TOS - 1.03

 "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the third Star Trek TOS episode to air and is actually the SECOND pilot of the show.  It originally aired on September 22, 1966.

The first pilot was rejected by NBC and had originally starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike.  Star Trek was given a second chance and Mr. Hunter declined to jump back on board so they re-casted The Shat as James R. Kirk (after the this second pilot it would be changed to James T. Kirk) and the rest as we know is history.

There's a lot here that looks and feels different from the first two Trek episodes to air.  The uniforms are largely left over from the first pilot - baggy tan tunics - and there are missing cast members, most notably Bones (the ship's doctor instead played by Paul Fix) and Uhura.  The ship itself also looks different and would not be dialed in until the regular series got picked up and started filming.   There's also a bad-ass phaser rifle that we never get to see again.

This episode is fairly intriguing and certainly not as weak as the insufferable "Charlie X" or the nearly unwatchable and upcoming "Mudd's Women"   I really like the interplay between Kirk and his helmsman Gary Mitchell (played by Gary Lockwood) - the addition of Dr. Dehner (played by the versatile and prodigious working actor Sally Kellerman) also adds an interesting dynamic that keeps us engaged.  Dig those groovy glitter eyeballs!

Gary Lockwood's very next gig after this one was across the pond in the UK in a little movie called "2001: A Space Odessy" that you might've heard of.

Best of all, the episode concludes with a knock-down drag-out bareknuckle fist-fight between Kirk and Mitchell,  choreographed in that sixties western brand of violence and action that we all remember from shows like "Big Valley" and "Bonanza".   Well, I remember it, because I'm old.

There are also missteps and slow patches here and there - Gary's transformation is well paced and compelling, until it's not and suddenly he declares himself a god and we're off to the races.  Paul Fix as the predecessor to Bones McCoy seems disinterested and non-plussed throughout which is unintentionally hilarious at times.   And of course don't forget the crew body count - Spock's casual mention that nine crew members were killed when the Enterprise crosses the galaxy barrier puts the total at 12 which crazily enough is actually the record for a single TOS episode.

But overall, this one is a winner.  It's got a romantic angle that is intriguing, and it's got genuine suspense and plenty of action.  Most of all I am grateful to this episode - because it's the show that convinced ABC to make Star Trek a regular series.  My understanding is that Lucille Ball played a big part in that final decision and for that reason, I will always Love Lucy.