| "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" | |
|---|---|
| Series The Outer Limits Season 3, Episode 15 | |
| |
| Air date | June 6th, 1997 |
| Writers | Brad Wright |
| Director | Steven Weber |
| Producers | Brent-Karl Clackson; Pen Densham; Sally Dixon; Sam Egan; Jonathan Glassner; Richard Barton Lewis; Leslie Stevens; John Watson; Brad Wright |
| Starring | Kevin Conway; Catherine O'Hara; John Diehl; Bill Dow; Marilyn Norry; Steven Weber |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "Music of the Spheres" |
Next "Bodies of Evidence" |
"The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" is the the fifteenth episode of season three of the 1995 iteration of the science fiction anthology series The Outer Limits. It is the fifty-eighth episode in the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Weber and written by Brad Wright based on a short story by author Stephen King. It first aired on Showtime on Friday, June 6th, 1997. This episode stars Catherine O'Hara as the protagonist, Becka Paulson, John Diehl as her adulterous husband, Joe, Steven Weber as the well-dressed unnamed individual on the TV set, 8x10 Man, and Marilyn Norry as Flo.
Synopsis[]
Cast[]
Principal Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conway | Control voice |
Guest Stars[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Catherine O'Hara | Becka Paulson |
| John Diehl | Joe |
| Bill Dow | Doc Fink |
| Marilyn Norry | Flo |
| Steven Weber | 8x10 Man |
| Barry Mickelson | Doctor |
| Jon Chardiet | Moss |
| Preston Maybank | Hank |
| Russell Porter | Actor |
| Carla Boudreau | Actress |
| Johanna Osborne | Cashier |
| David Glyn-Jones | Poker pal |
Notes & Trivia[]
- This episode is included on the Outer Limits: The Complete Third Season DVD boxset collection by MGM.
- Kevin Conway provides the voice for the Control voice. He is uncredited in the series.
- This episode has been made available for instant viewing on Hulu.
- This episode marks the directorial debut of Steven Weber. Weber will also direct the season four episode, "Black Box".
- This is the tenth episode of The Outer Limits written by Brad Wright. He previously wrote "The Camp". His next episode is "A Special Edition".
- This is the first live-action science fiction work for Canadian actress Catherine O'Hara. Most people remember Catherine as Delia Deetz from the 1988 Tim Burton comedy Beetlejuice as well as matriarch Kate McCallister from John Hughes' holiday comedy Home Alone.
- Actor John Diehl is also known for playing the role of Charles Kawalsky in the 1994 Roland Emmerich film Stargate. Teleplay writer Brad Wright is a writer and producer on the spin-off series Stargate SG-1.
- Coincidentally, this episode is not the only work based on a Stephen King story that Steven Weber is involved with this year. Weber also plays the starring role of Jack Torrance in the television adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining.
- Actor Bill Dow, who plays Doc Fink in this episode, returns for the season four episode, "In Our Own Image", where he plays a character named Doctor Keeler.
- Actress Marilyn Norry, who plays Flo in this episode, is also known for playing the role of Reza Chronicles in six episodes of the Battlestar Galactica remake series.
- In this episode, 'Becka communes with the 8x10 man on the television. In the original story, she was speaking to a framed photograph of Jesus.
Allusions[]
- This episode is a television adaptation of the Stephen King short story, "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", which was first published in the July-August, 1984 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.
- The character of 'Becka Paulson appears in the 1987 Stephen King novel The Tommyknockers, which borrows elements from the original short story. In the novel, 'Becka's increased intellect is attributed to aliens.
- This story bears similar elements to Flowers for Algernon, which was a short story written by Daniel Keyes in 1958 and was first published in the April, 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story was adapted into a television movie in 2000 starring Matthew Modine which chronicles the life of a simple-minded janitor named Charlie Gordon, who undergoes experimental brain surgery to increase his IQ. Ultimately however, his intellect regresses back to that of a small child.
Bloopers[]
- There are no bloopers available for this episode at this time. Be the first to add some! Just click on the edit tab under the section heading and start typing. A blooper is any revealing mistake that can be found within the episode that the production crew may have missed during editing. This can range from inconsistent lines of dialogue to visible production equipment in the shot to mis-spoken lines of dialogue, or... dare we say it? A wardrobe malfunction.
Quotes[]
- Control voice: Even in the most innocent of minds, there are still secrets best left unrevealed.
....
- Control voice: Perhaps the descent into madness... is not a solitary journey, after all.
On This Day[]
Other events that took place on the same date that this episode first aired include:
- 1916: Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman star Eileen Stevens is born in New York City, New York.
- 1944: Farscape producer Matt Carroll is born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 1964: Doctor Who episode "The Bride of Sacrifice" airs on BBC1.
- 1971: Out of the Unknown episode "The Last Witness" airs on BBC2.
- 1978: Man from Atlantis episode "Deadly Carnival" airs on NBC.
- 1986: The remake of Invaders from Mars is released theatrically in the United States.
- 1997: The Outer Limits episode "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" airs on Showtime.
- 2002: Actor Desmond Cullum-Jones passes away in Dorset, England.
- 2002: Principal filming on Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla begins.
- 2005: The Day of the Triffids mini-series is released to DVD in Australia.
- 2006: Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks is released to DVD.
- 2011: Teen Wolf episode "Second Chance at First Line" airs on MTV.
See also[]
External Links[]
Series links
Episode links