STAR TREK
Requiem for Methuselah

From Wikipedia:

"Requiem for Methuselah" is a third season episode of Star Trek, first broadcast on St. Valentine's Day, 1969. Its repeat broadcast, on September 2, 1969, was the last official telecast of the series to air on NBC. (Star Trek would immediately debut in syndication on the following Monday, September 8, a full three years after its debut.) It is episode #74, production #76, written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Murray Golden. It guest-stars James Daly as "Mr. Flint", and Louise Sorel as "Rayna Kapec".

Overview: The crew of the Enterprise encounter an immortal human in this science fiction variation on Shakespeare's The Tempest.

More here.

Watch it here.

Notes and pics:

* Another deadline oriented medical mission.

* Another Nomad type robot. I like the design better--oh, I see, that's Nomad's head underneath.



* "Constantinople, summer 1344..." I do like the standard history speeches given by immortals.



* If this really is loosely following The Tempest, that makes Flint out to be Professor Morbius. I mean, Prospero.

* Professor Morbius:



* Voyeur chick.





* And she must be Miranda. Eew, he tried to kiss her.



* Mmmm. Saurian Brandy. And Spock's going to have some!



* Undiscovered da Vinci paintings, this is very Doctor Who. Oh, I see, Flint was da Vinci. Also very Doctor Who.

* And the robot with the Nomad butt must be Caliban.

* And Kirk is Ferdinand--"Oh, brave new world..."

* Kirk debates humanism with Flint while playing pool.



* Spock is apparently a classically trained pianist. Nice waltz.

* You know, I've railed away a lot on Shatner's awkwardness with love scenes, but I should cut him some slack: the writers here are asking him to do the impossible; Kirk going head-over-heels just doesn't make sense.

* This dance is going on forever.



* More awkward love.

* I'm really starting to get bored.

* Oh my, the robot's back.

* Kirk: "I don't like the way he orders her around." This one's going south fast.

* Spock finally figures out that Flint is really really old. Kind of anti-climactic at this point.

* I must admit that watching the kiss on television with Flint is, at least, visually interesting.



* Kirk: "You love me! Not Flint!" Oh man.

* Isn't that sweet. Spock is trying to protect his friend's heart...

* ...because he's already figured out that Rayna is an android. This whole concept worked much better with "What Are Little Girls Made of?"



* Flint: "I am Brahms..." This is quite a good speech, a very nice example of the sci-fi immortal. Immortals always have a sort of pathos about them.

* Okay, the miniature Enterprise on the table, complete with a shot of Kirk's eyes looking into the view screen is pretty cool. A sort of expansion of the concept first seen in "Catspaw."





* So it's all been a plot to somehow activate Rayna's emotions. And Kirk now feels "used." This is just too fucking stupid to buy.

* Flint, with his tights and blue cape, looks like a superhero, or super villain, while he fights Kirk.



* Even Spock's pat explanation of Rayna's death is stupid.



* One shining highlight: Spock psychically removing Kirk's memory of the affair is, when totally removed from context, quite beautiful, and very reinforcing of their friendship.



* Two stars. This one kind of sucks. I mean, it doesn't totally suck, and it's not offensive. Well, it's not particularly offensive, anyway. But make no mistake, this one does suck. Its most cardinal sin is that it's boring, but the story, too, has lots of elements that just aren't believable. Sure, there are a couple of interesting ideas, but, in the end, they're just cheap gimmicks that promise a lot without delivering. Ho hum.

If you want to watch a good science fiction treatment of The Tempest, go rent Forbidden Planet, and groove to Professor Morbius.

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