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Summary: It's really a remake!
Review: "Balance Of Terror" is really a remake of the Robert Mitchum-Curt Jurgens submarine flick "The Enemy Below", with the only differences being in the wedding subplot and in the ending (Lernard's Romulan Commander blows himself up, Jurgens's German Commander tries to but is saved by Mitchum). Just watch them back to back sometime...
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Summary: Excellent episodes
Review: "Charlie X"..A teenage boy is found but it is unknown that he has super powers within. Great scene: Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) in her pink nightgown at the end. WOW!"Balance of Terror" Our "First look" at the Romulans. A submarine story set in space!
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Summary: Captain Kirk takes on Charlie X and the Romulan Commander
Review: A pair of solid performances from two guest performers highlight the two episodes presented on Volume 4 on the Star Trek DVD series. "Charlie X" was the second Star Trek episode ever aired, which I mention only because the story is very reminiscient of "Where No Man Has Gone Before," which has a very similar story line involving humans who have become more than human. Robert Walker, Jr. plays Charlie Evans, who had been stranded on the planet Thasia for fourteen years after the crash of a transport ship. The Enterprise is now taking him to live with relatives, but it soon becomes clear that the reason Charlie was able to survive all those years alone was that he has developed some extraordnary powers. To complicate things, Charlie is an teenager who has fallen hard for Yeoman Rand, and you can just imagine how dangerous a combination of hormones and extraordinary powers can be. Unlike what happened to Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner in the second pilot, there is a compelling pathos to Charlie's situation. After all, this is not his fault, and despite Kirk's best efforts at trying to teach Charlie how to be a man, the boy meets a sad but necessary fate summed up in a haunting final cry. Mark Lenard makes a memorable first appearance on Star Trek as the Romulan commander in "Balance of Terror." This episode is pretty much a classic submarine story updated to outer space, made compelling by the cat and mouse game between the two captains. Kirk is performing a wedding but is interrupted by news that several Earth Outposts have been attacked by a cloaked ship firing a plasma weapon. The Enterprise goes in pursuit of the Romulan vessel. When Spock pirates a view of the Romulan bridge we learn that this is the first time anyone from Starfleet has ever seen the Romulans, so there is some surprise that they look like Vulcans. The sub-plot involving Lt. Stiles, who distrusts Spock because of the physical comparison, shows that even in the Star Trek universe envisioned by Gene Roddenberry, human prejudice is still going strong. "Balance of Terror" does a nice job of working out the moves and counter moves in the running battle. Lenard brings a wonderful sense of dignity to his role and it is obvious from his first scene why they would take any opportunity to bring him back. That he was given the plumb role of Sarek was a fitting reward. Also, as bad as the Spock/Stiles subplot happens to be, the bracketting subplot about the wedding is one of the better story lines involving those unfortunate extras who die all the time on Star Trek. Still, this is an episode that deservedly ends up on most fan's top ten episode lists. I know it is on mine.
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Summary: One of the greatest Trek episodes ever...
Review: BALANCE OF TERROR is one of the best Trek episodesever...definitely within my top five Trek stories across all itsvarious incarnations. The late Mark Lenard (later to play Sarek, of course)imbues his Romulan commander with a tragic dignity and honour that prefigures the importance which Trek's alien races would play in the show's ultimate success. And CHARLIE X isn't bad, either...
Rating: 
Summary: Just about all around superb
Review: Being a huge Trek fan, I'm glad to see that Paramount is releasing all of the classic episodes on DVD. And they are all digitally enhanced and remastered from their "Special Edition" showing on the Sci-Fi channel. Which brings up the biggest problem I've got with them so far. The Sci-Fi channel changed the opening credits on several of the earliest episodes before a massive outcry caused them to restore the credits to the way they SHOULD be. I figured when the DVDs came out, Paramount would see the error of their ways and restore the original credits. Not so here. Charlie X features the new credits sequence as a different version of the classic theme. (If you listen closely you can tell). Thankfully, this error is corrected on later releases, but surely Paramount should have known that if anything, we Trekkers are meticulous about details concerning our favorite show. Not that this should turn you off of these magnificent DVDs. The digitally enhancement and super sound more than make-up for any minor defects. And Charlie X and Balance of Terror are two of the finer early entries from the Star Trek universe. Charlie is a study in tragedy, the first work from the great D.C. Fontana and Balance features the first appearance of the Romulans as well as a superb chess match between Kirk and the Romulan commander. The episodes stand up well, even after over 30 years of repeat viewings--they are still fresh, entertaining and original (something I doubt will be said about Voyager in 30 years) All in all, two Treks well worth taking.
Rating: 
Summary: Not to nitpick,
Review: but the movie "Balance of Terror" was based on is "The Enemy Below" starring Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens, not "Run Silent, Run Deep". I love this episode in spite of its rather bizarre idiosyncracies: firing the phasers that look like torpedoes from a separate control room instead of the bridge. Mark Lenard was great, pure and simple.
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Summary: great shot -- like das boat
Review: Charlie X is fine, typical Star Trek. The Romulan invasion, however, is quite entertaining and even more essential if one wishes to to understand the trek universe.
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Summary: Volume 4 is definate MUST for Star Trek fans.
Review: Charlie X simply tells illustrates the growing pains of an teenager coming of age. Robert Walker, Jr. arguably provides one of the best and memorable performances as a guest star. There are some eerie effects and imagery (i.e. which Charlie "removes" the face of a female crewman). The scene where the alien parents take back Charlie has got to be one of the most heart wrenching scenes ever filmed during it's 3 year run. Balance of Terror is in the tradition of the WWII submarine cat and mouse hunt. This early episode really tries to convey a sense of claustraphobia yet at the same time being lost in the vastness of deep space. More importantly the episode explores the them of prejudice and racism.
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Summary: God-like Teens & Reflective Romulans
Review: CHARLIE X © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS: Basic Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The hazards of bestowing too much power on someone who lacks sufficient wisdom to wield it properly Notable Historical Milestone(s): First holiday (Thanksgiving) ever celebrated on a Star Trek episode Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: 0 Dead, 1 Rendered Temporarily Nonexistent REVIEW/COMMENTARY: One of the earliest examples of the oft-overused 'Kirk Openly Defiant Against A Malevolent Entity Possessing Superior Powers And Abilities' format, our beloved captain tries to be a father figure to the nigh-omnipotent teenage menace, Charlie Evans, resulting in quite a few weird and awkward moments. As the show goes on, however, these moments become less awkward and significantly more uncomfortable & dangerously life-threatening. Although I disliked how Chuck-o misused his powers, he did score a bit of sympathy (and not a bit of envy) from me when he made Uhura go mute in the middle of a little ditty she was singing in honor of the lad. Boy, I wish I had that ability whenever Uhura starts to croon one of her tin-eared standards. Hey, wait a minute-- I DO have that ability: it's called a Mute button! Smart-Aleck remarks aside, another notable moment in this show is the galley chief's intercom message to Captain Kirk on the bridge. The man doing the voice-over is none other than Star Trek® creator/writer/producer/what-have-you Gene Roddenberry! And all you ladies out there will really appreciate seeing Jimmers' manly pecs as he shows Charles a few defensive maneuvers in the ship's gymnasium! Ahhh, nothin' like takin' a look at Shatner's bare midriff back in his prime, eh girls? BALANCE OF TERROR © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS: Basic Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The Politics Of War / The Folly of Bigotry Notable Historical Milestone(s): First appearance of the Romulans; first vessel equipped with a cloaking device Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: 1 Dead, 1 Incapacitated REVIEW/COMMENTARY: Somewhat resembling a space-bound Run Silent, Run Deep™, Balance of Terror© pits our gallant Starfleet stalwarts against a Romulan foe whose vessel can be rendered practically invisible. Fortunately, our Enterprise stalwarts use all the resources they can muster as they outduel this military threat to their Neutral Zone monitor outposts. Throw in a little pinch of trouble between Spock and a distrusting helmsman, and a dash of Kirk starting to second-guess himself out loud to a sympathetic Dr. McCoy, and you've got a decent bit of tension to make the situation even more dire and suspenseful! Mark Lenard-- best known in Star Trek lore as Sarek, father of Spock-- achieves the honor of playing the first Romulan ever seen by the Federation, and by TV audiences. A Romulan who, perhaps a bit too bound by his duty for his own good, seemed almost too sympathetic a character to deserve and accept the unfortunate fate that he simply was unable to escape. Them's the breaks... 'Late
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Summary: One very good, and one great episode
Review: Charlie X-This strong episode is about an awkward and lonely young man with exceptional powers. The episode explores the transition from boyhood to adulthood, as well as the subtleties and arbitrariness of much of interpersonal interaction. The twist is that Charlie has the power to force adults, and the viewer, not to trivialize his plight. This episode also devotes attention to personality development through casual, leisure scenes including chess and music. Unfortunately, later shows almost completely got away from trying to give us a full portrait of life on the starship, as the episodes became more formulaic. But here, a simple, tight script, augmented by the fleshing out of details, generated a strong show. The solid writing and attention to human detail allows us to feel empathetic towards Charlie at the end, despite all the harm he's caused. You wouldn't see such subtlety in later years. (4 stars) Balance of Terror-This Romulan battle episode was one of Star Trek's best shows. This episode demonstrates that while science fiction expands the range of possible stories, generally some of the best stories are the most universal. This episode could easily have been transported to the deep, and renamed Das Boot. The basic premise is simple enough, but the story is divided into discrete sections, each of which contains a surprise. I can't think of an episode which more often faded to commercial with actual drama. We are allowed right inside the Captains' minds, so we feel both their uncertainty and fear about encountering each other, and see them reformulating their strategies and estimations of each other as the chess match unfolds.
The episode is further assisted by Mark Leonard's acting (he's even better here than in Journey to Babel) and a dramatic score. The wedding scene also does not detract, since it reminds us that everything is affected by war. Kirk also is at his best here. Over the course of the episode he shows brilliance, compassion, and forgiveness. He also consoles, mediates, accepts criticism, is decisive, and stands up to injustice. Other pluses here include the stance taken on racism, and the fact that the brain trust, even at this early stage in the show, was not afraid to give Kirk a worthy adversary. (5 stars)
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