The Star Trek Episode Sci-Fi Fans Should Watch On Thanksgiving

There's a "Star Trek" episode for every season, and Thanksgiving is no exception. "Charlie X," the second episode of "Star Trek: The Original Series" 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's cook (voiced by "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry in an uncredited role). But these plans — which includes actual turkeys and meatloaf instead of replicated grub — are quickly upstaged by the actions of the episode's titular character, Charlie Evans (Robert Walker Jr.).

The Enterprise agrees to take Charlie on board after he's discovered among the wreckage 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'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.

Charlie also has a short temper: He makes Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) disappear after she rejects his advances. Kirk soon realizes that Charlie'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 — 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's one truly horrifying "Star Trek" story, but "Charlie X" also has its lighter moments.

One of the best scenes in "Charlie X" features Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) performing a song together in the Enterprise'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's giving Spock and Uhura her undivided attention that he makes Spock's instrument mute. Uhura's singing is such an iconic part of "Star Trek" lore that it was worked into "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," one of the best Easter eggs in the show.

If you're still not tempted to sit down and watch "Charlie X" as your Thanksgiving dinner digests, perhaps this factoid will convince you: Gene Roddenberry's original pitch for "Star Trek" included "Charlie X" as a possible episode under its working title "The Day Charlie Became God." Four out of the six outlines that Roddenberry threw at NBC would be made into actual episodes, and "Charlie X" is among them. Decades after it first aired, it's still considered to be one of the best episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series."