This episode was actually the second pilot to be filmed for the series, and opens with the Enterprise picking up a distress signal from a ship that's been missing for over two centuries. It turns out that the ship was destroyed and the call is actually coming from the emergency recorder (the cosmic equivalent of an airplane's black box) so Kirk orders it beamed aboard. When the probe starts transmitting a signal Kirk orders a Red Alert, if only for a dramatic development to take us into the opening credits. (Sometimes he orders a Red Alert when the galley runs out of tater tots.)
Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell joins Kirk and Co. on the bridge, and he's played by none other than Gary Lockwood, who would go on to star in the astounding "2001: A Space Odyssey." Next Sally Kellerman reports to the bridge as psychiatrist Elizabeth Dehner, and this beautiful actress would come to be known for her role on M*A*S*H and for her sultry, seething voice, a voice which had the power to melt men, women and steel. Spock discovers that the missing ship- Valiant- was researching ESP before self-destructing, and the next sequence is one of the best in the series.
Kirk orders the Enterprise out of the galaxy at warp one, and the ship immediately comes up against a mysterious force field that does not appear on their sensors. The visual effects on the field are spectacular- a flowing, pulsing purple horizon that would stand up with any CGI today or of the future. Its subtlety is masterful: this was the age when special effects were used to serve the story's needs. Unfortunately that has come to be completely reversed. Black space is visible above and below the event horizon in the exterior shot, and the Enterprise in relation for once seems perfectly scaled. These effects- ironically- bear a slight resemblance to those that would later be used in "2001."
It's a fitting comparison because this scene is cinematic in nature- both dramatically and from a technical standpoint. Lt. Mitchell and adorable Crewman Smith wordlessly take one another's hands during the crisis, and no comment is ever made about this intimate exchange. The field begins to storm, change color, and there are actual explosions aboard the ship- control panels sparking, smoking and flaming. Finally, Mitchell and Dehner are zapped by an unknown force, and Gary is left with silver glowing eyeballs.
The Enterprise is left paralyzed, warp engines down, and Lt. Mitchell begins to show symptoms of being a Supergenius: he's reading several books an hour and controlling his medical monitors telepathically. He quotes a sonnet written "back in 1996" and it's little script touches such as this that make the show a joy. Dr. Dehner conceals Gary's abilities from her superiors and has an emotional outburst during a departmental briefing: an objective scientist she is not. Spock suggests killing Lt. Mitchell, reasoning that a similar, unchecked situation led to the destruction of the Valiant. It's a great plot point and Kirk is faced with an excellent moral dilemma: sentence his own friend to die or risk the life of his ship and crew.
I find the development of Gary's character during his "mutation" to be extraordinarily realistic: he's not a cackling, power-mad villain, but he's clearly transcended the bounds of humanity. He openly agrees with Spock's conclusion: he admits he's a threat but he can't stop the progression. The Enterprise arrives at Delta Vega for repairs and to strand Gary, but he soon overpowers them and takes the psexy psychiatrist to be his omnipotent Eve in his self-styled Eden.
But, just like in the Bible, paradise is interrupted by a Starship Captain with a sub-machine gun. Kirk, Dehner & Gary battle over the line between God and man, the theme at the heart of the episode, and the writers weave it in to the action beautifully: no heavy-handed speeches or static pontificating. "Morals are for men, not gods," proclaims Mitchell, and he has clearly lost his humanity, and all compassion, attacking Kirk with bolts of lightning from his fingertips. Dehner, still merciful, intervenes, buying the Captain enough time to bury Gary the god in the grave marked for James T. Kirk. Fantastic.
Back on board the ship Spock confesses to having "felt" for Gary- ouch- and then Smiles at Kirk's comment- yikes: very out of character for the Vulcan. Let's chalk this last bit up to the fact that this episode was just the second pilot filmed for the series, and the stoic, analytical Spock character that we all know and love had yet to be perfected.
It would be illogical to do otherwise.
GRADE: A+
Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell joins Kirk and Co. on the bridge, and he's played by none other than Gary Lockwood, who would go on to star in the astounding "2001: A Space Odyssey." Next Sally Kellerman reports to the bridge as psychiatrist Elizabeth Dehner, and this beautiful actress would come to be known for her role on M*A*S*H and for her sultry, seething voice, a voice which had the power to melt men, women and steel. Spock discovers that the missing ship- Valiant- was researching ESP before self-destructing, and the next sequence is one of the best in the series.
Kirk orders the Enterprise out of the galaxy at warp one, and the ship immediately comes up against a mysterious force field that does not appear on their sensors. The visual effects on the field are spectacular- a flowing, pulsing purple horizon that would stand up with any CGI today or of the future. Its subtlety is masterful: this was the age when special effects were used to serve the story's needs. Unfortunately that has come to be completely reversed. Black space is visible above and below the event horizon in the exterior shot, and the Enterprise in relation for once seems perfectly scaled. These effects- ironically- bear a slight resemblance to those that would later be used in "2001."
It's a fitting comparison because this scene is cinematic in nature- both dramatically and from a technical standpoint. Lt. Mitchell and adorable Crewman Smith wordlessly take one another's hands during the crisis, and no comment is ever made about this intimate exchange. The field begins to storm, change color, and there are actual explosions aboard the ship- control panels sparking, smoking and flaming. Finally, Mitchell and Dehner are zapped by an unknown force, and Gary is left with silver glowing eyeballs.
The Enterprise is left paralyzed, warp engines down, and Lt. Mitchell begins to show symptoms of being a Supergenius: he's reading several books an hour and controlling his medical monitors telepathically. He quotes a sonnet written "back in 1996" and it's little script touches such as this that make the show a joy. Dr. Dehner conceals Gary's abilities from her superiors and has an emotional outburst during a departmental briefing: an objective scientist she is not. Spock suggests killing Lt. Mitchell, reasoning that a similar, unchecked situation led to the destruction of the Valiant. It's a great plot point and Kirk is faced with an excellent moral dilemma: sentence his own friend to die or risk the life of his ship and crew.
I find the development of Gary's character during his "mutation" to be extraordinarily realistic: he's not a cackling, power-mad villain, but he's clearly transcended the bounds of humanity. He openly agrees with Spock's conclusion: he admits he's a threat but he can't stop the progression. The Enterprise arrives at Delta Vega for repairs and to strand Gary, but he soon overpowers them and takes the psexy psychiatrist to be his omnipotent Eve in his self-styled Eden.
But, just like in the Bible, paradise is interrupted by a Starship Captain with a sub-machine gun. Kirk, Dehner & Gary battle over the line between God and man, the theme at the heart of the episode, and the writers weave it in to the action beautifully: no heavy-handed speeches or static pontificating. "Morals are for men, not gods," proclaims Mitchell, and he has clearly lost his humanity, and all compassion, attacking Kirk with bolts of lightning from his fingertips. Dehner, still merciful, intervenes, buying the Captain enough time to bury Gary the god in the grave marked for James T. Kirk. Fantastic.
Back on board the ship Spock confesses to having "felt" for Gary- ouch- and then Smiles at Kirk's comment- yikes: very out of character for the Vulcan. Let's chalk this last bit up to the fact that this episode was just the second pilot filmed for the series, and the stoic, analytical Spock character that we all know and love had yet to be perfected.
It would be illogical to do otherwise.
GRADE: A+