Source: filmaffinity.com
A coworker came in the other morning and said, “I can’t believe how fast I got here today. There was absolutely no traffic on the road. I hardly even saw any cars on my way in. Is something going on?”
I’d heard on the news earlier that a car on the interstate had burst into flames. Miraculously no one was hurt but the accident was bad enough that emergency crews had closed all lanes for a while and she had been lucky enough to time her commute just when they’d reopened.
“I’m so glad there’s a logical explanation,” she said. “It was so weird, like something out of The Twilight Zone.”
“It’s funny you should say that,” I said, feeling a fire spark in my brain. “The first episode of The Twilight Zone was called ‘Where Is Everybody?’ and is about an astronaut who returns to Earth and finds the whole place deserted.”
She chuckled and said, “That’s interesting.”
The fire in my head was building.
“It premiered in 1959 and starred Earl Holliman. You might remember Holliman from his role as the ship’s cook in Forbidden Planet.”
She chuckled and said, “Only you would know that,” not realizing this was fanning the flames.
“I’ve always wondered why a ship that’s capable of interstellar travel with a crew that spends most of its time in hibernation needs a cook, but I do love the scenes with Holliman and Robby The Robot.”
“I haven’t seen Forbidden Planet.”
“Oh, you should!” I’m pretty sure my eyes were glowing at this point and I could feel smoke coming out of my ears. “It stars a young Leslie Nielsen. This was years before he did Airplane!”
“I love Airplane!”
And with that I had to run to the kitchen and run cold water over my head.
Sometimes I just shouldn’t be around people.
I like Forbidden Planet.
(Also, I don’t know why WP never allows me to comment on your site…. I’ve tried so many times)
I should have guessed that you like Forbidden Planet. Many intelligent people do. And I don’t know what was going on with the comments but I hope the spell is now broken.
How does anybody get any work done around you?
Kristine Laco recently posted…Kids Back-To-School Photos Missing, Mother Suspected of Foul Play
Amazingly people get quite a bit of work done around me. The bigger question might be, how do I get any work done around other people when I’m so easily distracted? Somehow I make it…work.
I wish we worked together–it would be so much fun!
mydangblog recently posted…My Week 264: Sew What?
I have a feeling that if we worked together we wouldn’t get much work done. So, yeah, I’m all for it!
Come to think of it, I have never seen Forbidden Planet, and I loved Airplane, too.
Maybe I should just stick to football. 😉
I realize football season is in full swing, but so is Halloween, and if you can find the time I do recommend Forbidden Planet, and not just because Anne Francis stars in it or because it’s a fun take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Actually I recommend Forbidden Planet almost entirely because of Robby The Robot. Would sixty gallons be sufficient?
I’m glad you’re around people, Chris. Keep those fires going.
Even when I shouldn’t be around people I’m glad you’re always around.
I never saw forbidden planet for some reason, although it used to be also the name of an awesome sf bookshop in London. As students we used to go and spend the whole sf society budget there in one go – it was great fun!
SkyeEnt recently posted…One thing after another!
You were part of an SF society and you’ve never seen Forbidden Planet? Well, I guess these things can happen. Fortunately it’s easy to find on video in various formats so if you’re ever inclined to look it up I think you’ll enjoy it.