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"The tools of conquest do no necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men" intones Rod Serling in that distinct, clipped tone at the end of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," one of the best episodes from a series that transcended its time, and with this episode, some of its viewers. Its examination of suspicion and hysteria is just as meaningful today as it was when it first aired in 1960.

The Cold War was mounting to the fevered apex of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, so Serling's script is as prescient as it is psychologically gripping. Briefly explained, the story takes place in an average American small town. The neighborly ease of Maple Street is broken by mysterious lights and noises. Everyone is startled, but feels safe with Steve Brand (Claude Akins) deciding to go investigate. A kid, Tommy, plants the idea in everyone's mind that they are actually under alien attack confirmed, it seems, when a car stops and starts without a driver. Growing more paranoid, they begin blaming each other for what's happening, culminating in the murder of one of their own, who has the misfortune of walking down the street in the dark during their frenzied blaming. The camera then pans up to reveal what seems to be two aliens discussing the scene below.

"And this pattern is always the same?" one says.
"With few variations. They pick the most dangerous enemy they can findand it's themselves," the other figure replies, going on to explain that the world is full of Maple Streets and they can go street by street letting us destroy ourselves.

Though I saw this episode as a little girl at daycare, I still vividly remember how the ending made me think about both the possibility that aliens exist and the possibility that my normal-seeming neighbors could turn into an angry mob under the right circumstances. Now, as a seventh-grade teacher, I use this script and DVD in my classroom to show how Serling's thesis still holds. Every year, it seems, I have a fresh example that I can easily link to the show's theme. This is one of the reasons I love this series and make time to watch it in weekend marathons.

Other notable episodes and their major themes include: "Eye of the Beholder" (featuring Donna "Ellie May" Douglas as an "ugly" woman); a look at what society calls beautiful, "I Sing The Body Electric" (written by Ray Bradbury from his short story), which examines loss,

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