Commentary: Trek Stars: The Work of Star Trek Creators Outside of Star Trek (Richard Matheson)

Matheson, Part 10: Recap.

Richard Matheson’s influence on science fiction cannot be measured. Whether it’s I Am Legend or The Twilight Zone, Matheson’s impact on what has come since is massive.

This week, Max and Mike try to examine Matheson’s career by looking at a tiny cross-section of his work. Specifically, we recap our series on Matheson’s novels that have been adapted into movies. Starting at the beginning, we look at the books, Someone is Bleeding, I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes, Ride the Nightmare, Hell House, Bid Time Return, and What Dreams May Come, and their motion picture counterparts, Georges Lautner’s Icy Breasts, Sidney Salkow’s The Last Man on Earth, Boris Sagal’s The Omega Man, Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend, Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man, Joel Schumacher’s The Incredible Shrinking Woman, David Koepp’s Stir of Echoes, Terence Young’s Cold Sweat, John Hough’s The Legend of Hell House, Jeannot Szwarc’s Somewhere in Time, and Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come. We also touch on our trip to the Parsec Awards.

Direct download: ctrek-044.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 9: What Dreams May Come.

For his tenth novel, Richard Matheson continued to steer away from the horror genre and towards something more romantic in nature. An unofficial companion piece to Bid Time Return, What Dreams May Come tells the story of a dead man who embarks on a journey through hell to find his wife. Of all his novels, Matheson considers it to be his best work.

Twenty years after the release of the book, Vincent Ward adapted What Dreams May Come into a film starring Robin Williams. It was met with mixed reviews, though often applauded for its visual depiction of the afterlife.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by John Mills of Words with Nerds to discuss both Matheson’s novel and Ward’s movie. We discuss the meticulous detail of the book, debate whether or not the changes made in the film were effective, and wonder if Matheson’s motivations for writing the book were domestic in nature.

Direct download: ctrek-043.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 8: Bid Time Return.

In 1975, Richard Matheson published what he considered to be his best novel to date, Bid Time Return. It tells the story of a dying young man who sees a 75-year old picture of an actress, and falls instantly in love with her. He convinces himself that it is his destiny to travel back in time to meet her.

Five years later, Matheson adapted the book into a film entitled Somewhere in Time. It was directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and starred Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. While largely ignored upon release, the film has since developed a large cult following which closely resembles Star Trek fandom in many ways.

This week, Max and Mike discuss the time travel device used in the book, whether or not the movie improves on its source material, and where this novel fits into Matheson’s career. We also take a look at INSITE, the International Network of Somewhere In Time Enthusiasts.

Direct download: ctrek-042.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 7: Hell House.

After a decade-long hiatus, Richard Matheson returned to long-form prose with his eighth novel, Hell House. It tells the story of a team of scientists and spiritualists who are sent to an allegedly haunted house to determine what the cause of the supernatural occurrences are.

Two years later, Matheson once again adapted his own book into a feature film, entitled The Legend of Hell House. The movie, directed by John Hough, stars Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes), Michael Gough (Batman), and Clive Revill (formerly of Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back). It is a considerably toned-down version, which actually sports a PG rating.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by John Mills of Words with Nerds. We discuss the novel's influence on later haunted house stories, the movie's strange lack of sex and violence, and what Matheson was up to in the sixties. We also wonder whether or not McDowall's climactic line reading is one of the finest moments in the history of cinema.

Direct download: ctrek-041.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 6: Ride the Nightmare.

After a string of SF/horror stories, Richard Matheson returned to the crime genre with his sixth novel, Ride the Nightmare. The book tells the story of a family whose life is turned upside down when some characters from his shady past come to seek revenge. 

This week, Max and Mike are joined by research librarian Tony Powers to discuss the novel as well as Matheson’s own adaptation for an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and legendary James Bond director Terence Young’s film version, Cold Sweat. 

We discuss the book as a precursor to popular works such as Reservoir Dogs and 24, Matheson’s ability to adapt his own work for the screen, and how the movie was altered to act as a starring vehicle for Charles Bronson. We also touch on Matheson’s seventh novel, The Beardless Warriors.

Direct download: ctrek-040.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 5: A Stir of Echoes.

In 1958, Richard Matheson released his fifth novel, A Stir of Echoes. The book is a ghost story about a man who develops psychic powers as the result of hypnosis. 41 years later, blockbuster screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man) wrote and directed a film adaptation starring Kevin Bacon.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by Rudra Banerji to look at both Matheson’s novel and Koepp’s movie. We discuss how the book works as a commentary on suburban America, the effectiveness of keeping the supernatural elements ambiguous, the twist ending, and whether the changes made by the movie were good or bad. We also wonder why people think Chicagoans have crazy accents. 

Direct download: ctrek-039.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 3: I Am Legend.

At the age of 28, Richard Matheson published the novel that would later be considered his masterpiece, I Am Legend. The story follows the only survivor in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by vampires.

The book was adapted into three films over the span of 43 years. The first, in 1964, was Sidney Salkow’s The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price. The second, in 1971, was Boris Sagal’s The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston. And the third, in 2007, was Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend, starring Will Smith.

This week, Mike and Max are joined by Ben Munaretto to discuss Matheson’s novel and all three adaptations. We look at the historical significance of the book, the accuracy of the first adaptation, the liberties taken by the second adaptation, the changes made to the ending of the third adaptation, and Steven Seagal’s ancestry.

Direct download: ctrek-037.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 2: Someone Is Bleeding.

In 1953, “a brilliant new master of the macabre” made his debut in the literary world. Someone Is Bleeding was the first novel in Richard Matheson’s sixty-year career. In the book, a young writer falls madly in love with a woman who may or may not have killed her husband. Now, he’s torn between his undeniable attraction to her, and his desire to not be stabbed with an ice pick.

Twenty one years later, a French director by the name of Georges Lautner adapted Matheson’s novel into a movie called Icy Breasts. We don’t know what the title refers to, but we love it.

This week, Mike and Max examine both the novel Someone Is Bleeding and the movie Icy Breasts. We discuss Matheson’s style, how believable the characters are, how well the book was translated to the screen, and whether or not murder is a deal-breaker in a relationship.

Direct download: ctrek-036.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

Matheson, Part 1: Trek.

Richard Matheson is one of the most influential genre writers of our time. He has written countless novels and short stories, including I Am Legend. He is responsible for numerous movies and TV shows, including sixteen episodes of The Twilight Zone. And he also wrote the sixth episode of Star Trek, “The Enemy Within.” 

This week, we begin a new series looking at a cross section of Matheson’s career. Specifically, we will examine his novels that were adapted into movies, comparing those films to their source material. 

In Part 1, Mike is joined by Trek.fm’s very own Christopher Jones and Drew Stewart to look at Matheson’s work on “The Enemy Within.” We discuss how Matheson’s style translates to episodic television, how the episode stacks up against Voyager’s “Faces,” whether or not the B-plot works, and how Matheson may be the perfect writer for William Shatner.

Direct download: ctrek-035.mp3
Category:Richard Matheson -- posted at: 9:00pm MDT

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