The Twilight Zone: 6 Best Alien Episodes, Ranked

The 1960s was a great time for experimental television and aliens in general. The Twilight Zone was always experimenting with new ideas, and when the first episodes aired, the people of Earth were looking into space for the first time in their history.

Depictions of aliens in media usually consisted of mystery or horror in this era, but Rod Serling had some creative and terrifying ideas that used the concept of aliens in strange and different ways. This show is famous for the twists at the end, a feature of Serling’s brilliant writing, and the episodes featuring aliens are some of the best and most well-known in television history.

6 To Serve Man

The Most Notorious Twist In Sci-Fi History

• Director: Richard L. Bare
• Adapted From: “To Serve Man” by Damon Knight
• Starring: Lloyd Bochner, Richard Kiel, Susan Cummings
• Air Date: March 2, 1962

Instead of invading Earth and either subjugating humans or killing them, the aliens in “To Serve Man” are friendly and benign. The Kanamits arrive offering humanitarian aid in the form of new technology, eliminating hunger and war, how could anyone think they have insidious intentions?

They were so dedicated to the benevolent mission that they had a whole book to detail their plans, and it was known only by its title. However, the rest of the book was written in Kanamit, so nobody could read it, and when the kind and benevolent Kanamits started asking for volunteers to return to their planet, many readily accepted, including the main character, Michael Chambers.

His co-worker, fellow cryptologist Patty, succeeds in figuring out that “it’s a cookbook!” but she’s too late to save Chambers. In the last scene, we see him reluctantly eating a meal intended to fatten him up as he takes an interstellar ride through the Twilight Zone.

5 The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street

Eerily Prescient

• Director: Ronald Winston
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: Claude Akins, Barry Atwater, Jack Weston
• Air Date: March 4, 1960

It doesn’t take much to push even the most banal and comfortable people over the edge. These folks live such quiet and dull lives they might be the most vulnerable to paranoia and fear, which is the theme behind the plot “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.”

What starts as a normal day on Maple Street turns into a waking nightmare as a group of friendly suburbanites turn on each other, driven to wild suspicions and even violence when strange things happen that can’t be explained. The aliens in this episode are on an anthropological mission, testing humans on their reactions to simple but confusing events, such as lights that turn on and off or cars that don’t start.

4 Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?

The Funny Part Is, They’re All “Martians”

• Director: Montgomery Pittman
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: John Hoyt, Jean Willes, Jack Elam
• Air Date: May 26, 1961

There’s always someone chasing the next fad or resource bubble, so imagine that the Earth itself was the prize and other alien races were fighting over it. That’s the premise of “Would The Real Martain Please Stand Up?” in which Rod Serling imagines a realistic alien takeover. A quiet roadside diner is the setting for the story, which seems an unlikely place for an alien invasion, which is exactly the point.

The Martians think they’ve got the Earth all locked up, using a complex illusion and a multi-car accident at a nearby bridge to hide the nearby landing site. However, it’s then revealed the Venusians were one step ahead of their intergalactic competitors the whole time and hoped to colonize the planet themselves.

3 Mr. Dingle the Strong

Aliens And Superheroes

• Director: John Brahm
• Written By: Rod Serling
• Starring: Burgess Meredith, Don Rickles, James Westerfield
• Air Date: March 3, 1961

Mr. Dingle the Strong is more like a superhero origin story than a tale of alien visitation, and it’s also another example of quirky, curious, but oblivious aliens observing or altering human behavior. Luther Dingle, the titular character, is being observed by a Martian scientist who gives him superhuman strength as part of an experiment.

Instead of using his powers for good, which is what the Martian hoped would happen, Mr. Dingle uses his new powers for public notoriety. As if to teach him a lesson, but also to observe the results, the Martian takes away Mr. Dingle’s powers at the perfect moment to humiliate him in front of a live television audience.

The Martian’s curiosity is sated, but he’s not the only one looking for answers. On his way home, he has a chance to meet with some Venusian colleagues and recommends Mr. Dingle for their experiments. The Venusians decide to gift Mr. Dingle with super-intelligence, which he uses for the powers of prophecy.

2 People Are Alike All Over

And It’s Not Always A Good Thing

• Director: Mitchell Leisen
• Adapted From: “Brothers Beyond the Void” by Paul W. Fairman
• Starring: Roddy McDowall, Susan Oliver, Paul Comi
• Air Date: March 25, 1960

In the episode “People Are Alike All Over,” it’s humans who make the trip to another planet instead of playing host to visiting aliens. Humanity finally has the technology for a mission to Mars, and astronauts Marcusson and Conrad are the ones chosen to make the trip.

Marcusson, who is the more optimistic of the two, maintains that “people are alike all over” meaning that the Martians won’t be that different from humans. Marcusson doesn’t survive the rough landing on the Red Planet, but Conrad is pleasantly surprised that his co-pilot’s hopes about the Martians are correct.

Conrad is treated with kindness when he comes in contact with them, but things go sour when he realizes he’s been tricked into moving into a zoo enclosure that’s a perfect replica of a human residence on Earth. A sign on his cage describes the typical human, an earth creature in his native habitat because people are alike all over.

1 The Invaders

Modern Shows Would Use The Same Unique Concept

• Director: Douglas Heyes
• Written By: Richard Matheson
• Starring: Agnes Moorehead, Douglas Heyes (voice)
• Air Date: January 27, 1961

The lone character in this unique episode is played by Agnes Moorhead, who is never named, and only identified as an elderly woman living in an old farmhouse without electricity or gas power.

Strange things start to happen in this house one night, and it’s similar to a horror story until the main character encounters a strange little creature that shoots her with a radiation gun and steals one of her knives.

What follows is a chilling cat-and-mouse game with no dialogue, other than Rod Serling’s narration and eventually, the voice of the Invaders. This is what eventually gives away the twist because the Invaders speak English, and are actually human beings. The woman is the alien, a large being living on a planet where the Earthlings crashed with their flying saucer and elaborate, non-human-looking space suits.