The Slice: The Slice: There’s a signpost up ahead and it says ‘Spokane’

Sometimes there are good reasons to have cable TV.

The Sci Fi channel will once again offer a two day “Twilight Zone” marathon New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day. You can check out a schedule at www.scifi.com.

Here are 10 episodes of the classic show that could easily have been set in the Inland Northwest.

1. “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” “A mysterious power failure causes paranoid suburban residents to suspect one another of being disguised creatures from outer space.”

Mistrusting anyone who seems the slightest bit different, guns, bad hair styles … this is loaded with local parallels.

2. “Where is Everybody?” “Greeted by empty streets, a man searches a small town to find that he is completely and inexplicably alone.”

This could be seen as an allegory of the changing farm economy.

3. “A Stop at Willoughby.” “A harassed executive escapes to the peaceful town of Willoughby in July 1880.”

This one echoes the case for living in Spokane, as opposed to, say, Los Angeles or Chicago. Of course, the guy winds up dead, but you can’t have everything.

4. “It’s a Good Life.” “A 6-year-old boy holds a town in terror with his powers to change or destroy anyone or anything at will.”

This is what you get when moms and dads try to be friends with their kids instead of being parents.

5. “To Serve Man.” “Apparently benign alien emissaries show mankind how to end the misery of war, plague and famine.”

Some local managers and executives can’t make a decision without calling in outside consultants. It doesn’t always turn out well.

6. “Printer’s Devil.” “A newspaper editor who is facing bankruptcy hires a man who claims to be the devil.”

Actually, the S-R was doing fine when I was hired in 1988.

7. “Living Doll.” “A man is threatened with revenge by the expensive talking doll he is planning to dispose of.”

Perhaps a conspiracy buff could liken this to the story of River Park Square.

8. “The Masks.” “A wealthy old man compels his hateful family to wear masks they think are the opposite of their personalities.”

Ever had anything to do with a contested will?

9. “Stopover in a Quiet Town.” “The day after a drunken party, a married couple awakens in an unfamiliar house with no idea how they got there.”

There are lots of people here who thought Spokane would be a short-term home. But then they never left.

10. “The Hunt.” “A hunter and his faithful dog are drowned while chasing a raccoon, and confront a gatekeeper who implies that he is St. Peter.”

Turns out heaven and hell are on the same road.

Today’s Slice question: What will be the key difference between the 2007 “Antiques Roadshow” visit and this year’s Orange County Choppers stop in Spokane?