'Requiem for Methuselah'
A Star Trek mind bender ... (The Bus 2.17)
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The Stop
Originally broadcast on NBC on 14 February 1969, ‘Requiem for Methuselah’ (Season 3, Episode 19) received mix critical reviews - and still is seen by some as too contrived. However, as a child this story really gripped my imagination and still remains one of my favourite episodes. A synopsis follows, but as the holiday season descends I’d suggest there are worst ways to spend an hour than watching this episode. If you’re interested, ‘Requiem for Methuselah’ streams on Netflix and is probably available on other platforms.1
Synopsis:
With the crew of the USS Enterprise struck down by deadly Rigellian fever, Captain Kirk, Mr Spock and Dr McCoy,2 beam down to Holberg 917-G in search of ryetalyn - a key ingredient of the only known antidote. As it is a supposedly uninhabited planet, they are shocked by the arrival of a hovering robot called M-4 which begins to attack them. Suddenly an old man arrives and stops the robot. Introducing himself as Flint, he insists they return to their ship at once or die. Kirk tries to reason with him, but when this fails he is forced to threaten Flint with the destructive power of the Enterprise. Realising he has no option, Flint gives them two hours to obtain the ryetalyn and orders M-4 to get it. As the robot leaves, Flint offers to show them his house.
Unaware that from another room a beautiful young woman is watching them on a video screen, in Flint’s living room the landing party discover what appears to be original but previously unknown examples of Earth art - including a score by Brahms, paintings by da Vinci, and works by Reginald Pollack. When M-4 returns with the ryetalyn, Kirk accepts Flint’s offer to process the element and subsequently meets - and is instantly attracted to - the young woman. Flint introduces her as Rayna, explaining that her parents once worked for him and he has been her guardian since their accidental deaths. Rayna says that the three are the only other men she has ever seen and wants to discuss field density with Spock, but Kirk - who’s quickly falling in love with her - wants to get to know her better. When the ryetalyn brought by M-4 is found to be contaminated, he is given his chance as Flint offers to go with the robot to collect more and lets McCoy join him.
While exploring the house, Kirk enters Flint’s laboratory and is looking around when Rayna enters, pleasantly surprised to find him there. Kirk notices a closed door in the lab, but when he asks her what’s behind it Rayna says she has no idea because Flint has prohibited her from entering. They continue to talk, their mutual attraction growing, and just as Kirk leans towards her to give her a kiss, M-4 arrives and prepares to attack him. Rayna orders the robot to stop, but it ignores her. Just as it is about to kill Kirk, Spock enters and vaporises it with his phaser. When they confront Flint, he explains that his defence systems operate automatically and not always in accordance with his wishes.
A search for information on Flint and Rayna reveals there are no records of either. As the mystery grows, so do the landing party’s questions about the relationship between the two. It appears Flint truly loves Rayna and Kirk fears he’s holding her on the planet against her will. When she arrives to say her farewells before Kirk leaves, the Captain kisses her and asks her to go with him and leave Flint. To Kirk’s dismay she runs away and his sadness is intensified when a search behind the door in the lab reveals three earlier versions of Rayna: one bald, one brunette, and another unseen under a sheet. Each is labelled by signs reading RAYNA 16, RAYNA 15 and RAYNA 14 respectively and they realise the woman Kirk’s in love with is actually an android.
When questioned, Flint reveals his greatest secret: he is an ancient immortal, born in 3834 BC. Unable to die, over his lifetime he has been many people - including Brahms and da Vinci. He would live as each for a normal lifespan and then reinvent himself as someone else. The one thing he couldn’t do was to fall in love - for everyone he ever loved always died. He built Rayna to be the perfect, ultimate - and equally immortal - woman who’s construction became complete when Kirk aroused her emotions. He then presses a switch and the Enterprise vanishes from orbit, reappearing as a model on a table. Flint says he has suspended the ship and its crew and will do the same to Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but Rayna suddenly enters having learned the truth and forces Flint to release the ship. Kirk and Flint fight over Rayna, which brings out further emotions that overload her circuits and cause her to shut down, collapsing to the floor.
Back aboard the ship, with the fever stopped, Kirk falls asleep at his desk after sadly reflecting on what had happened. McCoy enters and tells Spock that a tricorder reading on Flint indicated he was ageing and eventually will die - it seems his immortality required him to remain on Earth. As he leaves, McCoy looks at Kirk and says he wishes Kirk could forget Rayna. Once the doctor leaves, Spock places a hand on Kirk’s temple, whispers ‘Forget’ and using a Vulcan mind meld erases the Captain’s memory of her to ease his pain.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to a short (2.14) video trailer for Matthew Shlian’s Unfolding. An artist who works in paper, it’s a great introduction to his work - and features some rather amazing examples. Check it out!
The Recommendation
Today’s recommendation is what I consider the best of the early Star Trek films - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring the original television cast, the film is a sequel to the ‘Space Seed’ (1967) episode from the show’s first season. In that episode, the USS Enterprise discovers an old ship containing people in suspended animation. They turn out to be a group of 20th century genetically-engineered superhuman tyrants led by Khan Noonien Singh. After a failed attempt by the criminals to take over and then destroy the Enterprise, Kirk decides to abandon them on an uninhabited planet. Rather than putting them in prison, he believes this will give them a chance to develop a new society.
In the film - which takes place 15 years later - a mistake leads another starship to this same planet. Things have not gone well since Kirk left them there - a neighbouring planet had exploded, devastating their world and killing many of them - and Khan wants revenge against the man who put them there.
Give Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan a try - it’s a bit dated, but it remains one of the most popular of the Star Trek films. If you do watch it, let me know what you think!
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan streams on various platforms.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Trailer
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is built on the Stop and so is space related. Or, at least, sci-fi related. The first song I heard for the first time last week when my son’s school choir sang a medley composed of it, ‘Rocketman’ and ‘Starman’ at their winter concert. It’s a great track,3 and the others are too: ‘Spaceman’ (Sam Ryder, 2022), ‘Starboy’ (The Weeknd; Daft Punk, 2016), ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ (Muse, 2006), ‘Rocketman’ (Elton John, 1972) and ‘Starman’ (David Bowie, 1972). Enjoy - and let all the children boogie!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from ‘Requiem for Methuselah,’ an exchange between Flint and Rayna:
Flint: ‘Rayna, have you been lonely?’
Rayna: ‘What is loneliness?’
Flint: ‘It is thirst. It is a flower dying in the desert.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next stop …
I think what affected me most was the theme of immortality - that despite making the most of this ability by becoming so many famous people in history, Flint’s unique status meant that no love would ever last. Which is quite a heavy thought when you’re five or six! I watched it again a few weeks ago and - despite the obvious limitations of the production (the M-4 robot is about as threatening as a Christmas ornament) - I tried to watch it with early 1970s eyes and still found it a great story. By the way, the episode was written by Jerome Bixby who also wrote the Star Trek episodes ‘By Any Other Name’ (S2.E22), ‘Day of the Dove’ (S3.E7) and ‘Mirror Mirror’ (S2.E4) - the last two of which are particular favourites of mine. Sources for this Stop include: Requiem for Methuselah (Memory Alpha), Requiem for Methuselah (startrek.com) and ‘Requiem for Methuselah’ via Netflix.
In typical fashion, evidently no one else is qualified to do this but the three most senior officers on the ship.
I’ve just learned it was the UK’s entry to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest - but don’t hold that against it.
'City on the Edge of Forever' is a brilliant episode - one of my favourites. So much so that it's the topic of the fourth issue of The Bus back on 18 April this year! Time travel AND Joan Collins? Bliss.
Glad it’s working. Thanks!