star trek season 1 episode 3 charlie x

Charlie X (episode)

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A powerful teenage boy wreaks havoc aboard the Enterprise .

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.2 Story and production
• 4.3 Performers
• 4.5 Props and special effects
• 4.6 Costumes
• 4.7 Continuity
• 4.8 Script vs. screen
• 4.9 Preview
• 4.10 Reception
• 4.11 Syndication cuts
• 4.12 Apocrypha
• 4.13 Remastered information
• 4.14 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest star
• 5.4 Featuring
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.6 Stunt double
• 5.7 Stand-ins
• 5.8 References
• 5.9 Unreferenced material
• 6 External links

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise makes a rendezvous with the Antares , a small cargo ship . While investigating the planet Thasus , the Antares discovered an adolescent boy named Charles Evans , the sole survivor of a ship crash who has lived on his own since age three. Evans transfers to the Enterprise , which is on its way to Colony Alpha 5 , where Evans' only relatives live.

Captain Ramart and his navigator and first officer , Tom Nellis , are eager to be on their way after beaming aboard the Enterprise , even refusing Captain Kirk 's offer of Saurian brandy , as well as entertainment tapes . But they are also effusive in their praise of Charlie. Charlie interrupts Ramart and Nellis a couple of times, which prompts Kirk to say to him, " You keep interrupting, Mr. Evans. That's considered wrong. " Yeoman Janice Rand enters the transporter room and Kirk asks her to show Charlie to his quarters and to drop off his medical records at sickbay . Innocently, Charlie asks Captain Kirk if Yeoman Rand is a girl. " That's a girl, " the captain replies. Rand escorts Charlie out, much to Kirk's amusement.

Act One [ ]

Charlie's first crush – Yeoman Janice Rand

After a routine check-up by Dr. McCoy , Charlie attempts to learn and integrate, demonstrating the effect of his years away from all Human contact. At the same time, strange incidents occur in his vicinity. Charlie is also struggling mightily with adolescence and with his first crush – the Captain's beautiful yeoman – Janice Rand. After observing Crewman Wilson and a sciences division crewman slapping each other casually, Charlie does the same to Yeoman Rand's behind in a corridor , shocking her. Afterward, Rand advises Charlie to tell Captain Kirk or Dr. McCoy what he had just done and ask them for advice. Afterwards, in the Enterprise 's recreation room on deck three, Uhura is singing " Oh, On the Starship Enterprise " to a rapt Rand and other crew members. When Rand ignores Charlie's card tricks; he secretly uses his power to silence Uhura's voice, as well as the sounds coming from Spock 's Vulcan lute , so that he can have Rand's undivided attention. Charlie then proceeds with a few card tricks – such as turning cards face down, and then turning them over again to reveal color photographs of Rand on the playing side. This amuses Rand and others in the crew lounge, who applaud Charlie appreciatively.

Later, in a corridor, Kirk is advising a galley chef that on Earth today it is Thanksgiving , and if the crew of the Enterprise has to eat synthetic meat loaf , he wants it to look like turkey . Just then, Charlie arrives and tells Kirk of the trouble he had interacting with Rand earlier. Kirk awkwardly attempts to explain that men and women do things differently, but before he can elaborate further to Charlie, Kirk is asked to come up to the bridge by Uhura.

At extreme range, Captain Ramart attempts to contact the Enterprise and speak to Captain Kirk, but before he can say more than " I've got to warn… ", his ship is destroyed. Charlie advises Kirk that " It wasn't very well constructed, " a strange comment, since it comes before Spock actually confirms the Antares 's destruction.

Kirk is then hailed by the Enterprise 's chef , who tells the captain that he had put meatloaf in the ovens , but there are turkeys in them now – real turkeys. Charlie laughs at hearing this, then leaves the bridge abruptly, leaving Kirk feeling that Charlie is hiding something.

Act Two [ ]

" She's not the girl, Charlie "

Kirk and Spock are pondering the destruction of the Antares during a game of three-dimensional chess when Charlie walks in and asks to play. After defeating Spock in an "illogical approach" to the game, Kirk turns it over to Charlie, during which Spock easily beats him in two moves. When Charlie gets angry, Spock leaves and then Charlie uses his powers to melt the white chess pieces. Afterwards, Rand introduces Charlie to Yeoman Tina Lawton , who is near Charlie's age. Charlie ignores Lawton, hurting her feelings, after which Rand tells Charlie that he was rude to her. Charlie then makes his feelings known to Rand that he wants her and only her, which makes the yeoman feel very uneasy. Rand goes to the bridge and wants Kirk to have a talk with Charlie before she asks the young man to leave her alone, which will hurt his feelings. Calling Charlie to his quarters , Kirk takes pity on the young man and attempts to befriend him, taking him to the physical training room for some light sparring. Initially refusing to participate, Charlie falls awkwardly and prompts laughter from Sam , Kirk's sparring partner. Humiliated and angry, Charlie makes Sam disappear, revealing his powers.

Act Three [ ]

Kirk immediately calls for security to escort Charlie back to his quarters. But Charlie resists, knocking down the two security officers with his powers. One of them draws his phaser , but Charlie makes it disappear. However, he finally agrees to go to his quarters after Kirk tells the young man that he will personally pick him up and take him there himself if he does not. After Charlie and security leaves Kirk is informed by Uhura that all phasers on board the Enterprise have disappeared. Later, in the briefing room discussing Charlie to McCoy and Spock following the incident in the gymnasium, Kirk speculates that Charlie might be a Thasian , but McCoy doubts this based on his medical analysis results.

Uhura's communication console explodes

Charlie then enters and Kirk asks him outright if he was responsible for the Antares ' destruction. Confronted, Charlie admits to destroying the Antares by making a warped baffle plate in its energy pile "go away". He defends his action by claiming that the ship would have blown up anyway, and that the crew weren't nice to him and tried to get rid of him. He leaves and Spock tells Kirk and McCoy, " We're in the hands of an adolescent. "

Yeoman Lawton turned into an iguana

Charlie, his powers now common knowledge, takes over control of the Enterprise , starting with Charlie causing Uhura's communications console to explode, preventing Kirk from sending a distress signal and causing Uhura second-degree burns on her hands. He wants to go to Colony 5; Kirk knows that the mayhem he would create in that unstructured setting would be far worse than what he's done so far on the Enterprise . Charlie then begins his reign of terror. Passing Yeoman Lawton in the corridor, he turns her into an iguana . When he enters Rand's quarters with a pink rose (because he found out that pink was the yeoman's favorite color), Rand is in her nightdress and is shocked and angry that Charlie came in her room without knocking. When Rand asks Charlie what he wants, he says he only wants her. Rand is able to activate a communication device in her room. On the bridge, Kirk and Spock hear the conversation and leave the bridge to rescue Yeoman Rand.

Act Four [ ]

Crew woman loses her face

Kirk and Spock rush to Rand's quarters and try to stop Charlie, but the teenager throws them against the wall, and breaks Spock's legs in the process. A shocked Rand slaps Charlie across the face, to which he responds by making her disappear. Charlie refuses to tell Kirk what he did to her. He then releases both Kirk and Spock after he realizes that he needs Kirk's help to run the Enterprise . Rigging a force field , the crew attempt to trap and hold Charlie in his own quarters, but once he realizes an attempt has been made to confine him, Charlie makes the force field/wall disappear. He then goes on a rampage: turning a young crewmember into an old lady; ordering a group of crew members to stop laughing by removing their faces – one, a woman, comes out into the corridor, groping the wall and still able to make vocal sounds; and a third crewwoman he freezes as he walks past her.

A Thasian appearing on the bridge

Determined to stop Charlie before he can reach Colony 5, Kirk speculates that in taking over the ship, Charlie may have reached his limit. He therefore attempts, with the help of Spock and McCoy, to overload the boy's abilities, ordering all of the ship's systems to be activated. In the midst of the struggle, a ship from Thasus appears. It is at this point that Charlie begs to stay with the Enterprise crew. The Thasians restore the Enterprise back to normal and return Yeoman Rand, who reappears on the bridge – still wearing her nightdress and looking startled and confused. The Thasian explains to the bridge crew that they granted Charlie immense powers so he could live; powers that they cannot – or will not – remove, never explaining why. The Thasian expresses regret at the loss of the Antares , but at least can assure Kirk that his own crew and ship have been fully restored to him. The Thasian also tells Kirk it would be impossible for Charlie to live a normal life with his own people, and despite Charlie's pleas to stay with the crew, the Thasians return him to their vessel and depart. Rand – with tears in her eyes – moves instinctively close to Kirk, seated in his captain's chair . As she leans on the chair, Kirk laments, " It's all right, Yeoman. It's all over now. " McCoy leads Rand from the bridge as the Enterprise moves on in space .

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2266

Memorable quotes [ ]

" You keep interrupting, Mr. Evans. That's considered wrong. "

" Is that a girl? " " That's a girl. "

" There's no right way to hit a woman. "

" If I had the whole universe, I'd give it to you. When I see you, I feel like I'm hungry all over. Hungry. Do you know how that feels? "

" Charlie, there are a million things in this universe you can have and there are a million things you can't have. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are. "

" Sir, I put meatloaf in the ovens. There's turkeys in there now. Real turkeys. "

" He's a boy in a man's body, trying to be an adult with the adolescence in him getting in the way. "

" There's a – Tyger, tyger, burning bright, in the forest of the night. "

" I'm trying to – Saturn rings around my head, don a robe that's Martian red. "

" Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary. " " Very nice, Mister Ears. "

" Growing up isn't so much. I'm not a man, and I can do anything! You can't. "

" Yeoman Rand? Is she dead, gone, destroyed?" " I won't tell you."

" I've waited long enough. I'm going to take him on! "

" I can make you all go away… anytime I want to! "

" Don't let them take me… I – I can't even TOUCH them! "

" I want to stay…stay…stay…stay… "

Background information [ ]

Production timeline [ ].

• Original story premise in Star Trek is... : 11 March 1964
• Story outline "Charlie Is God" by Gene Roddenberry : 23 April 1964
• Revised story outline: 28 August 1964
• Story outline "Charlie X" by Gene Roddenberry: 14 April 1966
• Story outline by Gene Roddenberry: 23 April 1966
• Story outline by D.C. Fontana : 27 April 1966
• Revised outline: 9 May 1966
• First draft teleplay by Fontana: 6 June 1966
• Second draft teleplay: 27 June 1966
• Staff rewrite: 30 June 1966
• Final draft teleplay by Gene Roddenberry : 5 July 1966
• Additional revisions: 11 July 1966 , 13 July 1966
• Day 1 – 11 July 1966 , Monday (Half Day) – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Sickbay , Kirk's quarters
• Day 2 – 12 July 1966 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Corridors , Bridge
• Day 3 – 13 July 1966 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge
• Day 4 – 14 July 1966 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Recreation room (redress of Briefing room )
• Day 5 – 15 July 1966 , Friday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Transporter room , Janice Rand's quarters
• Day 6 – 18 July 1966 , Monday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Briefing room , Gymnasium (redress of Engineering )
• Day 7 – 19 July 1966 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Corridors (including Brig ), Tie-down vfx shot of Abraham Sofaer
• Score recording: 29 August 1966
• Original airdate: 15 September 1966
• Repeated: 1 June 1967
• First UK airdate (on BBC1 ): 13 September 1969
• First UK airdate (on ITV ): 13 September 1981

Story and production [ ]

• Gene Roddenberry had written a one-sentence synopsis of this episode on the first page of his original series outline for Star Trek under the title "The Day Charlie Became God." The page is reproduced in the Herbert F. Solow / Robert H. Justman volume Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p. 125. Writer Dorothy Fontana also confirmed that the episode was based on that story idea. Fontana developed the story and wrote the teleplay, but Roddenberry received story credit. [1]
• This episode was originally scheduled to air further into the season, as all action took place aboard the Enterprise , and it was basically a teenage melodrama set in the space age, both of which elements NBC disliked. However, as it required no new outer space visual effects shots (actually all Enterprise shots are recycled from the two pilots), its post-production took less time than other episodes. It was chosen to be the second episode to air, out of necessity, as no other episodes were ready for the deadline. The Antares was originally to be shown on screen, but when the early airdate was commissioned, this was eliminated. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , p. 201)
• "Charlie X" was adapted for a novelization by James Blish . It was published in the first Bantam Books Star Trek novelization collection in 1967 under the name "Charlie's Law". (This name is a pun on Charles' Law , a law of physics dealing with how changes in temperature affect the volume of a gas. ( citation needed • edit ) )
• The opening credits of this episode are the same as those used in " The Man Trap ", which included a "Created by Gene Roddenberry" credit. The credits at the close of the episode only list Roddenberry as Producer. Also, the credits for William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are missing the "starring" and "also starring" designations. This episode followed "The Man Trap" in airdate order. The main titles were standardized for syndication, however the DVD prints restore the titles to their original configuration.
• During the first-season episodes, cinematographer Jerry Finnerman was encouraged to maximize placement of colored background lighting to add exotic warmth to the gray walls of the Enterprise set. This was a major promotional point for NBC, as Star Trek was a selling point for color televisions. But as pressure to complete episodes grew, this touch gradually faded from the series. NBC was owned at the time by RCA, a major manufacturer of color television sets. ( Inside Star Trek , p. 113)
• This episode was directed by Lawrence Dobkin , who later guest-starred as Ambassador Kell in TNG : " The Mind's Eye ".
• DS9 writer/producer Ira Steven Behr says that this is the episode that "won him over." ( AOL chat , 1997 )

Performers [ ]

• James Doohan ( Scott ) and George Takei ( Sulu ) do not appear in this episode, although two words of Takei's dialogue from " The Man Trap " are dubbed in when Kirk calls the bridge from the gymnasium.
• The galley chef was voiced by Gene Roddenberry , in his first and only acting role in Star Trek . Despite having dialogue, Roddenberry remained uncredited on-screen.
• In her autobiography, Grace Lee Whitney mentions that Robert Walker , (a method actor), completely avoided the cast on the set, trying to stay alone and "in character". " He explained to us when he arrived to the set that he wanted to remain alien and apart from us – and it worked. You can see it in his performance, a subtle yet persistent air of estrangement from the Enterprise crew, and indeed from the rest of humanity. His careful effort to stay in character added a convincing dimension to his performance. " Furthermore, she added, " It's impossible to imagine anyone else in the role – he captured the perfect balance, projecting vulnerability, innocence and horrifying menace all the same time. A lesser actor could not have handled the range and depth of the character. " ( The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy , pp. 98-99)
• Fontana also praised Walker's performance, " [He] was excellent as Charlie. And he was quite a young man, he was in his twenties, but playing a teenager, he looked young enough to pull it off." [2]
• Allan Asherman , in The Star Trek Compendium , also mentions that Walker " turns in a powerful and fascinating performance ". (p. 39)
• The role of Sam was to be initially played by Beau Vandenecker , but it was eventually recast to Robert Herron . ( Per casting sheet ) Herron was a stuntman, so it was cheaper to hire him as an actor/stuntman.
• Although it may not canonically represent the creative staff's intentions, the novelization by James Blish in Star Trek 1 identifies the unnamed crewman named Sam (whom Charlie "disposes" of) as Sam Ellis, an officer on McCoy's medical staff. The episode novelization made it clear that he, along with all of the officers who were disfigured of by Charlie, were "restored" along with Rand when the Thasians intervened. However, the USS Antares could not be saved because, as the Thasian explained, it was destroyed "in this frame" whereas the zapped Enterprise personnel were "kept intact in the next frame."
• This was one of only three episodes of the first season that didn't show Vina in the last closing still. The other two episodes were " What Are Little Girls Made Of? " and " Dagger of the Mind ".
• This is the first of six original series episodes that takes place entirely aboard the Enterprise . The others are " The Changeling ", " Journey to Babel " (Babel itself is never seen), " Elaan of Troyius ", " Is There in Truth No Beauty? ", and " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield ". " The Doomsday Machine ", " The Ultimate Computer ", " The Immunity Syndrome ", and " The Tholian Web " were also filmed using only the Enterprise sets, including that of the shuttlecraft interior, but some of the action in these episodes took place on other Constitution -class starships. By any reasonable definition, each of these entries qualifies as a bottle show .
• The grates in the floors of the corridors disappeared in later episodes. In one scene, Charlie takes great delight in watching a technician lower some tubing into one of these floor grates.
• During the scene in Rand's quarters, when Charlie flings Kirk and Spock against the wall, the wall clearly has a hole punched in it. On an earlier take, Leonard Nimoy had struck the wall too forcefully.
• When Kirk and Charlie have their final confrontation, the camera moves to a rare floor-level view of the bridge. This close-up shows that the set is carpeted. This was probably done as a noise-absorber, given the propensity of the set to pick up noises like plumbing and squeaking floors. The material itself is Ozite, a portion of which was sold at the Profiles in History Star Trek auction in June 2002.
• The ship's gymnasium makes its first and only appearance in the series. It was originally intended to be seen in more episodes, as some of the shots showing acrobatics and gymnastics there were filmed as intended stock footage for reuse later. The gymnasium was a redress of the engineering set. The room where the gymnasts are tumbling is the redecorated briefing room .
• The bench on which Sam was sitting when he was zapped turned up later in other episodes. In " Court Martial ", it held the wrench that Benjamin Finney snatched in his attempt to club Kirk. In " This Side of Paradise ", it was topped off by the metal tray that Spock grabs during his fight with Kirk in the transporter room.

Props and special effects [ ]

• This is the only episode shot after the pilots to have no exterior views of the Enterprise using the updated "series" model. All of the shots are footage from " The Cage " and " Where No Man Has Gone Before " (see: above).
• Publicity stills of Grace Lee Whitney were used on the playing cards Charlie modifies. ( The Star Trek Compendium , p. 39)
• After Charlie transforms Tina Lawton into an iguana, the noise the reptile makes was that of the sound made by Sylvia and Korob when they returned to their true forms at the end of " Catspaw ".
• Spock's scanners in this episode make the same sound the Metron transmission does in " Arena ".
• Like Trelane , Apollo , and the Gorgan , (other advanced beings whose powers threatened the crew) Charlie makes his exit with fading repetition of his final words.
• The music accompanying Charlie's disappearance at the end of this episode, highlighted by a mournful bassoon dirge, was re-used effectively in " Space Seed " as the landing party beams onto the Botany Bay ; in " Patterns of Force " for the death of John Gill; in " The Tholian Web " as Chekov witnesses the dead engineering crew on the Defiant ; as Kirk wanders the empty corridors of the faux- Enterprise early in " The Mark of Gideon "; and in " The Ultimate Computer " during Daystrom's final conversation with his M-5 computer.

Costumes [ ]

• Charlie comes on board the Enterprise wearing a patched cloak; he later leaves it on the floor beside a Jefferies tube.
• Charlie and the crew of the Antares are wearing old turtleneck uniforms left over from the two pilots. Also, when Charlie is causing panic on the corridors, crewmen can be seen wearing the new series shirts with old, pilot version trousers and boots. ( The Star Trek Compendium , p. 39)
• For most of the episode, Charlie wears a gold wraparound jacket, which appears to be an unused, early version of Kirk's green tunic made for " The Enemy Within ". It is apparently too big for him. ( The Star Trek Compendium , p. 39)
• After this episode William Shatner only wore tights once more, in " Errand of Mercy ". He later poked fun at his costume in this episode when clips of it were shown as part of the History Channel show, How William Shatner Changed the World .

Continuity [ ]

• According to Kirk's line " On Earth today it's Thanksgiving ", the beginning of this episode takes place on 22 November 2266 (assuming American Thanksgiving is meant). The reference to Thanksgiving was included in the script because originally the episode was supposed to air in late-November. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One [ page number? • edit ] )
• Still not firmly set in his characterization in this early episode, Spock shows both irritation and amusement as Uhura makes fun of him. It seems that he has learned how to express irritation (" Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions ") fairly quickly since the events of " Where No Man Has Gone Before ".
• The United Earth Space Probe Agency is referenced for the first time in this episode, with the acronym "UESPA". It was mentioned again in episode " Tomorrow is Yesterday ". Years later, Star Trek: Enterprise referenced UESPA in several episodes, including " Demons ".
• The line " Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary " spoken by Spock while under Charlie's influence is the first line of the poem " The Raven ", by Edgar Allan Poe . Spock is also forced to quote some lines from " The Tyger " by William Blake when he shouts that there is a " Tyger, Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night ". [3] . In a later episode " Plato's Stepchildren " Spock is again forced to show emotion and sing " Maiden Wine " by powerful mind power aliens.
• The song that Uhura sings to Spock and then Charlie may have been taken from an old Scottish folk song penned by Robert Burns called "Charlie, He's My Darling". The chorus in that song is almost identical to what Uhura sings. [4]
• The crew compliment of the Enterprise is stated as 428.

Script vs. screen [ ]

• The first-draft script featured Uhura as a trained mimic, who amused crewmembers by parodying her fellow officers in the recreation room. It was later turned into her performing a song, to fit Nichelle Nichols ' musical talents. ( The Star Trek Compendium , p. 38)
• The second draft of this episode's script was completed on 27 June 1966 , with the final draft coming in on 5 July . The episode itself was filmed in mid- July .
• The final draft script called for the Antares to be seen, dwarfed by the Enterprise . [5]
• A strange bit of dialogue present in the teleplay was cut from the episode: when discussing the possible existence of Thasians , and Kirk's possible father-figure behavior to Charlie, Spock satirically asked McCoy, " Shall I schedule you to give him voodoo and superstition lessons, doctor? " McCoy replied, " You can if he provides his own chicken 's teeth and penguin feathers , " to which Spock told him, " I'll see to it, doctor. " [6]
• In the final draft script, a remnant of Uhura's mimicking of other crewmembers still remained; just before she sang, Rand suggested to her, " Do someone. Do the Captain, " but Uhura replied, " No, I've done him. Someone else… let's see… " It was then that Uhura started singing about Spock.
• In the final draft script, the card trick Charlie plays with Janice, which reveals her photograph on the cards, was not specified. The script simply stated that Charlie performed a variety of card tricks which amazed Janice and the onlookers. [7]
• Writer Dorothy Fontana recalled that the filmed episode was basically the same as her screenplay, " There were a few line changes, not much. The images of how Charlie affected people, you know, no face so a woman couldn't talk, things like that, those were all there […] I noticed there really wasn't that much that was changed, it was pretty much the way I wrote it. " [8]

Preview [ ]

• The preview contains an edited Captain's Log from the finished episode: " Captain's log, stardate 1533.7. We have taken aboard an unusual passenger… the sole survivor of a transport crash fourteen years ago. "
• An alternate take of Charlie throwing Spock and Kirk against the wall in Yeoman Rand's quarters is included. The hole in the wall is still visible (Nimoy apparently hitting it too hard on a prior take or rehearsal), but while the final episode shows the start of the throw from the side, the preview shows it from the front.

Reception [ ]

• Actress Grace Lee Whitney listed this episode as one of her three favorites. " 'Charlie X' brought out another side of me, the woman looking at a younger man. That was also wonderful because I felt an allegiance to Captain Kirk. " ( Starlog #105, April 1986 , p. 49)

Syndication cuts [ ]

During the syndication run of Star Trek , the following scenes were typically cut from broadcast. The remastered version of the episode contained all scenes from the original unsyndicated version.

• Extended scenes from Charlie's beam-in to the Enterprise .
• Scenes of crewmen working in the corridor, including a scene where Charlie observes two men saying "You've got a deal, friend". In the syndicated version, this was never explained where Charlie learned the expression or why he smacked Janice Rand on her rear when repeating.
• Spock smiling while Uhura talks to him just before the musical session in the crewmen's lounge.
• Kirk talking to Charlie in his cabin.
• Women exercising in leotards when Charlie and Kirk enter the ship's gym. At the end of the gym scene, several additional tense moments were cut of Kirk demanding Charlie go to his quarters.
• Extended briefing room discussion about Charlie and his abilities.
• Additional scenes of Charlie angrily moving through the ship's corridor where he freezes a female crewman and shoves past three men; he also turns a young female crewman into an old woman.
• Extended scenes on the bridge with Charlie pleading not to be returned to Thasia.
• Extended scenes in Kirk's cabin where Kirk askes Charlie about the melted Chess pieces.

Apocrypha [ ]

• A cat version of "Charlie X" was featured in Jenny Parks ' 2017 book Star Trek Cats .

Remastered information [ ]

The remastered version of "Charlie X" aired in many North American markets during the weekend of 14 July 2007 . The episode included new effects shots of the Thasian ship, replacing the blob-like object seen on-screen with a torpedo-shaped vessel. Most notably, the remastered episode opens with a shot featuring the Antares , a new design based upon the robot grain ships seen in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode " More Tribbles, More Troubles ".

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original US Betamax/VHS release: 28 February 1985
• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 5 , catalog number VHR 2250, release date unknown
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1.3, 8 July 1996
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 4, 19 October 1999
• As part of the TOS Season 1 DVD collection
• As part of the TOS Season 1 HD DVD collection
• As part of the TOS Season 1 Blu-ray collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

Guest star [ ]

• Robert Walker as Charles Evans

Featuring [ ]

• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy
• Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Charles J. Stewart as Captain Ramart
• Dallas Mitchell as Nellis
• Don Eitner as the Navigator
• Patricia McNulty as Tina Lawton
• John Bellah as Crewman I
• Garland Thompson as Crewman II
• Abraham Sofaer as " The Thasian "

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Vinci (aka "Guard II")
• Bobby Herron as Sam
• John Lindesmith as the Helmsman
• Robert Metz as Sciences crewman 2
• Eddie Paskey as Leslie
• Gene Roddenberry as the voice  file info of the galley chef
• George Takei as Sulu (voice only; recycled audio)
• Ron Veto as Harrison (aka "Engineer")
• Laura Wood as a Command crew woman 1 (old)
• Command crewman 1
• Command crewman 2
• Command crewman 3
• Command lieutenant 1
• galley chef
• Sciences crewman 1
• Two crewmen in gymnasium
• Command crew woman 1
• Command crew woman 2 (young)
• Command crew woman 3
• Command crew woman 4
• Command crew woman 5
• Command lieutenant 2
• Command lieutenant 3
• Command officer (gymnast)
• Sciences crew woman 1
• Sciences crew woman 2
• Sciences crew woman 3
• Two gymnasts

Stunt double [ ]

• Loren Janes as the stunt double for William Shatner

Stand-ins [ ]

• William Blackburn as the stand-in for DeForest Kelley
• Frank da Vinci as the stand-in for Leonard Nimoy
• Jeannie Malone as the stand-in for Grace Lee Whitney
• Eddie Paskey as the stand-in for William Shatner

References [ ]

2249 ; 2252 ; 4-0 ; ability ; ace ; adolescence ; adult ; anger ; answer ; Antares ; Antares -type ; area ; astrogator ; astronaut ; atmospheric system ; authority ; baffle plate ; biology ; black ; body ; " Bones "; bow ; captain's chair ; card trick ; cargo vessel ; castaway ; Charlie's parents ; Charlie's relatives ; Charlie's transport ; century ; check ; checkmate ; chef ; chess master ; chess piece ; chief ; choice ; city ; Colony Alpha 5 ( Colony 5 , Earth Colony 5 ); Colony 5 governor ; computer statistics ; confined to quarters ; Constitution -class decks ; contact ; coordinates ; course ; D channel ; debris ; deflectors ; devil ; door ; dossier ; duty ; ear ; earring ; Earth ; Earth history ; Earthling ; eating ; effect ; electronic clipboard ; energy pile ; entertainment tapes ; evidence ; exercise mat ; exercise table ; eye ; falling ; father image ; female ; first officer ; fingers ; flattery ; floor ; food concentrate ; force field ; forest ; fracture ; fruit ; galley ; guide ; gymnasium ; gymnastics ; heart ; home ; Human ; hunger ; idea ; iguana ; immunity ; Jefferies tube ; judo ; knocking ; laser beacon ; laughter ; leg ; legend ; lesson ; limb ; logic ; love ; Martian ; mathematic ; meat loaf ; memory banks ; microtapes ; million ; mind ; minute ; mistake ; mister ; name ; navigator ; navigation console ; neck ; non-corporeal species ; object ; " Oh, On the Starship Enterprise "; one-way street ; oven ; passenger ; perfume ; phaser weapon ; pink ; playing card ; Poe, Edgar Allan ; poetry ; power ; present ; probability ; probe scanner ; puberty ; pugil stick ; quadrant ; quarters ; range ; " Raven, The "; record tapes ; recreation room ; risk ; road ; room ; rose ; rule ; Satan ; Saturn ; " Saturn Rings "; Saurian brandy ; schedule ; science-probe vessel ; section ; sensors ; ship's stores ; shoulder roll ; slap ; society ; solitaire ; " sound of wind and limb "; space ; starboard ; status report ; subspace frequency ; subspace frequency three ; subspace transmitter ; survey ship ; survivor ; synthetic food ; Thanksgiving ; Thasian ; Thasian ship ; Thasus ; thing ; three-dimensional checkers ; three-dimensional chess ; toes ; towel ; training program ; transmission ; transmutation ; transport ship ; transporter chief ; throw ; turkey ; " Tyger, The "; UESPA headquarters ( United Earth Space Probe Agency ); universe ; vegetable ; Vulcan lute ; wardroom ; white ; wind ; word ; year ; yeoman third class

Unreferenced material [ ]

Antarian metal chess pieces ; bluejay ; book ; detention cell ; chariot ; Charlie's law ; deck five ; feathers ; Ferndok ; ( gods ); hell ; helmet ; hybrid ; Jupiter ; lab ; librarian ; library ; meteoroids ; microscope ; pay ; penguin ; Phynburg Oscillating Framizam ; rattle ; Romulus and Remus ; subspace radio ; superstition ; teeth ; Tweedledum and Tweedledee ; voodoo ; Vulcan ; wolf ; " Wonderful One-Hoss Shay, The "; " Wynken, Blynken, and Nod "

External links [ ]

• " Charlie X " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Charlie X " at Wikipedia
• " Charlie X " at the Internet Movie Database
• " Charlie X " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Charlie X (Episode)

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The USS Enterprise meets the Antares to take charge of Charlie Evans sole survivor of a transport ship that crashed on the planet Thasus. For 14 years, Charlie grew up there alone, stranded in the wreckage, learning how to talk from the ship's computer systems which remained intact.

He is to be transported to his nearest relatives on the colony Alpha V. Crew members of the Antares speak praises about Charlie, but seem pleased to see the boy removed from their ship. After the transfer, they bid the Enterprise an unusually hasty goodbye and depart. Charlie undergoes a medical examination by Dr. McCoy. He tells the doctor the crew of the Antares did not like him very much, and that all he wants is for people to like him.

When the Antares gets nearly out of sensor range, it transmits a warning message to the Enterprise , but the message gets cut off before it can give the warning. Shortly after, Spock determines that the Antares has blown up.

Charlie quickly becomes obnoxious and shows signs that he possesses strange powers. First, he develops an infatuation with Yeoman Janice Rand. He presents her with a bottle of perfume, which turns out to be her favorite scent. Having observed a man in engineering seal an agreement to go to the recreation room with a slap on the rear, he does the same to Rand.

Charlie meets Rand later in the rec room, where Mr. Spock plays a Vulcan lyrette and Lt. Uhura sings. Charlie is annoyed with being a subject in Uhura's performance as well as with Rand paying more attention to the song than to him, so he causes Uhura to temporarily lose her voice.

In an attempt to get Charlie interested in a woman his own age, Rand introduces him to Yeoman Tina Lawton, but Charlie only has eyes for Rand and brushes her off. Later, Kirk tries to teach the young man how to fight. Sam, Kirk's training partner, laughs at one of Charlie's falls, and Charlie makes him vanish before Kirk's eyes. Shocked, Kirk calls for security guards to escort Charlie to his quarters, but Charlie says he will not let them hurt him; he then makes their phasers disappear. Charlie admits he used his powers to destroy the Antares , but says the ship would have blown up on its own sooner or later and insists, "They weren't nice to me."

Charlie discovers Kirk's plans to divert from Alpha V, and takes control of the Enterprise . He forces Spock to recite Earth poetry, turns Tina into a lizard, and chases down Rand. When she resists his advances, he makes her disappear. Charlie then goes on a rampage, hideously transforming or vanishing crew members at will.

Meanwhile, a Thasian ship approaches the Enterprise . The Thasian commander appears on the bridge, saying that his race gave Charlie his powers to help him to survive on their world, but these powers render him too dangerous to live among humans. The Thasians return Yeoman Rand and repair the damage Charlie has done, apart from the Antares . They promise to take Charlie to live with them. Charlie begs Kirk for forgiveness and pleads with him to not let the aliens have him, that they don't feel anything. Despite Kirk's statement that Charlie belongs with his own kind, the aliens take him.

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Charlie X (Episode)

Stardate 1533.6 : A powerful teenage boy wreaks havoc aboard the Enterprise.

The cargo ship Antares docks with the Enterprise to deliver young Charlie Evans , the lone survivor of a crash on the planet Thasus 14 years earlier. The personnel of the Antares — Captain Ramart and his first officer and navigator, Tom Nellis —seem unusually eager to leave—and when the Antares is destroyed, suspicion falls on Charlie.

Aboard the Enterprise, Charlie begins to work "miracles." At first these are harmless pranks, kept in check by Captain Kirk , whom Charlie comes to regard as a father figure, but when Yeoman Rand spurns his advances, she is erased from existence. Several other ship personnel are victimized, and in his eagerness to arrive at Colony Alpha V , Charlie assumes control of the Enterprise.

In an attempt to tax Charlie's control abilities, Kirk switches on the starship's interior systems to their fullest extent. Then a shimmering alien face materializes on the Enterprise bridge and identifies itself as a Thasian , come to take Charlie back. Despite Charlie's pleas, he vanishes along with the alien, doomed to spend the rest of his life alone on the bleak planet Thasus.

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playing cards

3D checkers

Vulcan lyre

Enterprise chef

Engineering crewman

Charlie Evans

Engineering Crewman

Captain Kirk in casual uniform

Yeoman Third Class Tina Lawton

Captain Ramart

Security Guard

Science Crewman

Commander Spock

Lieutenant Uhura

Ensign Vinci

medical scanner

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life support

U.S.S. Antares NCC-501

U.S.S. Enterprise' NCC-1701

Thasian ship

Enterprise gymnasium

Antares uniform patch

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Related Data

Starring William Shatner

Also Starring Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

Directed by Lawrence Dobkin

Teleplay by D.C. Fontana

Story by Gene Roddenberry

Created and Produced by Gene Roddenberry

Associate Producers Robert H. Justman , John D.F. Black

Director of Photography Jerry Finnerman

Production Designer Walter M. Jefferies

Theme Music by Alexander Courage

Music Composed and Conducted by Fred Steiner

Guest Star Robert Walker

Featuring DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Rand

Nichelle Nichols … as Uhura Charles J. Stewart … as Captain Ramart Dallas Mitchell … as Nellis Don Eitner … as Navigator Patricia McNulty … as Tina Lawton John Bellah … as Crewman I Garland Thompson … as Crewman II and Abraham Sofaer … as " The Thasian "

Art Director Roland M. Brooks

Film Editor Fabien Tordjmann

Assistant Director Michael S. Glick

Set Decorator Carl F. Biddiscombe

Costumes Created by William Theiss

Post Production Executive Bill Heath

Music Editor Robert H. Raff

Sound Editor Joseph G. Sorokin

Sound Mixer Jack F. Lilly

Photographic Effects Howard Anderson Co.

Script Supervisor George A. Rutter

Music Consultant Wilbur Hatch

Music Coordinator Julian Davidson

Special Effects Jim Rugg

Property Master Irving A. Feinberg

Gaffer George H. Merhoff

Head Grip George Rader

Production Supervisor Bernard A. Widin

Makeup Artist Fred B. Phillips , S.M.A.

Hair Styles by Virginia Darcy , C.H.S.

Wardrobe Mistress Margaret Makau

Sound Glen Glenn Sound Co.

Executive in Charge of Production Herbert F. Solow

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Star Trek Best Trek

So, the first episode of Star Trek was a monster-of-the-week horror story featuring a tragic villain and a melancholy ending. How did they follow that up in the second episode? With a monster-of-the-week horror story featuring a tragic villain and a melancholy ending. I can’t help but wonder what impression people had of Star Trek after seeing just these two episodes - they may have thought it was similar to contemporaries like The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits , just with a persistent cast and setting. Surely it doesn’t help that the plot of “Charlie X” feels like a twist on the plot of “It’s a Good Life” , a highly-regarded episode of The Twilight Zone that had aired five years earlier.

But unlike “The Man Trap” , “Charlie X” doesn’t really live up to its premise’s potential even as a horror story. It is properly creepy straight away, with Robert Walker turning out an amazing performance as the human-yet-alien Charlie Evans who is by turns sympathetic and terrifying. But the story can’t quite decide on its throughline.

The episode’s dialog seems to position it as “What if an adolescent male had godlike powers?” (This is analogous to “It’s a Good Life” ’s “What if a child had godlike powers?") But the story’s events are much more “What if someone who grew up alone without learning social skills, empathy, or moral responsibility and was very lonely had godlike powers?” Both questions have potential, but the two interfere with each other and neither is fully dealt with.

The main way in which Charlie’s adolescence is relevant is that he has a crush on Rand which is implied to be at least partially sexual in nature. But the reason he struggles to interact with Rand is the same reason he struggles to relate to everyone else in every other context: his complete lack of social development.

Kirk responds to this situation by treating Charlie as just another confused teenager and tries to teach him to fight. He doesn’t explain why he chooses this approach, but presumably it’s intended as a healthier outlet for Charlie’s frustration and a more socially-acceptable way to experience physical contact. (It feels like such a 1960s dad move.) This immediately fails due to Charlie’s complete lack of experience persevering through difficulty - and when a crewman laughs while Charlie is already frustrated and self-conscious, Charlie gets mad and disappears him right in front of Kirk.

Now, more than halfway through the episode, Kirk finally sees the threat that Charlie represents. But he doesn’t engage with Charlie as someone who doesn’t understand what he’s doing or why it’s wrong - he immediately tries to assert his dominance and intimidate Charlie into obedience, as though he sees Charlie as a rebellious teenager in need of structure and discipline. This results in the situation rapidly escalating and Charlie becoming radicalized. He quickly goes from trying to be likable to commandeering the ship and freely tormenting anyone who slights him (or whom he imagines slights him). There is no reasoning with Charlie once these lines have been crossed and the story is now about the crew trying to figure out how to deal with a powerful monster. The episode never really engages with the problem of a godlike teenager or a godlike person with no social or moral development, except to show that treating the latter as a normal teenager is probably not a good strategy.

The ending then comes as a bit of a deus ex machina. The Thasians had been set up and are a good explanation for why Charlie has his powers, but their arrival comes mostly out of nowhere and renders irrelevant the events on the ship and Kirk’s plan to defeat Charlie by overextending his powers. The Thasians hit the reset button on all the havoc Charlie has wreaked on the Enterprise , though they cannot undo the destruction of the Antares and the offscreen death of its crew. They then take Charlie away, removing the problem entirely.

But even though Charlie has murdered twenty people (and terrorized more), this ending doesn’t feel like justice. Charlie is clearly not emotionally or socially mature and it’s equally clear that this is a consequence of his tragic circumstances rather than any fault of his own. When he pleads desperately to be allowed to stay with humans instead of the Thasians whom he cannot touch and who do not love, it doesn’t feel like a dastardly villain is about to receive their just deserts. Even Kirk is moved to argue that Charlie should be with his own kind.

The best outcome would be the Thasians removing Charlie’s powers and leaving him with the humans for rehabilitation, but no one even brings up this possibility. The closest is Kirk suggesting that Charlie could be trained not to use his powers (which the Thasian says is impossible) and then asking, “Is there nothing you can do?” In response, the Thasian says they can take Charlie away - and then does so, with Charlie’s chilling “I want to stay…” echoing as he disappears.

It’s hard to find anything satisfying about this ending. The crew don’t win through clever heroism. The status quo hasn’t been changed in any consequential way. Justice hasn’t been served. The lack of engagement with the premise’s apparent questions means there isn’t a clear takeaway or moral. We just felt sad for Charlie, then scared for the crew, and then sad for Charlie again, and now everything’s back to normal but nobody is happy and nothing was learned.

It’s dark, but also toothless - even viewed strictly as a horror story, it compares unfavorably to “It’s a Good Life” which engages better with its similar-but-less-conflicted premise and doesn’t need to pull its punches via a status quo reset at the end.

And so I can’t recommend this episode as either a starting point for Star Trek or as a horror story.

Assorted Observations

I find the crew’s treatment of Charlie frustrating through most of the episode. Right away they act like they haven’t been properly briefed on his situation (or like the lack-of-social-development angle was written in later and the rest of the script wasn’t fully updated to account for it, which could also explain the disjoint premise) and only McCoy is nice to him. They also just… let him wander around the ship with no escort, including letting him closely observe working crew members. Particularly strange is that Spock just walks away from him after beating him at chess (instead of asking about his suspicions about the Thasians) and that letting Charlie walk around freely and alone continues after his powers are discovered. At first, Kirk convinces him to go to his quarters, but then after summoning him to ask about the Antares and confirming that he destroyed it, they just let him walk away, resulting in him causing increasingly serious problems. It’s hard not to feel like the crew mismanaged the situation every step of the way and could have avoided most of the trouble with a bit more care.

The rec room scene is deeply strange, with Uhura singing a racist and sexist song about Spock having “Satan’s guise” and how “female astronauts” need “be wary” of him. Like her scene with him in “The Man Trap” , this seems likely to have been intended to show off Spock’s alien nature but today mostly reads as Uhura having a thing for Spock and being weird about it. And before you have a chance to wrap your head around this moment, Uhura sings a song teasing Charlie for being a virgin and having a crush on Rand. It hardly even seems worth pointing out Spock’s uncharacteristic grin during this scene compared with the incredibly rude and unprofessional behavior Uhura is displaying. I mostly just pretend this scene, in its entirety, never happened.

The establishing shots of the ship’s gymnasium are also distractingly goofy. With no lead-up, we are shown two men sparring with pugil sticks, a series of women tumbling in leotards, and then a shirtless Kirk falling onto a mat and pointing his rear at the camera. Only after this is there any dialog clarifying that Kirk has brought Charlie to the gym to teach him to wrestle.

After the Antares is destroyed, Kirk makes a log entry noting that he has informed “UESPA headquarters” of the loss. That’s the U nited E arth S pace P robe A gency - an early version of what the writers would eventually retcon into Starfleet. At this point in the series' production, neither Starfleet nor the Federation had been conceived of and any references to the Enterprise ’s affiliation or origin suggest it is an Earth ship. Just pretend Kirk said “Starfleet command” here.

The episode does have a couple decent character-establishing scenes. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discussing the legends of Thasians on the bridge and Spock accusing McCoy of thinking emotionally rather than logically for dismissing a hard-to-believe explanation for otherwise unaccountable evidence is a solid early example of the nature of their relationship. Similarly, Kirk beating Spock at chess (in the franchise’s first broadcast appearance of 3D chess) and Spock calling Kirk’s approach “illogical” and Kirk countering that it is “inspired” encapsulates their relationship and Kirk’s pattern of finding clever, unanticipated solutions to the problems he encounters.

What’s disappointing about this latter example, though, is that in this episode it’s largely a case of telling rather than showing. It would land much more strongly if Kirk saved the day in the main plot through the use of illogical/inspired tactics. And he almost does. His plan to spread Charlie’s powers too thin such that he can safely distract Charlie while McCoy sedates him is clever and bold (and I love the way Spock and McCoy TURN ON ALL THE THINGS and then, in unison, turn and stare defiantly at Charlie - three times ).

But then McCoy makes no move to sedate Charlie, and before the stalemate is resolved the Thasians show up and assume full control of the plot, leaving Kirk’s plan pointless.

Also, the Thasians quickly return Rand to the bridge - but only Rand. She’s one of several disappeared crew members, none of whom were disappeared from the bridge. Why is Rand brought back to the bridge and no one else? I suppose the Thasians read the show’s credits and realized that out of all the disappeared characters, she was the only one who was a recurring cast member and thus the only one worth caring about.

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Charlie x (1966), robert walker jr.: charlie evans.

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Capt. Kirk : 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.

Charlie Evans : Then what am I going to do?

Capt. Kirk : Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.

Charlie Evans : If I had the whole universe, I'd give it to you. When I see you, I... feel like I'm hungry. All over. Hungry. Do you know how that feels?

Lt. Cmdr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : What's going on here? Spock calls me to the bridge and then goes into some kind of poetry!

Captain James T. Kirk : [referring to the wounded Uhura]  See to her, Doctor.

Mr. Spock : Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered, weak and weary.

Charlie Evans : Very nice, Mr. Ears.

Charlie Evans : Is that a girl?

Captain James T. Kirk : That's a girl.

[gradually fading] 

Charlie Evans : I wanna stay... stay... stay... stay... sta...

Charlie Evans : [to Janice Rand]  Are you a girl?

Charlie Evans : He had a mean look. I had to freeze him. I like happy looks.

Capt. Kirk : [after losing contact with the Antares]  Sweep the area of the Antares transmission with our probe scanners, Mr. Spock.

Mr. Spock : Affirmative, Captain.

Capt. Kirk : You think something happened to the Antares, Charlie?

Charlie Evans : I don't know.

Mr. Spock : Picking up some debris on our scanners, Captain.

Capt. Kirk : What about the Antares?

Mr. Spock : The debris is what's left of the Antares.

Charlie Evans : [using his powers on Spock]  Oh, I can make him do anything; whirl around, laugh, anything.

Capt. Kirk : That's enough, Charlie.

Charlie Evans : Well, don't you think he's funny? I think he's funny.

Capt. Kirk : [firmly]  Leave my crew alone.

Mr. Spock : [Charlie leaves]  Jim, he'll soon reach a point where he won't back down.

Capt. Kirk : I know.

Charlie Evans : [vanishing Janice after she slaps him]  Why did she do that? I loved her, but she wasn't nice at all. What you did wasn't nice, either, but I still need you, Captain. The Enterprise isn't quite like the Antares. Running the Antares was easy. You have to be nice. All right?

Capt. Kirk : [temporarily in pain from Charlie's powers]  Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock : My legs... they're broken.

Capt. Kirk : Let him go, too, Charlie.

Charlie Evans : Why?

Capt. Kirk : Because I'm telling you to. Because you need me to run the ship, and I need him.

Charlie Evans : I'm supposed to ask you something. Why shouldn't I... I don't know how to explain it.

Capt. Kirk : Well, say it right out, Charlie. That usually works.

Charlie Evans : Well, in the corridor, I saw... when Janice... when Yeoman Rand was...

[swatting Kirk on the butt like he did to Janice] 

Charlie Evans : Well, I did that to her. She didn't like it. She said you'd explain it to me.

Capt. Kirk : Me? I see. Well, um... uh, there are things you can do with a lady, uh, Charlie, that you... uh, well, there's n-no right way to hit a woman. I mean, man to man is... is one thing, but, um, man and woman, uh, it's, uh... is, uh... well, it's, uh, another thing. Do you understand?

Capt. Kirk : Are you responsible for what happened to the Antares, Charlie?

Capt. Kirk : Answer me.

Charlie Evans : Yes. There was a warped baffle plate on the shied of their energy pile. I... I made it go away. It would've blown up anyway. Well, they weren't nice to me! They wanted to get rid of me. They don't now.

Capt. Kirk : What about us, Charlie?

Mr. Spock : [Charlie is escorted out]  We're in the hands of an adolescent.

Lt. Nyota Uhura : Captain Kirk, my instruments show we're receiving a message on subspace frequency 3, ship-to-ship. I can't hear it, sir.

Capt. Kirk : You're creating that message, Charlie, or you're blocking one that's coming in.

Charlie Evans : It's my game, Captain. You have to find out. Like you said, that's how the game's played.

Charlie Evans : How many humans like me on this ship?

Captain Ramart : Like a whole city in space, Charlie. Over 400 in the crew of a starship, aren't there, Captain?

Capt. Kirk : 428, to be exact. Is there anything we can do for you, Captain? Medical supplies, provisions?

Charlie Evans : Hundreds! All human, like me. That's exciting. Is that the right word?

Tom Nellis : That's perfect. It's the exact word.

Captain Ramart : You see, we'd like to keep Charlie with us. But with his closest living relatives on colony 5 and your vessel going that way...

Charlie Evans : I'd like to see your ship now. All of it, the people and everything.

Capt. Kirk : You keep interrupting, Mr. Evans. That's considered wrong.

Capt. Kirk : Get out of my chair, Charlie, and get out of it now.

Charlie Evans : I've got your ship, Captain.

Capt. Kirk : Maybe, Charlie. But I don't think you can handle any more.

[at his cue, Spock and Bones begin turning on instruments and lights] 

Capt. Kirk : I think you've reached your limit and can't take on one more thing. But you're gonna have to.

Charlie Evans : I could've sent you away before, but I didn't.

Capt. Kirk : You're gonna have to take me on.

Charlie Evans : Don't make me do it now!

Capt. Kirk : You've got my ship, and I want it back. I want my crew back whole, if I have to break your neck to do it!

Charlie Evans : I can make you all go away! Any time I want to!

Charlie Evans : That captain... Kirk?

Lt. Cmdr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Yeah.

Charlie Evans : Why does he call me Mr. Evans?

Lt. Cmdr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : 'Cause that's your name.

Charlie Evans : He's not... well, he isn't like Captain Ramart.

Lt. Cmdr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Well, no. Captain Kirk is one of a kind, Charlie.

Charlie Evans : I only want to be nice to you. I can give you anything. Just... just tell me.

Yeoman Janice Rand : [surreptitiously turning on the intercom to the bridge]  I want you to get out.

Charlie Evans : I only want to be nice to you.

Yeoman Janice Rand : Get out, Charlie.

Capt. Kirk : [heading to the turbolift]  Spock.

Yeoman Janice Rand : I can't make it any plainer than that.

Charlie Evans : I love you.

Yeoman Janice Rand : You don't know what the word means.

Charlie Evans : Do you like me?

Lt. Cmdr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Why not?

Charlie Evans : Some... the other ship, they didn't like me. I tried. I'm trying to make people like me. I want them to like me.

Lt. Cmdr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, M.D. : Most 17-year-olds do.

Charlie Evans : I have something for you.

[offering a pink rose] 

Charlie Evans : Pink is your favorite, isn't it?

Yeoman Janice Rand : You don't walk into a room without knocking.

Charlie Evans : Don't ever lock your door on me again, Janice. I love you.

Yeoman Janice Rand : I'll lock it when I please. What is it you want, anyway?

Charlie Evans : You.

Navigator : Captain, I can't feed any course coordinates into the panel, sir. It rejects the course change.

Helmsman : Helm doesn't respond, either, sir.

Capt. Kirk : [unaware that Charlie gets off the turbolift]  Mr. Spock, you getting any readings on your instruments?

Mr. Spock : Yes, sir. There's a...

[affected by Charlie's powers] 

Mr. Spock : Tiger, tiger, burning bright in the forest of the night.

Capt. Kirk : Mr. Spock.

Mr. Spock : I'm trying to...

[affected by Charlie's powers again] 

Mr. Spock : Saturn rings around my head, down a road that's Martian red.

Charlie Evans : You're trying to change course, Captain. You can't do that. I want to get to colony 5 as soon as we can.

Capt. Kirk : Release the transmitter.

Charlie Evans : You don't need all that subspace chatter.

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"Charlie X" was the 7th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , in the show's first season , first aired on 15 September 1966 . The episode was written by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana , directed by Lawrence Dobkin MA and novelized under the title "Charlie's Law" in Star Trek 1 by James Blish .

The cargo ship USS Antares transfers 17- year old Charles ("Charlie") Evans to the USS Enterprise on his way to Colony 5 from the planet Thasus . The Antares is mysteriously destroyed and Enterprise crew members disappear. Captain James T. Kirk realizes that Charlie is responsible but has no control over his deadly god -like powers.

• 2.1.1 Episode characters
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• 3 Chronology
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• 4.4.1.1.1 Translations
• 4.5 External link

Summary [ ]

The Enterprise .

The Enterprise is meeting the cargo ship USS Antares so they can transport a young teenage boy, Charles "Charlie" Evans , whom they discovered while surveying the planet Thasus . Charlie beams over to the Enterprise with Captain Ramart of the Antares , and the ship's navigator and first officer , Tom Nellis . Unknown to the Enterprise crew , Charlie has god -like powers. He does not inform Captain Kirk of his powers and is also influencing Ramart and Nellis, preventing them from informing Kirk of this. Charlie is supposed to transfer to the Enterprise , which is on route to Colony 5 , where, ultimately, he will stay with relatives.

Nyota Uhura .

After being away from all Human contact for so many years, Charlie begins to learn and integrate. Being a teenager, Charlie is also struggling with puberty and develops his first crush on the beautiful Yeoman Janice Rand . In one of the ship's recreation rooms , he secretly silences Lieutenant Nyota Uhura , who is singing, so that he can have all of Rand's undivided attention.

James T. Kirk .

Later, when Charlie is on the bridge , Captain Ramart tries to contact the Enterprise to warn them of Charlie's dangerous powers, but the Antares is secretly destroyed by Charlie before they can get a message off.

Yeoman Rand eventually introduces Charlie to a girl his own age— Yeoman Third Class Tina Lawton . Charlie immediately snubs Tina and confides to Rand his feelings for her. Rand realizes Charlie's crush is becoming difficult for her and discusses the issue with Captain Kirk, who takes pity on Charlie and attempts to befriend him. Kirk takes Charlie to the gym for some self-defense exercises. After sparring with Kirk, Charlie falls down, which prompts laughter from Sam , one of Kirk's sparring partners. Feeling hurt and humiliated, Charlie makes Sam "disappear"—finally revealing his god-like powers. Ultimately, Charlie admits to destroying the Antares . Soon, Spock suspects that Charlie might be a Thasian , a race of non-corporeal , psionically -powerful beings, rumored to have lived on the planet ages ago.

Charlie begins to take control of the Enterprise at different levels. Attempts to stop him fail, so he wreaks mayhem on some of the crew. He turns Tina Lawton into an iguana , a young female crewwoman into an old lady, and makes Yeoman Rand "disappear" after Kirk and Spock try to rescue her from Charlie's influences.

Determined to stop Charlie before they reach Colony 5, Kirk tries to overload his powers by activating different systems on the ship all at once. Then, he attempts to physically subdue Charlie. During the midst of this struggle with Charlie, an object suddenly appears alongside the ship. A translucent, floating human-like face appears on the bridge. The voice from the face informs the bridge that it is a Thasian, the powerful psionic beings Spock believed still existed. The Thasian states that it had taken its form from centuries ago so that it might communicate with Humans . The Thasians provided Charlie with psionic powers so he could survive. Thasians have the power to transfer psionic ability to other beings. Once they have done this, they either cannot or will not remove this power. Captain Kirk then suggests that Charlie belongs with humans and recommends that he might be trained not to use his psionic powers. The Thasian replies that " We gave him the power so he could live. He will use it—always ". Since it would be impossible for Charlie to live a normal life amongst humans, the Thasians "transport" him to their ship and inform the Enterprise bridge that they will continue to care for him. The Thasians depart peacefully without incident.

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• The scenes where Nyota Uhura sings in the recreation room and where James T. Kirk disputes with Charlie Evans on the bridge are replayed, as dreamlike scenery from Janice Rand 's memory, in the TOS comic : " The Dream Walkers ".
• A flashback adapting scenes from this episode was included in SA comic : " X2 ", the continuation of Charlie's story.

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The Antares as depicted in the remastered edition of this episode

• In James Blish 's novelization this episode was titled Charlie's Law .
• The Antares was not seen in the original version of this episode; however, it is pictured in the 2007 remastered edition, the design strongly resembling that of the Federation drone ships of the TAS episode " More Tribbles, More Troubles ".

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Timeline [ ], production timeline [ ], translations [ ], external link [ ].

• " Charlie X " article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Charlie X article at Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia.
• ↑ The character of Clifford Brent was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing an officer 's Starfleet uniform , was addressed as Brent in TOS episode : " The Naked Time ". The same actor also played the character of Vinci .
• ↑ The character Vinci was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing the same operations division Starfleet uniform , was addressed as Vinci in TOS episode : " The Devil in the Dark ". The same actor also played the character of Clifford Brent .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class
• 3 Achilles class