The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) season 3

The third season of The Twilight Zone aired Fridays at 10:00–10:30 pm (EST) on CBS from September 15, 1961 to June 1, 1962. There are 37 episodes.

The Twilight Zone
Season 3
No. of episodes37
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 15, 1961 (1961-09-15) –
June 1, 1962 (1962-06-01)
Season chronology
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Season 2
Next →
Season 4
List of episodes

Continuing with Marius Constant's theme music, a different set of graphics was used for the opening, consisting of a rotating cone with concentric circles suggesting a spiral, receding into a star field. Rod Serling's narration from the second season was used, with the verse "That's the signpost up ahead" taken out:

"You're traveling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop—The Twilight Zone."[1] Some subtle changes in the opening's acoustics were made beginning with "Little Girl Lost".

Episodes

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byMusic byOriginal air dateProd.
code
661"Two"Montgomery PittmanMontgomery PittmanVan CleaveSeptember 15, 1961 (1961-09-15)4802
Two soldiers, a man (Charles Bronson) and a woman (Elizabeth Montgomery), are the only inhabitants of a deserted city, and both are soldiers from opposing sides.
672"The Arrival"Boris SagalRod SerlingN/ASeptember 22, 1961 (1961-09-22)4814
An FAA inspector (Harold J. Stone) and members of the airport staff (Noah Keen, Fredd Wayne, Robert Karnes, and Bing Russell) investigate a plane that arrives without a single person onboard – and each sees it differently.
683"The Shelter"Lamont JohnsonRod SerlingN/ASeptember 29, 1961 (1961-09-29)4803
An alert is issued for an imminent nuclear attack, prompting neighbors to unite against the physician (Larry Gates) whose bomb shelter has room enough only for his family.
694"The Passersby"Elliot SilversteinRod SerlingFred SteinerOctober 6, 1961 (1961-10-06)4817
At the end of the American Civil War, wounded soldiers pass by the house of a woman (Joanne Linville).
705"A Game of Pool"Buzz KulikGeorge Clayton JohnsonN/AOctober 13, 1961 (1961-10-13)4815
A legendary pool player (Jonathan Winters) returns from the dead to meet the challenge of a pool shark (Jack Klugman) with the shark's life at stake.
716"The Mirror"Don MedfordRod SerlingN/AOctober 20, 1961 (1961-10-20)4819
In Central America, a mirror allows a dictator (Peter Falk) to see the faces of his enemies.
727"The Grave"Montgomery PittmanMontgomery PittmanN/AOctober 27, 1961 (1961-10-27)3656
A hired killer (Lee Marvin) is challenged to visit the grave of the outlaw (Dick Geary) who died swearing vengeance against him.
738"It's a Good Life"James SheldonBased on a short story by : Jerome Bixby
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/ANovember 3, 1961 (1961-11-03)4801

A six-year-old boy (Bill Mumy) terrorizes the residents of Peaksville, Ohio, with special powers that control reality.

In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #31 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[2]

Note: A remake, directed by Joe Dante, was Segment III of Twilight Zone: The Movie. A sequel, "It's Still A Good Life" also starring Mumy, was broadcast on February 19, 2003 as part of the 2002 revival series.
749"Deaths-Head Revisited"Don MedfordRod SerlingN/ANovember 10, 1961 (1961-11-10)4804
A former SS Captain (Oscar Beregi, Jr.) visits the now-deserted concentration camp he commanded where he is tried for his crimes by the ghosts of his prisoners.
7510"The Midnight Sun"Anton LeaderRod SerlingVan CleaveNovember 17, 1961 (1961-11-17)4818
A landlady (Betty Garde) and her tenant (Lois Nettleton) struggle to survive when the Earth changes its orbit and begins moving toward the Sun.
7611"Still Valley"James SheldonBased on a short story by : Manly Wade Wellman
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
Wilbur HatchNovember 24, 1961 (1961-11-24)4808
During the American Civil War, a Confederate scout (Gary Merrill) enters a town to find Yankee soldiers frozen in place.
7712"The Jungle"William F. ClaxtonCharles BeaumontN/ADecember 1, 1961 (1961-12-01)4806
An engineer (John Dehner) building a dam in Africa is cursed by natives who object to his plans.
7813"Once Upon a Time"Norman Z. McLeodRichard MathesonWilliam Lava
Ray Turner
December 15, 1961 (1961-12-15)4820
A janitor (Buster Keaton) travels from 1890 to 1962, courtesy of a time helmet built by a scientist (Milton Parsons).
7914"Five Characters in Search of an Exit"Lamont JohnsonBased on a short story by : Marvin Petal
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/ADecember 22, 1961 (1961-12-22)4805
An Army major (William Windom), a clown (Murray Matheson), a hobo (Paul Wexler), a ballerina (Susan Harrison) and a bagpiper (Clark Allen) find themselves in a cylinder with no memory of how they got there.
8015"A Quality of Mercy"Buzz KulikBased on an idea by : Sam Rolfe
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/ADecember 29, 1961 (1961-12-29)4809
During World War II, a U.S. lieutenant (Dean Stockwell) gets a unique opportunity to see the conflict from the Japanese point of view.
8116"Nothing in the Dark"Lamont JohnsonGeorge Clayton JohnsonN/AJanuary 5, 1962 (1962-01-05)3652
An elderly recluse (Gladys Cooper) facing imminent eviction refuses to allow anyone into her apartment, fearing that any visitor might be Death incarnate; her resolve is tested when a young police officer (Robert Redford) is seriously wounded outside her door.
8217"One More Pallbearer"Lamont JohnsonRod SerlingN/AJanuary 12, 1962 (1962-01-12)4823
Staging a fake nuclear war, a millionaire (Joseph Wiseman) offers shelter to three people (Katherine Squire, Trevor Bardette, Gage Clark) he believes wronged him in the past if they will only beg his forgiveness.
8318"Dead Man's Shoes"Montgomery PittmanCharles BeaumontN/AJanuary 19, 1962 (1962-01-19)4824
A homeless man (Warren Stevens) literally walks into another life when he steals the shoes from a corpse.
8419"The Hunt"Harold SchusterEarl Hamner, Jr.Robert DrasninJanuary 26, 1962 (1962-01-26)4810
A mountain man (Arthur Hunnicutt) goes hunting for raccoons with his dog. When he returns, he comes to realize that something is much changed.
8520"Showdown with Rance McGrew"Christian NybyBased on an idea by : Frederic Louis Fox
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/AFebruary 2, 1962 (1962-02-02)4812
The egotistic star (Larry Blyden) of a western TV series comes face to face with the real Jesse James (Arch Johnson).
8621"Kick the Can"Lamont JohnsonGeorge Clayton JohnsonN/AFebruary 9, 1962 (1962-02-09)4821

The dispirited residents of a nursing home are urged by one of their number to believe that they can recapture their youth by playing a children's game.

Note: Steven Spielberg remade this as Segment II of Twilight Zone: The Movie, showing the nursing-home residents being offered a second chance at youth by their new arrival, Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers).
8722"A Piano in the House"David GreeneEarl Hamner, Jr.N/AFebruary 16, 1962 (1962-02-16)4825
A cynical theater critic (Barry Morse) takes advantage of a player piano that reveals people's hidden selves.
8823"The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank"Montgomery PittmanMontgomery PittmanTommy MorganFebruary 23, 1962 (1962-02-23)4811
When a "dead" man (James Best) sits up in the coffin at his funeral during the mid-1920s, the townsfolk become suspicious whether it's really him, especially when he doesn't behave the way he used to.
8924"To Serve Man"Richard L. BareBased on a short story by : Damon Knight
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/AMarch 2, 1962 (1962-03-02)4807

Representatives of a 9 ft. tall alien race (Richard Kiel) come to Earth and offer mankind cures for all earthly ills.

In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #11 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[2]
9025"The Fugitive"Richard L. BareCharles BeaumontN/AMarch 9, 1962 (1962-03-09)4816
A fugitive (J. Pat O'Malley) from another world befriends a handicapped girl (Susan Gordon).
9126"Little Girl Lost"Paul StewartRichard MathesonBernard HerrmannMarch 16, 1962 (1962-03-16)4828
When a little girl (Tracy Stratford) disappears from her bedroom without a trace, her parents (Robert Sampson, Sarah Marshall) call their physicist friend (Charles Aidman) to help investigate her disappearance.
9227"Person or Persons Unknown"John BrahmCharles BeaumontN/AMarch 23, 1962 (1962-03-23)4829
A man (Richard Long) discovers that all traces of his identity have been erased when no one, including his own wife, recognizes him.
9328"The Little People"William F. ClaxtonRod SerlingN/AMarch 30, 1962 (1962-03-30)4822
When two astronauts (Claude Akins, Joe Maross) land on a distant planet, one of them becomes a "God" to a race of tiny people.
9429"Four O'Clock"Lamont JohnsonBased on a short story by : Price Day
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/AApril 6, 1962 (1962-04-06)4832
A fanatical one-man moral crusader (Theodore Bikel) decides to shrink those he deems evil to a height of two feet at four o'clock.
9530"Hocus-Pocus and Frisby"Lamont JohnsonBased on a story by : Frederic Louis Fox
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
Tommy MorganApril 13, 1962 (1962-04-13)4833
A teller of tall tales (Andy Devine) attracts unwanted attention from aliens.
9631"The Trade-Ins"Elliot SilversteinRod SerlingN/AApril 20, 1962 (1962-04-20)4831
An elderly couple (Joseph Schildkraut, Alma Platt) want new young bodies for the two of them, but can pay for only one.
9732"The Gift"Allen H. MinerRod SerlingLaurindo AlmeidaApril 27, 1962 (1962-04-27)4830
A visitor from outer space (Geoffrey Horne) tries to present a gift to a Mexican village that greets him only with suspicion.
9833"The Dummy"Abner BibermanBased on a story by : Lee Polk
Teleplay by : Rod Serling
N/AMay 4, 1962 (1962-05-04)4834
A ventriloquist (Cliff Robertson) believes his dummy is alive ... and is beginning to take over not just the act.
9934"Young Man's Fancy"John BrahmRichard MathesonNathan ScottMay 11, 1962 (1962-05-11)4813
A newlywed husband (Alex Nicol) refuses to give up his childhood home.
10035"I Sing the Body Electric"William F. Claxton
and James Sheldon
Ray BradburyVan CleaveMay 18, 1962 (1962-05-18)4826
A widower (David White) buys a robot grandmother (Josephine Hutchinson) to care for his children.
10136"Cavender Is Coming"Christian NybyRod SerlingN/AMay 25, 1962 (1962-05-25)4827
A clumsy theater worker (Carol Burnett) meets her equally bumbling guardian angel (Jesse White).
10237"The Changing of the Guard"Robert Ellis MillerRod SerlingN/AJune 1, 1962 (1962-06-01)4835
A professor (Donald Pleasence) left despondent after being forced into retirement is visited by the ghosts of his former students.

References

edit
  1. ^ TV.com episode list
  2. ^ a b "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28-July 4). 1997.