To get a true taste of "Thriller," you'd have to sample two episodes, because the show was wildly variable. There were horror episodes -- and "Pigeons From Hell" is generally regarded as one of the very best of them -- and there were non-horror episodes, dealing with spies, espionage, detectives, etc. -- and they're generally regarded as boring clunkers.
The non-horror episodes often meet with the reaction the premiere episode of "Thriller" received from the critic of the New York Times on September 14, 1960: "A preposterous hour-long mystery -- silly in its narrative construction, unpleasant in its tone and cumbersome in its production -- served last night to introduce a series entitled 'Thriller' ... (it) made one yearn for the towering literary feats of yesteryear's Grade B films."
