The Old Man in the Cave

I realize that the other commentators took this episode pretty seriously. Indeed it is a political episode. It's about the baser elements of humanity. The soldiers representing the survivalist mentality, the townspeople the rabble, and the old man a manipulative, self righteous oracle. Everything plays out the way it should, with those who deserve it getting their just desserts. It is the forbidden fruit being put on the table in front of desperate men. I hope, in my heart of hearts, that this isn't what we would do, but, sadly, I don't think it's far from the truth. The whole business of these guys rolling into a weakened civilization is played out every day in parts of the world. As I speak, it continues in the Congo and other African nations and in Thailand. We can be our own worst enemies.

In 1974, ten years after the ultimate nuclear war, a group of survivors under the leadership Goldsmith lives in a small town. Goldsmith is the liaison between the survivors and an old man in a cave that gives advices of how to live in the destroyed land. When four soldiers under the command of Major French arrives in the town, they question Goldsmith and wants to see the old man.

"The Old Man in the Cave" is a tragic episode of "The Twilight Zone". The plot is based on the fear of American people in the cold war and is presently dated. Nevertheless, is a great episode, with a great duel of Major French and Goldsmith. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Velho da Caverna" ("The Old Man from the Cave")

I particularly like this plot which moral, ending is a powerful criticism against the human behavior, more precisely the group of folks, mass people, the crowd. It is not a comedy but a story that makes you think about it long after viewing. I hardly reminded this one, shame on me. James Coburn is a very convincing character here. And this scheme, plot, has rarely been evoked before in the show; and we arrive now by the end of the whole series. Yes, not the most terrific but a really efficient and powerful story that I advise you not to miss. This fifth season is far more interesting - for me - than the fourth one.

Depending on which part of this show you pick, you can get different interpretations.

The final dialogue in the show talks about "faithlessness". But, what I got from the show revolves around the people's destruction of "the old man in the cave". People have difficulty trusting someone or something that is different from themselves. Difficulty trusting something they can't understand or relate to.

Thought provoking, yes, but Serling's closing statement tends to annoyingly simplify the meaning in a way that I just cant accept. The people who have survived a nuclear war are so wretchedly hungry and miserable it is hard to judge them whoever they follow. Other TZ's depict some sort of survival after a nuclear war but this one shows a pointless encore for the human race. There just isn't a palpable human spirit among the survivors. Is faith more useful than knowledge?- not for me! An 'old man' in a cave who never comes out is an absurd rationale for detecting which food sources are contaminated by radiation. This story shows me that a lack of knowledge is dangerous - not lack of faith.

You can easily find real world counterparts to Major French and Mr Goldsmith but I grew a little tired of this post-apocalypse preachy stuff.