Back to the Planet of the Apes: ep 13 "The Liberator"

 "The Tyrant"
Airdate: December 6, 1974

Written by Howard Dimmsdale
Directed by Arnold Laven
Synopsis: Helping a human being pursued by apes, leads to Virdon, Burke, and Galen being captured by a fatalistic, religious human community that provides human slaves to work in the apes' mines. Virdon and Burke's survival is dependent on convincing their captors to rebel against the apes.

Jason: At last, I dared hope, in this penultimate episode we'd see some human beings with self-respect, rising up to reclaim their freedom from the oppressor ape! What I got was a lot weirder and darker than that. That darkness, or at least the themes most uncomfortably close to real world troubles of the time, likely prevented "The Liberator" from airing in most or all markets during the original run. 

Trey: Yes, it's interesting, at time it was seen perhaps as referencing the Vietnam war. Certainly, it has "peace above all" message. It's also perhaps naive in its anti-war message, but then that would be par for the course of TV in the era.

Jason: Still, there's a lot to love! The cynical use of religion as a means of control is in play. We see blind obedience to the law from both humans and apes - rule of law is great as long as the laws don't suck!

Also, Weapons of mass destruction fall into the hands of a Scooby-Doo villain!

Trey: I would disagree with that a bit. I think we see true believers with regard to religion. True, Brun true goals are not revealed to his flock in the village, so I guess in that sense its cynical, but he still thinks he's doing the same god's plan. As an aside, this is really the first time with see the humans actively aiding ape oppression, but it's all a means to an end for Brun and his ancestors.

 His execution of his revenge against the apes...well, yes, that's a bit half-baked, no argument.

Jason: Once again human beings make the case for the ape supremacists! Given the option, human leaders are inclined to press the big red button and destroy everything. There is hope of redemption at the end, unless the Meadow people have something else in mind. 

Also, more so than in previous episodes, these people are depicted as deeply credulous boneheads. Their dialogue was more stilted and simplistic than ever, especially poor Talia, who seems like she can barely string together 3 or 4 words at a time. 

Trey: Yeah, they are definitely heavily indoctrinated, more so than even the fisher folk in "Tomorrow's Tide." It is almost sort of a dramatization of "religion is the opiate of the masses."

Jason: I picked up some heavy Star Trek vibes this time out, with the astronauts unconstrained by any kind of Prime Directive. Sufficiently motivated, these Burke and Virdon will act decisively to dismantle your culture before excusing themselves and hitting the road, never to return!

Trey: There's definitely that! At first blush it seems more in service of the needs of the mass medium and serial programming that Burke and Virdon are unwilling to take this new weapon and lead a race war against their ape oppressors. On the other hand, I think it can be explained from a character perspective. These astronauts have discovered that warfare destroyed their civilization. They also have come from a time (being young adults in 1980) where they had seen a lot of rapid advancement in civil rights after a hard-fought but mostly nonviolent movement. It's plausible that they would feel violence isn't the answer. Well, apparently only large-scale violence with weapons of mass destruction, as they still encourage the villagers to resist. I don't think the plot arose from examination of their characters, but I do think you can explain it that way.

Jason: Well, I'm prepared to render my verdict: One of the better episodes, only disappointing in that it had the potential to be a great one. 

Trey: Agreed.