I Saw the TV Glow (2024) Movie Script
1
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
(WOMAN TALKING INDISTINCTLY)
(VOICES OVERLAPPING
WITH EACH OTHER)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(SCREAMING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CROW CAWING DISTANTLY)
(JINGLE MUSIC PLAYING
FROM ICE CREAM TRUCK)
(INDISTINCT SOUND
OF CHANGING CHANNELS)
MAN: (OVER TV)
This Saturday night
on a brand-new Pink Opaque.
WOMAN: Drain Lords,
hundreds of them,
coming out of the drains!
MAN: Isabel's bathroom has
a new supernatural infestation
that no exterminator
can take care of.
It's "The Attack
of the Drain Lords."
10:30p.m./ 9:30 Central,
this Saturday night
on the Young Adult Network.
TARA: (OVER TV)
They can't hurt you
if you don't think about them.
They can't hurt you
if you don't think about them.
(ANTHEMS FOR A SEVENTEEN
YEAR-OLD GIRL BY YEULE PLAYS)
(CHILDREN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY)
CHILDREN: Five, four,
three, two,
one!
(CHILDREN GIGGLING)
(ANTHEMS FOR A SEVENTEEN
YEAR-OLD GIRL CONTINUES)
(TV STATIC BUZZING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
OWEN: It was raining last
night and I couldn't sleep,
so I started
my favorite TV show again.
The Pink Opaque.
(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(TROMBONE BLARING)
(SAXOPHONE WAILING)
(VOLUNTEERS TALKING
INDISTINCTLY)
-Thank you, ma'am.
-WOMAN: Yes.
-Enjoy your night.
-GIRL: Yeah. (CHUCKLES)
GIRL: Hey.
WOMAN: Oh, let me take two,
yeah. Thank you.
Owen! Owen, honey.
Come on, honey,
we're ready to go in.
(SOFTLY) Come on.
BRENDA: I don't know
what he's doing...
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
-(CURTAIN DRAWS)
-Ready?
Owen, I know
you're not too old for this.
(WHISPERS)
It's been four years.
It's time to vote
for the saxophone man again.
Mom!
Okay. Come on.
Come on. Come-- Owen, come on.
Please.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
BRENDA: I don't know.
I don't think so.
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
YOUNG OWEN: Hey.
Hey.
YOUNG OWEN:
Are your parents voting too?
No.
Ms. Driscoll lets me use
the dark room after school,
so I'm just waiting
for my pictures to dry out.
That looks like
the best book ever.
Yeah, it is.
That's like the TV show,
right?
The Pink Opaque?
Yeah. It's the official
episode guide.
Do you watch?
-No.
-Oh.
(VENDING MACHINE BUZZING)
(PAGES RUSTLING)
What grade are you in?
Ninth.
What about you?
Seventh.
(SCOFFS) My God,
you're a baby.
Election Night is cool, right?
It's like Colonial Day.
Or when they bring
the inflatable planetarium
into the gymnasium.
It's like the school
gets transformed
into something else, you know?
It's special.
It's a kids show, right?
The Pink Opaque?
No. No way. Who told you that?
I mean, yeah, technically it's
on the Young Adult Network.
But it's way too scary,
and the mythology's way
too complicated for most kids.
I see commercials for it
all the time.
It looks amazing.
You can read about the
episodes here, if you want.
It's got quotes and pictures,
and info about
the double bill of bands
that plays each week
at the Double Lunch.
It comes on at 10:30 p.m.,
right?
Yeah. Every Saturday night.
It's the last show
in the block
before they switch
to black and white reruns
for old people.
My friend Amanda and I
watch it together every week.
My dad won't let me
stay up that late.
10 p.m.'s my bedtime.
Damn.
That absolutely sucks.
My mom basically doesn't give
a crap when I go to bed.
(YOUNG OWEN SIGHS)
Hey.
You know what you should do?
-Mom?
-BRENDA: Hmm?
Can I have a sleepover
at Johnny Link's house
Saturday night?
Johnny Link?
I didn't even know you guys
were still friends anymore.
Well, honey, you'll have
to ask your father.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING SOFTLY)
Can you ask him for me?
(TV PLAYING SOFTLY)
(KEYS JINGLING)
BRENDA: Frank,
Owen wants to go
have a sleepover
at Johnny Link's.
Well... He's old enough.
He's a good kid.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER ON TV)
(VOICES OVERLAPPING ON TV)
(DOOR SLAMS)
BRENDA: Honey!
You remembered
your inhaler, right?
Yeah.
BRENDA: All right.
(CAR STARTING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(RAIN PATTERING)
YOUNG MADDY:
And what about a husband?
AMANDA: If I have to. (SCOFFS)
What about Evan Dando?
I mean, he's cute
but he's so tortured.
I'd have to, like,
save him every day.
YOUNG MADDY: Fine.
Then what about Beck?
AMANDA: He's such a spindly
little cutie. (CHUCKLING)
(MUSIC PLAYING OVER TV)
YOUNG MADDY: Okay, but we need
more, like, gross guys.
Ugh, what about Joe from Math?
AMANDA: No, he's cute.
What about, like,
Michael Stipe?
I like Michael Stipe.
MAN: (ON TV) And now,
a brand-new The Pink Opaque.
Hey.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
YOUNG OWEN: Is it okay
if I come sit down?
Shut up. It's starting.
ISABEL: (ON TV) Tara is
my imaginary best friend,
and I'm hers.
We met at sleepaway camp
and discovered we had
an ancient psychic connection.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING OVER TV)
Now, even though we live
on opposite sides
of the county,
we help each other
fight the forces of evil.
We are... The Pink Opaque.
(OPENING THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
The last Sprinkly Stick
of the summer.
What a bummer.
Definition of.
It's not fair, man.
Why does the winter
have to be so cold
that you can't eat ice cream
during the winter?
(SIGHS)
You know what I wish?
I wish the Ice Cream Man
didn't have to leave
when the weather
got cold in the winter.
(TINKLING MUSIC PLAYING)
JOCK: I wish...
he never went away.
(GROWLING)
YOUNG MADDY: You can go out
and join her, if you want.
No, I don't smoke cigarettes.
(SCOFFS) It's not a cigarette.
It's a Black & Mild.
(CAR HORN HONKS)
YOUNG MADDY: Are you sure
you don't want a ride home
-with Amanda's mom?
-(CAR DOOR CLOSES DISTANTLY)
(CAR DRIVES AWAY)
I told my parents
it was a sleepover.
So, did you like it?
The show I mean?
Yeah.
It was...
It was really interesting.
Isabel's a scaredy-cat.
She's kind
of the main character,
but she's also kind of a drip.
Tara's my favorite.
She's super hot,
and she doesn't take shit
from anybody.
Plus, she's an expert
on demonology.
And they never meet up
in person, right?
No.
Just in the pilot episode,
back at sleepaway camp.
But they can communicate
via "the psychic plane."
So, each episode, they help
each other fight a new monster
from across the county.
YOUNG OWEN: Okay.
Is the Ice Cream Man
in every episode?
(CHUCKLES) No.
That's just
a Monster of the Week.
Mr. Melancholy is the Big Bad.
Mr. Melancholy?
The Man in the Moon.
Oh, right.
He's always messing
with time and reality.
He wants to rule the world,
to trap Isabel and Tara
in the Midnight Realm.
So each week,
he sends a new
supernatural foe their way.
Because they're part
of The Pink Opaque.
No, because they are
The Pink Opaque.
YOUNG OWEN: Right.
Sorry.
Don't apologize.
Well, I'm passing out.
Are you sure it's okay
that I sleep down here?
YOUNG MADDY:
Just be out by dawn.
If my stepdad catches you,
he'll break my nose again.
And where...
where will you be sleeping?
In my bed... creep.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(DOOR CREAKS)
(YOUNG MADDY SIGHS)
YOUNG MADDY: Sometimes...
The Pink Opaque feels
more real than real life.
You know?
(TAPER BY MARIA BC PLAYING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(TAPER CONTINUES)
(FIRE CRACKLING)
(WIND BLOWING)
-(KIDS SCREAMING DISTANTLY)
-(BELL RINGING)
(TAPER CONTINUES)
(RING RATTLING)
(GIRLS CHEERING)
BRENDA: So,
how you feeling about
my little health scare, buddy?
I'm fine.
It just...
seems like you're always
somewhere else lately.
I don't know...
I'm not sure if
it's 'cause of me, or...
(KIDS SCREAMING DISTANTLY)
I don't know. I...
Maybe I'm just making it up.
(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)
Just want to know that
you're on the right path,
you know?
(TEEN OWEN CLEARS THROAT)
Can I stay up late to watch
The Pink Opaque tonight?
BRENDA:
What time does it come on?
10:30 p.m.
You know your bedtime
is at 10:15.
Yeah, but...
no one in the ninth grade
even has a bedtime anymore.
Isn't that a show for girls?
BRENDA: Not tonight, honey.
After that first sleepover,
I couldn't work up the courage
to say more than three words
to Maddy Wilson at a time.
But when I told her
I still wasn't allowed
to watch the show,
she started leaving tapes
for me.
(STARBURNED AND UNKISSED BY
CAROLINE POLACHEK PLAYING)
(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(STARBURNED AND UNKISSED
CONTINUES)
(STARBURNED AND UNKISSED
CONTINUES)
(BELL RINGING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(TV STATIC)
I watched these tapes
over and over again.
But they never got old.
(THEME MUSIC OF
THE PINK OPAQUE PLAYS ON TV)
ISABEL: His henchmen
are close by.
Marco and Polo.
Nasty little demons.
And he... he's...
Mr. Melancholy.
That's right.
(ISABEL INHALES SHARPLY)
What's happening to me?
How do I know these things?
(BREATH TREMBLING)
Am I going crazy?
No. Never let anyone
convince you of that.
You're like me.
You're special.
We are The Pink Opaque.
It's our destiny.
I knew it from the moment
I saw your tattoo
in the dining hall.
Heck, I knew it before
I even met you.
Can you feel it?
(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING)
ISABEL: I don't even have
my learner's permit yet.
-How can I have a destiny?
-How can I have a destiny?
-(DOOR OPENS)
-(KEYS JINGLING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Hey.
What's up?
Nothing much.
Um, I was wondering...
Do you, um...
Do you and Amanda
still watch The Pink Opaque
together every week?
I haven't talked to
that asshole in a year.
Amanda told the entire school
that I tried to touch her tit,
which is a total lie!
And then surprise, surprise,
11th grade comes around
and suddenly
it's been her lifelong dream
to join the cheer squad! Ugh!
Secret agent sent here to make
my life miserable, I swear.
If you wanted,
I could come over again.
I've been watching the tapes
you've been making me
but I wanted to watch
The Pink Opaque
on Saturday night again.
While it airs.
I like girls.
You know that, right?
I'm not into boys.
(HESITATES) I wasn't...
I... Totally. That's fine.
Okay. I'm just making sure.
What about you?
Do you like girls?
I don't... I don't know.
Boys?
I... I think that
I like TV shows.
(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY)
(CLEARS THROAT)
When I think about that stuff,
it feels like someone...
took a shovel
and dug out all my insides.
And I know
there's nothing in there,
but I'm still too nervous
to open myself up and check.
I know there's something wrong
with me.
My parents know it too,
even if they don't
say anything.
Do you ever feel like that?
I don't know.
Maybe you're like Isabel...
(TEEN MADDY SIGHS)
Afraid of what's inside you.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(CLOWN LAUGHING MANIACALLY)
Hey, Bozo!
Estee Lauder called.
They've got a few suggestions
about this whole look
you're going for.
(AXE STRIKES)
(RIPPING AND SQUELCHING ON TV)
(WHIMPERING)
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
(CLOWN MONSTER YELPING)
(STEPFATHER YELLING DISTANTLY)
(DOOR OPENS)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
I'm getting out of this town.
Did you know that?
Soon.
I'll die if I stay here.
(YELLING CONTINUES)
I don't know how exactly,
but I know it's true.
If you leave,
I won't have anyone to watch
The Pink Opaque with.
Sit up.
(PEN SCRAPING ON SKIN)
(VOICES ECHOING)
(TV STATIC)
(TV VOICES AND LAUGHTER)
(TAP RUNNING)
TEEN MADDY:
Pack as much as you can
in your overnight bag
next Saturday.
You can't tell anyone
we're leaving.
Not your mom.
Not anyone.
Where will we go?
We'll know when we get there.
(DOORBELL RINGING RAPIDLY)
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
(DOORBELL CONTINUES RINGING
RAPIDLY)
(DOOR OPENS)
Owen? Uh,
Johnny's not home, but...
You have to tell my dad
that I've been lying to him.
I've been pretending
to sleep here
while my mom's
in the hospital.
And I need to be grounded.
(BREATH TREMBLING)
Okay. Slow down, honey. What?
TEEN OWEN:
You can't let me go with her.
I don't want to leave my home.
My mom passed away
the next July.
And a few weeks later,
Maddy disappeared
without a trace.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
All they found was her TV set
burning in the backyard.
And the strangest part
of it all was,
that exact same month
that Maddy disappeared,
The Pink Opaque got canceled.
(FIRE CRACKLING)
MAN: (OVER SPEAKER) Welcome
to Burger Express.
Hello?
Hi.
-Are you ready to take my...
- What would you like, sir?
-Yeah, sorry. Can I get...
-Are you there?
I just want... Can I get
two double cheeseburgers
and a small fries
and a root beer?
-$11.09. Drive around.
-Okay. Okay, thank you.
...answering his phone,
-so I can't start...
-(KEYS JANGLING)
...the projector
until I get the key.
Um, so if you could
call me back
and just let me know...
What the hell! (LAUGHING)
Sorry! Sorry!
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(PLEASANT MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS)
Uh, hey, Owen, um,
did you like
what you saw earlier?
-Me and Erica?
-(BOTH LAUGHING)
You know,
because, if you want,
I can put in a good word
with Erica for you.
She's, like,
obsessed with you, man.
She's like,
"Oh, I love that guy.
"He's so cool! Oh, my God!"
It's "on" for you, brother.
-Come on, man.
-(WORKER CHUCKLES)
Hey, why don't you look at me.
Please.
Just make eye contact with me.
Seriously.
(ELECTRIC ZAP)
OWEN: What the heck?
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING
CONTINUES)
Hello?
Is somebody there?
"Season Six, episode one:
"Escape from
the Midnight Realm."
I'm sorry that I'm late.
There was a downed power line.
(CROWD LAUGHING ON TV)
(CROWD APPLAUDING ON TV)
-(REMOTE CLICKS)
-(TV PLAYING)
NARRATOR: (ON TV)
Within hours,
90% of Earth's population
was destroyed.
The invaders changed
the planet's atmosphere,
creating an eternal night.
The sun forever covered
by the dark clouds.
(WHIRRING)
The survivors
fled underground,
living in fear of the machines
that now ruled the Earth.
Ma'am? Are you...
Do you need help?
Do you remember me?
Maddy?
Oh, my God!
Jesus, Maddy,
where have you been?
(CLAW MACHINE
BY SLOPPY JANE PLAYING)
MADDY: I know a place
on the edge of town.
It will be safe for us
to talk there.
I saw the TV glow
I am in the eighth grade
Sending grown men
grainy photos
Of my ribcage
My bedroom has no doors
So I can never close them
I paint the ceiling black
So I don't notice
When my eyes are open
I paint the ceiling black
So I don't notice
When my eyes are open
And somewhere
south of Tallahassee
A teenage boy
with a summer job
He's driving grown men
around a golf course
He's going home
to a manicured lawn
And digging holes
in his manicured lawn
I think I was born bored
I think I was born blue
I think I was born
wanting more
I think I was born
already missing you
(VOCALIZING)
But my heart is like
a claw machine
It's only function
is to reach
It can't hold on
to anything
I just... I really think that
you need to go to the police.
They think you're dead, Maddy.
I don't know.
Sometime.
And you won't tell me where
you've been this past decade?
I'll tell you everything.
I just...
I need to ask you
something first.
Does your mom know
that you're alive?
I need to ask you
something first.
Okay. Okay.
What do you need to ask me?
When it's me
who's making it
It's always the wrong thing
when it's me who's saying it
Do you remember a TV show
we used to watch together?
It was called...
The Pink Opaque.
(CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Of course, I remember
The Pink Opaque.
It's my favorite TV show
of all time.
Always will be.
That's all you wanted
to ask me,
if I remembered
The Pink Opaque?
No.
I guess what I mean is...
When you think back on
watching The Pink Opaque,
how do you remember it?
How do I remember it?
Yeah.
Do you remember it
as just a TV show?
Yeah.
I remember it as a TV show.
The Pink Opaque was a TV show.
We watched it in your basement
on Saturday nights
from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m.
Remember?
The last show
before the Young Adult Network
switched to black and white
reruns for the night.
Yeah.
But are you sure?
Are you sure
that's all it was?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Listen.
I know this might
sound crazy, but...
When you think back
on The Pink Opaque,
when you remember
watching it in my basement
on Saturday nights
from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m.,
do you ever get confused?
Like, maybe the memory
isn't quite right?
What do you mean
"not quite right"?
(STATIC CRACKLES)
Like...
Does time ever feel
like it's not moving normally?
(STATIC CRACKLES)
Like it's all out of whack?
Do you ever feel like you're
narrating your own life
watching it play
in front of you
like an episode of television?
Or do you ever have
a hard time distinguishing
between what happened
in the show
and what happened
in real life?
Like somehow the memories
got jumbled around?
Shook up in your head.
Like a snow globe.
(STATIC CRACKLES)
I'm trying to go slow.
I don't want to alarm you.
OWEN: Maybe we should
talk to somebody,
the police or my dad...
No!
You can't tell anybody
about this.
Not like last time.
-You have to promise.
-(CROWD CHEERING)
Okay, Maddy. Jesus.
Yeah, I promise.
I came a very long way
to see you,
and to ask you this...
(CROWD CHEERING)
Will you just...
Will you tell me where
you've been all these years?
That's what
I've been trying to do.
(PSYCHIC WOUND
BY KING WOMAN PLAYING)
I've been there.
Inside the show.
Inside The Pink Opaque.
Why have
I have been punished?
I've been banished
from the sky
Clinging to his mighty chest
Bury my face and cry
I bow to him
just to sleep next to you
A force I can't deny
When I'm spread on the bed
You remain
the luscious fruit
Help me,
I'm so chained to you
Someone tell me what to do
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Help me,
I'm so chained to you
Someone tell me what to do
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Feeling like
a psychic wound
(SHRIEKING)
(SHRIEKING)
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
(MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING
DISTANTLY)
MADDY: I can't stay
in this place much longer.
I'm going back there.
Do you remember how it ended?
The final episode?
The end of season five?
You can't trust anybody
in your life.
They're all working for him...
Mr. Melancholy.
I'll be at the high school
tomorrow night at midnight.
I hope you'll come.
(TONIGHT, TONIGHBY SNAIL MAIL PLAYING)
(VHS TAPES CLATTERING)
(TONIGHT, TONIGHT CONTINUES)
OWEN: A little while
after Maddy disappeared,
she sent me
one more tape in the mail.
ISABEL: Mr. Melancholy
is coming.
TARA: If we're going
to defeat him this time,
we're going to need to harness
the full potential
of our shared powers.
We're going to need
to meet again...
in person.
Isabel follows
the sound of Tara's voice
-in the psychic plane...
-TARA: Isabel?
-ISABEL: Tara?
-...back to their old
sleepaway camp.
She finds her at the dock
by the lake,
the place where they
first spoke five seasons ago.
But then,
as Isabel approaches,
she picks something up.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
A stray signal
from the psychic plane.
TARA: (ECHOING)
Help me. Help me.
It's a desperate message
from Tara.
The real Tara.
She's buried underground...
in terrible danger.
TARA: Help me, Isabel.
(RETCHING)
OWEN: Mr. Melancholy had
got to her first.
(TV STATIC)
MARCO: Marco.
Polo.
(ISABEL GASPING)
(ISABEL SCREAMING)
(ISABEL SOBBING)
(ISABEL CONTINUES SCREAMING)
(ISABEL STRAINING)
(CONTINUES SCREAMING)
- OWEN: They cut out her heart.
-(HEARTBEAT THUMPING)
(HEARTBEAT THUMPING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
OWEN: They feed her
the Luna Juice.
(SLURPING)
(COUGHING)
(ISABEL SLURPING, GULPING)
(GULPING)
OWEN: And then
he makes his entrance.
Mr. Melancholy...
-(STOMPS FOOT)
-...the big bad.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING LOUDLY)
(SQUELCHING)
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)
Don't fight it.
Let my poison work its magic.
You're gonna love
the Midnight Realm.
It's such a wonderful,
wonderful prison.
(VOICES WHISPERING)
(EERIE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUFFLED SCREAMING)
(SHUSHES)
It's okay.
Soon you won't
remember anything.
Your real name.
Your superpowers.
Your heart.
You won't even remember
that you're dying!
(STATIC CRACKLING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(SPADE DIGGING)
OWEN: They bury her... alive.
(RETCHING)
And then...
(MUSIC SWELLS, FADES)
...it just ended...
forever.
(GASPS FOR AIR)
(GASPING)
(DISTANT THUDDING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
(FIRE ALARM BEEPING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
-(DIAL TONE BEEPING)
-(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)
(OWEN SCREAMING IN PAIN)
(OWEN SOBBING)
(OWEN SCREAMING IN PAIN)
(WATER RUNNING)
(OWEN SCREAMING IN PAIN,
SOBBING)
(SCREAMING)
This isn't my home!
(SCREAMING)
You're not my father!
(GAGS, COUGHS)
(DISTORTED SCREAM)
I made it all the way
to Phoenix
on the money I had saved.
The trees looked different,
but everything else
was exactly the same.
I started using a new name.
Sleeping at the cheapest
hostel I could find.
The Pink Opaque was over.
(ENGINE SHUTS OFF)
I got a job at the mall.
At Build-A-Bear.
Filling the dolls up
with stuffing.
I got out of that town.
That place I knew
would kill me if I stayed.
But something was still wrong.
Wronger, even.
Time wasn't right.
It was moving too fast.
And then I was 19.
And then I was 20.
I felt like
one of those dolls,
asleep in the supermarket.
Stuffed.
And then I was 21.
Like chapters skipped over
on a DVD.
(AIR HISSING IN DISTANCE)
(AIR HISSING)
I told myself...
"This isn't normal.
"This isn't normal."
This isn't how life
is supposed to be.
I thought about
running away again.
About moving to Santa Fe
and changing my name
one more time.
But I knew that everywhere
would be just the same.
I had seen how it ended.
I knew where I was.
A little bit after
my 22nd birthday,
I paid this burnout kid
who used to hit on me
in the food court
$50 to bury me alive.
I mean...
he didn't know
he was burying me alive,
but I doubt he would have
cared too much even if he did.
I bought a coffin.
I dug a hole.
I got inside
and I closed the lid.
I said to myself,
"This is crazy.
"What you're doing is crazy."
But another part of me
knew that it wasn't.
That it was survival.
And that I didn't
have much time.
That what felt like
years in this world
was actually just seconds.
So I waited.
And then finally,
the first spadeful of dirt
hit the top of the box.
(SPADE DIGGING, DIRT THUDS)
And then another.
And then another.
I sang songs to myself.
I counted to 10,000
without skipping any numbers.
I pissed and I shit my pants
and I forced my mouth
to produce whatever saliva
it could muster
just so I would
have something to drink.
I screamed
as loud as I could for help.
I apologized
for the whole thing.
And I begged God for someone
to come along and save me.
I tried and tried
to claw my way out,
but that burnout guy had
packed the dirt in too tight
just like I had
asked him to do.
And then,
after I don't know how long,
I felt myself
start to leave myself.
And it was like
I was watching myself
on TV from across the room.
And I was moving further
and further away
from the screen
until the screen was so small
that I couldn't even
see myself anymore.
(WHIRRING)
And then I was clawing
my way up out of the ground.
And then I was at the surface,
gasping for air,
rain pouring down on me.
Thunder and lightning.
And I was finally back there.
Back at our old
sleepaway camp.
And just like I was waking up
from a bad dream,
that whole life...
that whole reality
where I was Maddy Wilson...
drifted away.
Like a brief hallucination
that, after a few moments,
I could hardly even remember.
And all those memories
that had felt so real
washed away with the rain
back at our old
sleepaway camp.
And I was me.
I was finally me again.
And it was
the season six premiere.
I tried looking for you,
but Mr. Melancholy had
covered his tracks too well.
I knew you must be buried
somewhere close by,
but I didn't know where.
And your signal...
That signal that I used to be
able to close my eyes
and feel so vividly...
was nowhere.
I wasn't picking up anything
on the psychic plane.
I found my heart.
Isabel, oh, my God!
I found yours, too.
And it was still beating,
stored indefinitely in...
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
In an industrial freezer!
I left our hearts there
because I knew
I wasn't done yet.
And I found
Mr. Melancholy's cauldron.
I found the Luna Juice
he used to send us
to the Midnight Realm,
then I took a big sip
straight out from the ladle.
And I laid back down...
and I waited
to fall back asleep.
I knew I needed
to come back here.
I knew I needed to come back
and save you.
So that the show can continue.
So that we can
get to season six.
Maddy.
That's not my name.
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
And I haven't
told you anything tonight
that you don't already know.
Tell me.
Tell me you know it's true.
I...
You told me yourself
you felt it.
Remember? On the bleachers?
You know
what he put inside you.
This... This is insane. I...
I remember... I remember...
playing in the snow.
Driving to baseball games
with my dad.
Cooking with my mom.
Those memories were put there
to distract you.
To keep you trapped.
This isn't the Midnight Realm,
Maddy,
it's just the suburbs.
I told you that's not my name.
And we need to go back down
into the soil.
Tonight.
The longer you wait
the closer you get
to suffocating.
I've got everything ready.
That spot
behind the football field
where the stoners
used to get high after school.
No one will find us there.
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
Come on.
I know it's scary.
That's part of it.
It's like the Drain Lords.
Just like the Drain Lords.
It's not real
if I don't think about it.
Isabel.
(GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
(TV PLAYING)
(LOCK CLICKS)
(CROWD LAUGHING ON TV)
(CROWD APPLAUDING ON TV)
(CROWD CHEERING ON TV)
(CROWD LAUGHING ON TV)
OWEN: After that night
on the football field,
I locked myself inside.
I didn't leave the house
for days.
I kept waiting for her
to show back up
to force me underground.
But she never did.
I never saw her again.
(RIDING AROUND IN THE DARK
BY FLORIST PLAYING)
I told myself
I made the right choice.
Maddy's story was insane.
It couldn't be true.
But some nights,
when I was working late
at the movie theater,
I found myself wondering,
what if she was right?
What if she had been
telling the truth?
What if I really
was someone else?
Someone beautiful
and powerful.
Someone buried alive
and suffocating to death.
Very far away,
on the other side
of the television screen.
But I know that's not true.
That's just fantasy.
Kid's stuff.
The movie theater closed
the next fall.
My manager brought me
along with him
to the Fun Center.
I work there now restocking
the ball pit with balls.
My father passed away in 2010
after his second stroke.
Time moves fast these days.
Years pass like seconds.
I just try not to think
too hard about it.
I decided to stay
in the house.
It was time for me
to become a man.
A real adult.
A productive
member of society.
And that's exactly what I did.
I even got a family of my own.
I love them
more than anything.
(FIRE HISSING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
Anyway, like I was saying,
it was raining the other night
and I couldn't sleep,
so I started
The Pink Opaque again.
It's available to stream now.
-(TV CHIMING)
-You don't even need a disc.
I started
The Pink Opaque again.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
And it was nothing
like I remembered it.
Hey, Mr. Ice Cream Man.
Stop turning all my friends
into popsicle sticks!
MONSTER: But I'm so lonely.
I have nothing to do
all winter.
OWEN: The whole thing felt
cheesy and cheap.
Dated, and not scary at all.
(TATTOO CHIMING)
FAKE TARA: (ON TV) I know!
In the winter time,
instead of selling ice cream,
you can sell soup instead.
-(OWEN GASPS)
-(PLEASANT MUSIC PLAYING)
MONSTER:
Why didn't I think of that?
Let's all have a soup party!
ALL: Yay, a soup party!
(WHEEZING)
(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
OWEN: I just felt embarrassed.
(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
(ARCADE MACHINES BEEPS
ECHOING)
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS)
(ARCADE MACHINES BEEPING)
AUTOMATED VOICE: Marco.
Polo.
(LAUGHS) You got me!
(OWEN WHEEZING)
(CHILDREN CHEERING AND LAUGHTER)
CHILD 1: Go, go, go!
CHILD 2: Get it! Get it!
CHILD 3: Money!
CHILD 4: Money! Money!
CHILD 5: Money!
Go, go, go, go!
Get that money!
(INHALES)
(INHALES)
Come on, get in there.
Come on, we're doing it.
All right, guys, come on!
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Come on!
ALL: Happy birthday,
dear Charlie
Happy birthday to you
DAVE: Come on!
ALL: Happy birthday to you
Everybody!
ALL: Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday,
dear Charlie
Happy birthday to you
-DAVE: (LAUGHS) Come on!
-(CROWD CLAPPING)
DAVE: Let's go again
from the top!
One more time!
ALL: Happy birthday to you
DAVE: Faster!
ALL: (SINGING FASTER)
Happy birthday to you
DAVE: Louder!
(LOUDER) Happy birthday,
dear Charlie
Happy birthday...
(SCREAMING)
-(SINGING STOPS)
-(WHEEZES)
(SCREAMING)
You need to help me!
I'm dying right now!
(WHEEZES)
(SOBBING)
(SPARKLERS CRACKLING)
(CONTINUES SOBBING)
Sorry. Ignore me. I...
(WHEEZING)
(COUGHING)
(SCREAMING) Mommy!
Owen?
You okay in there, buddy?
(WHEEZING)
I'm fine.
Out in a minute.
(FLESH SQUELCHING)
(SQUELCHING STOPS)
(ANTHEMS FOR A SEVENTEEN
YEAR-OLD GIRL BY YEULE PLAYS)
(WHEEZING)
(TV PLAYING)
(WHEEZY CHUCKLING)
(WHEEZES)
(TV VOLUME SWELLS)
(WHEEZES)
(WHEEZES)
(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
(WHEEZING SLOWING DOWN)
(SOFT WHEEZING)
-(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
-(ARCADE MACHINES BEEPING)
Sorry about that before.
(WHEEZES)
Sorry about before.
Just a new medication I'm on.
Sorry. (WHEEZES)
I'm sorry about before.
(WHEEZES)
Sorry about that before.
Sorry.
I'm sorry. (WHEEZES)
(STATIC NOISE)
(ANOTHER SEASON BY
FRANCES QUINLAN PLAYING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(BURY BY KING WOMAN PLAYING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
(WOMAN TALKING INDISTINCTLY)
(VOICES OVERLAPPING
WITH EACH OTHER)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(SCREAMING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CROW CAWING DISTANTLY)
(JINGLE MUSIC PLAYING
FROM ICE CREAM TRUCK)
(INDISTINCT SOUND
OF CHANGING CHANNELS)
MAN: (OVER TV)
This Saturday night
on a brand-new Pink Opaque.
WOMAN: Drain Lords,
hundreds of them,
coming out of the drains!
MAN: Isabel's bathroom has
a new supernatural infestation
that no exterminator
can take care of.
It's "The Attack
of the Drain Lords."
10:30p.m./ 9:30 Central,
this Saturday night
on the Young Adult Network.
TARA: (OVER TV)
They can't hurt you
if you don't think about them.
They can't hurt you
if you don't think about them.
(ANTHEMS FOR A SEVENTEEN
YEAR-OLD GIRL BY YEULE PLAYS)
(CHILDREN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY)
CHILDREN: Five, four,
three, two,
one!
(CHILDREN GIGGLING)
(ANTHEMS FOR A SEVENTEEN
YEAR-OLD GIRL CONTINUES)
(TV STATIC BUZZING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
OWEN: It was raining last
night and I couldn't sleep,
so I started
my favorite TV show again.
The Pink Opaque.
(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
(TROMBONE BLARING)
(SAXOPHONE WAILING)
(VOLUNTEERS TALKING
INDISTINCTLY)
-Thank you, ma'am.
-WOMAN: Yes.
-Enjoy your night.
-GIRL: Yeah. (CHUCKLES)
GIRL: Hey.
WOMAN: Oh, let me take two,
yeah. Thank you.
Owen! Owen, honey.
Come on, honey,
we're ready to go in.
(SOFTLY) Come on.
BRENDA: I don't know
what he's doing...
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
-(CURTAIN DRAWS)
-Ready?
Owen, I know
you're not too old for this.
(WHISPERS)
It's been four years.
It's time to vote
for the saxophone man again.
Mom!
Okay. Come on.
Come on. Come-- Owen, come on.
Please.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
BRENDA: I don't know.
I don't think so.
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
YOUNG OWEN: Hey.
Hey.
YOUNG OWEN:
Are your parents voting too?
No.
Ms. Driscoll lets me use
the dark room after school,
so I'm just waiting
for my pictures to dry out.
That looks like
the best book ever.
Yeah, it is.
That's like the TV show,
right?
The Pink Opaque?
Yeah. It's the official
episode guide.
Do you watch?
-No.
-Oh.
(VENDING MACHINE BUZZING)
(PAGES RUSTLING)
What grade are you in?
Ninth.
What about you?
Seventh.
(SCOFFS) My God,
you're a baby.
Election Night is cool, right?
It's like Colonial Day.
Or when they bring
the inflatable planetarium
into the gymnasium.
It's like the school
gets transformed
into something else, you know?
It's special.
It's a kids show, right?
The Pink Opaque?
No. No way. Who told you that?
I mean, yeah, technically it's
on the Young Adult Network.
But it's way too scary,
and the mythology's way
too complicated for most kids.
I see commercials for it
all the time.
It looks amazing.
You can read about the
episodes here, if you want.
It's got quotes and pictures,
and info about
the double bill of bands
that plays each week
at the Double Lunch.
It comes on at 10:30 p.m.,
right?
Yeah. Every Saturday night.
It's the last show
in the block
before they switch
to black and white reruns
for old people.
My friend Amanda and I
watch it together every week.
My dad won't let me
stay up that late.
10 p.m.'s my bedtime.
Damn.
That absolutely sucks.
My mom basically doesn't give
a crap when I go to bed.
(YOUNG OWEN SIGHS)
Hey.
You know what you should do?
-Mom?
-BRENDA: Hmm?
Can I have a sleepover
at Johnny Link's house
Saturday night?
Johnny Link?
I didn't even know you guys
were still friends anymore.
Well, honey, you'll have
to ask your father.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING SOFTLY)
Can you ask him for me?
(TV PLAYING SOFTLY)
(KEYS JINGLING)
BRENDA: Frank,
Owen wants to go
have a sleepover
at Johnny Link's.
Well... He's old enough.
He's a good kid.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER ON TV)
(VOICES OVERLAPPING ON TV)
(DOOR SLAMS)
BRENDA: Honey!
You remembered
your inhaler, right?
Yeah.
BRENDA: All right.
(CAR STARTING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(RAIN PATTERING)
YOUNG MADDY:
And what about a husband?
AMANDA: If I have to. (SCOFFS)
What about Evan Dando?
I mean, he's cute
but he's so tortured.
I'd have to, like,
save him every day.
YOUNG MADDY: Fine.
Then what about Beck?
AMANDA: He's such a spindly
little cutie. (CHUCKLING)
(MUSIC PLAYING OVER TV)
YOUNG MADDY: Okay, but we need
more, like, gross guys.
Ugh, what about Joe from Math?
AMANDA: No, he's cute.
What about, like,
Michael Stipe?
I like Michael Stipe.
MAN: (ON TV) And now,
a brand-new The Pink Opaque.
Hey.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
YOUNG OWEN: Is it okay
if I come sit down?
Shut up. It's starting.
ISABEL: (ON TV) Tara is
my imaginary best friend,
and I'm hers.
We met at sleepaway camp
and discovered we had
an ancient psychic connection.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING OVER TV)
Now, even though we live
on opposite sides
of the county,
we help each other
fight the forces of evil.
We are... The Pink Opaque.
(OPENING THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
The last Sprinkly Stick
of the summer.
What a bummer.
Definition of.
It's not fair, man.
Why does the winter
have to be so cold
that you can't eat ice cream
during the winter?
(SIGHS)
You know what I wish?
I wish the Ice Cream Man
didn't have to leave
when the weather
got cold in the winter.
(TINKLING MUSIC PLAYING)
JOCK: I wish...
he never went away.
(GROWLING)
YOUNG MADDY: You can go out
and join her, if you want.
No, I don't smoke cigarettes.
(SCOFFS) It's not a cigarette.
It's a Black & Mild.
(CAR HORN HONKS)
YOUNG MADDY: Are you sure
you don't want a ride home
-with Amanda's mom?
-(CAR DOOR CLOSES DISTANTLY)
(CAR DRIVES AWAY)
I told my parents
it was a sleepover.
So, did you like it?
The show I mean?
Yeah.
It was...
It was really interesting.
Isabel's a scaredy-cat.
She's kind
of the main character,
but she's also kind of a drip.
Tara's my favorite.
She's super hot,
and she doesn't take shit
from anybody.
Plus, she's an expert
on demonology.
And they never meet up
in person, right?
No.
Just in the pilot episode,
back at sleepaway camp.
But they can communicate
via "the psychic plane."
So, each episode, they help
each other fight a new monster
from across the county.
YOUNG OWEN: Okay.
Is the Ice Cream Man
in every episode?
(CHUCKLES) No.
That's just
a Monster of the Week.
Mr. Melancholy is the Big Bad.
Mr. Melancholy?
The Man in the Moon.
Oh, right.
He's always messing
with time and reality.
He wants to rule the world,
to trap Isabel and Tara
in the Midnight Realm.
So each week,
he sends a new
supernatural foe their way.
Because they're part
of The Pink Opaque.
No, because they are
The Pink Opaque.
YOUNG OWEN: Right.
Sorry.
Don't apologize.
Well, I'm passing out.
Are you sure it's okay
that I sleep down here?
YOUNG MADDY:
Just be out by dawn.
If my stepdad catches you,
he'll break my nose again.
And where...
where will you be sleeping?
In my bed... creep.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(DOOR CREAKS)
(YOUNG MADDY SIGHS)
YOUNG MADDY: Sometimes...
The Pink Opaque feels
more real than real life.
You know?
(TAPER BY MARIA BC PLAYING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(TAPER CONTINUES)
(FIRE CRACKLING)
(WIND BLOWING)
-(KIDS SCREAMING DISTANTLY)
-(BELL RINGING)
(TAPER CONTINUES)
(RING RATTLING)
(GIRLS CHEERING)
BRENDA: So,
how you feeling about
my little health scare, buddy?
I'm fine.
It just...
seems like you're always
somewhere else lately.
I don't know...
I'm not sure if
it's 'cause of me, or...
(KIDS SCREAMING DISTANTLY)
I don't know. I...
Maybe I'm just making it up.
(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)
Just want to know that
you're on the right path,
you know?
(TEEN OWEN CLEARS THROAT)
Can I stay up late to watch
The Pink Opaque tonight?
BRENDA:
What time does it come on?
10:30 p.m.
You know your bedtime
is at 10:15.
Yeah, but...
no one in the ninth grade
even has a bedtime anymore.
Isn't that a show for girls?
BRENDA: Not tonight, honey.
After that first sleepover,
I couldn't work up the courage
to say more than three words
to Maddy Wilson at a time.
But when I told her
I still wasn't allowed
to watch the show,
she started leaving tapes
for me.
(STARBURNED AND UNKISSED BY
CAROLINE POLACHEK PLAYING)
(ELECTRICITY BUZZING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(STARBURNED AND UNKISSED
CONTINUES)
(STARBURNED AND UNKISSED
CONTINUES)
(BELL RINGING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(TV STATIC)
I watched these tapes
over and over again.
But they never got old.
(THEME MUSIC OF
THE PINK OPAQUE PLAYS ON TV)
ISABEL: His henchmen
are close by.
Marco and Polo.
Nasty little demons.
And he... he's...
Mr. Melancholy.
That's right.
(ISABEL INHALES SHARPLY)
What's happening to me?
How do I know these things?
(BREATH TREMBLING)
Am I going crazy?
No. Never let anyone
convince you of that.
You're like me.
You're special.
We are The Pink Opaque.
It's our destiny.
I knew it from the moment
I saw your tattoo
in the dining hall.
Heck, I knew it before
I even met you.
Can you feel it?
(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING)
ISABEL: I don't even have
my learner's permit yet.
-How can I have a destiny?
-How can I have a destiny?
-(DOOR OPENS)
-(KEYS JINGLING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Hey.
What's up?
Nothing much.
Um, I was wondering...
Do you, um...
Do you and Amanda
still watch The Pink Opaque
together every week?
I haven't talked to
that asshole in a year.
Amanda told the entire school
that I tried to touch her tit,
which is a total lie!
And then surprise, surprise,
11th grade comes around
and suddenly
it's been her lifelong dream
to join the cheer squad! Ugh!
Secret agent sent here to make
my life miserable, I swear.
If you wanted,
I could come over again.
I've been watching the tapes
you've been making me
but I wanted to watch
The Pink Opaque
on Saturday night again.
While it airs.
I like girls.
You know that, right?
I'm not into boys.
(HESITATES) I wasn't...
I... Totally. That's fine.
Okay. I'm just making sure.
What about you?
Do you like girls?
I don't... I don't know.
Boys?
I... I think that
I like TV shows.
(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY)
(CLEARS THROAT)
When I think about that stuff,
it feels like someone...
took a shovel
and dug out all my insides.
And I know
there's nothing in there,
but I'm still too nervous
to open myself up and check.
I know there's something wrong
with me.
My parents know it too,
even if they don't
say anything.
Do you ever feel like that?
I don't know.
Maybe you're like Isabel...
(TEEN MADDY SIGHS)
Afraid of what's inside you.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(CLOWN LAUGHING MANIACALLY)
Hey, Bozo!
Estee Lauder called.
They've got a few suggestions
about this whole look
you're going for.
(AXE STRIKES)
(RIPPING AND SQUELCHING ON TV)
(WHIMPERING)
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
(CLOWN MONSTER YELPING)
(STEPFATHER YELLING DISTANTLY)
(DOOR OPENS)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
I'm getting out of this town.
Did you know that?
Soon.
I'll die if I stay here.
(YELLING CONTINUES)
I don't know how exactly,
but I know it's true.
If you leave,
I won't have anyone to watch
The Pink Opaque with.
Sit up.
(PEN SCRAPING ON SKIN)
(VOICES ECHOING)
(TV STATIC)
(TV VOICES AND LAUGHTER)
(TAP RUNNING)
TEEN MADDY:
Pack as much as you can
in your overnight bag
next Saturday.
You can't tell anyone
we're leaving.
Not your mom.
Not anyone.
Where will we go?
We'll know when we get there.
(DOORBELL RINGING RAPIDLY)
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
(DOORBELL CONTINUES RINGING
RAPIDLY)
(DOOR OPENS)
Owen? Uh,
Johnny's not home, but...
You have to tell my dad
that I've been lying to him.
I've been pretending
to sleep here
while my mom's
in the hospital.
And I need to be grounded.
(BREATH TREMBLING)
Okay. Slow down, honey. What?
TEEN OWEN:
You can't let me go with her.
I don't want to leave my home.
My mom passed away
the next July.
And a few weeks later,
Maddy disappeared
without a trace.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
All they found was her TV set
burning in the backyard.
And the strangest part
of it all was,
that exact same month
that Maddy disappeared,
The Pink Opaque got canceled.
(FIRE CRACKLING)
MAN: (OVER SPEAKER) Welcome
to Burger Express.
Hello?
Hi.
-Are you ready to take my...
- What would you like, sir?
-Yeah, sorry. Can I get...
-Are you there?
I just want... Can I get
two double cheeseburgers
and a small fries
and a root beer?
-$11.09. Drive around.
-Okay. Okay, thank you.
...answering his phone,
-so I can't start...
-(KEYS JANGLING)
...the projector
until I get the key.
Um, so if you could
call me back
and just let me know...
What the hell! (LAUGHING)
Sorry! Sorry!
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(PLEASANT MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS)
Uh, hey, Owen, um,
did you like
what you saw earlier?
-Me and Erica?
-(BOTH LAUGHING)
You know,
because, if you want,
I can put in a good word
with Erica for you.
She's, like,
obsessed with you, man.
She's like,
"Oh, I love that guy.
"He's so cool! Oh, my God!"
It's "on" for you, brother.
-Come on, man.
-(WORKER CHUCKLES)
Hey, why don't you look at me.
Please.
Just make eye contact with me.
Seriously.
(ELECTRIC ZAP)
OWEN: What the heck?
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING
CONTINUES)
Hello?
Is somebody there?
"Season Six, episode one:
"Escape from
the Midnight Realm."
I'm sorry that I'm late.
There was a downed power line.
(CROWD LAUGHING ON TV)
(CROWD APPLAUDING ON TV)
-(REMOTE CLICKS)
-(TV PLAYING)
NARRATOR: (ON TV)
Within hours,
90% of Earth's population
was destroyed.
The invaders changed
the planet's atmosphere,
creating an eternal night.
The sun forever covered
by the dark clouds.
(WHIRRING)
The survivors
fled underground,
living in fear of the machines
that now ruled the Earth.
Ma'am? Are you...
Do you need help?
Do you remember me?
Maddy?
Oh, my God!
Jesus, Maddy,
where have you been?
(CLAW MACHINE
BY SLOPPY JANE PLAYING)
MADDY: I know a place
on the edge of town.
It will be safe for us
to talk there.
I saw the TV glow
I am in the eighth grade
Sending grown men
grainy photos
Of my ribcage
My bedroom has no doors
So I can never close them
I paint the ceiling black
So I don't notice
When my eyes are open
I paint the ceiling black
So I don't notice
When my eyes are open
And somewhere
south of Tallahassee
A teenage boy
with a summer job
He's driving grown men
around a golf course
He's going home
to a manicured lawn
And digging holes
in his manicured lawn
I think I was born bored
I think I was born blue
I think I was born
wanting more
I think I was born
already missing you
(VOCALIZING)
But my heart is like
a claw machine
It's only function
is to reach
It can't hold on
to anything
I just... I really think that
you need to go to the police.
They think you're dead, Maddy.
I don't know.
Sometime.
And you won't tell me where
you've been this past decade?
I'll tell you everything.
I just...
I need to ask you
something first.
Does your mom know
that you're alive?
I need to ask you
something first.
Okay. Okay.
What do you need to ask me?
When it's me
who's making it
It's always the wrong thing
when it's me who's saying it
Do you remember a TV show
we used to watch together?
It was called...
The Pink Opaque.
(CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUDING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Of course, I remember
The Pink Opaque.
It's my favorite TV show
of all time.
Always will be.
That's all you wanted
to ask me,
if I remembered
The Pink Opaque?
No.
I guess what I mean is...
When you think back on
watching The Pink Opaque,
how do you remember it?
How do I remember it?
Yeah.
Do you remember it
as just a TV show?
Yeah.
I remember it as a TV show.
The Pink Opaque was a TV show.
We watched it in your basement
on Saturday nights
from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m.
Remember?
The last show
before the Young Adult Network
switched to black and white
reruns for the night.
Yeah.
But are you sure?
Are you sure
that's all it was?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Listen.
I know this might
sound crazy, but...
When you think back
on The Pink Opaque,
when you remember
watching it in my basement
on Saturday nights
from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m.,
do you ever get confused?
Like, maybe the memory
isn't quite right?
What do you mean
"not quite right"?
(STATIC CRACKLES)
Like...
Does time ever feel
like it's not moving normally?
(STATIC CRACKLES)
Like it's all out of whack?
Do you ever feel like you're
narrating your own life
watching it play
in front of you
like an episode of television?
Or do you ever have
a hard time distinguishing
between what happened
in the show
and what happened
in real life?
Like somehow the memories
got jumbled around?
Shook up in your head.
Like a snow globe.
(STATIC CRACKLES)
I'm trying to go slow.
I don't want to alarm you.
OWEN: Maybe we should
talk to somebody,
the police or my dad...
No!
You can't tell anybody
about this.
Not like last time.
-You have to promise.
-(CROWD CHEERING)
Okay, Maddy. Jesus.
Yeah, I promise.
I came a very long way
to see you,
and to ask you this...
(CROWD CHEERING)
Will you just...
Will you tell me where
you've been all these years?
That's what
I've been trying to do.
(PSYCHIC WOUND
BY KING WOMAN PLAYING)
I've been there.
Inside the show.
Inside The Pink Opaque.
Why have
I have been punished?
I've been banished
from the sky
Clinging to his mighty chest
Bury my face and cry
I bow to him
just to sleep next to you
A force I can't deny
When I'm spread on the bed
You remain
the luscious fruit
Help me,
I'm so chained to you
Someone tell me what to do
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Help me,
I'm so chained to you
Someone tell me what to do
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Feeling like
a psychic wound
(SHRIEKING)
(SHRIEKING)
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
Feeling like
a psychic wound
(MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING
DISTANTLY)
MADDY: I can't stay
in this place much longer.
I'm going back there.
Do you remember how it ended?
The final episode?
The end of season five?
You can't trust anybody
in your life.
They're all working for him...
Mr. Melancholy.
I'll be at the high school
tomorrow night at midnight.
I hope you'll come.
(TONIGHT, TONIGHBY SNAIL MAIL PLAYING)
(VHS TAPES CLATTERING)
(TONIGHT, TONIGHT CONTINUES)
OWEN: A little while
after Maddy disappeared,
she sent me
one more tape in the mail.
ISABEL: Mr. Melancholy
is coming.
TARA: If we're going
to defeat him this time,
we're going to need to harness
the full potential
of our shared powers.
We're going to need
to meet again...
in person.
Isabel follows
the sound of Tara's voice
-in the psychic plane...
-TARA: Isabel?
-ISABEL: Tara?
-...back to their old
sleepaway camp.
She finds her at the dock
by the lake,
the place where they
first spoke five seasons ago.
But then,
as Isabel approaches,
she picks something up.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
A stray signal
from the psychic plane.
TARA: (ECHOING)
Help me. Help me.
It's a desperate message
from Tara.
The real Tara.
She's buried underground...
in terrible danger.
TARA: Help me, Isabel.
(RETCHING)
OWEN: Mr. Melancholy had
got to her first.
(TV STATIC)
MARCO: Marco.
Polo.
(ISABEL GASPING)
(ISABEL SCREAMING)
(ISABEL SOBBING)
(ISABEL CONTINUES SCREAMING)
(ISABEL STRAINING)
(CONTINUES SCREAMING)
- OWEN: They cut out her heart.
-(HEARTBEAT THUMPING)
(HEARTBEAT THUMPING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
OWEN: They feed her
the Luna Juice.
(SLURPING)
(COUGHING)
(ISABEL SLURPING, GULPING)
(GULPING)
OWEN: And then
he makes his entrance.
Mr. Melancholy...
-(STOMPS FOOT)
-...the big bad.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING LOUDLY)
(SQUELCHING)
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)
Don't fight it.
Let my poison work its magic.
You're gonna love
the Midnight Realm.
It's such a wonderful,
wonderful prison.
(VOICES WHISPERING)
(EERIE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUFFLED SCREAMING)
(SHUSHES)
It's okay.
Soon you won't
remember anything.
Your real name.
Your superpowers.
Your heart.
You won't even remember
that you're dying!
(STATIC CRACKLING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(SPADE DIGGING)
OWEN: They bury her... alive.
(RETCHING)
And then...
(MUSIC SWELLS, FADES)
...it just ended...
forever.
(GASPS FOR AIR)
(GASPING)
(DISTANT THUDDING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
(FIRE ALARM BEEPING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
-(DIAL TONE BEEPING)
-(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)
(OWEN SCREAMING IN PAIN)
(OWEN SOBBING)
(OWEN SCREAMING IN PAIN)
(WATER RUNNING)
(OWEN SCREAMING IN PAIN,
SOBBING)
(SCREAMING)
This isn't my home!
(SCREAMING)
You're not my father!
(GAGS, COUGHS)
(DISTORTED SCREAM)
I made it all the way
to Phoenix
on the money I had saved.
The trees looked different,
but everything else
was exactly the same.
I started using a new name.
Sleeping at the cheapest
hostel I could find.
The Pink Opaque was over.
(ENGINE SHUTS OFF)
I got a job at the mall.
At Build-A-Bear.
Filling the dolls up
with stuffing.
I got out of that town.
That place I knew
would kill me if I stayed.
But something was still wrong.
Wronger, even.
Time wasn't right.
It was moving too fast.
And then I was 19.
And then I was 20.
I felt like
one of those dolls,
asleep in the supermarket.
Stuffed.
And then I was 21.
Like chapters skipped over
on a DVD.
(AIR HISSING IN DISTANCE)
(AIR HISSING)
I told myself...
"This isn't normal.
"This isn't normal."
This isn't how life
is supposed to be.
I thought about
running away again.
About moving to Santa Fe
and changing my name
one more time.
But I knew that everywhere
would be just the same.
I had seen how it ended.
I knew where I was.
A little bit after
my 22nd birthday,
I paid this burnout kid
who used to hit on me
in the food court
$50 to bury me alive.
I mean...
he didn't know
he was burying me alive,
but I doubt he would have
cared too much even if he did.
I bought a coffin.
I dug a hole.
I got inside
and I closed the lid.
I said to myself,
"This is crazy.
"What you're doing is crazy."
But another part of me
knew that it wasn't.
That it was survival.
And that I didn't
have much time.
That what felt like
years in this world
was actually just seconds.
So I waited.
And then finally,
the first spadeful of dirt
hit the top of the box.
(SPADE DIGGING, DIRT THUDS)
And then another.
And then another.
I sang songs to myself.
I counted to 10,000
without skipping any numbers.
I pissed and I shit my pants
and I forced my mouth
to produce whatever saliva
it could muster
just so I would
have something to drink.
I screamed
as loud as I could for help.
I apologized
for the whole thing.
And I begged God for someone
to come along and save me.
I tried and tried
to claw my way out,
but that burnout guy had
packed the dirt in too tight
just like I had
asked him to do.
And then,
after I don't know how long,
I felt myself
start to leave myself.
And it was like
I was watching myself
on TV from across the room.
And I was moving further
and further away
from the screen
until the screen was so small
that I couldn't even
see myself anymore.
(WHIRRING)
And then I was clawing
my way up out of the ground.
And then I was at the surface,
gasping for air,
rain pouring down on me.
Thunder and lightning.
And I was finally back there.
Back at our old
sleepaway camp.
And just like I was waking up
from a bad dream,
that whole life...
that whole reality
where I was Maddy Wilson...
drifted away.
Like a brief hallucination
that, after a few moments,
I could hardly even remember.
And all those memories
that had felt so real
washed away with the rain
back at our old
sleepaway camp.
And I was me.
I was finally me again.
And it was
the season six premiere.
I tried looking for you,
but Mr. Melancholy had
covered his tracks too well.
I knew you must be buried
somewhere close by,
but I didn't know where.
And your signal...
That signal that I used to be
able to close my eyes
and feel so vividly...
was nowhere.
I wasn't picking up anything
on the psychic plane.
I found my heart.
Isabel, oh, my God!
I found yours, too.
And it was still beating,
stored indefinitely in...
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
In an industrial freezer!
I left our hearts there
because I knew
I wasn't done yet.
And I found
Mr. Melancholy's cauldron.
I found the Luna Juice
he used to send us
to the Midnight Realm,
then I took a big sip
straight out from the ladle.
And I laid back down...
and I waited
to fall back asleep.
I knew I needed
to come back here.
I knew I needed to come back
and save you.
So that the show can continue.
So that we can
get to season six.
Maddy.
That's not my name.
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
And I haven't
told you anything tonight
that you don't already know.
Tell me.
Tell me you know it's true.
I...
You told me yourself
you felt it.
Remember? On the bleachers?
You know
what he put inside you.
This... This is insane. I...
I remember... I remember...
playing in the snow.
Driving to baseball games
with my dad.
Cooking with my mom.
Those memories were put there
to distract you.
To keep you trapped.
This isn't the Midnight Realm,
Maddy,
it's just the suburbs.
I told you that's not my name.
And we need to go back down
into the soil.
Tonight.
The longer you wait
the closer you get
to suffocating.
I've got everything ready.
That spot
behind the football field
where the stoners
used to get high after school.
No one will find us there.
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
Come on.
I know it's scary.
That's part of it.
It's like the Drain Lords.
Just like the Drain Lords.
It's not real
if I don't think about it.
Isabel.
(GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
(TV PLAYING)
(LOCK CLICKS)
(CROWD LAUGHING ON TV)
(CROWD APPLAUDING ON TV)
(CROWD CHEERING ON TV)
(CROWD LAUGHING ON TV)
OWEN: After that night
on the football field,
I locked myself inside.
I didn't leave the house
for days.
I kept waiting for her
to show back up
to force me underground.
But she never did.
I never saw her again.
(RIDING AROUND IN THE DARK
BY FLORIST PLAYING)
I told myself
I made the right choice.
Maddy's story was insane.
It couldn't be true.
But some nights,
when I was working late
at the movie theater,
I found myself wondering,
what if she was right?
What if she had been
telling the truth?
What if I really
was someone else?
Someone beautiful
and powerful.
Someone buried alive
and suffocating to death.
Very far away,
on the other side
of the television screen.
But I know that's not true.
That's just fantasy.
Kid's stuff.
The movie theater closed
the next fall.
My manager brought me
along with him
to the Fun Center.
I work there now restocking
the ball pit with balls.
My father passed away in 2010
after his second stroke.
Time moves fast these days.
Years pass like seconds.
I just try not to think
too hard about it.
I decided to stay
in the house.
It was time for me
to become a man.
A real adult.
A productive
member of society.
And that's exactly what I did.
I even got a family of my own.
I love them
more than anything.
(FIRE HISSING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
Anyway, like I was saying,
it was raining the other night
and I couldn't sleep,
so I started
The Pink Opaque again.
It's available to stream now.
-(TV CHIMING)
-You don't even need a disc.
I started
The Pink Opaque again.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
And it was nothing
like I remembered it.
Hey, Mr. Ice Cream Man.
Stop turning all my friends
into popsicle sticks!
MONSTER: But I'm so lonely.
I have nothing to do
all winter.
OWEN: The whole thing felt
cheesy and cheap.
Dated, and not scary at all.
(TATTOO CHIMING)
FAKE TARA: (ON TV) I know!
In the winter time,
instead of selling ice cream,
you can sell soup instead.
-(OWEN GASPS)
-(PLEASANT MUSIC PLAYING)
MONSTER:
Why didn't I think of that?
Let's all have a soup party!
ALL: Yay, a soup party!
(WHEEZING)
(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
OWEN: I just felt embarrassed.
(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
(ARCADE MACHINES BEEPS
ECHOING)
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS)
(ARCADE MACHINES BEEPING)
AUTOMATED VOICE: Marco.
Polo.
(LAUGHS) You got me!
(OWEN WHEEZING)
(CHILDREN CHEERING AND LAUGHTER)
CHILD 1: Go, go, go!
CHILD 2: Get it! Get it!
CHILD 3: Money!
CHILD 4: Money! Money!
CHILD 5: Money!
Go, go, go, go!
Get that money!
(INHALES)
(INHALES)
Come on, get in there.
Come on, we're doing it.
All right, guys, come on!
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Come on!
ALL: Happy birthday,
dear Charlie
Happy birthday to you
DAVE: Come on!
ALL: Happy birthday to you
Everybody!
ALL: Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday,
dear Charlie
Happy birthday to you
-DAVE: (LAUGHS) Come on!
-(CROWD CLAPPING)
DAVE: Let's go again
from the top!
One more time!
ALL: Happy birthday to you
DAVE: Faster!
ALL: (SINGING FASTER)
Happy birthday to you
DAVE: Louder!
(LOUDER) Happy birthday,
dear Charlie
Happy birthday...
(SCREAMING)
-(SINGING STOPS)
-(WHEEZES)
(SCREAMING)
You need to help me!
I'm dying right now!
(WHEEZES)
(SOBBING)
(SPARKLERS CRACKLING)
(CONTINUES SOBBING)
Sorry. Ignore me. I...
(WHEEZING)
(COUGHING)
(SCREAMING) Mommy!
Owen?
You okay in there, buddy?
(WHEEZING)
I'm fine.
Out in a minute.
(FLESH SQUELCHING)
(SQUELCHING STOPS)
(ANTHEMS FOR A SEVENTEEN
YEAR-OLD GIRL BY YEULE PLAYS)
(WHEEZING)
(TV PLAYING)
(WHEEZY CHUCKLING)
(WHEEZES)
(TV VOLUME SWELLS)
(WHEEZES)
(WHEEZES)
(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
(WHEEZING SLOWING DOWN)
(SOFT WHEEZING)
-(CONTINUES WHEEZING)
-(ARCADE MACHINES BEEPING)
Sorry about that before.
(WHEEZES)
Sorry about before.
Just a new medication I'm on.
Sorry. (WHEEZES)
I'm sorry about before.
(WHEEZES)
Sorry about that before.
Sorry.
I'm sorry. (WHEEZES)
(STATIC NOISE)
(ANOTHER SEASON BY
FRANCES QUINLAN PLAYING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(BURY BY KING WOMAN PLAYING)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)