[darkwing104]

Night Gallery

[Dog Gone]

Dang, close call. Both were terrific.

Rod Serling gives the edge to Twilight Zone, I guess, but Outer Limits had some awesome episodes.

Puts American Idol to shame.

[VastRWCon]

A freeper, a post, and a cold winter night, only you can find the answer in "The Twilight Zone".

[weegee]

Both original series are far superior to the modern versions.

[MinorityRepublican]

Both are damned good. Too bad there aren't new shows like this anymore.

[Dominic Harr]

Twilight Zone.

Then Night Gallery.

*Then* the Outter Limits.

IMHO. :-D

[andysandmikesmom]

Well, I have always enjoyed both, but my favorite particular episodes come from the TwilightZone...My all time favorite episode of all time, in this type of TV program, was the episode entitled, 'To Serve Man'...

This is the episode where giant visitors from outer space visit earth, and bring along a book, that needs to be translated...the translation of the title of the book, is 'To Serve Man', and all the worlds leaders and people believe this is a statement made by the aliens, that the aliens believe themselves to be in service to help man...

People swarm to the aliens ships, hoping to visit the alien home planet...few return, and its supposed they love it so much...some of the translators are left behind, and continue on, in translating the text of the book...

One of the male translators is now in line, to board a ship to go to the aliens home planet...his female translator pal, runs to the airport, screaming something to the effect, of "Dont Board the Ship"...'To Serve Man', is a cookbook....

YIKES....loved that episode, as did my boys...

[jazusamo]

The Twilight Zone but I was partial to The Alfred Hitchcock show.

[drjimmy]

One Step Beyond

[usmcobra]

I used to hide under my bed when the Outer Limits first came on.

I'm still p*$$ed that my Dad used to watch it.

[FreeReign]

The Outer Limits Versus the Twilight Zone, which is better?

Which one better served man?

[HitmanLV]

The Outer Limits.

I am not a big fan of Rod and tend to think TZ is overrated. I find his writing style tedious and heavy-handed. People speak at each other in brief monologues, rather than speaking with each other. it's distracting. The best Zones are the ones he didn't write: usually Richard Matheson and others are penning the really great TZ episodes.

Rod isn't subtle, either. His original draft of 'Planet of the Apes' really sucks because he had ape society mirror our own almost exactly. It gets so clumsy and heavy after a while. The finished 'Planet of the Apes' handled it much better - the ape society was different than ours yet it reminded us of ours. Much more powerful and effective.

Also almost every Zone episode is a one trick pones that can be conveyed in about 30 seconds. It's a 30 second idea stretched into 30 minutes - UGH! To really see how bad it is, try watching some of the hour episodes - a 30 second idea stretched to 60 minutes. TZ is nowhere near as good as its reputation, and except for some memorable scenes or very good acting performances, replay value is very low.

The best Twilight Zones are up there with the best of tv in its era, and some in any era. That's only 10-15% of the episodes, though. Outer Limits had fewer episodes but about 75%+ are up there with the best tv in its era. Well crafted and well paced shows, with cool aliens. A much more satisfying series.

[NCC-1701]

I always was of the opinion that The Outer Limits was a lukewarm Twilight Zone. The Zone dominated. Still does. Morality plays with a twist. Rod Serling was great at that. Any opinions to the contrary and you'll be wished into the corn field.

[TheWriterTX]

Twilight Zone, without a doubt!

[andysandmikesmom]

Another great episode from the Twilight Zone, was the one where the store mannequin did not return from her few days of freedom, among the rest of us humans...

I never could go into a store after that, and look at a mannequin, and wonder if she was going to come to life, and step out for a few days of fun...

[Chunga]

The Outer Limits was far scarier, far more subtle, far more intense. It was a great, great show.

[JCEccles]

Twilight Zone was usually clever and cool; Outer Limits was more often (to my sensibilities) stark and terrifying.

OL's "Architects of Fear" was the most frightening television episode I can remember from my youth. And this, even though I knew the "monster" was just a scientists who had under gone radical surgery and drug therapy to change his appearance. At the very end when he is dying, and the director still does not show the "monster's" form. Rather, he lets you only see the shadow of the hideous misshapen thing against a well-lighted tile floor as drops of blood fall. Finally, he lets you see its face and its scraggly finger as it tenderly touches its horror-stricken wife (who is completely unaware of what has happened to her husband) on her forehead, his final secret sign of fidelity and love. And then and only then does she know.

A masterpiece.

[Mike Bates]

Rod was a Lefty, but TZ was far superior to TOL I thought.

[MinorityRepublican]

Have anyone seen here one of the best Outer Limits episode, "Dead Man's Switch"? The title may be wrong but basically what happens is that this took place when Aliens first came to earth so America decided to select 6 different people and put them in each bunker alone hundreds of feet deep and they have enough supply to last for only for a year.

They were able communicate to each other through the internet and one of them had to press a button so that nuclear, biological, chemical weapons would not be launched all over the world.

I won't spoil the rest for people who haven't seen it yet. :-)

[eleni121]

I often argued that...years ago. I always came down on the side of Outer Limits..but it's been so long since I've seen any episodes that I don't remember any more. (I think OL was more outer space - futuristic - rather than psychological like TW..although there were sci fi episodes on there too.

Do you know if OL is shown on cable?