Learning To Love Living in The Twilight Zone
In this edition of Scaring Away the Sunday Scaries: We take a trip into The Twilight Zone, and highlight a psychic eagle named Honey.
On June 28, 1975, the world lost Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone. The stories told on The Twilight Zone remain some of the best writing ever put on television. The themes they explored remain relevant today, both a testament to the show's prescient writing and a condemnation of how little the societal needle has moved since its airing.
This week, many felt like they were living in The Twilight Zone as the U.S. presidential debate unfolded on Thursday, June 27.
So, with it being the 49th anniversary of Serling's death and Thursday leaving us all feeling surreal, what better time to take a trip into The Twilight Zone?
The two episodes I'm recommending this week showcase the series' ability to straddle the serious with the silly from episode to episode.
"Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" is the 30th episode of the Twilight Zone's third season, originally airing in 1962. It stars Andy Devine as rural gas station attendant Somerset Frisby, whose penchant for telling tall tales gets him kidnapped by aliens that think he's Earth's foremost intellectual. The aliens are unfamiliar with the concept of lying.
Click the image below to view the episode:
The next episode comes from the second season of The Twilight Zone. Titled "The Obsolete Man" (episode 29, 1961), it tells the story of librarian Romney Wordsworth after he's sentenced to death by a totalitarian state that deems his profession obsolete. Fritz Weaver plays the Chancellor, who doles out the state's decree. However, in his final moments, Wordsworth gets the last laugh on both the Chancellor and the state.
Click the image below to view the episode:
Weekly Weird News
Bigfoot Caught on Dashcam – An oilfield worker has apparently caught bigfoot lurking in the trees on a dashcam. The supposed creature appears near the end of the video. Optical illusion or hairy hominid – you decide. Continue reading here.
Psychic Eagle Predicts Game – Honey, the African Tawney eagle, has arcuately predicted each of England's UEFA Euro 2024 matches. One handler holds the flag of England, while another holds the opponent's flag. Honey chooses the winner by landing one of the handler's arms. Today, Honey has backed England over Slovakia. The match is set to take place at 11 a.m. U.S. Central Time. Hopefully, Honey's psychic streak continues. Continue reading here.
UFO Pulled Over – An officer of Missouri's Crawford County Sheriff's Department pulled over a UFO-on-wheels recently. Apparently, they need their warp drive fixed. The peculiar vehicle can be seen here.
Thanks for reading, and as always, we hope your work week goes well. If it doesn't, just be glad you don't live in a society that will kill for being obsolete, yet. Alternatively, spin tall tales until things get better. You never know who, or what, might believe you.
Keep Curious.
-Walker