{"id":2166299,"date":"2025-11-19T11:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2166299"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:38:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:38:11","slug":"the-star-trek-episode-sci-fi-fans-should-watch-on-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-star-trek-episode-sci-fi-fans-should-watch-on-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"The Star Trek Episode Sci-Fi Fans Should Watch On Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There&#8217;s a &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; episode for every season, and Thanksgiving\u00a0is no exception. &#8220;Charlie X,&#8221; the second episode of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/1119444\/ranking-every-star-trek-series-first-season\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;Star Trek: The Original Series&quot; Season 1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">&#8220;Star Trek: The Original Series&#8221; Season 1<\/a>, is actually set during the holiday, and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) can be seen eagerly planning a celebration for the crew with the help of the USS Enterprise&#8217;s cook (voiced by <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/590284\/what-star-trek-fans-might-not-know-about-gene-roddenberry\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;Star Trek&quot;\u00a0creator Gene Roddenberry;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">&#8220;Star Trek&#8221;\u00a0creator Gene Roddenberry<\/a> in an uncredited role). But these plans \u2014 which includes actual turkeys and meatloaf instead of replicated grub \u2014 are quickly upstaged by the actions of the episode&#8217;s titular character, Charlie Evans (Robert Walker Jr.).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Enterprise agrees to take Charlie on board after he&#8217;s discovered among the\u00a0wreckage of a transport ship that crashed on the planet Thasus. The 17-year-old was the sole survivor of the crash and has evidently been living alone on the planet for years, learning to talk through the ship&#8217;s computer. Despite having no understanding of social cues, Charlie seems harmless, but it soon becomes obvious that the teen can warp reality itself, freezing crew members mid-gesture and changing their appearances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Charlie\u00a0also has a short temper: He makes Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) disappear after she rejects his advances. Kirk soon realizes that Charlie&#8217;s capabilities, combined with his immaturity, might annihilate humanity altogether. Natives from Thasus ultimately track down the Enterprise and tell Kirk that they can use their powers to send Charlie away \u2014 the same powers they bestowed upon him so he could survive in their world. And so Charlie is sent into the ether as he shouts that he wants to stay. That&#8217;s one\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/916302\/star-trek-stories-that-are-actually-horrifying\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:truly horrifying &quot;Star Trek&quot; story;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">truly horrifying &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; story<\/a>, but &#8220;Charlie X&#8221; also has its lighter moments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read more: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/1588888\/star-trek-characters-look-different-real-life\/?zsource=yahoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Star Trek Characters Who Look Completely Different In Real Life;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Star Trek Characters Who Look Completely Different In Real Life<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Charlie X contains a great Spock and Uhura moment<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Spock holding a musical instrument as his crewmates play card in &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; &#8211; NBC<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">One of the best scenes in &#8220;Charlie X&#8221; features Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and\u00a0Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) performing a song together in the Enterprise&#8217;s lounge. Spock plays the Vulcan lute and Uhura sings as their crewmates play cards and listen. Janice Rand demands an encore, and Charlie is so jealous that she&#8217;s giving Spock and Uhura her undivided attention that he makes Spock&#8217;s instrument mute. Uhura&#8217;s singing is such an iconic part of &#8220;Star\u00a0Trek&#8221; lore that it was worked into <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/844390\/best-easter-eggs-and-references-in-star-trek-strange-new-worlds\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,&quot; one of the best Easter eggs in the show;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">&#8220;Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,&#8221; one of the best Easter eggs in the show<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If you&#8217;re still not tempted to sit down and watch &#8220;Charlie X&#8221; as your Thanksgiving dinner digests, perhaps this factoid will convince you:\u00a0Gene Roddenberry&#8217;s original pitch for &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; included &#8220;Charlie X&#8221; as a possible episode under its working title &#8220;The Day Charlie Became God.&#8221; Four\u00a0out of the six outlines that Roddenberry threw at NBC would be made into actual episodes, and &#8220;Charlie X&#8221; is among them. Decades after it first aired, it&#8217;s still considered to be one of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/300780\/the-best-episodes-of-star-trek-the-original-series\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the best episodes of &quot;Star Trek: The Original Series.&quot;;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the best episodes of &#8220;Star Trek: The Original Series.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If you enjoyed this article, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.looper.com\/newsletter-syndicated\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:sign up to our free newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">sign up to our free newsletter<\/a> for the biggest movie and TV news delivered straight to your inbox. You can also <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=looper.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:add us as a preferred search source;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">add us as a preferred search source<\/a> on Google.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/2030759\/star-trek-thanksgiving-episode-charlie-x\/?zsource=yahoo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:original article on Looper;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">original article on Looper<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s a &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; episode for every season, and Thanksgiving\u00a0is no exception. &#8220;Charlie X,&#8221; the second episode of &#8220;Star Trek: The Original Series&#8221; Season 1, is actually set during the holiday, and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) can be seen eagerly planning a celebration for the crew with the help of the USS Enterprise&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2166300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[350643,415951,392325,415952,319398,349358,347707,24088],"class_list":["post-2166299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-captain-james-t-kirk","tag-charlie-evans","tag-gene-roddenberry","tag-grace-lee-whitney","tag-star-trek","tag-star-trek-the-original-series","tag-the-enterprise","tag-william-shatner"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-Star-Trek-Episode-Sci-Fi-Fans-Should-Watch-On-Thanksgiving.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2166299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2166301,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2166299\/revisions\/2166301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2166300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2166299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2166299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2166299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}