Script: D.C. Fontana
Story: Gene Roddenberrry
Director: Lawrence Dobkin
Producer: Gene Roddenberry
This episode is basically a do-over on the premise of the second pilot (human with godlike powers), and while it seems a bit early in the series to be reusing plots, this episode earns it by providing a decidedly different take and focus.
Whereas the second pilot used its premise to pit Kirk and Gary Mitchell against one another, and lead to a climatic battle between the two, "Charlie X" isn't about a throw down between hero and villain, but rather an incisive and sympathetic examination of the problems of being a teenager.
Yes, in this instance, the human who gets the godlike powers isn't an adult Starfleet officer but rather a teenager, and one who's been stranded alone on a deserted planet for 14 years of his 17 year old life. So in addition to all the normal problems of being angst-ridden, impatient, horny, and selfish, Charles Evans is also completely socially inept. He doesn't know what the expectations are, how to interact with others, about rudeness or consent. He's a real piece of shit in other words. Oh, and he's got immense godly abilities. So there's that too.
"Charlie X" can be a cringing, uncomfortable episode to watch, but only because I think we recognize ourself in Charlie. We remember being that little piece of shit, having that poor grasp of social rules and norms and thinking the world should revolve around our wants and needs. Once again, Janice Rand gets to be the target of sexual harassment (four episodes in a row!) and this time it's this 17 year old kid and it's literally up to Captain Kirk to try and explain to Charlie what consent is and why it's not okay to harass a woman twice your age. It doesn't go well.
All of which is to say that one thing that "Charlie X" has over "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is that the previous episode asks us to believe that when James Kirk's best friend and fellow officer gets god powers, he immediately turns into an arrogant, selfish villain. In this episode, we don't have to make that leap -- he's a 17 year old boy. He's already the worst person to give godlike powers to.
And yet, after an entire episode where you just kinda hate this kid, because he's the worst, the story manages to pull the rug out on you -- see, he got his godlike powers from the Thasians, the first of Star Trek's noncorporeal hyperadvanced omnipotent energy beings (and there are many), who gave him the power so he could survive on this deserted planet. Once seeing what a trouble he is when he is among his own people, they return and forcibly take him back. And what 17 year old wants to spend time with non-corporeal energy beings who can't feel or love? So Charlie is totally aghast and his pleas to stay are utterly haunting. This kid just wanted to be loved and be among his own people. Too bad he was such a shit about it.
Additionally, the episode again has great scenes of the crew, including some fantastic rec room scenes between Spock and Uhura as she sings and he accompanies on his Vulcan lyre. Eventually, scenes that developed anyone on the show other than Kirk and Spock started falling by the wayside because Shatner's ego was so injured by Spock's popularity that he started lobbying for less screentime and lines for the other actors. So enjoy these early episodes while you can, I guess.
Significantly, "Charlie X" was a Gene Roddenberry story idea, but he was so busy as showrunner at this early stage, staying up late nights rewriting almost every episode to ensure it fit his vision of the show, handling all aspects of the show's creative production, that he handed the script off to his secretary at the time, Dorothy Fontana. And it turned out she was so good at this that she got Peggy Olson'd and soon found herself Trek's new story editor after Roddenberry and John Black had a falling out, after which she would be one of the primary architects of the series and writer of some of its best episodes. That's all in the future, but it started here, with Roddenberry shoving work of his desk and on to someone else's.
Rating: 3.5 out of 4
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