Stardate:1533.6 Charlie X

Original Air date: Sept. 15, 1966
Dir: Lawrence Dobkin
The Lowdown: The Enterprise rendezvous with the freighter Antares to transport a special passenger: Charlie Evans. A 17 year old survivor from a crashed ship on the planet Thasus. It seems he was the only survivor, and from the age of 3 on was left alone to fend for himself until rescued by the crew of the Antares. After an awkward introduction to captain Kirk, Charlie meets his first female in the person of yeoman Janice Rand and immediately falls in love. Being naturally curious, Evans explores the ship and observes the crew going about their routines. While seemingly like any other teenage boy; emotional, moody, socially awkward he is hiding a secret. Charlie has the ability to transmute objects and people at will. He knows he has great power but he does not understand it. Meanwhile the crew struggle on what to do with the impudent youth, Kirk knows he can not let the boy live with his relatives on earth colony 5. The boy eventually takes control of the ship and is intent on winning Janice's heart. Spurned, Evans makes the Janice disappear and is locked in a contest of wills with the captain. With the vessel locked on course to colony 5 a communication is trying to be sent that appears to rattle Charlie and Kirk seeing this beings to assault Evans. The boy being taxed, mentally cannot handle the strain and the mysterious communication reaches the ship. The Thasians have arrived to take the boy back to their world. Humans were not meant to have this power, and after pleas from Charlie to the captain he is beamed back to the alien ship.

The DVD:
The hd image is so clear I can see the makeup on Shatner's face. Colors are vibrant especially the artistically lighted corridors and cabins. The addition of the Antares freighter was a nice nod to the animated series. The effect for the ship wasn't quite convincing it looks cartoony in hd. Some of the new phasing effects were smoother and did not take away from the story. The Thasian ship was very disappointing a couple of green blobs that actually looked like the Liberator from Blake's 7. Poor effort CBS-D! Not really much else in the way of new shots this episode. I was more taken with the cuts for syndication, over the years having up to 8 minutes of footage cut from the original running time of 52 minutes. Guest star Robert Walker Jr. was excellent in the role as Evans really capturing the awkward teenage angst and earnestness of a boy on the cusp of the adult world. A well written story by Roddenberry with the teleplay by DC Fontana had humour, angst and some action. Scary moment: Shatner in ballet tights eeewwww!

Overall: 4 out of 5 Strong story, but hampered with some poor choices for effects. The print is crystal clear and the level of detail is amazing. This episode is indicative of early season 1 Trek serious drama, a little humor and gorgeous Janice Rand!