Alien Radio
| "Alien Radio" |
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"Alien Radio" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 22 January, 1999 .
Introduction
Talk radio host and skeptic, Stan Harbinger, debunks and mocks callers to his show who claim to have had alien encounters.
Opening narration
- "The skeptic’s world is a secure one, built on unshakeable truths. But what happens when its foundation begins to crumble?"
Plot synopsis
Stan Harbinger (Joe Pantoliano) is a top-rated talk show host with a flare for the outrageous and a reputation as a skeptic's skeptic. Assisted by his producer Trudy (Cynthia Nixon), Stan takes delight in shooting down callers who claim to have alien encounters, especially people like Eldon DeVries (Alan Zinyk) who believes that his body has been taken over by aliens. However, when Eldon commits suicide by setting himself on fire in front of Stan, things begin to go wrong for Stan. A plan to syndicate the show is threatened by protests from UFO believers, angry at Stan's role in Eldon's death. Stan's skepticism is challenged when he notices that other people have the same distinctive triple heartbeat he heard coming from Eldon just before he died. Close to the edge, Stan finally loses it after Darcy Kipling Leslie Hope, a woman he picked up in a bar, turns out to be a believer and sets him up with a phony tape. He assaults Darcy's fellow believer, Moses Saxon [Alex Diakun], and is consequently thrown off the air. Although out of work and living out of his car, these are the least of his problems. Everywhere he goes, Stan hears that strange triple heartbeat and sees the glimpses of the aliens. And, every beat and every glimpse shakes the foundation of his disbelief. The final scene shows Stan's dead body on the floor after being shot.
Closing narration
- "If we mock that which we do not understand, we may learn too late that the penalty for such arrogance... is annihilation."
Cast
- Joe Pantoliano as Stan Harbinger
- Leslie Hope as Darcy Kipling
- Malcolm Stewart as Phil Krepuski
- Alex Diakun as Moses Saxon
- Barry W. Levy as Jules Mason
- Eric Keenleyside as Friedkin
- Cynthia Nixon as Trudy
- Daryl Shuttleworth as Burns
- Allan Zinyk as Eldon DeVries
- Charles Payne as McCoy
- Kasper Michaels as Bartender
- Nancy Sivak as Eldon's Wife
- Klodyne Rodney as Reporter
- Clay St. Thomas as Reporter
- Federico Cervantes as Alien
