In the beginning, there was Kirk. Except there wasn’t. In the beginning, there was Captain Pike and The Cage.
When Gene Roddenberry presented the original pilot episode The Cage to NBC, the network was upset. They wanted a space-western, and Roddenberry had created a serious intelligent drama set in space. The networks at the time relied on sponsorship’s from tobacco companies, and Roddenberry had insisted that none of the characters smoked. Everything with the show was wrong according to NBC, from a female first officer played by Majel Barrett, to a “satanic-looking” alien called Spock. The pilot was never aired, and Roddenberry’s dream looked to be turning into a nightmare.
Thankfully, Roddenberry was given a second chance. He accepted some of the network’s suggested changes, and refused to shift his position on others. Number One disappeared, but Spock stayed. The “cerebral” nature of it became replaced with a fistfight and phasers. And of course, Captain Christopher Pike was shelved when Jeffrey Hunter declined to come back, choosing to focus on motion picture work instead. At least that’s the story, but some people maintain that other things happened behind the scenes. That doesn’t really matter though.
Leonard Nimoy once said that if Hunter had played Pike in the regular series, it probably would never have been as successful. Pike was a grim captain, totally lacking in humour, and full of angst. With the serious nature of Number One and Spock alongside him, it would have made for a dull series. It’s not a reflection of Hunter’s acting abilities, he was very talented. His tragic death of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1969, at the young age of 42, is sorely overlooked by many Star Trek fans.
The Cage is overlooked too, but when we explore the original series we’ve got to start here. This is the real beginning, and while parts of it were shown in the later double-episode The Menagerie, we’ll get to that in time. This is quite possibly the least-viewed episode of Star Trek ever, and if you’ve seen it then you can count yourself amongst the lucky ones. It’s been aired on TV specials, and there are both remastered and original versions of the episode contained in box-sets of the original series complete with a Gene Roddenberry introduction.
SUMMARY: The Enterprise responds to a distress call from Talos IV, and Captain Pike beams down with an away-party to investigate. They meet the survivors of a vessel that crashed there 18 years before, including the lovely Vina. Vina leads Pike away from the landing site, and into a trap set for him by the Talosians, a race of highly-intelligent beings with telepathic powers. The distress call and the survivors, except for Vina, are illusions that the Talosians have created.
While the crew of the Enterprise struggle to rescue Captain Pike, Pike himself is forced through a series of illusions in a Talosian bid to have him mate with Vina. Pike resists every scenario (including the fan-favourite Orion slave girl), and the Talosians then resort to bringing in Number One and Yeoman Colt to pique his interest. Instead he turns the tables on the Talosians, and they manage to escape.
Pike urges the Talosians to release them all, and the Talosians agree, explaining that they’re a dying race and needed Pike’s help to survive. By letting their captives go, the Talosians accept their doomed fate. Vina chooses to stay, her beauty an illusion too, and the Talosians grant her deepest wish by creating the image of a man who will love her – Captain Pike. As the Enterprise prepares to leave Talos IV, the real Captain Pike takes his place back on the bridge of the Enterprise, with the yeoman asking him who would have been his Eve if he’d stayed. When Doctor Boyce presses him on the matter, Pike tells him that dirty old ship’s doctors should mind their own business.
This episode is ground-breaking in many ways. It’s a mature science-fiction story, and holds up surprisingly well. Pike is a good captain, albeit one who’s too serious. Spock is a little more gung-ho. Number One is fantastic, and Susan Oliver as Vina is brilliant to watch, especially when we see the tragedy that has befallen her. The other characters don’t quite stick in the memory though, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that this is a very well-told story.
While some have chosen to ignore this episode, please give it a chance. This is history, and deserves some respect even if it’s not to your personal taste. If nothing else, it’ll allow you to hear the first ever line of dialogue in Star Trek ever… “Check the circuit!” spoken by Mister Spock, and Captain Pike giving the familiar order of “Engage!” This is where it all begins…
