"Where No Man Has Gone Before" - Season 1, Episode 3
"Above all else a god needs compassion!"
Was the mid-period Johnson administration a particularly paranoid time? Had the burgeoning American involvement in Vietnam already driven Americans into intense skepticism of government power? This is not a political history blog, but two out of the first three episodes of Star Trek deal with humans who possess near absolute power being corrupted absolutely by said power. The villain here even says that’s what happening. This preoccupation feels Nixonian, but here we are in 1966 with the second pilot, and third episode, of Star Trek: “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Perhaps if the show had debuted in 1973 NBC could have had a big hit on their hands.
This episode is one of the most well-documented productions in American television history. Desilu, Star Trek’s production studio, had created an original pilot for NBC called “The Cage” with an almost entirely different cast.1 That pilot was later “enveloped” into a two-part episode of the show proper near the end of Season One, retitled “The Menagerie.”2 NBC saw “The Cage” and liked it, especially in terms of production design and the amount of work on display, but had enough notes to commission a second pilot with some significant changes.3 Among those changes were a large recast, a command to “reconsider” the character of Spock, and orders to make the show less sexual overall. One out of three ain’t bad, I suppose.4
A Western written by this episode’s writer, Samuel Peeples. Peeples was a good friend of Gene Roddenberry. He also later wrote the first episode of the Star Trek animated series.
The second pilot, written by Sam Peeples and directed by James Goldstone, was selected from three script treatments.5 William Shatner was cast as the new lead, replacing Jeffrey Hunter, off of appearances in The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and a good reputation as a stage actor. He secured a massive deal well above the rest of the cast’s compensation.6 Leonard Nimoy was retained from the original pilot and elements of a different “logical” character, Number One, were merged into Spock, who ironically was the only character from “The Cage” to appear in the second pilot.7 Other differences from “The Cage” abound, but the differences between this and the series proper are more apparent. George Takei is onboard as Sulu, but Sulu is a physicist, not a helmsman. Uhura is gone; the Communications Officer is a “Lt. Alden” played by Lloyd Hanes. DeForest Kelley had not yet been cast, and the ship’s doctor is a “Dr. Piper” played by Paul Fix. These characters, while intended to be continuing, were reworked into their final versions after review.8
As discussed in my post on “The Man Trap,” NBC ultimately greenlit the series but used a different episode as the premiere, feeling that “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was too cerebral. Considering that the central conflict of the episode involves a conflict over Spinozian metaphysics, they may have been right!
Gary Mitchell, played by Gary Lockwood, and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, played by Sally Kellerman, appreciate their shiny new eyes. Lockwood famously starred as Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey, while Dehner would go on to play Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the movie M*A*S*H and have a long collaboration with director Robert Altman.
Our main plot driver though is Lieutenant Gary Mitchell, the helmsman of the Enterprise and an old school friend of Captain Kirk’s. When the Enterprise follows an old distress signal into a strange cloud at the edge of the galaxy, the ship is damaged by an unknown force and certain crewmembers, including Mitchell and the ship’s psychiatrist Dr. Dehner, are overcome with seizures. Mitchell displays a unique symptom though: silvery, glassed-over eyes that linger after the danger passes. With the Enterprise damaged and unable to warp, Mitchell is confined to the sick bay and begins displaying psychic powers, seemingly due to his high innate “Esper” factor, which measures a person’s extrasensory perception (ESP) abilities. Tellingly, Dehner and Mitchell have the two highest Esper scores aboard the ship.
As Mitchell’s power grows, his morality withers. He begins displaying a worrying disregard for others and a clear sexual interest in Dr. Dehner. He can read books almost instantly and control the ship’s systems with his mind. Spock tells Kirk to put feeling aside: Mitchell must be killed while they can still control him, regardless of Kirk’s attachment. Kirk decides on a half measure and plans to maroon Mitchell on the closest planet, the uninhabited Delta Vega, where the Enterprise is heading to secure parts to repair her warp drive. But Mitchell escapes while on Delta Vega and convinces Dr. Dehner, now displaying the similar eyes and powers, to join him in creating a new world as gods. To put a point on it, he even makes his own Garden of Eden. Kirk pursues Mitchell alone but is outclassed, captured, and psychologically tormented by his old friend. Kirk escapes only by convincing Dehner that Mitchell has lost his mind and is a danger to the universe: a god without compassion. She weakens Mitchell before Kirk crushes and buries him in a grave meant for himself. As the Enterprise flies away from Delta Vega, Spock tells Kirk that he felt for Mitchell too.
“I believe that there’s some hope for you after all, Mr. Spock,” Kirk replies. Credits roll.
Mitchell tortures Kirk by creating a headstone and grave for him. The episode identifies him as “James R. Kirk,” but this would later be changed to “James T. Kirk.”
On the surface, we have a story much like “Charlie X”, with an all-powerful psychic being acting rascally. These similarities provide a great example of how a story’s framing is just as important as the content within it. Whereas “Charlie X” concerned itself with the “adolescent” (or as I argued, toxically masculine) characteristics of god-powers, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” is a philosophical work more concerned with religious thinking and morality. Perhaps annoyingly, this episode is in direct conversation with Baruch de Spinoza.
Spinoza is introduced by Mitchell while he recuperates in the sick bay, demonstrating his new ability to fly through books in seconds. The only book he directly mentions is “Ethics” by Spinoza, which he calls “childish, really.” “Ethics” is one of Spinoza’s two defining works and outlines his metaphysics and philosophy in great detail. He was an interesting guy. Born in the Jewish community of Amsterdam, he was banished for writings that were perceived as heretical (atheistic, specifically) and spent the rest of his life as an optician and independent writer. His works were controversial throughout his life and banned after his death. Despite this, he is regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of his era and a leading figure of the early Enlightenment.
A possible portrait of Spinoza by Dutch painter Barend Graat. Before the discovery of this possible likeness, it was believed Spinoza never sat for a portrait and all depictions of him were done posthumously based on description.
At the time, Spinoza was called an atheist, but he viewed himself as redefining God. To Spinoza, God was “nature,” a catchall term for all things. This has been described as a kind of early Western pantheism, although important distinctions emerge with further study. Spinoza viewed all things as simply different modes of “substance, “nature,” or “God,” terms he used somewhat interchangeably. Most radically, he argued that any god could not have human characteristics. Humans are merely a mode of nature and must be understood as other modes of nature are understood; there is no reason to set human traits apart from any other aspect of nature. As described above these ideas were not well received. But what does this have to do with Star Trek?
Gary Mitchell is a Spinozian contradiction. Yes, he has God in him thanks to his high Esper score. But he is, as Kirk says, “God, but still driven by human frailty.” He has a deep insecurity and desire to be in command. Could some jealousy of his friend’s leadership and respect have seeped in over the years? Mitchell seeks to differentiate himself from Kirk, telling the Captain that “Command and compassion is a fool’s mixture.” Of course, the rest of Star Trek argues against this. Even this episode shows that Mitchell’s heightened view of himself, his attempts to raise himself above nature, drive away his fellow god Dehner. She retains enough of her compassion, her humanity, to heed Kirk’s pleas and help defeat Mitchell. Ultimately, it is her compassion, the trait Kirk says a god needs above all else, that wins out.
Is this episode a Spinozian treatise? No. It is more concerned with straightforward ideas of power corrupting absolutely, and how a true god would not necessarily be inhuman but a *perfect* human, above our flaws and frailties while embracing our positive aspects. But it is interesting that Mitchell calls Spinoza’s ideas “childish,” as the episode ultimately finds a childishness in his corruption, an “adolescence” (as “Charlie X” would have it) in his desire to control all things. Communication, compassion, and finding connection in all things is a much surer path to getting what one wants. Spinoza called the ultimate goal of humanity, and all things, “virtue.” This virtue is a kind of self-control, a way to master our passions and only promote those parts of us that are helpful. No, Star Trek is not Spinozian. But it certainly thinks the man was smarter than Gary Mitchell.
Stray Thoughts
This episode features cinematography by Ernest Haller. You may not know him, but he shot a little movie called Gone With the Wind in 1939, which remains the highest grossing movie of all time in inflation adjusted terms. He was brought on last minute by director James Goldstone as a favor.
Finally, we get some Spock. NBC attempted to push him out of the spotlight in the two episodes selected to air before this, but his role here is important and defined. He’s the science officer, part alien and part human, and does not “feel” as we do. He and Kirk have contrasting ideologies but a deep friendship: the first intended shot of the series is the two of them playing chess. While their conversations miss McCoy’s intensity, it’s easy to see why this dynamic became the driving force of the series.
The Dehner and Mitchell’s shiny eyes were thick, uncomfortable contact lenses that largely blinded the actors. However, Lockwood could see out of them by angling his face up and looking down his chin, helping give his performance a sneering, superior quality that adds to the character.
I love this matte painting used for Delta Vega:
Photo Credits
Sam Peeples Western: https://www.parigibooks.com/pages/books/18204/samuel-a-peeples/gun-feud-at-stampede-valley
Mitchell and Dehner: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Where_No_Man_Has_Gone_Before_(episode)
Kirk and Mitchell at Kirk’s grave: https://www.tor.com/2015/03/11/star-trek-the-original-series-rewatch-qwhere-no-man-has-gone-beforeq/
Spinoza: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/portrait-one-worlds-most-influential-philosophers-180960164/
Delta Vega: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Delta_Vega
Herbert Solow and Robert Justman, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p. 59.
Id. at p. 253.
Id. at p. 59.
Id. at p. 60.
David Alexander, The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry: Star Trek Creator, p. 228. Peeples was a friend of Gene Roddenberry and had provided him with a large collection of old science fiction magazines that were used as inspiration material for the design of the Enterprise. p. 203.
Id. at p. 232.
Id. at p. 230.
Solow and Justman, p. 157.
very pretentious, loved it.
“try to make it less sexual” “roger that boss” *telekinetically forces kirk to pray on his knees in episode three*