What if Gary Mitchell had survived and been cured?

[Gary7]

I like the idea of comparing Gary Mitchell's transformation to Jean-Luc Picard becoming a Borg. Both events happened against their will. Gary's mind was altered. His id was amplified. Every man has his dark side.

If Gary had survived (somehow Kirk knocked him unconscious and then the doctor was able to reverse his condition before awakening), I think he'd have been confined to a hospital for psychiatric treatment. If he was eventually declared "normal" again and discharged, he could have been reassigned back to the Enterprise (he had to have been a top notch navigator to get that position in the first place), and if not then to some other starship. I would expect the latter, as Enterprise couldn't wait (and we eventually got Chekov). It would've been great to see Commodore Wesley of the Lexington interacting with his navigator in "The Ultimate Computer", and it turning out to be Gary Mitchell.

 

[Ronald Held]

Hr would be studied for months to years, just in case his powers reappeared. Maybe then a deck job with 24 hour covert surveillance?

 

[The Old Mixer]

I doubt I'm anywhere near the first to ask this, but did this episode influence Chris Claremont to make Jean Grey into the Phoenix?

I'd have to go digging to be sure, but Claremont, Cockrum, and/or Byrne were definitely dropping Trek references in their interviews in the X-Men Companion volumes from the early '80s. I don't recall specifically if Gary Mitchell was brought up in relation to Phoenix, but I specifically recall that "The Enemy Within" was.

 

[Shawnster]

Mitchell had to be a bit unstable in the first place, to automatically start thinking he was a god. Liz was a little more humble about it.

Isn't that the whole point of TNG's "Hide and Q" where Riker gets the power of Q - effectively becoming like Gary Mitchell after the barrier. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

[Voth commando1]

What if the whole humans being capable of such things wasn't dropped?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Isn't that the whole point of TNG's "Hide and Q" where Riker gets the power of Q - effectively becoming like Gary Mitchell after the barrier. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Riker doesn't become anywhere near as megalomaniacal as Gary did. Not even close.

And Riker also has the presence of mind to reject the power he'd been given...

 

[JonnyQuest037]

What if Gary Mitchell had survived the events of WNMHGB and somehow been cured of his condition?

Then "WNMHGB" would have been as boring of an episode as "Hide and Q."

You can't tell me they'd just let him waltz right onto the bridge and take up his normal duty shift again, as if nothing had happened. There should be all sorts of consequences from an episode like this:

Not on 60s TV, there wouldn't be. Gary Mitchell was pretty powerful, but status quo was the real god.

I'm sure if they'd planned to end the episode with Gary losing his powers and becoming a regular crewman again, they wouldn't have had him kill anyone during the episode.

The BS numbers on their personnel files showed that he had greater ESP/psi/whatever ratings than she did. I think he was affected first, and more deeply, for that reason.

Um, yes. Don't they say as much in the episode itself?

I doubt I'm anywhere near the first to ask this, but did this episode influence Chris Claremont to make Jean Grey into the Phoenix?

Not necessarily. "WNMHGB" was hardly the first story with the theme of "Power corrupts, and Absolute Power corrupts absolutely." And the original ending of the Phoenix Saga was going to have Jean Grey losing her powers, not dying.

I'd have to go digging to be sure, but Claremont, Cockrum, and/or Byrne were definitely dropping Trek references in their interviews in the X-Men Companion volumes from the early '80s. I don't recall specifically if Gary Mitchell was brought up in relation to Phoenix, but I specifically recall that "The Enemy Within" was.

All three gentlemen are definitely Trek fans. Cockrum drew several issues of Marvel's first Star Trek comic. Claremont wrote the Kirk-centric graphic novel Debt of Honor for DC*, and John Byrne has been doing Trek comics for IDW for gosh, what, 10 years now? I actually wrote a column cataloguing as many of Byrne's Trek references in his previous comics work as I could find (and I've thought of one more since: When the Vision is disassembled and loses his memories and emotions in the West Coast Avengers storyline "Vision Quest", he responds to a kiss from his wife the Scarlet Witch with a line straight out of "I, Mudd": "Wanda, is there some significance to this action?").

*A year or two back, I attended a panel featuring Claremont at a local comic convention. He opened with a joking reference to Scotty's "Hello, Computer" line from STIV and he bombed horribly.

 

[Kor]

Um, yes. Don't they say as much in the episode itself?

Well, they didn't make a direct correlation between Dehner having lower esper ratings and her not becoming as psycho as Mitchell.

Kor

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Well, they didn't make a direct correlation between Dehner having lower esper ratings and her not becoming as psycho as Mitchell.

Don't they more or less imply that when Dehner says, "Yes, it just took a little longer with me, is all"?

 

[scotpens]

. . . When the Vision is disassembled and loses his memories and emotions in the West Coast Avengers storyline "Vision Quest", he responds to a kiss from his wife the Scarlet Witch with a line straight out of "I, Mudd": "Wanda, is there some significance to this action?").

The exact same line is also used in "By Any Other Name."

 

[The Old Mixer]

All three gentlemen are definitely Trek fans. Cockrum drew several issues of Marvel's first Star Trek comic. Claremont wrote the Kirk-centric graphic novel Debt of Honor for DC*, and John Byrne has been doing Trek comics for IDW for gosh, what, 10 years now? I actually wrote a column cataloguing as many of Byrne's Trek references in his previous comics work as I could find (and I've thought of one more since: When the Vision is disassembled and loses his memories and emotions in the West Coast Avengers storyline "Vision Quest", he responds to a kiss from his wife the Scarlet Witch with a line straight out of "I, Mudd": "Wanda, is there some significance to this action?").

*A year or two back, I attended a panel featuring Claremont at a local comic convention. He opened with a joking reference to Scotty's "Hello, Computer" line from STIV and he bombed horribly.

I skimmed through the Cockrum and Claremont interviews in the first volume of X-Men Companion. Cockrum mentioned what a bad experience doing that Star Trek comic was a few times (which he said he requested, because he was a fan; I think it had been his last gig immediately before returning to X-Men after Byrne left, which was why it was coming up). And I found the part where Claremont brought up "The Enemy Within," as part of a larger tangent about the nature of good and evil that sprang from a discussion of Phoenix's fate.

 

[publiusr]

There is a part of me that wonders if he was really enhanced--he was at first--but somehow possessed-by one of Sargon's people later.

 

[johnnybear]

Ridiculous that they presented the episode as the third in transmission order considering the costumes seen in the first two shows! Dr.Piper could be explained away as one of McCoy's staff (if we had never realised the correct order) but how do you explain Spock's appearance as well? Costumes could be a new line ordered by Starfleet for it's crews (or the UESPA) or Kirk found them left over in a cupboard from Pike's time and liked 'em!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

The exact same line is also used in "By Any Other Name."

Well both races were allegedly from the galaxy of Andromeda were they not?
JB

 

[JonnyQuest037]

All three gentlemen are definitely Trek fans. Cockrum drew several issues of Marvel's first Star Trek comic. Claremont wrote the Kirk-centric graphic novel Debt of Honor for DC*, and John Byrne has been doing Trek comics for IDW for gosh, what, 10 years now? I actually wrote a column cataloguing as many of Byrne's Trek references in his previous comics work as I could find (and I've thought of one more since: When the Vision is disassembled and loses his memories and emotions in the West Coast Avengers storyline "Vision Quest", he responds to a kiss from his wife the Scarlet Witch with a line straight out of "I, Mudd": "Wanda, is there some significance to this action?").

The exact same line is also used in "By Any Other Name."

Ah, cool! I'd forgotten that. It's been a while since I've watched that episode. I wonder which episode Byrne was referencing, then? Maybe both?

I skimmed through the Cockrum and Claremont interviews in the first volume of X-Men Companion. Cockrum mentioned what a bad experience doing that Star Trek comic was a few times (which he said he requested, because he was a fan; I think it had been his last gig immediately before returning to X-Men after Byrne left, which was why it was coming up). And I found the part where Claremont brought up "The Enemy Within," as part of a larger tangent about the nature of good and evil that sprang from a discussion of Phoenix's fate.

Yeah, the first Marvel Star Trek comic was kind of a mess. They could only do one-issue stories most of the time (I think it was to emulate the episodic structure of TOS), they were restricted from using any aspects of Trek not used in TMP (Although they snuck around that a few times. Mike W. Barr referenced Kirk's time on the Republic), and it didn't really have a consistent creative team.

I also forgot to note that Cockrum also played a part in DC's Star Trek comic from the early 1980s: He, Mike W. Barr, and I *think* Marv Wolfman co-plotted the first Annual that told the story of Kirk's first mission on the Enterprise. Cockrum was going to be the penciler on it at first, but I forget why he didn't end up doing it. Possibly because he went back to Uncanny X-Men around that time.

 

[Ssosmcin]

He'd be promoted to Admiral, TOS Starfleet is run by incompetent Terrans.

At first, I read this as "incompetent Texans." I was thinking both "how does he know that?"" and "explains a lot."

 

[Ssosmcin]

Ridiculous that they presented the episode as the third in transmission order considering the costumes seen in the first two shows! Dr.Piper could be explained away as one of McCoy's staff (if we had never realised the correct order) but how do you explain Spock's appearance as well? Costumes could be a new line ordered by Starfleet for it's crews (or the UESPA) or Kirk found them left over in a cupboard from Pike's time and liked 'em!
JB

Honestly, did viewers even care back then? It wasn't a serial and the differences are superficial. I know as a kid, it only registered with me on only the most basic level: "oh, this is the one where Kirk as two stripes!" It means more to continuity freaks after the fact, I think. Back in the 60's, continuity meant a heck of a lot less. Remember, many of these shows were just "one and done." You didn't really expect to see them again, except if they made the summer rerun line up.

In the NYC syndication market, the show was run in production order. And now, on home video, you can watch it in any order you like.

 

[Voth commando1]

Yeah continuity in the sixties really wasn't important. Shows didn't last long, often a season to a few or less. A lot of people still didn't have TV or if they did they didn't get everything.

Continuity wasn't a big deal until the 90s-00s with it beginning essential and demanded in the 10s.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

He'd make a return appearance on "Whom Gods Destroy"

The greatest game show of the 23rd century.

 

[Tenacity]

he could have been reassigned back to the Enterprise (he had to have been a top notch navigator to get that position in the first place)

Nahh, it was nepotism. Mitchell knew the new captain.