The Man Trap
"The Man Trap" is the first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek to be broadcast. It aired on NBC on September 8, 1966. Set in the 23rd century, the series follows the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew aboard the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise. In this episode, the crew visit an outpost to conduct medical exams on the residents, only to be attacked by a shapeshifting alien creature seeking to extract salt from their bodies. "The Man Trap" was written by George Clayton Johnson and directed by Marc Daniels.
The story—part of the original Star Trek pitch by series creator Gene Roddenberry—was first assigned to Lee Erwin. Johnson took on the writing duties after Roddenberry disliked his work on another plot proposal. Johnson's first draft was entitled "Damsel With a Dulcimer", incorporating elements from his Twilight Zone episode "The Four of Us Are Dying". Roddenberry, producer Robert H. Justman and story editor John D. F. Black all tweaked elements of the episode, including the title. "The Man Trap" was the sixth episode to be filmed but the first to be shot to schedule. Prop creator Wah Chang and costume designer William Ware Theiss created the creature.
The episode was chosen as the first of the series to be broadcast by the studio due to the horror-based plot. "The Man Trap" placed first in the timeslot with a Nielsen rating of 25.2 percent for the first half-hour and 24.2 for the remainder. After broadcast, reviewers criticized the levels of violence but praised the acting. More recent appraisals have been mixed; praise has been given to the plot and diverse cast but Hollywood.com listed it as among the worst episodes of the series. The creature has been dubbed the "salt vampire" by fans; it was redesigned for possible inclusion in the 2009 film Star Trek but was not used.
Plot
The USS Enterprise arrives at planet M-113 to provide supplies and medical exams for the only known inhabitants of the planet, Professor Robert Crater and his wife Nancy, who operate an archaeological research station there. Captain Kirk, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard McCoy, and Crewman Darnell transport to the surface as Kirk teases McCoy about his affection for Nancy ten years earlier. They arrive in the research station, and each of the three men sees Nancy differently: McCoy as she was when he first met her, Kirk as she should look accounting for her age, and Darnell as an attractive blonde woman whom he met on a pleasure planet. When Nancy goes out to fetch her husband, she beckons Darnell to follow her.Professor Crater is reluctant to be examined, telling Kirk that they only require salt tablets. Before McCoy can complete the examination, they hear a scream from outside. They find Darnell dead, with red ring-like mottling on his face, a plant root in his mouth, and Nancy standing over him saying she was unable to stop Darnell from tasting the plant. On board Enterprise, Spock analyzes the plant. He confirms that it is poisonous, but that mottling is not a symptom. McCoy conducts a medical exam and, together with Spock, determines that all the salt was drained from Darnell's body. In response, Kirk transports back down to the planet with McCoy and two crewmen, Green and Sturgeon. Kirk tells Professor Crater that he and his wife should stay aboard the Enterprise until they find out what killed Darnell. Crater then runs off trying to find Nancy. Nancy kills both Sturgeon and Green; their faces show the same mottling as Darnell. Nancy assumes the form of Green, and meets Kirk and McCoy. They beam back up to the ship with Sturgeon's body.
"Green" roams the corridors, stalking several crew members, killing one. It takes the form of McCoy after confirming that the real McCoy has taken a sedative to sleep. Meanwhile, Spock confirms that scans show only one person, Crater, on the planet; Kirk and Spock beam down to capture him. They find Green's body before Crater tries to frighten them away with phaser fire. After they stun him with a phaser beam, the dazed Crater reveals that the real Nancy was killed by the creature – the last member of a long-dead civilization of shape-shifters who feed on salt – a year earlier. The creature continued to take on the appearance of Nancy out of affection for Crater, and he has been feeding it, comparing it to the "now-extinct buffalo". Kirk informs Enterprise of the creature's intrusion, as the landing party and Crater transport back to the ship.
Crater refuses to help them identify the creature, so Kirk orders the fake "McCoy" to administer truth serum. Kirk arrives in sickbay to find Crater dead and Spock injured; Spock's Vulcan blood made him incompatible with the creature's needs. Back in its "Nancy" form, the creature goes to McCoy's quarters. Kirk arrives with salt tablets to lure the creature and a phaser if he provokes the creature into attacking. McCoy hesitates, giving the creature the opportunity to feed on the salt tablets and boosting its energy. It attacks Kirk. Spock arrives and goes hand to hand against the creature, who retaliates, slapping him against the wall. The creature reverts to its natural appearance and starts to feed on Kirk as McCoy, stunned, stares in disbelief. Once Kirk screams, McCoy opens fire with his phaser. The creature changes back into the shape of "Nancy" to plead for its life. McCoy asks forgiveness, then fires again, killing it. As Enterprise leaves orbit, Kirk comments to Spock that he was thinking about the buffalo.
Production
Writing
"The Man Trap" appeared in Gene Roddenberry's original pitch for Star Trek as the title of a show with a different plot: the crew face several apparitions that are "wish-fulfilment traps which become as real as flesh and blood"; the traps increase in subtlety until the crew struggle to differentiate between apparition and reality. Lee Erwin, who had previously worked on The Lieutenant with Roddenberry, was commissioned to produce a treatment; an outline featuring a salt-devouring vampire was handed in on April 8, 1966. Meanwhile, George Clayton Johnson had been assigned a storyline, tentatively titled "Chicago II", in which the crew of the Enterprise visit a planet where the culture was that of 1920s mob-era Chicago, which later evolved into "A Piece of the Action". Johnson was hired after story editor John D. F. Black recommended him to the producers. Johnson decided to use the 1953 science fiction novel The Syndic by Cyril M. Kornbluth as the basis for the story. Roddenberry felt that Johnson's treatment did not match his vision for Star Trek, but did not want to lose him entirely, and asked him to write "The Man Trap". Erwin was paid in full for his version, and given a separate "kill fee" because it would not be used.Roddenberry wanted to see more action, so the creature's ability to create apparitions was added to the script from the original pitch. Stan Robertson at NBC suggested to Roddenberry that they might wish to get medical advice over whether the draining of a chemical from a person would kill them instantly. To find out, Roddenberry asked Kellam de Forest Research, who said that, while it had never happened in reality, a quick death would be likely. Johnson suggested that the creature in "The Man Trap" could be the last of its species. He compared its situation to the reduction in numbers of American bison. Roddenberry found the idea intriguing.
Erwin was paid a further fee to terminate his contract, and Johnson wrote a first draft teleplay titled "Damsel With a Dulcimer." While writing, Johnson consulted Black, who advised him to place the creature on the Enterprise quickly to increase the pace of the episode. This draft was delivered on May 23, but NBC felt that hallucinations were being overused; the same plot device had appeared in the pilot episode "The Cage". Johnson wrote a further draft on May 31, which reduced the number of apparitions, and was well received by Robert H. Justman. Roddenberry and Justman made further tweaks; one was to restore the name "The Man Trap" from Erwin's original treatment, another removed a scene which introduced McCoy's apprehension when using the transporter. Johnson further edited the script, but complained about the change in name. After a second edit by Johnson, it was passed from Justman to story editor Black. While the former felt that the script still needed work, Black felt it was nearly ready. Following Black's review, Roddenberry re-wrote the script between June 16 and 21. Johnson felt this re-write had "downgrad the story."
Black later said that Roddenberry removed a large part of Johnson's work, and that Johnson's original work was better than Roddenberry's edited version. Johnson was pleased with the final episode, although he was concerned that viewers might not understand Star Trek after watching "The Man Trap" owing to differences in characterization between this episode and the rest of the series. He admitted that he did not like Spock and was concerned that the character would not be understood after this episode. Roddenberry was pleased with Johnson's work, and offered him further writing work on "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", which had been written by Robert Bloch. Roddenberry only wanted Johnson to "polish" the script; Johnson, feeling he was unable to improve it without starting from scratch, turned down the offer, but expressed the desire to work on the show again. He later wrote a story outline titled "Rock-A-Bye Baby, or Die!" in which the Enterprise would have become a childlike sentient being who idolizes Kirk as its father. This was not commissioned, so "The Man Trap" was Johnson's only work on the franchise.
Guest appearances
was cast as Nancy Crater, McCoy's former love interest; the actress had previously guest-starred in Perry Mason and was one of the main performers in the sitcom Love and Marriage. Alfred Ryder was well known for his numerous appearances in similar genre series such as The Wild Wild West and The Outer Limits. After his appearance as Robert Crater in "The Man Trap", he appeared in the science fiction series The Invaders.Actors playing two of the crewmen who died on screen later appeared in other episodes of Star Trek. Michael Zaslow, seen in "The Man Trap" as Darnell, appeared in "I, Mudd", and later had a long-running role in the soap opera Guiding Light as Roger Thorpe. John Arndt appeared in four further episodes of the original series.