"Where No Man Has Gone Before"
"Where No Man Has Gone Before"
This is one of my favorite Trek episodes and served as the second pilot for the show. The first pilot, "The Cage," had a different captain of the Enterprise and was short on action and heavy on philosophical explorations of humanity and drama. The chimps who ran NBC back then decided the show wouldn't work, but asked for a new pilot. Jeffery Hunter, who starred as Captain Christopher Pike, moved on to play Jesus, leaving the role of captain of the Enterprise to William Shatner. With Captain James T. Kirk in place, the new pilot was produced and Star Trek was given a greenlight by NBC.
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is classic Trek at its finest. Though Dr. McCoy isn't aboard yet, the episode opens with Kirk and Spock playing chess, which established their friendship. In place of McCoy was Lt. Cdr. Gary Mitchell, an old Academy friend of Kirk's who is, along with Spock, a close and trusted advisor of the captain. We see that had Mitchell's character survived the episode, the Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic would never have existed and would have instead been very different.
The Enterprise is patrolling farther out than any other ship has gone before, fulfilling one of the core tenets of the show, "boldly going where no man has gone before." Kirk, Spock, Sulu, and Scotty are there, but McCoy, Uhura, and Checkov wouldn't arrive until later. A lot of things would change from this episode to subsequent episodes, including how the phasers, communicators, and uniforms of the crew looked, as well as certain aspects of the Enterprise herself, both on the interior and exterior of the vessel.
The Enterprise discovers a flight recorder from an Earth ship that left Earth two centuries before. That ship, the S.S. Valiant, did not have the capability to get this far out into space, which leads the crew to wonder how it managed to make it to "the center of the galaxy." The recorder reveals that the 21st century ship was swept out into the deep reaches of space by a magnetic storm. The recorder also reveals that the crew was beginning to act strangely, and that the captain ordered the destruction of his own ship.
As the Enterprise approaches the last known coordinates of the Valiant, they experience an electrical storm themselves, which knocks Mitchell unconscious and also affects a visiting psychologist, Dr. Denher. Mitchell awakens later in sickbay with creepy, silvery eyes, an effect that is still haunting forty years later. Mitchell is now able to read minds, use telekinesis to move objects with his will, and amass huge amounts of information at superhuman speeds. Kirk realizes the danger of what his old friend is becoming, and Spock advises Kirk to either let Mitchell continue on and see if he'll learn to mange his abilities, or kill him. Kirk is understandably divided, but eventually realizes Spock is right. Kirk has the Enterprise, which was badly damaged by the storm, put in for repairs at an automated ore processing plant on a desolate world. There, Kirk plans to maroon Gary, or if necessary, kill him before he can destroy the Enterprise and her crew.
Once planetside, Kirk keeps Mitchell imprisoned while trying to figure out what to do. Mitchell uses his powers to advance Denher’s own ESP powers, and she gains the same silvery eyes. They leave the plant and head out into the wastes of the planet, where Mitchell displays his godlike powers by bringing vegetation to life from nothing but rock and sand. Mitchell are poised to become a divine caricature, Adam and Eve as gods themselves. Kirk shows up armed with a phaser rifle, knowing the odds are stacked against him. He doesn’t want to kill his old and good friend, but because he’s Captain Kirk, he’ll do what he has to do. The two former friends fight, man vs. budding god, David vs. Goliath. Mitchell is about to kill Kirk when Denher’s humanity reasserts itself. She uses her powers to blast Mitchell, weakening him enough for Kirk to blast the rock face above Mitchell. The rocks fall upon Mitchell and bury him in the grave he’d made for Kirk. Back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk has Spock list both Mitchell and Denher as missing in action, intent on honoring the memory of who they were and not who and what they’d become in the end. The episode closes with Kirk mournfully considering his old friend and whether or not he truly is dead.
The title card for “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”
The first appearance of Captain James T. Kirk (according to production order, not air order.)
Kirk and Spock playing chess, a symbol of their friendship.
Kirk, Spock, and Mitchell, the trio of friends that might have made Star Trek very different.
Kirk’s department heads, with Sulu and Scotty present. Dr. Piper would be replaced with the loveable Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in “The Man Trap,” and Sulu would move from Life Sciences to Helmsman. Sally “Hotlips O‘Houlihan” Kellerman of M*A*S*H fame plays Dr. Denher.
Spock reveals how the S.S. Valiant met her end.
The Enterprise approaches the Galactic Barrier.
Chaos aboard the Enterprise as the ship breaches the barrier.
Mitchell and Denher encounter a strange energy.
Kirk picks Mitchell up from the floor and makes a shocking discovery: he’s been transformed.
Spock gives Kirk his unpleasant advice: Gary Mitchell must die.
The mining facility on Planet Delta Vega, one of the series’s many beautiful matte paintings.
One of Trek’s creepiest and most classic images: Mitchell and Denher admiring their new godhood.
Mitchell shows Denher that he can make an Eden of barren Delta Vega, if she’ll play Eve to his Adam.
Kirk brings the mountainside down on his old friend, killing him.
Kirk makes certain both Mitchell and Denher are listed as killed in the line of duty.
All screencaps courtesy of Trek Core.
This is one of my favorite Trek episodes and served as the second pilot for the show. The first pilot, "The Cage," had a different captain of the Enterprise and was short on action and heavy on philosophical explorations of humanity and drama. The chimps who ran NBC back then decided the show wouldn't work, but asked for a new pilot. Jeffery Hunter, who starred as Captain Christopher Pike, moved on to play Jesus, leaving the role of captain of the Enterprise to William Shatner. With Captain James T. Kirk in place, the new pilot was produced and Star Trek was given a greenlight by NBC.
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is classic Trek at its finest. Though Dr. McCoy isn't aboard yet, the episode opens with Kirk and Spock playing chess, which established their friendship. In place of McCoy was Lt. Cdr. Gary Mitchell, an old Academy friend of Kirk's who is, along with Spock, a close and trusted advisor of the captain. We see that had Mitchell's character survived the episode, the Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic would never have existed and would have instead been very different.
The Enterprise is patrolling farther out than any other ship has gone before, fulfilling one of the core tenets of the show, "boldly going where no man has gone before." Kirk, Spock, Sulu, and Scotty are there, but McCoy, Uhura, and Checkov wouldn't arrive until later. A lot of things would change from this episode to subsequent episodes, including how the phasers, communicators, and uniforms of the crew looked, as well as certain aspects of the Enterprise herself, both on the interior and exterior of the vessel.
The Enterprise discovers a flight recorder from an Earth ship that left Earth two centuries before. That ship, the S.S. Valiant, did not have the capability to get this far out into space, which leads the crew to wonder how it managed to make it to "the center of the galaxy." The recorder reveals that the 21st century ship was swept out into the deep reaches of space by a magnetic storm. The recorder also reveals that the crew was beginning to act strangely, and that the captain ordered the destruction of his own ship.
As the Enterprise approaches the last known coordinates of the Valiant, they experience an electrical storm themselves, which knocks Mitchell unconscious and also affects a visiting psychologist, Dr. Denher. Mitchell awakens later in sickbay with creepy, silvery eyes, an effect that is still haunting forty years later. Mitchell is now able to read minds, use telekinesis to move objects with his will, and amass huge amounts of information at superhuman speeds. Kirk realizes the danger of what his old friend is becoming, and Spock advises Kirk to either let Mitchell continue on and see if he'll learn to mange his abilities, or kill him. Kirk is understandably divided, but eventually realizes Spock is right. Kirk has the Enterprise, which was badly damaged by the storm, put in for repairs at an automated ore processing plant on a desolate world. There, Kirk plans to maroon Gary, or if necessary, kill him before he can destroy the Enterprise and her crew.
Once planetside, Kirk keeps Mitchell imprisoned while trying to figure out what to do. Mitchell uses his powers to advance Denher’s own ESP powers, and she gains the same silvery eyes. They leave the plant and head out into the wastes of the planet, where Mitchell displays his godlike powers by bringing vegetation to life from nothing but rock and sand. Mitchell are poised to become a divine caricature, Adam and Eve as gods themselves. Kirk shows up armed with a phaser rifle, knowing the odds are stacked against him. He doesn’t want to kill his old and good friend, but because he’s Captain Kirk, he’ll do what he has to do. The two former friends fight, man vs. budding god, David vs. Goliath. Mitchell is about to kill Kirk when Denher’s humanity reasserts itself. She uses her powers to blast Mitchell, weakening him enough for Kirk to blast the rock face above Mitchell. The rocks fall upon Mitchell and bury him in the grave he’d made for Kirk. Back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk has Spock list both Mitchell and Denher as missing in action, intent on honoring the memory of who they were and not who and what they’d become in the end. The episode closes with Kirk mournfully considering his old friend and whether or not he truly is dead.
The title card for “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”
The first appearance of Captain James T. Kirk (according to production order, not air order.)
Kirk and Spock playing chess, a symbol of their friendship.
Kirk, Spock, and Mitchell, the trio of friends that might have made Star Trek very different.
Kirk’s department heads, with Sulu and Scotty present. Dr. Piper would be replaced with the loveable Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in “The Man Trap,” and Sulu would move from Life Sciences to Helmsman. Sally “Hotlips O‘Houlihan” Kellerman of M*A*S*H fame plays Dr. Denher.
Spock reveals how the S.S. Valiant met her end.
The Enterprise approaches the Galactic Barrier.
Chaos aboard the Enterprise as the ship breaches the barrier.
Mitchell and Denher encounter a strange energy.
Kirk picks Mitchell up from the floor and makes a shocking discovery: he’s been transformed.
Spock gives Kirk his unpleasant advice: Gary Mitchell must die.
The mining facility on Planet Delta Vega, one of the series’s many beautiful matte paintings.
One of Trek’s creepiest and most classic images: Mitchell and Denher admiring their new godhood.
Mitchell shows Denher that he can make an Eden of barren Delta Vega, if she’ll play Eve to his Adam.
Kirk brings the mountainside down on his old friend, killing him.
Kirk makes certain both Mitchell and Denher are listed as killed in the line of duty.
All screencaps courtesy of Trek Core.
posted by Christopher at 8:20 AM
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