51. James Riberius Kirk

It's almost unheard of for a network to reject a pilot, only to request a new one. But Star Trek always was a bit special. Anika and Liz are here to discuss "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the second -- and successful -- Star Trek pilot. And we have to ask -- is this real Star Trek, or just a generic action-adventure story wearing a Starfleet uniform, a shameless money grab, a blatant jumping of the shark?  But seriously, this is a strangely violent and callous episode! Anika points out the ways it revisits ideas from "The Cage" Gary Mitchell is THE WORST; he's also, essentially, fanon!Kirk #ElizabethDehnerDeservedBetter Anika's paean to Chris Pine, The Best Kirk Was Tilly at the Academy with Kirk and Mitchell? (Yes.) Is this all an elaborate plot by Spock to replace Gary Mitchell as Kirk's BFF? (Also yes.) Can we make this decades-old episode all about Admiral Cornwell? (Absolutely.)