Or would they eventually have evolved beyond petty cruelty, megalomania and the desire for power for its own sake, like David McCallum in the Outer Limits episode "The Sixth Finger"?
Why did Kirk Kill Mitchell?
- Thread starter Crazyewok
- Start date
For awhile there I doubted that Mitchell could be killed at all. But I'm guessing that since his powers were more mental than anything else, he was still a human being, and could still be killed by conventional means. Getting close enough to do it would be the only problem.
Although I'm liking the idea of the Q stepping in. Perhaps they were monitoring the situation and decided to 'allow' Mitchell to be killed, because if he escaped (which he surely would), he could threaten even them.
Although I'm liking the idea of the Q stepping in. Perhaps they were monitoring the situation and decided to 'allow' Mitchell to be killed, because if he escaped (which he surely would), he could threaten even them.
The way Mitchell's power was growing there was no way to know for sure if he could be contained on the planet or destroy the Enterprise as it was leaving- you only saw the things he could do when he chose to 'show off' a bit.
I wonder- if ESP ratings were the key to this evolutionary jump, why was not Spock affected? Perhaps the mental abilities of Vulcans was not in the shows lexicon yet..
I wonder- if ESP ratings were the key to this evolutionary jump, why was not Spock affected? Perhaps the mental abilities of Vulcans was not in the shows lexicon yet..
^ Perhaps Vulcan mental abilities work on a different 'wavelength' as it were. Similar to TNG, where IIRC there are certain races which may be empathic or telepathic but which Betazoid mental abilities don't work with.
You know how this would work in real life: having done exactly the right thing, the thing that had to be done, Kirk would be put on trial for murder.
"Why did you decide to follow Mr. Mitchell?"
Anyway, I'm glad things went down the way they did. A Shatner-Kirk fistfight is better, more stylish, than what you typically got on other action shows. Add in some Star Trek fight music, which is also superior, and its pure action heaven.
"Why did you decide to follow Mr. Mitchell?"
Anyway, I'm glad things went down the way they did. A Shatner-Kirk fistfight is better, more stylish, than what you typically got on other action shows. Add in some Star Trek fight music, which is also superior, and its pure action heaven.
I really don't think comparing it to the real-life death of a young person is cool.
There's a pro novel in which the author used the idea that Q was the energy barrier, and when the ship plowed into it, there were a few humans who got limited Q powers. Being human, with no knowledge of how to handle so much power, they handled it very badly.Of course and most likely, the Q Continuum would have put a stop to Mitchell's rampage (where do the Q come from, did they also encounter the energy barrier?) but Kirk did it himself, so they didn't see the need to interfere.
Bob
Gary could easily have made the ship blow up, or crash into the planet. He had to be stopped, period.
Bringing Spock's telepathic abilities into the story is a retcon, like dragging the Q into it. The first we heard of the Vulcan mind meld was in "Dagger of the Mind."
If "Where No Man.." had been a Next Generation episode, that's probably how it would have ended. In 1965, however, a bloody fistfight-to-the-death was still an acceptable way to conclude a story on a TV drama.
It's a bit silly of Spock to conclude that just because Mitchell's abilities grow exponentially they will eventually be infinite. So what if he's superior to you now, Spock, and continues to get better? That doesn't automatically and categorically make him infinitely powerful... Q powers might have been well beyond what Mitchell could at best/worst become.
But if he could easily make the ship blow up or crash, how could he be stopped? Hitting him with a fist would be the least likely way to succeed!
Kirk's choice at this stage should still have been to go for the most potent weapon in his arsenal: the radiation bombardment from orbit. Toying around with feeble phaser rifles put everything in jeopardy.
Timo Saloniemi
i think that it was less Kirk going after Mitchell to get Mitchell, and more Kirk going to attempt to rescue Dehner.
Kirk would not have realized that she had "turned," and could easily have thought she had left with Mitchell unwillingly.
Otherwise Kirk and the ship would have simply left, and proceeded with the plan to irradiate the planet later.
Oh yes, I had forgotten that Kirk had been unconscious during Dehner's "departure".
A classic "damsel in distress" scenario, very palatable to audiences of the 1960's.
Elizabeth Dehner might have even read telepathically Kirk's noble intentions and then come to realize, despite her intoxication with her new powers, that something wasn't "right" about the whole situation and eventually came to her senses.
Bob
And glassing the planet with a starship would be more effective than a phaser rifle and a fist fight.
KIRK: "Since I was unconscious when Dr. Dehner's powers manifested themselves, I went after her, not Mitchell. She may have only been on the ship a short time, but she was still a member of my crew. Unless absolutely necessary, I refuse to leave a crewman behind."
LAWYER: "And you don't think insuring the safety of the Federation and beyond was a necessary enough reason?"
KIRK: "You read the report. She was still in the early stages of metamorphosis. I was able to reach her humanity and she was instrumental in buying me the time to stop Mitchell."
LAWYER: "Says here that Mitchell regained his powers shortly thereafter."
KIRK: "She still weakened him enough for me to break free and attack."
LAWYER ACTIVATES VIEWSCREEN. THE FIGHT SCENE PLAYS.
LAWYER: "By hitting him in the jaw? In the stomach? Karate chops? Why didn't you simply run for the rifle?"
KIRK: "Now hold on a minute. My report wasn't that detailed. All I said was they gave their lives in the performance of their duties! Where did you get this video?"
LAWYER POINTS TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM. A SHORT, BALD, HUGE SKULLED ALIEN, WITH PULSATING HEAD VEINS, SITTING NEXT TO BEN FINNEY.
KIRK: "Damn it."
^It's really too bad Talosian mental video is admissable in court...
Considering the evolution of Mitchell's powers (from speed reading, to mind reading, telekinisis, offensive lightning, matter creation), Spock was correct early on. It was too clear where Mitchell was going, so why assume limits?
Kirk used his fists when Mitchell was rendered human again--that was his best chance in a physical confrontation. If you notice, when GM was in "god" mode, Kirk used the most powerful personal weapon avaliable at the time.
Further, he already told doctor Piper what to do if he (Kirk) did not return, so the radiation option was always on the table. Meanwhile, Kirk was on a mission to not only kill GM, but to rescue Dehner--assumed to be normal, since he did not witness the transformation.
According to Sulu's calculations, in a month or so he could have bought his own starship.
You know that. But Kirk didn't think of it. And more importantly, the writers and director didn't think of that.
And at the top of it all, there was a Fight Scene (I don't remember if Kirk's shirt got ripped in this episode...).
But by comparison, it was better than TNG would have done it. At the first sign of trouble, they held a meeting. The first time Picard actually socked someone, I literally stood up in my living room and applauded.
