The Hindsight Zone

Welcome to the finale of Season 2!! Time has flown by since we started recording this podcast, and we'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who listens and especially everyone who has reached out to us to recommend an episode or share their thoughts on the show. We're finishing off the season with a CLASSIC ep - Season One, Episode 2: One for the Angels. This one's a sweet and sentimental...

"You see? No shock. No... engulfment. No tearing asunder. What you feared would come like an explosion, is like a whisper. What you thought was the end, the beginning." Like many great TZ episodes, Nothing in the Dark contains equal measures of emotional poignancy and existential terror. Our coverage touches on our own thoughts about aging as one of us nears the big 3-0 (guess which one!), a drama...

"Where's that idiot, Poole?" "Here, Sir." We both have very fond memories of watching Season 2, Episode 16, A Penny for Your Thoughts , as kids - but does this goofy comedy episode hold up? As we endeavor to answer this question, we also get into 1960s celebrity gossip, racehorse names, and the horrors of workplace misogyny. Referenced in the episode: Tuesday Weld! Twilight Zone Vortex's review of...

"You go away now, Sandy." Inspired by a listener suggestion, this week we're watching Season 5, Episode 15 - The Long Morrow. Atmospheric and tragic, with a classic TZ twist ending, this one's a gem that we had both sort of forgotten about. Digressions include: suspended animation, our deep and abiding love for Mariette Hartley, Gilmore Girls. Referenced in the episode: Mariette Hartley in the Sta...

"While there are men, there can be no peace" This week, we're covering Season 1, Episode 20: Elegy. This one's a mixed bag, featuring a suspenseful and creepy first half followed by a frankly ridiculous conclusion. Digressions include: the phenomenon of actors trying to stand still on the Twilight Zone, whimsical old men in midcentury media, and how we'd like our bodies posed in a taxidermy-wish-f...

"It is NOT a connection! It's a MAN!" This week we're covering Season 5, Episode 19: Night Call. Despite its simple plot, this episode is visually and thematically rich, as well as atmospheric and genuinely scary! Our coverage includes some history of the telephone, some musings on aging and death, and a number of comparisons to Sorry, Right Number (also published as Long Distance Call ), the shor...

"Don't paint the sun anymore!" This week we tapped our good friend, indie musician Christa Knickerbocker, to talks to us about Season 3, EPisode 10 - The Midnight Sun. This episode is a study in slow dread, endless suffering, and the looming threat of nuclear annihilation (with an added layer of climate anxiety for the 21st century listener!), but somehow we still find the strength to giggle as we...

"It's just a napkin holder in a little cafe in Ridgeview, Ohio!" This week we're excited to be covering one of the Twilight Zone's more subtle and psychological offerings - Season Two, Episode 7: Nick of Time. This episode inspired us to examine our own superstitiousness (or lack thereof), do a little light research into fortune telling machines of the twentieth century, and reflect on the many ch...

"So long, Hercules!" This week we're tackling an episode out of one of the wackier regions of the Twilight Zone: Season 2, Episode 19: Mr. Dingle the Strong. Our discussion explores sports, the dubious quality of comedic Twilight Zone episodes in general (and this one in particular), and speculation as to what that 2-headed Martian might be hiding under his big metal suit. Referenced in the Episod...

"No change - no change at all!" Eye of the Beholder ranks as an all-time favorite among fans of the Twilight Zone, so we're thrilled to get a chance to discuss it this week on pod. We're talking about production history, fascist aesthetics, and the debate surrounding what the moral of this episode really is. Peel off your bandages and come join us! Referenced in the Episode: https://www.syfy.com/s...

"Just as a point of interest, gleep, what do you got against Stanislavsky?" We're huge Rod Serling fans here at Hindsight Zone HQ, but this week we're taking him to task over what many will agree is one of his worst Twilight Zone Scripts: Season 4, Episode 18 - The Bard. Poor script quality aside, we have a blast talking about old Cool Whip commercials, the Reynolds/Brando feud, and the impact of...

"Don't touch my tools!" Strap on your time helmets and join us this week as we cover Season 3, Episode 13 - Once Upon A Time. We're talking time travel plot holes, roller skating and the enduring brilliance of one Buster Keaton (even if the writing of this episode can't quite keep up with him). Also - bear with us on the (slightly echoey) audio with this one! We're moving to a new space and still...

"He doesn't like me! I don't like anyone that doesn't like me!" Welcome to Season 2!!!! We are thrilled to kick things off with the excellent episode, It's a Good Life (Season 3, Episode 8). Join us for a discussion of dystopia, child-centric horror, and triceratops behavior as we understand it. We also get into the 1953 short story by Jerome Bixby upon which the teleplay for this episode was base...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from The Hindsight Zone!! Gather round, one and all, for a discussion of miracles, children's firearms, and a very special cat named Orangey- because, as a special Holiday treat, we're covering The Twilight Zone's one and only Christmas episode: Season 2, Episode 11, The Night of the Meek. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for listening this season. W...

Season 1 Finale Alert!!!! We're doing something a little different for our last episode this season and venturing outside The Twilight Zone to cover Night Gallery Season 2, Episode 1 - The Hand of Borgus Weems. Join us if you're curious about 1970s Rod, bizarre filmmaking techniques, and a very convincing wrist stump! A special thank you to listener Steven for requesting this episode, and to every...

"Did you think I'd jump? Not a chance. I want to live - that's my problem!" Welcome to the penultimate episode of Season One!! Join us this week for a spirited discussion of carnival aesthetics, repression, and the looming threat of Sasquatch as we cover Season 1, Episode 9 - Perchance to Dream. Referenced in the episode: You can find our wonderful singer-songwriter friend Christa Knickerbocker's...

"Let me tell you, you're starting something here that's - that's what you should be frightened of! You're starting something here that's- that's a nightmare!" We're thrilled to be joined this week by our good friend (and streamer extraordinaire) @vernmckey!! The three of us discuss red scare symbolism, mob horror, and the ills of modern television as we unpack an all-time-great episode: The Monste...

"Probe Seven is no longer probing, general, unless it's the few subterranean feet where I landed..." This week we're covering Season 5, Episode 9 - Probe 7, Over and Out. Join us for a discussion of Cold War anxieties, the profound beauty of one Antoinette Bower, and the REAL problem with the story of Adam and Eve.... Referenced in the Episode: He Walked Among Us (full scanned comic) Next Week on...

"I figure it's a man's patriotic duty to invent a liquid propellant if he's a' mind to... and I'd a' mind to!" This week we're covering Season 3, Episode 30 - Hocus Pocus & Frisby! Join us for a discussion of cracker barrels, alien abduction, and the real-life story of the strangest man either of us have ever met. Referenced in the episode: The Barney and Betty Hill Incident Next Week on The H...

For this episode, we're joined by a very special guest - Aaron Ussery, creator of our introduction music and narration and general friend of the show, hops on pod to discuss Season 3, Episode 14, Five Characters in Search of an Exit. We're talking existential theater, the gender politics of the void, and Suzy's Clown Tattoo! Referenced in the episode: Our incredible tattoo artist friend Julia's In...

"I don't CARE about their bodies!" This is Part Two of our coverage of Season 4, Episode 13 - The New Exhibit! This week, we're debating the merits of sleeping in a scary basement, discussing competing theories about the ending of this episode, and posing the ultimate question: What is The Twilight Zone? Next Week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 3, Episode 14 - 5 Characters in Search of an Exit The...

The New Exhibit - Season 4, Episode 13 - is (like all of Season 4) twice as long as a typical episode of The Twilight Zone, so we decided to cover it as a two-parter! Join us in this first half as we talk wax museums, historical murders, and the horrors of unemployment. Mentioned in the episode: Grand Guignol Poster Next week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 4, Episode 13 - The New Exhibit, Part 2 Th...

"It IS April Fourteenth, Eighteen Sixty-Five!" This is a time travel episode, so OF COURSE we're talking H.G. Wells, Stephen Hawking, and r/glitchinthematrix. Grab your top hat and enjoy Season 2, Episode 13 - Back There! Referenced in the episode: https://lincolnconspirators.com/ Next week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 4, Episode 13 - The New Exhibit, Part 1. The Hindsight Zone is written and pro...

"We can't be separated... We belong to each other!" The girls talk life, love, and the horrifying implications of immortality as they discuss Season 3, Episode 31 - The Trade-Ins. Referenced in the episode: Joseph Schildkraut in "Deaths-Head Revisited" Nathan Fielder's Big Suit Bella Dreams About Getting Old Next week on The Hindsight Zone: Season 2, Episode 13 - Back There The Hindsight Zone is w...

"You can catch the devil... But you can't hold him long." Your intrepid hosts dissect the tale of a young traveler and the mysterious man he discovers imprisoned at a European monastery. This episode features Suzy's fan fiction writing debut LIVE ON POD - don't miss it!! The Hindsight Zone is written and produced by Olivia Sterne and Suzy Beller. The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling and is...