Episode 4 – TOS 1×03: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”

In the episode originally written as the second series pilot, we join the U.S.S. (that’s United Space Ship) Enterprise as she attempts to cross the Galactic Barrier. Why? Who cares? SCIENCE. Except as it turns out, this miiiiiiiiight not be the best plan ever conceived. A flight recorder found near the barrier tells them that the last ship to attempt the crossing was lost. But hey, what can possibly go wrong, right?

Where No Man Has Gone Before – and if that line sounds familiar, it’s because it’s basically the motto of the entire Star Trek franchise (later updated to “Where No One Has Gone Before”) – features just about the only time in Star Trek continuity that we see mention of human telepathy, and believe me, we can go on about that alone for hours. It also asks the question: when is a morally acceptable juncture at which to leave someone to die on a barren planet light-years from home or help? Is it when they start referring to you as “ants” and start murdering your crew left and right with their creepy godlike superpowers?

…well, yes, as it turns out. Down to the minute.

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Episode 3 – TOS 1×02: “Charlie X”

This week’s episode is Charlie X, in which we learn important lessons on culture shock, the importance of consent, and why being an aggressively entitled manbaby is that much worse when the entitled manbaby in question has, uh, you know, reality-warping evil superpowers.

I don’t care what anybody says, the Jim Kirk Explains Consent scene makes everything else about this episode worthwhile, though maybe Starfleet should look into some kind of standard codewords for situations involving telepathic alien duress and/or body-swapping. I’m just saying, it could come in handy.

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Episode 2: TOS 1×01 – “The Man Trap”

Officially the first-aired episode of TOS, though not the first in continuity (Apparently we’re going by air date. I was outvoted.), we join the Enterprise (no bloody A, B, C, OR D) on a routine mission to give a pair of Federation archaeologists on an isolated dig their mandated medical check-up. Dr. Suspicious Behaviour is less than pleased to see them, and while his lovely wife (an old flame of Dr. McCoy’s) is a lot more polite, she’s also possibly a little bit evil.

Not unrelated: this episode includes the first redshirts of Star Trek, though not all of them are actually wearing red. Also features a salt-hungry octopus monster with deeply-uncomfortable-illusion powers, a tortured metaphor involving buffalo, and lots of people “thinking with their glands” (…okay, 1960s euphemisms, if you say so).

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Episode 1: TOS 1×00 – “The Cage”

In our first episode, we start from the beginning with the probably-should-have-remained unaired Original Series Pilot: The Cage, staring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike.

Note: this is probably the only time we will all agree on an episode.

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