The Twilight Zone. -- Next Stop Willoughby

A Stop at Willoughby is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling cited this as his favorite story from the first season of the series.

[@pewtercatmumbojumbo]

My husband loved this particular episode. He recently passed and we bought him a bench to put at the local park. I’m going to get a engraved plaque that says “ Next Stop, Willoughby””….hope he there without a care in the world.❤️💕🙏🏽

[@marcellodasilvarego7224]

Legal. gosto muito desse episódio. Acho que todos nós procuramos um lugar como esse nos nossos sonhos .

[@MartyMcFlyer]

what beautiful gesture.

[@charliejdk]

I first watched this as a very young boy, and have loved it for nearly six decades.

[@valcrist7428]

As a working class citizen who sometimes feel that he doesn't belong to the fast lane, I sure can relate to this episode. But I can still handle it and luck seems okay for now.. anyways, Willoughby seems a nice place..

[@andrewfield5656]

Awesome! I think of this getting off the train in Rockville where I live

[@manco828]

Serling's narration is so razor sharp, filled with such intelligence. Nobody in television writes like that anymore. Not even close.

[@jondeare]

We need him back.

[@carealoo744]

If you're over 18, I recommend watching the movie: 'Idiocracy.' It's a fantastic documentary. It's not a future that will be, just a future that might be. ;)

[@georgeplagianos6487]

Well if Sterling was that intelligent he wouldn't be promoting cigarette smoking on the set by smoking during taping of his great shows. He must have believed those newspaper ads that 90% of doctors prefer smoking camels and all that propaganda

[@carealoo744]

Well, it was the 1960s, before people knew that was bad. I agree though, every time I'm walking to work, I see this gang of people, swearing their butts off, and smoking cigarettes. I thought we were waiting, for the smoking population, to die off!

[@susanb2015]

@@georgeplagianos6487 No. Most men smoked in those days.

[@glennlirman6007]

While I was a student at UCLA in the 1970s, Rod Serling came to speak on campus and showed two episodes of the twilight zone, including the Willoughby episode. Unforgettable. I feel lucky to have seen him speak.

[@andrewfield5656]

TZ’s main theme seems to be “longing”

[@stewartteaze9328]

The name Willoughby is thought to have derived from the writer's driving by "Willoughby Ave." in LA, while writing this episode.

[@dr.henrykarlscherrchiropra3775]

The episode really captures the feeling of the Willoughby, Ohio, that I knew and loved as a child.

[@jamesfeldman4234]

Sooner or later, each of us will have a next stop at Willoughby.

[@davidrocknrollmaniac9739]

My dad would always say"next stop wiloughby" when we would ride a train for 2 reasons he said. Because it mentions Stamford CT. And because he liked the series . he told me. So , i always think of my dad when this episode comes on❤

[@Leatricaw]

That’s funny my cousin and I have said it for many years.

[@jackiemaldonado7777]

That is so cute 🥺❤️

[@Goopie48]

The 1960 era train conductor in this episode was played by Jason Wingreen, who also voiced Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy.

[@lesleysmith6821]

On another post with I think the whole show one of the posters said that it was his uncle and gave some details.

[@danielf1051]

Cool, that’s interesting.

[@Slimjim260]

We’re all living in the twilight zone now

[@markcollins2666]

Maybe in the US, but it's OK to leave. I did, and now live in peace and harmony, in a very affordable country! Look into it!

[@Slimjim260]

Where would that be??

[@OniLordMiki]

​@@Slimjim260watch the episode and find out...

[@Rick-tj5iq]

You're not wrong.

[@danielschannel444]

I can now relate to this Zone, I want off at Willoughby too. I think we all need a happy place to take a break and recharge our batteries. Don't give up Things will get better if we just take a break and get back into the fight later.

[@williampaz2092]

I would jump off!

[@jimbocoonass8622]

Me to I want off now. Lol

[@jimbocoonass8622]

@lana lake I hear you friend. Lol

[@tonyanthonyfowler]

I'm from CT so I ride through these places when I want to go to NY...."Next Stop Is Willoughby"

[@tomsdottir]

@Jack Meyhoffer I guess if by "all" you mean white males. I prefer places where everyone gets to vote and where birth control, dishwashers, vaccines, antibiotics and the NHS exist. Also, decent hairdressers: these aren't blonde hairs coming in up front.

[@DeckyStrikesBack]

"Just a moment ago, someone removed the bolt." Always gets me.

[@LesterMoore]

Biden removed the bolt. Thinks he had a better use for it.🤪

[@alwayswondering4051]

The episodes where the character escapes a tortured reality to a simpler and much more pleasant time are far-and-away my favorite episodes. God almighty, if only.

[@square-on-wheels]

You said it!

[@starpawsy]

In that case, I woujld greatly recommend the movie "Pleasantville", if you havenyt already seen it. But be warned, the subtle and non-verbal social commentary bites like a rabid dog.

[@infantryattacks]

I love this episode too, but the notion that earlier times were simpler and more enjoyable than the present are a pleasant fantasy. There was nothing simple or enjoyable about the San Francisco Earthquake, the American Civil War, or the trenches in the Great War. Every generation of Americans has had its challenges, successes, and heartbreaks. Best wishes on our mutual and inescapable futures.

[@jungwolf1987]

Yes!!!

[@valcrist7428]

Some might think it's a sad fate for him. But I'd say, reality isn't perfect and it has causing him a lot of emotional stress. It's a good thing he found serenity in the end.

[@alanbash2921]

The GREATEST of The 156 Twilight Zone Episodes !!!!! Pure Gold !

[@venus6905]

Mr Serling was a humanitarian writer, Amazing

[@lindad.7642]

Twilight Zone has been my favorite show of all time. Classic TV at its best!

[@georgevincent1834]

You said it !!

[@punky58640]

One of my all time favorite twilight zone episodes!! How many of us want to get off at Willoughby now in 2022?!!

[@brianc9036]

For real!!!

[@valcrist7428]

I want to someday but not in his circumstances.. but sure love to go there some day as a middleclass working citizen like him who experience stress from time to time.. For me, luck has been okay so far and I can still handle it.

[@freeidiot]

One of the most saddest episodes, I am sure that most of us (no matter where we are living in this planet) can identify ourselves with the protagonist. It's scarier that this episode which is set in the 60s, is still very much relevant today (in our extremely stress filled, fast world). I can seriously empathize with that guy's stress.

[@doublefeature]

this is why TZ still holds up, it's just as relevant if not more so. 'monsters are due on maple street' is my fav prime example of the relevance of today.

[@valcrist7428]

I don't think it's a sad episode as he found serenity in the end.. It would have been a lot sadder if his life remained like that.

[@speedracer1945]

Rod Serling was one of a kind . We have no one that is close to describing an episode such as that man . This is one of my favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone .

[@luisreyes1963]

We all wish we could leave this soul-crushing world behind & spend the rest of eternity in Willoughby. But it's just a fantasy.

[@cherieadams77]

Yes, but Heaven is real

[@valcrist7428]

@@cherieadams77 Most of my loved ones are already in heaven. I'd sure love to join them if fate allows.. but still will try to live my life as luck still permits me to be still okay.

[@peace-yv4qd]

I have felt that same pressure when working in a demanding job for twenty years. I still have dreams about the job fifteen years after I retired.

[@chasbodaniels1744]

It’s an awful feeling to recall a job you hated, and to wonder how TF you put up with it for so long. Paying the bills makes us do things we don’t like, right?

[@richardsledgecock2110]

Yeah so true..this covid stuff got me to thinking I'll let the newish truck go back to the bank and get myself an ole hooptie to drive..get myself a nice job in landscaping..get back to nature lol

[@Sparky6string]

WHERE A MAN CAN LIVE HIS LIFE FULL MEASURE!!!!

[@delstanley1349]

In death. A bit of irony huh? The first time I heard of the phrase "full measure," was in Lincoln's address at the dedication ceremonies at Gettysburg (Lincoln described as "a final resting place.") Rod Serling uses the phrase in "A Stop at Willoughby," which we now know was a funeral home. The story (Willoughby part) takes place in the summer of 1888 with our huckleberry friend, waiting 'round the bend. Such a tranquil and peaceful time Willoughby was. Good thing it was Willoughby.That same summer across the pond in Victorian London, Jack the Ripper was taking a murderous full measure.

[@calvin777100]

I like his wife's comments:You know what the trouble is with you Gart? You were just born too late. Because you are the kinda guy that would be satisfied with a summer afternoon or an ice wagon being drawn by a horse.But Gart's comment after she left was even more thought provoking. WHERE A MAN CAN LIVE HIS LIFE FULL MEASURE.

[@TheDarkDresser]

One of my favorite episodes.

[@trevmac8362]

this episode is awesome

[@TomTimeTraveler]

One of the top 10 best episodes.

[@shannonmurphy5882]

My favorite episode lol.

[@007thematrix007]

Shannon Murphy My fave ep. too, minus the lol......lulz

[@christopherchipps5878]

Shannon Murphy Mine too.

[@yves-mariesellin6026]

@@christopherchipps5878 moi aussi 😊

[@Icewalker946]

Mine too.

[@rickhuck64]

Poor guy, he was so stressed out he made up a place where he could live a simple life up in his mind. He asked his so called wife for help and she just turned her back on him. I guess it took death for him to get some peace.

[@enmejora6980]

He should've taken his wife to willoughby too

[@ImRunningazoo]

@@enmejora6980 for what so she can continue to nag

[@foxyboop4164]

@@ImRunningazoo Right!!

[@Roger85able]

He didn't make it up it was funeral home watch edpoisde

[@Roger85able]

All theses people are dead...

[@richardwilliams473]

When Williams finally does jump from train he is seen flat on his back in a snow bank with THE MOST happy smile on his dead face as if to say" I am at peace now in Willoughby !!!!

[@ellehayes1513]

One of my favorite episodes..I still remembered it from 1959..thanks for posting it for everyone to watch now. Rod Serling was an amazing writer and producer. elle in oregon

[@yaboicaden200]

One of the best episodes ever probably my favorite

[@zzyzxRDFwy15]

How to Serve Man.

[@nonamo]

It occurred to me that Rod Serling's style of storytelling might remind people of a synthesis of the styles of Charles Dickens, O. Henry, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Stephen King (although King came later and was probably influenced by Serling), resulting in a style that was totally unique. Also, Serling's cinematography style seems to echo the "film noir" genre that flourished during the 1930s and 1940s. This clip especially has that style.

[@sheilatrachtenberg8997]

And we shouldn't forget that he also belongs in a class with George Orwell.

[@jamesdrynan]

Fame hit Rod Serling like a sledgehammer after the live broadcast of his seventy-second script, " Patterns " in 1955. He followed that up with " Requiem for a Heavyweight " in 1956. He detested sponsor interference and launched The Twilight Zone in 1959, maintaining creative control. Many of his episodes, including this one, focused on a man in his mid- thirties driven in his work, something with which Rod obviously identified. " Walking Distance, " with a superlative performance by Gig Young, is my favorite. A man yearning for the peace of simpler times.

[@raquelramos457]

The way I look at it is he did not commit suicide. Just in his dream he walked out of the train to so enjoy this beautiful peaceful place in mid summer in snowie November and was killed not intentionally.

[@LarryOfilms]

Raquel Ramos but the ending the train conductor said that he just jumped off and his body was there next to the funeral home car that said the towns name. So technically he did commit suicide.

[@Magnetron33]

@@LarryOfilms Not if he believed he was stepping into Willoughby. In his mind, he was simply stepping away from an intolerable situation.

[@louiseg4100]

@@Magnetron33 that's what suicide is.

[@Magnetron33]

@@louiseg4100 sometimes

[@kathconserv]

This is my favorite episode ever.

[@lieutenantnitewolf3337]

One of my favorite episodes

[@ttmike42]

If people today knew the quality of television enjoyed by people in this era, they'd immediately disconnect their cable boxes. I only watch old shows offline on my 4 terrabyte HD :)

[@His_Name_Was_King]

Your not the only one. ..

[@Kat-id7rz]

I'm 47 I got the complete twilight zone series on dvd. I do not know who any of today's actors are. It's all the entertainment I need.

[@murdvre]

@@Kat-id7rz ignorance is bliss

[@pattbateman]

I live in Willoughby Ohio. Pretty positive this is based on my town as it looks just like it is portrayed here

[@jerseyirish]

@Brian Salomon Rod was from upstate NY

[@cgarc131]

Dudes in school we watch this in pe after a rainy day and this is very suspenseful especially the episode "To Serve Man"

[@Scripturegirl.]

2 serve man, comes in second place.

[@wpl955g9]

You have/had an uncommonly sensitive PE teacher.

[@suzietrecallion1042]

wpl955g yep.To Serve Man was really good n the tall alien had my late partner's smokey dark eyes.Hand em bk please!

[@Hebrews88]

I loved this episode!

[@charlietango5163]

Im going to Willoughby on Friday night! I have been looking forward to this for a long time!

[@His_Name_Was_King]

Still an even more powerful message today than ever before

[@patrickoriley8382]

Great show and wonderful actors!

[@Magnetron33]

Possibly my all time favorite episode. Absolutely brilliant!

[@sierramike5259]

This episode and "Time Enough" with Burgess Meredith are my two favorites

[@tomk3620]

One of my Favorites!!!!

[@chiefamylee]

He couldn't handle "PUSH PUSH PUSH, all the way, all the time, PUSH PUSH PUSH right on down the line"

[@GialloEurocrimeWorldChannel]

Who could?

[@calvinjackson8110]

I dont blame the man, I could not take another PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!

[@journeytothemosthigh5021]

My favorite episode! Well done!

[@gdon12987]

He looks out the window, and there on the platform is Sebastian Cabot, all dressed in white, beckoning to him with a devilish grin on his face!

[@EugeneHulbert]

In Hollywood, Willoughby Ave dead ends at Gower St.. Across Gower on the left is Hollywood Forever Cemetery, on the right is Paramount Studios. For a number of years Rod Serling was a staff writer at Paramount.

[@EddieVBlueIsland]

Willoughby where a man can live out his life in full measure.

[@paulbradley1983]

That's awesome, the train conductor is Boba Fett. The original, Boba Fett.

[@paulbradley1983]

red fox Jason Wingreen, the conductor, he was the original voice of Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back, before George Lucas ruined it with his update. His voice was more sinister, like he wouldn't have taken any crap from Vader.

[@rjb073]

Reminded me of Mayberry. I could live there too.

[@melissacooper4282]

It's sort of like Mayberry in the 19th century.

[@colleenhenry8022]

love this one!!

[@christschinwon]

I want to be in Willoughby. Holly Willoughby!

[@thewaaaghproductions2285]

😉😂

[@stevereddick8862]

I live in and grew up in Willoughby, OH. I remember hearing some decades ago that Rod Serling had visited here in Willoughby at one time and it had influenced his creation of this episode.

[@thomasaquinas5262]

This episode related to me personally. I often took that railroad, the New Haven RR. That stop before Willoughby: Stamford? That was my home town. Thank heavens I never felt the urge to jump the tracks, though...

[@DKFellon]

I would love to be the Conductor, never would i experience so much joy showing people, who need to make their way on, on their way in deed..)d

[@brianyoung7854]

This and Walking Distance are my favorite episodes , the search for a simpler time …

[@thaterasound]

I love movies that have "mind fuck" or just well write left turn endings and this show was that, every episode

[@Michael-mr9kn]

Everyone has had a job like this and can identify with this man.

[@saulostrov7255]

a lot of people would love to be able to escape this world like Garth Williams did not by suicide because that's what he did but to go into a fantasy world where everything is perfect

[@megabojan1993]

He didn't really commit suicide. He just just entered his fantasy world and by doing so it appeared to the real world that he commited suicide.

[@debrachampagne7715]

You are right,Mega

[@suzietrecallion1042]

MegaBojan1993 Would love to think that's true as lost my godson to suicide,plus a lad in my squadron,one fav historical character n one fav actor.So something like this would b so wonderful.

[@megabojan1993]

Suzie, I know exactly how you feel because I lost a good friend of mine to suicide too. My friend was the kindest man you could possibly think of, and he never done anything bad to anyone, he even saved a woman from committing suicide. He managed to save her but not himself. He was depressed for years and in the end depression claimed his life. I believe that people who commit suicide because of depression or other torment they had while they were alive don't go to hell as the church teaches us. Past religious teachings may have mentioned suicide as ab unforgivable sin. This belief from the Middle Ages is a perfect control device since people project that whatever they are doing is IT. But think about it. What good earthly parent would never forgive their child, no matter what the transgression? Wouldn’t you expect the Power and Intelligence that created and sustains the cosmos to be at least that loving?

[@suzietrecallion1042]

MegaBojan1993 Totally.And my heart goes out to u.Lee was depressed over his parents split n it was his mom who found him n never got over it.I hope she is with him now.And they are all at peace.If ever you want to talk,I am here.

[@lesbsocal9107]

In West LA there is a street named Willoughby Ave. This is the 'hood of the entertainment industry. I'd bet Serling saw a street sign and the story germinated in his mind, right there.

[@alexxinwonderland]

my mom used to say this all the time when she cat-sit my kitty, Willow. Willow and I loved it, and now, at age 24, almost 3 years after she passed - I still say it. Whenever I am calling Willow. Nobody else 'gets it', but that's okay. Until I catch up to you at the next stop, Willoughby. ♥️✨🚀

[@Philscbx]

This is perhaps my Fav'd episode Thanks for having it

[@stockvaluedotcom]

Amazing how memory changes things. I don't know the last time I saw this show but remember the actor as being much older. That really changes things.

[@mcd3379]

Great episode. Serling had come from the corporate world and knew well its ups and down. Anyone who's worked in a similar environment, when life at work and home is not going well, can definitely relate to this and the appeal of a more simplified world at a slower pace.

[@mmlindsey8635]

BEEN THERE KNW HOW HE'S FEELING

[@willieboy3011]

He is pretty disillusioned for 38 and perhaps a bit old looking also. Loved the Twilight Zone then as a kid. As an older man now, I understand the POV of many characters.

[@nighthiker8872]

This one of the best.

[@SamhainBe]

My absolute favorite episode!

[@gregedgerton3390]

I love these episodes where the guy escapes. If only.

[@flashkraft]

A guy in the olden days falls asleep on a train and wakes up in the olden olden olden days.

[@texasstadium]

My life's story. Searching for that Willoughby. Time is almost up.

[@kenowens9021]

I always like this one too.

[@JohnBruffett-tw4ul]

Awesome thanks, from John Robert Bruffett Junior 🇺🇸😎🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️

[@ardalla535]

I had a teacher in jr high school who had been VP of his class at Antioch. He said Rod Serling was President. Never any more details. Teacher's name was Robert Pieh. Interesting fellow. He believed in putting stress on students with the idea they would find sources of strength they never knew they had. It was painful, but it worked. He would force the shyest members of the class to come up front and have a discussion about teen sexuality. That's really hard to do when you're only 15.

[@richardlysakowski4]

If he did it right, perhaps he did not commit suicide but quantum leaped into another reality of his choosing

[@erikae2100]

That's my grandma behind him lol

[@johndavis6719]

Push push push push me and my girlfriend was laughing on that part great episode.

[@bensen1754]

I also like the get of from this miserable place.

[@amberlopez7477]

You can do it. Just be brave. It's nice there. No worries.

[@leninmercedes6567]

The actor of this episode is James Daly. The father of Tim Daley the voice of Superman in the animated series and justice league. And, the father of actress Tyne Daly. She was in the tv show Cagney & Lacey. and movies such as The Enforcer with Clint Eastwood and many more

[@rhm5158]

One of the best episodes!

[@JohnnylMr]

No one has mentioned the virtuoso performance by James Daley.

[@pom11pom]

Just found out recently that he is Tyne and Tim Daly's father.

[@cynthiathomas404]

All time favorite episode

[@daminmancejin]

i love willougby!!!!!

[@delstanley1349]

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas too!

[@johnfahey8817]

I remember this episode from many years ago watching it

[@-izukumidoriyauwu-6761]

OMG I LIVE IN WILLOUGHBY OHIO AND IM SO SURPRISED THAT THEY WERE IN MY CITY??!! THATS LITERALLY SO COOL TO SEE THE CITY WHERE YOU LIVE IN BACK IN THE DAY.

[@DeadmanDave]

My version of "Willoughby" is my home county, but it's the year 2000 in which I'm 16 years old and in high school, my parents are still alive and in their 40s, Bill Clinton is still president, and the places I know and love are still in their prime.

[@markobrien4366]

Toto..... I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore........!

[@roblabow9702]

T.V. at its best.

[@carlosmorales4349]

Great episode

[@gloriaayala8875]

this one i really enjoyed

[@GreatBeyond74]

I’ve been to Willoughby it’s not a bad town. It’s kind of peaceful actually. Willoughby Willoughby Willoughby.

[@srfrider1973]

his so called wife was so mean to him.

[@asnrobert]

Yes, she was nothing but a shrewish, gold-digging harpy who saw her husband only as a meal ticket to the good life.

[@melissacooper4282]

You said it! When he told her about Willoughby all she did was scoff at him!

[@anthonyrichard8001]

perfect! thank you!

[@shawnmalone9711]

This episode was on MeTV, today, 6-17-24.

[@pinpandan]

Can anyone download this video clip in FULL please? It is a very good story, in fact one of the best in the Twilight Zone series. Thanks.

[@1065Olivia]

You can buy the whole series at Walmart pretty cheap. That's what we did.

[@29brendus]

Maybe I'm already in Willoughby and I just don't know it yet?

[@calvinjackson8110]

I like what the wife said: You know the trouble with you Gart? You were just born too late. Because you're the kinda guy who could be satisfied with a summer afternoon or an ice wagon being drawn by a horse. When she said that I thought about my mother's daddy who was born in 1885 and I imagine that this was the kind of world he must have seen: mules and wagons and farms and horse drawn buggies and people using ice for their ice boxes (no refrigeration). Every aspect of life slowed down to a walk. Women hand washing their clothes, no telephones, television and in many cases no electricity! Men working in the fields from sun up to sun down. Millions lived just like this. And they DIED having seen or known nothing else! You cant miss what you never seen or had.

[@markfox1545]

We was poor - but we was miserable! 🤣🤣🤣

[@edpoe4591]

was a good one

[@MotorCityKitty1112]

Rod Serling was way beyond his years. Maybe he wasn’t of this earth...

[@amberlopez7477]

If you had a wife like that. You'd want to escape to Willoughby too,

[@peace-yv4qd]

I had a wife like that. Thank God we divorced.

[@MustafaJackson]

Thank you Scifier939 for posting this excerpt from one of my favorite episodes of Rod Serling's Masterpiece THE TWILIGHT ZONE.