| "Many, Many Monkeys" | |
|---|---|
| The New Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 61 |
| Directed by | Ryszard Bugajski |
| Written by | William Froug |
| Original air date | March 18, 1989 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Karen Valentine: Claire Hendricks |
|
Karen Valentine: Claire Hendricks
Jackie Burroughs: Mrs. Reed
Ken Pogue: Dr. Friedman
Jan Filips: Dr. Peterson
Norah Grant: Susan
John Gardiner: Mr. Reed
Robin Ward: Narrator
"Many, Many Monkeys" is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone, first broadcast in 1989. The episode was written in 1964 for the final season of the show's original black-and-white run by producer William Froug, but though CBS bought the script, they chose not to use it. Froug believed that they found it "too grotesque." It remained shelved for more than twenty years until it was made as an episode in the third and final season of the 1980s Twilight Zone revival.
A woman bursts into a hospital emergency room and demands to see a doctor. Nurse Claire Hendricks attempts to help her but the woman is rude and insistent on only seeing the doctor. Before long, the doctor arrives, but it is too late—the woman is now blind from cataracts. In another instance, an elderly man is desperately trying to get Claire to help his wife but she claims that hospital policy forces her to be unhelpful; however, it's clear she is an uncaring person. The blind woman, Mrs. Reed, wants Claire to come visit her, but Claire is apprehensive and negative. Mrs. Reed admits that she's beginning to realize what's happening and that she "sees" a lot of herself in Claire. She apparently wanted to warn her of something but Claire dismisses her and leaves.
Mr. Reed shows up at the hospital blind as well. It is discovered that Mrs. Reed, in her own selfishness, knew she was going blind and abandoned him to get help for herself. Suddenly, more and more people show up blind from spontaneous cataract development. An epidemic ensues from coast to coast, and Claire, despite her incredible workload now, visits with Mrs. Reed again. Mr. Reed talks about how much they are alike and he also claims the blindness is happening because humans have become monkeys—see no evil, speak no evil, etc. Humans have become such an uncaring society, he says, and since we have turned a blind eye to suffering - nature has turned a blind eye to us. Soon, a report surfaces that an explosion at a bio-weapons facility may be responsible for the blindness but Claire starts to realize that Mrs. Reed might be right. Claire soon succumbs to blindness.