The Old Man in the Cave - Twilight-Tober Zone

Several themes and similar concepts were explored in previous installments of the series, but The Old Man in the Cave still manages to have an identity of its own. Join Walter as he discusses this episode of The Twilight Zone.
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"The Old Man in the Cave" is a half-hour episode of the original version of The Twilight Zone. It is set in a post-apocalyptic 1974, ten years after a nuclear holocaust in the United States. The episode is a cautionary tale about humanity's greed and the danger of questioning one's faith in forces greater than oneself.
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[@thetalecollector]

Another interesting aspect to consider is how technology is portrayed more positively here. So many other stories have implied that any reliance, let alone over-reliance, on a computer or technology in general, as opposed to nature, is a bad thing. Yet in this case, the computer, an “unnatural” man-made inanimate object, was what was keeping the people alive.

[@bandongkevin]

A lot of politics are corrupt we need this AI. Al doesn't need to eat or have pleasure or luxury.

[@timezerohour8864]

@@bandongkevin I feel like we need to have AI's paired with humans in that future. To give context and perspective to it.

[@ImperfectXIII]

When the "Old Man" was revealed to be a computer, I immediately thought of the Futurama episode "Amazon Women in the Mood", where the Amazonians took all their orders from a Femputer. I guess the narratives differ though, since that episode was more of a "Wizard of Oz" story with the Femputer turning out to be a Fembot.

[@Alterego912]

I had the exact same thought.

[@Awelbeckk]

Death by snusnu is better than death by radioactive food.

[@TheAlps36]

I really wanted that computer to say "THAT DOES NOT FEMPUTE!!"

[@RockySamson]

Could be an allusion to both, honestly.

[@GrandInfernoElite]

​@@Awelbeckk would you prefer the large women, the petite women, or the most beautiful women un amazonia? You can't be kif, so you must choose 1

[@TheOneBearded]

Man, I'm glad Twilight-tober is back.

[@garretdrake2347]

sometimes people think they're geniuses because they question everything, but doing so without looking at facts or logic makes them end up nothing more than deranged conspiracy theorists. this is one of many twilight zone episodes still relevant today.

[@tomnook3274]

so many flat earthers. . . doubt for the sake of doubt is stupid.

[@beauwalker9820]

​@@tomnook3274 I was actually surprised they existed. I thought they were joking for years.

[@trinaq]

Moral of the story: Don't destroy the super computer that's been the only thing keeping you alive for a decade. You'll be instantly wiped out, and the rest of the population won't last much longer.

[@alexiaNBC]

Unless it's AM from the story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream."

[@noahdean9685]

@@trinaq some people are just arrogant and cannot trust one another even a machine that was designed to keep people alive no matter what!

[@Cameleonbates]

​@@alexiaNBCGah! You beat me to it! As soon as I saw this comment i thought "unless its a super computer named AM!" Classic, horrifying story!

[@kdusel1991]

​@@alexiaNBCOr HAL 9000 from 2001

[@edwardhannah8507]

We don't need machines to do jobs, maaaan! *makes a McDonald's order and watches tiktok videos on their phones*

[@jakeblankenship1408]

"Because sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes, people deserve more. Sometimes, people deserve to have their faith rewarded."

[@josephlosinno2456]

The world building here in this episode is incredible. Truly haunting.

[@benjaminsvideochannel7189]

the twist with it being a computer really surprised me but it made sense

[@Shorai_3]

Oh my god, I just realized this was an inspiration for the Futurama episode "Amazon Women in the Mood".

[@kdusel1991]

Death by snu snu!!

[@jlev1028]

I sometimes return to this episode. The themes of "The Old Man in the Cave" are very provocative and complex, feeling like an anti-thesis to that one short story I read years ago about the dangers of relying on superintelligent computers for guidance.

[@BenOzzy]

What! An advanced super computer was giving us advice? I thought it was a disheveled, crazy, old man in the cave just making pronouncements. Now, I am angry and don’t trust the advice I’m given by the advanced supercomputer. Must smash!

[@trinaq]

Yep, anger can make you do inane things, but they certainly paid for it later on.

[@BenOzzy]

@@trinaq it’s a well acted episode and I can accept the allegory but why were they angry? I get on a thematic level. But it’s weird they were willing to go along with following a weird “old man in the cave” then got angry at following the same advice from an advanced computer that might actually have innate abilities to answer those questions. Just always struck me as an odd twist.

[@Center-For-I.E.D.Mismanagement]

​@@BenOzzy To me, it's the underlying moral that lies, even in the name of good intentions, are still lies. The act of lying leads to certain destruction. If people cannot handle honesty, then they are not worth saving.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@BenOzzy i think is the typical "they lied to me! even if it is for my safety, they lied! so everything they said is now meaningless" i have seen that in fiction A LOT. the writers usually value truth SO MUCH it is rare seeing stories where they recognizce that sometimes lies are necessary

[@Reoko77]

Hulk SMASH!!

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

Anderson was such a great actor, he totally sells it. Every. Time. ❤❤❤

[@ClutchCargo001]

Yes! Like Burgess Meredith, John Fiedler, Donald Pleasence and Bill Shallert, these guys never became major stars or had their own series, but they were the blue collar workhorses who kept the mill churning out great shows.

[@etrisb]

Anderson was great in everything. I especially like him in an episode of Star Trek: TNG called "The Survivors."

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

@@etrisb and in both, he is left the lonely, peaceful sole survivor!!

[@etrisb]

@@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat But, on the other hand, he's still stuck on flight 33 somewhere.

[@EdmxndDantes]

I knew I had seen him in the Twilight Zone episode "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville". He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) as used car salesman "California Charlie", who sells a car to Marion Crane (Janet Leigh).

[@LordGreystoke]

I love Serling's closing narration

[@trinaq]

Had Goldsmith been honest with the townspeople that the "Old Man" Keeping them alive was a computer, then the tragic ending could have been entirely avoided. Then again, perhaps he realised how short sighted they were, and that lying was the only way they'd listen.

[@cyberangel2787]

IIRC the context of the episode is that using computers somehow caused the war in the first place.

[@KingBuilder525]

@@cyberangel2787 I forgot that part. Now it makes a bit more sense why they don't like computers.

[@SakuraAvalon]

Or better yet, if the people didn't choose to side with some loud mouths who pulled into town, over siding with the guy who had been keeping them alive.

[@raywalton1291]

One of my favorite episodes. I consider it to be the series most underrated episodes as well.

[@plucas1]

In the early 1960s, a super computer would have seemed much more alien and disturbing than it would be to us today. So yes, seeing the mob from that era smash the computer after being lied to about it is an understandable response from them. Not a smart one, mind you, but it follows.

[@TheNotverysocial]

But then, it wasn't that bright to have perpetuated this lie for so long. Goldsmith's facade is not like God, as there is hard evidence of what this really is. He had many chances to tell the truth, especially when pressed about it, yet he kept spinning this myth.

[@KingBuilder525]

maybe a little but these were people who were familiar with cars and phones, not cavemen.

[@noahdean9685]

War... war never changes that's what I feel like this episode.

[@weybye91]

Was about to write the same

[@noahdean9685]

@@weybye91 lol

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

16 times the detail

[@precious_muse]

This was the first episode of The Twilight Zone that really captured my attention. That twist, man! It made the information he got from the "old man" make sense.

[@promontorium]

Not knowing any more about the episode, my guess is that computer was one used for the nuclear war. That would explain it being in a mountain behind a blast door. It would explain the secrecy and hostility around it. The computers ended civilization. Of course they just did what humans asked it to do, and when asked to keep people alive, it did that too.

[@BelcherKendric-vn7ke]

That is a good guess.

[@shainewhite2781]

Another great episode with a great twist ending!

[@wstine79]

The Old Man was the Siri of the Twilight Zone.

[@Shorai_3]

More like generative AI as a whole.

[@mudvalve]

One of the few “twists” of the TZ that I didn’t expect when I watched this episode the first time!

[@1991sth]

Well it's nice to back for this year's Twilight-Tober Zone and yeah this episode definitely seems interesting

[@jacquespoulemer]

One of my favorites. Freud pointed out that although we have a strong survival instinct there is a 'death wish' as well.

[@Federico_D_B]

This was actually my first zone episode, many years ago, and it blew my mind

[@tommyjones7096]

I remember a similar thing happening in an episode of the 1990s "The Outer Limits" reboot. A group of people had been imprisoned by alien invaders. They escaped and found a tree with fruit growing on it. The ersatz leader advised against eating it since they'd heard the plants had become highly toxic. One brash guy ignored her and convinced others to join him in eating the fruit. Shortly after, everyone who ate the fruit got sick and died.

[@theproplady]

You never hear anyone go "Hey, let's just have ONE person try it out to see if it's dangerous!" in these kinds of stories, do you?

[@stevenpina1983]

I hope they cover the 90s outer limits series. Hardly anyone does

[@tommyjones7096]

@@stevenpina1983 I'm pretty sure Rene Auberjonois was an alien in that episode, too.

[@julieporter7805]

In some ways, Goldsmith is a foil for Bensteen in "On Thursday We Leave For Home." Both are leaders of a group of survivors. Both create rules that the others follow but also act like father figures. Both also argue with outsiders who question their authority and get the people to their side. But the difference is in the message and the outcome. "On Thursday," they were being led to embrace life whereas here they are being asked yo face death. It shows the extremes that while structure can be confining, too much liberation without any sort of restraint can be just as bad if not worse. The comparison shows that no one way is the same for everyone and for every circumstance. Sometimes context and specific examples should be measured and weighed before deciding the outcome.

[@TankCop]

In Fallout 3 the super computer that takes the role of John Henry Eden leader of the ENCLAVE is just like the old man in this show.

[@Ladykat1808]

Really hope Walter decides to cover the 80s seasons. Love having these to look forward to every night in October x

[@shinjinaraku4251]

I hope he does that, or covers some of the other sci-fi series like The Outer Limits.

[@jcollins1305]

A solid episode with a thought provoking theme.

[@TransistorBased]

The best types of world building set the ground rules and the background, and leave the events and the viewer's mind to fill in some of the specifics.

[@doomcool7960]

I am convinced Mr.Goldsmith was actually god telling everyone not to eat the damn apple but as expected someone leads them astray and they all take a bite of that apple

[@philipportelli7700]

The people turned on the man who told them "No" with good reason and in good faith for the man who told them "Yes" for no reason and in exchange for obedience!

[@weareallbronies9031]

fun fact! the guy with the white curly hair and black mustache is john marley, who played the producer in the godfather.

[@trinaq]

Thanks for the fun Fact, I knew that he looked familiar. 😊

[@thedoif2540]

@@trinaqhe was also David’s father in the 70s “Incredible Hulk” tv show.

[@Debatra.]

...And if you actually watch the video, that's specifically commented on.

[@sawg4607]

He was also in It's Alive 2

[@slyfox2022]

My son...press play first watch the video then comment

[@MforMovesets]

I sometimes think the twist is going to be a crossover. Like the man in the cave being the same guy that was left behind by his community in another episode (even though it makes no sense).

[@heidifedor]

Examination Day is one of my favorite episodes of the 1985 version. It too had a tragic ending.

[@niriop]

I was saying just the other day that Slesar is one of the most under-appreciated writers of the mid-20th century. He influenced pop culture at myriad points, including in his scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents (he also wrote hundreds of stories in every area of genre fiction, dozens of CBS radio plays and was the head writer on *three* different soap operas), and yet you can’t buy a single one of his short story collections from even a small press these days.

[@donjezza10]

Reminds me of Big Boss's speech in Metal Gear Solid, about becoming a slave to the pursuit of liberty.

[@louisduarte8763]

"War... has changed". - Solid Snake

[@wstine79]

Who knew 1974 was a barren wasteland in Twilight Zone?

[@jinpei05]

*barren

[@WebMonkey741]

I dunno did you see the furniture of that time?!? 😅

[@rogue7723]

I’m _so glad_ Walter mentioned _Snow Dogs,_ it was _one of my favorite_ movies growing up. 😊

[@michaelquinones-lx6ks]

Twilight Zone season 5 airing around the time of The Fugitive and The Outer Limits over at ABC-TV

[@aeon87]

The twist is a double edged sword here. Its perfectly reasonable to believe a super computer is the cause of the wars and suffering yet in this case, it kept everyone safe in this harsh reality. Its like the "liar revealed" trope. Sure he lied but it still helped everyone.

[@jackbrennan1125]

I don't know why a nebulous old man living in a cave nobody has ever seen is more trustworthy than a super computer though. None of this makes any sense.

[@aeon87]

@@jackbrennan1125 rage makes you do dumb things that you regret.

[@jackbrennan1125]

@@aeon87 I think if this episode dropped the deception angle and the soldiers were challenging the authority of the computer. To me it seems like the man was just fucking with the townspeople for no reason

[@TayoEXE]

​@@jackbrennan1125This was the 1960s. The concept of a computer was very new. Not only do I think people would question whether a machine would have their best interest at heart (as it does not have one) but also whether it could. What did a "computer" mean to people back then? Let alone a "super computer"? It's easy for us to talk of it now as we trust our lives even with the likes of Google, weather forecasts, etc. Found in portable devices everyone uses. It's familiar. To these people, the idea of a wise or deity like person seems to mean that at least the source of information is coming from a human or actual living creature. As they take small, desperate steps and leaps of faith, their confidence increases as they're the only living settlement. Compound that for a decade, and your confidence grows stronger and stronger. Basically, it's a time period thing in my opinion. The whole series often explores the idea of whether humans can trust or see robots, machines, like real people. These concepts were more science fiction than reality back then.

[@nakamaswarrior292]

Safety....or the truth? Very deep.

[@vdo3000]

Goldsmith is actually an alien. In the 24th century, he moves to the Federation colony Delta Rana IV. Which is where he crosses paths with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise crew.

[@Gojiro7]

man, its weird to watch this video after a all night binge play of Fallout 4 XD

[@HandsomeSteveJacobson]

Can’t get enough of these

[@TramiNguyen-oi3kp]

I love this Twilight Zone episode!

[@popper03244]

After this I think I will marathon the previous years Twilight-Tober videos.

[@LemonGoofball]

Awesome! You’re still making these!

[@Undeadpriest94]

What makes this episode hit so hard is that it unknowing predicted the recent trend of rejecting science and reasoning. How manipulative idiots who seek influence and political power will call upon people to reject proven scientific authority for the sake of "freedom", and in doing so not only put their own lives at risk but at the risk of so many others.

[@jackbrennan1125]

I think this episode would be massively helped if everyone knew it was a computer straight from the start and that was what the soldiers were attacking and questioning. Making it some mystical old man invites people to be highly skeptical of it and there was really no reason for the deception in universe. I like the idea of what you just laid out but that's not what the episode is about. The episode is about trusting authority implicitly with absolute faith and never questioning anything even if it's impossible nonsense.

[@gryphonofmight]

The ending of this one was really freaky

[@TheNotverysocial]

Goldsmith should never have lied about the computer being an old recluse in a cave.

[@Wildfire667]

One of the first episodes of the zone I really remember seeing. Always thought it was great stuff.

[@cerneysmallengines]

was starting to think walter had died

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love this series 🎃❤️

[@eerieeric834]

I think this concept of this episode was used in a Star Trek episode

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

And a Lower Decks episode when the planet relapsed into worshipping the computer again.

[@claytonrios1]

Caves almost always are a bad sign in horror...

[@CarlosRodela]

Forgot about this one - and I really dig it. Sad ending but like you said, very interesting world building and just a great zone ep

[@yahurdd69420]

I made a account * technically from one of those age restricted episodes* just to say this, please do the later series even though theyre bad you make these episodes a bit more fun and also ive been watching since the 2nd one came out!

[@dsharpness]

Soo, just read about Julian James, the bicameral mind, and the Delphic Oracle...not the first time...and I couldn't wait to watch Twilight Zone as a kid-Rod Serling the Oracle, this episode autobiographical!😄

[@hippybuddhist]

I've long felt this episode could almost be a companion piece to 1989's Casualties of War. Although the stories are markedly different; they share several plot points: an authority figure out of his depth who resorts to force and violence and calls it authority; a lone voice of reason trying to protect something but ,ultimately, has to witness its abuse and demise while he looks on helplessly, and a group of people blindly following the one they perceive as being the most powerful, even though logic, and morals, may dictate otherwise. Add to these an air of hopelessness, the contant threat of violence and, at times, nihilism and the thread, however thin, connects. For me, at least.

[@shanemoose3235]

Great episode! In my opinion, there’s a very thin line between having Blind Faith and being a Zealot. The society in this episode were always doomed to eventually fall, but French’s influence accelerated the inevitable

[@wjzav1971]

I don't quite get the logic of wanting to smash an advanced super-computer when they originally thought that there was no-one in that cave.

[@averyvincent1868]

I saw this episode for the first time last week, and was struck by how closely it mirrors the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden. Anderson tells the few people what food not to eat, lest they die. Major French is the Serpent, telling the people to ignore the advice of a supposedly fictitious higher authority, after which the people are expelled from Paradise. (In this case, that means death.) This was basically copied for the Star Trek episode "The Apple," right down to a military officer destroying the computer in the cave. (Kirk's story admittedly has a happier ending.)

[@TheNotverysocial]

Only unlike God, there is hard evidence of this, and spinning a myth had dire consequences.

[@theproplady]

@@TheNotverysocial There was "hard evidence" in the story of Eden because God was an actual being that talked to Adam and Eve. They would have had no reason to doubt anything that God had told them, just like the villagers in this episode had no reason to doubt the "Old Man in the Cave" since his predictions were always right. Their turning against the computer was an emotional, irrational act, just like Adam and Eve turning against the being that created them or modern day people turning against law and wisdom to embrace destructive things like addiction. The only thing "spinning a myth" did in the TZ story was keep the villagers alive because without faith, they never would have trusted the computer since they had irrational beliefs about technology.

[@TheNotverysocial]

@@theproplady Goldsmith could still have told the truth when pressed for it.

[@melissadahl7561]

psychologically this is such an interesting episode. Not one I watch very much, but I do like it. John Anderson really is great to watch.

[@spectreagent00]

One of my favorites!

[@WebMonkey741]

I luv the bit part that James Coburn has in the Mel Gibson movie "Payback" : "Man! That's just MEAN!"

[@kdusel1991]

Another awesome episode!!

[@HarvestStore]

Great video.

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Nice to see MacGyvers grandpa turning up for the last time here .

[@Elephant2024-wi2li]

Interesting comparison of this episode with 'On Thursday We Leave For Home.' I also thought of 'The Gift' where the townspeople again made the wrong choice by killing the alien and destroying what would have been a cure for cancer.

[@theproplady]

I feel that this is one of those TZ episodes with no villain. The people were desperate and had been denied most pleasures for years, so it's understandable that they would crack and disobey orders so they could enjoy themselves. Major French sounds like someone who could have been a hero if the "old man" in the Cave had actually manipulated and enslaved the people for its own interests. (Star Trek had many episodes where Kirk or Picard would liberate a trapped population from an evil AI or tyrannical being.) Goldsmith seems morally ambiguous because he lied to the people under his care, but it's was done with good intentions; technology had doomed the planet after all and computers were probably viewed with suspicion. I feel the bad ending of this episode was brought on because people HAD to rely on faith to get by, and it's human nature to discard faith if (a) you can't see the logic or reasoning behind it and (b) an alternative path opens that promises you a better, easier life.

[@CaptainCJ97]

4:55 i swear this episode gave off this vibe

[@Smiththeinspiringanimator]

Amazing!🤩

[@BreezeDorling]

(The Elephant in the Room pipes in singing "Futurama")

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

4:57 It is an interestin compare contrast with "On Thursday we leave for home"

[@GBmovieluv]

RIP James Corburn

[@HamdiTafa]

Love these

[@lilypolak]

That slap tho😮

[@jrr2480]

This episode is basically the stories of the Bible in a nut shell. Great episode, and very important message.

[@Nasser851000]

Aka Gandalf if he never became a wizard 😆

[@goldenboy82]

After you finish the classic Twilight Zone you should do the 80s Zone for October. There's quite a bit of good stories in that version as well.

[@kinglyone7172]

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this episode was, was it the computer that helped start the war and one of the reasons they don't trust it.

[@timezerohour8864]

When I watched it growing up I just figured that Mr.Goldsmith must have been someone that worked on the project to build Old Man. Might have just been the one IT guy that survived and only knew how to feed it data also.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

To those remarking on the Futurama episode: it TOO is a parody, of a hilarious B movie, "Amazon women on the moon"! ❤

[@adelaidefinch6197]

Just sitting here, surviving in Atlanta, GA. 🎉

[@DanielCrookeFilms]

Walter, please, please do the 80’s reboot when the OG series finishes this month, it would be awesome to have you discuss that Sir. 👍🏽

[@ClutchCargo001]

Lots of people are calling for you to do 'Night Gallery' and I would totally watch that. But it might require some culling as there were some real stink-a-roonies in NG. Maybe a 'best of' NG? Just an idea.

[@HighAsHeckPriestess]

Its an interesting one to rewatch in the 21st century when most of everything runs by computers and the internet. Like if Google stopped working for 24 hours, most of us wouldn't know what to do. Its a fascinating episode to ponder what happens to a society that relies on technology to contain all the information necessary for human survival, and I wonder what a 2024 version of this episode would have to add to it.

[@nataliegray8019]

I always wondered if the last man standing was an alien. His monologue at the end feels so dissociative, like he isn't a part of mankind himself. That would explain how he kept the computer running for a decade in a post-apocalyptic world, too. This whole episode really makes you think. For ten whole years, these people were relying on the "old man" to guide and protect them without ever seeing him or even hearing his voice, and they trusted it blindly. It's a perfect allegory for religion, making the viewer question their own faith and beliefs a little.

[@nickmanzo8459]

Really like this one as an allegory for faith. Society collapses when faith is abandoned. Even if what your faith was in turns out to be different than what you thought it was, at least its advice was good.

[@miguelatkinson]

Idk the more you look at it the more as an allegory for faith ends not being good

[@neonnwave1]

I figured out immediately that the Old Man was just a computer. Knowing about crops is one thing, but being able to predict the weather was a dead give away. This episode has aged well. We see this sort of thing happening even today. New comers are allowed into a space where things are fine, but then those new comers force their dominance and ruin everything because of their selfishness and ignorance. We see this in fandoms, businesses, sports, media production, politics, social movements, etc.

[@Oppeldeldoc1]

Another thing that makes James Coburn right for the role is that no one was better at playing "roguish" characters that you also like. So no wonder French wins everyone over. When it comes to weird things, John Anderson is also great in the OUTER LIMITS episode "Nightmare" (though he's under a huge amount of make-up as the space creature).

[@defender2222]

I personally think that this episode needed one more thing to truly make it work perfectly. They should have revealed that the war was started because people trusted machines. That they put too much faith into them. This would explain why the soldiers are willing to destroy the supercomputer and why the supercomputers presence was hidden. But then have the elder state that it was not the machines that did it it was humanity trusting them so much that they didn't think for themselves. Commenting that he never forced anyone to obey the machine he merely relayed what it said. Pointing out that he allowed them to do the farming how they did and it turned out it was a mistake. But also have it that he comments that it never told them who they need to marry or the like. It's all about balance. But the people don't believe him and do not trust the machine and as such die

[@joshuacritchfield3564]

Sometimes it's necessary to tell small lies, to get people to do the right thing. If they knew that he was basing this on a computer, they may have ignored him and gotten themselves killed sooner. Most likely he grew up with these people and knew that they would not listen to him. So he gave them a wise person to listen to.

[@DaisyAzuras]

Yeah, this reminds me of. It’s something that would happen in a fallout game, particularly the first two fallouts and maybe fallout new Vegas.

[@cherylcampbell9369]

There was a similar computer in a Star Trek TOS episode.

[@kali3665]

Still consider this my favorite episode from Season 5. I didn't get to read the Henry Slesar short story until many years after first watching the episode, and I was amazed how little Serling's script has to do with it. Basically, the only link to the story is the punchline, but it's a good punchline even if it never made sense how the "Old Man" got in the cave in the first place and what's powering it in the second place. John Anderson in his final TZ episode and James Coburn in his ONLY TZ appearance work well here. Once again, we focus on Sering's true strength as a writer: the character study. Mr Goldsmith could have come across as a religious demagogue, but something about the character stops just short of that. Meanwhile, we have Major French who reacts exactly as we probably would when confronted by yet another odd belief to come out of the post-apocalyptic world. He and his men are quick to defy the "will" of the Old Man, and waste no time convincing the community to do likewise. Only Goldsmith remains true. Now, the ending is a little odd, considering that it comes across as if everyone died overnight. Surely, everyone would have died gradually over time as the radiation sickness took hold, long enough for French to realize there IS something wrong. But we don't get that shift, and it is the only real problem I have with the episode. Lastly, I always questioned how the "Cult" of the Old Man started. Serling's intro says it's been ten years since the nuclear devastation, and I figured that hardly seems long enough for the all-consuming worship we see to take hold and be accepted with little question by everyone in town. But then, today, we have Trump Worship which completely controlled his worshipers in far less time, so I may no longer need to question this. 😏 Still, even with the very clear flaws, I did like the episode.

[@aaronmccarthy875]

Hey Walter, have you ever watched The haunting hour? It's kind of like Goosebumps but a lot more intense

[@rogers1032]

Could you please do these as part of FanScription • What if Disney’s Cinderella didn’t make it to the ball (Disney’s Cinderella 1950movie) • What if Bambi's Mother survived (Disney’s Bambi) • What if Flik and Atta had children (A Bug's Life 2) • The Incredibles vs The Sinister Six (Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Sandman and Vulture) • What if DreamWorks’s Rise of the Guardians 2 happened? • What if Disney’s Tarzan and friends found an unground world with dinosaurs and a lost civilization of people who mistake Jane as a Goddess (Disney’s Tarzan 2) • What if Elsa was the main villain of Disney’s Frozen • Batman vs The Green Goblin • Spider-man vs The Joker • What if The Evil Queen (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937movie) had won? • What if Ridley Scott directed Alien 3