The Rip Van Winkle Caper
Template:Infobox TTW season two Template:TTW episode details
Cast
- DeCruz: Simon Oakland
- Farwell: Oscar Beregi
- Brooks: Lew Gallo
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler To escape the law after stealing $1 million worth of gold bricks, a band of four gold thieves, led by scientist-mastermind Farwell (Oscar Beregi), hide in a secret cave in the desert. Farwell has designed suspended animation chambers and set them for 100 years, figuring that by 2061 nobody will remember the robbery and the gang will be in the clear. When they wake up, everything starts to go awry. One of the gang is already dead, a mere skeleton, because a rock had fallen and shattered his glass chamber. Greed soon begins consuming the others. DeCruz kills Brooks by running him over with the getaway truck, losing control of the vehicle and wrecking it. Consequently Farwell and DeCruz must walk through the desert in summertime, carrying as much gold as they can. Later, Farwell, who is older and somewhat obese, loses his canteen, and DeCruz forces him to ante one gold bar for each sip of water. When the "fee" goes up to two bars, Farwell strikes DeCruz with the gold bricks, killing him. Farwell then continues to a highway, carrying the gold he refuses to let go. Finally, weak and dehydrated, he collapses. A car drives up and Farwell offers his gold to the couple inside in exchange for water and a ride to the nearest town, but expires a few moments later. As the man gets back into his car to report Farwell's death to the police, he quizzically remarks to his wife, "Funny. He offered me this like it was really worth something." The wife vaguely recalls that it had, indeed been valuable sometime in the distant past. The husband replies, "Sure, until they found a way to manufacture it," and tosses the gold bar away.
Trivia
- The futuristic car that the couple drive in the end of the episode was from the movie Forbidden Planet. It was driven by Robby the Robot.
Themes
Greed can come in many ways, whether in money, ambition, or in this case, a bag of $1 million in gold. This episode warns against the dangers of greed, or "chasing a gold idol across the desert" as Rod Serling would conclude.