Foreshadowing: Of course, he was talking about a desk job.

(Originally posted on Writingscape V.2 on 7/14/2011)

I’m sitting here watching one of my favorite episodes from one of the best classic shows ever — “The Sixth Finger” (1963) of vintage Outer Limits fame — on the Chiller Channel. And one of my favorite examples of foreshadowing just happened.

David McCallum’s poor, tragic character, disenchanted by the hopelessness of manually toiling day in and day out in the oppressive darkness of the town coal mine, takes on a job as the town scientist’s guinea pig. The project propels his human brain THOUSANDS of years into the future and evolves him from this…

To this:

And, finally, to this:

… where he’s not only grown a sixth finger but can absorb text at crazy speeds, read minds, spew out intelligence a normal brain could never hope to understand, and even physically repel anything that threatens him.

THAT BRILLIANT MOMENT OF FORESHADOW: Very early into the episode, David’s character has a “hopes and dreams” moment and tells his girlfriend, “If only I could find work where I could really use my brain. I’d show them.”

Of course, he was talking about a desk job. Haha.