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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.