The Man Trap

The premiere of Star Trek under the reign of Captain Kirk starts off promisingly enough with this episode. There is a good combination of character development as well as plot line here. The dilemma over endangered species and their right to survival, regardless of their threat level, is always a delicate subject and the script does a fine job with the material. The added layer of old flames reunited is also a nice touch.

Predating the same mistake they made with Seinfeld's second season (specifically, the last four episodes) by 25 years, NBC aired the first episodes of Star Trek out of order (the approved pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before, was broadcast as Episode 3). Not that it's a major problem: for one thing, the original Trek is famous for not having any significant narrative continuity between episodes (something that changed with the spin-offs); secondly, The Man Trap is just as good an example of what really makes Star Trek a riot to watch - the interaction between the characters.

Starting, like any other episode, with the "Captain's log, star date whatever" narration by Captain James Kirk (William Shatner), The Man Trap takes place on a deserted planet where a scientist (Alfred Ryder) and his wife (Jeanne Bal) are studying the remains of an ancient society. The starship USS Enterprise is orbiting around the planet so that Kirk can give the two new food supplies and the ship's physician, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), can check on their medical condition. This proves to be a bit awkward, since he and the woman were romantically involved once. Greater problems lie ahead, though, as Enterprise crew members are found dead. The cause is salt deprivation, and the strange marks on their necks suggest someone or something is doing this deliberately. Now it's up to Kirk, McCoy and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the Enterprise's half-human, half-Vulcanian scientist, to find out what's going on and how to stop it.

As is the case with most Star Trek episodes, the plot is quite simple: new planet, weird event, people in danger, Kirk and his pals saving the day. It's essentially the blueprint for the monster-of-the-week stories of The X-Files, not to mention the reason NBC agreed to give the show a chance (the original pilot, The Cage, was rejected because it was considered "too cerebral"). The apparent simplicity is used as a tool to conceal deeper issues in later installments, but here it's exactly what it looks like: a very basic script that allows any viewer to access the classic Star Trek universe without worrying about any complicated, underlying "mythology" (an element that has been mandatory in successful genre shows made after 1990). In that sense, the first Trek series is the science-fiction equivalent of Seinfeld: watch a random episode, and you'll enjoy it just as much as if you were viewing them in the correct order (the feature films changed that a little, but it's another story).

But if the stories are that simple, why bother? The answer is equally basic, but not less relevant for that: the leading trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy (even though they weren't acknowledged in that way until the start of Season 2: up to that point, only Shatner and Nimoy are credited in the title sequence; everyone else is listed in the closing credits). The elementary combination of a curious, optimistic leader, a less cheerful doctor and a purely rational, (mostly) emotionless half-alien is the kind of narrative decision that, if played well, can make the fortune of any good story. Granted, this episode doesn't contain many of the typical elements (especially the more alien traits of Spock's personality), but the seeds of all the great things to come (the chess games, the arguments, the incessant exchanges of dry wit between Bones and Spock) are clearly visible here.

In short, this may not be the proper first episode of the series, but given the standalone nature of the original Trek scripts, it works pretty well as an introduction to Gene Roddenberry's seminal TV universe, a place "where no man had gone before". It's the beginning of a small-screen legend, therefore a must-see.

The central idea of this story was anticipated by an episode in A E van Vogt's "The Voyage of the Space Beagle" (itself an anticipation of "Star Trek"). A creature that resembles a mountain lion with tentacles sucks the "id" (potassium) from its victims' bodies. (There's no explanation of where other essential nutrients come from.)

I understand why some fans don't much care for this episode. Though not intended as such, it resembles the "monster of the week" sort of story ABC insisted on for "The Outer Limits". As for the creature's failure to ask Kirk for a metric ton or two of salt -- Ryder urgently requested salt, but Kirk failed to provide it.

I like it for a number of reasons, principally that it's cool and low-key (in contrast to the noisier theatrics of almost every episode that followed). The photography is grand, making effective use of pools of light against darker backgrounds. (This would soon disappear.) There's almost no music, with sound effects creating an eerie atmosphere. From a strictly "aesthetic" perspective, "The Man Trap" is arguably the best of all the Classic episodes.

In Sept 1966, Not that many households had a Color TV. NBC's figure for January 1st, 1966 stood at 5,220,000 Nation Wide, an 85% gain over the January 1st, 1965 number but still only 9.7% of all television households. I was in HS in 66 and we didn't get a Color TV (Zenith 25") until 1967. Although all the ST Episodes were filmed in Color, Not every TV Station in your Smaller Markets had the equipment to transmit Color; so even those Households that had a Color Set in 1966 still might have only seen this Episode in B&W. I don't think it was until 1969/70 that I saw "Man Trap" and a lot of other Programs that had been filmed in color for years in living Color.

So re watching all these Episodes/Programs was a new Experience. All the Bright Different Colored Uniforms of the Crew as well as the Ship's interior and Sets was like seeing the episode for the 1st time again. Today's Generation give you the Odd Look today talking about Color TV, but People of my Generation can still remember when it was a Thrill in the early 60's to watch the NBC Peacock Fan out from B&W to "In Living Color" or watch Tinker Bell produce Color with her wand on Walt Disney's WWOC. Just because you were the Luck Family that had a Color Set in the early 60's; there were on 4 programs that were shown in Color... I still believe IMHO that "Man Trap" was one of the best Episodes of the Series.

On the surface of it this is a typical Vamp episode with a sci-fi twist. One might recall "King Lear" and the machinations of the King's daughters. That might partially explain the motivation of the antagonist, but there's more here. There's a basic functionality at work; predator and prey relationships, only this time they're encoded with a kind of intellectual gloss where the subject in question can camouflage themselves amongst the prey.

And that's another theme that's explored here. A man denied of companionship, starved for it, whose occupation doesn't lend himself to mixing with throngs of female suitors, finds that his companion is a subject of interest. What will he do when presented its talents, even though there's a deadly price to be paid? How bendable is a man when it comes to his more basic yearnings.

Another theme explores possible motivations of the creature, though even those are given a healthy amount of light, and we see the creature for all of its worth, when all is said and done.

The distant world of M-113 has ruins of a civilization that once way, but is no more. Dr. Crater is essentially marooned for the sake of his work, and whether it's the heat, his work, or lack of a moral compass, we're given some insight to, but it does not explain the entirety of his decision, and Captain James T. Kirk exposes the truth.

Do you destroy the living vestige of a lost empire? Do you kill off something that is an artifact of days long gone, but could destroy you? What would your decision be?

Again, on the surface it is a silly superficial monster episode. But if you listen to the dialogue carefully, there are some ideas there that should give you pause to think.

Enjoy.