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.)