ODDITIES Returns to SCIENCE Bigger, Better and Weirder Than Ever for Its World Premiere Third Season

SILVER SPRING, Md., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than a decade, the East Village's iconic Obscura Antiques & Oddities shop has been New York City's foremost destination for one-of-a-kind, bizarre – and often shocking – artifacts.  Since becoming the focus of SCIENCE's hit series, ODDITIES, the Big Apple's epicenter of the eccentric has become pop culture's Mecca of the macabre.  Entering its third season, the franchise has come to define the oddball subculture on television.  Since its premiere, ODDITIES has won over legions of viewers and inspired "colorful" collectors throughout the U.S. and beyond to seek out Obscura's purveyors of peculiarities: Mike, Evan and Ryan.  Season three of ODDITIES premieres Saturday, December 17, at 9:00 PM (ET/PT) on SCIENCE.

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The third season of ODDITIES takes all of the wonderfully weird elements of the franchise's first two installments and turns up the volume for eleven ridiculously entertaining episodes that redefine the notion of "freak chic."  The merchandise has never been more memorable, with notable highlights including a two-headed pig, a mummified "member," an occupied coffin, a prostate warmer, and a preserved heart full of bullet holes.  However, at Obscura, the people are even more eccentric than the products.  Season three features the most curious cadre of visitors to date, including a self-admitted evil clown, a burlesque dancer and viewer favorite Edgar "Is That a Straightjacket?" Oliver.  Mike, Evan and Ryan also head out to Los Angeles, where they encounter like-minded celebrities, such as Cassandra Peterson, a.k.a. "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark," and Wes Borland, guitarist for rock band Limp Bizkit.  Also, it's officially the oddest holiday shopping season of the year when Obscura celebrates with a "Holiday Bizarre." Later, New Year's Eve offers the chance for reminiscing and reflection, as Mike, Evan and Ryan take a trip down memory lane to relive the oddest moments from the first two seasons.

"ODDITIES has a special connection with its fans that few other shows enjoy.  It's a phenomenon that's bigger than the series," said Debbie Adler Myers, General Manager and Executive Vice President of SCIENCE.  "It represents a subculture where the unusual is celebrated and being called weird is a compliment.  ODDITIES is one of the most entertainingly unique shows on television and a true cornerstone franchise for SCIENCE."

ODDITIES is produced for SCIENCE by Leftfield Pictures.  Bernadette McDaid is vice president of production, Josh Berkley is executive producer and Lindsey Foster is the associate producer for SCIENCE.  David George, Brent Montgomery and Colby Gaines are executive producers for Leftfield.

SEASON THREE EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS:

GHOST RIDER
Premieres on December 17, 2011 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
At Obscura Antiques & Oddities, Mike watches on as a customer attempts to escape from a rare set of handcuffs in order to earn a shop discount. Then, Mike & Ryan sell an extremely weird sideshow car to a girlfriend who wants to take it to a more morbid level.  Later, the guys must race against time to find matching bones to articulate a skeleton to fit in the driver's seat.  Later, a mother invests in a new piece of hairy real estate, and a customer buys her friend a gift that's both sweet and deadly.

HOLIDAY BIZARRE
Premieres on December 24, 2011 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
It's the holidays at Obscura Antiques & Oddities when a yogi twists more than an arm for a discount and Mike & Evan dig up some road kill taxidermy for Laura's Christmas party centerpiece. Then, a customer tries to sell some art, made of body parts.

BEST OF ODDITIES
Premieres on December 31, 2011 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
It's a trip down memory lane with Mike & Evan as they relive the very best of everything odd from the first two seasons. It's a look back at the most amazing items, the curious customers and freakiest sideshow performances at Obscura Antiques & Oddities.

THE SMOKING LUNG
Premieres on January 21, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
Sparks fly when Mike and Evan encounter an evil clown touting a grinder and a request to find a creepy prop to pair with his act.  Later, a customer stops by to find a special gift for a friend and is left standing there holding a smoking lung.  Then, Ryan falls in love with the shop's new piece of freak taxidermy and attempts to barter for it with a very special artifact from his own collection.  When the item is presented to Mike, watch the sparks fly when this opens some old wounds from their past.

FINGERNAILS AND JUST FOR MALES
Premieres on January 21, 2012 at 9:30 PM (ET/PT)
A devil-horned patron is looking to rid himself of a possibly possessed spirit. Then, a massage therapist commissions Ryan to construct an extraordinary exploded skull preparation that has never been done before.  When Mike stops by to check on Ryan's progress, he learns the stink of bone dust is one that you will never, ever forget.  Later, Evan and a friend with incredible 18-inch fingernails get up close and personal with a prostate warmer.  Finally, a woman with seriously bad sinuses finds a quack medical device that blows her away.

INSANE AND THE MEMBRANE
Premieres on February 4, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
A customer receives a 2-for-1 deal on a very special pickled pooch.  Then Mike and Evan go on the hunt to find a vintage light therapy device for a customer's salon.  After they come up empty in their search, they pay a visit to an incredible collection.  However, getting the owner to part with his rare helmet designed to cure the insane might prove to be an even bigger challenge.  Later, a customer has a jaw dropping experience with a human head and Ryan and Evan come across a deer with see through skin.

MUMMY'S PRIVATE COLLECTION
Premieres on February 4, 2012 at 9:30 PM (ET/PT)
A customer brings in what appears to be an unexpected member from a Mummy but Mike and Evan aren't taking any chances.  Then, Ryan gets a visit from his old pal Andy Animal when he tries to sell him a coffin with what he says is a hybrid human in it.  Later, a customer takes a crack to the skull when he tries out some restraints made to be used on a child.  Finally, a man with a one-eyed pig attempts to stare Ryan down for a higher price.

SEEING SCARS
Premieres on February 11, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
A burlesque dancer has Mike and Evan seeing scars when she asks them to find a very special item that will help her embrace a physical trauma she has overcome.  Then, Ryan gets in touch with his inner Buddha when he presents a customer with an unusual Tibetan skull drum and receives a musical lesson he won't soon forget.  Later, Evan and Mike head to the largest antiques festival in the United States where they come across a lie detector test and Evan experiments with the comfort of a rare glass mortician's table.

THE ARSENIC AVENGER
Premieres on February 18, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
At Obscura Antiques & Oddities, Mike and Evan lend a hand to legendary Toxic Avenger director, Lloyd Kaufman. Later, a chainsaw wielding performer flips out on the guys and a customer reveals a taboo piercing kit that isn't used to put holes in ears.

SORCERESS OF LOVE
Premieres on February 25, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
A boy is looking to sell his deceased saber-toothed pet to Mike and Evan in order to get money for a new one. Then, Monique stops by with a devilish item to sell to the shop but her real intentions are revealed when she asks Ryan out on a second date.  The couple ends up at a mysterious sorceress' home and are counseled in the ancient art of the undead. Later, Mike and Evan meet a "doctor" specializing in adventure, prosthetics and sledgehammers, and a bartender is selling a bizarre device that definitely does more than crack beer nuts.  

HOLLY-ODD
Premieres on March 3, 2012 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
The Obscura Antiques & Oddities team goes to L.A. where Mike & Evan are commissioned to find a very macabre item for Elvira! Then, Ryan stops by rock star Wes Borland's incredible skull collection & later, finds out that you can actually buy a brain.

About SCIENCE:
SCIENCE, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is home for the thought provocateur, the individual who is unafraid to ask the killer questions of "how" and "why not."  The network is a playground for those with audacious intellects and features programming willing to go beyond imagination to explore the unknown.  Guided by curiosity, SCIENCE looks for innovation in mysterious new worlds as well as in its own backyard.  SCIENCE and the SCIENCE HD simulcast reach more than 68 million U.S. households.  The network also features high-traffic online and social media destinations, including ScienceChannel.com, facebook.com/Science Channel and twitter.com/Science Channel.

About Discovery Communications:
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and territories.  Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 130-plus worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, SCIENCE and Investigation Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network.  Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including HowStuffWorks.com.  For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

About Leftfield Pictures:
Leftfield Pictures was founded and owned by executive producer Brent Montgomery, produces a wide array of unscripted television. In addition to Oddities, the company produces the mega-hit Pawn Stars and American Restoration for History, Fashion Hunters for Bravo, Monster In-Laws for A&E, and Truck Stop USA for Travel. Additional series are in development at networks including ABC, History, Spike, Animal Planet, Lifetime, Science and others.  For more information please visit www.leftfieldpictures.com.

SOURCE Discovery Communications