Otherworld unexpectedly but delightfully becomes
a fairy tale fantasy in this out-of-the-norm next-to-last installment of the
series, “Mansion of the Beast.” In very
specific terms, “Mansion of the Beast” revisits the famous story of Beauty
and the Beast (1740), with June Sterling (Gretchen Corbett) in the Beauty
role, and a strange inter-dimensional traveler, Virago (Alan Feinstein) as the inhuman
Beast.
The
story begins with the Sterlings traversing a lovely fairy tale forest. A beast – half
man and half-savage -- materializes before them and proclaims himself the
King of the Trees and the Lord of the Animals. This is Virago, and he refuses
to let the family continue its journey unless June remains with him in his
lonely country mansion. Hal refuses to
sacrifice his wife to such a monster, and is immediately put into a deep sleep
by Virago.
While
Mom remains with Virago, the children head into the woods to find help for
Hal. They meet Akin (John Astin), Virago’s
brother. Akin reveals that Virago was
once a great scientist and charismatic leader, but his attempt to cross
dimensions to reach the mythical land of Earth only returned him here as a
beast.
Worse,
Virago seems to be losing his humanity by the day…
But
Virago is taken with June. He first
observed her attempting to heal the wing of a wounded owl, and has fallen in
love with her. Now he offers her life in
a beautiful mansion, but she misses her family, and can never love the Beast as
he desires. “I have never, ever, been loved,” Virago tells June, and she sows
sympathy and compassion for the lonely creature.
Meanwhile,
Hal undertakes a quest to capture and refine “cold star fire,” the only substance in the universe that can kill
the Beast. When June expresses to Virago
her loneliness and the desire to see her family again, he allows her to leave….with
a caveat. He makes her promise she will
return in one day’s time. While she is
gone, however, Hal arrives and kills the beast.
But June’s love is redemptive, and transforms the Beast into a human
again…
From
the Beauty
and the Beast stories, “Mansion of the Beast” adapts several important
themes and notions. The first is of a
Beast who trusts his beauty…and makes her promise to return to him. And the second is the idea that the tears of
Beauty can bring Beast back to life, and restore his soul. These ideas are a little out of place in the
hard sci-fi universe of Otherworld, but it’s an interesting
notion to dramatize this story and imply, at least a little, that we get our fairy
tales of Beauty and the Beast from Virago and his inter-dimensional
journey.
Other
fairy tale characteristics abound in this tale. John Astin plays a character
who will remind you of the Woodsman or Lumberjack from Little Red Riding Hood,
and Hal is put into a deep sleep from which he cannot awake, a lot like poor
Snow White. In terms of fairy tale
format, this Otherworld mimics the Campbell Heroic Quest, with Hal
going bare-chested on a mission to
retrieve cold star fire. After he
recovers the mineral, we see a blacksmith (Akin) tempering the cold star fire…making
a heroic weapon from it, in the spirit of Excalibur. With
all these touches, “Mansion of the Beast” is clever and knowing in terms of its
narrative, a post-modern exploration of fairy tale tropes.
In
terms of Otherworld lore, “Mansion of the Beast” is an extremely
important episode for the canon. It establishes
a great deal of information about the Sterlings’ quest to return home. We learn that Emar (or Imar, perhaps) is home
to a group of “signpost astrologers” who speak regularly of Earth, and the
other world there. Also, Virago leaves
June and the Sterlings with a riddle about their way home:
“Look for the
valley of vision, where the slain are not slain with swords, and the darkest
shadows of light. There, you will find a
door.”
Unfortunately,
Otherworld
did not survive long enough to explore this riddle, or what precisely it
meant. “Mansion of the Beast” is
followed by just one more episode, “Princess Metra.” Still, I truly admire this short-lived series’
willingness to take chances and move the narrative in imaginative, unexpected
directions. We saw a funny post-modern
take on rock history in “Rock and Roll Suicide” and now “Mansion of the Beast”
apes fairy tale form and shape.
Next
week: The end of Otherworld comes with “Princess
Metra.”
This episode was always the most memorable because of its exotic fantasy trappings ( as "A Dream of Conquest" was the most memorable ep of 'Fantastic Journey' because of its furry alien creature). The 'Beauty and the Beast' angle would become more tiresome, especially after that Beauty and the Beast series, but this ep is much more fun than . The scene where the mom's tear turns into a star was sweet and poetic. As with Logan's Run (1977), this series showed much potential and was cancelled too soon.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
DeleteI very strongly agree with you about the trappings of this episode (and the creature in "A Dream of Conquest" as well). Having an alien-looking being in the midst of what has seemed a very human/earthbound story, creates interest in this instance.
What I appreciate so much about Otherworld was the fact that it had a flexible format, and could accommodate -- without it seeming a stretch -- very different kinds of stories.
Excellent insight, and one I concur with.
best,
John
Agree, OTHERWORLD had so much to offer in it's brief run. Like the earlier LOGAN'S RUN series or the later SLIDERS series the episodes could explore anything along the lines of the TWILIGHT ZONE.
ReplyDeleteSGB
Hi SGB:
DeleteAgreed, my friend. I often think about Otherworld, and that, with a little support, it could have been the Star Trek of the 1980s, with a little Cosby Show thrown in!
best,
John