Beyond the Farthest Star is the first episode of the first season of the animated science fiction television series Star Trek. This series premiere episode first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 8, 1973. It was written by American author and script writer Samuel A. Peeples who had also written the Original Series second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before". In this episode, the Enterprise crew must contend with a malevolent non-corporeal alien entity that has taken control of the ship and tries to force them to help it escape the massive gravity well of a dead star.