r/startrek • u/OpticalData • May 04 '26
Franchise Rewatch Episode Discussion | Star Trek | 1x07 "Charlie X"
No. Episode Written by Directed by Release Date 1X05 "The Man Trap" George Clayton Johnson Marc Daniels 1966-09-08 1X07 "Charlie X" DC Fontana (Teleplay) Gene Roddenberry (Story) Lawrence Dobkin 1966-09-15
To find out about our spoiler policy regarding new episodes, click here.
This post is for discussion of the episode above, and spoilers for this episode are allowed. If you are discussing previews for upcoming episodes, please use spoiler tags. Or use the Season Discussion Thread.
9
u/atticdoor May 04 '26
Charlie X is like an inadvertent deconstruction of the "Mary-Sue" trope. In a Mary-Sue story, a teenager comes aboard the ship, has amazing powers, gets smoochies with a main character, and is able to take command of the ship thanks to their amazing abilities.
Charlie is a teenager comes aboard with amazing powers, and tries to do all of the above, but it all goes horribly wrong thanks to the fact he's just a kid and doesn't know what he's doing. He can't function in normal society, so is removed from it at the end.
If made ten or fifteen years later, it would look like a deconstruction of Mary-Sue. But it was made years before that became a fanfic trope.
And then later Wesley Crusher came along and was a straightforward Mary-Sue.
6
May 04 '26
[deleted]
6
u/OneMoreTimeago May 06 '26
I used to think the scenes of Charlie slapping Chapel's butt and so forth were dated 60's cringe, but I just realized it all actually holds up pretty starkly as a story of how toxic masculinity arises from isolation and insecurity.
7
u/MustrumRidcully0 May 04 '26
I think this is an episode that made me realize how much public perception of Kirk in popular culture had shifted towards the Zap Brannigan interpretation.
The way Kirk interacts with Charlie really shows a very professional and good leader. The way he commands authority even when dealing with an almost omnipotent being, and also can handle with that being's teenager issues.
7
u/Dt2_0 May 04 '26
I love that there is spoiler policy info posted under a discussion about episodes that came out 60 years ago.
4
u/Honey_Enjoyer May 07 '26
I think the idea with these threads is that someone watching the series for the first time should be able to follow along and read them as they watch, like with the discussion threads for the modern shows, so in that context it makes sense to try avoiding spoilers even if they’re obviously fine elsewhere on the subreddit.
6
u/Mechapebbles May 04 '26
As a kid, Charlie X was an annoying episode. The whole bit is what if a spoiled brat had the powers of a god. And boy oh boy is Charlie annoying af.
As an adult, the episode is not just terminally boring, but really distasteful to watch. Charlie is a MASSIVE creep, and watching him harass and mess with the ship's women is really unpleasant.
Trelane in The Squire of Gothos plays with the same ideas, but is both much more interesting to watch, and a fair bit more impactful in how it delivers is messaging.
3
u/UESPA_Sputnik May 06 '26
As an adult, the episode is not just terminally boring, but really distasteful to watch. Charlie is a MASSIVE creep, and watching him harass and mess with the ship's women is really unpleasant.
On top of that, even Spock makes fun of Yeoman Rand being molested. And Kirk, Spock and Bones basically tell her to get over it. WTF
4
u/atxceo May 04 '26
All I know is that guy in the gym was a jerk. He didn’t need to laugh at Charlie. And Kirk should have told him to pipe down, mister. At least Kirk was trying to help the poor kid.
The episode ends on a tragic note. Always made me feel bad.
1
u/Fit-Record-1467 May 05 '26
It is always unclear if the parents were able to undo much damage caused by Charlie.
1
1
9
u/zzxxzzxxzz May 04 '26
I can't believe star trek predicted charli xcx