Where No Man Has Gone Before

Stardate 1312.4: The Enterprise is en route to the edge of the galaxy, where a barrier of energy lies that has never been penetrated. When the Enterprise reaches the barrier, it is buffeted by intense energy, injuring many on board. First Officer Mitchell and psychological observer Dr. Dehner are affected as well, and it becomes apparent that their latent ESP abilities have been activated by contact with the barrier. The crew must then contend with the rapidly strengthening super-human beings who now consider the other people on board to be an inferior species.

written by Samuel A. Peeples
directed by James Goldstone
music by Alexander Courage

Cast: William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), Gary Lockwood (Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell), Sally Kellerman (Dr. Elizabeth Dehner), George Takei (Sulu), James Doohan (Scott), Lloyd Haynes (Alden), Andrea Dromm (Yeoman Smith), Paul Carr (Lt. Lee Kelso), Paul Fix (Doctor Piper)

Notes: This is the episode that sold NBC on the idea of Star Trek after The Cage was rejected; it has been said that Where No Man Has Gone Before, being so drastically different from the episodes around it, would never have aired with the rest of the series if not for major production delays that otherwise would have meant skipping a week or airing a repeat – something considered a very bad practice early in a new series’ run. Similar delays forced Gene Roddenberry to hastily write an “envelope” script that could be shot quickly to serve as a framing story for the already-produced (and paid for) pilot; that envelope became one of the show’s most famous stories, The Menagerie. In chronological order by airdate and in production order, this – the third episode broadcast – is Scotty’s first appearance in Star Trek. Numerous holdovers from The Cage – the original uniform style, the rounded-off main viewscreen on the bridge, the gooseneck lamps – give this episode a somewhat out-of-place look, especially when aired three weeks into the show’s run.