If I rewrote Forbidden Planet

I have a writing exercise I sometimes play with.

I'll read a book or watch a film that's really awful, and I try to think about how you could rewrite it and improve it (at least that's how I intellectually justify my love of b-movies.) I also sometimes do the same with stories that might come off as dated to modern sensibilities. How would you rework them to appeal to a contemporary audience?

I recently did the latter as I watched Forbidden Planet.

The 1950s saw a flood of b-movie science fiction films, spawned by the dawn of the Atomic Age. Others have even gone so far as categorize the films as an entire subgenre called "Atomic Horror." A few of these films were works of great quality, such Them! and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Of course the other end of the spectrum was equally or more represented with such fare as Plan 9 From Outer Space. Fortunately, Forbidden Planet is quite a gem. It's visual effects are absolutely stunning, particularly for its time, and the story actually has depth and thought to it with obvious allusions to Shakespeare's The Tempest.

As such, I want to make clear that I think Forbidden Planet should remain just as is and should never be remade, or if it absolutely must be, I hope it is undertaken by someone smarter than I am. What I blog now is merely a mental exercise. It also has quite a few spoilers ahead, so be warned.

In the film, a colony on the planet Altair IV has gone quiet. A spaceship is sent to investigate. Here's the ship:

The ship and its crew are commanded by John J. Adams, played by Leslie Nielsen.

This might come as a shock to those who knew Nielsen for his numerous, not to mention brilliant, comedic roles, but he was at one time a stereotypical Hollywood "leading man."

When the expedition arrives on Altair IV, they discover there are only two survivors of the colony. One is Dr. Edward Morbius, a scientist.

The other is Morbius' daughter, Altaira.

A fetching young lady who has known no other man besides her father, Altaira is of course immediately fascinated by this entire ship-full of men that has suddenly landed by her home.

Here is where things would need to be adjusted for a modern audience. The crew of the ship is entirely male and entirely white. I would change this. I would do so not to be raffish or out of any servitude to political correctness or pandering to "SJWs." Rather, a diverse crew would simply be realistic. Look at the average workplace today. Finding one that is either all male or all white or both is increasingly rare. It would only make sense that the crew of the ship reflects this fact. It also sets up interesting possibilities for Altaira.

In the film, Altaira is played as this sort of "babe in the wilderness," naive but naturally enraptured by all of these newly arrived men. Even though the film was made in 1956 and the crew all come off as all-American boys-next-door, one still gets the creepy sense that at least a few of these men would not mind taking full advantage of Altaira's sheltered existence. Having female crew members might change this dynamic. How might conversations go between Altaira and other female characters? After all, she has never met another woman. Female spacefarers might counsel Altaira, showing her that she can generate her own interests and her own self-worth, rather than find it in the affections of a man.

Then I thought, why not go one better? What if we gender-flipped Morbius? What if Altaira had been raised by her mother? How might Altaira be different? Would she still view the men the same way? Possibly. We do have natural urges. Still, I wonder how having a strong maternal figure around might make a difference in Altaira's personality and interactions.

Earlier, I mentioned that the crew comes off something of a cross between a 1950s Ivy League football team and the boys from Archie comics. For the most part, they seem to all get along. This seems just as unrealistic to me as to the homogeneous ethnicity and gender of the crew. I certainly wouldn't want go all "Edgy McPostmodernism" have them all be grimy and misanthropic, but a touch more tension between them might serve the story well and make for a few interesting subplots.

But there are aspects of the film I would never change.

Arguably, the real star of the story is Robby the Robot, a robot that serves as Morbius' major domo. He is one of the very first robots in a film to exhibit a distinct personality and became something of a fixture in terms of what people would immediately think of when hearing the word, "robot."

Robby's appearance is of course dated, and no doubt the suits in a contemporary film studio would want to change it. I just couldn't do it. Perhaps removing the mechanical gears sound effects and make him a bit more digital, but that's it. Dammit...Robby is a classic. Leave him be. 

I also would not change the story's true antagonist. It's brilliant.

Upon settling on Altair IV, the colony found an abandoned city of sorts, once inhabited by a now extinct race called the Krell. This advanced race built a device that could create anything their minds envisioned. What they did not account for were the "monsters of the id." These include the subconscious thoughts we all have but seldom express, yet they are there. We may (hopefully) control their release, but we cannot eliminate their existence. Once manifested into reality, these monstrosities killed the Krell.

As Morbius experiments with the device, he unleashes his own id demon and wipes out the entire colony, save for himself and his daughter.

It's just such a great idea....and I'm convinced it must have inspired the Jonny Quest episode, "The Invisible Monster."

What of the Krell themselves? Ah yes. I can't decide. I'm of two minds. Part of me really wants to delve into that race, giving them a fully revealed backstory and most important of all, allowing us to see them at last. Morbius could come across a hologram or other suitable media during his research. It could roll out the whole history of the Krell in visual rather than oral form.

Then again, part of me really wants them to remain a mystery. It does add something to the mystique and the "going into the unknown" sensibility one gets as soon as the ship lands on the planet.

Oh but it would be so much fun to create the story of the Krell.

Decisions...decisions...

In summation, characters and their interactions would benefit from a change that represents our current reality and likely future. Everything else? Don't touch it.

Especially don't CGI it to death and overwhelm an otherwise thought-provoking story.


Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets