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Tarfumes.com - Star Trek - The Original Series: The Cage (Pilot)
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $25.54
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Paramount
Starring: Jeffrey Hunter, Susan Oliver, Leonard Nimoy, Majel Barrett, John Hoyt
Directed By: Robert Butler
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
Brand: Paramount
EAN: 9786300213050
Format: Color
ISBN: 6300213056
Label: Paramount
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount
Release Date: 1994-04-15
Running Time: 64
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: 1966
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Editorial Reviews:
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Watching "The Cage" is like visiting some parallel universe. That's the Star Trek theme song, and there's the Enterprise, and that's Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock... but wait--he's smiling and firing weapons. And who are the rest of these duds manning the controls? If this were any other series pilot, it would probably be laughed out of the galaxy with its wooden acting, silly costumes, and cheesy special effects. But this was Star Trek's dry run, and so it is a must-own collectible for every Trekker, as well as instructive viewing for anyone interested in the evolution of a TV show. Now, there are some who staunchly believe that Jeffrey Hunter's Christopher Pike was the Enterprise's best captain. Pike doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his leadership abilities; reflecting on a recent devastating battle, he anguishes, "I should have smelled trouble when I saw the swords and the armor." He is also "tired of being responsible for 203 lives" and is considering resigning his Starfleet commission. But Pike is roused from his ennui after the Enterprise answers a distress call on the planet Talos IV, and he is imprisoned by super-intelligent aliens with the telepathic power to manipulate memories. Susan Oliver guest-stars as Vina, whom the aliens select as Eve to his Adam. The lackluster (and virtually all-white) crew includes Marjel Barrett as a somber Number One and John Hoyt as Dr. Boyce, who dispenses martinis as well as advice. This episode never aired, but some scenes were used in the two-part original series episode The Menagerie. --Donald Liebenson
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Star Trek history
Comment: It's not often you get to own television history of what was to become a Star Trek phenom. Reading the back of the box "Airdate:Never shown on TV!" in red ink is something! Many people make comparisons between Pike and Kirk. Everyone says it's the acting of William Shatner vs. Jeffrey Hunter with Hunter's Pike seeming to think too much vs. Shatner's Kirk being more energetic. Shatner replaced Hunter so Kirk was written to be more energetic, have more fight scenes, being the womanizing captain in nearly every episode. Personally I think Jeffrey Hunter was cuter than Shatner was. There are two things prophetic about the Cage. Telosian illusion is comparable to Holodecks in Star Trek The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine which is interesting because no one could've predicted Star Trek would sell later until it did, and the scene where Captian Pike is forced to relive a battle and getting knocked down by that really tall warrior in bad need of an Orthodontist going after Vina, Jeff Hunter passed away because of a fall five years later. This tape is from someone's collection and I'm amazed how well it was taken care of with only it's bottom edges slightly worn. Sure could use some lessons from them on proper tape cover care even with a case. The late Gene Roddenberry does a little background information in the beginning to explain some things. He seemed so nice. What I've always found amusing about The Cage when I've seen it in the Menagerie is near the end when the Keeper's voice suddenly lowers and slows. Or...is it just a Telosian illusion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: FEATURES GOOD ALIENS or BAD ALIENS: TAKE YOUR PICK!
Comment: This original pilot from 1964 [that never aired until almost 30 years went by] is very different from, yet very similar to, the Star Trek that we all know and love. Except for Spock as Science Officer and Majel Barrett as First Officer, the entire crew is different, yet the ship appears the same. The crew [just 203 vs. 400+], however, looks like they are a mix of 1960s beach-party extras and stuntmen. Call it an eclectic cast or maybe just thrown together, take your pick.
THE PLOT:
Far from Earth, The Enterprise and Captain Pike receive and answer a distress signal from the planet Talos 4. Captain Pike [Jeffrey Hunter], after serious reservations, leads the ship's away team to Talos 4 to search for survivors. In an unexpected turn of events, Pike is ambushed and captured by the Talosians, an advanced and telepathic alien race who can through the power of illusion manipulate the minds of other beings. With "Vina" [Susan Oliver], a human woman already on hand, the aliens attempt to force Pike and the female captive to become a mated pair to create a race of human workers. Meanwhile, Mr. Spock and the rest of the crew are faced with the task of finding and freeing Pike and escaping the Talosian trap which is why this pilot is titled "The Cage".
"The Cage" was not broadcast in its original form until around 1990 with Patrick Stewart doing a big promotional preliminary for it. However in 1966, sequences from "The Cage" were incorporated into Episode #16, "The Menagerie Parts 1 & 2", which picked up where "The Cage" left off. Of course in "The Menagerie", without the benefit of knowing how "The Cage" had earlier depicted the Talosians, we were eagerly led to believe that the Talosians were "Good Aliens" in the end and we were given a happy ending. Captain Pike was given a happy ending too, as were Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Vina.
MY TAKE ON IT:
Seeing this episode chopped up and incorporated into "The Menagerie" for almost 25 years before seeing this pilot in its entirety and on its own, made it a little hard to put it in perspective. In essence, if we now accept "The Cage" as part of the Star Trek Universe, it makes some sequence gaps in other story lines and makes a bit of a mess out of the two-part episode #16, "The Menagerie". At the very least, it makes a bit of a mess out of my thinking.
Customer Rating:
Summary: You can see the seeds of the Star Trek phenomena
Comment: The only way to view this video is with your mind firmly locked into the historical context. When Gene Roddenberry first proposed the Star Trek series to network executives, the American television viewers were in the midst of their love affair with the western. Therefore, he described the proposed series as "wagon train to the stars." However, that is not what he gave them, and there were some objections, so a second pilot was requested.
The idea of a woman second in command was immediately rejected and while the crew of the pilot was not as integrated as the later ones, there are people of other races shown on the ship. The acting was not well done, Spock is smiling and emotional, there are some bad gender clichés and Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike is beset with self-doubts. Therefore, William Shatner, cast as a more swashbuckling Captain Kirk, replaced him.
Nevertheless, from this episode, it is possible to see how the Star Trek idea could spawn a series of major films and three subsequent very successful and long-running television series. For Star Trek has always been about the exploration of human ideas.
Fresh from a mission where the Enterprise suffered casualties, Captain Christopher Pike is facing intense self-doubts and is talking about resigning. The Enterprise encounters a distress signal from a scientific ship that has suffered severe damage and then a follow up message that there were survivors marooned on a planet that could support life.
The Enterprise goes to the planet and apparently finds survivors. However, it is all an illusion created by the inhabitants of the planet so that they could capture Captain Pike. Countless years before, a war had devastated the surface of the planet and the inhabitants of the planet want Captain Pike to be paired with the lone survivor of the crash, a female, so that they could repopulate the surface. Captain Pike rebels at being a specimen and eventually is released. Some parts of this pilot were incorporated into the two-part episode "The Menagerie" of the original series. The parts that were used in the episode are in color and the remaining segments are in black and white.
In this episode, we see matter transporters for the first time, the swooshing sounds of the doors of the Enterprise, an alien regular member of a ships crew, intelligent interactions with a different species and a spaceship that appears to function without a lot of meaningless flashing lights. The dialogue isn't quite up to Star Trek standards, but it is pretty good when you consider the historical context.
The number of network television firsts that took place on Star Trek is most impressive. From the first swear word, to blacks in positions of authority to the first inter-racial kiss, Star Trek set new and generally higher standards for what would appear on commercial American television. It all started with this series pilot, so it is also a piece of history, the first in a series of dynamic stories about humanity reaching for new worlds to explore, but not necessarily conquer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "I'll break out of this zoo somehow and get to you!"
Comment: One of the most enduring legacies on television actually had a very curious beginning with "The Cage." The first pilot for the original Star Trek series featured the U.S.S. Enterprise and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) but the iconic Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was nowhere to be found. Instead the original captain of the famous Federation starship was none other than Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter). While Captain Pike is still remembered among the fan base, he has faded into obscurity among the general public. Yet his one moment in the spotlight was notable for setting the progressive and high-minded tone of the Kirk-led adventures that would follow. The U.S.S. Enterprise receives a distress signal from the planet Talos IV and sends down a landing party to investigate. They find a group of survivors from a crashed scientific expedition but soon discover that they are actually just illusions except for a woman named Vina (Susan Oliver). Pike is soon captured by the Talosians in the hope that he, with the help of Vina, will help them repopulate their planet. The Talosians tempt the captain by portraying Vina in a series of alluring guises but Pike holds out and finally gains his freedom when he threatens to kill himself. The Talosians conclude that humans are too strong-willed and independent to be of use to them and allow Pike and his ship to leave orbit. NBC originally rejected this pilot because they felt it was too cerebral. In comparing "The Cage" with the successive episodes of the original series, you can see their point. The Kirk episodes definitely had more action and energy to them. Watching Pike outwit the Talosians proves to be interesting but it can't match the entertainment value produced by a Captain Kirk fistfight. Hunter is wonderfully stoic and serviceable in his role but he lacks the passionate presence that Shatner brought to the series. Star Trek would have had a completely different identity had Hunter remained on the series. Still, "The Cage" is a fascinating footnote to a pop culture phenomenon and an important component of the Star Trek mythos. It is a solid outing from series creator Gene Roddenberry who truly was a visionary in believing that television was capable of producing a substantive and thought-provoking series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What if...
Comment: The first pilot episode of the show, which featured a different captain (Jeffrey Hunter) as Pike would be worth watching for comparative purposes even if it was not an interesting episode. Much feels clumsy and disconcertingly different in this episode, but how could it be any other way, given that this was their first attempt, and so much was rejected by the suits? But a female second in command would have been really interesting (I'm not sure Barrett would have been up to the task though), as would a more emotional Spock and a more introverted Captain (I prefer Shatner's interpretation though).The story is also good enough, with aliens reminiscent of the Vians from 'The Empath'. The episode explores the nature of reality and illusion, as well as the human need for companionship and love (themes also explored in 'The Empath', come to think of it). A strong if inevitably somewhat clunky episode, but one ultimately most valuable for the fact that it makes us ask ourselves, "What if.." (4 stars)
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