ALL SCI-FI

[Krel]

Altair IV could have been charted by a robot ship. The U.P. would send a robot ship to a system. It would check the system for any sign of life, such as radio emissions. If it finds none, then it would chart the planets, and look for any that could be Earth-like. If signs of intelligent life are detected, the robot ship would do a passive survey, then return with the data without revealing it's presence. Hopefully.

After the robot ship returns, the data is analyzed. If any interesting, or inhabitable planets are found, the appropriate survey ship is dispatched.

I think that they would use robot probe ships because of the time factor. Even at FTL speeds, it still take a long time to make the voyage. A robot ship would not need all the life support that a manned ship would need. Why send a group of trained professionals on a blind mission that lasts years, that could find nothing they are trained for?

As to why the robot ship didn't detect the machine, it was dormant until the Bellerophon crew awakened it.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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David, you're absolutely right! And your description of the whole planet-finding process reads like part of a well-written treatment for a sci-fi novel or movie.

Actually, I considered suggesting that very idea in my post, but I refrained from doing so because it seemed to go a bit beyond the technology presented in the movie.

Why did I think that?

I'm basing it on the way Commander Adams was so impressed by Robby. It seemed to imply that the technology of the Forbidden Planet universe wasn't as advanced in robotics as we now know it should have been.

Adams said Robby was "beyond the combined resources of all Earth physical science". And yet we've got AI robots now that talk pretty well and walk a bit better than Robby did. (They can even go up and down stairs!)

I agree with you, David, that it's completely reasonable to assume that advanced automated probes would exist in the FP universe, despite Adams comment which suggest Robby was all THAT advanced. After all, Forbidden Planet presented "the future according to the 1950s", and it isn't fair to judge it by our 21st Century standards.

(It sounds so weird t say that. We live in the 21st Century! Cool!

As a matter of fact, chapter 1 of my unpublished sequel to The Wishbone Express describes a probe that discovers an abandoned alien artifact on a planet in the Large Magellanic Cloud. You might enjoy reading that chapter. Just click here.

Obviously I was strongly influenced by Forbidden Planet when I wrote the original version of the novel in 1982. Chapter 1 is based on the same concept you described in your post.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Notice this fascinating difference between one of the props in the move and the way that object is described in the script. After the crew exits the ship, Farman reminds Adams to "check the command mic", that beautiful little gizmo that all the crewmen wear.



But notice how it's described by Cyril Hume in the script.



Ah-ha! Not only did this movie's concepts inspire Roddenberry to come up with ideas like the transporter, the saucer section of the Enterprise, and the captain-and-doctor relationship, he also got the idea for the combadges in TNG!

But Cyril Hume did the combadge idea one better by giving the ones in FP a built-in camera on a retractable wire!

However, as much as I love that idea, I still prefer the command mics in Forbidden Planet. They are absolutely gorgeous.



I was impressed with Cyril Hume's description of Robby and his car when they arrived at the ship. Remember, none of this had been designed by the MGM prop department yet, Cyril was only going by the initial preproduction drawings of Robby and his car — neither of which ended up looking a bit like the did in the final film!



The description of Robby doesn't sound much like the one we know and love. Here's how Cyril imagined Robby.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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I almost missed a one-word change of the dialogue the movie made in the script . . . but oh what a change it is!

In the movie, Adams calls Quinn on his comm mic and says, "Quinn, if I blink red — "

"I'll bring the tractor in a hurry, sir."

But the script has one tiny difference which conjures up a spectacular mental image.

If Adams had accidentally pressed the "emergency" button on the comm mike during lunch . . . well, read the script and imagine the scene that would have resulted!






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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

Bud, I think what impressed Adams about Robby was that he could think and make conclusions from limited information, see Robby's reply to Adam's comment about the oxygen content. Also that he appeared to have a personality and a sense of humor.

A robot probe would only need to follow preset commands and maybe have a limited independence of action. Much easier than Robby's intellect. If you look at the controls of C-57-D, it appears to have a high degree of automation. I don't think that the United Planets has much A.I. in it's computers and robots, which would make Robby very impressive.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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Valid points. Good thinking.

I guess Robby is still ahead of our current "speaking" robots at that. And none of them can manufacture a complete lunch out of raw materials created from scratch (not to mention Ancient Rocket Bourbon).

I failed to take that important fact into account.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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This is one of the Bonus Features on the Forbidden Planet Blu-ray. It's 26:35 long and beautifully done. I was very impressed. You will be too!

The guest VIPs include Robert Kinoshita, Bill Warren, Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, Richard Anderson, Warren Stevens, Denise Muren, Phil Tippet, John Dykstra, Alan Dean Foster, Bob Burns, John Landis, John Carpenter, and Bill Malone (sitting with Robby placed artfully in the background.)

The comments provided by Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, Warren Stevens, Earl Holliman, and Richard Anderson are filled with the enthusiasm they felt for doing the movie they helped make, many decades earlier.

The original music is pleasant, playing in the background so skillfully that I didn't even notice it until ten minutes into the video.

All the clips from the film are perfect, pristine copies, skillfully integrated with the slick footage of the VIP interviews. The video includes preproduction drawings of Robby and the sets, along with a wealth of behind-the-scenes stills.

You'll also see unused footage that isn't in the deleted scenes bonus feature on the Blu-ray. And the video discusses information about the studio executives at MGM, such as art director Aurther Lonnergan who encouraged the production crew to give the film even more sparkle and luster than the studio expected, causing the film to exceed it's buget!

Many of the pre-production drawings and blueprints shown in the video are also featured in the Cinefantastique article! In fact, I saw a few sketches that were NOT in the famous magazine article!

Every person interviewed for this great documentary delivered comments which were both intelligent and enthusiastic about Forbidden Planet. These remarkable people all adored the movie and had specific things to say about it that made us aware of just how unique it was.

At about the halfway point in the documentary it addressed the remarkable contribution by Louis and Bebe Baron. I was dazzled by the information the interviewees provided, along with the tremendous respect they expressed for the work done by the Barons!

And then we suddenly see an elderly (but still very intelligent) Bebe Baron herself, being interviewed at the time this documentary was made, providing us with amazing personal information about how she and Louis created the score.

I was stunned and delighted!

The pacing of the documentary is fast — but not rushed. It's perfectly presented in a way that keeps you riveted to the screen, while never making you feel like you've been left behind.

I was pleased and astounded by the way the video explained such things as the unique method the studio used to create the Id monsters, using Josh Meador's cell drawings in a brand new way. (Watch the video to see what I mean.)

Guys, please watch this video BEFORE you run the movie, and it will have you chomping at the bit to see the film again.
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__Exploring the far reaches of FORBIDDEN PLANET


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

[Bud Brewster]

[Maurice]

[Krel]

Bud, the Bellerophon's interstellar communications ability, may have been like C-57-D's, where they had to cannibalize parts of the ship to create and power it. If they had a dedicated interstellar radio, then why didn't they use it to announce the find of the krell lab and machine? It must have taken the Bellerophon crew some time to excavate the entrance, and no telling how long to figure out and open the combination lock. That is,, if it wasn't already unlocked. The Krell machine is a tremendous find, and would warrant immediate notification to the United Planets. If they had a dedicated interstellar radio, then the crew would have been guilty of dereliction for not immediately sending notification of the momentous find.



David.

[scotpens]

[Bud Brewster]

Well, heck, Maurice . . . ya got me, sir.

I freely admitted that I'm promoting my opinions and arguing in favor of my own conclusions. Yes, I'm "speculating", and enjoying myself thoroughly in the process!

After all speculation is what science fiction writers do best. That's why I said this.

[Gord Green]

The book doesn't really mention the DC tubes or say much about the process.

Here's the page :


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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]