Enterprise transports young passenger Charlie Evans to an Earth colony.
This is an interesting look at adolescence through the frame of sci-fi. Charles Evans had very little contact with human life before coming on board a starship and has to live amongst a community of people. He is 17 years old, a time when teenagers have to find their way in the world and try to fit into adult communities. What complicates it further is the infatuation he develops for Yeoman Janice Rand, not to mention the uncontrolled psychic power he possesses. I think this makes an interesting character driven plot.
This episode does a good job of portraying how awkward and difficult life can be in these situations. Failure and rejection are tough to deal with at any age but especially at a time when emotional maturity has not developed and confidence levels can be obliterated when things go wrong.
Twenty six year old actor Robert Walker is good as Charlie and you cringe for him as he goes from one awkward attempt at a human interaction to the next. His performance is central to the drama and he is the standout performer.
William Shatner's Kirk plays the fatherly role model trying to guide him well. "Charlie, there are a million things in this universe you can have and there are a million things you can't have. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are."
Yeoman Rand has a much bigger part than most episodes. You have to accept her objectification and the writers lack of ability to effectively communicate why it is wrong as a sign of the era. Grace Lee Whitney gives a strong performance as always and reminds us of how underused her character was by the filmmakers.
There are some unusual scenes that we don't see the like of again as the series became more plot driven. The musical numbers in the recreation room being one example. The judo session in the gymnasium is pretty fun but what those gymnasts were doing flipping out of the ship dojo I have no idea.
For me it's the type of episode I always enjoy when I watch it even though some moments are hard to endure.
It's a 7.5/10 for me but I round upwards.
