Forbidden Planet

[ZenGalacticore]

Y'all are... Y'all are... Y'all are... For once words escape me. :|

'Dammit Jim', he does look remarkably like the Michelin Man from the waist down. And Larry posted about the light bulb and the gyroscope in ole Rob's head. I think the gyroscope is pointing-at any given moment- to where the :idea: is. :lol:

 

[jim48]

As the OP I think I can safely recommend that Y'all TURN OFF THE COMPUTER. GET UP OUT OF YOUR CHAIR. WALK ACROSS THE ROOM. FIND YOUR WAY TO THE FRONT OR BACK DOOR. OPEN THE DOOR. GO OUTSIDE. STAY OUTSIDE FOR AT LEAST A FEW MINUTES. TAKE A WALK AROUND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. GREET AND CHAT WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, ASSUMING OF COURSE THEY KNOW WHO YOU ARE. BREATHE THE AIR. STUDY THE ENVIRONMENT. TAKE SOME COINS FROM YOUR POCKET AND PURCHASE A NEWSPAPER FROM A RACK. LOOK UP AT THE SKY. SMILE AT CHILDREN. SIT ON A BENCH AND ENGAGE SOMEONE IN CONVERSATION. GO INTO ANY KIND OF RETAIL STORE AND LOOK AROUND. LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING. DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE POST OFFICE IS? THE POLICE STATION? THE LIBRARY? THE HARDWARE STORE? DO YOU KNOW YOUR WAY HOME? THE WEATHER LOOKS BAD BUT YOU CAN'T DELETE IT. REALLY. YOU CAN'T. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU READ A BOOK OUTDOORS UNDER A TREE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH WOMEN?

 

[Larryman]

To upgrade the C-57-D to a C-57-E:
* the Enterprise (TOS) bridge Data Stations should replace everything on the -D's open balcony deck.
* make walkway of balcony deck, of transparent material and add Enterprise bridge red handrail around it's open edge.
* the Enterprise Main View Screen can replace the -D's library area.
* the Enterprise Helm would replace the -D's spherical astrogator.
* add 'voice-responsive' ship's computer system.
* replace the -D's exposed structure ribs with the 'face-lighted' style of Jupiter-2.
* keep the -D's (cool) crew-lift-poles in the front, but add a Jupiter-2 'caged elevator' in the rear.
* add a Jupiter-2 airlock on the balcony deck.
* add banks of lighted circuit boards on all decks.
* move crew bunks to lower deck quarters.
* eliminate old radio communication station - replaced by Uhura's sub-space Data Station on balcony deck.
* enclose each 'DC' station pad with a Jupiter-2 'freeze-tube'.
* replace the ship's blue landing (and lift-off) beam with a transparent 'dark energy' (anti-gravity) distortion field.
* add 'retractable' Battlestar Galactica (TOS) plasma-bolt cannons to the exterior of the ship.
* add cargo lift platform to bottom of saucer - to deploy the Landram vehicle.
* add Jupiter-2 engine sounds to the saucer.
* and give the C-57-D and C-57-E a ship name.

and...

* add women to the crew.
* add two 'general purpose' Robby robots to the crew.
* replace old grey uniforms with new styled, and colored ones.
* add a fleet of 99 identical United Planets hyperspace patrol saucers - numbered: C-00-E through C-99-E.
* patrol human-colonized planets of the United Planets Federation, and continue search for other Krell-colonized planets.

* replace 'blaster' weapons with 'phasers'.

 

[crazyeddie]

To upgrade the C-57-D to a C-57-E:

You really enjoy the technical, hardware side of science fiction, don't you?

I'm not mocking you in the least. I love poring over specifications and blueprints of science-fictional spaceships! I've always wanted the propulsion spec's on the Jupiter II, but it's no longer in print, and the used price on the collector's circuit is too rich for my blood:

 

[Larryman]

I am fond of the sci-fi tech concepts, but I am 'picky' about them. Lots of sci-fi's have good concepts, and also bad concepts. My ideal space-based sci-fi universe would contain a modified Star Trek (TOS), and a modified Lost In Space (TOS). The best way to combine those would be in a Forbidden Planet universe - from which both series concepts germinated. Of course it would not be creatable by contemporary Hollywood. And it would not be marketable to contemporary 'target market' audiences. But, I like to play with, and discuss the concepts anyway. Picking the best of each, and pinches from others.

Of Star Trek (TOS)...
I like:
* the Enterprise interior - but Uhura's communication station and the turbo-lift need to be position-swapped.
* the Enterprise exterior - but the deflector dish needs to be removed.
* the matter/anti-matter ship's power source.
* the ship's phasers.
* the crew uniforms - style and colors.
* the hand phasers, tri-corders, and communicators.
I don't like:
* the exclusion of flying saucers and robots.
* aliens in the Federation.
* aliens everywhere.
* the shuttlecraft - they should be small flying saucers.

Of Lost In Space (TOS)...
I like:
* the Jupiter-2 exterior and landing legs.
* the Jupiter-2's energy glow at Earth lift-off.
* parts of the ship interior: the freezetubes, the caged-elevator, the airlock chamber, the many switches and colored lights, the main viewport window and crash shields, the brightly-lit interior, and the over-all beige and brown color scheme.
* the Chariot - but the top-side radar dish, solar panel, and dome need to be removed.
* the series concept of a civilian family, lost on an alien planet.
* the bold colored crew outfits.
* the jetpack.
* the Robinson family and ship pilot Don West.
I don't like:
* Dr. Smith - I hate the existance of his character in LIS!
* disregard for intellegent credibility.
* progression to increasing campyness.
* the lack of other families aboard the Jupiter-2.
* the Jupiter-2 is too small for it's interior and cargo.
* the season-2 flight console.
* the season-2 faster-than-light ship speed.
* the season-2 departure from Priplanus.
* the Spacepod.

 

[Mee_n_Mac]

To continue in the vein above and hopefully not too OT ....

I liked the way Babylon5 dished out their FTL. They needed FTL to make the adventure work but you had to have a big enough ship to make enough juice to open your open jump gate. Otherwise you had to use a facility jumpgate. Even better was the concept in The Mote in God's Eye (and the whole CoDominium series). We can't create the jump points, only utilize those provided by the Universe. For travel outside the Alderson tramlines ... it's good old rocket time (albeit fusion powered). More realistic interplanetary travel as a result.

 

[Larryman]

To continue in the vein above and hopefully not too OT ....

I liked the way Babylon5 dished out their FTL. They needed FTL to make the adventure work but you had to have a big enough ship to make enough juice to open your open jump gate. Otherwise you had to use a facility jumpgate. Even better was the concept in The Mote in God's Eye (and the whole CoDominium series). We can't create the jump points, only utilize those provided by the Universe. For travel outside the Alderson tramlines ... it's good old rocket time (albeit fusion powered). More realistic interplanetary travel as a result.

That's too restrictive of hyperspace access for my taste. The C-57-D is a relatively small patrol ship. But it needs the hyperspace access and maneuverability of the Enterprise in warped space. It would require the ability to enter hyperspace under it's own power - anywhere, and anytime. As a flying saucer, it should be able to duplicate the entry into hyperspace even while in atmospheric flight - as many ufo's are reported to 'instantly disappear' in their flights. But I did like Babylon 5's dipiction of hyperspace as being a 'spooky' and dangerous realm - ships stuck there for eternity. But perhaps jumpgates could be added to create artificial point-to-point wormholes (bypassing hyperspace) between extremely distant locations.

 

[ZenGalacticore]

To continue in the vein above and hopefully not too OT ....

I liked the way Babylon5 dished out their FTL. They needed FTL to make the adventure work but you had to have a big enough ship to make enough juice to open your open jump gate. Otherwise you had to use a facility jumpgate. Even better was the concept in The Mote in God's Eye (and the whole CoDominium series). We can't create the jump points, only utilize those provided by the Universe. For travel outside the Alderson tramlines ... it's good old rocket time (albeit fusion powered). More realistic interplanetary travel as a result.

That's too restrictive of hyperspace access for my taste. The C-57-D is a relatively small patrol ship. But it needs the hyperspace access and maneuverability of the Enterprise in warped space. It would require the ability to enter hyperspace under it's own power - anywhere, and anytime. As a flying saucer, it should be able to duplicate the entry into hyperspace even while in atmospheric flight - as many ufo's are reported to 'instantly disappear' in their flights. But I did like Babylon 5's dipiction of hyperspace as being a 'spooky' and dangerous realm - ships stuck there for eternity. But perhaps jumpgates could be added to create artificial point-to-point wormholes (bypassing hyperspace) between extremely distant locations.

Hey now!... Don't be building any hyperspace access ramps through my neighborhood buddy! :lol: Zen likes peace and quiet in his Galactic core.

 

[crazyeddie]

I am fond of the sci-fi tech concepts, but I am 'picky' about them. Lots of sci-fi's have good concepts, and also bad concepts. My ideal space-based sci-fi universe would contain a modified Star Trek (TOS), and a modified Lost In Space (TOS). The best way to combine those would be in a Forbidden Planet universe - from which both series concepts germinated. Of course it would not be creatable by contemporary Hollywood. And it would not be marketable to contemporary 'target market' audiences. But, I like to play with, and discuss the concepts anyway. Picking the best of each, and pinches from others.

Of Star Trek (TOS)...
I like:
* the Enterprise interior - but Uhura's communication station and the turbo-lift need to be position-swapped.
* the Enterprise exterior - but the deflector dish needs to be removed.
* the matter/anti-matter ship's power source.
* the ship's phasers.
* the crew uniforms - style and colors.
* the hand phasers, tri-corders, and communicators.
I don't like:
* the exclusion of flying saucers and robots.
* aliens in the Federation.
* aliens everywhere.
* the shuttlecraft - they should be small flying saucers.

Of Lost In Space (TOS)...
I like:
* the Jupiter-2 exterior and landing legs.
* the Jupiter-2's energy glow at Earth lift-off.
* parts of the ship interior: the freezetubes, the caged-elevator, the airlock chamber, the many switches and colored lights, the main viewport window and crash shields, the brightly-lit interior, and the over-all beige and brown color scheme.
* the Chariot - but the top-side radar dish, solar panel, and dome need to be removed.
* the series concept of a civilian family, lost on an alien planet.
* the bold colored crew outfits.
* the jetpack.
* the Robinson family and ship pilot Don West.
I don't like:
* Dr. Smith - I hate the existance of his character in LIS!
* disregard for intellegent credibility.
* progression to increasing campyness.
* the lack of other families aboard the Jupiter-2.
* the Jupiter-2 is too small for it's interior and cargo.
* the season-2 flight console.
* the season-2 faster-than-light ship speed.
* the season-2 departure from Priplanus.
* the Spacepod.

This is probably worth starting a separate thread over. I'd love to pick over your list and share my thoughts on them, but it would get too far off topic.....we gotta focus on Forbidden Planet here!

I thought there was one glaring technical faux-pas in the C-57-D cruiser. In order for the commander to contact Earth for new instructions regarding the fate of the Bellerophon party, they had to actually dismantle the ship's power reactor to build a communicator practically from scratch....which struck me as an absurdity. How could a military vessel not have something so essential as standard equipment? That Commander Adams could not communicate with Earth easily may have been a plot device that was essential to the story, but it always rubbed me the wrong way, somehow.

 

[MeteorWayne]

I was just thinking the same thing. This thread has little to do with Forbidden Planet now, but I suspect it's too late to save

 

[Larryman]

I thought there was one glaring technical faux-pas in the C-57-D cruiser. In order for the commander to contact Earth for new instructions regarding the fate of the Bellerophon party, they had to actually dismantle the ship's power reactor to build a communicator practically from scratch....which struck me as an absurdity. How could a military vessel not have something so essential as standard equipment? That Commander Adams could not communicate with Earth easily may have been a plot device that was essential to the story, but it always rubbed me the wrong way, somehow.

I don't see that as a mistake. They were able to communicate via the ship's short-wave radio, in conventional manner. But, their mission had far exceeded the useful range of that medium to contact Earth base. To do that would require a far different form of communication, which is not typically required for their standard patrol activities. Fortunately, they did have the capacity to construct a power-hungry alternative - the ability to "short-circuit the continuum on a five or six parsec level." In other words - a sub-space radio. Commander Adams continues: "Of course, a transmitter like that isn't standard equipment." I'm actually more supprised that the script writers of 1956 would have conceived of a sub-space radio communication in 'any' form, even if it lacked a name for it.

 

[Larryman]

Now, wouldn't it be interesting... after the marriage of Commander Adams to Altaira... that he (and we) then learn(s) that Altaira was actually an android - built by Dr. Morbius, after he "tinkered" Robby robot together?

 

[Larryman]

Now, wouldn't it be interesting... if the plunger-switch in the Krell lab floor 'actually' activated a planetary defence system, which generates illusions (and false sensor reading) of the planet Altair-4 being destroyed in a runaway nuclear reaction - effective from 100-million miles distant, and outward? And even more interesting, if Dr. Morbius knew it?

 

[crazyeddie]

Now, wouldn't it be interesting... if the plunger-switch in the Krell lab floor 'actually' activated a planetary defence system, which generates illusions (and false sensor reading) of the planet Altair-4 being destroyed in a runaway nuclear reaction - effective from 100-million miles distant, and outward? And even more interesting, if Dr. Morbius knew it?

Throw a switch and blow up your planet.....it seemed too easy. I always had this fantasy-daydream of some incompetent Krell version of Jerry Lewis or Inspector Clouseau accidentally bumping the disk that raised the switch, then absent-mindedly sitting on it......OOPS! :lol:

But getting back to your idea.....that would be a good way to keep the story going, wouldn't it? In a sequel, Morbius, now deprived of his only companions (Robbie and Altaira), becomes even more egomaniacal. If the Great Machine has enough power for a whole Krell population to project matter to any point on the planet, perhaps it can also harness it's energy to project just one Id monster to anywhere in the galaxy. Morbius, consumed with jealousy and hungry for revenge against Earth, sends his Beast to walk among us........ :shock:

 

[Larryman]

crazyeddie wrote:
"In a sequel, Morbius, now deprived of his only companions (Robbie and Altaira), becomes even more egomaniacal. If the Great Machine has enough power for a whole Krell population to project matter to any point on the planet, perhaps it can also harness it's energy to project just one Id monster to anywhere in the galaxy. Morbius, consumed with jealousy and hungry for revenge against Earth, sends his Beast to walk among us........"

I don't see Morbius being jealous and vengeful like that. I see him basically as just a genious that is protective of his discovery. I would think (after faking out Commander Adams with the fake planet explosion), he would then 'tinker' together another Robby robot (or two), and perhaps an android duplicate of his deceased wife - Julia Marsin. And continue studying the Krell acheivements, while hoping that Earth forces will not come looking again. Of course, he is now aware of the Id function of the 'great machine', and will have to shut that function down. But that should still leave lots of potential goodies for discovery. Perhaps the Krell developed a 'manual-controled' matter manipulation device, before linking it to the 'sub-conscience mental control' system. Perhaps other Krell underground installations still exist on Altair-4, and it's two moons. Perhaps even an abandoned under-sea Krell city.

If Morbius launched an Id attack against Earth, it would reveal that Altair-4 and his self still exist. It could draw surviving Earth forces back onto him for insured distruction. As a genious, I don't think he would be that dumb. He would prefer to return to secluded studies of the Krell.

 

[Larryman]

Lets name the C-57-D the "Enterprise", after the WW2 aircraft carrier. In full, it would then be the: UPF C-57-D "Enterprise". The UPF is abbreviation for the United Planets Federation - a federation of (only) human-colonized planets, plus the Earth.

 

[crazyeddie]

Now, wouldn't it be interesting... after the marriage of Commander Adams to Altaira... that he (and we) then learn(s) that Altaira was actually an android - built by Dr. Morbius, after he "tinkered" Robby robot together?

The final scene in the movie, which wound up on the editing room floor, was of Commander Adams and Altaira getting married by the ship's chaplain (apparently, one of the crewmen was an ordained minister!), and being presented with a small wedding cake by Cookie. I'm glad they cut it out.....it would have been an inelegant ending, and not in keeping with the somber mood.

 

[jim48]

Now, wouldn't it be interesting... after the marriage of Commander Adams to Altaira... that he (and we) then learn(s) that Altaira was actually an android - built by Dr. Morbius, after he "tinkered" Robby robot together?

The final scene in the movie, which wound up on the editing room floor, was of Commander Adams and Altaira getting married by the ship's chaplain (apparently, one of the crewmen was an ordained minister!), and being presented with a small wedding cake by Cookie. I'm glad they cut it out.....it would have been an inelegant ending, and not in keeping with the somber mood.

Are you serious? Adams and Altaria got hitched? Really? Makes sense. I would liked to have seen that in the movie, if only to lighten up a "somber" movie that often took itself far too seriously. Has there ever been a director's cut of this film, even though the director is bones underground?

 

[Larryman]

Now, wouldn't it be interesting... after the marriage of Commander Adams to Altaira... that he (and we) then learn(s) that Altaira was actually an android - built by Dr. Morbius, after he "tinkered" Robby robot together?

The final scene in the movie, which wound up on the editing room floor, was of Commander Adams and Altaira getting married by the ship's chaplain (apparently, one of the crewmen was an ordained minister!), and being presented with a small wedding cake by Cookie. I'm glad they cut it out.....it would have been an inelegant ending, and not in keeping with the somber mood.

I agree. If we cant have the shock value of Altaira saying "Excuse me Darling... I have to recharge now.", as an ending... then keep the established somber mood - by no wedding scene.

 

[crazyeddie]

Are you serious? Adams and Altaria got hitched? Really? Makes sense. I would liked to have seen that in the movie, if only to lighten up a "somber" movie that often took itself far too seriously. Has there ever been a director's cut of this film, even though the director is bones underground?

A director's cut version of Forbidden Planet would be awesome, and it would clear up many little things about the movie that have always bugged me. For example, when the C-57D first comes out of hyperdrive, one of the crewmen says, "It's warm in here, skipper!", at which point Commander Adams says, with some apparent annoyance, "Jerry, you....!". What was cut out was a scene where Adams castigates Lt. Farman for once again cutting it too close by coming out of hyperspace too near the star. He then orders Farman to cool the ship off by taking it into the shadow of the first planet in the system, Altair I....at which point, the Doctor says "Meanwhile, this ship arranges it's own eclipses." In this context, the Commander's "Jerry, you...!" makes sense......but it's lost in the edited version.

Another scene that bothered me was when Morbius was giving Adams and Dr. Ostrow a tour of the Great Machine, and Adams asks him, "But what's it all for?". Morbius answers (paraphrasing) "Sometimes the gauges register when the deer are migrating or when the birds fly over in the spring, and a whole bank became active when your ship first approached". In the edited version, Adams seems satisfied with this answer, but not in the original version. They cut the scene where Adams becomes annoyed at Morbius's evasiveness, and demands an answer, and Morbius crys out in despair "I don't know!"....a revelation that he apparently felt some shame over. Why they would cut this very important scene out is a mystery to me.

 

[jim48]

Okay, Eddie. My same friend from years ago also told me of another scene that got cut: Robby comes to pick up Adams and the doctor to take them to Morbius's home... some sort of scooter thing. What got cut was Robby driving the thing as fast as it could go and Adams and the doctor hanging on for dear life! Yes, we should start a lobby group to get Forbidden Planet re-released in its entirety.

 

[Kerberos]

Do the frames cut from the original release still exist?

 

[crazyeddie]

Okay, Eddie. My same friend from years ago also told me of another scene that got cut: Robby comes to pick up Adams and the doctor to take them to Morbius's home... some sort of scooter thing. What got cut was Robby driving the thing as fast as it could go and Adams and the doctor hanging on for dear life! Yes, we should start a lobby group to get Forbidden Planet re-released in its entirety.

Yep, your friend is correct! The scene shows the three passengers (Commander Adams, Dr. Ostrow, and Lt. Farman) rather alarmed as Robbie puts "the pedal to the metal", and they beg him to slow down. The scene was cut because they felt the images of the scenery whizzing past did not turn out well, and looked rather fake. I've seen a screen shot of it, and I would have to agree.

I'm sort of surprised that when the 50-year anniversary DVD edition came out, they didn't include some of the scenes that were edited out....but you're right, they ought to! I don't know if the film footage still exists, but certainly screen shots have been archived.