Where No Man Has Gone Before

Where No Man Has Gone Before is my favorite episode of TOS so far in this viewing.

Because it was the second pilot commissioned, it was the second episode I watched (after The Cage, naturally) but I wanted to review it in the order it was aired, which is why I had to slog through The Man Trap and attempt to make a case for Charles Evans as a victim of abuse before I moved forward.

I really enjoyed this episode because it features Kirk at his finest: punching a god-like dick in the face.

I think a lot of people might call out Gary’s attitude towards Dr. Dehner as problematic, but I've got a few thoughts on that.

The guy has a bit too much of a navy attitude (in the words of Bert Cooper) to be serving aboard a deep space mission, but he's not an idiot; after all, third-optioning his way to pass Kirk's class at the Academy was a smart move and probably impressed Kirk enough to put him on the shortlist for the Enterprise - it was something I suspect Kirk admired, and he did almost marry that blonde lab technician (who is never named or gone into any depth - I'm going to say it's Carol Marcus because that's fun.) He's also revealed to have taken a poison dart for Kirk, so we know he's Starfleet material deep down. 

Where Kirk is the consummate professional, Mitch is still very much young, dumb, and full of cum - he lacks the discipline that Kirk has earned at his level of command, and the way he remembers Kirk at the Academy (a stack of books with legs) suggests he was one of those guys who puts more faith in his fists (and by extension, power) than he does scholarly knowledge (and by extension, wisdom.) One last thing - as far as I can tell, this is the Enterprise's first mission with Kirk at the helm, and therefore Gary's first posting, so him being a bit of a dickhead can be forgiven. Plus, you know, he’s only banting with Kelso because he got shot down.

Captain! We’re detecting large quantities of Gary’s bruised ego!

I have less to say about everyone else - Dr. Dehner is clearly fresh out of med school on her first space assignment, Sulu is the head of physics instead of a helmsman (let's say he transfers to command after this to fill Gary's vacated spot), the doctor isn't McCoy, Uhura and Rand aren't present, and the red shirts are beige (uniforms standard change effected when they pick up the rest of the crew.) You could say they’re just not seen, but I think it’s a Farpoint situation where the Enterprise is going to pick them up and Doc Grandpa is a temporary fill-in on his way to the Retirement Planet. 

So you know what happens; they hit the edge of the galaxy, crazy psychic energy, Gary becomes a dick, the engines shit out, and they make a desperate bid to ditch Mitch and gas up at the same time.

Yet another desert planet, but at least the matte painting is nice.

Seriously though, did Gene have something against deserts? In The Cage, the Mojave is a giant public park and all the shitty planets are deserts or mining operations. How you can live in SoCal and think the desert sucks is beyond me, I spent a few months in the Kaibab out in AZ and loved it. The desert calls to me (but I digress.)

There’s a lot more at stake here than in The Cage, and a little more than Charlie X; Gary is going to murder the crew and set himself up as a god. I keep thinking about Marc Antony in Egypt, because Gary is going to fuck his brains out, eat a bunch of rare animals, and ultimately get murdered by someone in a fit of arrogance. 

All things considered, I found this a much more interesting, exciting episode than The Cage; the characters have more charm, it feels like Kirk is actually making a tough decision putting his friend down, there’s a nobility in Dr. Dehner’s sacrifice, and I like a good old round of fisticuffs. I really hated those fringed collars, and Spock’s makeup was just awful.

But I’m intrigued by 3D chess. 

Personal Rating: 4/5; Don’t Skip

Where No Man Has Gone Before is an enjoyable TOS episode that establishes Kirk’s character fairly well in a way The Man Trap doesn’t and Charlie X doesn’t do very well. If you’re interested in watching TOS, start with this episode. 

END.