"Where No Man Has Gone Before"

[Mr. Atoz]

This was Star Trek's second pilot episode, filmed after "The Cage" was rejected by the network as "too cerebral". About to probe the edge of the galaxy, the Enterprise finds a message buoy from the starship Valiant, which was destroyed by an unknown force. The Enterprise later encounters an energy barrier which damages the warp drive and at the same time endows helmsman Gary Mitchell with mental abilities -- including telekinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance and the ability to neutralize energy beams -- which are growing exponentially in power.

The suspense is terrific. Gary Mitchell is a likable man, and we uneasily watch as his abilities grow stronger, all the while listening to Spock's gloomy (yet quite logical) prognosis. I'm not so sure that Mitchell "went mad" as some synopses indicate. This is a philosophical question which goes all the way back to Socrates. We generally apply self-restraint mainly because we know there are consequences for antisocial behavior. What would we do without those restraints? How would you behave if you knew that you could get away with anything?

[andrewlee]

I just saw this one the other day. I'm not sure how , but going through the galactic energy barrier was what triggered the increased ESP in Mitchell and the lady doc. Gary Mitchel's becoming more powerful was directly proportional to his becoming more evil or behaving badly.

I noticed something about the color of their uniforms in both pilot episodes. Before operations officers wore red they were wearing tan. Was this always the case? or was it done in the re-mastering of TOS episodes? I only noticed Gold and Blue uniforms before........if this was the case , I feel a bit foolish for not noticing before!!

[Mr. Atoz]

At first glance, operations and command officers seem to be wearing the same color, but if you look closely, you can tell there is a slight difference. Is that what you mean?

[andrewlee]

Jan 6, 2010 8:15:50 GMT -6 Mr. Atoz said:

At first glance, operations and command officers seem to be wearing the same color, but if you look closely, you can tell there is a slight difference. Is that what you mean?

Yes this is what I meant. It seams odd I never noticed this before! The re-mastering made them enough different for me to just barely tell them apart, but I have to really look!

[Mr. Atoz]

I find that even after all these years, watching an episode I will sometimes notice something new.

[andrewlee]

I will notice a new thing in an episode to, a before missed subtle detail. I wonder how I could have missed it since I notice a lot of other things many people don't get.

[Thallassa]

Poor Gary was merely endowed with abilities that he was unprepared for. I'm sure it could have happened to many humanoids. Would Kirk have been able to handle it, do you suppose?

[Mr. Atoz]

Kirk always strikes me as a man with solid common sense. I think he would be able to, at least to a point. But you're probably right. Even he would have had trouble, once it dawned on him that he do literally anything, without consequences.

[Thallassa]

No doubt absolute power does tend to corrupt. I used to wonder if there was more to it than simply enhancing his mental abilities. Perhaps it was an evil being (like Henoch) who tried to take possession of him.

[Mr. Atoz]

I read one of those Star Trek novels that used that assumption. I forget the name of the novel because it wasn't all that good. No, I tend to think that the corrupting influence of all the power was enough to account for the way Mitchel acted.