Requiem for Methuselah

Arguably the last good episode of Star Trek ("All Our Yesterdays" features an interesting plot line with Spock and Mariette Hartley), "Requiem for Methuselah" is among the more literate scripts the series offered. Jerome Bixby demonstrates his considerable science-fiction writing ability in his well-drawn Flint character, adeptly brought to life by veteran TV actor James Daly. While this episode is almost farcical in its accelerated Kirk/Rayna love-story arc, the concept of Flint as an immortal conglomeration of the some of the greatest minds in human history and Spock's gradual realization of this secret are intriguing and engaging. What also makes this episode memorable is that it stands out so far above the largely forgettable third season, and a touching scene between Kirk and Spock helps an otherwise schlocky ending. "Methuselah" belongs nowhere near the pantheon of the likes of "Naked Time" or "City on the Edge of Forever," but it was a final reminder of what made the series so special.

The captain's taken a bit of a shine, to a lady he'd like to envelop entwine, clever and pretty, but sadly not that free, as she's owned by a bit of a swine.

The search for ryetalyn on Holberg 917G leads to an encounter with an impossible man and his adopted, or is it nominated or appointed bit on the side.

A very interesting episode where we see what one person who is the only one who can not die does with his life. This episode predicts flat screen TVs 50 years before they became a thing. It also seems to point to an AI in human form. It learns, and as it does it behaves irrationally and rebels against its creator.

This episode is, in my estimation, one of the greatest episodes of season three, if not the entire original series. Spock's musings about the art contained in Flint's castle add a dimension of great curiosity, and we get to see a major flaw in Kirk's personality become exposed. I very much enjoyed this one.

Kirk, Bones and Spock visit a planet to obtain a cure for Rigellian Fever.

I found this to be a mixed bag of an episode that starts off painfully slow but gets more interesting as it goes on.

Many writers have observed it's connections to the movie 'Forbidden Planet' and indirectly Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', but it also contains plot elements used in other Star Trek episodes such the super-powerful character, the female companion, and the connection to real-life Earth history.

I enjoyed the latter half of the episode when the away team discover the truth about Rayna. There are a number of compelling moments, such as her becoming self-aware and having deal with emotions regarding both Flint and Kirk. Plus Flint witnessing and reacting to his master plan backfiring is good. My favourite scene and something I did not expect was the final scenes involving Spock and Kirk.

That being said the notion of Kirk falling for Rayna in such a big way is as implausible as most romance plots written in Star Trek. In fact you might be forgiven for wondering if Spock used this same technique after the events of 'City on the Edge of Forever', 'The Paradise Syndrome', and 'Elaan of Troyus'.

As a character I can take or leave Flint. I think the psychology around creepy father-daughter-future-lover relationship with Rayna is good, as is the idea about the use of Kirk to his advantage. However, the idea of him within Earth's historical context as Brahms, Da Vinci etc is a bit silly. James Daly is pretty forgettable in the role.

Generally the cast is fairly good with the three stars all solid and Louise Sorel decent as Rayna.

Jerome Bixby also wrote the script (his last one) for the very low budget 2007 movie "The Man From Earth":

http://imdb.com/title/tt0756683/

which explores a similar theme. In this film, professor John Oldman reveals that he has been alive for 14,000 years. What kind of life would that be? Is he joking?

The approach is different from "Requiem for Methuselah" in that the focus is less on character development and more on a discussion of certain historical topics and the issue of how an immortal would fit into normal life on Earth: Would he become a genius? Would he get married? Would he have children?

Bixby completed "The Man from Earth" on his deathbed in 1998.