The Cage
- Episode aired Oct 4, 1988
- TV-PG
- 1h 3m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
Capt. Pike is held prisoner and tested by aliens who have the power to project incredibly lifelike illusions.Capt. Pike is held prisoner and tested by aliens who have the power to project incredibly lifelike illusions.Capt. Pike is held prisoner and tested by aliens who have the power to project incredibly lifelike illusions.
Majel Barrett
- Number One
- (as M. Leigh Hudec)
John Burnside
- Bridge Crewmember
- (uncredited)
Carol Daniels
- Bridge Crewmember
- (uncredited)
Michael Dugan
- The Kaylar
- (uncredited)
Sandra Lee Gimpel
- Talosian
- (uncredited)
Clegg Hoyt
- Transporter Chief Pitcairn
- (uncredited)
Anthony Jochim
- Third Survivor
- (uncredited)
Bob Johnson
- First Talosian
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Jon Lormer
- Dr. Theodore Haskins
- (uncredited)
Ed Madden
- Enterprise Geologist
- (uncredited)
William McCarter
- Survivor
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLeonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock was the only character from the first pilot retained into the series. The ship's first officer character, Number One, was rejected for the series by the network because she was female (according to Gene Roddenberry), or because of her lack of acting ability (according to Desilu production chief Herbert F. Solow). Actress Majel Barrett (Roddenberry's girlfriend at the time and later wife) was recast as Nurse Chapel. When the pilot was recycled as The Menagerie: Part I (1966) and The Menagerie: Part II (1966), it was established that Captain Pike's voyage to Talos IV took place 13 years prior to the events of the Star Trek (1966) series.
- GoofsAs Pike retreats up the stairs from the warrior on "Rigel VII", you can see the blade of his spear bend as it pushes against the warrior's chest.
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsEdited into Star Trek: The Menagerie: Part I (1966)
- SoundtracksStar Trek Theme (Original TV Series Version)
(uncredited)
Featured review
Gilded cage
As Mr Spock would say - "Fascinating". I'd only ever seen this pilot episode when it was very cleverly spliced into the Series One two-parter "The Menagerie", but it was great to view it at last as a stand-alone programme. This is the way "Star Trek" might have turned out if this introduction had caught on originally with the commissioning powers-that-be, which only adds to the interest as the keen Trekkie looks for the similarities and dissimilarities between what we have here and what would come to be only a couple of years later when James T Kirk, Bones, Scotty and all joined Spock, the only retained character from "The Cage" on the Enterprise.
So we get the familiar Enterprise craft and bridge, all the sound effects and devices like phasers, transporter and communicators. There are no real titles as such however, likewise the famous theme music isn't played from the outset and of course there's no "captain's log" either. Interestingly Captain Pike uses the phrase "Engage" which skipped Kirk but ended up in the vocabulary of the next captain, Picard, played memorably by Patrick Stewart.
With the exception of Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike (who sadly died only a few years after this was made) and naturally Leonard Nimoy as Spock, I'm not sure I'd have retained any of the precursor characters here, but obviously I might be doing the actors a disservice through the simple expedience of unfamiliarity. Susan Devine makes for a pretty temptress to the smitten captain.
Anyway, the story itself is terrific, suitably out of this world, delivering a thoughtful but imaginative narrative with as much psychology to ponder as action to thrill to.
Proof that Captain Kirk did in fact boldly go where man had actually gone before.
So we get the familiar Enterprise craft and bridge, all the sound effects and devices like phasers, transporter and communicators. There are no real titles as such however, likewise the famous theme music isn't played from the outset and of course there's no "captain's log" either. Interestingly Captain Pike uses the phrase "Engage" which skipped Kirk but ended up in the vocabulary of the next captain, Picard, played memorably by Patrick Stewart.
With the exception of Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike (who sadly died only a few years after this was made) and naturally Leonard Nimoy as Spock, I'm not sure I'd have retained any of the precursor characters here, but obviously I might be doing the actors a disservice through the simple expedience of unfamiliarity. Susan Devine makes for a pretty temptress to the smitten captain.
Anyway, the story itself is terrific, suitably out of this world, delivering a thoughtful but imaginative narrative with as much psychology to ponder as action to thrill to.
Proof that Captain Kirk did in fact boldly go where man had actually gone before.
helpful•100
- Lejink
- Dec 4, 2012
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Star Trek the Original Series: The Cage
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content