"A Penny for Your Thoughts" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of The Twilight Zone, and starred Dick York as bank worker Hector Poole. It was first broadcast in February of 1961.
Mild mannered bank clerk Hector Poole is on the way to work when he buys a news paper from a newsboy, and when he tosses the quarter for payment, it lands on edge. He then (in an example of Twilight Zone logic) is able to hear the thoughts of people around him. The somewhat naive Poole takes a while to realize what is going on, and isn't very tactful at concealing his new mind reading powers. Hilarity ensues. Wacky hijinks entail. And since he is working at a bank, there is some opportunity for some drama as well as comedy. In the end, Poole loses his power but not before learning a valuable lesson.
Like other episodes in season 2, such as A Most Unusual Camera and The Whole Truth, this episode uses an obvious gimmick without much explanation to set up a string of humorous events. And like those two episodes, it succeeds in fulfilling its premise. This episode does especially well because of the open faced charm that Dick York brings to the role. But while I like this episode, I am starting to wonder if there can be too much of a good thing: "The Twilight Zone" should conjure up the eerie and the mysterious, not "slapstick romantic comedy".