escape, this clown acts as a perfect juxtaposition to the newcomer while embodying the absurdity of their condition—which may very well be compared to the human condition.
4
Talky Tina
From “Living Doll” (Season 5, Episode 6)
When a lonely girl gets a doll named Talky Tina, her stepfather Erich’s (Telly Savalas) reaction shows us immediately why. He’s not a nice man, and little Christie needs love from more than just her mother. It’s a sad situation, but this expensive doll would make things a lot better if Erich would just let it be and quit making his family miserable. Well, his attempt to throw Tina away has consequences: this doll is alive, and she’s not putting up with his nonsense.
Willie from “The Dummy” and Talky Tina (voiced by June Foray) from “Living Doll” would make a great team. Or, on second thought, would they be enemies? Willie is a force for evil as he betrays his owner, but Tina is fundamentally a force for good—simply taking an extreme approach to protecting her own. Through the doll’s chilling dialogue and strategic placement, she feels all too real. The fact that we never see her actually move is a testament to the episode’s outstanding writing, acting, and directing.
3
Anthony Fremont
From “It’s a Good Life” (Season 3, Episode 8)
The title of Season 3’s “It’s a Good Life” refers exclusively to the life of a little boy named Anthony (Billy Mumy). For everyone around him, life is quite the opposite. This is because Anthony has the ability to turn anybody into whatever object he wants and make them disappear to wherever he pleases. This telekinetic gift is wisely unexplained, as what really matters is how arbitrarily this immature child wields his unbelievable power.
Which is just about as cruel as you can imagine. This kid’s got no qualms whatsoever about bringing people to their demise, or simply giving them a significant mental disability (as he did to his aunt). Oh, and Anthony can read everyone’s minds, too, constantly making sure they keep thinking happy thoughts. In short, he’s a narcissistic menace who won’t listen to the idea that not everything he does is good. Comparable not just to spoiled children but to powerful adults all around the world, Anthony is one of The Twilight Zone‘s most disturbing villains.
2
Robert Wilson
From “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (Season 5, Episode 3)
You don’t have to love the original Star Trek to love William Shatner. Case in point: the iconic “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” This predates Star Trek, but Shatner is no less excellent as a man who (ironically) has severe anxiety about air travel. This man’s name is Robert Wilson, and he’s finally been released from a stint in a mental hospital. He’s flying on another plane now, with his wife in the seat next to him and the emergency exit also next to him.
Maybe he would have been okay with an aisle seat instead, but too bad: there’s a gremlin-like creature on the wing of the plane, and it’s particularly interested in freaking him out. Shatner’s performance makes us believe that this man believes there’s a monster sabotaging the plane, makes us feel sorry for him, and also makes us wonder if it’s all in his head (like so many others). Mr. Wilson’s attempts to deal with this situation unfold just as intensely as some of the greatest sci-fi movies in only a fraction of the runtime.
1
Janet Tyler
From “Eye of the Beholder” (Season 2, Episode 6)
Janet Tyler is a character so special she’s played by two people: one when her face is all bandaged (Maxine Stuart) and one when her face is uncovered (Donna Douglas). We first meet her when her face is bandaged, recovering from the final surgery that the doctors can try to reconfigure her appearance. She asks a nurse what the day looked like, if there were clouds in the sky. Thanks to Stuart’s delivery, the poor woman’s general sense of longing is already so well articulated within seconds of meeting her.
All she wants, all she’s ever wanted, is to have a face that won’t make people scream. She’s had 11 surgeries, and this is her final chance at feeling normal. Of course, her anxiousness to know if the surgery worked makes her extremely sympathetic, and her intense desire for acceptance makes her story incredibly relatable. Along with this story’s famous plot twist and her surprisingly hopeful ending, Ms. Tyler wonderfully demonstrates how The Twilight Zone can be so compellingly unpredictable and emotionally powerful.
