Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before Rewatch
August 9, 2014 7:44 AM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe
When the Enterprise attempts to penetrate a space barrier, it is damaged and creates a potentially worse problem. Two crew members, including Kirk's best friend, gain psionic powers that are growing at an exponential rate. That leaves Captain Kirk with the difficult choice of either marooning them or killing before they get so powerful that they lose their humanity and become truly dangerous.
From IMDB: Lucille Ball, who owned Desilu Studios (where the pilot was produced), persuaded NBC management to consider a second pilot, thereby exercising a special option agreement it had with Desilu, because she liked Gene Roddenberry and believed in the project. The episode was eventually broadcast third in sequence on September 22, 1966, and re-aired on April 20, 1967. On July 12, 1969, it was the first episode to be shown in the UK by the BBC
Memory Alpha link.
The episode can be viewed on Youtube, Hulu, and Netflix.
From IMDB: Lucille Ball, who owned Desilu Studios (where the pilot was produced), persuaded NBC management to consider a second pilot, thereby exercising a special option agreement it had with Desilu, because she liked Gene Roddenberry and believed in the project. The episode was eventually broadcast third in sequence on September 22, 1966, and re-aired on April 20, 1967. On July 12, 1969, it was the first episode to be shown in the UK by the BBC
Memory Alpha link.
The episode can be viewed on Youtube, Hulu, and Netflix.
- The tombstone on the planet clearly says "James R Kirk", so the writers had not worked out Kirk's "Tiberius" middle name yet.
The no-prize answer is that Mitchell did not know or had forgotten Kirk's middle name. The tombstone was created by his mind, of course. Or -- it occurs to me now that fandom has explanations and rationalizations for eeeeeeverything, so someone has surely gotten here before me -- maybe that was an insult by a dismissive Mitchell: "You will die and be buried here and will lie in this remote grave until the end of time with your name misspelled."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:14 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
The no-prize answer is that Mitchell did not know or had forgotten Kirk's middle name. The tombstone was created by his mind, of course. Or -- it occurs to me now that fandom has explanations and rationalizations for eeeeeeverything, so someone has surely gotten here before me -- maybe that was an insult by a dismissive Mitchell: "You will die and be buried here and will lie in this remote grave until the end of time with your name misspelled."
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:14 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Another highlight of an unsettled canon for the show, Spock's human side isn't his mom, but his ancestors. The more stern aspect of his logical personality is also present for the first time. Had to love the colors of the uniforms, we had blue (Sulu in it, at that), green/gold, and then PEACH. This was also the last time we saw a doctor not McCoy.
I've thought about the continued presence (so far) of ESP/Mind Powers. In this setting, it definitely existed as an apple from the tree of Knowledge (which they reference in the episode). It's a study of the corruption that power creates in even the best of people. From the slant that Kirk offers at the end, the ESP/power was not just something Mitchell developed, but it was simply something that happened to him, and his aspiring god complex would have happened to virtually anyone else had they been similarly situated. Granted, Mitchell did not get off to a good start with me by calling the lady doctor a "freezer" after she blew off his flirtation.
Incidentally, we also saw Spock take an action on his own initiative, which I think is a good example of his character. For much of the characters' creation, there are points where he feels that his opinion is so appropriate, he acts without consent of the captain or others (this even follows into his TNG episodes!).
This was also the first episode where we meet Scotty, woot!
In a reveal of how thoughts on technology can't always exceed what they know, while the writers thought it'd be great to have information available on a computer screen, that information however, was nothing more than photographs/images of pages. The idea that a page would simply show up on a screen as part of the screen hadn't quite crossed over. It was almost a high tech microfilm machine.
Incidentally, I realized when I stumbled across an airing of Metropolis, the movie, they had envisioned communication screens/tv phones/skyping back when they made that film (whoa!).
I enjoyed this episode as Kirk definitely came more into his own as someone who definitely had the experience and wisdom to captain a starship, which, ironically, I know, was put to the very test by his connection and compassion for his friend, Mitchell.
posted by Atreides at 2:33 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I've thought about the continued presence (so far) of ESP/Mind Powers. In this setting, it definitely existed as an apple from the tree of Knowledge (which they reference in the episode). It's a study of the corruption that power creates in even the best of people. From the slant that Kirk offers at the end, the ESP/power was not just something Mitchell developed, but it was simply something that happened to him, and his aspiring god complex would have happened to virtually anyone else had they been similarly situated. Granted, Mitchell did not get off to a good start with me by calling the lady doctor a "freezer" after she blew off his flirtation.
Incidentally, we also saw Spock take an action on his own initiative, which I think is a good example of his character. For much of the characters' creation, there are points where he feels that his opinion is so appropriate, he acts without consent of the captain or others (this even follows into his TNG episodes!).
This was also the first episode where we meet Scotty, woot!
In a reveal of how thoughts on technology can't always exceed what they know, while the writers thought it'd be great to have information available on a computer screen, that information however, was nothing more than photographs/images of pages. The idea that a page would simply show up on a screen as part of the screen hadn't quite crossed over. It was almost a high tech microfilm machine.
Incidentally, I realized when I stumbled across an airing of Metropolis, the movie, they had envisioned communication screens/tv phones/skyping back when they made that film (whoa!).
I enjoyed this episode as Kirk definitely came more into his own as someone who definitely had the experience and wisdom to captain a starship, which, ironically, I know, was put to the very test by his connection and compassion for his friend, Mitchell.
posted by Atreides at 2:33 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Another highlight of an unsettled canon for the show, Spock's human side isn't his mom, but his ancestors.I assume that he was merely speaking in strictly true but deceptive terms, as Vulcans often do, when they're embarrassed about something, as Vulcans often are despite their continual protests that they don't feel. He's embarrassed about his human side, and even more embarrassed that it's such a large part of him.
On another note: Shatner's acting idiosyncrasies were made for that scene where Mitchell forces him to kneel before him and clasp his hands as if praying. YOU! ... CAN MAKE! ... ME KNEEL! ... BUT! ... YOU! ... CANNOT! ... BREAK! ... MY WILL!
posted by Flunkie at 2:46 PM on August 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
YOU! ... CAN MAKE! ... ME KNEEL! ... BUT! ... YOU! ... CANNOT! ... BREAK! ... MY WILL!
Classic Shatner, and I hope to see more of it in the coming episodes. (also, that is my next band's name...seriously, that is awesome in so many ways)
Since they introduced Piper as the doctor, makes me wonder if they weren't sold on Deforest Kelley yet. The doctor was okay, but left no impression.
posted by Benway at 6:00 PM on August 9, 2014
Classic Shatner, and I hope to see more of it in the coming episodes. (also, that is my next band's name...seriously, that is awesome in so many ways)
Since they introduced Piper as the doctor, makes me wonder if they weren't sold on Deforest Kelley yet. The doctor was okay, but left no impression.
posted by Benway at 6:00 PM on August 9, 2014
This was technically the second pilot, so it's more of a case that Piper didn't win the job.
posted by Atreides at 6:10 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 6:10 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
As part of my ESL lessons, I devised a bracket tournament of 32 characters from movies, video games, etc and have the kids discuss their relative powers and merits and then decide who would beat who in a fight. The problem that I ran into was that Elsa from Frozen has basically limitless power so it was no fun to try to discuss her fighting other superheroes since there was no way to compare her power to others.
That's how I feel about this episode, Mitchell is so powerful that he is zapping people and murdering them out like it is nothing until suddenly he is not so that Kirk can beat him. It seems like a cop out to me, first in that Mitchell would bother even wrestling with Kirk when it showed him being so much stronger, and second when heallowed Kirk to shoot the rock down, which he could have avoided by mind blasting the rifle, or even just deflecting the big rock as it fell. Sure he was weakened by the doctor when she zapped him, but even after that we saw him doing very powerful stuff.
Also, what's up with the gold shirted blond lady who just randomly was in the beginning of the episode?
Oh, and not specifically related to this episode, but since this is my first time watching Trek, I am kind of surprised by how young Shatner is. I only really knew him as a chubby middle aged or older guy, and never really thought about him actually being young.
(I finally convinced the students that Rapunzel would beat Elsa, because Elsa is too kind hearted to deliberately hurt anyone, but in Tangled Rapunzel is vicious with a frying pan and would have no problem smashing Elsa's brains out.)
posted by Literaryhero at 6:10 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
That's how I feel about this episode, Mitchell is so powerful that he is zapping people and murdering them out like it is nothing until suddenly he is not so that Kirk can beat him. It seems like a cop out to me, first in that Mitchell would bother even wrestling with Kirk when it showed him being so much stronger, and second when heallowed Kirk to shoot the rock down, which he could have avoided by mind blasting the rifle, or even just deflecting the big rock as it fell. Sure he was weakened by the doctor when she zapped him, but even after that we saw him doing very powerful stuff.
Also, what's up with the gold shirted blond lady who just randomly was in the beginning of the episode?
Oh, and not specifically related to this episode, but since this is my first time watching Trek, I am kind of surprised by how young Shatner is. I only really knew him as a chubby middle aged or older guy, and never really thought about him actually being young.
(I finally convinced the students that Rapunzel would beat Elsa, because Elsa is too kind hearted to deliberately hurt anyone, but in Tangled Rapunzel is vicious with a frying pan and would have no problem smashing Elsa's brains out.)
posted by Literaryhero at 6:10 PM on August 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
That's how I feel about this episode, Mitchell is so powerful that he is zapping people and murdering them out like it is nothing until suddenly he is not so that Kirk can beat him. It seems like a cop out to me, first in that Mitchell would bother even wrestling with Kirk when it showed him being so much stronger, and second when heallowed Kirk to shoot the rock down, which he could have avoided by mind blasting the rifle, or even just deflecting the big rock as it fell. Sure he was weakened by the doctor when she zapped him, but even after that we saw him doing very powerful stuff.
I think the doctor's efforts were meant to be the explanation as to why Mitchell was weakened enough for Kirk to best him (whether its enough is another debate). Earlier in the episode, when Kirk and Spock are playing chess, Kirk makes what he intends to be a "irritating" move, one that Spock later said was "illogical." I suspect that was meant to foreshadow his fight with Mitchell, at least the last minute, where instead of trying to shoot him with the phaser rifle, he instead unexpectedly shoots the rock face and brings the boulders down on Mitchell.
(I finally convinced the students that Rapunzel would beat Elsa, because Elsa is too kind hearted to deliberately hurt anyone, but in Tangled Rapunzel is vicious with a frying pan and would have no problem smashing Elsa's brains out.)
I concur with this analysis.
posted by Atreides at 6:31 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think the doctor's efforts were meant to be the explanation as to why Mitchell was weakened enough for Kirk to best him (whether its enough is another debate). Earlier in the episode, when Kirk and Spock are playing chess, Kirk makes what he intends to be a "irritating" move, one that Spock later said was "illogical." I suspect that was meant to foreshadow his fight with Mitchell, at least the last minute, where instead of trying to shoot him with the phaser rifle, he instead unexpectedly shoots the rock face and brings the boulders down on Mitchell.
(I finally convinced the students that Rapunzel would beat Elsa, because Elsa is too kind hearted to deliberately hurt anyone, but in Tangled Rapunzel is vicious with a frying pan and would have no problem smashing Elsa's brains out.)
I concur with this analysis.
posted by Atreides at 6:31 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I just started watching, so I don't want to turn into an obsessive Trek nerd quite yet, but it seems like a pretty weak rationale that his powers were depleted that much. I mean he choked the dude out just moments after zapping himself in the door. His powers were growing by the second, as shown by his ability soon after to just disappear the door, and he was definitely able to read minds by that point so should have known Kirk was going to shoot the rock. Even if his mind reading was on the fritz, it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, so he could have guessed using his superhuman intelligence. Or, hey, maybe just zap the rifle from Kirk's hands regardless of what he is aiming at?
I guess it would be a bad move to kill off the main character only 3 episodes in, though.
posted by Literaryhero at 6:42 PM on August 9, 2014
I guess it would be a bad move to kill off the main character only 3 episodes in, though.
posted by Literaryhero at 6:42 PM on August 9, 2014
Also, what's up with the gold shirted blond lady who just randomly was in the beginning of the episode?She was the "Captain's Yeoman", essentially a personal assistant. There was also one in the original pilot who had a tiny bit more to do in the story but lacked a name (as opposed to this one who had a name that the Captain misremembered). And there's another, Janice Rand, who's a more fleshed-out character, who we have already seen in The Man Trap.
The producer has referred to the character as a "non-part", and claimed that the director overheard Roddenberry saying he hired the actress (Andrea Dromm) because he wanted "to score with her". The producer then went on to say that "It was not only a non-part, I'm sure it was a non-score as well." The actress, when asked about this years later, was reportedly surprised, and said "I had no problems with Gene at all. I thought he was a very nice man."
The actress's page on Memory Alpha (which is the page I linked to a moment ago) is an interesting if disturbing read.
posted by Flunkie at 6:52 PM on August 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
Ok, one last thing. If the "logical" move in a chess match allows your opponent to checkmate you in the next move, but the "illogical" move allows the game to continue, then the logical move ain't all that logical.
Also, nice Flunkie.
posted by Literaryhero at 7:15 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, nice Flunkie.
posted by Literaryhero at 7:15 PM on August 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Since they introduced Piper as the doctor, makes me wonder if they weren't sold on Deforest Kelley yet.
The story (see MA) is that Roddenberry liked Kelley (and even cast him in Police Story that same year) but in both of the first two pilots his director liked someone else so he went with the director's choices.
The no-prize answer is that Mitchell did not know or had forgotten Kirk's middle name.
I grew tired of this didactic canon-rationalization a long time ago. I generally see the series from a production standpoint, anyway, so the in-universe explanation is just lampshading a goof or elision and thus uninteresting.
it seems like a pretty weak rationale that his powers were depleted that much
The thing is, while Trek had one of the first real claims to being adult science fiction, in TOS in particular it was very much in the parable or analogy mode. I don't think the writers spent much time on the question of whether this was a properly rational defeat given the immense superpowers setup; they were more interested in the moral lessons and character story beats. (How many times Kirk would "win" by being illogical/unpredictable!) It's probably unfair to subject it to this level of analysis.
I am kind of surprised by how young Shatner is
I've always been keen to look up his earlier series, The Defenders (a legal drama). But I do recommend seeing his early standout movie role as a creepy white supremacist evangelizer, in The Intruder. Produced by Roger Corman. Trailer [obvious trigger warning, that word]. An electrifying performance.
Derail: It's fascinating to deconstruct the anti-racism in that film as covert justification for certain tropes about racism, e.g. that it's only the outsiders [i.e. activists] causing the trouble. But it's still mind-blowing to imagine this released at the height of the civil rights movement.
posted by dhartung at 1:38 AM on August 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
The story (see MA) is that Roddenberry liked Kelley (and even cast him in Police Story that same year) but in both of the first two pilots his director liked someone else so he went with the director's choices.
The no-prize answer is that Mitchell did not know or had forgotten Kirk's middle name.
I grew tired of this didactic canon-rationalization a long time ago. I generally see the series from a production standpoint, anyway, so the in-universe explanation is just lampshading a goof or elision and thus uninteresting.
it seems like a pretty weak rationale that his powers were depleted that much
The thing is, while Trek had one of the first real claims to being adult science fiction, in TOS in particular it was very much in the parable or analogy mode. I don't think the writers spent much time on the question of whether this was a properly rational defeat given the immense superpowers setup; they were more interested in the moral lessons and character story beats. (How many times Kirk would "win" by being illogical/unpredictable!) It's probably unfair to subject it to this level of analysis.
I am kind of surprised by how young Shatner is
I've always been keen to look up his earlier series, The Defenders (a legal drama). But I do recommend seeing his early standout movie role as a creepy white supremacist evangelizer, in The Intruder. Produced by Roger Corman. Trailer [obvious trigger warning, that word]. An electrifying performance.
Derail: It's fascinating to deconstruct the anti-racism in that film as covert justification for certain tropes about racism, e.g. that it's only the outsiders [i.e. activists] causing the trouble. But it's still mind-blowing to imagine this released at the height of the civil rights movement.
posted by dhartung at 1:38 AM on August 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
maybe that was an insult by a dismissive Mitchell: "You will die and be buried here and will lie in this remote grave until the end of time with your name misspelled."
I've heard an awful lot of explanations for odd things in Trek, but I think this is my favorite ever.
The thing is, while Trek had one of the first real claims to being adult science fiction, in TOS in particular it was very much in the parable or analogy mode. I don't think the writers spent much time on the question of whether this was a properly rational defeat given the immense superpowers setup; they were more interested in the moral lessons and character story beats.
Also, comic books and related properties usually handle that sort of thing very poorly too, and it's supposed to be their entire thing.
posted by mordax at 2:05 PM on August 10, 2014
I've heard an awful lot of explanations for odd things in Trek, but I think this is my favorite ever.
The thing is, while Trek had one of the first real claims to being adult science fiction, in TOS in particular it was very much in the parable or analogy mode. I don't think the writers spent much time on the question of whether this was a properly rational defeat given the immense superpowers setup; they were more interested in the moral lessons and character story beats.
Also, comic books and related properties usually handle that sort of thing very poorly too, and it's supposed to be their entire thing.
posted by mordax at 2:05 PM on August 10, 2014
YOU! ... CAN MAKE! ... ME KNEEL! ... BUT! ... YOU! ... CANNOT! ... BREAK! ... MY WILL!
Classic Shatner
That's the sort of thing I mean when I use "Shatner" as a verb.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:01 AM on August 11, 2014
Classic Shatner
That's the sort of thing I mean when I use "Shatner" as a verb.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:01 AM on August 11, 2014
I should probably rewatch before making this comment, but I always read Kirk's ability to defeat Mitchell as a result of a simple human brain not being able to completely handle the powers that it attained.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:02 AM on August 11, 2014
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:02 AM on August 11, 2014
maybe that was an insult by a dismissive Mitchell: "You will die and be buried here and will lie in this remote grave until the end of time with your name misspelled."
I've heard an awful lot of explanations for odd things in Trek, but I think this is my favorite ever
Thanks. It came to mind because I once had a pair of co-workers who had a relationship that prefigured that of Tim & Gareth or Jim & Dwight in the several versions of The Office. Once when we were ordering new business cards, the prankster changed the foil's surname on his cards from "Dunlop" to "Dunbar." Hell hath no fury.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:45 AM on August 11, 2014
I've heard an awful lot of explanations for odd things in Trek, but I think this is my favorite ever
Thanks. It came to mind because I once had a pair of co-workers who had a relationship that prefigured that of Tim & Gareth or Jim & Dwight in the several versions of The Office. Once when we were ordering new business cards, the prankster changed the foil's surname on his cards from "Dunlop" to "Dunbar." Hell hath no fury.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:45 AM on August 11, 2014
Coming up with in-game explanations for inconsistencies created by real-world production issues is one of the core pleasures of Trek fandom. It's a feature, not a bug.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:44 AM on August 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:44 AM on August 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I don't mean to spoil anyone's fun. It's just that after years on the newsgroups I had my fill of those who need a stitch for every gap.
posted by dhartung at 1:19 PM on August 12, 2014
posted by dhartung at 1:19 PM on August 12, 2014
Spock's eyebrows. Oy.
Yeoman Smith holds hands with Gary Mitchell as the Enterprise is about to enter the Magnetic Space Storm; then after the "shock" we see Spock reach out for Kirk in the same spot on the bridge. This was a very "touchy" ep.
I've always loved that piece of music with a steadily increasing tempo playing during the part where Spock and Kirk are surreptitiously watching Mitchell speed-read the ship's library from his bed in Sickbay. Then he seems to stare directly at Kirk with those creepy eyes. Nice.
On the planet, in response to Dr. Dehner's question if they were the only ones on the planet, Kirk says "Just us chickens." I immediately thought of Grey Gardens. This is a very 60's-tastic turn of phrase, no?
I can now see where the idea for the Marooned Being with Godlike Powers Who Needs a Starship from ST:V, probably originated.
posted by hush at 2:46 PM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeoman Smith holds hands with Gary Mitchell as the Enterprise is about to enter the Magnetic Space Storm; then after the "shock" we see Spock reach out for Kirk in the same spot on the bridge. This was a very "touchy" ep.
I've always loved that piece of music with a steadily increasing tempo playing during the part where Spock and Kirk are surreptitiously watching Mitchell speed-read the ship's library from his bed in Sickbay. Then he seems to stare directly at Kirk with those creepy eyes. Nice.
On the planet, in response to Dr. Dehner's question if they were the only ones on the planet, Kirk says "Just us chickens." I immediately thought of Grey Gardens. This is a very 60's-tastic turn of phrase, no?
I can now see where the idea for the Marooned Being with Godlike Powers Who Needs a Starship from ST:V, probably originated.
posted by hush at 2:46 PM on August 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure why they thought marooning the dude would even work. The way he was developing, it seemed like he was about a day away from being able to materialize a starship out of thin air.
Here's something I wanna know: if it's that easy to get to the galactic barrier in TOS, presumably it's even easier to get there in the later series. And if a dozen-odd people on the ship of 400ish have ESP powers, and two of them got these godlike abilities... what's to stop this exact scenario from happening LITERALLY ALL OF THE TIME? Hell, if the news ever got out, I expect you'd see shiploads full of ESPers flying off to the barrier and rolling the dice on death vs. godhood.
...maybe that's exactly what happened, and the Federation shot them all out of the sky, and that's why humans don't manifest ESP anymore.
When did SF writers start thinking of ESP as somewhat scientifically plausible, anyway? And when did they stop? I've read a lot of SF from the 70s, and it seems to crop up there pretty often as a staple Future Thing along with, say, faster-than-light travel and intelligent robots, but these days it seems to have been relegated back to the realm of fantasy.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:21 AM on September 20, 2016
Here's something I wanna know: if it's that easy to get to the galactic barrier in TOS, presumably it's even easier to get there in the later series. And if a dozen-odd people on the ship of 400ish have ESP powers, and two of them got these godlike abilities... what's to stop this exact scenario from happening LITERALLY ALL OF THE TIME? Hell, if the news ever got out, I expect you'd see shiploads full of ESPers flying off to the barrier and rolling the dice on death vs. godhood.
...maybe that's exactly what happened, and the Federation shot them all out of the sky, and that's why humans don't manifest ESP anymore.
When did SF writers start thinking of ESP as somewhat scientifically plausible, anyway? And when did they stop? I've read a lot of SF from the 70s, and it seems to crop up there pretty often as a staple Future Thing along with, say, faster-than-light travel and intelligent robots, but these days it seems to have been relegated back to the realm of fantasy.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:21 AM on September 20, 2016
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Things I noticed:
- This is the first episode that starts to delve into the Vulcan mythos. I thought Spock's make-up was overdone, and it felt like he was not entirely into the role yet.
- The tombstone on the planet clearly says "James R Kirk", so the writers had not worked out Kirk's "Tiberius" middle name yet.
posted by Benway at 8:06 AM on August 9, 2014