THE OLD MAN IN THE CAVE from The Twilight Zone (1963)
I'm considering today's entry on this blog as the first one in a new weekly series, where I pick a particular episode from one of the old television series I used to watch and discuss it. Before long you might discern that the pool of TV series I draw from is relatively limited...sad to say, in the past thirty years or so I haven't been all that enchanted with what's been offered out there. Still, having grown up a complete TV addict ever since I was a crib-shaking, paint-eating rebellious little baby, I have plenty of material to keep this going for quite a while. For today I picked an old Twilight Zone episode, from 1963: The Old Man in the Cave...
It's ten years after a nuclear war holocaust and one man is leading his small group of people through survival. He goes off and consults periodically with an "old man in the cave" who gives reports of radiation levels and which foods are edible and which are contaminated and deadly. The people want desperately to return to the old "normal" times but grudgingly follow their leader...that is, until three armed renegade soldiers, led by a young, charismatic James Coburn, convince them to overthrow him and eat and drink all their canned and bottled items. After all, it looks and tastes good, so it must be okay, right? The old man in the cave represents the knowledge and authority of science while Coburn's character stands for the demagogues who feed off the fears and inconvenience experienced by the population to lead them astray. The applications of this episode to today's situation with the coronavirus pandemic and those who deny it and refuse to wear face coverings, socially distance, or avoid large gatherings should be obvious...
Next week: another TV episode from the past...
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