The Rip Van Winkle Caper


I’m not sure how many of you feel about this episode, but I’ve always thought it was a very underrated one. Greed, betrayal, and that ending. What do you guys think?

“One drink, one bar of gold!”

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I think it is an excellent episode. Also— it contains one of the elements later used in Planet of the Apes. The glass case used for suspended animation breaks— proving how long they were unconscious.

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Jennie! It’s nice to see you here! I’m wishing you a Happy New Year! I love this episode and was talking to a friend about it last week. You are absolutely right about that and also how Mr. Serling was involved in the writing for Planet of the Apes. Good stuff!

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Hi there.. I didn’t bother tuning in last night for the marathon because I was doing New Year’s Eve Zoom parties and imbibing champagne... But this is a nice comforting way to start the new year!

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No worries at all, have your fun anyway you can. We’re just happy to see you pop in here when you get the chance. That actually sounds like a wonderful time! I still have some Jameson left. I totally agree, TZ is always a great start and I’m wishing everyone a great year. Here’s to ya!

Speaking of a new year/s, imagine waking up 100 years later like these guys. What an episode.

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yes- I do hope next year will be better. I have always loved the marathon and felt bad when I had to tear myself away to go out to parties. Now — since we are home all the time— sitting and watching TV doesn’t seem as much fun.

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It's a vert good episode, imho. I've grown to appreciate it more recently because I read the short story it's based on a while back.

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After seeing each of the TZs at a bare minimum of 50X each, there are some I naturally skip and some I have to watch. This is one of the ones I watch.

A lot of TZ episodes are great on the first run through, but once the TZ twist is revealed, they don't replay well. Others like this one have a more complete story, better pacing, better acting, better directing, and are eminently watchable many times over.

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Agree- there are some I always skip (“The Invaders”— can’t watch it— also “Young Man’s Fancy”- -painful). But this one I like a lot. When we consider the twist— how gold is no longer a valuable element— it makes me think about the things we value today that will be worthless tomorrow. It turns out that VERY little of what we value will be worth anything. It puts things into perspective.

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Yeah, The Invaders is one where the twist is the big gold nugget, but Moorhead's portrayal was fascinating enough that I'll occasionally watch it. Not a big fan of it though.

But I find Young Man's Fancy fascinating even if the ending just sucks for that poor woman who did everything right, and still got the shaft at the end. No matter what she did, Alex's overbearing mother was omnipresent in that house. I thought the story was good, the acting very good, and the premise intriguing.

It had a bit of a twist within the twist: the main twist of course being that Alex reverted from a newly married man to a child . The second twist is when his mother revealed it wasn't her who was pulling Alex back, it was actually Alex who wanted it. It was a painful ending to be sure.





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The Invaders is one that you can’t just listen to. On marathons I tend to do other things around the house— Like repotting plants— so it’s not worth keeping on. Also— once you know the ending, it’s hard to maintain interest.

Young man’s fancy- I actually liked as a kid— but once I grew up I hatred it. Except for the short wedding dress that the actress wears, which is lovely.

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LOL, I guess you don't have the "audio book" version of The Invaders then..


..except for the short wedding dress that the actress wears, which is lovely.


Agree. Also, I never noticed this until I became an older man, but that actress is what my dad would call "a handsome woman" (that being a serious compliment!). How Alex could walk away from a good decent woman like that who was also that classy looking is surely part of the TZ twist!!

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The only time i remember "A handsome woman" being used was in the first aired episode of Star Trek- TOS. "The Mantrap." I remember that Kirk refers to Nancy Crater as a "handsome woman," but I thought that it sort of damning with faint praise (since she was like 35 years old- which in the 1960's was middle aged).

I didn't realize that it was a real compliment.

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Yep, remember that episode - Nancy Crater aka the salt monster. The phrase certainly would be less complimentary if used on a younger woman. In that context, a person might be acknowledging a woman is pretty but also mature, an insult on a young woman certainly in a passive/aggressive way. Sounds like something Marie Barone from Raymond would say..

Yes, I meant it as a compliment. That actress was classy and pretty.

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i wonder if Virginia had any family or girlfriends to tell her "Girl, you are ruining your life with him!" It's a hard thing to tell someone, but they need to be told it every so often.

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Some people just don't listen to good advice regardless of who offers it. I saw a Dr. Phil recently where several women and men were "engaged" to people they never met, never spoke to, but only communicated by email. Oh, and sent their "fiances" several hundred thousands dollars despite protestations from friends and family.

I'll have to watch the beginning of Young Man's Fancy again. Did Virg wait a long time for Alex? I know they were both mature but I don't remember if they met when young and they waited for the old bat to kick (like in Static - another favorite of mine). It seemed that Alex was on board with selling the house (he did go through with the wedding at least), but then seemed to just snowball into the past once the wedding was over.

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I think it was a long time she waited — like 8 years? Somehow that sticks in my mind.

And Dr. Phil just thrives on that kind of stuff. When I watch “90 day fiancé” I wonder how many people are together for real

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I think it was a long time she waited — like 8 years? Somehow that sticks in my mind.


Yikes. That's similar to the story in Static, where a couple waited to get married because the man's mother was ill. By the time she passed away, they had drifted apart. I wonder if the writers are the same.

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In general about half of the episodes were great, the other half were ridiculous. This one was the former.

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