DVD Features:
TV spot(s)
Volume
1 Contains 2 Episodes:
Episode
#2 Where No Man Has Gone Before (Airdate: September 22, 1966) &
Episode
#3 The Corbomite Maneuver (Airdate: November 10, 1966)
Digitally
Enhanced and Remastered
Special
Added Bonus: Original Broadcast Preview Trailers
Amazon.com
This first DVD volume of
episodes from the original Star Trek begins with a show that saved the
series even before it launched. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was actually
the second Trek pilot produced by Gene Roddenberry after NBC rejected "The
Cage" (now a subject of cult fascination). A retooled cast now included
William Shatner as Captain James R. Kirk (the middle initial T came later),
Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, George Takei as Ensign Sulu, and James Doohan
as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. (DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols,
and Walter Koenig signed on in subsequent episodes.) A lot of thought went
into scriptwriter Samuel L. Peeples's story about a crewman named Gary
Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) who has a close relationship with Kirk and some
natural ESP abilities. When the Enterprise approaches an energy barrier
at the edge of the galaxy, Mitchell metamorphoses into a godlike being
with silver eyes, awesome psychic abilities, and a rapidly developing ego.
As Mitchell becomes an increasing threat to the ship, Kirk is faced with
making a terrible choice to save his crew.
The episode locked in the
very character and themes of Star Trek: science fiction stories told in
mortal terms, the conflict between relationships and duty, and a strong
emphasis on exploring personalities. Lockwood's disciplined, modulated
performance was a big plus. (He went on, of course, to play astronaut Frank
Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey).
The second show in this volume
was the tenth to air, "The Corbomite Maneuver." While exploring an uncharted
region of the galaxy, the Enterprise encounters a cube-shaped alien probe
(a predecessor of Borg vessels?) that Kirk promptly destroys. That action
brings the wrath of a spaceship called the Fesarius, which locks the Enterprise
in a tractor beam from which it can't escape. The show is perhaps best
known for something of a surprise ending when the "captain" of the Fesarius
(played by Clint Howard, brother of Ron and child star of TV's Gentle Ben)
is revealed. Directed by Joseph Sargent (Colossus--The Forbin Project).
--Tom Keogh
Description
"Where No Man Has Gone Before"
(Ep.2): An energy barrier heightens the psionic abilities of two crew members.
"The Corbomite Maneuver" (Ep.3): Krik bluffs an alien ship to prevent the
Enterprise from being destroyed. |