Where No Man Has Gone Before

Like any pilot of a beloved TV series, half the appeal is seeing the show in its nascent stages before all of the wrinkles are smoothed out. In the case of 'Where No Man Has Gone Before', a great deal is already in place: Kirk's in the chair, Sulu's on board, Spock has toned down his militaristic line delivery, but other cast members are still being arranged on the chess board, so to speak, and as familiar as everything is, it's still different.

But not all that different. The Enterprise is still charting the outer reaches of space, and Kirk ends up taking the problem head-on in a brawl on another planet. There's the spirited action that this series is known for; but it's also a pretty good science fiction story, involving god-like beings, psychic powers, and the mighty fists of Shatner to ensure that everything is mixed just right. And it makes it a point to show that these people are out there in the void, at the mercy of an operable starship.

'Where No Man' might not have the popping colors that we've come to expect on the Enterprise, but it's a great start nonetheless.

8/10