The BEST episodes of The Twilight Zone (1985) season 1

Every episode of The Twilight Zone (1985) season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Twilight Zone (1985) season 1!

This show is based on Rod Serling's classic TV anthology show, The Twilight Zone. Redoing some episodes and doing new ones 20 years laters after the originals, these are made in color and in one-hour episodes. Most of the episodes contained two or three stories, and were broken up in half hour episodes for syndication. CBS cancelled the show in its second season, but it was picked up by a Canadian producer and aired in syndication in a half-hour format. The show contains mostly ironic or special situations with a twist at the end, which show the human nature, coupled with science fiction, horror or fantasy. Some of the show's writers are well known: Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Sidney Sheldon and J. Michael Straczynski. The opening and closing music was done by The Grateful Dead.

Last Updated: 6/13/2025Network: CBSStatus: Ended
Night of the Meek
star
18.00
1 votes

#1 - Night of the Meek

Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 12/20/1985

A drunken storefront Santa is terminally depressed by the many children who go gift less and starving during Christmas. He is fired from his job at a department store when he shows up late, and subsequently finds a bag that he can pull any present anyone wants from it.

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I of Newton
star
16.00
1 votes

#2 - I of Newton

Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 12/13/1985

A professor attempting to solve a difficult math problem finds himself matching wits with a demon.

Directors: Kenneth Gilbert
Watch Now:Amazon
The Leprechaun Artist
star
16.00
1 votes

#3 - The Leprechaun Artist

Season 1 - Episode 47 - Aired 2/21/1986

Vacationing in the United States, an Irish leprechaun is caught by three boys. To be freed, he must grant them three wishes.

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The Misfortune Cookie
star
16.00
1 votes

#4 - The Misfortune Cookie

Season 1 - Episode 35 - Aired 1/3/1986

A food critic receives fortune cookie messages that get fulfilled.

Directors: Allan Arkush
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Need to Know
star
9.26
31 votes

#5 - Need to Know

Season 1 - Episode 51 - Aired 3/21/1986

A government scientist/agent sent to a small town to help investigate a bizarre outbreak of insanity which is spreading through the town.

Directors: Paul Lynch
Watch Now:Amazon
Cold Reading
star
9.23
30 votes

#6 - Cold Reading

Season 1 - Episode 46 - Aired 2/14/1986

An actor arrives at a radio station to perform a radio play. An old voodoo stick is accidentally activated and the play becomes more real that anything anyone expected.

Directors: Gus Trikonis
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The Library
star
9.23
30 votes

#7 - The Library

Season 1 - Episode 55 - Aired 3/28/1986

Landing a new job at a private library a girl is warned never to look at the books. Taking a peek she learns that there's a book for everyone alive. When a neighbor pesters her, she rewrites his biography.

Directors: John D. Hancock
Writer: Anne Collins
Watch Now:Amazon
Shadow Play
star
9.23
30 votes

#8 - Shadow Play

Season 1 - Episode 56 - Aired 4/4/1986

A man is convinced that reality as we perceive it is dependent on his staying alive.

Directors: Paul Lynch
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To See the Invisible Man
star
9.19
59 votes

#9 - To See the Invisible Man

Season 1 - Episode 40 - Aired 1/31/1986

An uncaring man is sentenced to a year of social isolation.

Directors: Noel Black
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Profile in Silver
star
9.17
30 votes

#10 - Profile in Silver

Season 1 - Episode 49 - Aired 3/7/1986

A researcher from the future, a descendent of President John F. Kennedy goes back in time to witness his ancestor's death.

Directors: John D. Hancock
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Red Snow
star
9.10
30 votes

#11 - Red Snow

Season 1 - Episode 52 - Aired 3/21/1986

A KGB investigator is sent to Siberia to investigate the deaths of communist party officials.

Directors: Jeannot Szwarc
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The Elevator
star
9.08
59 votes

#12 - The Elevator

Season 1 - Episode 39 - Aired 1/31/1986

Two brothers searching for their father discover a factory full of giant animal bodies.

Directors: Ralph L. Thomas
Writer: Ray Bradbury
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Devil's Alphabet
star
9.03
30 votes

#13 - Devil's Alphabet

Season 1 - Episode 54 - Aired 3/28/1986

A group of friends in Victorian England find themselves haunted by an oath they took as young men.

Directors: Ben Bolt
Watch Now:Amazon
Dead Run
star
8.77
30 votes

#14 - Dead Run

Season 1 - Episode 48 - Aired 2/21/1986

An out-of-work trucker takes on a bizarre job upon the recommendation of a friend: deliveryman of souls to Hell.

Directors: Paul Tucker
Watch Now:Amazon
Her Pilgrim Soul
star
8.66
59 votes

#15 - Her Pilgrim Soul

Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 12/13/1985

Two scientists create a holographic projector that has a woman appear in the display.

Directors: Wes Craven
Watch Now:Amazon
A Matter of Minutes
star
8.66
59 votes

#16 - A Matter of Minutes

Season 1 - Episode 38 - Aired 1/24/1986

A young married couple discovers that their home is being remodeled by blue-clad workers who are workers of time that build and move objects from one time period to another.

Directors: Sheldon Larry
Watch Now:Amazon
The Last Defender of Camelot
star
8.59
59 votes

#17 - The Last Defender of Camelot

Season 1 - Episode 59 - Aired 4/11/1986

In modern-day England, the last of King Arthur's knights teams with Morgan le Fay to stop the return of Merlin.

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Monsters!
star
8.33
30 votes

#18 - Monsters!

Season 1 - Episode 36 - Aired 1/24/1986

A boy who loves monster movies has a strange neighbor move in.

Directors: Bill L. Norton
Writer: Robert Crais
Watch Now:Amazon
Grace Note
star
8.27
30 votes

#19 - Grace Note

Season 1 - Episode 57 - Aired 4/4/1986

An opera singer is having a hard time. Her sister is at the hospital dying. Her sick sister leaves a gift: a glimpse into the future when the singer is a world-famous star.

Directors: Peter Medak
Watch Now:Amazon
Button, Button
star
8.17
59 votes

#20 - Button, Button

Season 1 - Episode 50 - Aired 3/7/1986

A mysterious man offers a couple a bizarre deal: if they will push a button on a box that will kill one person they don't know, they will get a million dollars.

Directors: Peter Medak
Watch Now:Amazon
Still Life
star
8.14
59 votes

#21 - Still Life

Season 1 - Episode 33 - Aired 1/3/1986

A professional photographer discovers an old camera containing mysterious photos of a long-ago expedition.

Directors: Peter Medak
Watch Now:Amazon
Welcome to Winfield
star
8.14
59 votes

#22 - Welcome to Winfield

Season 1 - Episode 42 - Aired 2/7/1986

The grim reaper arrives at a hospital to take possession of a dying man. The man's wife rescues him and takes him to the western town of Winfield where residents have been living for hundreds of years. Apparently, the reaper has failed to collect those living there.

Directors: Bruce Bilson
Writer: Les Enloe
A Day in Beaumont
star
8.14
59 votes

#23 - A Day in Beaumont

Season 1 - Episode 58 - Aired 4/11/1986

In the 1950s a flying saucer crashes on Earth. The crash is seen by a couple. They run into town, but no one believes them.

Directors: Philip DeGuere
The Star
star
8.10
59 votes

#24 - The Star

Season 1 - Episode 32 - Aired 12/20/1985

Onboard a spaceship an astrophysicist and a priest learn they have discovered a planet long dead and a transmitter emitting a signal for eons.

Directors: Gerd Oswald
Quarantine
star
8.10
60 votes

#25 - Quarantine

Season 1 - Episode 43 - Aired 2/7/1986

An ill weapons designer is cryogenically frozen and awakened three centuries later..