#04 A tugboat going down [S1E4]

“When you only get one right, no one laughs at your jokes.”

Today we review Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction season 1, episode 4. Converse Sneakers in a bottle? The group talks about how this prop, used by host James Brolin to explain the unexplainable, explains absolutely nothing but yet, is strangely hypnotic.

Story 1: Email—A mysterious email from a dead relative? exposes a secret.

• The group points out how dated this episode is. Chris says it’s basically just to explain how email works.
• Chris thinks the badly treated secretary could be inspired by the Batman Returns version of Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman. He’s obsessed.
• Mark takes the lead in the Ghost Department and asks if ghosts can understand technology? Chris doesn’t think so, and is also not happy that Mark thinks he’s a ghost expert.
• Jesse thinks it’s another case of “ghosts make elaborate plans.”

Story 2: Cup of Joe—Girls heading to a party down a stormy highway are saved by a phantom billboard.

• No one understands the why it’s called “Cup of Joe”.
• “Where’s their phantom billboard?” Tiffany wants to know why other people were killed by a rockslide, but the main characters were saved by a phantom billboard? They didn’t even deserve it.
• What’s the deal with the creepy lantern guy? It scared Chris, but didn’t quite make sense to include.
• James Brolin thinks the girls could have mistaken a billboard for writing on the side of a barn? Tiffany doesn’t buy it.

Story 3: Secret of the Family Tomb—Unexplained vandalism in a cemetery crypt may be due to a family secret.

• This was a really dark story. Does that mean it could be true?
• Chris thinks this is an episode of Fixer Upper – Cemetery edition.
• Chris and Kyle disagree about what a poltergeist is.
• Another ghost being unnecessarily vague drives Jesse crazy.
• The group points out a ridiculous zoom-in on James Brolin in the outro.

Story 4: Wheezer–An eight-year-old’s bond with his dog proves stronger than death.

• The group agrees they need more info from James Brolin to solve this one.
• Chris reminisces about his childhood dog Daisy who ran away. The family found the dog later, only to discover it wasn’t Daisy but another missing neighborhood dog that looked similar. Oh yeah, and Daisy died (sorry Chris).

Story 5: The Unknown Patient–A doctor tries to save a John Doe, only to find out he may have already been dead.

• The team agrees this story doesn’t make a lot of sense.
• Tiffany thinks this could be a case of the “complicated theory”—it’s so complicated it must be true.
• There’s another sweet camera zoom on our lead. Makes the James Brolin zoom look pitiful.

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The story results are revealed.

• To find out which stories are fact and which are fiction… you must listen to the podcast, or check out the full episode below!