"Charlie X"
Captain's Log: 9160.6. 0729 hrs.
The Trektastic Voyage continued boldly going last night with two more episodes, "Charlie X" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Because of the lateness of the hour and the tiredness of The Trektastic Voyager (that's me, by the way), I decided to push the updating of "The Captain's Blog" to later in the morning.
I began the night's Trek with "Charlie X." Since I'm watching the episodes out of production order but in the original airing order, 1966 audiences would have seen this episode on the Thursday following the debut of Star Trek with "The Man Trap." As I suggested last week, "The Man Trap" must have been quite an experience for the TV viewers of forty years ago. Certainly, the special effects, considered by some to be so crude today, would have impressed them, from the space shots and the planet sets to the transformations of the salt vampire and the creature's true appearance.
But the reason we're still talking about Star Trek today is because "The Man Trap" impressed audiences with a compelling story and human characters who challenged the mind and the heart with questions about the nature of survival and the pain of love lost and almost regained. "The Man Trap" set the standard for Trek, grafting a thrilling tale onto a treatment of everday human experiences, feelings, and struggles.
So after that kind of debut, "Charlie X" must have been quite the surprise. Unlike its predecessor, there are no monsters, no stark, alien landscapes on distant worlds, and in fact, no departures from the Enterprise. But there was another classic Trek exploration of what it means to be human, a theme that continued throughout the twenty-five year journey of the first and best iteration of Star Trek.
"Charlie X" deals with a young boy named Charlie who is dropped off to the Enterprise by the Antares, a small science/transport vessel. The captain and executive officer of the Antares beam aboard the Enterprise with Charlie, but are quick to be rid of him. They politely refuse Kirk's invitation to remain for the better recreational facilities of the Enterprise, and even refuse to take on the new supplies that the Enterprise can offer them. In Star Trek, a starship like the Enterprise is a massive ship, the biggest in Starfleet and the most advanced. Thus starships will often aid in re-supplying smaller and older support craft like the Antares. Kirk is surprised that the captain of the other ship won't take any supplies, and we quickly realize that they're afraid of Charlie and are ready to be rid of him.
Charlie was orphaned when his parents ship crashed on the planet Thasius. He survived mysteriously for years, though never mention the Thasians, a race of great mental and supernatural ability that died out centuries before. It turns out that Charlie was taken on by the Thasians, which of course Spock surmised early on in the episode when Charlie's powers are discovered.
Charlie is able to make anything happen simply by wishing it. The problem with such power is that he's only seventeen and is unsure of himself and how to correctly use his powers. He's been alone on Thasius for most of his life, and so we watch him learn how to interact with other humans on a ship as large as the Enterprise.
The tragedy of the episode comes when we realize Charlie is a lost cause. He just isn't learning how to use his powers. He destroys the Antares not long after they leave him with the Enterprise, and then makes an Enterprise crewmember disappear before Kirk's eyes when the crewmember taunts him. Kirk then tries to subdue Charlie, but it's clear that he's far too powerful to be confined. Charlie takes over the Enterprise and then begins wreaking havoc on those crewmembers he doesn't like. He takes away Uhura's singing ability when she steals Janice Rand's attention away from him. Rand was the first woman Charlie ever met, his first love, and he develops an infatuation not uncommon for someone his age. The problem here, of course, is that he's got godlike powers. As a teacher of people Charlie's age (and having been that age myself once upon a time), I've very thankful we regular human types don't come with these kinds of abilities.
In scenes both amusing and somewhat disturbing, Charlie exacts his revenge on the crew. A crewmember his age that Rand was trying to hook him up with runs into Charlie, and he turns her into an iguana. Next he runs into another female crewmember, who he despises because she's not Rand. He hears her laughing off-camera, and then uses his powers on her. As he walks away, we see that he's wiped her face completely away! It's a horrifying image even today. Next Charlie turns another girl into an extremely old woman, leaving her to shamble down an Enterprise corridor.
Kirk's had more than enough and in what would become his trademark style, uses his keen intellect to determine a way to outsmart his opponent. Kirk has Spock and McCoy turn on every bit of equipment in the ship, which overloads Charlie's abilities. When Charlie is at his weakest, Kirk moves to attack, only to have a Thasian appear and apologize for Charlie's actions. Kirk pleads with the Thasian, asking him to let Charlie remain with people like himself, but the Thasian is adamant that Charlie would never learn and would destroy anyone who displeased him. Kirk is torn, along with the rest of the crew, but knows the Thasian is right. Charlie pleads with Kirk to not let the Thasians take him, explaining that "they can't feel" and "they don't love" like humans. He cries out and then dematerializes from the bridge of the ship, leaving the crew to consider their brief and shocking time with him, along with the struggles of growing up as a human being in a sometimes harsh and confusing world.
Here are a few screencaps from "Charlie X" for your viewing pleasure.
The episode's title card.
Charlie meets Janice Rand--the first girl he's ever met. It's love at first site, just as it was for many fans when they first saw Janice.
Janice and Charlie making an unofficial "date" for later. Charlie swats Janice on the rear after seeing other male crewmembers do this with each other. Janice, of course, doesn't like this, and lets Charlie know.
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discuss how Charlie could have survived, and McCoy tries to convince Kirk that the captain is the man to be a father figure for Charlie.
The debut of Spock's famous Vulcan lyre, which was eventually produced as an actual musical instrument.
Kirk and the others discover that the Antares has been destroyed. It doesn't take them long to realize how.
Kirk's sparring partner in one of the Enterprise's gyms becomes Charlie's first victim.
This young girl was only laughing, a crime for which Charlie took away her face.
After Kirk puts him on the ropes, Charlie's former caretakers, the Thasians, return and take him back to their realm. Charlie screams in terror, realizing he'll never know human love or feeling again.
The Trektastic Voyage continued boldly going last night with two more episodes, "Charlie X" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Because of the lateness of the hour and the tiredness of The Trektastic Voyager (that's me, by the way), I decided to push the updating of "The Captain's Blog" to later in the morning.
I began the night's Trek with "Charlie X." Since I'm watching the episodes out of production order but in the original airing order, 1966 audiences would have seen this episode on the Thursday following the debut of Star Trek with "The Man Trap." As I suggested last week, "The Man Trap" must have been quite an experience for the TV viewers of forty years ago. Certainly, the special effects, considered by some to be so crude today, would have impressed them, from the space shots and the planet sets to the transformations of the salt vampire and the creature's true appearance.
But the reason we're still talking about Star Trek today is because "The Man Trap" impressed audiences with a compelling story and human characters who challenged the mind and the heart with questions about the nature of survival and the pain of love lost and almost regained. "The Man Trap" set the standard for Trek, grafting a thrilling tale onto a treatment of everday human experiences, feelings, and struggles.
So after that kind of debut, "Charlie X" must have been quite the surprise. Unlike its predecessor, there are no monsters, no stark, alien landscapes on distant worlds, and in fact, no departures from the Enterprise. But there was another classic Trek exploration of what it means to be human, a theme that continued throughout the twenty-five year journey of the first and best iteration of Star Trek.
"Charlie X" deals with a young boy named Charlie who is dropped off to the Enterprise by the Antares, a small science/transport vessel. The captain and executive officer of the Antares beam aboard the Enterprise with Charlie, but are quick to be rid of him. They politely refuse Kirk's invitation to remain for the better recreational facilities of the Enterprise, and even refuse to take on the new supplies that the Enterprise can offer them. In Star Trek, a starship like the Enterprise is a massive ship, the biggest in Starfleet and the most advanced. Thus starships will often aid in re-supplying smaller and older support craft like the Antares. Kirk is surprised that the captain of the other ship won't take any supplies, and we quickly realize that they're afraid of Charlie and are ready to be rid of him.
Charlie was orphaned when his parents ship crashed on the planet Thasius. He survived mysteriously for years, though never mention the Thasians, a race of great mental and supernatural ability that died out centuries before. It turns out that Charlie was taken on by the Thasians, which of course Spock surmised early on in the episode when Charlie's powers are discovered.
Charlie is able to make anything happen simply by wishing it. The problem with such power is that he's only seventeen and is unsure of himself and how to correctly use his powers. He's been alone on Thasius for most of his life, and so we watch him learn how to interact with other humans on a ship as large as the Enterprise.
The tragedy of the episode comes when we realize Charlie is a lost cause. He just isn't learning how to use his powers. He destroys the Antares not long after they leave him with the Enterprise, and then makes an Enterprise crewmember disappear before Kirk's eyes when the crewmember taunts him. Kirk then tries to subdue Charlie, but it's clear that he's far too powerful to be confined. Charlie takes over the Enterprise and then begins wreaking havoc on those crewmembers he doesn't like. He takes away Uhura's singing ability when she steals Janice Rand's attention away from him. Rand was the first woman Charlie ever met, his first love, and he develops an infatuation not uncommon for someone his age. The problem here, of course, is that he's got godlike powers. As a teacher of people Charlie's age (and having been that age myself once upon a time), I've very thankful we regular human types don't come with these kinds of abilities.
In scenes both amusing and somewhat disturbing, Charlie exacts his revenge on the crew. A crewmember his age that Rand was trying to hook him up with runs into Charlie, and he turns her into an iguana. Next he runs into another female crewmember, who he despises because she's not Rand. He hears her laughing off-camera, and then uses his powers on her. As he walks away, we see that he's wiped her face completely away! It's a horrifying image even today. Next Charlie turns another girl into an extremely old woman, leaving her to shamble down an Enterprise corridor.
Kirk's had more than enough and in what would become his trademark style, uses his keen intellect to determine a way to outsmart his opponent. Kirk has Spock and McCoy turn on every bit of equipment in the ship, which overloads Charlie's abilities. When Charlie is at his weakest, Kirk moves to attack, only to have a Thasian appear and apologize for Charlie's actions. Kirk pleads with the Thasian, asking him to let Charlie remain with people like himself, but the Thasian is adamant that Charlie would never learn and would destroy anyone who displeased him. Kirk is torn, along with the rest of the crew, but knows the Thasian is right. Charlie pleads with Kirk to not let the Thasians take him, explaining that "they can't feel" and "they don't love" like humans. He cries out and then dematerializes from the bridge of the ship, leaving the crew to consider their brief and shocking time with him, along with the struggles of growing up as a human being in a sometimes harsh and confusing world.
Here are a few screencaps from "Charlie X" for your viewing pleasure.
The episode's title card.
Charlie meets Janice Rand--the first girl he's ever met. It's love at first site, just as it was for many fans when they first saw Janice.
Janice and Charlie making an unofficial "date" for later. Charlie swats Janice on the rear after seeing other male crewmembers do this with each other. Janice, of course, doesn't like this, and lets Charlie know.
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discuss how Charlie could have survived, and McCoy tries to convince Kirk that the captain is the man to be a father figure for Charlie.
The debut of Spock's famous Vulcan lyre, which was eventually produced as an actual musical instrument.
Kirk and the others discover that the Antares has been destroyed. It doesn't take them long to realize how.
Kirk's sparring partner in one of the Enterprise's gyms becomes Charlie's first victim.
This young girl was only laughing, a crime for which Charlie took away her face.
After Kirk puts him on the ropes, Charlie's former caretakers, the Thasians, return and take him back to their realm. Charlie screams in terror, realizing he'll never know human love or feeling again.
posted by Christopher at 5:33 AM
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