Wanderlust

Unaired pilot — “The Cage”

Unaired pilot — “The Cage”

Engage! NBC rejected ”The Cage,” filmed in late 1964, as a pilot. Shatner’s book says the network thought it was “too cerebral,” “intellectual,” and “slow,” with “not enough action” (but he wasn’t on the show yet, so how would he know?). Majel Barrett, future Mrs. Rodenberry and Number One on the bridge of the Enterprise,  said that NBC reacted by saying “’You’ve got to get rid of the broad. No one will believe a woman second in control of a big star ship.” Her IMDB page says NBC also wanted to axe the Vulcan (“too Satanic”), and Gene picked his battles. The network ordered a new pilot in 1965, without Jeffrey Archer as Capt. Pike (see

Allen Knutson’s post), and TOS didn’t make it on air until September 8, 1966.

I thought the Enterprise scenes were dreary–they needed some red shirts to liven it up! Didn’t like the turtleneck(?) uniforms. Nimoy hadn’t found his character yet and the rest of the cast was bland. Pike was too negative for me–always with a big furrow across his brow. Having a female first officer was cool, though.  What was with the crack about not being comfortable with women on the bridge? Holy mixed feminist messages.

Loved the fax machine on the bridge and the slide projector in the briefing room.

After a slow start, I thought it picked up the moment the big-headed aliens in dresses showed up. I dug it after that. Keep in mind if the episode had aired, it probably would have been cut down from 63 minutes to the standard 50, so they might have cut the scene between Pike and the doctor, or at least found a way to get in and out of it faster.

Green dancing slave girl?  Really?

What did y’all think?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cage_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)

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33 responses to “Unaired pilot — “The Cage””

  1. Allen Knutson Avatar
    Allen Knutson

    So many blue eyes!

    So many times that people hand each other printouts!

    The short skirts (not present here) were another Majel Barrett intervention, right?

    I really liked that the crew figured out early on that they were probably blowing through the elevator door, but couldn’t trust their senses, instead of that being a big reveal.

    Slow start, totally. Our first time meeting the captain, and he’s talking about quitting? BTW in that scene we see star motion outside his window — is that in the original?

    “She’s staying, and I agreed with her reasons” is a pretty excellent ending (even if I’m not sure I agree).

    The trope about human exceptionalism, especially in the face of confinement, is a pet peeve of mine. (That’s right, even if those eggheads are smarter’n’us, we’re more ornery! USA! USA!)

    Reply
  2. Michael Hanscom Avatar
    Michael Hanscom

    The big grin that Spock gets when they’re playing with the plants always amuses me. He’s also very shouty — you’d think with ears like that, Vulcans wouldn’t have to yell all the time! 😉

    I was always a little bit bugged by the Talosian’s inability to put Vina back together…or, more precisely, the reason given. If they had continued with the “lost so much practical knowledge due to getting lost in mental worlds” reasoning and claimed that they simply didn’t have the medical knowledge to heal her competently, that would have been one thing. But claiming that having never seen a human, they didn’t know what she should look like? Aside from the big brains, the Talosians share their basic structure with humans, so it seems odd that they’d do such a clumsy job of guessing at what a human should look like.

    And while I can kind of understand CBS’s argument that the show was “too cerebral” — there’s definitely a lot more philosophizing and analyzing than action (not a bad thing, imho, though obviously not what CBS was expecting) — it’s that very ability to incorporate real ideas (along with the occasional shoot-em-up sequence) that became one of Trek’s greatest strengths, and while The Cage may not strike quite the right balance, it’s neat to see how much of the core of Trek was already there in Roddenberry’s first stab at it.

    Reply
  3. Michael Hanscom Avatar
    Michael Hanscom

    If anyone wants to go even further down the rabbit hole, the Memory Alpha wiki (Trek-centric, they tend to be a lot more in-depth than Wikipedia) has a lot more background information on the show: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Cage_(episode)

    Reply
  4. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    The idea that she was actually deformed at least took some part of the sting out of the idea that she would prefer to live in a zoo because she grew old and lost her looks.  I was anticipating the moment and wincing, thinking that might be all it turned out to be.

    Reply
  5. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    Kind of a cool idea if you can actually prolong life and persuade the body to function correctly through mental manipulation and illusion.  They didn’t really go all the way there, but it was enough to get me thinking about it.  When they show the Talosians giving her an illusion of Pike to take with her, I got chills.

    Reply
  6. Allen Knutson Avatar
    Allen Knutson

    I do think it’s pretty stupid that they “didn’t know” how to put her back together right, as opposed to not knowing how to operate their own machines to do that.

    What really annoyed me was that at the beginning, they speak with their mouths closed, and later they open them. What gives? Also, if they’re so smart, why do they persist in giving Pike illusions he doesn’t believe, rather than one in which he thinks he escaped? I’m going to prefer to believe that the reason we don’t see Pike again is that he never made it out of there. (Too bad we see Number One et al up on the ship, in scenes without him. Those should be edited out.)

    Reply
  7. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I was struck by the Arabian Nights flavor of the flashback/dream scenes and bits of back story.  People sometimes talk about Trek as a Western in space (or Wagon Train to the Stars), but the model at this point seemed to be more of a Jason/Ulysses/Sinbad story, with a crew voyaging into the unknown to have encounters on strange “islands” (we even have a cyclops in a cave–or did it have two eyes, I forget).  Which I guess was the science fiction of the pre-technology era.

    Reply
  8. Sarah MacMillan Avatar
    Sarah MacMillan

    I have seen the pilot before, and had much the same reaction– I LOVED Number 1 and have always been a bit in mourning that this character never made it into the show. I would have eaten her up as a kid, when I used to watch reruns with my Dad. (This is the only TV show we both liked. Ever!)  Here’s the thing: when I was in school, I heard comments like, “Girls are terrible at math” all the time. I’d point out to said adult or kid that I was the math wiz of the year, and they’d always say, “Well, you’re an exception.”

    I learned very young that changing people’s beliefs requires more than having the facts on your side. (You can see why I was into Number 1…  it helps make up for Vena’s role as Teenage Sex Goddess Bait & Pike’s role as Strong-jawed Aggressive Fantasy Male. I shall pass over the green Orion slave girl…  )  

     The weird blinky thing with the music they do during “warp speed” makes me laugh every time.

    When I first saw this, I bought the line about humans preferring death to a pleasant enslavement. Forty-year-old me thinks this is way too optimistic. People are not all alike, and they’re not all heroic. On the other hand—we love original Trek because it tells us we can all be the noblest, best version of ourselves. It tells us we will “grow up” as a species and treat each other–and those wacky aliens–decently.  That’s why I still mourn having a competent female office in pants on the bridge—although having a more diverse mix of people in the second cast did help.  Because Ideal Humans work together, right? 

    Reply
  9. Allen Knutson Avatar
    Allen Knutson

    The Talosians’ musical doors were delicious. I wish my building’s elevators were like that.

    Reply
  10. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I think the uniforms are mock turtlenecks.  Was Steve Jobs a “Cage” fan?  https://www.google.com/search?q=mock+turtleneck&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8tOwUb3NH-jUiwLH2oDIAg&ved=0CJQBELAE&biw=1217&bih=885

    Reply
  11. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    Google image search points out the mock turtleneck did eventually make its way into Trek canon, big time: https://www.google.com/search?q=mock+turtleneck&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8tOwUb3NH-jUiwLH2oDIAg&ved=0CJQBELAE&biw=1217&bih=885#tbm=isch&sa=1&q=mock+turtleneck+star+trek&oq=mock+turtleneck+star+trek&gs_l=img.3…138554.139782.0.140015.10.10.0.0.0.0.93.536.10.10.0…0.0…1c.1.16.img.wgzzUB8glKI&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47534661,d.cGE&fp=2d5d9ecfdd7c1d48&biw=1217&bih=885

    Reply
  12. Pearl Young Avatar
    Pearl Young

    Good things:

    The aliens were not just humanoids with extra fleshy bits tacked on! (A common complaint of later Trek)

    They took a common scifi theme of the era (humanoids become giant thinkers and stop being able to relate to the physical world) and played it out to (mostly) good effect.

    Regarding the mixed messages of the female second in command and the captain’s comments about women: even though they let him actually say it (gasp-worthy in our day) it’s clear the writers wanted us to side with Majel Barrett’s character: the message is intended to be that we look down on the captain for holding that sentiment, much less being so uncouth that he actually speaks it. Bravo from me, given the day and age it was filmed.

    Not-so-good things:

    I side with Hanscom on being astonished they thought they could tell us those perfect humanoids didn’t know what a human should look like. Uh, neither the Talosians or the other aliens in their cages had giant humpbacks. Why assume we do? Makes no sense.

    My biggest beef though? We’re supposed to think the Talosians want the humans to breed and help them terraform the surface, and THAT is the motivating factor to get a male specimen? Uh. Way too many plot holes there. A. Their human female sample is too old to breed. B. You need more than ONE male to breed a workforce. Take them all, not just the captain. C. We only see one sample each of all the other aliens in the cage, wouldn’t they have tried with specimens they already had multiples of in captivity? D. At the end during the big reveals, there are multiple males and females right there ready to use, and the Talosians just GIVE UP and give their captive a pretend mate? REALLY?!?! Why? They’ve gone to all the trouble to lure the spaceship, gotten them to the surface, KNOW they have the power to delude them into staying… WHY did they change their mind?

    Trivial things:

    I actually liked these outfits. Velcro! Pockets! Layers! Useful, functional outfits, hurray! That seems so much more realistic to me. Sure they could have used more color, but think about uniforms for a bit. They’re rarely BRIGHT. Most of the time you want the uniform to help folks blend in, and identify them by worker type. These outfits did that. The later years’ short skirts and tights are so completely nonfunctional it makes me “grrgh”.

    I totally noticed the “high tech” fax and projectors, coupled with the really large hand held tech items. But look at all that PAPER! I had this absurd moment thinking about the paper when I expected someone to start smoking on screen. I hadn’t realized until that thought that in my head I’ve somehow linked the era of smoking at work (on the job) with the era of typewriters and reams of paper.

    Reply
  13. Pearl Young Avatar
    Pearl Young

    Allen, I also wanted them to give him an illusion that he escaped. In fact, to go along with my assertion that what they REALLY would have done is just keep everyone at the end, they should have given them the illusion they all escaped.

    But I guess then you have a completely different series to write, and then we would have had “The SciFi Prisoner”.

     ~_^

    Reply
  14. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    Maybe a veil of illusion is great for keeping someone a prisoner but not so handy when you want them to start breeding and laboring on your problems.  Although I was vague about what irreplaceable service Pike was supposed to be able to perform for them (and, obviously, a whole crew would be more useful, as Pearl Young points out!).

    Reply
  15. Geoff Gill Avatar
    Geoff Gill

    They could apparently make illusions up in orbit (or control the ship)-there is no way anyone should’ve gotten out of that one.

    Spock’s goofy grin stuck out to me, as did the space barbarian. The sexism was pretty annoying, and I am not sure that having a show that starts you out looking down at the hero is a better interpretation.

    Also, the Talosians are buttheads. Literally.

    It does feel like inferior Trek overall, but then, so does most of TOS. I can’t wait for us to get to Spock’s brain.

    Reply
  16. Michael Hanscom Avatar
    Michael Hanscom

    Either that, or The Cage is the only episode of Star Trek that “really” happened, and everything since then has just been the ongoing mental illusions of the Talosians keeping their captives (and descendants) happy. Which could also explain the inconsistencies that popped up as time went by; after all, the Talosians were hardly omnipotent, and there’s no reason to believe they have perfect memory. As long as the illusions were more or less internally consistent at the moment, the people living them out would likely be perfectly content. It was only later, as these ongoing constructed realities were analyzed (by whom, I wonder?), that the flaws, mistakes, inconsistencies, and oddities across the entirety of the illusory universe were exposed.

    Reply
  17. Pearl Young Avatar
    Pearl Young

    The most unbelievable “illusion” was when the brainiacs who have forgotten how to run their machinery managed to control the transporter enough to beam the females directly into Pike’s cage, but leave the males behind. Their voodoo doesn’t follow rules, damnit.

    Geoff: This is all you got?! I’m led to believe you have this deep abiding

    disdain for TOS, and all you can come up with is, “The Talosians are

    buttheads. Snicker.” You have far more wit and analytical power than that, man! STEP UP! Let’s hear it!

    Reply
  18. Geoff Gill Avatar
    Geoff Gill

    Maybe when we get to something that resembles actual Trek.

    Reply
  19. Allen Knutson Avatar
    Allen Knutson

    I must agree, to some extent, with that sentiment — we’ve got a lot of Dreck coming our way.

    Reply
  20. Allen Knutson Avatar
    Allen Knutson

    They could apparently make illusions up in orbit (or control the ship)-there is no way anyone should’ve gotten out of that one.

    Indeed, the Pike that goes back to the ship is a Talosian plant.

    BTW isn’t it kind of weird that these are “Talosians”? Are they actually robots? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talos

    Reply
  21. Don Glover Avatar
    Don Glover

    Pilots are always rough. They have not really defined the direction, Casting is still iffy,  They are often done on a limited budget. That said “The Cage” seemed rougher than most. The sets were limited and props visibly cut from wood at times. (Though noticing that may be an artifact of Blu-ray on a 47″ TV)

    Some of my random thoughts during the watching:

    Many of the bridge crew had bad sitting posture, I suspect it was due to the set design.

    Why did Pike have a phaser on his table in his cabin.

    I had not remembered the jump suits with the logo globe logo.

    It was interesting how much of the administration of the ship seemed so mid 20th century.

    Away parties seem to have been much more equipped for their jaunts to the surface.

    Spock had not yet been defined as emotionless.

    Each section seemed to have their own insignia for their uniforms.

    Overall the seeds of what Star Trek was to become was there, but it concepts had not yet gelled.

    Reply
  22. Don Glover Avatar
    Don Glover

    Pearl, the Talosians did not have to control the transporter. They just had to cause the operators to just transport the females.

    Reply
  23. Allen Knutson Avatar
    Allen Knutson

    Pike didn’t have a phaser — he had a “laser”.

    Also, the Talosians’ control over the transporter was pretty incomplete, insofar as it transported the women with their lasers. But I guess you don’t want to screw around with that technology.

    I teleported home one night

    with Ron and Sid and Meg

    Ron stole Meggie’s heart away

    and I got Sidney’s leg

    Reply
  24. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I thought some of the production design was cool. The throbbing vein in the aliens’ heads, especially. Quite a few different set ups, with the dreams. The Orion slave girl, whatever else it is, is striking and iconic. The slave girl and alien became slides during the end credits which is why they look so familiar.

    Reply
  25. Katharine Bond Avatar
    Katharine Bond

    Many of the things that I might have said, have been said. This episode was long though and I kept falling asleep.

    I also have a feeling that I will be struggling a lot with the sexism in the show. (This is why I haven’t re-read Heinlein in years.) I do wish that Number 1 had remained although I suspect that they would have taken her character into the exceptional woman trope area.

    Reply
  26. Pearl Young Avatar
    Pearl Young

    It took me more than one try to get through it without falling asleep, but classic Trek (and classic Who) has always been my insomnia cure, so I figured it was just my conditioned/trained response. Shrug.

    Reply
  27. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I spent a moment there wondering how Pearl Young can sleep through “Won’t Get Fooled Again”…

    Reply
  28. Katharine Bond Avatar
    Katharine Bond

    With the volume turned down low….

    Reply
  29. Jennifer Douwes Avatar
    Jennifer Douwes

    It was fun to watch – though I was surprised at how much I remembered of this. The costumes were so different in the pilot! I did that startle thing when the sexist comments came, like you mentioned. I forgot all about them. I didn’t love Captain Pike – thanks for putting words to why, I’d have to agree it was his negative nature. And the green girl made me laugh. Had to start the next episode right away though, we were curious about the changes. Oh! And the steampunk equipment blew me away. I can’t believe it didn’t phase me then that they were using hose nozzles etc. as futuristic equipment. The decor! Oh my gosh have you ever seen so many plastic bags used as props? Looking forward to finishing the next episode.

    Reply
  30. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    The fact that Star Trek rarely, if ever, went on location does lend a specifc look to the sets on planets and such… not realistic, but stylized in a very recognizable way.  It is a convention of the show that all foreign planets (and even the dream vision of Earth in “The Cage”) have perfectly flat ground, except for large rocks that rise with sudden verticality to block sightlines.

    Reply
  31. Katharine Bond Avatar
    Katharine Bond

    It makes you wonder if it would have been that difficult to find a quaryy to film at.

    Reply
  32. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    Reddit discussion of “The Cage” has some illuminating points: http://www.reddit.com/r/startrek/comments/z3ok1/episode_discussion_thread_tos_1x00_the_cage/

    Reply
  33. Robert Balmer Avatar
    Robert Balmer

    I’m certainly not defending Pike’s “women on the bridge” comment, but I wonder if that line was in the script in order to have Pike be a stand-in for the viewer? The idea being: Roddenberry knew viewers at the time might be skeptical of a woman on the bridge (which theory is apparently validated by the test audience responses), and so he wanted to confront it head-on by having Pike voice that skepticism early in the episode.

    Also, when Spock yells “the women!!” it always cracks me up :D.

    Reply

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