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| "A Penny for Your Thoughts" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 16 | ||
| Directed by | James Sheldon | ||
| Written by | George Clayton Johnson | ||
| Featured music | Stock | ||
| Production code | 173-3650 | ||
| Original air date | February 3, 1961 (1961-02-03) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series, season 2) | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"A Penny for Your Thoughts" is episode 52 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, written by George Clayton Johnson. It originally aired on February 3, 1961, on CBS.
Mr. Hector B. Poole, resident of the Twilight Zone. Flip a coin and keep flipping it. What are the odds? Half the time it will come up heads, half the time tails. But in one freakish chance in a million, it'll land on its edge. Mr. Hector B. Poole, a bright human coin - on his way to the bank.
Hector B. Poole is a sensitive, insecure bank clerk. On the way to work he tosses a coin into a vendor's open box to pay for a newspaper, and it miraculously lands on its edge. Suddenly he can hear other people's thoughts, but does not know what's going on. Distracted, he is nearly hit by a car, and is confused when he hears the driver expressing concern while thinking angrily about Hector's carelessness.
At his place of business, Hector is finalizing the paperwork for a $200,000 loan to a businessman named Sykes, he hears Sykes thinking about using the money for a run at the horse track to win back money he has embezzled from his company. Hector challenges Sykes, who accuses him of lying and withdraws his business from the bank, to the boss Bagby's annoyance.
Next Hector hears an old, trusted employee, Smithers, thinking about how he will steal cash from the bank and escape to Bermuda. He takes Helen Turner, a co-worker who thinks affectionate thoughts about him, fully into his confidence; she doesn't believe in his powers, but urges him to tell Bagby about Smithers. Hector does, saying he overheard Smithers; incredulous at first, Bagby decides to investigate Smithers. Smithers proves to be innocent, and Bagby fires Hector. Smithers then privately admits to Hector that he has fantasized for years about theft, but never goes through with it.
Hector vents his unhappiness to Helen: he's learned more than he wanted to know about the disconnect between people's thoughts and actions. Bagby learns that Sykes has been arrested for gambling with company money, and offers to reinstate Hector. Using blackmail based on knowledge of an affair his boss is having, Hector gets his job back, a raise, and a Bermuda vacation for Smithers.
After work, as Hector returns home with Helen, he returns to the newsstand, where his coin is still standing. Buying an afternoon paper, he knocks it over, and then finds his mind-reading ability gone. He leaves the newsstand with Helen, hopeful about the future.
One time in a million, a coin will land on its edge, but all it takes to knock it over is a vagrant breeze, a vibration, or a slight blow. Hector B. Poole, a human coin, on edge for a brief time - in the Twilight Zone.
