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The first of three revivals of the classic anthology series The Twilight Zone, the series very much took after its predecessor. Episodes were firmly on either the science fiction or fantasy genre, and almost always had an often topical Aesop at the end, though the revival veered into the realm of horror much more often. The series is also notable for the sheer amount of talent behind it; the writing staff included George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Rockne S. O'Bannon, and J. Michael Straczynski, directors such as Wes Craven and William Friedkin directed some episodes, and guest stars included Morgan Freeman, Helen Hunt, Bruce Willis, Martin Landau, Frances McDormand, Victor Garber, Helen Mirren, Jonathan Frakes, and many more. To boot, the new theme and the soundtrack of most episodes was composed by The Grateful Dead. Unfortunately, as Rod Serling had passed away, his role as narrator was taken over by Charles Aidman, who was later replaced himself by Robin Ward. Unlike Serling, in this series the narrator was an off-screen presence presented entirely through voice-over.
The series was cancelled and then swiftly brought back at the end of the second season. However, the budget was slashed severely, and underwent Seasonal Rot as a result, though it did still have a few good episodes.
- Abusive Parents: Sheila and Martin Cunningham from "Children's Zoo" constantly emotionally abuse their young daughter Debbie. It backfires in them when she trades them off at the titular zoo for a pair of much nicer and genuinely loving parents.
- Affably Evil: The alien ambassador in "Small Talent for War". It comes with being played by John Glover, after all.
- Aliens Are Bastards: The twist of "Small Talent for War". After the alien ambassador says that his species had created humanity and is seriously considering wiping out them because of their "small talent for war", all of Earth's countries form world peace to accommodate him. However, the ambassador reveals that they wanted humanity to be warriors to aid in their goals of galactic conquest, and has Earth destroyed.
- Author Avatar:
- Gus Rosenthal in "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty" is clearly meant to be Harlan Ellison.
- "Personal Demons" is insanely blatant about it. The episode - written by Rockne S. O'Bannon, centers around a writer named Rockne S. O'Bannon dealing with a serious case of writers block. There are some differences between the two; at the time, the real O'Bannon was in his early thirties, while the fictional O'Bannon is well into his sixties.
- Could Have Avoided This Plot: The carnage in "Nightcrawlers" could have been entirely avoided if Wells had just let Price leave the diner instead of trying to force him to stay out of his bruised pride.
- Darker and Edgier: Not to the level of other 80s anthologies, but a lot of the episodes were pure horror and tended to be much more graphic than what the original series could get away with.
- Dead All Along: The twist of "Kentucky Rye". Bob Spindler got himself killed in a drunk driving accident, and he's now doomed to be trapped inside the abandoned titular bar for all eternity as punishment.
- The End - or Is It?: "Nightcrawlers" ends with Big Bob remembering after Price is killed that Price mentioned there were four other veterans with the same powers he had, undoubtedly meaning that similar bloodshed will occur somewhere else.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Wells from "Nightcrawlers" is arrogant and spiteful, but he's not a bad guy. He offers to give a family a ride to a local motel during a fierce rainstorm because they don't know the area and could easily crash, and at first he only wants Price to stay in the diner because he genuinely believes the man could get into a car accident.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Price in "Nightcrawlers" suffers from severe PTSD from his experiences in Vietnam and blames himself for the death of his platoon, to the point he suffers from constant nightmares about it. Unfortunately, exposure to an experimental gas has given him telepathic powers that allows him to summon anything he imagines, and he can't control it while he's sleeping…
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Price from "Nightcrawlers" is able to create anything he imagines in real life, but only small things such as a beer. Unfortunately, when he's asleep he isn't able to control it, resulting in his horrific nightmares manifesting in reality.