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Requiem for Methuselah (season 3 episode 19)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:31 pm    Post subject: Requiem for Methuselah (season 3 episode 19) Reply with quote

________________________________

This is one of the worst TOS episodes in the series! Consider the plot.

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to a planet in hopes of retrieving a rare element needed to cure the crew of a fatal illness that will kill them all in a matter of hours. McCoy says it's as bad as the Black Plague.

So, what does Kirk do during this terrible crisis?

He meets an elderly man and a hot blonde who live in a hugh castle (shown below as it appears originally and in the enhanced version).








Meanwhile, the crew is still dying from the Black Plague while the happy trio start drinking 100-year-old Brandy — Spock included, who never drinks.





Don Juan Kirk starts putting his lover-boy moves on the woman he just met. He snuggles up with her so she can caress his hand and show him some smooth moves with his cue stick. Wink





Meanwhile, the crew is still dying from the Black Plague!

Then Kirk starts babbling about how much he loves the hot blonde. . . even after he finds out she's a glorified sex doll! Shocked

When the guy who created her refuses to let her run off with Kirk (yes, he begs her to go with him), the two men start fighting, and the robot/girl "dies" when she suffers an overload from guilt because she caused the conflict!

Spock then wastes more precious time by calmly giving a sappy speech about how she had become fully human but couldn't handle the emotion of love. Oh brother . . . Rolling Eyes

Meanwhile, the crewmen on the Enterprise are still waiting for the cure for the disease which McCoy said would be irreversible in under two hours!

I squirmed and gnashed my teeth all through this episode, wondering how the writers could inflict such poor writing on the cast, much less the fans. Sad

Concerning the IMDB trivia items for this disappointing episode, there are 24 of them, but the only one I found interesting was the last one.
________________________________

This episode is referenced in Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season episode "Concerning Flight", in which Captain Kathryn Janeway mentions that Captain Kirk claimed to have met Leonardo da Vinci. This would leave one to conclude that Spock's mind touch at the end of the episode only erased Kirk's memory of Rayna, and not necessarily the whole encounter.

Note from me: Okay, lemma get this straight!

Kirk acts like a love-sick school boy and falls in love with a fembot. He dances around with her and then starts making out with her . . . while Spock plays classical music on a piano!






Meanwhile, the crew is still dying from the Black Plague!!

During all this happy party fun, the Enterprise is maned by a "skeleton crew" (Scotty's words) because the rest of those poor folks are suffering from a disease which McCoy says is 100% fatal in just a few hours!

At the end of the episode, Kirk is pouting about the tragic loss of his beloved blonde-bot, and he falls asleep on his desk long enough for Spock to touch Kirk's face so he can give him a Get Out Of Love Free card simply by telling him to "Forget" —






— thus saving Kirk from having to face the fact that during all this he's been a miserable excuse for a captain! Shocked
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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:24 am; edited 3 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 11:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, I find it interesting that you disliked this episode so much!
(Some notes from Wikapedia.)



According to fantasy and science fiction scholar Ace G. Pilkington, Requiem for Methuselah is a Star Trek adaptation of the film Forbidden Planet (1956).

Actress Anne Francis reported that Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, had talked to her about lifting some ideas from Forbidden Planet.

Actor Leslie Nielsen noted the similarities between Forbidden Planet and Star Trek, suggesting that the film served as a pilot for the television series.

Forbidden Planet was the first big-budget science fiction film to be released by a major film studio, in this case Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It differed from previous science fiction films in several ways.

The setting of the film was a future era, where mankind is "spreading out into the universe". Humans are using faster-than-light starships in the film.
The film is set in part in outer space, and in part on an alien planet.
Human beings arrive on flying saucers.

A notable character from the film is Robby the Robot. "He" is a robot programmed according to Three Laws of Robotics, as defined by Isaac Asimov.

In turn, Forbidden Planet itself was based on an earlier work, the theatrical play The Tempest (written c. 1610—1611) by William Shakespeare.

The Tempest happened to be the favorite play of Irving Block, one of the story writers of Forbidden Planet. He had the idea to use the play as the basis of the film's action and characters. Block co-wrote the main story of the film with Allen Adler.

The screenplay was mainly written by novelist and screenwriter Cyril Hume. Hume turned the film into a meditation on the nature of technology, on human ambition and human frailty, on the destiny of civilizations, on power and on fatherhood.

Ruth Morse, a Shakespearean scholar, has written on the influence of The Tempest on Forbidden Planet and Requiem for Methuselah.

Flint, the powerful recluse, seems to be based on Prospero, Morbius and Methuselah.

Rayna appears to be Flint's daughter and is based on Miranda, Prospero's daughter and Altara , Morbius's daughter.

The twist here is that "Rayna-Miranda-Altara" (as Morse calls her) is an android, not Flint's daughter or a construction created by Morbius. Flint hopes that the female android will fall in love with him. Flint offers her knowledge and intellectual stimulation but Rayna falls for the "irresistible" James T. Kirk, as Altara did for Captain Adams in FORBIDDEN PLANET . The female android faces new and (to her) unfamiliar emotions, having to choose between two men, as did Altara. The pressure causes her to short-circuit into self-destruction, her version of death. Altara chose to defie her father and go with Adams.

Morse finds it is unusual for "the Miranda" in a Tempest adaptation to die but points that this version of Miranda is neither a true daughter to her Prospero, nor even human. She is a creation who came to life and was intended to be an immortal companion to Flint. However, there are some who believe Altara was a creation of Morbius, made physical by the Krell machine and would fade away after the demise of Altair 4.

She finds Rayna's story to be similar to that of Galatea from Greek mythology. Galatea was a female statue who came to life and mated with her creator Pygmalion.
(Galatea was also the name of the female humonoid robot in THE BICENTENNIAL MAN who eventually became human.)

Morse finds the depiction of the relationship between Flint and Rayna surprisingly innocent. Flint is Rayna's creator/father and her intended mate but there is not a hint of incest or sexual abuse in this pairing. Their relationship was therefore more metaphysical.

An original point of the episode is the motivation of Flint. He is immortal and apparently unable to die. He has outlived his human attachments and it is hinted he has repeatedly outlived them in his long life. He wants a female android to be his mate, because he hopes that Rayna would also be practically immortal. His previous loves were apparently mortal women, whom he has lost to the ravages of time. He suffers from the pain of loss. The loss of Rayna's affection was to him the same as Altara's turning to Adams over the affection to Morbius.

Flint wants to awaken emotion in his creation but Morse observes that Flint has apparently lost his own ability to feel strong emotions. Kirk, however, being the Cosmic Stud that he was overcomes Rayna's programing to seduce her.

Morse observes that this is not the only Star Trek episode which refers to Shakespeare and his works. The Conscience of the King makes references to Hamlet and Catspaw makes references to Macbeth.

Morse finds that the romance story of the episode has some similarities with a much earlier Tempest adaptation, The Tempest (1667) by William Davenant and John Dryden. She finds it likely that the Star Trek writing team was unfamiliar with this version but they apparently came up with similar ideas.

There is an allusion to a different work in Requiem for Methuselah. There is a locked door in Flint's laboratory and behind it are the bodies of women, duplicates of Rayna. This alludes to Bluebeard, who kept a locked underground chamber in his castle. The chamber contained the bodies of women, the (perhaps) murdered corpses of his former wives.

In other words Bud, perhaps there is more to be read into this episode than you give it credit for.

Still----STAR TREK was on a downward spiral at this time due to network sabotage and poor production values. The authors of the screenplays (In this case Jerome Bixby) were faced with unneccessary changes to their original visions to the detriment of the show.

In any regard, this was a notable episode for many of the above points.

Rebuttle?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
In other words Bud, perhaps there is more to be read into this episode than you give it credit for.

Rebuttle?

With all due respect, sir, all that rather wordy article does is point out that in addition to all the flaws I described, the basic premise is just a blatant rehash of Forbidden Planet, with absolutely nothing new added . . . other than the reprehensible behavior of the love-struck captain who ignored the suffering and imminent death of his entire crew while he fell instantly in love with an attractive robot, playing pool with her, waltzing her around while Spock played the piano, and begging "her" to come away with him!

Add to this the fact that many episodes (far better than this one) have made a point of demonstrating how selfless James T. Kirk is, a man perfectly willing to die for both his crew and his ship.

We've also seen Kirk frequently choose his duty to the Federation and his love for the Enterprise over any permanent romantic attachments. Think about all the times we've heard statements like, "The Captain is already married . . . to his ship".

On a related not, I was amazed by the scene in which Flint threatened the Enterprise and Kirk quickly ordered Scotty to "Get the ship out of here!"

With most of the crew in danger of dying in a matter of hours, and the uninfected ones doomed to eventual die as well, what good would it do to try to get the Enterprise away from the planet? Shocked

Bones said all the sick crewmen would be dead in two hours without the vaccine, so that was pretty dumb order for the love-struck captain to give.

In other words, Gord, perhaps this episode is so flawed it has no merit at all! Sad

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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 2:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think it was a very flawed episode that suffered from "networkitis". One that attempted to tell a good story but was ultimately flawed by pressures to be 60's network relevant.

Perhaps it's my effort to find the gold amidst the dross, but the core of the story is very valid: The execution is ----sadly--- lacking.

Still, the optimist I happen to be--- the ability I may have to disregard the bad and seek after the good that may lie underneath puts this episode in my list as an "interesting" although hardly iconic episode.

(As an aside, I do look at ALL work as a work in progress. We are always approaching a perfection that lies just beyond our reach.)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I must confess, prior to watching this episode yesterday I'd never noticed the flaws I described above. The fact that it was just a redressed version of Forbidden Planet was sort of "quaint", but it I didn't really bother to ponder the premise.

But yesterday I was struck by the strange way the plot set up this life-of-death situation concerning the plaque-ridden crew, and then it allowed Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to lounge around Flint's home, showing no sense of urgency.

It was as if Spock calmly told the Captain, "Sir, I just discovered that this building is on fire and we've got less than 30 seconds to get out. But first, did you notice that rather garish wallpaper over there? I can only assume that an elderly lady lives here with a dozen cats, and she's obviously color blind."

The episode would have been much better if (a) our three heroes had shown a desperate haste to get the element for the vaccine and return to the ship, (b) Kirk hadn't gone into heat and started slobbering all over the woman!

It wasn't just that the episode failed to do the RIGHT things — it repeatedly did the WRONG things for no apparent reason! All three men acted completely out of character.

The premise begged for a fast-paced "race against time" story in which Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were ready to move heaven and earth to get that vaccine back to the Enterprise.

Instead we got brandy drinking and art critiques and piano playing and an amorous captain who instantly fell in love with a woman who had just one teeny tiny flaw.

She was the direct descendant of this guy.



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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 9:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Captain Kirk of Star Trek meets Duncan MacLeod of Highlander! That's the premise if you think about it!
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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
According to fantasy and science fiction scholar Ace G. Pilkington, Requiem for Methuselah is a Star Trek adaptation of the film Forbidden Planet (1956).

The Tempest happened to be the favorite play of Irving Block, one of the story writers of Forbidden Planet. He had the idea to use the play as the basis of the film's action and characters. Block co-wrote the main story of the film with Allen Adler.

The screenplay was mainly written by novelist and screenwriter Cyril Hume. Hume turned the film into a meditation on the nature of technology, on human ambition and human frailty, on the destiny of civilizations, on power and on fatherhood.

Rebuttle?

Block and Adler's story was NOT based upon THE TEMPEST. Their story took place in the near future while mankind was exploring the Solar system on Mercury and there was no explanation as to what the invisible monster was! Cyril Hume threw out virtually their entire script. Go and do further research, PLEASE.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote



Aye, if it's research you'ra wantin', laddie boy, 'tis research ya shall get! Very Happy

Quoting from the 1979 Cinefantastique article I have on my coffee table (but can't find on Archive.org, dammit), the author says this about the origin of Fatal Planet.
_____________________________________

" . . . [Robert] Block was approached by [Allen] Adler who suggested they pool their talents to come up with a screen treatment more advanced and sophisticated than the crude brand of science fiction then being filmed.

Adler, a member of the Adler acting family (Luther Adler was his uncle), had sold some stories to television, and [he] came up with the basic science fiction concepts to be used in the treatment , ones that hadn't yet been tried on the screen.

Block suggested they use The Tempest, Block's favorite play as the basis for the story's action and characters."
_____________________________________

Butch, me old bucko, I'm surprised by your statement! We've all known for decades that Fatal Planet and the Cyril Hume screenplay of Forbidden Planet were both based on The Tempest!

I'm curious as to the source of the data which caused you to suddenly think it was NOT! Shocked

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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 2:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Has anyone heard about the Shatner/Rayna dance story?

Well it appears the Shat got a little bit too enamored while dancing with Louise Sorel in the scene and actually developed a swelling somewhere before everyone on the set burst out laughing! Laughing
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wrote :
Quote:
According to fantasy and science fiction scholar Ace G. Pilkington, Requiem for Methuselah is a Star Trek adaptation of the film Forbidden Planet (1956).

This was NOT a point that I agreed with, but an observation made by another (a supposed Sci-Fi scholar). That is exactly what research is. That the comment is true or false is a subject for examination......Which is exactly what we are doing!
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnnybear wrote:
Has anyone heard about the Shatner/Rayna dance story?

Well it appears the Shat got a little bit too enamored while dancing with Louise Sorel in the scene and actually developed a swelling somewhere before everyone on the set burst out laughing! Laughing
JB

Did they tell Bill to put some ice on that swelling? Ice would have have reduced thT problem, I'm quite sure. Ummm-hmm. It sure would. Wink
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Or a mighty cold shower, Bud? Laughing
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2022 11:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

These Are The Voyages: TOS, Season Three by Marc Cushman with Susan Osborn.

The theme deals with both the pleasures and demands of love, as well as the loss that in time inevitably comes from one's willingness to love.

Assessment: This is not action-adventure. But it is a beautiful, sensitive, and even poetic story. This is well-above-average Star Trek.

"Requiem for Methuselah" is not a perfect episode. At this point in Star Trek's life, with so many on the creative staff having left, the reduced budget, the low morale due to the bad time slot, and the end-of-the-season exhaustion that would always set in, it could hardly be. But it is certainly a worthy entry in the series.

Writer Jerome Bixby's early outline had a number of differences from the filmed TV episode.

Flint's planet had a jungle setting instead of the desert one depicted. He had no robot as a protector, but his mansion was populated by android servants. Flint dies in the end; Rayna lives. And the Enterprise destroys his mansion with its phasers.

Rayna's surname of Kapec was derived from the name of Czechoslovakian writer Karl Capek, who first coined the term "robot" in his 1921 play, R.U.R. The acronym stood for Rossum's Universal Robots.

Jerome Bixby's first choice for Flint was Carroll O'Conner, but he turned the role down. His second choice was Jim Daly, who he felt was perfectly OK in the part. Bixby also lobbied for Richard Boone.

Bixby wanted Barbara Anderson for Rayna, but she was now tied up on Ironside.

Yes, Flint's robot servant is indeed a modified Nomad from "The Changeling" episode.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2022 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

An excellent comment, Mike! Very Happy

Those differences in the plot and the casting are very interesting. I'm glad Archie Bunker wasn't Flint. I don't think that would have worked well.

The android servants would have been consistent with Flint's efforts to build artificial people, but it might have telegraphed the fact that the hot chick wasn't real, she was Memorex (if anybody still remembers that ad slogan for the cassette tapes . . . Rolling Eyes)

The other changes were interesting, but I wonder why the Enterprise zapped the mansion in the unmade version.

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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2022 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wondered as to why Flint's mansion got phasered too, Bruce. Cushman's book doesn't give any explanation. The producers of Star Trek wouldn't have such a scene just for mindless action and excitement. After all, they're not Irwin Allen.
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