Grade "Charlie X"
- Thread starter Elemental
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2/5 - Fair
If I had reviewed before rewatching the episode, I may have given it a 1/5 but this episode reminded me that there are always little nuggets that we forget about. Most of Kirk's behaviour with Charlie is very well done with the exception probably being when he spars with him. Again, some great dynamics with the supporting cast. I even felt more sympathy for Charlie than I thought I would and liked the underlying theme about kids needing time to grow and mature and be nurtured. I also liked that they didn't end it with a "happily ever after" resolution. Still though, Charlie's angry face and much of his behaviour can be laughable at times so it still only gets a 2 from me.
If I had reviewed before rewatching the episode, I may have given it a 1/5 but this episode reminded me that there are always little nuggets that we forget about. Most of Kirk's behaviour with Charlie is very well done with the exception probably being when he spars with him. Again, some great dynamics with the supporting cast. I even felt more sympathy for Charlie than I thought I would and liked the underlying theme about kids needing time to grow and mature and be nurtured. I also liked that they didn't end it with a "happily ever after" resolution. Still though, Charlie's angry face and much of his behaviour can be laughable at times so it still only gets a 2 from me.
For me, although it may not be in ST's Top Ten, it is so emblematic of what the series was originally about that I rate it excellent.
The theme is classic. The execution was beautiful. The acting was spot-on--I think Robert Walker really nailed it. In fact, I recall reading an interview with Walker wherein he stated it was the best work he had ever done on TV.
Also for me as a TOS Music fan, it holds the distinctive honor of being the first regular episode scored, and by the incomparable Fred Steiner. Great series cues came from his work.
The downbeat ending really worked for me here, as they did in the mediocre Private Little War, and even in the otherwise execrable Alternative Factor. Nice not to have kissy-face all the time.
DC, I loves ya.
The theme is classic. The execution was beautiful. The acting was spot-on--I think Robert Walker really nailed it. In fact, I recall reading an interview with Walker wherein he stated it was the best work he had ever done on TV.
Also for me as a TOS Music fan, it holds the distinctive honor of being the first regular episode scored, and by the incomparable Fred Steiner. Great series cues came from his work.
The downbeat ending really worked for me here, as they did in the mediocre Private Little War, and even in the otherwise execrable Alternative Factor. Nice not to have kissy-face all the time.
DC, I loves ya.
4/5
Again, not one of the BEST, but very good, even with the flaws. I, too, really love the feel of the first 10-15 episodes of "Star Trek." The ship really feels like it has a full 'Crew,' not just five or six guys and several extras. This is another one I've seen 100 times for no apparent reason.
Again, not one of the BEST, but very good, even with the flaws. I, too, really love the feel of the first 10-15 episodes of "Star Trek." The ship really feels like it has a full 'Crew,' not just five or six guys and several extras. This is another one I've seen 100 times for no apparent reason.
Excellent.
4/5
This is one I hated when younger. In fact, many of the more cerebral First Season episodes I avoided as a child are seen wonderfully in new light, now.
I've just finished raising one teenager, who moved out of the house, so Charlie's neediness, petulance and immaturity play naturally and well.
Rand's a real trooper, seen in an age, now, when Charlie's behaviour would get the PC Gestapo on him.
Well-executed.
This is one I hated when younger. In fact, many of the more cerebral First Season episodes I avoided as a child are seen wonderfully in new light, now.
I've just finished raising one teenager, who moved out of the house, so Charlie's neediness, petulance and immaturity play naturally and well.
Rand's a real trooper, seen in an age, now, when Charlie's behaviour would get the PC Gestapo on him.
Well-executed.
Let's hope Charlie X never meets that creepy kid, anthony from that Twilight Zone episode. Who'd wind up in the cornfield?
4/5. 5/5 when I was a teen.
4/5.
Very creepy in spots. Effective acting all around. You actually buy that Charlie is a mixed-up 17 year old with needs and longings. Some of the effects are clunky and don't work well even after digital remastering, but what can ya do. The story works, and that's what's important.
Very creepy in spots. Effective acting all around. You actually buy that Charlie is a mixed-up 17 year old with needs and longings. Some of the effects are clunky and don't work well even after digital remastering, but what can ya do. The story works, and that's what's important.
3/5. A bit clunky and ham-fisted in spots, but that ending still gives me chills.
"I want to staaaaay......staaaaaay......staaaaaay....."
"I want to staaaaay......staaaaaay......staaaaaay....."
When I came aboard.
When I came aboard.
When I came aboard.
Ever see the sequel?
Charlie's final moments when he vanishes and his voice has that creepy echo all over the bridge? Eerie and effective.
grade 5/5
One of the fledgling series most compelling and poignant early stories. Robert Walker carries the show with a masterful performance as Charlie, combining the vulnerability and the menace that the role calls for. Walker often was cast in "troubled youth" roles. It is obvious that this epsiode, as noted before, was at least partly inspired by the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life", whose original author, Jerome Bixby, later went on to become a Star Trek writer himself.
Also as noted before, the episode does a great job of using the minimal existing sets to create the illusion of a massive spacegoing vessel with many decks full of bustling crewmembers. Scenes such as the rec room and the gymnasium segements, full of off-duty crewmembers, help to achieve this effect, as do the many corridor shots full of people coming and going.
Excellent early offering, a good dramatic episode, with a not entirely happy ending, showing the dramatic potential of this new series. The negative critical reaction to "The Man Trap" when it first premiered is well-documented . . . but I wonder what the critics reaction to this superior follow-up was.
Incidentally, "Charlie X" was the very first Trek epsiode I ever saw, while still a young child. It got me hooked at an early age.
One of the fledgling series most compelling and poignant early stories. Robert Walker carries the show with a masterful performance as Charlie, combining the vulnerability and the menace that the role calls for. Walker often was cast in "troubled youth" roles. It is obvious that this epsiode, as noted before, was at least partly inspired by the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life", whose original author, Jerome Bixby, later went on to become a Star Trek writer himself.
Also as noted before, the episode does a great job of using the minimal existing sets to create the illusion of a massive spacegoing vessel with many decks full of bustling crewmembers. Scenes such as the rec room and the gymnasium segements, full of off-duty crewmembers, help to achieve this effect, as do the many corridor shots full of people coming and going.
Excellent early offering, a good dramatic episode, with a not entirely happy ending, showing the dramatic potential of this new series. The negative critical reaction to "The Man Trap" when it first premiered is well-documented . . . but I wonder what the critics reaction to this superior follow-up was.
Incidentally, "Charlie X" was the very first Trek epsiode I ever saw, while still a young child. It got me hooked at an early age.
Thankfully, when the show went into syndication, more often than not, the stations aired them in production order, so us children of the early 70's got treated to "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and "The Corbomite Manuever", and yes, "Charlie X", well before "The Man Trap" got served up.
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