Next up on our Trek through Trek is the second episode of the original series to be broadcast – Charlie X.
The Enterprise intercepts the USS Antares, with 17 year old Charles Evans aboard. The young lad was the sole survivor of a crash on an alien planet at age 3 As the Enteprise conveys him to the nearest Earth colony, it quickly becomes apparent that there is more to Charlie’s survival than recorder tapes and plentiful food.
This story is the first broadcast example of no less than 2 trek tropes. The dnangerous child, and absolute power corrupting absolutely.
With the drives of a normal teenager, and the apparent emotional maturity of a three year old, Charlie goes from cringe (His persual of Rand and his seeking advice to Kirk) to genuinely terrifying (using his powers to kill, maim and in one memorable case, remove the faces of those people he sees as laughing at him), all attacks preceded by Charlie’s sinister glare.
Like the previous episode, this helps to establish the day to day dynamics of Starship life. The crew assemble in recreation rooms and a gymnasium where wrestling and martial arts are practiced. The Enterprise and the ill fated USS Antares, are in the Service of ESPA (Earth Space Probe Agency). Speaking of Earth, the Entperirse apparently observes the holiday of Thanksgiving, with Turkey ‘s fashioned from Meatloaf, until Evans uses his powers to replace them with the real thing.
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