The Cage

Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) heads the U.S.S. Starship Enterprise in this pilot that the Powers that Be passed on, forcing Gene Rodenberry to make a second pilot with Wialliam Shatner as Kirk as well as making the new version more action oriented, less cerebral and ditching the idea of a woman as second in command. But that would all come later as this review is on the topic at hand. The unaired pilot deals with Pike being held captive in a glass cage by alien beings who possess the powers of mind illusions. It's in both black & white, as well as color (the parts that would be lated integrated into "The Menagerie" 2-part episode of Star Trek) It's more thought-provoking, less "action-packed" then the later series would end up being. And I throughly enjoyed it. This original version can be found as an extra on the Season 3 DVD set of Star Trak by the way.

My Grade: B+

Before Scotty and Sulu; before Dr.McCoy; before even Capt. Kirk, Spock (Nimoy) was under command of Capt. Pike (Hunter) in the familiar Enterprise (tho with a crew of only 203, as mentioned). The genesis of this original version of a proto-Federation from Roddenberry can be traced back to the spectacular sf film of about 8 years earlier, "Forbidden Planet." As in that film, it was established that some kind of space fleet exists in mankind's future, on patrol or a Star Trek or just exploring (mostly exploring in Roddenberry's vision). There was a commander Adams in the earlier film; Roddenberry first scripted a Capt. April; when the pilot for a new TV show was finally filmed in late '64, he settled on a Capt. Pike, here a more morose and disenchanted version of Capt. Kirk, tired of the heavy responsibilities associated with such a ship's captaincy. This pilot episode, filmed close to the standards of a feature film, takes on unexpected connotations from the perspective of current times. Since it was later established that this episode took place about 13 years prior to the events of the regular Trek series, one gets the impression of a long line of captains and ship's doctors, all debating, in succession, the values and principles of crew duties and regulations after particularly trying missions, as in an early scene here.

In a clever scripting detail, we sort of come into the middle of a story as the episode begins: the crew just completed some mission or adventure on one of the Rigel planets; there were fatalities, everyone's tired. So the sense is that missions in space have been going on for quite some time. Now, the latest - a bogus distress call and pretty soon the captain is held captive by a race of big-headed aliens with extraordinary powers of illusion. It's amazing that the entire holodeck concept in the TNG series, over 20 years later, is given an early run-through here. As mentioned, the production values are close to those of a feature film - this is especially evident after the restored version of this pilot became available. Pike transits, thanks to such illusionary abilities, from one exotic locale to the next, never knowing what to expect. Jeff Hunter was pretty good as the captain, playing a bit closer to the vest than Shatner, some might say withdrawn, but with obvious leadership charisma. Nimoy, in this early version of Spock, lets loose a grin at least once, definitely a younger, less polished interpretation of his well-known character. I was a bit impressed by Barrett, who would've been 2nd-in-command had this show continued as is here. Back in the sixties, the powers-that-be could not accept a female of such high rank, but she pulled it off. They demoted her to lovestruck nurse by the time the regular show began. Hoyt seemed to exist merely as a 'bartender-as-doctor' personality, with none of the crackle Kelley brought to the role.

The rest of the cast as the crew in this early version of Trek were quite bland, including an early role for Roarke, later a fixture in some biker films and "Dirty Mary,Crazy Larry"(74). Guest star Oliver was more interesting as the fellow prisoner engaged in futuristic mating rituals with Pike - her Orion slave girl illusion was quite risqué for its time, but that was Roddenberry for you. The entire episode proved to be a highly cerebral, involved effort, too complex for the masses of that time in the view of decision-makers, and maybe even too serious in approach. Unexpectedly, a sequel to this pilot materialized during the course of the regular series, only a third of the way through the first season - "The Menagerie" parts 1 & 2 - where-in we learned the future fate of Pike, not a very pleasant prospect, as it turned out. After this pilot was rejected by the bosses, Roddenberry presented "Where No Man Has Gone Before," starring Shatner as Kirk.

Watching Star Trek's first pilot episode The Cage is like watching a historical what if taking place. Famously deemed "too cerebral" at the time of its production The Cage is where one of the most popular television programs of all time got its beginning. While it might be the beginning that never went much further, forty-five years later it is still a compelling piece of entertainment.

To begin with The Cage features some nice performances that make it a tragedy that never got to be developed past this one story. The best example of this is Jeffrey hunter as Enterprise captain Christopher Pike. Hunter's Pike comes across as being perhaps more sensitive then the later Captain Kirk yet just as tough. It's also interesting to note Leonard Nimoy as Spock and contrast his performance here with his later performances as the Spock of The Cage seems a bit less logical and a little more emotional. There's also a nice performance from Susan Oliver in the multiple guises of Vina which show off some considerable talent. Not to mention performances from Majel Barrett and John Hoyt amongst others.

The Cage is also blessed with some nice production values. In particular in the make-up and costumes of the Tallosians which stand-up relatively well even forty-five years later. The sets and the vast majority of the other costumes, while definite sixties creations like many of those in Star Trek: The Original Series, are nice guesses all things considered. There's also an exciting and well staged fight sequence in the middle of the story. Last but not least there's the score by Alexander Courage which shows off not only the Star Trek theme but Courage's skills as a composer. Together they show an inkling of what might have been if this version of Star Trek had not been aborted.

That said everything isn't perfect. If anything can be said to be a major drawback to The Cage it is the special effects. While most of them are passable and still work, some don't. This is especially true of the shots of the Enterprise itself which are far from convincing most of the time. There's also the matter of the warp sequence which looks to be incredibly cheaply done. That said there's also some fine effects like the sequence with Vina at the episodes end. The effects might be questionable but they serve the story well for the most part.

If any single element of The Cage stands out today it is the Gene Roddenberry script. Once you get passed some of the clunky techobabel and some of the dated dialog (like Pike's "women on the bridge" line early on in the episode) there is an intriguing and compelling tale. Beneath the surface it is a tale of a society so lost obsessed with illusion it has lost its other knowledge and its morality (an unintended metaphor for fandom perhaps?). It is also the tale of a man (Pike) who seeks to escape his responsibility and rebels when given the chance. It also contains a Nice little romance in the midst of a nicely constructed story that is far from intrusive and rather compliments the story by giving it an emotional anchor. It's no mistake that The Cage in a later form (the Original Series two-part story The Menagerie) won the Hugo Award which convinces me that, given some editing, The Cage would be just as compelling and watchable today.

The Cage stands as an interesting piece of television history. With nice performances, good production values and a script as impressive now as it was then The Cage represents the beginning of one of television's most popular series. It also stands out as a fascinating what if of how Star Trek might have been.

I went to a Trekie revival in the late 1970's hosted by Gene Roddenberry, in person, the series creator. When I first saw this listed here, I was confused by the September, 1966 air date. This episode never aired on NBC or any network originally. If it has been shown intact, it has only happened in later years.

At this revival, Gene showed only the black and white version of this as at that point, the color one had been lost and all he had was the black and white. It was shown on a large arena screen and was on film. He talked about the fact it had never aired and that NBC had decided against running this series based on The Cage.

Gene used The Menagerie two parter as a way to air the pilot later. When the series began, it did not air first. He said that his purpose for the series went totally over the NBC execs heads. That is no surprise as NBC often was the second place network and sometimes fell to number three of three during the late 1960's.

Gene Roddenberry originally pitched this series to NBC as Wagon Train to The Stars, based on his experience writing westerns like Have Gun, Will Travel.Often success would come to NBC by accident. The accident here is that they gave Roddenberry a second chance to start this show.

That is what happened with Star Trek. Star Trek established the teenage generation following for NBC at the perfect time here as NBC would accidentally follow it up with other series this demographic liked. In no small part Rowan & Martins Laugh-In, an experiment in modern comedy-variety series succeeded because frustrated Trekies were looking for more network fare that was not conventional.

Star Trek's fresh, bold, where no man has gone before theme became a credo at NBC as they went very far out later to keep this audience for many years. The Cage is the ultimate place for all this to begin.

"The Cage" might have ended up as a TV-movie had NBC decided not to try again with a 2nd pilot and then go to series. If so, then "The Cage" would have been the best sci-fi movie since "Forbidden Planet" (to which it is clearly indebted)--all the more remarkable because it was made on a limited television budget and the poor facilities of Desilu Studios.

Yet Roddenberry's vision yielded a story that overcame the plastic and wooden sets and the hastily put together special effects, to give us our first look into his "Star Trek Universe"--a futuristic united Earth, which has finally been put right enabling mankind to set out for the stars.

We're so accustomed to that ST Universe by now, that we may forget how truly visionary it was for 1965: A giant warp-powered starship that looked truly futuristic and beautiful, not some cliche rocket shape. The bridge, the very model of a well-designed command center, to be eclipsed only by the sets of "2001: A Space Odyssey" three years later. The transporter. A female second-in-command and a mixed-gender crew. And most important of all, believable, multi-dimensional characters who are supported by all that futuristic technology and special effects, rather than playing second fiddle to them. Roddenberry's staunch insistence on believable characterization was what separated all the Star Trek series from any other sci-fi series--and is what has enabled the Star Trek franchise to last nearly 40 years.

While the Captain Pike character didn't survive into the second pilot or the series, it also represented a fascinating departure from the TV heroes of most past TV series--something you might see in a big-budget first-run movie rather than a TV pilot film. Pike is depressed and just plain burned out from the constant strain of command, and he is seriously contemplating resigning from Starfleet altogether because he just can't take it anymore. Like any harried, burned-out white-collar worker of today, he has unrealistic dreams of just going home at a young age to retire early, or maybe starting his own business, or anything to get him out of that captain's chair. The adventure he has in "The Cage" acts as his redemption, giving him a live demonstration of Dr. Boyce's statement that no matter how tempted a man may be to pack it in and give up on life, he must find a way to meet life on its own terms, not run from it and hide in daydreams of a life that in the end isn't really for him.