Treasure Planet
Even before At Attin is described as a “treasure planet” in the seventh episode, there are several signs that Skeleton Crew is heavily inspired by Disney Animation’s Treasure Planet (2003), a steampunk sci-fi rendition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, Treasure Island.
Both Treasure Planet and “This Could Be A Real Adventure” (Skeleton Crew 1.1) open with a pirate ship attacking a frigate. Next, both introduce a young boy – Jim Hawkins in Treasure Planet, Wim in Skeleton Crew – who likes to stay up past his bedtime reading holographic books about legendary adventurers. Later, this boy gets himself in trouble with the law (and with his harried single parent) when he is caught and reprimanded by robot police for riding his speeder into a restricted area.
In “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier” (Skeleton Crew 1.2), Wim and his friends befriend a robot, SM-33. Later episodes reveal that SM-33 was once the servant of the legendary pirate Tak Rennod, who tampered with SM-33’s memory banks so he wouldn’t reveal the location of At Attin. In Treasure Planet, Jim befriends the robot B.E.N., who likewise was once the servant of a legendary pirate, Captain Flint. Flint tampered with B.E.N.’s memory banks so he wouldn’t reveal that his treasure hoard had been booby-trapped.
Also in “Way, Way Out Past the Barrier,” the young adventurers travel to a spaceport built into an asteroid, just as Jim travels to a spaceport built to resemble a crescent moon. It is there that they meet Jod Na Nawood, alias Silvo, locked in the spaceport’s brig, just as Jim meets the cook Silver in the hold of the RLS Legacy while it is docked at the spaceport. Like his namesake, Silvo becomes a guide and mentor until he is revealed to be a pirate.
In “Very Interesting, As an Astrogation Problem” (Skeleton Crew 1.3), Silvo takes the young adventurers to the library/observatory of a scholarly, owl-like alien named Kh’ymm. This recalls Jim’s visit to the library/observatory of the scholarly, dog-like alien named Doctor Doppler. In both cases, the discussion turns to locating an uncharted planet that most people believe to be a myth. In both the show and the Disney film, that planet will turn out to have a massive vault of gold hidden in its core.
Treasure Planet was almost as much an homage to the original Star Wars film (A New Hope) as it was to Treasure Island. It is fitting, then, that the creators of Skeleton Crew have returned the favor, paying homage to Treasure Planet in the form of a Star Wars show.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Jod Na Nawood / Kh’ymm / SM-33 / Tak Rennod / Wim
Shows: Skeleton Crew
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Influences: Disney Animation / Treasure Island
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