Thanks to Stephen King's 'The Outsider' and Netflix's 'Pandemic,' our fears are as close as the closest TV

There is so much to fear in this world. It is hard to escape.

It was so much simpler when Franklin D. Roosevelt, delivering his first inaugural address as president in 1933, said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Roosevelt had never watched TV and was thus not daily bombarded with its frightening images, whether of the fictional, all too real or relatively benign type ("Blizzard Watch"). Fostering our fears and fueling our collective sense of dread, TV delivers, and millions eagerly accept.

Consider two programs currently available for your viewing.

"The Outsider" is based on a novel by that master