WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE...

THIS IS ONE OF THE TEN BEST TREKS

GUEST STARS...
Gary Lockwood, Sally Kellerman, Paul Fix

PLOT SUMMARY...

When the Enterprise passes through a strange uncharted region of space, several crew members develop superhuman E.S.P. powers.

QUICK SCAN...

The second pilot for "Trek", the one that DID sell the series. Episode features strong dramatic conflict between Captain Kirk and Commander Gary Mitchel. This episode introduces Captain Kirk. Fans of "2001" and the movie "MASH" will appreciate the strong guest star performances of Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman. Notice the cool phaser rifle, in its only series appearance.

SYNOPSIS...

The Enterprise enters an uncharted region of space. Strange lights zap several crew members.

Soon, First Officer Gary Mitchell displays superhuman qualities, including E.S.P. powers. Before long, Mitchell is considered a threat to the Enterprise and her crew. Another crew member, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, also develops these extraordinary abilities.

Fearing for the safety of his ship and crew, Captain Kirk deposits the superhuman man and woman on an isolated planet, Delta Vega. When Mitchell attempts to kill Kirk, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner uses her powers to help destroy the power-mad superman, losing her life in the process.

Review...

Director James Goldstone's, "WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE," (teleplay by Samuel A. Peeples), is an exciting, intelligent Sci-Fi tale. Goldstone also directed the classic Trek episode, "What Little Girls Made Of". Director Goldstone's feature film credits include: "They Only Kill Their Masters" and "The Day the World Ended".

Gary Lockwood ("The Lieutenant") is quite good as a man who develops extraordinary powers, and comes to feel himself above mere humans. Lockwood would later gain great fame, as one of the Jupiter bound astronauts in the classic "2001: A Space Odyssey".

Sally Kellerman ("MASH", "Back to School") registers strongly, as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, a character who also develops super powers. Kellerman has a way of playing intelligent, reserved, yet sexy blondes that is all her own.

Interestingly enough, although this is the second pilot of "Star Trek", and the one that sold the show to NBC, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelly) still hadn't made an appearance. The ship's doctor here is Mark Piper, played by Paul Fix, who was a veteran of many Western television shows and movies. After Creator/Producer got the go ahead to go to series with "Star Trek," Fix's Dr. Piper was replaced by DeForest Kelley's Dr. McCoy.

For trivia buffs, this is the only episode inwhich the "phaser rifle" was used. An impressive looking prop, it was retired after use in this pilot/episode.

"WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE" should be highly watchable for most Sci-Fi viewers. Sally "Hot Lips" Kellerman fans will particularly dig this episode.