Star Trek TOS S1E2 Review

I know that with a new series finding its legs, that means there will occasionally be episodes that don't end up working, but wow, is this episode a product of its time...and not in a good way.

The episode I am reviewing is called Charlie X, and it sees Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew welcome a guest on board the ship: A 17 year old young man named Charlie Evans who is very...off as a person. It seems like he has no idea how to socially interact, which is very true, but it ends up making him come across as super creepy, especially as he has this rather, well, intense obsession with Janice Rand, a female member of the crew.

And here is the problem with the episode for me. While the episode is certainly watchable, and there are some pretty good moments from Captain Kirk, Charlie himself is just a disturbing character. He's a stalker with a crush that also happens to have the power to do anything he wants. Yes, he's the villain of the episode, but there was no sympathy to him whatsoever. Star Trek would get better at generally giving the villains logical reasons for their actions, even if they're ultimately wrong, but Charlie is just a creep, and that rubs me the wrong way.

I would say that the episode is entertaining when Charlie is just trying to take over the ship and is running crazy, but it has always been extremely uncomfortable for me to watch him get more and more obsessed with a woman to where he won't take 'no' for an answer. Charlie Evans is a pretty big 'yikes' in the world of Star Trek.

Next time, we actually will be reviewing a better episode, involving ESP and what would happen if those effects were enhanced in an individual. Look out for Where No Man Has Gone Before.

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