Seven ‘Twilight Zone’ Episodes that are Eerily Timely During the Coronavirus Pandemic

“The barrier of loneliness: the palpable, desperate need of the human animal to be with his fellow man. Up there … is an enemy known as isolation.” 

So goes creator and host Rod Serling’s closing narration from the debut 1959 episode of “The Twilight Zone,” aptly titled “Where Is Everybody?,” in which a man loses his grip when there is no human companionship to be found anywhere.

Six decades later, “The Twilight Zone” can be found on multiple channels (including MeTV and Syfy) and streaming services (Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video), largely because its themes on the human condition ring eternal. Time travel, cosmic exploration, the power of new technology, the experiences that bedevil us, the nostalgia that summons us — so much of what fascinated Serling speaks to our sense of existential threats, including ways in which shortsighted behavior might hasten our own extinction.

As we live under self-quarantine or enforced lockdown during this covid-19 pandemic of more than a half-million confirmed cases, some “Twilight Zone” stories are especially relevant. Or some episodes of the classic series—which CBS rebooted last year—can be a diverting emotional escape.