Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Daly, Louise Sorel
• Directors: Murray Golden
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Jerome Bixby
• Producers: Edward K. Milkis, Fred Freiberger, Gene Roddenberry, Gregg Peters
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
• VHS Release Date: April 15, 1994
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300988724
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,174 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An outbreak of Rigellian fever aboard the ship forces Kirk to find an antidote on Holberg 917-G, where he meets the mysterious Flint.

TREK TRIVIA
The screen Flint and Rayna use to view the landing party was the light panel in "Return of the Archons." Flint's castle is actually the Rigel VII fortress from "The Cage."
The piano Spock plays is a piece of history. It was featured in Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bittersweet Space Opera and Trek at its Best, October 30, 2003

By 

"summersun5" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 76: Requiem For Methuselah [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one of my favorite original series episodes. It proves that even as the show was nearing cancellation, it still had lots of pizazz and power. While most Americans have probably seen this episode many times over the years, it is difficult not to be moved by it's premise: Impossible love, loss of immortality, and the failure of the mind to control the heart.

The beautiful Android Rayna's untimely death due to Captain Kirk and Flint's boyish wrangling is bad enough- but the most poignant scene is at the end, when Spock mind-melds with Kirk to help him forget his foolishness; a sudden end of scene, and we see the Enterprise flying away.... Very moving. And of course, this episode has some very beautiful music, typicl of the original series score, with a gorgeous waltz made specially for this episode.

I feel this episode encapsulates all that is Star Trek, The Original Series. It is a must have that still holds up today.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been good, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 76: Requiem For Methuselah [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This episode could have been good had it not been marred by a scene in which Kirk acts in a manner which is absurdly out-of-character, putting his own interests ahead of those of his crew by, in Kirk's own words, "fighting over a woman."

The story is reminiscent both of "Pygmalion" and "The Tempest," but with an interesting twist. Flint, the mentor/erstwhile lover of his creation, an android named Rayna, is an ageless being who once was Johannes Brahms as well as other famous humans. The episode also concludes with a remarkably compassionate scene.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O Brave New World, September 24, 2005

By 

Lily Bart "lilybits" (The House of Mirth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 76: Requiem For Methuselah [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Very rarely does a STAR TREK episode live up to the memories of thirty years ago. I saw this one as a tiny tot, and remember just swooning over the "confession" of the wise old Mr. Flint -- "yes, I was Brahms. And DaVinci. And Merlin, and Alexander . . . and many, many more."

This episode is refreshing, in that the focus is not on Kirk's macho daring, but on art and music, thoughts and feelings, philosophy and loss. Kirk and the boys are amazed to meet a fascinating wise old man in the remotest possible corner of the galaxy, whose companion seems to be an adoring and cultivated young woman. But all is not as it seems! Mr. Flint has secrets, and so does his companion Rayna. Ultimately Kirk "loses" one of his few fights and Mr. Spock shows an unusual amount of understanding and concern for his captain's human emotions.

This episode owes a lot to Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST. Mr. Flint is a retired magician, like Prospero. Rayna is as innocent and charming as Miranda -- and as eager to meet attractive men. The M4 Robot flits about running household errands, just like Ariel.

But this episode goes further. "Miranda's" isolation has tragic costs, which Shakespeare doesn't acknowledge. And Prospero's wisdom is flawed, making him both more tragic and more human. Shakespeare's magician was rather too pure -- betrayed by his brother, by Milan, by the tiresome demands of real life. Mr. Flint is far more accomplished, and also admits to having made his own share of mistakes. This episode is everything STAR TREK ever set out to be -- original and exciting entertainment, and a doorway to new worlds of art and thought.

O Brave New World!