Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer finds a more modern setting, as a biochemist develops a love philtre which is used with disastrous results.
Actually, the plot here followed The Sorcerer quite closely, except the ending, which Asimov deliberately and pointedly changes. (I can’t blame him. The ending to The Sorcerer is rather poor.) The story makes an awful lot more sense to me now that I'm familiar with the original—but the fact is, that The Sorcerer is minor Gilbert and Sullivan, and “The Up-to-Date Sorcerer” is minor Asimov. Asimov is trying to be funny here, and although he’s kind of whimsical, this isn’t a very funny story like “The Holmes-Ginsbook Device” or "What Is This Thing Called Love?” He’s trying a little too hard and doesn’t quite make it.
