The Revelations of Becka Paulson
| "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" | |
|---|---|
| The Outer Limits episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 3 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Steven Weber |
| Written by | Brad Wright, Story by Stephen King |
| Production code | 59 |
| Original air date | 6 June 1997 |
| Guest actors | |
|
Catherine O'Hara as Becka Paulson | |
"The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" is an episode of The Outer Limits. It first aired on 6 June 1997, during the third season.
Introduction
Becka Paulson accidentally shoots herself in the head while watching a soap opera. The bullet lodges in her brain, and begins to have some strange effects.
Opening narration
| “ | Even in the most innocent of minds, there are still secrets best left unrevealed. | ” |
Plot
In a stroke of 'luck', the bullet does not kill Becka, but her severe brain damage causes her to begin to hallucinate that the picture of a tuxedoed stranger on top of the TV, who calls himself the "8-by-10 Man" (in the original story it was a picture of Jesus), is talking to her.
Under the advice of the 8-by-10 Man, Becka eventually decides to kill her worthless husband, and in a bit of "damaged savantry", rigs the television (using instructions from the 8-by-10 Man) to deliver a fatal electrical pulse to whoever touches the knob. Becka, in the end, tricks her husband into touching it, but as he begins to be fatally electrocuted, she finally realizes just what she's done and tries to save him. All she does is alter the circuit by touching him, and the two fall dead, the victim of a tragic quirk of fate that was, in the end, far from lucky.
Closing narration
| “ | Perhaps the descent into madness...is not a solitary journey after all. | ” |
Trivia
- The episode is based on the short story "The Revelations of Becka Paulson" by Stephen King, first published in 1984.
- The character Becka Paulson is also in the Stephen King novel The Tommyknockers (1987), in which she kills her husband in much the same way. However, in The Tommyknockers Becka Paulson's powers come from a strange alien craft lodged in the ground in the Maine wilderness.
External links
- Episode on Hulu
- "The Outer Limits" Revelations of Becka Paulson at the Internet Movie Database (TV episode)
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