The downfall of all megalomaniacs is virtually guaranteed, whether based on an ideology or in a quest for personal power. The goal of a utopia begins with the idealistic notion that everyone within a particular community adheres to the exact same principals and ideals that would allow them to live in harmony. My own belief is that it might work in a village of two people, but add a third and success is no longer a possibility. I was intrigued by another reviewer's comparison to Jonestown and it's charismatic leader. That horrific chapter in human history ended in mass suicide, a testament to the power of demagoguery and the failure of people to think for themselves.
The interesting thing about this episode was that the members of the community DID manage to think for themselves. Actually, they were emboldened to set new goals for themselves by the recollections of Captain Benteen's (James Whitmore) life on Earth some thirty years earlier. Ironically, those recollections would clarify Benteen's own reasons for returning to Earth, though mere minutes too late.
It's curious to me that many of Rod Serling's tales of the future didn't involve traveling thousands of years ahead in time like a lot of sci-fi shows and movies of the era did. There was a glimpse of a memorial dating the colony's formation in 1991, so even thirty years of being stranded would bring the time frame of the episode to 2021. Heck, that's only about a decade away, so viewers eleven years from now should get more than a kick out of the story. By that time, kids will be talking about the 1960's as the old days.
The interesting thing about this episode was that the members of the community DID manage to think for themselves. Actually, they were emboldened to set new goals for themselves by the recollections of Captain Benteen's (James Whitmore) life on Earth some thirty years earlier. Ironically, those recollections would clarify Benteen's own reasons for returning to Earth, though mere minutes too late.
It's curious to me that many of Rod Serling's tales of the future didn't involve traveling thousands of years ahead in time like a lot of sci-fi shows and movies of the era did. There was a glimpse of a memorial dating the colony's formation in 1991, so even thirty years of being stranded would bring the time frame of the episode to 2021. Heck, that's only about a decade away, so viewers eleven years from now should get more than a kick out of the story. By that time, kids will be talking about the 1960's as the old days.