Star Trek's first pilot began filming 50 years ago this week

image courtesy of TrekCore

Star Trek's first pilot, a show deemed 'too cerebral' for TV, turned 50 this week.

'The Cage' opens aboard a familiar, yet very different starship Enterprise. The year is 2254, 11 years before James Kirk takes the center seat. Commanded by the slightly-troubled Christopher Pike (the late Jeff Hunter), the mysterious female first lieutenant Number One (Majel Barrett), and Vulcan science officer Spock (Leonard Nemoy), the ship is drawn to the unexplored Talos IV by a distress signal and encounter aliens who have mastered the power of illusion.

image courtesy of TrekCore

The concept of mysterious aliens who possess the power of illusion is a common one now, but was a bold and original idea in 1964. 'The Cage' represents a major step forward in the evolution of television sci-fi in an era where the genre was mostly known for monsters, rockets and flying saucers. In the spirit of such films as 'Forbidden Planet' and 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', the pilot weaves an intelligent, interesting story that requires some thought to fully appreciate. It was far from the 'Wagon Train to the stars' concept producer Gene Roddenberry has promised the networks, and lacked the action/adventure aspects of the yet-to-be-produced second pilot. Tales such as this simply weren't done in 1964. At least, not until 'The Cage'.

The NBC network execs who screened the pilot rejected it, but were still sufficiently intrigued by its near-movie-quality visuals and high-concept story to move forward with the project in a somewhat different direction. The suits requested numerous changes to the show's cast and format, and made the unheard of move of ordering a second pilot, one that more closely followed the standard action/adventure format. Almost none of the original pilot cast survived this shakeup, with the exception of Nimoy, who continued to play Spock, and Barrett, who became the ship's head nurse and later the voice of the ship's computer.

The majority of the footage from 'The Cage' was recycled for the mid-season (one) two-parter 'The Menagerie', a budget-saving frame show that put Spock on trial for stealing the Enterprise in an attempt to return the now-crippled Pike back to Talos IV. This show effectively folded the pilot into the Star Trek continuity, providing back-story for Spock and history for the ship. Since the original film had to be cut up to splice into the new show, the pilot was thought lost until a 35mm print was discovered in an unmarked canister some years later. The pilot, reassembled from an assortment of black-and-white and color footage, finally aired in 1988.

How does 'The Cage' hold up today? Modern audiences may find the sets, props, costumes and even characterizations dated, but its undeniable that the show laid the groundwork for a revolutionary franchise that survives to this day. Star Trek as a whole had a hand in shaping modern science fiction by proving that high-concept, character-driven stories were practical on a budget and are appealing to a wide range of people. Finally, the show inspired many to enter space and technology fields, regardless of skin color or gender.

None of this would have been possible without 'The Cage'.