Star Trek-RM: Requiem for Methusaleh… Grading/Discussion

[AstroSmurf]

This is the grading & discussion thread for Star Trek Remastered airing the weekend of 06/21/08.

Requiem for Methusaleh

When the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is struck by the deadly Rigellian fever, the captain and his senior officers beam down to the supposedly uninhabited planet, Holberg 917-G, in search of the cure. To their surprise, they come into contact with an entity named Flint and his daughter Rayna, who are living in isolation on the planet. Not pleased to have visitors, Flint grudgingly decides to help the stricken starship. But soon a romantic attachment begins to form between the Captain and Rayna, putting the crew of the Enterprise in jeopardy by a jealous Flint.

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[gottacook]

Re: Star Trek-RM: Requiem for Methuselah… Grading/Discussion

My favorite of the late (post-Justman) third-season episodes. It's the last of the four Jerry Bixby episodes, and better than the previous one, "Day of the Dove." Spock's final line "Forget" sets up the "Remember" sequence in the climax of Wrath of Khan 13 years later, and thereby sets up the next two movies as well.

It's a classic, especially at its full length (including the "Brahms" waltz written especially for the show by Ivan Ditmars, and a nice job he did of emulating Brahms' piano music; really should be heard only at full length to get a feel of the structure).

For once Kirk kisses a third-season girl for good reason: she's inhumanly irresistible. (Same reason that I can tolerate Schwarzenneger as the Terminator in the original Terminator: Being a machine gives him the only real excuse to be ultra-murderous.) Louise Sorel ain't bad. Also a great role for James Daly ("I... am Brahms," etc.).

Yes, I admit it: my older daughter (semi-blonde) is named Rayna. (...chosen to suggest Ralene, my late mom's name, itself derived from Rochel-Leah...)

 

[gottacook]

Re: Star Trek-RM: Requiem for Methuselah… Grading/Discussion

Well, okay, I realize Kirk's other third-season liaisons weren't, strictly speaking, "human" (Deela, Odona, Elaan, et al.), but at least they weren't machines.

 

[Warp14]

Never that impressed with this episode. I wish Spock had done the "Forget" trick on me, too!

 

[pookha]

i like the concept of the flint character but hated the character assination done to kirk here.

 

[Duane]

Agreed. The assassination of Kirk's character makes this episode a real stinker. His entire crew might die and he is getting love sick over some robot. A few years ago this was polled as one of Kirk's most unKirk-like moments. Much of the rest of the episode is quite good, however.

 

[RAMA]

The best episode of the recent lot, and judging by the new matte, the remastering should be excellent. The only real issue I have with the episode is Rayna and Kirk falling in LOVE with each other..perhaps lust would have been more appropriate.

RAMA

 

[Nerys Myk]

I've always thought Sorel looked a bit like Marina Sirtis ( Or is that the other way around?)

 

[gottacook]

Just saw the syndicated cut of the remastered episode. I am incensed that (in addition to the usual bad edit of the middle eleven-sixteenths or so of the waltz) the final scene in Kirk's cabin TOTALLY EXCISED the conversation between Spock and McCoy. First McCoy expresses relief that Kirk is asleep, then informs Spock that analysis shows Flint is dying as a result of having left Earth. They discuss Flint, then McCoy says that he feels sorrier for Spock because of what he'll never experience - "the glorious failures... and the glorious victories - simply because the word love isn't written into your book.") Finally he says to Spock how he wishes Kirk could forget her. This is what sets up the final "Forget" sequence, which remains.

At least there are two good changes that will also make their way into the uncut versions: the reimagining of Flint's home (the old version is also seen in the end credits), and - I was happily surprised by this - the correction of "Reena" to Rayna in the Louise Sorel credit, so the name finally (after 39 years!) matches the "Rayna" signs posted by the earlier versions of her in the episode itself.

 

[Kryton]

Is this the first time in Trek the line "kill you where you stand" is used?

 

[Kryton]

Also, she was far superior to Data wasn't she?

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

I find this episode strangely compelling, although Kirk falling in love with a robot is pretty ludicrous.

JL

 

[Forbin]

I find this episode strangely compelling, although Kirk falling in love with a robot is pretty ludicrous.

JL

 

[Swarles Barkley]

"Hey the crew is dying from a plague. Here's a planet with the only thing that will save them. We must hurry! Oh, wait, a hottie. Let's just chill here for awhile so I can work my mojo on the robot chick."

Oy. Loony, inexcusable behavior by Kirk in this episode pretty much casts a pall over an otherwise interesting premise. I liked Daly as Flint, what a compelling idea for a character. But the entire "whirlwind romance" where Kirk falls so completely in love with Rayna so quickly? Out of all the women he's encountered, what was so damned amazing about her? I just don't get it.

And the syndie edit absolutely trashed the best moment in the episode (one of the best moments in the entire series actually) by excising that key conversation with Spock and McCoy. You cut that out, but leave in the scene of McCoy standing around the lab looking at bottles of colored water? The editing decisions on the RM eps sometimes make my head spin.

Speaking of the RM job, the matte of Flint's castle looked great. Nice to see the four of them actually walking towards the place. It really worked well. Also some very different orbital shots of the Enterprise with some nice planetary shots. I have a love/hate relationship with these elements, because while they look nice in a lot of ways, the complete lack of detail on the Enterprise always pulls me out of the moment. I understand why they chose to do things this way (its the way she looked in the original shots, after all), but if anything the lack of detail when combined with CGI clarity just screams "fake" when I look at it. In the original effects shots there was just something about the film grain and everything else that when combined gave the shots of the Enterprise more authenticity. The effects guys do a great job, but sometimes I just wish the closeups of the Enterprise had a more detailed hull, with just a little bit of texture.

Overall, C for the episode, Above Average for the remastering, (and if we had a category, F- for the syndication cuts).

 

[Stag]

B+ for the remaster C for the episode

I remember as a kid loving this episode because the Enterprise appears on the table. I knew enough that it was a model and I was always trying to make my Enterprise models that good.

I hate the silly camera work that was used when Kirk And Rayna were dancing - so cheesy 60 ish.

The editing was again, horrible. Cannot, cannot, cannot believe they edited McCoy out of the closing scene.

Flint's house and the space shots were nice though.

All in all - meh

 

[Kryton]

I guess I'd pretty much forgotten how accomplished a pianist Spock was.

 

[pookha]

Just saw the syndicated cut of the remastered episode. I am incensed that (in addition to the usual bad edit of the middle eleven-sixteenths or so of the waltz) the final scene in Kirk's cabin TOTALLY EXCISED the conversation between Spock and McCoy. First McCoy expresses relief that Kirk is asleep, then informs Spock that analysis shows Flint is dying as a result of having left Earth. They discuss Flint, then McCoy says that he feels sorrier for Spock because of what he'll never experience - "the glorious failures... and the glorious victories - simply because the word love isn't written into your book.") Finally he says to Spock how he wishes Kirk could forget her. This is what sets up the final "Forget" sequence, which remains..

personally i wouldnt miss since i dont know if bones would have said something like that considering the surrounding circumstances.
the crew was within a little more then two hours of dying and kirk seemed to be more interested in a girl.
spock had to keep on reminding kirk of the real reason they were there.

what a wretched episode.

 

[Kryton]

What if, instead of "Forget" he'd said "Dude...it was a robot. Get some perspective!"

Wouldda worked for me.

 

[Red Ranger]

I've always thought Sorel looked a bit like Marina Sirtis ( Or is that the other way around?)

Yes, it's the other way around, of course. Louise Sorel normally had dark hair in many of her roles. And, as many of you here know, Marina is one of my all-time favorite ST hotties! Rowr! -- RR

 

[pookha]

i have a question .
i may be wrong but didnt james blish use the scene with spock and kirk or something like in city on the edge of forever??