The Cage

Season 1, episode 0. This is the original pilot episode of Star Trek. It is copyrighted 1964, was completed in 1965. It was released on VHS in 1986 and first aired on television in 1988. This episode was reworked into the season 1, two part episode (episodes 11 & 12) called "The Menagerie". "Where No Man Has Gone Before" became the pilot episode for Star Trek TOS by orders of the network.

This pilot is much like the Star Trek we all come to know but not with Captain James T. Kirk commanding the Enterprise, instead it is Captain Christopher Pike in command.

The Vulcan Mr. Spock is in this episode - played by Leonard Nimoy - but the character is a bit different. Here we have a young, eager to learn Spock instead of the well seasoned and logical Spock that we all know from the rest of the episodes.

Majel Barrett is in the pilot as Number One. After this episode Barrett played the role of Nurse Chapel and the voice of the ship's computer.

The Cage was considered to be partly lost, only known footage to survive was from The Menagerie, outside of some b&w footage Roddenberry had made on 16mm for reference purposes - that must have been put together to create the 1986 VHS tape because in 1987 a film archivist found an unmarked and must 35mm of The Cage with the unused trimmed footage. Using the Menagerie, 35mm with the cut scenes, the archivist put the film back together - thus we have a fairly good restoration of The Cage today.

Recommended viewing for Star Trek fans and Sci-Fi fans in general. The Cage does have a lot of things that made Star Trek "Star Trek" but with some noticeable differences.

I am fond of this episode that was once thought lost.

8.5/10