Where No Man Has Gone Before
Where No Man Has Gone Before (Wikipedia; HD Video) was the second pilot, after The Cage was rejected by CBS’s execs. And there are a slew of little oddities that make it stand out as different.
Let’s start with the weird turtleneck costumes the Starfleet officers wear. The color coding is established and consistent (with the exception of Spock, who wears the command colors in this episode), but the material and style is off.
Spock, by the way, also wears yellow makeup throughout, which makes him look like an actor in one of those old yellow peril movies. His yellow face and yellow turtleneck blend terribly, of course.
McCoy, meanwhile, is just missing. There’s an old guy in charge of “Life Sciences” instead. Sulu is head of “Astral Sciences,” as if it’s a college department. And Scotty’s there making his first appearance in as-aired order. His bowl-cut emphasizes his big ears nicely.
Begin Spoilers
The Enterprise is heading past the edge of the galaxy, and they pick up the flight recorder of a ship that tried the same trip 200 years ago. As revealed in the log, that trip ended (predictably) badly. Kirk (predictably) tries it anyway, and random members of the crew (predictably) die.
Except for Kirk’s old pal Mitchell (wakka-chikka wakka-chikka), whose eyes turn silver. And he becomes telepathic. And telekenetic. And decides to take over the ship, since he’s a god now.
Kirk isn’t so keen on that idea. So he stops Mitchell.
End Spoilers
This is the first episode where I noticed some truly terrible acting from the main characters. Shatner delivers some lines in that trademark halting overemphasis, and Nimoy delivers some very bad lines in a very bad way.
Something else to look for: close-ups of Kirk where the focus is apparently set to make his ear crystal-clear.
But it’s not hard to see why this works as a pilot. The characters show who they are, and the Kirk/Spock debate regarding what to do with Mitchell exposes the obvious depth to the logic-versus-feeling rift that is one of the primary drivers of the entire franchise, up to and including the latest movie. Add a good dose of action and a dash of comedy (and pastel outfits) and you’re greelighted for a 60s TV series that will change sci-fi forever.
Grade: B-
