TOS - Pilot Episode - The Cage

Where else to start other than back at the very beginning and "The Cage", Gene Rodenberry's original pilot for Star Trek. Reading up on the episode, my understanding is that “The Cage” has traditionally fallen into something of a grey area in terms of Star Trek canon due to elements of it being repurposed within “The Menagerie” in a manner that is not entirely consistent with the original episode. This probably explains why it is hidden away as an extra on the Series 3 Blu-ray set, rather than at the start of Series 1 as I had expected. However, the status of the episode does seem to have been clarified recently with “If Memory Serves”, the second season episode of Discovery which is a clear sequel. to "The Cage".

As a pilot episode, “The Cage” does establish the basic format of Star Trek but so much of it is very different from the show that will follow. Most obviously, the crew of the Enterprise is almost completely different and is led by Captain Christopher Pike, a character who has been revived in recent times in the JJ Abrams movies as well as Discovery. Pike is here played by Jeffrey Hunter, who was a well-known film star at the time and who had appeared in iconic western "The Searchers". Unfortunately, Hunter’s Pike isn’t that interesting, especially for this viewer who is coming to the character after growing to really like Anson Mount’s charismatic interpretation across 14 episodes of Discovery. The failure of “The Cage” to engage me with the character is surprising since the episode is very much all about Pike, attempting to show him developing and changing in what is actually a very modern way.

Pike starts the episode in a very melancholy mood after a disastrous incident on Rigel VII in which three crew members have been killed and others injured. Feeling responsible for these losses, the captain is very much questioning his role and considering retirement. The Enterprise is transporting the injured to the Vega Colony when it is diverted to the Talos system in response to a distress signal from the SS Columbia which disappeared 18 years previously. However, it turns out that this a trap and Pike is captured by the Talosians, the survivors of a genocidal war who have immense mental powers and the ability to change how people see reality. The Talosian race is dying so they are trying to find candidates to repopulate the planet. They use their powers to test Pike and manipulate him into making a new life for himself there with Vina, a young woman who was the only survivor from the Columbia. However, the effect of this is to resolve Pike’s uncertainties and, by the time that he escapes Talos IV, he has accepted his responsibilities on the Enterprise. With this focus on character development, it is easy to believe Roddenberry's comments that network executives thought that the episode was “too cerebral”.

The fact that “The Cage” is so interested in Pike means that we don’t learn much around most of the rest of the Enterprise crew, most of whom are not even named on-screen. There is one familiar face who is introduced here at the start, namely Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock. However, this is a version of Spock who is very different from the character who would become iconic with Nimoy smiling and delivering lines in a casual and emotional manner. Nimoy’s make-up is also different from later episodes, but the familiar pointy ears are established. There is no background given here to this odd looking character who appears to be the only non-human on the Enterprise.

Despite this atypical version of Spock, “The Cage” does establish the Enterprise having a first officer who operates totally on logic, but here it is human female lieutenant known only as Number One. Well, the script makes a point of her being somewhat emotionless but she really just seems to be professional in a similar manner to her male colleagues. Interestingly, the Talosians suggest that this demeanour is a front that she puts on in order to hide her true feelings for Pike, which makes one wonder whether this is something that might have been explored had both characters survived to the series proper. Number One is played by Majel Barrett, who was Gene Roddenberry’s girlfriend at the time. Barrett would of course go on to marry Roddenberry and appear as other characters across the history of Star Trek.

The main guest star for the episode is Susan Oliver as Vina. It’s actually a peach of a role for the actress who gets to portray multiple versions of the character, notably as a green skinned Orion slave girl (which, in a sign of my TOS ignorance, was something I was surprised to see established here right at the start). However, it is a sign of the attitudes of the time that these roles encompass a range of female stereotypes - damsel in distress, homemaker and beautiful temptress. It is only at the end when Vina gets some depth in a twist that must have been quite shocking at the time when her deformed real form is revealed. This revelation is doubly effective since it gives some depth to the Talosians – they cannot be completely evil since the tried their best to fix her injuries and they also give her a happy ending with her own version of Pike.

At first sight, "The Cage" does appear progressive in terms of its gender politics with it having a female first officer. However, the attitudes of the male characters do betray the period in which it was made. Pike in particular is uncomfortable with the presence on the bridge of Colt, his new female yeoman (he's apparently okay with Number One being there since she is "different").

Moving away from the characters, one thing that is striking about “The Cage” is how well many of its production values stand up after almost 65 years. The studio-bound surface of Talos IV is convincing, helped by an impressive matte painting. The make-up for the Talosians works really well, especially with the pulsing brain effect that is used occasionally. The less successful elements are those which are less important and appear only fleetingly, particularly the bizarre bird-man who is Pike’s fellow captive and the creature who, to this Doctor Who fan, resembles the Taran Wood Beast. It is also a bit odd that the warrior from Rigel VII whom Pike fights in the episodes major action set piece seems to resemble a Viking or Saxon rather than anything at all alien.

All in all, I found “The Cage” an enjoyable start to the journey. I was aware that it was going to be different, but it was surprising quite how interested in was in its characters. It is easy to see why, despite this version of the show not being accepted, Roddenberry was given an opportunity to refine the format and try again…

Planetary Gazetteer

Talos IV: The main setting for the episode. It is not named as such, but is the fourth of eleven planets in the Talos system. It is referred to as an "M-class" planet, meaning that it has an oxygen atmosphere. This a designation that would endure throughout both the original and subsequent series. Talos IV is a barren planet, although it is home to strange singing blue plants as well as the underground dwelling Talosians.

Orion: Homeworld of a species of green humanoids with at least the females trafficked as slaves and seen as "animal women" even by humans, an attitude that is somewhat at odds with the ideals so often linked with Star Trek.

Rigel VII: Presumably the seventh planet in the Rigel system, this was the location where Pike's crew were ambushed by native warriors (referred to in supporting materials as the Kalar), leading to three deaths and a number of injuries. We see a partial recreation of this incident as one of the illusions conjured up by the Talosians.

The Vega Colony: The location to which the Enterprise is transiting when it receives the apparent distress signal from the SS Columbia. We never see this, nor find out anything about it, but it is presumably a human colony that is relatively close to both Rigel VII and Talos IV.

Starship Spotting

"The Cage" introduces us to the USS Enterprise (registration number NCC-1701). It is established here, right at the start, that "USS" stands for "United Space Ship". However, it is at this stage propelled by "hyperdrive" at a speed of "Timewarp Factor 7", so the underpinning terminology has still to evolve. It is mentioned that the "time barrier" has been broken in the 18 years since the SS Columbia disappeared, leading to starships like the Enterprise now being much faster. This doesn't quite fit with what we learn about the developmnt of warp drive subsequently.

The Enterprise has a crew of 203 plus the captain. Only Pike and Spock are explicitly named on-screen, but the script and other background material names other key crew members as Dr Boyce (referred to as "Phil" by Pike), Lt José Tyler and Yeoman Colt. Number One operates the helm, as well as being first officer.

Random Observations

• The episode doesn't feature any Captain's Log, and therefore there is no Stardate. There is no indication as when the series is set, other than some unspecified point in the future.
• The Enterprise crew uniforms are similar in form to the series proper, although lacking black collars. Pike wears yellow with Spock and Boyce in blue (in common with the branch colour schemes that will become familiar), but there are not yet any Red Shirts. The female crew members wear trousers rather than the mini-dresses of the series to come. The landing party members wear jackets over the uniform when beaming down to Talos IV, an addition that would be lost after this episode.
• Christopher Pike was born in Mojave [in the south-west USA]. By this point, it is no longer a desert and has been terraformed into lush woodland.