Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Gary Lockwood, Sally Kellerman, George Takei
• Directors: James Goldstone
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Samuel A. Peeples
• Producers: Gene Roddenberry, Robert H. Justman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: April 15, 1994
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300213064
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,211 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Where No Man Has Gone Before" saved the original Star Trek series even before it launched. It was actually the second Trek pilot produced by Gene Roddenberry after NBC rejected "The Cage" (now a subject of cult fascination). A retooled cast now included William Shatner as Captain James R. Kirk (the middle initial T came later), Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, George Takei as Ensign Sulu, and James Doohan as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. (DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig signed on in subsequent episodes.) A lot of thought went into scriptwriter Samuel L. Peeples's story about a crewman named Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) who has a close relationship with Kirk and some natural ESP abilities. When the Enterprise approaches an energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy, Mitchell metamorphoses into a godlike being with silver eyes, awesome psychic abilities, and a rapidly developing ego. As Mitchell becomes an increasing threat to the ship, Kirk is faced with making a terrible choice to save his crew. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover

The flight recorder of the 200-year-old U.S.S. Valiant relays a tale of terror - a magnetic storm at the edge of the galaxy.

TREK TRIVIA
Gary Lockwood (Gary Mitchell) went on to star in the sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey while Sally Kellerman (Dr. Elizabeth Dehner) played Major "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H.
Note that Kirk's headstone reads "James R. Kirk", not the later (and now famous) "James T. Kirk".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The series begins to take shape, April 5, 2001

By 

Michael May "Michael May" (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 2: Where No Man Has Gone Before [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Much has been written already about plot and performances, so I'll concentrate on one of my pet subjects: continuity.

The entire cast of the original pilot is gone from this one except for Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. Captain Kirk, Chief Engineer Scott, and Mr. Sulu are introduced. It's interesting, though, that Sulu is not at the helm in this episode, but is a member of the sciences team. Knowing what we do about Sulu's personality, it's easy to imagine that sometime following this episode he was drawn to the more exciting duty of piloting a starship.

Uhura and McCoy don't appear to be on board for this episode. In fact, there is another doctor entirely. The uniforms are still evolving in this episode and are not quite the familiar uniforms that we come to know in the series. The basic elements are there, but the color coding is limited to gold and blue.

Spock reveals for the first time that his race prizes logic over emotion, but he does so with a very self-satisfied, dare-I-say-emotional smirk. He also explains that he may be subject to some "earth emotions" because one of his "ancestors" married an earth woman. In the very next episode ("The Corbomite Maneuver") we find out that this is a half-truth at best.

Some have speculated that the "little blonde" whom Gary Mitchell threw at Kirk as a distraction in the academy might be Dr. Carol Marcus from STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. There's little to base that on, but it's fun to think about. Certainly Kirk's comment that he "almost married her" would be consistent with the relationship he has with Dr. Marcus.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Above all else, a god needs compassion.", October 27, 2003

By 

Steven Y. "Pop Culture Addict" (Marvel Universe 616) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 2: Where No Man Has Gone Before [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The second time proved to be the charm. After "The Cage" didn't play too well with NBC executives, another pilot for Star Trek was commissioned. The most noticeable difference in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was the casting of the ship's captain. Gone was Jeffrey Hunter who did an admirable job but was missing that pizzazz that was so crucial to the lead of a television series. In was William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and the landscape of popular culture was never the same again.

The U.S.S. Enterprise recovers the record-marker of the U.S.S. Valiant, a ship that was mysteriously destroyed after it encountered an energy barrier at the rim of the galaxy. The Valiant's library tapes indicate that the crew was seeking information on the subject of psionics before they perished. The Enterprise soon finds out for itself why the Valiant was pursuing this research when they encounter the same energy barrier and witness the transformation of Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner (Sally Kellerman) into psi-powered beings. As their powers grow, Kirk realizes the threat they pose to the galaxy and tries to exile them on a deserted planet. However, Mitchell refuses to go along with the plan and attacks Kirk and Dehner. Dehner is fatally wounded in the savage battle but Kirk eventually triumphs by burying his old friend in a rockslide.

The tone of Star Trek was set with "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The rather plain uniforms would soon disappear but the episode featured many of the elements that would characterize the series for its entire run: the handsome captain running around with a torn shirt doing physical battle with the threat of the week, the highly-literate science-fiction story, the metaphorical commentary on the human condition, quality guest stars, and the crisp and natural dialogue between the characters. Sure, the special effects and production design look cheesy by modern standards but the innovative spirit and creative spark behind them can still be felt. The truth is that Star Trek's official first episode still holds up astonishingly well after nearly 40 years. Now that's solid evidence that the series truly was way ahead of its time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Viewed from the context of the times, an extraordinary episode, May 20, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 2: Where No Man Has Gone Before [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This episode, the second pilot shot for the proposed Star Trek series, cleans up many of the problems of the original pilot and sets down the high standards for the show. William Shatner was clearly an improvement over Jeffrey Hunter as the captain of the Enterprise and eliminating most of the emotion from Mr. Spock was a stroke of genius. Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman play their roles of modified humans with extreme ESP powers to near perfection.
The Enterprise encounters a buoy from the missing ship U. S. S. Valiant and it contains some rather odd data. After encountering an energy barrier, the crew suddenly becomes frantic over information about E. S. P. and is destroyed. The Enterprise also encounters the energy barrier and the Lockwood and Kellerman characters (Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner) into people of extraordinary abilities, although it takes Dehner longer.
Mitchell rapidly achieves Godlike powers and Kirk tries to maroon him on a remote planet. Mitchell learns of the plot and with Dehner's help, Kirk has a fight to the death with Mitchell and kills him.
We see here the fundamental position that a captain of a starship exploring the unknown may encounter. Gary Mitchell and James Kirk are clearly friends of long standing yet Kirk must kill his friend in order to protect his ship, crew and probably the rest of humanity. It is not an easy thing to live with, yet it does summarize the dynamic energy and responsibility of a starship commander.