The Rip Van Winkle Caper

Enjoyable caper that wont send you to sleep. Farwell (Oscar Beregi) is a scientific and criminal genius who leads of gang of four men in a bullion robbery. His masterstroke is putting himself and the gang into suspended animation for one hundred years after the heist so as to enjoy their wealth without fearing the long arm of the law.

A very pleasing tale from Rod Serling. There's a kind of cynical and eccentric nature about the gang of crooks, a little bit like in the classic British comedy 'The Lady Killers'. This lot don't trust each other but are ultimately equally stupid. I could guess the twist before the end but not right away. Nice story development, once again in Death Valley also the filming location for 'The Lonely' and 'I Shot An Arrow In The Air'.

Considering the accomplishments of the principle character, this is so idiotic. Three idiots and a scientist grab a million dollars in gold bullion and decide to take it forward in time. One of them has developed a means of putting them in suspended animation. Of course, because they are all idiots, they do the most base, stupid things imaginable, including wrecking the truck that will be used to transport the gold. Just like the guys in Von Stroheim's "Greed," the two survivors end up in a grab fest for the little water they have taken with them. These guys don't think five minutes ahead, considering they have gone a hundred years into the future. Did I mention they are a pack of idiots?

I was just doing a review of the show in general And listed in it my dozen favorite episodes. I did not include this one, But it was close. This to me is an episode that like some others falls just just outside that elite group. It's a very fine episode. The plot is good, intriguing, suspenseful, a good science fiction idea. The characters-Really just two-Are interesting ones. I want to know what happens to them, and Their interaction is very watchable. The cast as usual is taken from the best that was available, quality "character" actors when not outright stars. Key to the show is the ending twist, And this one does not disappoint. I'd have no problem including this one in my second dozen best episodes of the series :)

Seemingly at first sight this episode sound silly or contradictory, nevertheless it was part of Rod Serling's basis concept of The Twilight Zone, it's a fictional offer, after a successful gold robbery a quartet of thieves hidden in a cave all Gold's bars, leading by the genius Farewell (Oscar Berege) who planned the whole operation, to avoid to be arrest in that time, they will be preserved in a sort of sealed boxes by some kind of gas on suspended animation for next hundred years, in the future they'll wake up completely forgot by the men's law, just three survives along the century, but the world evolved surprising, what a arty story, it's has a strong The Twilight Zone's trademark, deliver the unknown, the unnatural, the unthinkable, how much weird is better, it gives us a wings to "beyond of imagination" (That is the Brazilian's name of this series), fantastic!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / DVD / Rating: 8.25

The above poster displays a fundamental misunderstanding about the value of gold and how inflation works. Gold has a static "value" - you invest in gold during times of inflation because when you cash back out, that gold will have the same amount of buying power it started with. It's the dollar that loses value, not the gold.

The plan in the episode is sound. The million dollars worth of gold would have bought the criminals roughly the same amount of stuff in 2061 as it would have in 1961.

It is of course still a plot hole in that suspended animation technology would be worth far more than $1M of gold, but it's a TV show, one that has a specific story and point to it, like all Twilight Zones had. It's simply a plot device.