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"Charlie X" was the 7th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, in the show's first season, first aired on 15 September 1966. The episode was written by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana, directed by Lawrence DobkinMA and novelized under the title "Charlie's Law" in Star Trek 1 by James Blish.

The cargo ship USS Antares transfers 17-year old Charles ("Charlie") Evans to the USS Enterprise on his way to Colony 5 from the planet Thasus. The Antares is mysteriously destroyed and Enterprise crew members disappear. Captain James T. Kirk realizes that Charlie is responsible but has no control over his deadly god-like powers.

Summary[]

Ent1701blish1corgi

The Enterprise.

Captain's log, stardate 1533.6
Now maneuvering to come alongside cargo vessel Antares. Its captain and first officer are beaming over to us with an unusual passenger.

The Enterprise is meeting the cargo ship USS Antares so they can transport a young teenage boy, Charles "Charlie" Evans, whom they discovered while surveying the planet Thasus. Charlie beams over to the Enterprise with Captain Ramart of the Antares, and the ship's navigator and first officer, Tom Nellis. Unknown to the Enterprise crew, Charlie has god-like powers. He does not inform Captain Kirk of his powers and is also influencing Ramart and Nellis, preventing them from informing Kirk of this. Charlie is supposed to transfer to the Enterprise, which is on route to Colony 5, where, ultimately, he will stay with relatives.

Uhura Blish1

Nyota Uhura.

Captain's log, stardate 1533.7
We have taken aboard an unusual passenger for transport to Colony Alpha V. Charles Evans, the sole survivor of a transport crash fourteen years ago. The child, alone from age 3, has not only survived, but has grown to intelligent, healthy adolescence.

After being away from all Human contact for so many years, Charlie begins to learn and integrate. Being a teenager, Charlie is also struggling with puberty and develops his first crush on the beautiful Yeoman Janice Rand. In one of the ship's recreation rooms, he secretly silences Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, who is singing, so that he can have all of Rand's undivided attention.

Jtk Blish1a

James T. Kirk.

Later, when Charlie is on the bridge, Captain Ramart tries to contact the Enterprise to warn them of Charlie's dangerous powers, but the Antares is secretly destroyed by Charlie before they can get a message off.

Captain's log, stardate 1535.8
UESPA headquarters notified of the mysterious loss of science probe vessel Antares.
SpockGoldmann1a

Spock.

Yeoman Rand eventually introduces Charlie to a girl his own age—Yeoman Third Class Tina Lawton. Charlie immediately snubs Tina and confides to Rand his feelings for her. Rand realizes Charlie's crush is becoming difficult for her and discusses the issue with Captain Kirk, who takes pity on Charlie and attempts to befriend him. Kirk takes Charlie to the gym for some self-defense exercises. After sparring with Kirk, Charlie falls down, which prompts laughter from Sam, one of Kirk's sparring partners. Feeling hurt and humiliated, Charlie makes Sam "disappear"—finally revealing his god-like powers. Ultimately, Charlie admits to destroying the Antares. Soon, Spock suspects that Charlie might be a Thasian, a race of non-corporeal, psionically-powerful beings, rumored to have lived on the planet ages ago.

CrewVHScoll1

The crew.

Charlie begins to take control of the Enterprise at different levels. Attempts to stop him fail, so he wreaks mayhem on some of the crew. He turns Tina Lawton into an iguana, a young female crewwoman into an old lady, and makes Yeoman Rand "disappear" after Kirk and Spock try to rescue her from Charlie's influences.

Der unwirkliche McCoy crew

The crew.

Determined to stop Charlie before they reach Colony 5, Kirk tries to overload his powers by activating different systems on the ship all at once. Then, he attempts to physically subdue Charlie. During the midst of this struggle with Charlie, an object suddenly appears alongside the ship. A translucent, floating human-like face appears on the bridge. The voice from the face informs the bridge that it is a Thasian, the powerful psionic beings Spock believed still existed. The Thasian states that it had taken its form from centuries ago so that it might communicate with Humans. The Thasians provided Charlie with psionic powers so he could survive. Thasians have the power to transfer psionic ability to other beings. Once they have done this, they either cannot or will not remove this power. Captain Kirk then suggests that Charlie belongs with humans and recommends that he might be trained not to use his psionic powers. The Thasian replies that "We gave him the power so he could live. He will use it—always". Since it would be impossible for Charlie to live a normal life amongst humans, the Thasians "transport" him to their ship and inform the Enterprise bridge that they will continue to care for him. The Thasians depart peacefully without incident.

References[]

Characters[]

Episode characters[]

Robert AbramsClifford Brent[1]Charles EvansSam FullerBill HadleyHarrison (Lieutenant)James T. KirkTina LawtonRyan LeslieLeonard McCoyTom NellisRamartJanice RandMontgomery ScottSpockHikaru SuluNyota UhuraVinci[2]Wilson (USS Enterprise)unnamed Thasians (the Thasian) • unnamed 2260s USS Enterprise personnel (USS Enterprise NCC-1701 personnel)
Referenced only
the Evans family

Novelization characters[]

Sam EllisCharles EvansJames T. KirkRamartJanice RandSpockNyota Uhuraunnamed Thasian
Referenced only
Tina Lawton • the Evans family

Starships and vehicles[]

Antares (Antares-class transport) • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • Thasian ship
Referenced only
unnamed Federation civilian starships (The Evans' Federation research vessel)

Locations[]

the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant
Referenced only
Alpha V colony/Colony FiveEarth (England) • VulcanThasus

Shipboard locales[]

USS Enterprise
bridgequarters (Rand's) • transporter roomgymnasiumdetention cellrec room

Races and cultures[]

Human (Bantu) • ThasianVulcan

States and organizations[]

United Earth Space Probe Agency/StarfleetUnited Federation of Planetssecurity division

Science and classification[]

Technology and weapons[]

baffle plateenergy pileintercomNerst generator (novelization only) • force fieldrecord tapeintercomlibrary computermemory bankphaserphaser pistolsensorstarshipsubspace transmitterviewscreentransportertype-2 phaser

Materials and substances[]

atmospheregasoxygen

Occupations and titles[]

captainchief engineerchief medical officercommandercommanding officercommunications officerdoctorengineerFederation Starfleet ranksFederation Starfleet ranks (2260s)first officergovernorhelmsmanlieutenantlieutenant commandermedical practitionernavigatorofficerscientistscience officersecond officership's surgeonyeoman

Other references[]

anatomybeamingBonesbootcaptain's logcaptain's log, USS Enterprise, 2266chessclothingFederation coloniesfive-year missiongovernmenthomeworldhumanoidjumpsuitlanguagelifeformlog entrylogicmattermemorynation-statenon-corporeal speciespantsplanetquadrantraces and culturesrankroseSaurian brandysolitairespacestarstar systemstardateStarfleet uniformStarfleet uniform (2260s)technologyThanksgivingtitlethree-dimensional chesstunic • "The Tyger" • uniformuniverseVictorianVulcan lutecarrier wave • "Charlie's law" • duty rosterEnglish languageperfumeplaying cardrosebudsolitaireVictorian Ageweapon

Chronology[]

years prior to 2266
The Evans' ship crashes on Thasus. (prior to episode/novelization)
stardate 1533.6, 2266 (2260s chronology, 2264–2270 Enterprise voyages)
Enterprise and Antares rendezvous.

Appendices[]

Related media[]

Adaptations[]

Video releases[]

Background[]

Antares remastered

The Antares as depicted in the remastered edition of this episode

  • In James Blish's novelization this episode was titled Charlie's Law.
  • The Antares was not seen in the original version of this episode; however, it is pictured in the 2007 remastered edition, the design strongly resembling that of the Federation drone ships of the TAS episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

Images[]

Episode images[]

Adaptation images[]

Timeline[]

published order
Previous episode:
The Naked Time
TOS episode produced Next episode:
Balance of Terror
Previous episode:
The Man Trap
TOS episode aired Next episode:
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Previous story:
first story in book
Star Trek 1
Blish1
Next story:
Dagger of the Mind
chronological order
Previous Adventure:
Where Sea Meets Sky
Chapters 1 & 31
The Captain's Table
Pocket Next Adventure:
Elegy for Charlie
Star Trek: The New Voyages 2
Previous Adventure:
Past Prologue
The Janus Gate
Voyages of the
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
(2264 to 2270)
Next Adventure:
Elegy for Charlie
Star Trek: The New Voyages 2


Translations[]
1969
Japanese : チャーリイの法則, translated by Mamoru Nakagami. (Hayakawa)
1972
German : Charlie, translated by Janis Kambulis. (Williams)
1973
Turkish : Çarli'nin Kanunu, translated by Reha Pinar. (Altın Kitaplar)
1975
Dutch : De wet van Charlie, translated by Jan Koesen. (Luitingh)
1978
Italian : La legge di Charlie, translated by Rosella Sanità. (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore)
1991
French : La Loi de Charlie, translated by Paul Couturiau. (Lefrancq)

External link[]

  1. The character of Clifford Brent was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing an officer's Starfleet uniform, was addressed as Brent in TOS episode: "The Naked Time". The same actor also played the character of Vinci.
  2. The character Vinci was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing the same operations division Starfleet uniform, was addressed as Vinci in TOS episode: "The Devil in the Dark". The same actor also played the character of Clifford Brent.
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