Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

The pilot episode of a series should be the episode that sells. It should set up audience expectations for what they can expect when they tune in. This episode does a great job of just that. The first and last story here were actually extremely creepy, and supposedly true tales. The first one about the ghost in the mirror is especially creepy. Unfortunately this show, which deals primarily with stories of the supernatural does not strike me as an extremely credible measure of reality. Most of the true stories in this series in general cite the same researcher as its source and I cannot independently verify any of the "true" stories presented here.



If anyone knows of the a third party source collaborating any of the stories I'd be glad if you could post them in the notes section for this episode. Even if the show's factuality is in dispute, still fun to watch. Guilty late-night pleasure.

"SPOILER ALERT"!!! I remember "The Apparition" as if it were yesterday...especially when James Brolin said at the end that it was one of the vignettes based on a true story. Imagine a woman attacked by an intruder who was then saved by the ghost of the woman who he had previously murdered in the same house. It still freaks me out to think about it. The way that she writhes in front of the mirror, the thunderstorm... I remember avoiding mirrors for some time after watching and hearing about that one. The "bullet" story was also memorable and was supposedly true, as well. Unfortunately, I missed the series after about the first couple of shows, which is why they stand out in my mind, I guess. I do plan on picking them up on DVD.

Such a great episode to start off this series. It shows just how wide-ranged the series can be.



Segment 1 is about a woman that keeps seeing a ghost in her hallway mirror. The ghost later ends up being a savior in disguise. The acting wasn't that great, but it was quite well written and just a great story.



Segment 2 is about a man setenced to the electric for a crime he did not commit, but fate steps in to stop an innocent man from being executed. Its a great story about how fate can intervene. On this one I really had to think if it was true or not.



Segment 3 is about a father and daughter getting a call from their wife/mom to meet her, only to get an unexpected phone call. This story was diffinitely the worst one out of this batch. It was just too sappy and heartwarming, I knew that this crap could only come from a writers imagination.



Segment 4 is about a wronged woman and how karma can get you. This segment was definitely the best. It never got boring and the story was very well written.



Segment 5 is about a woman that dreams about her perfect house and her desperateness to find it. This segment was another one that just seems to drag on, just too predictable and nothing really wierd happens. Too easy to guess its true.

I absolutely looooove this episode because it really caught my attention. My favorite story would have to be “On the Road”. I like it because it really has that whole thrill to it. The whole time she invites her husband and daughter to her old night club hangout she is dead. Imagine that. While they were patiently waiting, the daughter finds her earring. At the same time, the father gets a phone call saying that Vicky died in a plane crash. Then they both realize that the call came in after she died. I guess the concept of that story would be that she wanted her husband and daughter to be together one last time as a family before she moves on to the next life. It was sad that the lady died but it meant that she was sending them a message through the phone call. My second favorite story would have to be “Number One with a Bullet”. This story is about a wife going home to surprise her husband with a trip to Paris only to find him in bed with another woman. She picks up a gun and they struggle with it only to be shot and killed. Her friend comes to seek vengeance only to miss. But all loose ends will be tied. The bullet that was meant for the cheating husband is dislodged from the tree into his heart while attempting to chop down the tree. The whole episode is good. I also liked the last story. It was kind of an out of body experience for the woman. Only to come to find out that she is the ghost that is supposedly “haunting” the house. I didn’t exactly guess which was fact and which was fiction correctly.

In this episode the writers went all out to find some of the strangest stories that they could. This makes it very difficult to separate fact from fiction. I like scoring myself and I only received 2/5 correct. Usually I can guess 4 or even all five right so this made me feel strange to get them wrong. Great Episode.