Yes. The speed at which he fully inhabits this character from the word jump, is a testament to his abilities as an actor. The other characters changed a bit, but his interpretation was spot on and didn't require any retooling.
The actor who played Mitchell is also known for his role in Stanley Kubrick's scifi masterpiece 2001 A Space Odyssey. If you haven't seen it, you should consider it a must watch.
This was the second pilot for this series. That's why the uniforms, the sets, the cast, and Spock's eyebrows all look quite different. The show was still trying to find its footing.
I remember seeing this episode when I was 8 and being confused as to why the uniforms and parts of the Enterprise set looked different from all the other episodes in the Star Trek series.
I really enjoyed your reaction. The famous saying is from Lord Acton in a letter in 1887: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." I agree with another commenter whose favourite moment in this episode is when Kirk says, “Above all else, a god needs compassion.” As a filmmaker, you will appreciate the music in the original series. Some of Hollywood’s best composers were hired for various episodes. I have never heard a better collection of musical scores for a television series: maybe equal, but never better.
I appreciate that you are viewing a copy with original effects shots rather than the remastered version. Both are fine, but growing up with the old-school visuals, planetscapes, and space battles was never a hinderance to the stories.
The remastered effects were mostly horrible in 2006. They never bothered to make it realistic or match the CGI shuttle with the live action prop. The CGI DEFIANT in ENTERPRISE while not perfect, looked better.
Agreed. I wonder if someday, AI technology will be able to separate out the original elements better for clean up, and some algorithm used to essentially rebuild the effect directly from the original negative. (I know the separate 35mm elements are long gone, i just mean from what remains.)
@@kunserndsittizen2655?? They didn’t want to make the CGI look really good cause it would be too jarring. That’s why it looks the way it does. Which I think looks fine the way it is.
Another great reaction! I enjoyed that thoroughly! This was Star Trek's second pilot episode, which accounts for some of the design inconsistencies (including the different uniforms, Spock's makeup being a bit different, Dr. Piper being there instead of Dr. McCoy, no Uhura, Kirk's middle initial being R, etc. The studios were not completely sold on the original pilot, saying that it was too cerebral and without enough action. Lucille Ball saw the potential and so a second pilot was ordered. Jeffrey Hunter, who had played Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot, did not want to come back for the second and so William Shatner was cast as Captain James T. Kirk (while the R was an early production fluke, explained away by Mitchell - even with all his powers - still having a fallible human memory). Leonard Nimoy as Spock and the Enterprise herself are the only two characters who survived the transition from one pilot to the next. The studios liked Where No Man Has Gone Before and so picked up the show for a full season. On a sadder note, it also ended up being a really good thing for Star Trek as a whole that we got a full series with Kirk instead of Pike, because Jeffrey Hunter died tragically a couple of months after the final episode of the show wrapped. He suffered an unexpected brain bleed while walking down the stairs, fell down and fractured his skull on the bannister. He died the next morning. So if the show had moved forward with Hunter as Pike instead as Shatner as Kirk, it never would have been able to move beyond that first show and become the cultural zeitgeist it is today. An interesting note, but the studios tried EXTREMELY hard to get rid of Mr. Spock, arguing that an alien with pointed ears couldn't work because nobody would be able to identify with him. In promotional material for the show they even went so far as to airbrush out his alien ears and eyebrows. They needn't have worried, as Spock very quickly became THE most popular character of the show, and now, 60 years after the filming of the original pilot and over 900 episodes later, Spock is still one of the top 5 most popular Star Trek characters, which many people naming him as their #1 favorite. After the first 3 aired episodes Nimoy got a dozen or so fan letters. After the fourth episode they started coming in by the thousands and never once let up. I'd also say I don't think Kirk is being particularly reckless in going into the barrier even with evidence that something bad happened to the earlier ship. I'd say that he has to be reckless/take risks because that's literally his job. The mission statement of the Enterprise is to "boldly go where no man has gone before" and that means even going places that are dangerous, and as he even points out in the episode other people will be coming this way and need to know what's out there. They're taking a big, scary, dangerous risk because risk is their business. If they did not, someone else would have to, and Kirk is not one to put other people in harm's way if he can do it himself. Which is the same reason that he wouldn't let Piper revive Spock and went after Mitchell alone. I can't wait for more reactions!
Youre absolutely correct. The decision to simply go half-cocked into the barrier, without letting a greater examination of the Valiant's records take place first, is indicative of a rookie, not a seasoned captain. Pike wouldn't have done the same thing. Note: As this was actually the second pilot, Kirk's middle name definitely hadn't been set. That came later on once the show was formally in production. You're very perceptive and I hope you gain many more subs!!!
Ah, okay. I was wondering if there was just something about his name I didn't understand. I appreciate you joining the channel, and I too hope to gain many more subs!
This was the second pilot for the series hence the different uniforms, Spock looking different etc, the first pilot "The Cage" had a different Captain and First Officer, footage of that first pilot was used in the two-parter "The Menagerie" which is upcoming for you. As for Kirk's middle name, Gene (Roddenberry) wanted a Roman name, in this case it was 'Romulus' but shortly after was changed to 'Tiberius', as in James T. Kirk, the name Romulus was used later in the series as the home planet of another species of aliens which you will encounter later in the series called 'Romulans'.
I appreciate that you're looking at this in its original form, but something you cannot replicate is the period itself, the general mindset of the era in which this first aired. This show was so incredibly unlike anything else at the time. Today science fiction is commonplace, but in the 1960s it was largely regarded as 'kid's stuff'. The only other significant sci-fi on television was LOST IN SPACE, which was just goofy, and Doctor Who, which was difficult to see here in the US.. STAR TREK helped make science fiction far more 'respectable' and mainstream. The show was basically a quantum shift here in the United States. But when the show first aired, that hadn't happened yet. That means you cannot, sadly, look at STAR TREK in quite the same way WE did when it first aired. That's no fault of yours; it's just the curse of living 60-ish years after the fact. I wish I could convey it better. Nonetheless, I still am delighted to see the positive reaction of someone seeing it for the first time.
Miranda: That matte painting is beautifiul! Me: Dont fall in love .... dont fall in love......dont fa- Niranda: I miss the days of matte paintings. ME : .................. damn. Im already subbed and she's gotta say one of the msot beautiful things Ive ever heard a woman say. I'm doomed. And yeah, I kinda miss those days, too, Miranda.
The second pilot, and one of the original series' best episodes. William Shatner debuts as James Kirk (episode has his middle initial as "R"; his middle name is later revealed to be "Tiberius"). Leonard Nimoy returns as Spock, from the first pilot. Spock and the Enterprise itself are the only two characters to be in the series throughout its run, from the first pilot on.
Pretty sure we only get the middle initial (T.) throughout the rest of the original series. "Tiberius" is first mentioned in the animated series, I believe when the computer is reading back Kirk's service record.
@@JJ_W You are right, but I wasn't wrong; I just said the middle name was "later revealed". "Tiberius" is first mentioned in the animated episode "Bem". I looked it up.
A fun fact: this pilot went into production so late, Gene Roddenberry hired semi-retired Ernest Haller as Director of Photography. Haller was the Academy Award winning DP for the classic Gone With the Wind.
He later filled in, uncredited, for regular cinematographer Al Francis for one day during filming of the third season episode "Requiem for Methuselah".
Very nice reaction! Well done. The term “esper” had been used in science fiction writing (not film or TV) since the 1940s, and existing SF readers would have recognized it in this episode. But nobody else would, and I think this might have been one of the last occasions when it was used.
Whenever the original series is discussed, people speak of its optimism. Let me explain. In 1945, atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You don’t want to read about that unless you are exceptionally thick-skinned. It was hell. In 1961, President Kennedy advised citizens of the USA to build fallout shelters in their backyards and community buildings. Many people did build them, until they realized that they were just condemning themselves to a slow, nightmarish death. Many historians were convinced that humanity would be exterminated in a nuclear war before the year 2000. Against this backdrop, thousands of science-fiction stories were written about nuclear holocausts and horrific post-apocalyptic existence. Then, in 1966, Star Trek appeared. It said, “Wait. It doesn’t need to be that way. We can all use our brains and our hearts, not to make atomic bombs, but to find ways to make peace, and to make the world a better place for everybody.” This was a very welcome message in the 1960s. And it is still welcome today. This message of hope is one of the many reasons (and one of the MAIN reasons) why trekkies love Star Trek (the original series).
One of the best posts I have ever randomly stumbled upon that explains why it was that so many of us growing up then loved this show so much. So many days in the school playground enacting Star Trek stories with my friends whilst there was a cloud of tension over everything that even we kids detected.
@@dallassukerkin6878 Thank you for your kind words. Thank you also for reminding me of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In October of 1962, when I was in elementary school, we schoolchildren ran outside to play during recess and lunch hour. The teachers would stand outside and watch over us. However, for almost two weeks, the teachers did not come out to monitor us. They were indoors, listening to the radio. We knew why. The world was teetering on the edge of a precipice. During the Crisis, there were at least three incidents that came within a razor’s edge of starting nuclear attacks. We did not know the details at the time, but the hollow faces of the politicians on television, and the grim expressions on all adult faces told us all that we needed to know: nuclear war was staring us in the eyeballs. The Crisis passed, but the Cold War lingered on. As you say, there was a cloud of tension over everything. Star Trek, with its promise of a happy future, was a gigantic breath of fresh air. It portrayed a world in which humanity had conquered its destructive habits, a world in which children could play in peace. Live long and prosper.
@@Justin_Beaver564 Often in the original series, Spock makes important statements: SPOCK: I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose. ["The Squire of Gothos"]
The final two episodes of "Star Trek Continues" revisits the effects of the great barrier on humans and the Espers it creates. The 11 episodes of "Continues" serves as a bridge between the end of the original series and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It is filmed using re-creations of the original sets, costumes and uses new as well as original music from the series. The stories are well written but it takes a couple of episodes to adjust to new actors playing the crew of the Enterprise. A connection to the original show is Chris Doohan, James Doohan's son convincingly playing Scotty and the original full size Galileo shuttlecraft makes an appearance in an spisode.
As someone who saw this in its original run as a little kid, up until then we hadn't seen hardly ANY "serious" science fiction ships or stories. They were usually just random astronauts travelling around the universe & it could have been from any time, whether the year 2250 or 5000 or whatever. Star Trek TOS was showing us concepts & starships that had NEVER been explored before. It was amazing to see all this FIRST hand. In the 2nd season episode 'By Any Other Name'', a scene ends with Kirk & a pretty alien woman being alone. (GEE! Wonder what they're gonna do?) When next we see the two of them, she's fixing her makeup in a mirr& Kirk is pulling on his boots. It was all so incredibly subtle, yet it was so "loud" that you just went, "Oh, damn! You go, Kirk!" 💪💪💪🤣🤣🤣 Nowadays plots with people doing the shag-nasty are a dime a dozen & you don't get the impact of what the writer is portraying.
Star Trek Uniform Colors: Yellow - Command - It usually means that person is leader and is working their way up the ranks. Mostly by attending a academy or Starfleet accredited college. Red - Operations - This indicates that the person has a skill set that is primarily geared toward ship function. This would be Engineering, Security, & Communications. Blue - Science - This indicates that the person has a skill set beyond ships functions. And usually means the person is college educated and probably has their doctorate. So they're probably "Dr. John Doe." Spock got his doctorate from the Vulcan Science Academy. McCoy got his from "Ole Miss."
This episode, while being the third to air , was actually the second pilot commissioned by NBC and was responsible for the show being picked up. Not all the characters were flushed out, including Kirk's middle initial. One of the explanations I'd read for the mistake on the headstone was that Mitchell had made an error, proving he wasn't a perfect "GOD". But that's just one of those things. Like Chekhov being remembered by Khan in ST2 (spoiler alert), even though Walter Koenig didn't appear on screen until season 2. Just the same, a very good episode in it's own right. When Trek was good, it was real good.
I saw TOS when (or caught the re-runs soon after) it was originally broadcasted, and I'm totally thrilled to see that people in their 20's are digging it just like we did when it first came out. It's a very thought-provoking series!
As I wrote before, note how many omnipotent beings there are in the original series because that becomes a major plot point in the pilot episode of The Next Generation. There are Godlike guardians of existence and they fear humans. This episode demonstrates why.
I personally also like the remastered versions effects. But it was cool that Paramount gives the option to watch which version people want on the blu rays.
Why? They looked awful in 2006. Cartoony like a video game. It was inexcusable because a year earlier they did the DEFIANT on ENTERPRISE and the cgi looked pretty good.
Gary Lockwood also played the title role in Roddenberry's first TV series "The Lieutenant". And Lockwood is still alive at 87. Episodes of "The Lieutenant" are occasionally posted to RUclips. Worth a watch IMHO. The episode titled "To Set it Right" was Nichelle Nichols first appearance on TV.
Thank you for the great reactions! Where No Man Has Gone Before, as some as already pointed out, was the *2nd* pilot. The first pilot, The Cage, which I don't think you've seen yet, wasn't aired because network executives deemed it, "too cerebral." If you haven't seen the unaired pilot yet, I'd recommend waiting until you finish the series - - or at least until after you see S01E12. The execs wanted something with more action/adventure. But, they also wanted something with a monster-of-the-week. So, they shuffled the first episodes around.
The first pilot, the cage, did not air for a very long time, but the second pilot episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before, was the second chance the franchise needed to get a foot hold. It was still a battle for the franchise to continue from season to season, but with a little help from Desilu studios and Lucille Ball the "wagon train to the stars" became a cultural phenomenon.
Always blows my mind that Lucy was instrumental in getting Star Trek off the ground and keeping it going for the time it did. I imagine her following the weekly episodes while munching on a big bowl of popcorn like so many of the rest of us were.
The actor playing Mitchell was the star of Roddenberry's previous TV show ( _The Lieutenant_ ). So he was a good guy over there. That show got canceled over a controversial subject, and some believe that it was the start of the bad blood between Roddenberry and the NBC executives who would remember that he didn't "play ball" with them, and that led to the early demise of _Star Trek,_ But more about that, later on. Yes, the "R" would be retconned to "T." The "T" middle initial pops up a lot in Roddenberry productions. Kinda like the "J" in a lot of cartoon character names (Bullwinkle J. Moose, Homer J. Simpson, Frederick J. Flintstone, etc.). In my headcanon, Mitchell knew it was T, but he put the R there so that Kirk would ask him where that came from. This would allow Mitchell to reply, "I'm changing your middle name to Ratfink-a god's prerogative." But Kirk never asked... It is difficult to see what Mitchell's motivation was in trying to kill Kirk. Firstly, they've been friends for a long time. Secondly, he completely understood that Kirk was just protecting his ship and crew. Thirdly, it would have just been easier to tell Kirk to go in peace with the ship, and leave him with Elizabeth to create their own little Garden of Eden. Everybody's happy. But I think there is a hint in the part of the dialogue where Elizabeth reveals that in each ESPer a different area of the brain was burned out. In Mitchell, it was probably the part that governs morality. He simply had no sense of right and wrong, anymore.
Convincingly enough that both the US and the USSR used 'psychics' to do remote viewing espionage. The Stargate Project of the CIA even has a Wikipedia page ... so it must be true! :)
It keeps coming back. Quite the revival in the eighties which lingered well into the nineties as well. Several of the various King things around it were filmed then, Cronenberg did Scanners, Carpenters Starman got a TV series, ET, Akira, Tetsou. Probably much why Stranger Things was set in the eighties.
Since this is really the first appearance of Kirk, I think we’re supposed to have the idea that Gary was his old friend, but has also been a part of this crew for a while. Months at least, depending on the different stories and timelines over the years. The show does sometimes, especially in season 1, make Gary’s position a sort of guest star character of the week, but I think he was supposed have been there for some time. Also note that his rank is Lt. Commander, the same rank as Spock,
Gary Lockwood is in "2001 a Space Odyssey" He made a name for himself - name recognition - to folks like me (50's and older) - but today his name is not known. He was in 2001, and many tv shows of the 70's, IMO he was one of the best actors of all time - top 20 - but never got the name recognition he deserved (He was a better actor than Shantner (who over acts, and it works for him (like Charlton Heston)) - there i said it, l await the attack ;-/. ya Lockwood was great in all he showed up in. Also note Sally Kellerman!!!!!! (she had a great voice and did "Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing TV ads in the 90's) - in the movie "Mash" and also a "big name" in the 60-70's as Liz Daner.
Spock: "Getting something from the recorder now... Libera Te Tutemet Ex Inferis." I laughed when you mentioned Event Horizon, I just re-watched that earlier today.
Really enjoyed your take on this episode. This was the second pilot that NBC approved to give Star Trek a go as a TV series. Yet it was not the first one shown hence confusion when watching. Different uniforms, different cast in some positions like Dr Piper etc. Also the budget was much higher for the pilot. The effects were movie quality. And yes as you noticed they didn’t have Kirks middle name down pat yet. This is one of my favorite episodes. The acting and guest stars were first rate. And the story was totally a great Trek philosophy type show. Was fun watching it through your eyes. lol good not Silver ones too!
Gary Lockwood (Mitchell) is in the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth your time. To this day the special effects are very impressive, and the movie was released in 1968.
One of my favorites. Produced in July 1965 and airing September 1966. Did you notice there were no red uniforms? Spock and Scotty were wearing command gold? Sulu was wearing blue? Doctor McCoy was not in this episode. The uniforms are leftover from the original pilot, The Cage. Charlie X was also wearing one of the uniform tunics from that first pilot. Good catch on the tombstone and Kirk's middle initial. See below about T. vs R. Sally Kellerman played Dr. Elizabeth Dehner and went on to play an Army Major Chief Nurse a few years later in the movie MASH. Gary Mitchel was played by Gary Lockwood. He had previously starred in Gene Roddenberry's first TV series called The Lieutenant, about a Marine Lieutenant named William Tiberius Rice (James T. or R?) at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego ( I spent a month there for a radio school). Several Star Trek actors also appeared in The Lieutenant. It ran from 1963 to 1964. That series is on YT.
The continuity of the Original Series is a little rough, but TV back then wasn't that concerned with it. Great that you are watching them in order. I first started watching when i was a kid in 1972 when reruns first started. And Spock liked to shout in this episode.
I’m glad to see someone from a younger generation watch Star Trek who has never seen it before. I’ve enjoyed watching your reactions to the first 3 episodes in the series. As someone who started watching reruns of Star Trek in the mid 1970s in elementary school after I got off the school bus, the best episodes you haven’t seen are yet to come.
According to D.C. Fontana in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, when the mistake over the middle initial 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." This also would adhere to the dates Mitchell gave for Kirk's birth/death dates. It was after this 2nd pilot, the role of the doctor was changed to DeForrest Kelly. You may notice Sulu was in blue. He was initially in the Science section (He was into Botany). But was quickly moved to Helm.
When story editor DC Fontana pointed out the discrepancy of Kirk's middle initial on the headstone to series creator Gene Roddenberry Roddenberry chalked it up to Mitchell simply getting Kirk's middle name wrong Mitchell still having a flawed human memory.
One of the novels chalks it up to the "R" being a nickname for Kirk, just between Kirk and Mitchell because of a shared interest. It stood for "racketball".
@@vincentsaia6545 Surely you realize that despite the fact we "owe" him, The Great Bird was VERY often a bullshitter, do you not? And that was BEFORE the drugs.
@@dailyqwikbytes First of all, don't call me Shirley (haha). Secondly, his NUMEROUS flaws aside, he being the creator he gets first dibbs on any explanation and I think his was logical.
@@vincentsaia6545 Except for the fact that Gary was Kirk's best friend for 15 years. Hell, I remember my best friend's full name from K-6th which was a while back. I think the Bird just said the first thing that came to mind without giving it much though. Possibly before he realized just how much fans would take everything he said to heart. Star Trek (TOS) was really the first time that had ever happened to any real extent.
And kudos on your Hell Fire club shirt. Reminds of an episode from the 1960s series the avengers with the beautiful Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel as they infiltrated the Hell Fire Club.
This episode was the pilot episode that sold the series even though it was aired third out of order. Extra sensory perception was a thing in science fiction long before Star Trek.
Also note the lack of McCoy and Uhura for this episode. They simply hadn't been cast yet. You can also kinda tell when each episode was made based on the costumes they wore. Note the turtlenecks in early episodes. The Mantrap didnt have them!
Thank you for this...I grew up on the original series...I was 7 in 1966 when it first aired...never missed an episode...made a great impact upon me...Liked and subscribed. 😌
To your question about Gary living forever - I have always had a theory that he was dying before our eyes but was killed before he would die naturally. Gary Mitchell's hair undergoes a subtle transformation after he becomes an esper. Grey hair begins to appear at his temples and spreads as the show progresses in only two days. I believe this change signifies his body's inability to handle the immense energy coursing through it, leading to rapid aging and ultimately his death. Although I've never seen anyone else mention this theory, I think it's a valid hypothesis that he wouldn't live very long. The actor who played Gary Mitchell is Gary Lockwood. He also was in 2001 a Space Odyssey. What an amazing career - an actor who got to be in two of the most famous science fiction franchises in history.
@FantazioStrangiato-sg1jc, I've seen a number of people speculate on Mitchell's aging, which had to have been a conscious production choice. You didn't say so above, but are you aware of any production notes or recollections from anyone involved which actually validated the proposition?
Really enjoying your channel so far Miranda! Nothing beats the REAL TREK. @24:07 Dam Captain Kirk with the roll! Ha, I kinda forgot some of this episode, haven't seen it in a while, Kirk's training kicked in with that maneuver. It's cool no stuntman for it either, legit Shatner himself. @10:25 is hilarious how you get creeped out by the eyes.😂😂 It's the original Riddick lol. And interesting story you looked up on how they did it, didn't know that myself! @10:50 for some reason this quick second makes me think that Jeremy Renner could play this role. Welp, SO looking forward to the next episode Miranda!👍
The reason that later episodes changed their uniforms to the now familiar red/yellow/blue is because NBC wanted to use the show to sell color TV sets. That probably would have worked on me back in the day. 😀
@@mem1701movies Sorry, I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Were the actual costumes worn by the actors green and just showed as gold in the recording?
@@Welles009 That was actually the case. The same thing happened in TNG when the gold paint used on Data always showed up white in the recording. Data only started looking gold in the movies.
@@Welles009 Well the gold is in person kind of a lime tinted mustard color. I'm sure there's a website on it a well phrased search can provide more info.
@@Welles009the colors of the uniforms were red GREEN blue like the 3 colors used in color TVs. RGB. Theiss the designer said so. Kirk’s wrap and dress uniforms were green. Velour showed up on film like gold yellow orange mustard.
Kirk had to do a lot of things that might have seemed (and were) risky, but the ship's mission is to "seek out new life and new civilizations". Yeah, he sort of winged it in this case, but I think Star Fleet is part military and part exploration, so it definitely makes sense to see if this area was a threat for any reason. It's very unfortunate that crew members lost their lives, though, you're right. Enjoyed your reaction, will keep following! Thanks,
To truly experience it the way most boomers did in the 70s is to watch it on a CRT television broadcast over a UHF station every weekday afternoon right after school while mom's cooking diner and you're ignoring your homework. That was my daily routine after school everyday for the entire 12 years. From 69 to 81. Every weekday for 12 years straight. The local station world change the time occasionally but they never took it off the air once it was in syndication.
An NBC promo ( available on YT ) for Trek ( maybe this episode ) describes Kirk as a leader without fear ( sure ) and Spock as a stranger without a heart ( weird ).
I first saw this ep on first reruns when I was 6 or 7 years old. It was so scary! I did notice all the uniform inconsistencies, but read the history over time.
I recall that psychic powers, telepathy, telekinesis, etc. seemed to be an abundant theme in '70s sci-fi, at least until Star Wars came along and swapped brain powers for space magic and a more fantasy-based space opera. Seeing Charlie X, Gary Mitchell, and other Star Trek characters makes me nostalgic for pre-Star Wars narratives.
In the same year that the Gary Mitchell character was played by actor Gary Lockwood, he was also shooting another SF story, a SF movie by a rising young director called Stanley Kubrick and the movie was 2001: A Space Oddyssey. So in the same year Gary Lockwood was in two SF classics.
Three rules will help you through your Star Trek TOS journey: 1 Spock is infallible 2 Anyone in a red uniform will not be there at the end. 3 The episode cannot end until Kirk has torn his shirt. Remember these, and Boldly Go.
FUN FACT: For this episode, both Sally Kellerman & Gary Lockwood were fitted with special contact lenses with tiny pinprick holes in them to see through. You can tell that Gary Lockwood had some trouble seeing through the lenses tiny holes, because he slightly tilted his head back, so he could see through the tiny holes better. Great reaction today! Can't wait for your future reactions! ❤
The original Enterprise filming model was about 10 feet long and originally had unlit dark red caps on the nacelles (the two side cyliders.) Later on, they fitted the model with spinning lights under the red domes in the front of the nacelles to give the impression of spinning engine components.
02:04: A reference to one of my favorite obscure sci-fi horror films? That would have earned you my Sub if tackling "Lifeforce" hadn't already! 09:03: Yes, they were contacts. Very primitive, very uncomfortable contacts. There was really only a small pinhole for Gary Lockwood (Mitchell) to see through, so he had to raise his head to peer through those to see anything. It worked, though, having him literally look down his nose at everyone, giving him an imperious stare that fit well with. . . well, what's about to happen. 28:20: Oh, cool! You did a deeper dive on it than I did. Interesting stuff, thanks! 19:04: It's obviously a case of Early Installment Weirdness -- Spock and Vulcan culture hadn't really been hammered out yet -- but it makes a fun kind of sense looking back on the series as a whole. Vulcans are pacifist almost to a fault, several times in later episodes Spock will be very hesitant about resorting to violent solutions, if they are the most logical in the moment. So him being fully on board with "kill Gary Mitchell, no matter what it takes," and ordering up a phaser rifle to deal with him, paints a picture of Spock being *REALLY FRELLING CONCERNED* about what Mitchell might be capable of. 30:59: Good catch. No, it was just a production gaffe, "James T Kirk" hadn't been established yet. I think an EU novel or something smoothed it over by having it be an inside joke between Mitchell and Kirk, which kinda makes things more tragic. . . Mitchell was still in there, in some way.
Something people miss, using this episode as the pilot episode and ignoring release date... With the helmsman position and Chief Engineer position vacant at the end of this episode, Sulu (an expert in Mathematics) and Scotty (Transporter Chief) both get their promotions to the vacant positions.
I love the matte paintings in Star Trek TOS, as well as other old shows and movies! These paintings took so much expertise and creativity to make and was all I needed to spark my imagination. It's a shame they're not used anymore. There was a a CBS Sunday Morning segment on a company that supplied some of the most famous matte paintings in movie history, and I think they were having them preserved or were donating them to a museum that would preserve them, I can't quite remember. Anyway, check it out if anyone's interested. In any case, very cool that Miranda noticed and enjoyed the matte painting of the Delta-Vega Station. Also, I had no idea how the "god-like" eyes were created, thanks Miranda for doing that bit of research! And here I thought Gary was simply tilting his head back in a show of power.
Esper is 1960's slang for ESP or Extra Sensory Perception. Where No Man Has Gone Before was the second Star Trek pilot. The first pilot was the Cage--and that was re-edited into a two-part episode called The Menagerie. After posting this reaction, you posted Forbidden Planet. Note the information on those two Star Trek pilots. I was fortunate enough to see this episode during the first year, but I think I saw a summer rerun. There were some other thoughtful television shows: Have Gun Will Travel and the Twilight Zone are two that were earlier productions.
Got nothing to say but a damn good reaction, and excited to see the rest! I grew up with these on DVD so it's so fun to see people enjoy it for the first time now
This was actually the second pilot episode (Shot after the 1st Cage pilot failed reusing the same sets and costumes.) and the first story starring William Shatner. Gary Lockwood (Gary Mitchell) also co-starred with Keir Dullea in "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). Sally Kellerman (Dr. Dehner) costarred in the movie "M.A.S.H." in 1970.
Subtle make up touch you might of missed is Gary Mitchel’s hair starts going grey at the temples the more his power grows. Also Dr Danaer (sorry if spelling is wrong ) would eventually become as corrupt as Gary it’s just her powers were just a little bit later in developing. And as others had pointed out this was actually a second pilot with some major recasting and other changes as the first Pilot while liked by NBC, was considered too cerebral for Television audiences at that time. Still Roddenberry managed to put some high concepts into the show while making the changes the network wanted .
Gary Lockwood played one gene Rodenberry other series The lieutenant, and played with Elvis Presley on a couple of movies.Paul Fox the Doc was the drunk sheriff on the rifleman and a lot other westerns.✌️❤️
So psyched to watch you go through this series. I personally never got into the next generation for whatever reason but love TOS even though a couple of episodes are kind of goofey or maybe it’s better to say, less serious. They were contacts and from what I’ve read, were extremely uncomfortable. There are certain episodes that I’m so ready and excited for you to get to.
Yes, this was a fantastic episode. This was the 2nd pilot for this series, with the first one never having been aired. The 1st pilot, The Cage, was considered to be too cerebral for the general TV audience and it was also very high in the sexual imagery. To "correct" this problem, they brought in Dr. Dehner, who was the opposite of Susan Oliver's character. This episode had a strong Icarus theme, where the Enterprise flies into an unknown barrier and gets swatted back with devastating consequences. Gary Mitchell was a big Ladies' Man, which would explain why Dr. Dehner became compromised, took to Gary's side. And yes, he most certainly had a complete lack of humility. Yes, I loved that background of the refinery on Delta Vega. This episode encapsulated the theme of the entire show, how risky and dangerous it can be to explore the great unknown. Esper is ESP powers. With Gary Mitchell, his mental abilities developed to absolutely extraordinary levels. This episode also offered a look at a historical reality: when men gain power, they can spiral out of control very quickly. This was why many societies didn't allow men to gain power positions and not manage the important resources. This was left to women. Men were kept out of it. In real life, the countries with female heads of state did a better job in handling the covid pandemic crisis than the male led ones. I loved your take on this episode, loved your assessment of Spock's approach to the crisis they were facing. And many things you said made me burst out laughing.
Congratulations Miranda on your channel. I hope your subscriptions grow as more people find you. I like your analysis of the episode. I’m Looking forward to seeing more reactions of Star Trek TOS.
23:38 "Above all else, a god needs compassion!" The best line ever written for television.
One of my favorite episodes.
First appearance by William Shatner as Captain Kirk.
And what a wonderful first appearance it is, too. :)
Yes. The speed at which he fully inhabits this character from the word jump, is a testament to his abilities as an actor. The other characters changed a bit, but his interpretation was spot on and didn't require any retooling.
So far, I'm loving him as Captain Kirk.
The actor who played Mitchell is also known for his role in Stanley Kubrick's scifi masterpiece 2001 A Space Odyssey. If you haven't seen it, you should consider it a must watch.
also check out one of his first films! Magic Sword. 1962. Available on RUclips.
The late Sally Kellerman was the original Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan.
* in the 1970 film "MASH." (She might have no idea who that is).
I loved her in this role. Too bad she wasn't a regular.
@steelers6titles, She also memorably appeared in 2 episodes of the original Outer Limits.
"This isn't a starship! It's an insane asylum! And it's all your fault!"
This was the second pilot for this series. That's why the uniforms, the sets, the cast, and Spock's eyebrows all look quite different. The show was still trying to find its footing.
And Nimoy not behaving as classic Spock quite yet.
Yep...interesting from a historical/legacy perspective on the series, but definitely not one of the better episodes.
Nice way, explaining that. 👍
I remember seeing this episode when I was 8 and being confused as to why the uniforms and parts of the Enterprise set looked different from all the other episodes in the Star Trek series.
@@michaeldavid6284 I disagree, I think this is a very good episode.
Great reactions, thoughts and comments, Miranda.
And I love your appreciation for the special effects.
Thank you so much! I love practical effects and props so much.
I really enjoyed your reaction.
The famous saying is from Lord Acton in a letter in 1887: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
I agree with another commenter whose favourite moment in this episode is when Kirk says, “Above all else, a god needs compassion.”
As a filmmaker, you will appreciate the music in the original series. Some of Hollywood’s best composers were hired for various episodes. I have never heard a better collection of musical scores for a television series: maybe equal, but never better.
OMG .... Force Lightning! .... Lucas stole everything!
Yes. And he stole the idea that using the force too much ages you as we see Gary age or at least his hair ages.
No! No! No! 🙈🙉🙊
You betcha !
I appreciate that you are viewing a copy with original effects shots rather than the remastered version. Both are fine, but growing up with the old-school visuals, planetscapes, and space battles was never a hinderance to the stories.
We love the papier-mache rocks so much!
The remastered effects were mostly horrible in 2006. They never bothered to make it realistic or match the CGI shuttle with the live action prop. The CGI DEFIANT in ENTERPRISE while not perfect, looked better.
Agreed. I wonder if someday, AI technology will be able to separate out the original elements better for clean up, and some algorithm used to essentially rebuild the effect directly from the original negative. (I know the separate 35mm elements are long gone, i just mean from what remains.)
@trekkiejunk YES! Been meaning to find a way to word what you just said. 👍
@@kunserndsittizen2655?? They didn’t want to make the CGI look really good cause it would be too jarring. That’s why it looks the way it does. Which I think looks fine the way it is.
Another great reaction! I enjoyed that thoroughly!
This was Star Trek's second pilot episode, which accounts for some of the design inconsistencies (including the different uniforms, Spock's makeup being a bit different, Dr. Piper being there instead of Dr. McCoy, no Uhura, Kirk's middle initial being R, etc. The studios were not completely sold on the original pilot, saying that it was too cerebral and without enough action. Lucille Ball saw the potential and so a second pilot was ordered. Jeffrey Hunter, who had played Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot, did not want to come back for the second and so William Shatner was cast as Captain James T. Kirk (while the R was an early production fluke, explained away by Mitchell - even with all his powers - still having a fallible human memory). Leonard Nimoy as Spock and the Enterprise herself are the only two characters who survived the transition from one pilot to the next. The studios liked Where No Man Has Gone Before and so picked up the show for a full season.
On a sadder note, it also ended up being a really good thing for Star Trek as a whole that we got a full series with Kirk instead of Pike, because Jeffrey Hunter died tragically a couple of months after the final episode of the show wrapped. He suffered an unexpected brain bleed while walking down the stairs, fell down and fractured his skull on the bannister. He died the next morning. So if the show had moved forward with Hunter as Pike instead as Shatner as Kirk, it never would have been able to move beyond that first show and become the cultural zeitgeist it is today.
An interesting note, but the studios tried EXTREMELY hard to get rid of Mr. Spock, arguing that an alien with pointed ears couldn't work because nobody would be able to identify with him. In promotional material for the show they even went so far as to airbrush out his alien ears and eyebrows. They needn't have worried, as Spock very quickly became THE most popular character of the show, and now, 60 years after the filming of the original pilot and over 900 episodes later, Spock is still one of the top 5 most popular Star Trek characters, which many people naming him as their #1 favorite. After the first 3 aired episodes Nimoy got a dozen or so fan letters. After the fourth episode they started coming in by the thousands and never once let up.
I'd also say I don't think Kirk is being particularly reckless in going into the barrier even with evidence that something bad happened to the earlier ship. I'd say that he has to be reckless/take risks because that's literally his job. The mission statement of the Enterprise is to "boldly go where no man has gone before" and that means even going places that are dangerous, and as he even points out in the episode other people will be coming this way and need to know what's out there. They're taking a big, scary, dangerous risk because risk is their business. If they did not, someone else would have to, and Kirk is not one to put other people in harm's way if he can do it himself. Which is the same reason that he wouldn't let Piper revive Spock and went after Mitchell alone.
I can't wait for more reactions!
The term "Esper", someone who has psychic abilities, was used in Sci Fi as early as the 40s and 50s.
Same with "Corpuscles" used in The Man Trap, when they just mean "red blood cells" 😁🖖
It comes from Extra Sensory Perception, aka ESP.
@@Paul_Waller Corpuscles isn't a science fiction word, it's part of anatomy.
I can confirm as I have a copy of James Blish's novel, "ESPer" published in 1952 in my collection.
Youre absolutely correct. The decision to simply go half-cocked into the barrier, without letting a greater examination of the Valiant's records take place first, is indicative of a rookie, not a seasoned captain. Pike wouldn't have done the same thing.
Note: As this was actually the second pilot, Kirk's middle name definitely hadn't been set. That came later on once the show was formally in production.
You're very perceptive and I hope you gain many more subs!!!
Ah, okay. I was wondering if there was just something about his name I didn't understand. I appreciate you joining the channel, and I too hope to gain many more subs!
Yeah, I am just crazy about the matte paintings used on this show (and in future Star Trek shows). The feeling they provide is something special.
I agree. It's always fun to see them.
I've loved star trek basically all my life thank for the facts you've provided. 😮😅😊
This was the second pilot for the series hence the different uniforms, Spock looking different etc, the first pilot "The Cage" had a different Captain and First Officer, footage of that first pilot was used in the two-parter "The Menagerie" which is upcoming for you. As for Kirk's middle name, Gene (Roddenberry) wanted a Roman name, in this case it was 'Romulus' but shortly after was changed to 'Tiberius', as in James T. Kirk, the name Romulus was used later in the series as the home planet of another species of aliens which you will encounter later in the series called 'Romulans'.
Thank you !
@@srb9 Thank you, it's my pleasure, I'm glad to help.
Being inconveniently right is half of Spock's personality 🤣
...and I love it =)
I appreciate that you're looking at this in its original form, but something you cannot replicate is the period itself, the general mindset of the era in which this first aired. This show was so incredibly unlike anything else at the time. Today science fiction is commonplace, but in the 1960s it was largely regarded as 'kid's stuff'. The only other significant sci-fi on television was LOST IN SPACE, which was just goofy, and Doctor Who, which was difficult to see here in the US..
STAR TREK helped make science fiction far more 'respectable' and mainstream. The show was basically a quantum shift here in the United States.
But when the show first aired, that hadn't happened yet. That means you cannot, sadly, look at STAR TREK in quite the same way WE did when it first aired. That's no fault of yours; it's just the curse of living 60-ish years after the fact.
I wish I could convey it better. Nonetheless, I still am delighted to see the positive reaction of someone seeing it for the first time.
"How are you on ESP?"
"I knew you were going to ask me that."
LOL
Miranda: That matte painting is beautifiul!
Me: Dont fall in love .... dont fall in love......dont fa-
Niranda: I miss the days of matte paintings.
ME : .................. damn. Im already subbed and she's gotta say one of the msot beautiful things Ive ever heard a woman say. I'm doomed.
And yeah, I kinda miss those days, too, Miranda.
That's right, you're doomed. DOOOOOMED!!!
😌💐💔@@MirandaLikestoWatch
Cool to see how an actress reacts to Trek!
The second pilot, and one of the original series' best episodes. William Shatner debuts as James Kirk (episode has his middle initial as "R"; his middle name is later revealed to be "Tiberius"). Leonard Nimoy returns as Spock, from the first pilot. Spock and the Enterprise itself are the only two characters to be in the series throughout its run, from the first pilot on.
Pretty sure we only get the middle initial (T.) throughout the rest of the original series. "Tiberius" is first mentioned in the animated series, I believe when the computer is reading back Kirk's service record.
@@JJ_W You may be correct.
@@JJ_W You are right, but I wasn't wrong; I just said the middle name was "later revealed". "Tiberius" is first mentioned in the animated episode "Bem". I looked it up.
@@steelers6titles Absolutely. No shade intended.
@@JJ_W None taken. All good, always.
I'm enjoying your breakdown of storytelling/writing, F/X and filmmaking techniques, Miranda. Keep up the good work.
A fun fact: this pilot went into production so late, Gene Roddenberry hired semi-retired Ernest Haller as Director of Photography. Haller was the Academy Award winning DP for the classic Gone With the Wind.
This was Haller's last credit after a career that started in 1918! He was 69 when he worked on this episode. He passed aged 74.
He later filled in, uncredited, for regular cinematographer Al Francis for one day during filming of the third season episode "Requiem for Methuselah".
@@willgray7272 That's some pretty obscure trivia. Thanks!
Very nice reaction! Well done.
The term “esper” had been used in science fiction writing (not film or TV) since the 1940s, and existing SF readers would have recognized it in this episode. But nobody else would, and I think this might have been one of the last occasions when it was used.
It was definitely used frequently in Judge Dredd. Pretty sure I seen it in various other later examples as well. Maybe mostly other comics though.
Whenever the original series is discussed, people speak of its optimism. Let me explain.
In 1945, atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You don’t want to read about that unless you are exceptionally thick-skinned. It was hell.
In 1961, President Kennedy advised citizens of the USA to build fallout shelters in their backyards and community buildings. Many people did build them, until they realized that they were just condemning themselves to a slow, nightmarish death. Many historians were convinced that humanity would be exterminated in a nuclear war before the year 2000.
Against this backdrop, thousands of science-fiction stories were written about nuclear holocausts and horrific post-apocalyptic existence.
Then, in 1966, Star Trek appeared. It said, “Wait. It doesn’t need to be that way. We can all use our brains and our hearts, not to make atomic bombs, but to find ways to make peace, and to make the world a better place for everybody.” This was a very welcome message in the 1960s. And it is still welcome today. This message of hope is one of the many reasons (and one of the MAIN reasons) why trekkies love Star Trek (the original series).
One of the best posts I have ever randomly stumbled upon that explains why it was that so many of us growing up then loved this show so much. So many days in the school playground enacting Star Trek stories with my friends whilst there was a cloud of tension over everything that even we kids detected.
@@dallassukerkin6878
Thank you for your kind words. Thank you also for reminding me of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In October of 1962, when I was in elementary school, we schoolchildren ran outside to play during recess and lunch hour. The teachers would stand outside and watch over us. However, for almost two weeks, the teachers did not come out to monitor us. They were indoors, listening to the radio. We knew why. The world was teetering on the edge of a precipice. During the Crisis, there were at least three incidents that came within a razor’s edge of starting nuclear attacks. We did not know the details at the time, but the hollow faces of the politicians on television, and the grim expressions on all adult faces told us all that we needed to know: nuclear war was staring us in the eyeballs.
The Crisis passed, but the Cold War lingered on. As you say, there was a cloud of tension over everything.
Star Trek, with its promise of a happy future, was a gigantic breath of fresh air. It portrayed a world in which humanity had conquered its destructive habits, a world in which children could play in peace.
Live long and prosper.
This is why Roddenberry really considered Spock the main star instead of Kirk. Spock was Roddenberry's personification of the Enlightenment.
@@Justin_Beaver564
Often in the original series, Spock makes important statements:
SPOCK: I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose. ["The Squire of Gothos"]
I enjoy learning Cold War era history. Almost as much as I enjoy learning Soviet history.
Easily one of my top ten episodes.
The final two episodes of "Star Trek Continues" revisits the effects of the great barrier on humans and the Espers it creates. The 11 episodes of "Continues" serves as a bridge between the end of the original series and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It is filmed using re-creations of the original sets, costumes and uses new as well as original music from the series. The stories are well written but it takes a couple of episodes to adjust to new actors playing the crew of the Enterprise. A connection to the original show is Chris Doohan, James Doohan's son convincingly playing Scotty and the original full size Galileo shuttlecraft makes an appearance in an spisode.
Spock's phaser rifle comes in handy at the end. Only time it was used in the series.
Ah that's a shame, it was a really cool prop!
As someone who saw this in its original run as a little kid, up until then we hadn't seen hardly ANY "serious" science fiction ships or stories.
They were usually just random astronauts travelling around the universe & it could have been from any time, whether the year 2250 or 5000 or whatever.
Star Trek TOS was showing us concepts & starships that had NEVER been explored before.
It was amazing to see all this FIRST hand.
In the 2nd season episode 'By Any Other Name'', a scene ends with Kirk & a pretty alien woman being alone.
(GEE! Wonder what they're gonna do?)
When next we see the two of them, she's fixing her makeup in a mirr& Kirk is pulling on his boots.
It was all so incredibly subtle, yet it was so "loud" that you just went, "Oh, damn! You go, Kirk!" 💪💪💪🤣🤣🤣
Nowadays plots with people doing the shag-nasty are a dime a dozen & you don't get the impact of what the writer is portraying.
Star Trek Uniform Colors:
Yellow - Command - It usually means that person is leader and is working their way up the ranks. Mostly by attending a academy or Starfleet accredited college.
Red - Operations - This indicates that the person has a skill set that is primarily geared toward ship function. This would be Engineering, Security, & Communications.
Blue - Science - This indicates that the person has a skill set beyond ships functions. And usually means the person is college educated and probably has their doctorate. So they're probably "Dr. John Doe." Spock got his doctorate from the Vulcan Science Academy. McCoy got his from "Ole Miss."
"Nobody but us chickens."
The actor who played Gary Mitchell is Gary Lockwood and the actress who played Dr.Elizabeth Deyner is Sally Kellerman.
This episode, while being the third to air , was actually the second pilot commissioned by NBC and was responsible for the show being picked up. Not all the characters were flushed out, including Kirk's middle initial. One of the explanations I'd read for the mistake on the headstone was that Mitchell had made an error, proving he wasn't a perfect "GOD". But that's just one of those things. Like Chekhov being remembered by Khan in ST2 (spoiler alert), even though Walter Koenig didn't appear on screen until season 2. Just the same, a very good episode in it's own right. When Trek was good, it was real good.
The original Enterprise is an iconic ship and can be seen at The Smithsonian.
The restoration of the eleven foot model can be found on RUclips.
Excellent episode and great reaction!👍👍
I'm 63 and remember this episode when I was younger even to this day loved it, keep up the good pick , listen to the fans and do well😂😊😅❤❤❤❤.
I saw TOS when (or caught the re-runs soon after) it was originally broadcasted, and I'm totally thrilled to see that people in their 20's are digging it just like we did when it first came out. It's a very thought-provoking series!
Star Trek was pretty cerebral for its day- For a bit of context, Lost In Space was being made at around the same time.
As I wrote before, note how many omnipotent beings there are in the original series because that becomes a major plot point in the pilot episode of The Next Generation. There are Godlike guardians of existence and they fear humans. This episode demonstrates why.
I personally also like the remastered versions effects. But it was cool that Paramount gives the option to watch which version people want on the blu rays.
Why? They looked awful in 2006. Cartoony like a video game. It was inexcusable because a year earlier they did the DEFIANT on ENTERPRISE and the cgi looked pretty good.
Gary Lockwood was in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and portrayed Ma Barker's trigger-happy son Fred in the TV movie about Alvin Karpis.
Gary Lockwood also played the title role in Roddenberry's first TV series "The Lieutenant". And Lockwood is still alive at 87. Episodes of "The Lieutenant" are occasionally posted to RUclips. Worth a watch IMHO. The episode titled "To Set it Right" was Nichelle Nichols first appearance on TV.
Command and compasion are what makes Captain Kirk. William Shatner nails it.
So far I really like Shatner as Captain Kirk.
Thank you for the great reactions!
Where No Man Has Gone Before, as some as already pointed out, was the *2nd* pilot. The first pilot, The Cage, which I don't think you've seen yet, wasn't aired because network executives deemed it, "too cerebral." If you haven't seen the unaired pilot yet, I'd recommend waiting until you finish the series - - or at least until after you see S01E12.
The execs wanted something with more action/adventure. But, they also wanted something with a monster-of-the-week. So, they shuffled the first episodes around.
The first pilot, the cage, did not air for a very long time, but the second pilot episode, Where No Man Has Gone Before, was the second chance the franchise needed to get a foot hold. It was still a battle for the franchise to continue from season to season, but with a little help from Desilu studios and Lucille Ball the "wagon train to the stars" became a cultural phenomenon.
Always blows my mind that Lucy was instrumental in getting Star Trek off the ground and keeping it going for the time it did. I imagine her following the weekly episodes while munching on a big bowl of popcorn like so many of the rest of us were.
The actor playing Mitchell was the star of Roddenberry's previous TV show ( _The Lieutenant_ ). So he was a good guy over there. That show got canceled over a controversial subject, and some believe that it was the start of the bad blood between Roddenberry and the NBC executives who would remember that he didn't "play ball" with them, and that led to the early demise of _Star Trek,_ But more about that, later on.
Yes, the "R" would be retconned to "T." The "T" middle initial pops up a lot in Roddenberry productions. Kinda like the "J" in a lot of cartoon character names (Bullwinkle J. Moose, Homer J. Simpson, Frederick J. Flintstone, etc.). In my headcanon, Mitchell knew it was T, but he put the R there so that Kirk would ask him where that came from. This would allow Mitchell to reply, "I'm changing your middle name to Ratfink-a god's prerogative." But Kirk never asked...
It is difficult to see what Mitchell's motivation was in trying to kill Kirk. Firstly, they've been friends for a long time. Secondly, he completely understood that Kirk was just protecting his ship and crew. Thirdly, it would have just been easier to tell Kirk to go in peace with the ship, and leave him with Elizabeth to create their own little Garden of Eden. Everybody's happy.
But I think there is a hint in the part of the dialogue where Elizabeth reveals that in each ESPer a different area of the brain was burned out. In Mitchell, it was probably the part that governs morality. He simply had no sense of right and wrong, anymore.
The "Nightingale Woman" poem was written by Gene Roddenberry about an airplane.
His airplane
Oh cool, I didn't know that.
@@MirandaLikestoWatch Gene was a pilot in WW2. If you treat your plane correctly it will bring you back safely... Just like the Enterprise.
Word is the poem was written by a friend of Roddenberry's about _his_ airplane and The Great Bird lifted it.
ESP was really big at this time, researchers claimed they had proved its existence. Good reaction, thanks. "Esper" was a SF thing.
True! Everyone was talking about ESP in the 60's and early 70's.
Convincingly enough that both the US and the USSR used 'psychics' to do remote viewing espionage. The Stargate Project of the CIA even has a Wikipedia page ... so it must be true! :)
It keeps coming back. Quite the revival in the eighties which lingered well into the nineties as well. Several of the various King things around it were filmed then, Cronenberg did Scanners, Carpenters Starman got a TV series, ET, Akira, Tetsou.
Probably much why Stranger Things was set in the eighties.
I love Star Trek! Thank you for posting these videos ! I am now subscribed and I am binge watching these first three videos right now
Since this is really the first appearance of Kirk, I think we’re supposed to have the idea that Gary was his old friend, but has also been a part of this crew for a while. Months at least, depending on the different stories and timelines over the years. The show does sometimes, especially in season 1, make Gary’s position a sort of guest star character of the week, but I think he was supposed have been there for some time. Also note that his rank is Lt. Commander, the same rank as Spock,
Gary Lockwood is in "2001 a Space Odyssey"
He made a name for himself - name recognition - to folks like me (50's and older) - but today his name is not known. He was in 2001, and many tv shows of the 70's, IMO he was one of the best actors of all time - top 20 - but never got the name recognition he deserved (He was a better actor than Shantner (who over acts, and it works for him (like Charlton Heston)) - there i said it, l await the attack ;-/.
ya Lockwood was great in all he showed up in.
Also note Sally Kellerman!!!!!! (she had a great voice and did "Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing TV ads in the 90's) - in the movie "Mash" and also a "big name" in the 60-70's as Liz Daner.
23:38 "Above all else, a god needs Ex Lax!" The best line ever written for television.
Spock: "Getting something from the recorder now... Libera Te Tutemet Ex Inferis." I laughed when you mentioned Event Horizon, I just re-watched that earlier today.
Event horizon is a-HORROR-film. LOL. Saw this film when it first came out to the cinemas and was shocked how it turned out.
Really enjoyed your take on this episode. This was the second pilot that NBC approved to give Star Trek a go as a TV series. Yet it was not the first one shown hence confusion when watching. Different uniforms, different cast in some positions like Dr Piper etc. Also the budget was much higher for the pilot. The effects were movie quality. And yes as you noticed they didn’t have Kirks middle name down pat yet. This is one of my favorite episodes. The acting and guest stars were first rate. And the story was totally a great Trek philosophy type show. Was fun watching it through your eyes. lol good not Silver ones too!
Gary Lockwood (Mitchell) is in the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth your time. To this day the special effects are very impressive, and the movie was released in 1968.
One of my favorites. Produced in July 1965 and airing September 1966. Did you notice there were no red uniforms? Spock and Scotty were wearing command gold? Sulu was wearing blue? Doctor McCoy was not in this episode. The uniforms are leftover from the original pilot, The Cage. Charlie X was also wearing one of the uniform tunics from that first pilot. Good catch on the tombstone and Kirk's middle initial. See below about T. vs R. Sally Kellerman played Dr. Elizabeth Dehner and went on to play an Army Major Chief Nurse a few years later in the movie MASH. Gary Mitchel was played by Gary Lockwood. He had previously starred in Gene Roddenberry's first TV series called The Lieutenant, about a Marine Lieutenant named William Tiberius Rice (James T. or R?) at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego ( I spent a month there for a radio school). Several Star Trek actors also appeared in The Lieutenant. It ran from 1963 to 1964. That series is on YT.
She played an Army nurse in MASH, not a doctor..
@@PhysicalMediaPreventsWea-bx1zm Thanks for the correction. I've edited my post to read she played as an Army Major Chief Nurse.
The continuity of the Original Series is a little rough, but TV back then wasn't that concerned with it. Great that you are watching them in order. I first started watching when i was a kid in 1972 when reruns first started. And Spock liked to shout in this episode.
I’m glad to see someone from a younger generation watch Star Trek who has never seen it before. I’ve enjoyed watching your reactions to the first 3 episodes in the series. As someone who started watching reruns of Star Trek in the mid 1970s in elementary school after I got off the school bus, the best episodes you haven’t seen are yet to come.
According to D.C. Fontana in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, when the mistake over the middle initial 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." This also would adhere to the dates Mitchell gave for Kirk's birth/death dates. It was after this 2nd pilot, the role of the doctor was changed to DeForrest Kelly. You may notice Sulu was in blue. He was initially in the Science section (He was into Botany). But was quickly moved to Helm.
Just one more: James T. Kirk was (will be) the youngest Starship Captain at 32 (I believe), so he had a tendency to take more risks/chances.
When story editor DC Fontana pointed out the discrepancy of Kirk's middle initial on the headstone to series creator Gene Roddenberry Roddenberry chalked it up to Mitchell simply getting Kirk's middle name wrong Mitchell still having a flawed human memory.
One of the novels chalks it up to the "R" being a nickname for Kirk, just between Kirk and Mitchell because of a shared interest. It stood for "racketball".
@@dailyqwikbytes I'll stick with GR's explanation.
@@vincentsaia6545 Surely you realize that despite the fact we "owe" him, The Great Bird was VERY often a bullshitter, do you not? And that was BEFORE the drugs.
@@dailyqwikbytes First of all, don't call me Shirley (haha). Secondly, his NUMEROUS flaws aside, he being the creator he gets first dibbs on any explanation and I think his was logical.
@@vincentsaia6545 Except for the fact that Gary was Kirk's best friend for 15 years. Hell, I remember my best friend's full name from K-6th which was a while back. I think the Bird just said the first thing that came to mind without giving it much though. Possibly before he realized just how much fans would take everything he said to heart. Star Trek (TOS) was really the first time that had ever happened to any real extent.
And kudos on your Hell Fire club shirt. Reminds of an episode from the 1960s series the avengers with the beautiful Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel as they infiltrated the Hell Fire Club.
This episode was the pilot episode that sold the series even though it was aired third out of order.
Extra sensory perception was a thing in science fiction long before Star Trek.
Charlie X is one of my favorite TOS episode. Just the way they zoomed in on his face and that eerie music LOL!! That and the spores one
Also note the lack of McCoy and Uhura for this episode. They simply hadn't been cast yet. You can also kinda tell when each episode was made based on the costumes they wore. Note the turtlenecks in early episodes. The Mantrap didnt have them!
I think only Corbomite Maneuver had that really high collar. After that, it got pretty standard.
Thank you for this...I grew up on the original series...I was 7 in 1966 when it first aired...never missed an episode...made a great impact upon me...Liked and subscribed. 😌
To your question about Gary living forever - I have always had a theory that he was dying before our eyes but was killed before he would die naturally. Gary Mitchell's hair undergoes a subtle transformation after he becomes an esper. Grey hair begins to appear at his temples and spreads as the show progresses in only two days. I believe this change signifies his body's inability to handle the immense energy coursing through it, leading to rapid aging and ultimately his death. Although I've never seen anyone else mention this theory, I think it's a valid hypothesis that he wouldn't live very long. The actor who played Gary Mitchell is Gary Lockwood. He also was in 2001 a Space Odyssey. What an amazing career - an actor who got to be in two of the most famous science fiction franchises in history.
@FantazioStrangiato-sg1jc, I've seen a number of people speculate on Mitchell's aging, which had to have been a conscious production choice.
You didn't say so above, but are you aware of any production notes or recollections from anyone involved which actually validated the proposition?
Really enjoying your channel so far Miranda! Nothing beats the REAL TREK.
@24:07 Dam Captain Kirk with the roll! Ha, I kinda forgot some of this episode, haven't seen it in a while, Kirk's training kicked in with that maneuver. It's cool no stuntman for it either, legit Shatner himself.
@10:25 is hilarious how you get creeped out by the eyes.😂😂 It's the original Riddick lol. And interesting story you looked up on how they did it, didn't know that myself!
@10:50 for some reason this quick second makes me think that Jeremy Renner could play this role.
Welp, SO looking forward to the next episode Miranda!👍
The reason that later episodes changed their uniforms to the now familiar red/yellow/blue is because NBC wanted to use the show to sell color TV sets. That probably would have worked on me back in the day. 😀
Actually the colors of the shirts were RED GREEN BLUE. RGB for the color TVs. They filmed GOLD.
@@mem1701movies Sorry, I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Were the actual costumes worn by the actors green and just showed as gold in the recording?
@@Welles009 That was actually the case. The same thing happened in TNG when the gold paint used on Data always showed up white in the recording. Data only started looking gold in the movies.
@@Welles009 Well the gold is in person kind of a lime tinted mustard color. I'm sure there's a website on it a well phrased search can provide more info.
@@Welles009the colors of the uniforms were red GREEN blue like the 3 colors used in color TVs. RGB. Theiss the designer said so. Kirk’s wrap and dress uniforms were green. Velour showed up on film like gold yellow orange mustard.
Kirk had to do a lot of things that might have seemed (and were) risky, but the ship's mission is to "seek out new life and new civilizations". Yeah, he sort of winged it in this case, but I think Star Fleet is part military and part exploration, so it definitely makes sense to see if this area was a threat for any reason. It's very unfortunate that crew members lost their lives, though, you're right.
Enjoyed your reaction, will keep following! Thanks,
James Doohan, as Montgomery Scott, and George Takei, as Hikaru Sulu, debut in the second pilot episode, along with William Shatner.
To truly experience it the way most boomers did in the 70s is to watch it on a CRT television broadcast over a UHF station every weekday afternoon right after school while mom's cooking diner and you're ignoring your homework.
That was my daily routine after school everyday for the entire 12 years. From 69 to 81. Every weekday for 12 years straight. The local station world change the time occasionally but they never took it off the air once it was in syndication.
Yes, I think I saw it in reruns for years and years on local channel 11 at 6 pm in the New York-NewJersey market, right before dinner.
@@paulgrossman2514 I remember it on a Youngstown, Ohio affiliate at about four in the afternoon or thereabouts.
An NBC promo ( available on YT ) for Trek ( maybe this episode ) describes Kirk as a leader without fear ( sure ) and Spock as a stranger without a heart ( weird ).
Yeah, it seems like advertisers for Movies and TV have always had about a 50/50 success rate.
First time seeing a reaction end with fireworks. I hope you continue with doing TOS Star Trek reactions. They are classic and much loved by millions.
I first saw this ep on first reruns when I was 6 or 7 years old. It was so scary! I did notice all the uniform inconsistencies, but read the history over time.
I recall that psychic powers, telepathy, telekinesis, etc. seemed to be an abundant theme in '70s sci-fi, at least until Star Wars came along and swapped brain powers for space magic and a more fantasy-based space opera. Seeing Charlie X, Gary Mitchell, and other Star Trek characters makes me nostalgic for pre-Star Wars narratives.
Awesome review ! You get it!
In the same year that the Gary Mitchell character was played by actor Gary Lockwood, he was also shooting another SF story, a SF movie by a rising young director called Stanley Kubrick and the movie was 2001: A Space Oddyssey. So in the same year Gary Lockwood was in two SF classics.
Three rules will help you through your Star Trek TOS journey:
1 Spock is infallible
2 Anyone in a red uniform will not be there at the end.
3 The episode cannot end until Kirk has torn his shirt.
Remember these, and Boldly Go.
Check, check, and check. Got it!
If you like matte paintings you’ll love Forbidden Planet. A precursor of Star Trek. Very much worth watching.
I can't wait!
FUN FACT: For this episode, both Sally Kellerman & Gary Lockwood were fitted with special contact lenses with tiny pinprick holes in them to see through. You can tell that Gary Lockwood had some trouble seeing through the lenses tiny holes, because he slightly tilted his head back, so he could see through the tiny holes better. Great reaction today! Can't wait for your future reactions! ❤
Great Reaction 👍👍👍 The actor who played Mitchell also plays a astronaut in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The original Enterprise filming model was about 10 feet long and originally had unlit dark red caps on the nacelles (the two side cyliders.) Later on, they fitted the model with spinning lights under the red domes in the front of the nacelles to give the impression of spinning engine components.
Oh, that's really interesting. I'll keep an eye out for the change.
This explains why Spock is Science officer and XO at the same time. This was the second pilot.
02:04: A reference to one of my favorite obscure sci-fi horror films? That would have earned you my Sub if tackling "Lifeforce" hadn't already!
09:03: Yes, they were contacts. Very primitive, very uncomfortable contacts. There was really only a small pinhole for Gary Lockwood (Mitchell) to see through, so he had to raise his head to peer through those to see anything. It worked, though, having him literally look down his nose at everyone, giving him an imperious stare that fit well with. . . well, what's about to happen. 28:20: Oh, cool! You did a deeper dive on it than I did. Interesting stuff, thanks!
19:04: It's obviously a case of Early Installment Weirdness -- Spock and Vulcan culture hadn't really been hammered out yet -- but it makes a fun kind of sense looking back on the series as a whole. Vulcans are pacifist almost to a fault, several times in later episodes Spock will be very hesitant about resorting to violent solutions, if they are the most logical in the moment. So him being fully on board with "kill Gary Mitchell, no matter what it takes," and ordering up a phaser rifle to deal with him, paints a picture of Spock being *REALLY FRELLING CONCERNED* about what Mitchell might be capable of.
30:59: Good catch. No, it was just a production gaffe, "James T Kirk" hadn't been established yet. I think an EU novel or something smoothed it over by having it be an inside joke between Mitchell and Kirk, which kinda makes things more tragic. . . Mitchell was still in there, in some way.
Something people miss, using this episode as the pilot episode and ignoring release date... With the helmsman position and Chief Engineer position vacant at the end of this episode, Sulu (an expert in Mathematics) and Scotty (Transporter Chief) both get their promotions to the vacant positions.
Oh, what an interesting thought!
I love the matte paintings in Star Trek TOS, as well as other old shows and movies! These paintings took so much expertise and creativity to make and was all I needed to spark my imagination. It's a shame they're not used anymore. There was a a CBS Sunday Morning segment on a company that supplied some of the most famous matte paintings in movie history, and I think they were having them preserved or were donating them to a museum that would preserve them, I can't quite remember. Anyway, check it out if anyone's interested. In any case, very cool that Miranda noticed and enjoyed the matte painting of the Delta-Vega Station. Also, I had no idea how the "god-like" eyes were created, thanks Miranda for doing that bit of research! And here I thought Gary was simply tilting his head back in a show of power.
They could be, and were, reused, as was the one used here.
Esper is 1960's slang for ESP or Extra Sensory Perception.
Where No Man Has Gone Before was the second Star Trek pilot. The first pilot was the Cage--and that was re-edited into a two-part episode called The Menagerie. After posting this reaction, you posted Forbidden Planet. Note the information on those two Star Trek pilots.
I was fortunate enough to see this episode during the first year, but I think I saw a summer rerun.
There were some other thoughtful television shows: Have Gun Will Travel and the Twilight Zone are two that were earlier productions.
It was an exciting show. There was nothing else like it. At the time the only other sci fi was "Lost in Space" and it was completely different.
Got nothing to say but a damn good reaction, and excited to see the rest! I grew up with these on DVD so it's so fun to see people enjoy it for the first time now
Inside watching Star Trek on the 4th of July. Girl after my own heart.
This was actually the second pilot episode (Shot after the 1st Cage pilot failed reusing the same sets and costumes.) and the first story starring William Shatner. Gary Lockwood (Gary Mitchell) also co-starred with Keir Dullea in "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). Sally Kellerman (Dr. Dehner) costarred in the movie "M.A.S.H." in 1970.
Subtle make up touch you might of missed is Gary Mitchel’s hair starts going grey at the temples the more his power grows.
Also Dr Danaer (sorry if spelling is wrong ) would eventually become as corrupt as Gary it’s just her powers were just a little bit later in developing.
And as others had pointed out this was actually a second pilot with some major recasting and other changes as the first Pilot while liked by NBC, was considered too cerebral for Television audiences at that time. Still Roddenberry managed to put some high concepts into the show while making the changes the network wanted .
Gary Lockwood played one gene Rodenberry other series The lieutenant, and played with Elvis Presley on a couple of movies.Paul Fox the Doc was the drunk sheriff on the rifleman and a lot other westerns.✌️❤️
Yeah, I've watched him a lot on "The Rifleman".
So psyched to watch you go through this series. I personally never got into the next generation for whatever reason but love TOS even though a couple of episodes are kind of goofey or maybe it’s better to say, less serious. They were contacts and from what I’ve read, were extremely uncomfortable. There are certain episodes that I’m so ready and excited for you to get to.
Excellent insights. : )
BTW there is now a full scale Enterprise set museum in upstate NY recreated down to the last detail by a hobbyist.
Yes, this was a fantastic episode. This was the 2nd pilot for this series, with the first one never having been aired. The 1st pilot, The Cage, was considered to be too cerebral for the general TV audience and it was also very high in the sexual imagery. To "correct" this problem, they brought in Dr. Dehner, who was the opposite of Susan Oliver's character.
This episode had a strong Icarus theme, where the Enterprise flies into an unknown barrier and gets swatted back with devastating consequences.
Gary Mitchell was a big Ladies' Man, which would explain why Dr. Dehner became compromised, took to Gary's side. And yes, he most certainly had a complete lack of humility.
Yes, I loved that background of the refinery on Delta Vega.
This episode encapsulated the theme of the entire show, how risky and dangerous it can be to explore the great unknown.
Esper is ESP powers. With Gary Mitchell, his mental abilities developed to absolutely extraordinary levels.
This episode also offered a look at a historical reality: when men gain power, they can spiral out of control very quickly. This was why many societies didn't allow men to gain power positions and not manage the important resources. This was left to women. Men were kept out of it. In real life, the countries with female heads of state did a better job in handling the covid pandemic crisis than the male led ones.
I loved your take on this episode, loved your assessment of Spock's approach to the crisis they were facing. And many things you said made me burst out laughing.
Congratulations Miranda on your channel. I hope your subscriptions grow as more people find you.
I like your analysis of the episode. I’m
Looking forward to seeing more reactions of Star Trek TOS.
Spock's character evolved from this episode. You'll see as you go.
The original barrier fx were sooooo much better than the totally static remastered version!
This was the 2nd pilot with James t. Kirk. The first pilot was with captain Christopher Pike.✌️❤️