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Where No Man - great dialogue

WillsBabe

WillsBabe

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I've always known that this episode has some great dialogue. It's been one of my favourites for years. I watched it again yesterday on CBS Action, a new channel over here in the UK. It was the digitally remastered version, which I haven't seen before. Anyway, enough of the visuals, the dialogue, particularly at the end of the episode is some of Trek's most resonant, in my opinion.

"above all else a god needs compassion."
"I have been contemplating the death of an old friend."
"You can't know what it is like to almost have been a god."

A couple or so of my favourites.
 
I like this episode a lot too. It is the second pilot, so it is Trek when Trek was brand new. I liked the Cage uniforms still being used. Also, a reason I prefer TOS to all other Trek is that the sets and visual effects are cheap compared to today's standards, so it brings out the characters more. It forces you to pay attention to the characters and story. WNMHGB is a great story about abusing special powers and moral choices. The fact that Mitchell is Kirk's best friend AND a threat to the ship is a great moral dilemma. Mitchell using his powers negatively (to achieve power) and Dehner using hers positively (to stop Mitchell) is also a good conflict.
 
Two great lines:

"Do you like what you see? Absolute power, corrupting absolutely?"

and

"What's your prognosis, Doctor?!!"
 
It's a five-star episode and you could go on and on with the great lines.

I love the fact that they spend so much time on Mitchell & Dehner---two one-shot characters---in the the pilot.

It shows how important the guests are when done right. If they had spent less time on them---the melancholy of the episode would have been so much less.
 
It's a standout among standouts.

Another major consideration is that this was when tv was 50 minutes, instead of 40 minutes. It's also important to notice that ST:TOS is from the era when there was one story line, and time could be spent on guests.

Now, we have 40 minutes, and 2-3 lines of plot. Just to expand the potential for viewer interest.

"DIDN'T I SAY.... you better be good to me..."?
 
Every time I watch it---it renews my love of TOS.

It just amazes me how fresh & riveting and engrossing it is every time after say, watching some lame third season episode where they were blantently preaching something, (birth control, tolerance, worker's rights) or running the good will for the 'big 3' into the ground with pointless 'buddy' episodes.

I could show that episode, shot in 1965, to any not familiar with Trek, with an open mind and not be afraid they would think it lame, dated or silly.
 
Grant said:
I love the fact that they spend so much time on Mitchell & Dehner---two one-shot characters---in the the pilot.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming because for the 60s a pilot is a proof of concept episode. 'This is what an episode of this TV show would look like.'

The TOS pilot certainly doesn't try to be a pilot in the modern sense, as the pilots of all the other Treks do, in having the characters meet each other for the first time and team up to start their voyages (we meet Kirk and Spock not merely midway, but actually in the middle of a chess game - they're familiar enough already it seems.)

One of Trek's best though? I'm uncertain. It's definitely a very solid episode and in the upper echelons of the series, but it lacks a certain DeForest Kelley quality.
 
This has long been my top favourite "Star Trek" episode. It's certainly the one that made the most impression on me back in the seventies (it was probably the first one I saw) and I certainly remember this one the most from that time.

It really works well as both a concept-driven work of "proper" Science Fiction and also as an action/adventure flick. The characters and characterisations are flawless and well treated.

Even the wife, who laughs at Trek, Trekkies et al. thought this was a bloody good piece of TV and it caused her to open up to TOS (she still thinks the other series are shit). In fact, it was at her insistence that we both went to see ST:XI at the cinema! Now there's a turn up...

Thank you, WNMHGB - I prostrate myself at your feet and praise your brilliance...
 
This whole sequence is my favorite of all the "Kirk speeches." It is also pretty sold evidence that Shatner sold the show. He really carries the load as the lead, as well as emotionally. His work is excellent and full of passion.

Dehner: "What do you know about gods?"

Kirk: "Then let's talk about humans, about our frailties. As powerful as he gets, he'll still have all that inside of him."

Dehner: "Go back!"

Kirk: "You were a psychiatrist once. You know the ugly, savage things we all keep buried, that none of us dare expose - but he'll dare! Who's to stop him? He doesn't need to care. Be a psychiatrist for one minute longer. What do you see happening to him? What's your prognosis, doctor?"

Dehner: "He's coming."

Kirk: "Then watch him. Hang on to being a human for one minute longer!"

Easily one of the best episodes and I agree: I've watched this one repeatedly and I never get tired of it. I always find more nuances, and really admire Shatner's performance. People who consider him a bad actor should be shown this episode.
 
Another vote for "one of the best episodes" of TOS. Most of my favorite episodes are "human condition" type stories rather than topical.

WNMHGB has the "sinful nature of man" angle: "You know the ugly, savage things we all keep buried, that none of us dare expose. But, he'll dare!" (Great delivery by Bill, btw)

The Menagerie: "When dreams become more important than reality..." Interesting subject from the entertainment industry.

But, back to WNMHGB, definitely agree with 6079SmithW about the dilemna Kirk has with Mitchell being his friend and the threat: "We're talking about Gary." "The captain of the Valiant probably felt the same way, and he waited too long to make his decision. I think we've both guessed that." "Set course for Delta Vega." *gets chills*
 
One of my all-time favorite scenes in TOS is the briefing room exchange between Kirk and Spock.

"Dr. Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous – what makes you right and a trained psychiatrist wrong?"
"Because she feels – I don't. All I know is logic. In my opinion, we'll be lucky to repair the ship and get away in time." - Kirk and Spock
"Will you try for one minute to feel? At least act like you've got a heart?"
- Kirk to Spock, on marooning or killing Mitchell
Click to expand...
 
Sam Peeples, the screenwriter for this episode, used to have a column about collecting old movies in Films in Review. It would seem that he was in tune with the classics, and put that knowledge to good use here.
 
just watched this the other night in remastered form. i must say, i'd forgotten how good an episode it is.and sally kellerman was f-in hot back in the day!
 
To being honest, this epsode was the one that got me hook on Star trek, it was my first exposure to the Star trek universe.
 
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