10 Greatest Episodes Of The Twilight Zone
2. The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street takes place in a normal American neighborhood after the power goes out. A bunch of strange activity begins, and the residents quickly suspect an alien invasion. They come to the conclusion that the aliens could be disguised as humans, and therefore any one of them could be the invaders.
What follows is a nightmare of paranoia, with all the neighbors turning on one another and becoming their own worst enemies. Airing in early 1960, the episode is obviously a reflection on McCarthyism. All the panic arises from the townspeople assuming anyone around them could be their enemy and throwing wild accusations around with flimsy evidence, and this becomes far more dangerous than any actual alien invaders.
But even 55 years later, it's a brilliant concept that speaks to mankind’s tendency to see the worst in other people. A lot of Twilight Zone episodes conclude that man is the real enemy, but this is easily the best of those. It's a masterpiece of an episode, reflecting the time in which it was made but also speaking to issues that are still just as relevant today.