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*Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 1, {{d|17|August|1999}}
  
*Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 1, {{d|17|August|1999}}
 
*As part of the [[TOS Season 1 DVD]] collection
  
*As part of the [[TOS Season 1 DVD]] collection
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*As part of the [[TOS Season 1 HD-DVD]] collection
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*As part of the [[TOS Season 1 HD-DVD]] collection.
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* As part of the [[TOS Season 1 Blu-ray]] collection.
 
*{{watch online|pid=cI1X8gtP5Hmd1F__0E6czRkZj6Mxz4nE}}
  
*{{watch online|pid=cI1X8gtP5Hmd1F__0E6czRkZj6Mxz4nE}}
   

Revision as of 07:55, 27 May 2009

Template:Realworld

You may also be looking for the TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before".

Captain Kirk worries when his friend, Gary Mitchell, is transformed by the galaxy's edge into a powerful psionic being, endangering the ship, crew and beyond.

Summary

Teaser

"Captain's log, Stardate 1312.4. The impossible has happened. From directly ahead, we're picking up a recorded distress signal, the call letters of a vessel which has been missing for over two centuries. Did another Earth ship probe out of the galaxy as we intend to do? What happened to it out there? Is this some warning they've left behind?"

In the briefing lounge, Captain James T. Kirk and Vulcan Science Officer Lieutenant Commander Spock are playing three-dimensional chess. Spock warns the captain that he's about to checkmate him on his next move, but the captain is preoccupied with awaiting the bridge's update on the unknown distress signal. The captain notes that Spock plays a very "irritating game of chess", to which Spock responds with "Irritating? Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions." Captain Kirk makes a move that surprises Spock, and smiles, to which Spock simply turns to look at him. "Certain you don't know what irritation is?" Kirk says wryly. As Spock begins to state that despite the fact that one of his ancestors married a Human female, Kirk interrupts him and jokingly chides him, saying it must be terrible to have bad blood like that. Just afterward then, a call comes over the comm. Lieutenant Lee Kelso informs the captain that the object is now within tractor beam range, and that it is only about a meter in diameter, too small to be a vessel. Kirk tells him to lock on to it, and the two of them head out.

File:Recorder marker.jpg

SS Valiant recorder-marker

In the transporter room, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott is fine-tuning the transporter, preparing to beam the object aboard. Kirk gives the order, and Scott transports the device into the transporter room. The captain immediately recognizes it as an old-style ship recorder, one that would be ejected in the event of an emergency. Spock agrees, but states that, based on the level of damage the object seems to have sustained, something must have destroyed the ship. Montgomery Scott tries to feed the tapes into the computer, when the marker begins transmitting a signal. Captain Kirk orders red alert, and the crew go to their stations.

Act One

Throughout the ship, the crew is reporting to their emergency stations. Kirk and Spock enter a turbolift, and Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell jumps in as the doors are closing. Kirk and Mitchell joke about Kelso, and Spock's chess skills, showing that they have a deep friendship even in times of red alert.

On the bridge, Mitchell takes his station as Spock scans for the message. As they approach the edge of the galaxy, Kirk orders all stop. Captain Kirk announces ship-wide that what they picked up was a marker launched from the SS Valiant over 200 years ago. Department heads report to the bridge as ordered, and Captain Kirk is given introductions. Smith, whom he mistakes as Jones, is his new yeoman. Astro-sciences physicist Sulu reports ready, Engineering Officer Scott reports ready as always, and Chief Medical Officer Doctor Mark Piper introduces the new psychiatrist aboard, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, who came aboard to study the long-term effects of space travel on the crew back at the Aldebaran colony. Spock points out he's been able to get a signal from the recorder, as Mitchell tries to flirt with Dr. Dehner, who rebuffs him only to overhear him call her a "walking freezer unit".

Spock interpolates the Valiant's message, that they'd encountered a magnetic storm and pulled out of the galaxy, and that the crew accessed computer records on "ESP" in Humans. The captain asks Dr. Dehner her opinion, and she mistakes it for him asking if she has ESP. She reports that there are some Humans who can see the future, but it is never very powerful. Spock goes on to explain that several crewman had died aboard the Valiant, which had suffered severe damage. The Valiant crew continued researching ESP, until it seems the captain ordered a self-destruct. Captain Kirk decides to go ahead anyway and engages warp factor 1.

USS Enterprise approaches galactic barrier, remastered

The Enterprise approaches the barrier

The crew reacts with mixed emotions as the Enterprise heads out of the galaxy. The ship encounters a strange field, and Spock orders a full array of scans. Yeoman Smith and Mitchell hold hands to comfort each other as the ship enters the field. Flashes of light fill the bridge, and the whole ship. A console explodes on the bridge as fires start around the ship. Both Dr. Denher and Mitchell are directly affected by the strange field, falling to the ground after seemingly being shocked.

Main power is out, and nine crewmen are dead. Captain Kirk tends to Mitchell only to find that his eyes are glowing an eerie silver.

Act Two

File:Helm repair, Kelso, Alden and Kirk.jpg

Alden (L) and Kelso (R) repair the helm console as Kirk (center) looks on

"Captain's log, stardate 1312.9. Ship's condition – heading back on impulse power only. Main engines burned out. The ship's space-warp ability – gone. Earth bases, which were only days away are now years in the distance. Our overriding question now is – what destroyed the Valiant? They lived through the barrier, just as we have. What happened to them after that?"

Captain Kirk, while supervising repairs being made to the bridge, proceeds to the science station where he finds Spock reviewing medical records of the dead crew members. Specifically, Spock is looking at ESP ratings of Dr. Dehner and Gary Mitchell. Both of the officers had high scores on ESP tests given by Starfleet Medical, Mitchell's having ultimately read as the higher.

Dr. Dehner approaches Captain Kirk and provides an autopsy report. She mentions that in all cases, there was brain damage to a specific region of the brain. Kirk shares the fact that all of the dead crew members, including Dehner and Mitchell, had high ESP ratings. Spock also mentions that the captain of the Valiant was frantically searching through their records for information on ESP. Dehner defends those with ESP, specifically that the ability is not harmful.

In sickbay, Mitchell is reading text on a viewer, trying to pass the time. Kirk enters the room, and Mitchell greets him by name without actually looking to see who it is. Kirk and Mitchell talk about some past experiences, implying that they have known each other for many years. Mitchell mentions that he feels better now than he's ever felt in his life, and he's catching up on his reading. Kirk and Mitchell continue to reminisce and Mitchell says that he "aimed that little blonde lab technician" at Kirk. Kirk replies, "You planned that?!? I almost married her."

This may be a mention of Carol Marcus, mother of Kirk's son David Marcus.

Kirk informs Mitchell that he's assigned Dr. Dehner to work with him. Mitchell doesn't seem happy, since Mitchell and Dehner have already had words with each other. Mitchell, in a godlike voice says, "Didn't I say you'd better be good to me?" Kirk leaves the room and Mitchell continues reading books on the viewer, at an extremely fast rate. Kirk enters the bridge to find Spock monitoring Mitchell's viewer. Kirk assigns 24-hour security to keep an eye on Mitchell. Kirk approaches the science station viewer to look closely at Mitchell, and Mitchell looks directly at the security camera, as if he knows that Kirk is watching.

Dr. Dehner enters sickbay and acknowledges the fact that she realized that Mitchell doesn't like her very well. He apologizes to her for calling her a "walking freezer unit". She asks him how he feels. Mitchell jokingly says that everyone thinks that he has a fever or something and proceeds to change the vital signs monitor in sickbay with his mind. Then, he makes the readings show that he is dead. All indicators fall to zero and Gary appears to lose consciousness. He awakens, and starts telling Dr. Dehner of some of his other abilities, like being able to read quickly.

Dr. Dehner decides to test his memorization abilities. She shows Mitchell the title of a record tape, and asks him to tell her what's on page 387. Mitchell quotes, "My love has wings, slender feathered things with grace and upswept curve and tapered tip. Nightingale Woman, written by Tarbolde on the Canopus planet in 1996." Mitchell pulls Dehner close to him, and asks her how she feels. Her reply, that she only fell and that nothing else happened, is seemingly disbelieved by Mitchell, but the conversation is cut short by the arrival of Lieutenant Kelso.

Kelso reports that the main engines are in bad shape. Mitchell warns Kelso to check the starboard impulse engine packs, that if they activate those engines that the entire impulse deck will explode. Kelso leaves sickbay and Mitchell tells Dehner that he could see the image of the impulse packs in Kelso's mind.

In the briefing room, Kelso shows Kirk the burned out impulse circuit that Mitchell described. Spock leads the discussion by asking Dr. Dehner about Mitchell's abilities. Scotty reports that bridge controls started changing on their own. Spock reports that each time it happened, Mitchell could be seen smiling on the surveillance monitors set up in sickbay. At the conclusion of the meeting, Spock suggests taking Mitchell to the planet Delta Vega where they can adapt the lithium cracking station's power packs to the Enterprise to try to repair the damaged systems. After repairs are made, Spock suggests stranding Mitchell there, or killing him. Kirk orders Spock to set course for Delta Vega.

Act Three

"Stardate 1313.1. We're now approaching Delta Vega. Course set for a standard orbit. This planet, completely uninhabited, is slightly smaller than Earth, desolate, but rich in crystal and minerals. Kelso's task – transport down with a repair party, try to regenerate the main engines, save the ship. Our task – transport down a man I've known for 15 years, and if we're successful, maroon him there."
File:Lithium cracking station.jpg

Delta Vega's lithium cracking station

As Mitchell's extraordinary psionic powers continue to evolve, he feels less and less connected to the Human race. Spock fears he might become dangerous to not only the ship, but to the entire galaxy. He also thinks the same fate destroyed the Valiant, and Mitchell confirms this. Having become a self-proclaimed god, he has no other interest in Humans other than ruling over them. Spock suggests killing him before it is too late, but instead Kirk decides to exile his friend to Delta Vega.

Act Four

"Captain's log, stardate 1313.3. Note commendations on Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering staff. In orbit above us, the engines of the Enterprise are almost fully regenerated. Balance of the landing party is being transported back up. Mitchell, whatever he's become, keeps changing, growing stronger by the minute."
Kirk fires a phaser rifle at Mitchell

Kirk fires a phaser rifle at Mitchell

On the planet surface, Mitchell kills Kelso and leaves for the surface with Dr. Dehner who has also been transformed. Kirk later goes out after him, knowing how dangerous he has become. Kirk encounters Mitchell wandering the planet surface. Mitchell attempts to kill his "old friend" Kirk using his new found powers. Dehner, now realizing that Mitchell is inhuman and becoming more and more dangerous, helps Kirk against him. Mitchell then counters by fatally injuring Dehner, without remorse. Even though Mitchell regains his god-like power after a battle with Dehner, Kirk manages to kill him by triggering a rock slide with using a phaser rifle, thus burying Mitchell in the grave intended for Kirk.

"Captain's log, stardate 1313.8. Add to official losses, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Be it noted she gave her life in performance of her duty. Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell. Same notation."

Back on the Enterprise, Spock for the first time admits to Kirk he has emotions similar to Humans. Kirk's reflection upon the events leading up to the deaths of both former shipmates is best summarized by his existential observation that Humankind must mentally process actual events in the experience of real time: the self-checking unconscious analysis of Human growth and progress is critical to the evolution of at least the Human if not all sentient species. Without such seemingly 'plodding' methods, there exists no viable counterbalance to the phenomena observed in Mitchell, Dehner and the historical Valiant crewmember, of the results of a near-instantaneous quantum leap in ability and knowledge devoid of self-analysis. By missing the natural evolution of critical and practically applied feedback experience, their developmental gains became catastrophically compressed, resulting in a fundamental corruption of their psyches.

Memorable Quotes

"Have I ever mentioned you play a very irritating game of chess, Mr. Spock?"
"Irritating? Ah, yes, one of your Earth emotions."

- Kirk and Spock


"Terrible, having bad blood like that."

- Kirk to Spock, while playing chess in the recreation room, regarding the latter's partly-human ancestry


"Hey, man, I remember you back at the Academy... a stack of books with legs! The first thing I heard from an upperclassman was, 'Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think, or sink'."

- Mitchell, reminiscing about Kirk


"My love has wings
Slender, feathered things
With grace in upswept curve and tapered tip."

- Tarbolde, "Nightingale Woman" 1996


"You fools! Soon I'll squash you like insects!"

- Mitchell


"There's not a soul on this planet but us?"
"Nobody but us chickens, doctor."

- Dr. Elizabeth Dehner and Kirk


"Dr. Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous – what makes you right and a trained psychiatrist wrong?"
"Because she feels – I don't. All I know is logic. In my opinion, we'll be lucky to repair the ship and get away in time."

- Kirk and Spock


"Will you try for one minute to feel? At least act like you've got a heart?"

- Kirk to Spock, on marooning or killing Mitchell


"You should have killed me while you could, James... command and compassion is a fool's mixture."

- Mitchell


"You must help me. Before it goes too far."
"What he's doing is right. For him, and me."
"And for Humanity? You're still Human..."
"No!"
"...at least partly, you are! ...Or you wouldn't be here talking to me."
"Earth is really unimportant. Before long we'll be where it would've taken mankind millions of years of learning to reach."
"And what will Mitchell learn on getting there?! Will he know what to do with his power? Will he acquire the wisdom??"
 "Please go back while you still can."
"Did you hear him joke about compassion? (shouting into the air) Above all else, a god needs compassion! Mitchell! ...Elizabeth..."
"What do you know about gods?"
"Then let's talk about Humans... about our frailties. As powerful as he gets, he'll still have all that inside him..."
"Go back!"
"You were a psychiatrist, once; you know the ugly, savage things we all keep buried, that none of us dare expose – but he'll dare! Who's to stop him? He doesn't need to care... Be a psychiatrist for one minute longer; what do you see happening to him? What's your prognosis, doctor?"
 "He's coming."

- Kirk and Dehner's final conversation


"Morals are for men... not gods."

- Mitchell


"Do you like what you see?! Absolute power corrupting absolutely??"

- Kirk to Dehner, regarding the behavior of Mitchell as a direct result of his power


"I felt for him, too."

- Spock to Kirk, in a rare admission of emotion

Background Information

The second pilot

  • This was the second Star Trek pilot. However, it aired as the third regular series episode, after "The Man Trap" and "Charlie X". In their book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, Robert H. Justman and Herbert F. Solow explain that because this segment was "too expository" in nature – a common fault with pilots – it would not have made a good premiere episode for the series.
  • There is a different, pre-broadcast cut of this episode in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. This unique cut includes a few brief scenes trimmed from the aired cut of the episode, different opening titles, and a unique closing theme. The alternate closing theme can be heard on the GNP Crescendo CD Star Trek: Original Series (Volume 1) "The Cage" / "Where No Man Has Gone Before". The pre-broadcast cut is commercially available only in bootleg form, although it has been screened at numerous conventions. Paul Carr was credited as "Navigator" in the end credits of the original cut. The version on the first season box set may contain the alternate ending theme, but does have the changed credits.
  • After NBC saw this episode, they were pleased with the results and decided that Star Trek would be a weekly television series. Gene Roddenberry said that, like "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before" still had a lot of science fiction elements in it, but that it was the bare knuckle fist fight between Kirk and the god-like Gary Mitchell that sold NBC on Star Trek. (The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation To The Next)

Story and script

  • TNG adopted a gender-neutral and species-neutral version of this episode's title for TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before".
  • It is possible that the "little blonde lab technician" Mitchell mentioned may be Dr. Carol Marcus or Dr. Janet Wallace.
  • This episode sets the original series record for crew members killed: 12 (Mitchell, Dehner, Kelso, and the 9 who Spock says died when crossing the galactic barrier).
  • Kirk says he's been worried about Mitchell "ever since that night on Deneb IV." Coincidentally (or not), TNG's pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" takes place on Deneb IV, home of the Bandi.
  • Gary Mitchell states that the "Nightingale Woman" poem was written in 1996 and that it is one of the "most passionate love sonnets of the past couple of centuries". Taken literally, this line of dialog seems to suggest that "Where No Man Has Gone Before" takes place no later than the end of the twenty-second century. The poem was, in fact, written by Gene Roddenberry about his World War II airplane. ("My love has wings...") Mitchell presumably mispronounces the place of its origin as "the Canopius planet," rather than a planet of the star Canopus.

Sets and props

  • The gravestone Mitchell creates for Kirk says "James R. Kirk". According to D.C. Fontana in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, when the mistake was discovered, Gene Roddenberry decided that if pressed for an answer on the discrepancy, the response was to be "Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was Human. He made a mistake." The gravestone also describes him as having been born on stardate 1277.1, but this could have been Mitchell's morbid sense of humor. Kirk may have assumed command of the Enterprise on this stardate.
  • Their crew files show that Mitchell and Dehner were born in cities called "Delman" and "Eldman." It is possible the property master never thought TV resolution would make these legible.
  • The mountainous backdrop painting from "The Cage" is reused in this episode.
  • In this episode, the helm console from the bridge was moved to the transporter set to double as the transporter console. Thus, the three levers used to "energize" are not yet in place.
  • A bit of the transporter chamber was changed from "The Cage." The center of the ceiling was "hollowed out," allowing white light to pour down onto the platform when the "materializer" was not in operation. After this episode, however, the dark, grilled ceiling from "The Cage" was restored and remained in place throughout the series.
  • The phaser rifle that Kirk uses appears for the first and only time in the series.

Cast and characters

  • It was the first appearance for Trek mainstays Kirk, Sulu, Scott, and Leslie. Other regulars McCoy and Uhura would not appear until the next episode.
  • Leonard Nimoy (Spock) is the only actor to appear in both this episode and the first pilot, "The Cage". Unlike "The Cage", his pointed ears are a bit smaller, and his eyebrows are severely slanted (yet not as bushy as in "The Cage") and appear to have been painted on. Most importantly, his hairstyle is reworked to show the bangs typical of his race – and that of eventual nemeses, the Romulans.
  • William Shatner was actually the third to be considered for the role of James T. Kirk. Jack Lord and Lloyd Bridges were each offered the role first. (The Star Trek Compendium)
  • This is the only episode of the series in which James Doohan (Scotty) appears but DeForest Kelley (McCoy) does not.
  • This is the only episode where Spock wears a gold shirt instead of blue.

Effects

  • The matte painting of the lithium cracking station was created by matte artist Albert Whitlock for this episode. A still exists showing the entire landing party in the doorway within the matte, but only the shot of Kirk and Dehner ended up being used. The matte painting would soon be altered and reused in "Dagger of the Mind".
  • Film trickery enabled Kirk, Spock and Mitchell's elevator ride to look like an actual ride from one deck to another, without relying on editing. When Mitchell jumped in, there was a gray wall outside the door that hid the bridge set. When the doors closed, the wall was removed by the stage crew, and then seconds later, they're on the bridge. The turbolift in the background after this scene sports "double doors" like modern elevators - the inner one is gray and the outer is red. This feature would survive into "The Corbomite Maneuver" and at least until "Tomorrow is Yesterday", but then was phased out.
  • When Kirk, Spock and Mitchell emerge from the turbolift, the main viewscreen can be seen in its "off" setting - a kind of "psychedelic" visual effect that was never used again.
  • The voices of damage control personnel responding to the emergency situation were reused many times in subsequent episodes. These voices were provided by Gene Roddenberry, Robert Justman and Majel Barrett. Roddenberry can be heard saying, "Communicator, we need more lines to the impulse deck!" in subsequent episodes.
  • The ship fly-bys were all done with the 11-foot model used in all subsequent episodes. At the time, this model still had no sparkling effects on the front of the nacelles. It also had a larger sensor dish, grilles on the backs of the nacelles and not as many lighting effects. This footage was re-used in later episodes, often mixed in with shots of the improved model that is on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum gift shop. In the standard side-to-side fly-by, two lights on the angled pylon (which connect the two hulls) go out, followed one second later by two near the shuttlebay.
  • The original "bridge zoom-in" Enterprise shot from the beginning of "The Cage" is reused from stock footage in this episode, making it the only shot from the original pilot to appear in the second one.
  • The same shot is also used when the Enterprise hits the barrier with added purple background and lightning effects.
  • Stock footage of the Enterprise in the barrier is reused in "By Any Other Name" and "Is There in Truth No Beauty?".

Apocrypha

  • An alternate explanation for the "James R. Kirk" reference is given in Peter David's novel Q-Squared which suggests that the events of this episode take place in a parallel universe where Kirk's middle initial is indeed R (and not T as we now know it to be). This same book suggests that Gary Mitchell's god-like powers were a result of him being temporarily possessed by Q, and the powers simply drove Mitchell insane.
  • Another explanation for the R as Kirk's middle initial comes from Michael Jan Friedman's three part novel series, My Brother's Keeper. In it, Kirk claims his middle name to be "racquetball" to Mitchell upon an early meeting. Later, Mitchell "changes" it to "Rhinoceros" after Kirk steamrolls through a conversation. The grave is thus explained by Kirk as an in-joke.

Remastered information

  • The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication the weekend of 20 January 2007 and featured shots of a digital version of Enterprise, consistent with the model used in this episode, which had a slightly different appearance from both the version seen in the production of the series and that seen the original pilot, "The Cage". Enhanced effects also included more detailed shots of the barrier, Delta Vega from space as well as on the surface, a subtle touch-up to a phaser shot during Kirk and Mitchell's fight, and an opening titles sequence featuring the pilot-version Enterprise.
The next remastered episode to air was "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky".

Production timeline

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Guest stars

Featuring

And

Uncredited co-star

Stunts

Production crew

Production companies

References

1996; 21st century; 22nd century; 2065; 2242; 2244; 2250; 2260s; 2265; 203-R; Aldebaron colony; astrosciences; brain; Canopus; Canopus Planet; chicken; de Spinoza, Benedict; Delta Vega; Dimorus; Dimorus native; disaster recorder; emergency condition three; ESP; esper; extrasensory perception; fire alert; fission chamber; freezer unit; galactic barrier; galaxy; Grayson, Amanda; helmsman; impulse engine; intercraft; Kaferian apple; life sciences; lithium; lithium cracking station; magnetic space storm; memory banks; neural circuit; neutron radiation; Nightingale Woman; ore ship; penny; phaser; phaser rifle; Pointed Peaks; psionic energy; rodent; Sarek; stardate; Starfleet Academy; tape; Tarbolde, Phineas; telekinesis; three-dimensional chess; type 3 phaser; Vulcan; yeoman

Other references

aperception quotient; Dehner, Gerard; Delman; Delta Vega Station; Deneb IV; Duke-Heidelburg quotient; Eldman; The Ethics; Galactic Mining Company; Tri-Planetary Academy

External link

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