The Enterprise take on a teenage boy with bad social skills who develops a crush on Yeoman Rand…oh and he has superpowers.
Another one of Trek’s Kirk v Superbeing episodes, but one of the better ones. Good performances by Grace Lee Whitney and Robert Walker Jr. as Charlie Evans. This week the TOS-R team have just a couple establishing shots of the Enterprise, but will be adding a brand new version of the never before seen Antares. Maybe we will also get a new version of the Thasians.
Original Trailer
Bring on the Antares!
Antares looks so good!
Looking forward to watching the Antares explode! BOOM!!!
^Well it’s gonna be hard to see since it happened offscreen.
-cs™
Charlie could be of the same lineage as Trelayne or Q. Omnipotent beings are so misundertstood. Gary Mitchell could have been a disciple in training.
But, it’s all Kirk’s fault for being so superior in that wrestling match. Let’s see him take on Andre the Giant.
Always liked this episode when I was younger. Like what I’ve seen of CBS Digital’s “Antares”, but really hope to get some enhancement of the “Thasians” at the end too.
This whole problem could have been solved if Rand had just taken him in hand…
Think of Anakin Skywalker, but better acted. That’s pretty much Charlie X. Would you be attracted to someone ten years younger than you like that?
Apparently Lucas thinks so. :P
I think the should put an upside down face on the faceless chick, how creepy would that be! :)
I never noticed, but Spock practically put a hole in the wall when he and Kirk get knocked down by Charle. I would’ve thought they’d use plywood, but the damage looks like sheetrock.
Re: #4
Charlie has no superhuman “lineage”. He was, after all, adopted but yeah, Q was able to give Riker super powers and then take them away. According to this episode, the Thasians could have taken Charlie’s power away as well, but had determined that he couldn’t survive without them since he’d been brought up that way. Of course, their opinion may have been just a bit prejudiced. As for Gary 7, he was recruited by a technologically advanced race with a do-gooder streak, but their level of advancement was nothing like the Q, Trelayne, the Thasians, or even the Organians for that matter. Those races would likely be thousands or millions of years older.
#4-
I think Kirk could defeat Andre the Giant. He already lost in “The Princess Bride” to a cunning opponent.
Q – Schmoo
Jovian,
She should have done it for the team ;-)
Oh, and #4, Jeffrey, t does suddenly occur to me just how often Kirk went around telling Super powered people what they could and could not do.
I mean, think about it:
Mitchell, and Charlie and Apollo (who WAS a god) and Khan and the Melkotians, and let’s not forget V’ger
Good for the Organians for putting him in his place.
Perhaps that’s why he’s still stuck in the Nuxus/Purgatory makin’ eggs.
Cummmuppance!
I kid.
Captain Kirk, although a bit of a herbert, is still somehow compelling after all these years and is definitely NOT a Dunsel.
—-
In thinking about this ep, the ending is rather poignant – at the end Charlie is isolated; alone- neither fish nor fowl… for (we assume) eternity.
#4-Charlie could be of the same lineage as Trelayne or Q. Omnipotent beings are so misundertstood. Gary Mitchell could have been a disciple in training.
But, it’s all Kirk’s fault for being so superior in that wrestling match. Let’s see him take on Andre the Giant.
Lord, how do they come up with this stuff?
#4-Charlie could be of the same lineage as Trelayne or Q. Omnipotent beings are so misundertstood. Gary Mitchell could have been a disciple in training.
But, it’s all Kirk’s fault for being so superior in that wrestling match. Let’s see him take on Andre the Giant.
Lord, how do they come up with this stuff?
Stanky! You’re back! Where the hell have you been?
Charlie is a cousin of Valentine Michael Smith.
steve623 where are you?
I know you’ve seen the episode already. I realized we would not see the Antares’ destruction but I had hoped for a little more than what we got. When Act 1 began it was a good opportunity to see both ships departing one another – – instead we get a stock shot.
As mentioned above we see Spock break the sheetrock wall and Gene Roddenberry’s voice announces to the Captain that there are “real turkeys” in the oven. Charlie is still seated when Kirk asks him about the Chess piece – – even though the wide shot shows him standing. A lot of stock CGI shots are inserted to establish the ship in space – – “gasp”, even the “old” CGI model is in there.
When Charlie makes things “Go Away” – – the security guard’s Phaser fade out looks enhanced but I’ve not looked into it to be sure. A New Thasian ship shows up and the Thasian image on the bridge looks enhanced somewhat. However perhaps the New Transfer just makes it seem that way to me. Thoughts?
Kirk and Co. should have dropped off Charlie with the Organians..and they might have been able to transform him into a servant of Mankind…not a teenybopper with superpowers.
Just a thought.
Hi Greg! Glad to see you back around – you were missed!
This is a good show but, as was referenced before, the shot-for-shot continuity is sloppier here than almost anywhere else, with the infamous “getting on the turbolift in gold, getting off the turbolift in green” shirt swap. Still, its pretty compelling overall. As usual, the syndication edits are awful, the worst offender being the cutting of Charlie seeing the two crewmen horsing around and slapping each other on the butt, so there’s no foundation for it when Charlie smacks Rand’s rump later on.
The Antares’ appearance is brief but it looks terrific. Lots of standard Enterprise flybys later on. It also looked to me like most of Charlie’s “made them go away” effects were subtly enhanced. I also think the “faceless” crewwoman’s “face” looked a little more fleshy and a little less foamy, but that could be my imagination, as its been a long time since I’ve seen the original show. The Thasian itself looked pretty much the way I remembered, with that same warped glass wavering effect that was used over the phony Balok in “The Corbomite Maneuver”. The most controversial change will be the new Thasian “ship” effect, which is quite different from the original amorphous green glowing blob of the original version. I think the design isn’t bad, but the way it appears and disappears came off as fairly hokey to me.
#21- steve623
Agree with the way the Thasian ship comes and goes. Needs to be more “dynamic”.
Thanks for the thoughts – – I’m pretty occupied right now and I’ve not returned here full time yet. Hopefully soon. Always look forward to reading your comments especially since you are among the very first to see the remastered episodes each week.
Cheers
One aspect of this show that illustrates the difference between the simplicty of the storytelling in the original series and the technobabble style of the NextGen era shows – there is no attempt to explain how Charlie’s power works beyond the assumption that it came from the Thasians. No screen time is wasted sending Spock down to the lab to come back later to inform everyone that Charlie’s abilities stem from him being able to generate an inverse tachyon pulse composed of high energy chronometric particles and shunt them across a subspace domain. Instead that screen time is used trying to deal with Charlie dramatically, as a person, rather than as a scientific anamoly to be dealt with via a transporter pattern buffer upgrade or reversing the polarity of the main deflector dish or focusing the warp plasma through the mainstage anti-matter injectors. Its real human drama instead of phony made-up double-talk drama, and that’s a lot more involving to me as a viewer. I’ve never had to reroute the auxilliary power through the secondary EPS power taps, but I *have* had to deal with a surly teenager (although not one that could turn me into an iguana).
Trivia point:
Charlie’s “dad” the Thasian, is played by Abraham Sofauer who also played the God-like judge in the 1946 movie “A Matter of Life and Death.”
Still love the very gay rec room pantyhose and matching gi. Very funny.
The thasian ship is worse than the old. It slides in and out of view like a flash banner ad element. Hey, we here! Now we’re gone! Zoom!
This was a poor effort on CBS part. There was zero attempt made to enhance the simplest effects. There were many “stock” shots of the big E, therefore it should have freed up time to make subtle changes and enhancements to some of Charlie’s powers. Why wasn’t this done?? Further, the Thasian ship was a joke. It looked like 1930’s animation!!
I’ve been very appreciative of the CBS’s work, but this was terrible. The only shot that gets high marks is the Antares shot.
Shame on Paramount. This project is becoming more and more a half ass effort.
Did anyone notice Kirks face just before the the first cut to the credits?
It looks like a handful of frames reverted to the original work as it wasn’t
of top quality with any true definition and color. I was watching on the Denver
station so maybe it was just their feed but I seriously doubt it.
What a rush job on this one – and a classic early episode to boot. I agree with all that the Thasian ship was HORRIBLE, it looked like an effect that even the first season of Next Gen would reject. WHat was that? Did they let an intern mock up that shot in After Effects and call it good – seriously, it looked like a place holder. C’mon nowe CBS D – let’s pull it together.
On the bright side, the remastered prints never looked better – the colors and details are amazing.
Aaaaack…at least you all got to see it. Here in Albuquerque, they’re unexplicably re-running “Return to Tomorrow” as we speak.
RRrrrrrg.
Cranston: How you anywhere close to SW Indian Polytechnic Institute on Coors Rd? Albuquerque was always one on of my most favorite towns.
Duane: Nope, I’m across town in the NE. I like ABQ quite a bit, lived here for 13 years now.
#26: “The Thasian ship is worse than the old.”
I thought that WAS the old one. The starfield in the background doesn’t match the starfield shown in all the other shots.
I think this is the second time that this has happened. If you may remember, they didn’t enhance the “dagger” effect shown in “And The Children Shall Lead” either. I think they should rethink that and have a new effect for those before the DVD set comes out.
It’s been said (dadgummit) but I’ll echo the view: the Thasian ship design was cool and appropriate, but the way it came and went looked like a mediocre Powerpoint slide effect.
And yes, I would like to find out the schmuck in charge of syndication cuts and ask him which 12% of his body he would mind having removed. In Atlanta, they put the shows on at 2:05 (right after Whoopi Goldbarf and Showtime at the Apollo, so as to hold the same audience) and it runs until 3:00. We’re pooched :05 before we even get started. My wife is offering to buy me the DVD’s for Christmas. I will absolutely love it, if only to see what’s been cut out. A few months ago TV Land played “Conscience of the King” and included a whole Spock-McCoy scene I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.
ps- CBS-D missed a “golden” opportunity by not tweaking Rand’s nighty just a little.
Key-Rist! The EFX were fine. Sheesh.
This is my first post, though I’ve been reading, and enjoying, this site for months.
The phaser fade-out effect did look enhanced to me, which pleased me. Did I understand a previous post correctly, that old and new CGI shots of the Enterprise were alternated during this episode? Some of the shots of the E did seem more cartoonish than others.
As for the Thasian ship – it made me gag! For the first time, I actually prefer the original effect (though it’s been years since I’ve seen it); I remember a blob of light (green?) fading in and growing from a central point. I seem to remember that right before, or after that happened, Charlie did his terrified “Noooooo!” I always was struck by the contrast between the innocuous green blob, and Charlie’s terror. The blob ship also seemed more mysterious, and appropriate for non-corporeal entities; come now, do all species, no matter how advanced, need warp nacelles on their ships?
One bad side effect of the HD: now you can see Kirk’s panty lines!
I had forgotten how creepy this one was. It was definately an episode with eye shots.;) Really the original series was great in playing with the human element along with teenaged angst. As much as it would be fun to live in the STAR TREK universe, it does have a scary side with all the god like creatures and such.;)
I really love the way color and music was used in the first season. It gave it such a mood and style that I wish had stayed around longer. You look at episodes less than a few years later and they look and feel so different. To this day I am still creeped out by the poor crew woman who is rendered faceless by our young pal Charlie. Also the ending really has much emotional power to it! Saddness, regret mixed in with relief was a great end to this excellent episodes warts and all.
Also I have to agree 100% with everyone about the Thasian ship. I barely recall the original Thasian ship, but it had to be better that what they did for this one. I thing far more of the time CBS-D has been doing great work, but on occassion they let some shots out the door that really need to be redone. This is one big time! I would almost go back and recreate the original look. Remember these Thasians are formless and a bit mysterious to Kirk and company, so that feeling should be kept. Other than that I enjoyed the other effects shots.
#36 – Old CGI Enterprise in only one “space establishing shot” that I saw. As the ship comes forward from Deflector Dish level the scene is cut before we can identify the trademark “peppermint nacelles” associated with the first CGI model.
On the plus side, how about the vast amount of colored lights thrown on the walls and the “bar of light” across the eyes for Charlie and Kirk. Watching on B&W TV when I was a kid did not diminish the impact of those eyes. This sort of lighting all together disappears in 3rd Season.
I continue to wish that another year would be available for episode “tweaking” before the DVD-HD’s come out. To review such things as the Thasian Ship and increase the shot Enterprise footage to draw from. But that’s not going to happen.
“There are a Million things in this Universe you can have and a Million things you can’t have. It’s no fun facing that but that’s the way things are.”
– – it’s a great line and piece of advice.
Excellent episode. Remastered film elements highlight the lighting contributions of Jerry Finnerman here. At a time when all color TV shows were a wash with bright even lighting, Star Trek was a first to use light and shadow to help with the mood in a color show.
I think for the most part, the new CGI Enterprise was terrific in all the fly-bys and coming along side the Antaries. In one shot as the ship flys toward the camera, the sauser almost looks like the original model’s hint of weathering that was on the original model’s saucer’s leading edge. The only weak shot is after the titles and at the end as the ship flys by from left behind and away, looked cartoonish.
When Charlie does away with the security guard’s phaser, that was nicely subtle enhanced. Agreed the Thasian ship’s fly in and away was poorly executed, but design was okay, if not really necessary.
Is there a definite release date for the 1st Season episodes of the Remastered episodes? Also….did anyone notice the dropout of both
definition and some color in the last few seconds of this episode….
look at Kirks face – just before they cut away to the opening credits.
It looked like the episode reverted to its original state as IF the guys
working on it said: Well….forget those last few frames – time to get
some pizza and beer – etc.
“On the plus side, how about the vast amount of colored lights thrown on the walls and the “bar of light” across the eyes for Charlie and Kirk. Watching on B&W TV when I was a kid did not diminish the impact of those eyes.”
Agree completely. The splashes of red, green, and even pink in Rand’s quarters looked better than ever and while I could see someone thinking all the key lighting on the eyes was a bit corny compared to the visual styles of modern television shows, I think it looks great and adds to the melodrama. Shatner *loved* those key lights.
And regarding the Thasian ship – I was happy they came up with a new design. The original “glowing green fog” ship always screamed “this is all we can afford” in the same way the Klingon “glowing steam iron” did in “Friday’s Child”. So a redesign that looked a little more like a vessel but also kept the glowing green mysterioso look suited me fine. The problem was definitely the fact that it “slid” in and out of frame like something on an animation cell. That was genuinely awful. I don’t wag my finger at the CBS-D team too often, but this time I’m wagging. “For shaaaaaaame!”
Knowing that the other first season shows are done, I’m curious to see if they’ve done anything to Kirk and Lenore Karidian’s walk outside on Planet Q in “Conscience of the King”, which looks even stagier than usual, and I’m really curious to see what they do with the Inter-Universal Corridor Lazarus vs. Lazarus Wrestling Matches in “The Alternative Factor”. That’s a show that needs all the CG help it can get.
Yes…..you can notice this even in the regular (untouched up) episodes of many of the 1st seasons episodes. One that comes to mind…is the that episode with Ruk…..can’t recall the name offhand but the use of light and so on is brilliant and really enhances things visually and makes the entire episode so much more believable and thus enjoyable – another episode that comes to mind is Balance Of Terror…..lets all hope they use this sort of lighting in the NEW MOVIE.
Said Rick: “I had forgotten how creepy this one was. ”
Add the scene in the rec room with Uhura singing in that weird voice, accompanied by Spock wearing that ghastly grin. It was so jarring that I wondered if Charlie was doing some “puppeteering” in the background! (It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this episode.)
#24:
Actually his name was Abraham Sofaer…
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And thanks to Charlie for ending that musical interlude, if you could call it that, with Uhura and Spock. Too bad Charlie wasn’t around for The Way to Eden..his services would have been deeply appreciated to end that adventure’s jam session.if not that entire episode!!
#24 Abraham Sofauer also played Jeannie’s boss, Hadji, on I Dream of Jeannie. (More omnipotent beings…) Robert Walker also played a role on one IDOJ episode as a younger version of Major Nelson.
I’m trying to remember; does the new Thasian ship continue in its original direction, or does it actually back up? Perhaps I could accept the new design more if it accelerated or decelerated more realistically. Or maybe, it could “decloak” like a Bird of Prey, or something.
It occurred to me that my first post was almost completely negative. I place myself in the camp of those who grew up with the series (I was 6 when it came out). I never had a problem with most shots of the Enterprise, in the originally released episodes, using the physical model. Exceptions were the opening scene of “The Cage”/”The Menagerie”, in which the saucer aggressively tips up at the camera (that shot was reused in a few more episodes), the shaking around of the E at the beginning and end of the “whiplash” maneuver, as well as no sun, in “Tomorrow is Yesterday,” and the long shots and monotonous stock footage in “The Doomsday Machine.” Oh, and the sudden reversion of the rear end caps from the production warp nacelles to the 2nd pilot versions, as the E flies away from us into the distance at the end of every episode. Those problems have been solved in the remastered episodes. I think that I read somewhere that the rest of the Enterprise shots wouldn’t have stood up to the cleaning, remastering, restoration and HD conversion without looking “cheesy,” hence the need for the CGI model. As for other ships, the Orion ship in “Journey to Babel”/missile in “Patterns of Force,” “glowing iron” Klingon ship (I love that description!), Flagship Fesarius in “The Corbomite Maneuver,” and “ion ship” in “Spock’s Brain,” were PITIFUL in their original versions! I’m really impressed by the way CBS-D “updated” those designs, while keeping the spirit of the originals (well, the ion ship was a complete departure, but it needed to be!). The “Botany Bay,” the Tholian ships, and the Constellation were barely acceptable in the original airings; CBS-D has done an awesome job with those. It will be interesting to see what CBS-D will do with the Aurora in “The Way to Eden.” And, most of us appreciate the addition of the Antares this weekend.
Add to the above, the more realistically-colored planets, the occasional enhancement of “landscape” shots and special effects – to me, these are icing on the cake, and make me want to watch those old episodes yet again, even at my local airing time of midnight. Granted, CBS-D could have done more (the shiny walls of the “recepticle chamber” in “Return to Tomorrow” were glaring, as always – pardon the pun), but I am grateful for their work, by and large.
And Yeoman Rand really WAS my first (elementary school-age) crush!
BTW, I missed the airing of “Arena;” does Kirk still drop a Styrofoam boulder on the Gorn?
It looks like they patterned the Antares after the freighters in the animated episode MORE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES. Another nice tie-in, like the Vulcan city in AMOK TIME.
I usually tout CBS-D’s work as fantastic. This week’s was fantastic too, except the Thasian ship.
I’m sorry to say this so blunty, but CBS-D: your Thasian ship SUCKED!
That thasian ship effect was Sid and Marty Krofft level. Absolutely terrible. Like scooby doo animation!
And the reason there looks like a drop in quality when there’s a fade to black is because that is an optical composite, 2 layers of film, One generation extra. It will ALWAYS look less detailed since they don’t have the original camera negative.
“Agree completely. The splashes of red, green, and even pink in Rand’s quarters looked better than ever and while I could see someone thinking all the key lighting on the eyes was a bit corny compared to the visual styles of modern television shows, I think it looks great and adds to the melodrama. Shatner *loved* those key lights.”
I love those key lights. They used something similar for Bela Lugosi’s closeups in the original Dracula. It’s not realistic, but it’s dramatic and looks great.