Where No Charlie X Has Gone Before

Because we're watching TOS in broadcast order we're seeing different episodes next to each other and it's already resulted in an interesting parallel.

Troubled charlie

First a quick synopsis of each to refresh your memories. Charlie X was the story of a boy who was the sole survivor of a crew of humans at a very young age (a toddler maybe?  I can't remember).  Charlie was recently discovered by a ship called the Antares.  The Antares was to rendezvous with the Enterprise which would take 17 year old Charlie to Colony 5, home to Evans' relatives.  Aboard the Enterprise the awkward teenager with no social graces was finding it increasingly difficult to fit in.  It wasn't long before Charlie displayed his powers in front of Kirk who watched in horror as Charlie forced a laughing crewman to disappear before his eyes.  His powers were granted to him by the alien race that had raised him (the Thasians) so he would be able to survive.  However, combine these powers with a 17 year old boy who has no concept of the rules of society and it's a dangerous mix.  Charlie, realizing the control he has, takes over the Enterprise and wreaks havoc on the crew.  Eventually the Thasians arrive to take Charlie home.  They didn't mean for him to leave with the Antares and knew he would be a danger to humans.  In a heartbreaking decision Kirk allows the teenager to return to the Thasians, a race who cannot touch or show affection to young Charlie.  The girls all cried.

The great pink goo of the galaxy

Where No Man Has Gone Before was the second pilot for TOS but it wasn't aired first.  As the Enterprise approaches the pink goo at the edge of the galaxy they discover the "black box" of a research vessel, the SS Valiant. Spock recovers information about the Valiant showing they had attempted to leave the galaxy but encountered a magnetic storm.  The last records accessed aboard were on ESP right before the captain ordered a self-destruct.  So Kirk moves us out of the galaxy and into the goo at warp factor 1.  Of course they encounter the same magnetic field.  After some jostling about and flashes of light, new crewman, Dr. Elizabeth Denher (a psychologist) and navigator Gary Mitchell are both struck down.  Dr. Denher recovers quickly, however Gary's eyes are now glowing silver.  Captain Kirk and Spock quickly discover that Dr. Denher and Mitchell both scored very high on their ESP ratings at Star Fleet Acadamy (it should be noted that at the time this was filmed, ESP was cutting edge in the field of psychology. So we swallow it whole as Spock and Kirk access the ESP records).  It's not long before we find out that Mitchell, holed up in sick bay, has been reading through computer records at an increasingly fast rate.  He also displays telekinetic abilities.  As his intelligence grows, Mitchell begins controlling parts of the Enterprise with his mind. Kirk and Spock realize the danger of his evolving mind so they devise a way to get him off of the ship and onto an abandoned planet. They manage to transport a sedated Mitchell to the surface with a crew (set to blow the place up!).  Dr. Dehner, who has grown fascinated by Mitchell, requests to stay behind.  Before anything else can happen, Mitchell has broken through his restraining room and knocked out the crew.  Dr. Dehner, we see, is also starting to evolve in the same manner as Mitchell, just at a slower rate.  In the end, Kirk chases him down, blows up some rocks and knocks our godlike friend into a grave with the help of a still-somewhat-human-but-now-dying Dr. Dehner.

So much for a brief synopsis!

Gary the god

Here we have two stories that involve an advanced mind taking control of the Enterprise (and they won't be our last).  In the case of Charlie, it's a 17 year old boy who doesn't want people to laugh at him.  For Mitchell it's purely a means to an end - a ship to transport him - for the humans aboard really mean nothing to him at this point.  He has transcended to a different level.  As a viewer, I had no sympathy for Charlie.  I found him obnoxious, controlling and selfish.  On the other hand, I felt strong sympathy for Mitchell. One minute he's Gary Mitchell, crewman - the next, he's absorbing all of the knowledge of our race at an alarming pace.

Mr. Val feels differently.  He feels sorry for Charlie who is just a confused teenager who doesn't know how to fit in.  Whereas, he's sees Mitchell as someone who, as he transcends to a different level of existence, should have the capacity to maintain some level of humanity (I argue that of course humanity becomes unimportant to him - we're such a small part of the universe and of course we're unimportant in the grand scheme of things).

I think my sympathy for Mitchell stems from a desire I've had from a very young age - the desire to learn.  My mother once told me that heaven was anything we wanted it to be.  I wanted to KNOW everything.  I wanted answers to all of my burning questions, the ones I knew, and even the ones I didn't know.  So in a way, Mitchell is able to obtain my idea of heaven so it's hard for me to begrudge his disregard for humanity - of course he's transcended us, it makes perfect sense in my mind.  Charlie, on the other hand, I found annoying, childish and petty.

In either case, it was interesting to see how Kirk and crew handled each similar situation.

Now, onto the fun stuff.

"There's no right way to hit a woman," is classic fatherly advice given by Kirk to Charlie.  I have to pause it and laugh every time.

The title, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was penned by episode writer, Samuel Peeples.  Obviously that phrase has taken on a life of its own.

The dreamy Lt. Kelso

During the text commentary on Where No Man (it's very similar to Pop Up Video) we found the captain obvious nuggets hilarious: "William Shatner plays the heroic Captain James T. Kirk." Really?  Wow, if it wasn't for that text commentary I'd have never known.  What's extra funny about this one is that Captain Kirk's middle name had yet to be identified as Tiberius and when we see a tombstone with his name on it in this episode it read, "Captain James R. Kirk".  Which, of course, you all know.

Lt. Kelso makes his appearance in Where No Man, he's hot, funny and reminds me of Trip from Enterprise.  I was really sad when he ate it, he would have made a great reoccurring character on the bridge.  Farewell Kelso, we hardly knew ye and your cute butt.

So what did we learn today, kids?  Don't play in the pink goo at the edge of the galaxy.