Entertainment
The Stephen King Chiller On Netflix That Everyone Has Forgotten
By Kevin C. Neece
| Published
Stephen King’s Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, a lesser known film based on one of the legendary horror author’s novellas, is streaming now on Netflix. The film was released in 2022, but begins in 2003 when a young man named Craig (Jaeden Mardel) befriends an older, retired businessman named John Harrigan, played by Donald Sutherland.
Their relationship begins when Craig is asked to read to Mr. Harrigan three times a week, with Harrigan eventually offering advice to the younger man.
After they both get iPhones, Harrigan warms up to the technology and the two connect more. But after the businessman’s death, in true Stephen King fashion, the titular device seems to continue to carry a connection to its former owner.
As Craig struggles with the mysterious and gruesome power he now seems to hold in his hand, he unravels the truth about Mr. Harrigan.
An Unfairly Overlooked Modern Classic
The novella Mr. Harrigan’s Phone originally appeared in a collection by Stephen King that was published in 2020. The collection, If It Bleeds, also includes the novellas The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story. At the time, Publisher’s Weekly said the stories represent King “at his finest” and Kirkus Reviews said the collection is “not a bad place to start” for new readers.
Of course, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is far from the first of Stephen King’s works to be adapted for the screen. From his first novel Carrie, which was published in 1974, a wide swath of King’s novels have ended up as movie adaptations, TV series, and miniseries—sometimes more than once. His many titles adapted to film and television include It, Christine, The Shining, Pet Sematary, The Tommyknockers, The Stand, Hearts in Atlantis, Misery, and many more.
Not all of those Stephen King adaptations have been well received or successful, but many have become cinematic classics along with their award-winning literary counterparts. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone was published in April of 2020, at the start of the pandemic, which might have hurt its chances to find an audience as people worried more about real life and finding more family-friendly and lighter media fare. The fact that the original novella was not as well known might also have played a role in the film finding less of an audience.
Whatever the case, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is a modern classic Stephen King story that should interest both his fans and those who are not yet familiar with his work. Among his less gory works, it is more psychological horror than the jump scares and bloody violence most often associated with the genre. It’s also not the first time the author has told a story about mobile phones.
From Mobile To Morose
Well before Stephen King wrote Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, he explored the horror potential of mobile devices in the 2006 novel Cell. In that story, an artist attempts to find his son after a mysterious signal broadcast over mobile phones has turned most humans into vicious, mindless monsters. The novel was well received by critics and was later adapted into a film directed by Eli Roth in 2016.
While that novel represented Steven King’s take on a zombie epidemic, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is less brutal. Still, it does bridge the gap between life and death, a story element hardly unknown to the master of the macabre. As early as Pet Sematary, which featured deceased pets returning from their graves in horrific fashion, King has crossed the boundaries between the living, the dead, and the living dead. Such stories don’t just scare us; they examine our relationship with grief, mortality, and our fears about loss and dying.
Stephen King’s Brush With Death
Stephen King himself might not have lived to write Mr. Harrigan’s Phone if a distracted driver had been just slightly more distracted when he veered off the road and hit the author in 1999.
Despite the small irony of the man who wrote a book (Christine) about a killer car being run down on the side of the road, the accident was a major physical and emotional setback for King. Still, he pulled through to a remarkable recovery and has remained one of the more prolific, honored, and admired writers working today.
Though Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is not as well known as other films based on Stephen King’s work, its intriguing premise might well make it attractive to viewers who are a little less interested in, say, demon clowns. If you’re curious, you can stream Mr. Harrigan’s Phone on Netflix right now.
Entertainment
The Best New Show Of The Year Is A Supernatural Comedy Horror On AppleTV
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The 2026 television season has been a little lackluster so far when it comes to original, new series. The Boroughs was a fun binge on Netflix, Margo’s Got Money Troubles was a good comedy, but nothing can compare to the surprising success of Widow’s Bay on AppleTV. It’s a horror comedy, which might be the hardest combination of genres to pull off, that plays out like Twin Peaks meets Parks and Recreation. No show will leave you laughing so hard in one episode, before traumatizing you in the next.
Widow’s Bay Is The Most Original Show In Years
That odd mix of shows makes sense since Widow’s Bay was created by Katie Dippold, a writer for Parks and Recreation. The series takes place in the island town of Widow’s Bay in New England when Mayor Tom (Matthew Rhys) decides to boost tourism to the small community. The catch is that the community, primarily Wyck (Stephen Root) believes the island is cursed.
It’s not a spoiler to say that yes, yes it is cursed, and yes, there are real horrors at work on the island. That’s not surprising. What is surprising is the dry humor and Matthew Rhys’ perfect facial expressions, as the town’s residents will deliver the most absurd lines with a perfectly straight face. If you vibed with the humor of Parks and Recreation, you know what you’re getting into with the odd residents of Widow’s Bay, especially Kate O’Flynn as Tom’s assistant, Patricia. There’s a sequence with her involving a shotgun that is destined to be a social media hit for years to come, and one of those moments that you’ll think, “I’d do the same thing.”
Slapstick Comedy, Horror, And Amazing Sight Gags
Before starting your binge of the first season, avoid as many spoilers as you can. Widow’s Bay sets up mysteries early on with the chained church bell, the strange basement room, a rolling fogbank, and, while it’s not a supernatural mystery, how many Diet Cokes can Town Hall employee Dale consume? His desk is filled to the brim with cans. That can’t be healthy.
Keep your eyes peeled while watching Widow’s Bay as the production team was heavily influenced by The Simpsons usage of sight gags. Some are called out with blatant shots, others exist in the background of a conversation, but put together, they make the town of Widow’s Bay an absurdist version of Twin Peaks.
No one had supernatural slapstick down on their 2026 Bingo card, but here we are. While Netflix pulled the plug on The Boroughs, Widow’s Bay has already been confirmed for a second season, which is good considering the stakes-raising season finale ends by revealing a whole new layer to the mystery of the island. We have a long wait until Season 2 premieres, giving you plenty of time to watch the show of the Summer, and you can still convince your friends you were a fan of Widow’s Bay before it was cool. ]
Widow’s Bay Season 1 is now streaming on AppleTV.
Entertainment
Don’t pay $199 for Windows 11 Pro when it’s currently just $13
TL;DR: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro is down to just $12.97, giving users an easy OS upgrade with advanced security, productivity tools, gaming features, and Copilot AI.
Some upgrades just feel right. This is one of them.
If your PC has been running a little sluggish or you’ve been meaning to bring your system up to speed, Windows 11 Pro is just $12.97 (reg. $199) — a rare, time-sensitive offer that rewards quick, savvy decisions.
Mashable Deals
This isn’t about chasing trends; it’s more about giving your computer the modern foundation it deserves. Windows 11 Pro brings a sleeker UI, better multitasking, and enhanced security — all in a one-time lifetime license.
Think of it as the difference between driving a reliable car and suddenly upgrading to one with a smarter dashboard, smoother handling, and built-in security features.
For professionals, creators, and power users, this upgrade also unlocks features like Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, BitLocker encryption, and seamless Azure AD integration — tools that make a real difference when you’re working across projects or managing sensitive data.
And yes, Windows 11 comes with Copilot, Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant that can summarize pages, change settings, or even help you generate code on the fly. It’s like having a co-pilot (literally) inside your OS.
Mashable Deals
But you don’t need convincing — you already know a smart upgrade when you see one. Get Windows 11 Pro for just $12.97 (reg. $199).
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
Gene Roddenberry Secretly Fixed Star Trek’s Earliest Plot Hole
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Star Trek is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Part of why that is so impressive is that this franchise has managed to maintain the same continuity for so many years. Sure, the Kelvinverse rebooted everything for a few movies, and we occasionally get glimpses of alternate universes with their own twisted history. But the main Trek timeline, from The Original Series through Starfleet Academy, has remained the same, which is an amazing creative achievement. But it also leads to something as annoying as it is inevitable: plot holes!
There are many seeming plot holes throughout the franchise. Heck, Starfleet Academy introduced more than its fair share in only one season. However, the earliest plothole goes back to William Shatner’s very first episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” This episode features a mock grave for James Tiberius Kirk that reads “James R. Kirk.” This weird screwup inspired decades of attempts by fans and creators to explain what happened. However, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a simple explanation from the very beginning. That is, the godlike character who created the tombstone was still fallible, meaning that this would be an in-universe screwup rather than a production error.
A Ghoulish Plot Hole
“Where No Man Has Gone Before” was actually the second pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It’s the episode that sold NBC on this new show, which isn’t surprising, because this is a great hour of television. Strange energy from the galactic barrier gives one of Captain Kirk’s best friends, Gary Mitchell, godlike powers. Those powers are getting stronger by the minute, so Kirk eventually has to make the difficult decision to kill his buddy in the name of keeping the entire ship (and quite possibly the entire galaxy) safe.
At one point, Mitchell uses his powers to summon a tombstone that reads “James R. Kirk.” It makes for a great threat, but there’s just one problem: the character’s name is James Tiberius Kirk. Incidentally, Gene Roddenberry seemingly knew Kirk’s middle name early on, even though it wasn’t officially revealed (outside of The Animated Series) until The Undiscovered Country. In the introduction to Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, Original Series writer D.C. Fontana claimed that once Roddenberry noticed the mistake, he came up with a quick and easy explanation. “Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was human. He made a mistake.”
Powers Like A God, Mind Like A Human
Unfortunately, Roddenberry kept this plot hole explanation to himself. I say “unfortunately” because this mistake sent fans into a tizzy trying to explain the discrepancy. On top of that, various Star Trek writers tried their hands at providing explanations. One such explanation came from Michael Jan Friedman’s non-canonical My Brother’s Keeper series. In these books, when the future captain meets Gary Mitchell, he claims his middle name is “Racquetball.” Later, when Kirk steamrolls through a discussion, Mitchell says the man’s middle name should be “Rhinoceros.” Therefore, Friedman explained that the “James R. Kirk” on the tombstone is just an in-joke between former friends.
Additionally, the late, great Star Trek writer Peter David tried his hand at an explanation. In his novel Q-Squared, the events of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” take place in a parallel reality in which Kirk’s middle initial really is “R.” In this non-canonical book, we also find out that Mitchell’s powers came from briefly being possessed by Q, who had to pull himself together across all of time and space. Quick side note: while Marvel has really played out the concept of multiverses, Q-Squared is an amazing novel, and every Trek fan should read it at least once.
These writers did their best to explain where “James R. Kirk” came from. On top of this, fans have constantly debated this issue, all trying to one-up each other in coming up with a suitable explanation for this plothole. As it turns out, though, none of this debating and speculating was necessary because Gene Roddenberry had the perfect explanation ready. Namely, that having the power of a god isn’t the same as having the unlimited knowledge of a god. It’s short, it’s simple, and it’s effective. Most of all, it does what Star Trek has always done best: keep the sci-fi storytelling centered around humanity.
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