My mind, in particular my memory, often works in bizarre ways, especially when it comes to film and television. I’ve regularly identified movies and television shows that I’ve never even seen from a split second clip during the flip of a channel. I can think of two striking examples, both curiously involving Stephen King stories. Once, I turned on the television and saw a man lying by the side of the road, critically injured in a hit-and-run accident. A monstrous creature appeared out of the trees and approached him — and I immediately knew I was watching a story written by Stephen King. An even more impressive instance occurred once when I turned on the TV and saw a man standing outside a small airport at night, looking up at a single-engine aircraft flying above his head. I said to myself, “Hey, they made a movie version of King’s The Night Flier” — and I hadn’t previously known such a version existed.
Often, watching a television show, I’ll single out a particular actor and immediately identify them as someone I’ve seen in some other obscure role years before. I may have just beaten myself for weird identifications tonight, though.
