Contents
Synopsis of Paranormal Paranoids – Mary Talbert Episode
The Mary Talbert Episode is the first episode of The Paranormal Paranoids.
The group visits a location in the words where a woman (Mary Talbert) committed suicide. They are looking at the tree where this happened in a small forest area. After returning home they find ghostly images in the film they shot that look a lot like Mary Talbert.
Timeline
[00:00:00] The Paranormal Paranoids intro plays. These images appear in a quick montage: Red lightning with a storm cloud, two moons traveling toward the corners of the screen glowing a strong white, a black a white spiral, and a brown CG door with a gold handle opening into the light. There is a slow, pitched-down, sinister laugh.
[00:00:08] In Chorus “Oh, the paranormal paranoids investigate the world beyond because there are some things we can’t explain.”
[00:00:08] Another montage of Riley, Laura, Peter, and David in shots from other parts of the series. The shot of David occurs in this episode at 00:08:35.
[00:00:15] In Chorus “lot’s of times the mysteries turn out to be a hoax and other times they’re just inside your brain.”
[00:00:15] This montage shows a planet flying through space in sepia tone, a black and white waving figure with a large bald forehead, a spaceship in lime green floating through space, and a whittling brain that the camera zooms in on. This is followed by a shot from Quentin Lawrence’s Trollenberg Terror (1956) of the titular crawling eye.
[00:00:21] In Chorus “Peter!”
[00:00:21] Peter jumps in front of a tree – notably he is wearing the outfit he wears for the rest of “Mary Talbert”. There is then a shot of him in a tan sweater at night.
[00:00:25] In Chorus “Laura!”
[00:00:25] Laura poses in front of the camera three times from over her shoulder. Notably, she is wearing the outfit he wears for the rest of “Mary Talbert”.
[00:00:28] In Chorus “David!”
[00:00:28] David stands in front of a tree. The camera cuts to extreme close up in a shot made iconic by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez’s Blair Witch Project (1999). Notably, he is wearing the outfit he wears for the rest of “Mary Talbert”.
[00:00:31] In Chorus “Riley!”
[00:00:31] Riley jumps out from behind a tree! Notably, she is wearing the outfit he wears for the rest of “Mary Talbert”. The next shot depicts Riley in an interior location, at night.
[00:00:33] In Chorus “the paranormal paranoids, the paranormal paranoids, the para, para, para, para, pa, pa, paranormal paranoids!”
[00:00:33] In montage: A shot of Peter, Laura, and Riley dancing that takes place at 00:05:49, a shot of Riley coming to grab the camera that occurs at 00:08:25, a strange figure in a leotard in space, a figure ramming directly into a rocket in space, and the title card backed with an explosion.
Video Actually Starts
[00:00:43] A three-shot of Peter, Riley, and Laura all walking across a sports area in a public park. The wind is blowing so intensely that it’s difficult to make out the details of their conversation. David trails behind with the camera.
[00:00:56] Riley “…Oh, that’s why you have me!”
[00:00:58] Peter “Is it…”
[00:01:02] Peter kicks a wastebasket.
[00:01:03] Riley “Oh, very manly…”
[00:01:07] Riley “…yeah…”
[00:01:20] Laura “I wonder what he does other than…”
[00:01:23] Riley “I think he’s back here.”
[00:01:24] Peter “I would think the entrance is this way.”
[00:01:26] Laura “I’m not sure I…”
[00:01:27] Peter “How are you doing David.”
[00:01:27] Riley “…didn’t know where we were going he was…”
[00:01:30] David “Didn’t care about it.”
[00:01:34] Riley “What…okay”
[00:01:38] David “…This looks promising.”
[00:01:40] Cut to a shot of the surrounding forest.
[00:01:42] Riley “I don’t remember… okay whatever. David, do you know where it is?”
[00:01:47] David pans over to face Riley and Peter. They are walking towards a gate and a pile of mud.
[00:01:50] David “Really?”
[00:01:51] Peter “He doesn’t know!.”
[00:01:52] Riley “David knows things!”
[00:01:53] Laura “That’s all he does.”
[00:01:55] David “I’m glad you guys believe in me.”
[00:01:57] Cut to the group a little further down the path. Past the gates, but not quite to the mud piles yet.
[00:01:58] Peter “Here we have mounds of dirt. A lot of it.”
[00:02:01] David “You don’t say.”
[00:02:06] Riley “Sorry…the mounds aren’t conscious…”
[00:02:09] Peter “Not that it’s some burial ground around here or something.”
[00:02:12] Riley “Start digging!”
[00:02:16] David zooms in on a pillar out beyond the mud piles.
[00:02:22] Riley ”…thorns.”
[00:02:25] Laura “Oof, uh, oh no. no”
[00:02:28] David “Way to watch for that thorn.”
[00:02:30] Riley ”I warned you!”
[00:02:34] Laura “No, seriously, where do we stop?”
[00:02:35] Riley ”I think it’s up here.”
[00:02:37] Peter “Yeah?”
[00:02:38] Riley ”I… I think so. I don’t think it’s there Peter.”
[00:02:42] Laura “Aw. ew, ew, ew, ew, ew.”
[00:02:43] Peter “You sure?”
[00:02:44] Riley ”Yeah.”
[00:02:49] Cut to Peter stuck in ankle-deep in the mud.
[00:02:50] Peter “Guys I literally can’t get out of the mud right now.”
[00:02:51] Riley ”I’m not coming to save you.”
[00:02:55] Peter “Jesus fucking christ!”
[00:02:57] David “Did you lose both of your shoes?”
[00:03:00] Riley ”Your shoes!”
[00:03:00] Peter “Yes I lost my shoes.”
[00:03:01] David “They are gone forever now they belong to this place.”
[00:03:03] Riley ”I’m not saving them. I’m sorry.”
[00:03:04] Peter “I don’t know if I want to…I need…”
[00:03:07] David “uh jeez.”
[00:03:10] Laura “Okay well, I’m walking on the grass.”
[00:03:13] David “Come on, there you go, that’s one.”
[00:03:15] Riley ”Oh god.”
[00:03:18] Laura “I cannot believe…”
[00:03:20] Riley ”That you, that was so your own doing. Oh.”
[00:03:24] David “So strong. Just so strong.”
[00:03:27] Peter “Alright, worth it.”
[00:03:29] Riley ”This everyone is the mud monster of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.”
[00:03:32] Peter “Rawr!”
[00:03:34] Riley ”His name is Peter. He was a friend of ours once. He’s not anymore. The mud ate him.”
[00:03:42] Laura “Aw the poor… the poor socks!”
[00:03:44] Peter “Anyone, anyone brings an extra pair of shoes?”
[00:03:45] David “Yikes.”
[00:03:46] Riley ”I have an extra pair of socks but I don’t know how much it’s gonna help you.”
[00:03:50] Peter “The socks?”
[00:03:52] Riley ”yeah.”
[00:03:53] Laura “Well, it’s not going to help him that much.”
[00:03:55] David “Jeez, you’re not… you’re not getting back in my car.”
[00:04:00] Peter “You’re going to make me walk?”
[00:04:02] David “In those shoes? Yeah sure.”
[00:04:03] Peter “You’re gonna make me. You think anyone’s gonna pick me up in these?”
[00:04:06] Riley ”yeah I do. I think it’s promising.”
[00:04:07] Laura “You could ride on the hood.”
[00:04:09] Cut to a three-shot of Riley, Peter, and Laura at the location of Mary Talbert’s suicide. Riley begins a monologue for the episode.
[00:04:09] Riley ”To most people, this forest is the same as any, but to the people of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio who remember what occurred in 1994 these woods hold a sinister story. A young married couple was on a hike when they came across the body of Mary Talbert.
[00:04:23] A brief cutaway to a still photograph of some legs hanging in the forest, it’s in sepia-tone.
[00:04:26] Riley ”This is where it happened. No one ever learned why Mary took her own life. There were plenty of theories but nothing concrete ever came forward. Many were confused over the public nature of the suicide. This is a popular hiking spot. Lots of passersby come through. She must have known that. It was almost as if she wanted to be found, wanted to be seen. Rest in peace, Mary Talbert.
[00:05:20] Riley “David, are you getting shots of the tree?”
[00:05:22] We cut to a long shot of the group on the right. In the background a figure can be seen, looking at the Paranormal Paranoids.
[00:05:22] Riley “Come on!”
[00:05:22] Peter “Hurry man, get the fuck over here.”
[00:05:25] Riley “Okay.”
[00:05:26] Peter “Alright, what are we doing?”
[00:05:27] Riley “Smiling right?”
[00:05:27] David “Smile.”
[00:05:27] Peter “Smile? Okay.”
[00:05:28] Laura “Yeah.”
[00:05:29] Peter “Cheese!”
[00:05:33] David “That should be good. Alright, uh, cool cool so do we want…”
[00:05:35] Riley “Silly? Yeah? Possibly?”
[00:05:36] Laura “Sure.”
[00:05:37] Peter “Alright.”
[00:05:37] David “Alright.”
[00:05:38] Riley “Okay um… um… okay.. Ah!”
[00:05:39] David “Do a Charlie’s Angels Pose?”
[00:05:40] Peter “Oh! Charlie’s Angels!”
[00:05:41] David “Like this.”
[00:05:41] Peter “Oh yeah, right!”
[00:05:43] Laura “There’s four of us.”
[00:05:43] Riley “I don’t know what I’m doing!”
[00:05:45] David “…good!”
[00:05:47] Riley “He’s not, we have the wrong number!”
[00:05:49] We cut to Peter, Riley, and Laura still in the woods, dancing.
[00:05:49] Riley “Tree, cart, right.”
[00:05:50] Laura “Shopping cart.”
[00:05:51] Riley “Shopping cart?”
[00:05:52] David “Let’s dance and move. There we go. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.”
[00:06:04] Peter “yeah.”
[00:06:05] Riley “Wow, that was very impressive Peter.”
[00:06:07] Laura “woah.”
[00:06:08] Riley “I’m so impressed. Can you throw something bigger and heavier though? That’s the question.
[00:06:14] Peter “oh fuck off Riley.”
[00:06:16] Riley “But I need you to prove that you’re a man.”
[00:06:20] Peter “I don’t gotta’ prove shit to you.”
[00:06:23] David “It’s cause’ he can’t.”
[00:06:27] Peter “Freaky wood thing happening here.”
[00:06:30] Laura “How about you make sure we don’t get lost…”
[00:06:35] David “Branches out here.”
[00:06:37] Riley “Branches.”
[00:06:40] Cut to a shot of Peter, standing near the mud again.
[00:06:41] David “Peter, stay away from the mud.”
[00:06:43] Peter “Okay!”
[00:06:43] Laura “I am totally walking on this side.”
[00:06:45] Peter “I don’t know there’s something about it that I…”
[00:06:46] David “Listen. We’re getting back in the car so avoid the puddles, please?”
[00:06:50] Peter “Oh so you’re gonna, you’re gonna give me a ride now? You’re not going to make me hitchhike?”
[00:06:50] Riley “Yeah you know David and his car.”
[00:06:54] David “Nah, you’re just going to have to leave your shoes outside I guess. They’re gone. Consider them done.”
[00:07:00] Riley “A sacrifice to the paranormal, par… Why is our name so difficult.”
[00:07:04] Peter “The paranormal, It’s really not. I think you have trouble with alliteration.”
[00:07:07] Riley “It is! It is who’s idea, was it? It’s a bad name.”
[00:07:11] Laura “Paranormal Paranoids.”
[00:07:11] Peter “It was definitely David’s.”
[00:07:15] David “Do not blame me.”
[00:07:16] Laura “It was a group thing.”
[00:07:17] Peter “Only he could come up with a name that dumb.”
[00:07:19] Riley “I…”
[00:07:21] David “Anybody want to defend me here?”
[00:07:23] Riley “I mean it’s not a great name. I don’t think it was solely you who came up with it though, I will, I will give you that.”
[00:07:28] Peter “No, I’m just giving you shit. I like it.”
[00:07:28] Laura “I think it was a group consensus guys, like, all of made it?”
[00:07:33] Riley “Peter’s come around on the name.”
[00:07:33] David “What happened to team, guys? What happened to teamwork?”
[00:07:35] Peter “Yeah it’s not, it’s not, it’s not that bad.”
[00:07:39] David “There is no David in team, okay?
[00:07:40] Peter “There is no David in team, Oh my god… third wall.”
[00:07:45] Riley “Okay Auteur.”
[00:07:49] Laura “Ah, it’s cold as fuck.”
[00:07:56] Riley “… a shot of that tree?”
[00:07:57] Peter “What’s that? You want my jacket?”
[00:07:57] Laura “No.”
[00:07:59] Peter “Are you sure?”
[00:08:00] Laura “Yes. You need it.”
[00:08:02] Peter “I don’t need a jacket.”
[00:08:03] Laura “You’re going to get cold with those…”
[00:08:04] Peter “Oh, okay.”
[00:08:10] Peter “Why do people litter?”
[00:08:15] Riley “So you can pick it up for them.”
[00:08:17] Peter “David, why don’t you let me take the camera.”
[00:08:18] Riley “Yeah, why, why is it that David’s the one with the camera.”
[00:08:21] Peter “He’s so pretty I don’t understand.”
[00:08:23] David “Stop it, I’m blushing.”
[00:08:23] Riley “My, I mean, I think actually… David give me the camera. Come on, Give me the camera!”
[00:08:28] Peter “Yeah, come on let Riley take it!”
[00:08:30] David “Alright, Alright, Alright.”
[00:08:30] Riley “I wanna’ try. Okay, oh.”
[00:08:33] David “You can…”
[00:08:34] Riley “I know how! I’m fine!”
[00:08:34] Peter “Look at this face.”
[00:08:35] Riley “Look at! Look at David. Hey everyone on the channel, this is our cinematographer David who doesn’t like to be on camera but we got him!”
[00:08:39] Laura “…other people…”
[00:08:43] David “Hello. I don’t. Here I am anyways.”
[00:08:46] Peter “He’s really the prettiest of all of us!”
[00:08:51] Riley “And this is Laura and Peter.
[00:08:53] Peter “Hi.”
[00:08:53] Riley “Oh you’re in the shadow. Oh, there you go!”
[00:08:55] Peter “Oh there we go!”
[00:08:56] David “Camera, give it. Yes. Yes, I was getting…”
[00:08:53] Riley “Oh Oh okay. Are you gonna be okay? Do you want me…”
[00:09:01] David “No. We’re fine. We’re fine.”
[00:09:05] In Text “While looking at our footage… We discovered we captured something… This was not staged…”
[00:09:16] A clip plays from [00:02:41] highlighting a figure watching the Paranormal Paranoids from the distance. A clip then plays from [00:07:56] highlighting the same figure following the team as they leave the hiking trail. A clip plays from the group photo at [00:05:22]. A final still is shown of Mary Talbert sitting on a white couch.
[00:09:05] In Text “Mary Talbert 1968-1994”
[00:10:36] End Episode
Ghost Images
Here we can see the various zoomed-in ghost images from this episode.
Thoughts On Mary Talbert Episode
This is the first “real” Paranormal Paranoids show we see. It sets the stage for getting us to know the character’s personalities and a little bit of the group dynamic. It also shows us the first truly scary ghost event. No jump scares are required.
This is one episode where we really get to know David as in most of the other episodes he doesn’t say much as he is behind the camera.
A good episode I think with lots of information learned about the various characters.
