By ANGELA DAWSON

Front Row Features

Fifty-five years ago, the spooky TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone,” debuted on CBS, ushering in an era of drama that was provocative, frequently allegorical and often just downright frightening.

Narrated, hosted and often written by writer/playwright Rod Serling, the black and white series told a different story with each half-hour episode. It ran for five years, and has been broadcast in syndication ever since. The original series, which aired from 1959 to 1964, included stories written by some of the leading authors of the day including Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Earl Hamner Jr. and others.

To commemorate this milestone anniversary, a collection of some of the most popular episodes is available in a two-DVD set called “The Twilight Zone Essential Episodes.”

This compilation includes favorites “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” (pre-“Star Trek” William Shatner freaking out over a gremlin he spies tearing at the passenger jet’s wing mid-flight) “It’s a Good Life,” (featuring a 7-year-old Billy Mumy as a terrifying control freak), “Time Enough at Last,” (starring a book-loving Burgess Meredith), and the delectable “To Serve Man.” Those, and 13 other episodes, comprise this collection.

The success of the TV series led to a feature film, a radio series, a comic book, a magazine and various other spin-offs that spanned the next five decades, including two revival TV series. In 2013, TV Guide ranked “The Twilight Zone” No. 4 on its list of the 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time. So, starting Tuesday, July 1 when the DVD is available in stores and online, prepare to travel to another dimension of sight and sound with the following:

• Walking Distance

• Time Enough at Last

• The Hitch-Hiker

• The Monsters are Due on Maple Street

• A Stop at Willoughby

• The After Hours

• The Howling Man

• The Eye of the Beholder

• Nick of Time

• The Invaders

• The Obsolete Man

• It’s a Good Life

• The Midnight Sun

• To Serve Man

• Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

• Living Doll

• The Masks