“The Menagerie” Parts 1 & 2
Written by Gene Roddenberry
Directed by Marc Daniels (framing sequence) and Robert Butler (flashbacks)
Season 1, Episodes 15 & 16
Production episode 6149-16A & 6149-16B
Original air date: November 17 & 24, 1966
Stardate: 3012.4
Captain’s log. The Enterprise received a subspace message to report to Starbase 11, but when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down, Lieutenant Piper says no such message was sent by the starbase. They meet with Commodore Mendez, telling him that Spock received a message from the former commander of the Enterprise, Fleet Captain Christopher Pike. Mendez assures Kirk that that’s impossible. Pike was injured while rescuing cadets on an old Class-J ship where the baffle plate ruptured. The delta rays injured him sufficiently that he’s wheelchair bound, paralyzed, unable to speak. All he can do is indicate yes or no by making his wheelchair beep.
Mendez takes the trio to see Pike, but he doesn’t want company. He does make an exception for Spock, who served under Pike for over eleven years. When they’re alone, Spock says he has a plan to help him. Pike keeps saying no, but Spock insists, even though he knows it’s mutiny and treason.
Kirk and Mendez go over the starbase records, but there’s absolutely no record of any kind of transmission from the base to the Enterprise. Kirk doesn’t believe Spock would lie, especially since he would’ve granted leave to see Pike if Spock had asked for it. And Pike couldn’t possibly have sent the message or even asked for it to be sent.
Spock goes to the computer room and fakes a signal to the Enterprise from Starbase Operations that the ship’s new orders are top secret, being fed directly into the computer, the destination scrambled, the helm to be handled by the computer. Spock orders Hansen, currently in charge of the ship, to not discuss this mission with anyone, not the crew, not starbase personnel.
Kirk observes Pike, who keeps saying “no.” He and McCoy try to figure out what’s going on. Spock is the obvious suspect, but it’s unthinkable that it would be him. McCoy is summoned to the Enterprise for a medical emergency. Mendez shows Kirk the file on Talos IV. It’s a quarantined planet, and going there is punished by the death penalty. The one ship that has visited Talos IV is the Enterprise, under the command of Pike, whose science officer was Spock. But even the sealed Starfleet report doesn’t say why or what there is on Talos IV.
Suddenly, Pike disappears and the Enterprise warps out of orbit. Spock has transported Pike to the ship, faked instructions from Kirk for McCoy to take care of Pike but not question him, and told the crew that he’s in command per Kirk’s orders on their top secret mission from the starbase.
Hansen detects a shuttlecraft following them, but Spock orders Uhura to maintain radio silence and Hansen to maintain course and speed. Mendez and Kirk are on the shuttle and they keep trying to contact the ship, but with no answer.
Spock determines that the shuttlecraft is past the point of safe return to the starbase, at which point he orders the computer to reverse engines and take the shuttle in tow. He then orders security to the bridge, the transporter room to prepare to beam the captain aboard, puts Hansen in command, and then submits himself to McCoy, as the highest-ranking officer, for arrest for mutiny.
Scotty beams Kirk and Mendez aboard and Hansen turns command back to Kirk, reporting that Spock is confined to quarters. However, the ship is still under computer control, and the computer won’t relinquish it, not even to Kirk, until they reach Talos IV.
Mendez and Kirk hold a hearing to determine whether or not a court martial should be called. Spock waives his right to counsel—and also to the hearing. He wants the court martial. Kirk points out that there needs to be three command officers on the trial board, and there’s only him and Mendez—but there’s also Pike, who hasn’t been retired and is still considered active.
The court martial is convened. Mendez asks why it’s so important to take Pike to Talos IV. By asking that question, Spock has the right to present evidence that would answer the question. He asks that the monitor screen be put on, and they start to watch “The Cage“…
Kirk is confused. Pike acknowledges that what they see is what happened, but no record tapes were ever made at that level of detail. Spock won’t say where the images are coming from, and Mendez refuses to watch them, but Kirk protests, saying he wants to see the rest.
They see as Pike refuses to investigate the distress call without evidence of survivors, talking with Boyce in his quarters, getting a subsequent distress call, and travelling to Talos.
Mendez orders the screen off. This is a court, not a theatre, and he accuses Spock of manufacturing it. Pike, however, confirms that the footage is real. Mendez votes to discontinue the viewing, but Kirk and Pike both vote to continue.
They watch as the Enterprise arrives at Talos IV and beams down to meet the Columbia survivors and Vina. Vina leads Pike to the underground cavern and the rest of the landing party watches helplessly as Pike is kidnapped by the Talosians and the Columbia survivors disappear.
After Spock reports to Number One, they turn the monitor off when Uhura calls from the bridge. Starbase 11 has discovered that the Enterprise is receiving transmissions from Talos IV, in direct violation of Starfleet General Orders. Kirk is relieved of command and Mendez put in charge. The commodore orders Spock to return the ship to manual control, an order he disobeys. (He’s already on trial for the death penalty, so what’s another mutiny between friends?)
Mendez declares a recess. Kirk asks if Spock has gone nuts, but he insists that the rest of the transmission be viewed—just in time for the end of Part 1.
Part 2 commences with an almost theatrical re-creation of some of the events of Part 1, plus a quickie summary of the footage we’ve seen so far from “The Cage,” and then the teaser ends with an abbreviated version of the end of Part 1. Cha cha cha.
After the credits, Spock explains that the Keeper on Talos IV has taken control of the ship. Pike beeps his understanding, and the screen goes back on. The court martial is now a closed session: only the board and Spock are present. We see Pike’s introduction to the Talosians, the meeting Number One holds with the senior staff to discuss options, and then we have the Talosians’ first bond-with-Vina scenario: a re-creation of the battle they just finished on Rigel VII.
Seeing the images starts to take its toll on the crippled Pike. The Talosians pause the transmission so he can recover long enough for NBC to do a commercial break, then they pick up with Pike questioning Vina in the cell while Vina tries (and fails) to get him to play along. On the surface, Number One fires a big-ass laser cannon at the cavern entrance. After the Talosians take Vina away, the Keeper feeds Pike, showing him an example of torture. The Keeper confirms to Pike (and Spock confirms to Kirk and Mendez) that Vina is a human, the only survivor of the Columbia crash.
Next, Pike and Vina have their picnic in Mojave, and Vina admits that the Talosians can’t handle primitive emotions, but it’s not something you can maintain. They also both admit that they’re attracted to each other, not just because the Talosians forced them into it. That’s followed by everyone’s favorite, the Orion dancing girl bit! (We also cut to the trial, and Kirk is obviously transfixed by the hot green chick on the monitor screen.)
A landing party tries to beam down, but only Number One and Colt successfully transport (prompting Spock’s classic, plaintive cry of, “THE WOMEN!”). The Keeper goes on about how awesome the two new women would be as potential mates. Later, Pike kidnaps the Keeper and uses the Talosian as a hostage to get to the surface.
Then the transmission just stops. Mendez calls for a vote. All three members of the trial board declare Spock to be guilty as charged so they can have a dramatic beat to go to commercial on. After the commercial, the Enterprise enters orbit of Talos IV, and Spock explains that the Talosians have control of the ship, and then the transmissions proceed as if they were never interrupted and the board never voted.
Number One sets a laser to overload rather than allow them all to become prisoners of the Talosians. But then the Talosians finish going over the Enterprise records, realizing that humans really really hate captivity a whole bunch, so the Talosians let the crew go, showing that Vina is too deformed to go with them.
The Enterprise pootles out of orbit, and the transmission ends—and then Mendez disappears as well. The Keeper speaks to Kirk telepathically, explaining that the commodore was an illusion, and Mendez never truly left Starbase 11. The court martial was a handy distraction to keep Kirk from regaining control of the ship too quickly. Uhura then relays a message from Starbase 11, which also received the transmissions from Talos IV. General Order 7 is rescinded on this occasion in light of Pike’s huge contributions to space exploration. Pike beeps yes when Kirk asks if he wants to go to Talos, and he orders Spock to escort him to the transporter room.
The Talosians show Kirk the illusory versions of Pike and Vina going off together to live happily ever after.
Fascinating. Spock is found guilty of violating General Order #7, which carries the death penalty, not to mention the whole thing where he steals the ship, fakes orders, and kidnaps Pike. But since one third of the trial board isn’t real, it obviously doesn’t take. And ultimately he’s trying to help out his former captain, who’s in a horrid state. Still, even with GO7 rescinded, there are also apparently no consequences for all the fraudulent stuff he did in service of getting Pike to Talos, which should get his ass drummed right out of the service…
Also, the report Mendez shows Kirk on Talos IV was signed by “Captain Christopher Pike” and “Half-Vulcan Science Officer Spock.” Yes, that’s how he’s officially listed in the report! (One assumes that, had the first officer signed it, it would’ve been “Female Lieutenant Number One,” and if the navigator did, it would’ve been, “Partly Latino Navigator Jose Tyler.”)
I’m a doctor not an escalator. McCoy is a staunch defender of Spock’s honor, which makes it even more hilarious that he actually did everything McCoy said he’s not capable of. Oops. Also Part 2 is one of only three non-pilot episodes McCoy doesn’t appear in (the others being “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and “Errand of Mercy”).
I cannot change the laws of physics! When it’s revealed that Kirk can’t regain control of the ship, Scotty makes a wonderful snarly noise and leaves the transporter room in a huff to try to get control back.
Hailing frequencies open. Uhura relays the starbase’s instructions, whether the fake ones created by Spock, the illusory ones regarding Mendez, and the real one at the very end.
No sex, please, we’re Starfleet. We get yet another woman from Kirk’s past, as Piper mentions a “mutual friend” named Helen Johansen, the mere mention of whom makes Kirk apprehensive.
Channel open. “Don’t stop me. Don’t let him stop me. It’s your career and Captain Pike’s life. You must see the rest of the transmission.”
Spock urging Kirk to let the Talosians’ DVD of “The Cage” continue to be shown.
Welcome aboard. We’ve got recurring regulars DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, and Nichelle Nichols, along with Hagan Beggs, back again after “Court Martial” as Hansen. Kelley and Doohan are only in Part 1.
Pike is played by Jeffrey Hunter in the footage, while Sean Kenney plays the injured Pike. Majel Barrett (credited as M. Leigh Hudec), William Blackburn, Mike Dugan, Peter Duryea, Laurel Goodwin, Clegg Hoyt, John Hoyt, Anthony Jochim, Jon Lormer, Edward Madden, Leonard Mudie, Susan Oliver, and Adam Roarke are also seen in the footage from “The Cage,” though only Hunter, Barrett, Duryea, Goodwin (in Part 2 only), John Hoyt, Oliver, and Roarke are credited.
Malachi Throne has an odd dual role here. In the framing sequence, he plays Mendez, while he provided the voice of the Keeper (physically played by Meg Wyllie) in the flashbacks. To avoid confusion, his voice was electronically modified in “The Menagerie.” Julie Parrish (Piper) and George Sawaya (Humboldt) play other Starbase 11 personnel in Part 1.
Kenney will be seen again (with less makeup) as DePaul in “Arena” and “A Taste of Armageddon.” Sawaya will be seen again (with more makeup) as Klingons in “Errand of Mercy” and “Day of the Dove.” Throne will return on TNG as Pardek in the “Unification” two-parter.
Trivial matters: Producer Robert H. Justman asked for this episode to be done because they needed time to commission more scripts, and without doing this, they’d need to halt production. (It also saved some money.) So it incorporated footage from the never-aired first pilot. Because there were so many changes in how the technology worked—notably the much more laborious processes for going to warp speed and transporting—and because of the change in Spock’s personality, it was decided to have the events of “The Cage” take place thirteen years earlier than the current season.
Gene Roddenberry originally approached Robert Butler to direct the framing sequence, since he directed “The Cage,” but he wasn’t interested, so Marc Daniels was brought in. Daniels was credited with directing Part 1 while Butler was credited for Part 2. The production crew credits were similarly split, with the framing sequence crew listed at the end of Part 1 and the crew from “The Cage” listed at the end of Part 2.
The original framing sequence was written by John D.F. Black, but Roddenberry was unhappy with his work and completely rewrote it, keeping sole credit. Black filed a grievance with the Writers Guild, but they found in favor of Roddenberry.
This two-parter won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1967. It was the first of four such Hugos for Star Trek (two for TOS, two for TNG). “The Corbomite Maneuver” and “The Naked Time” were also nominated in the same category, along with the movies Fantastic Voyage and Farenheit 451. The awards were given at the World Science Fiction Convention in New York that year, and Harlan Ellison—writer of “City on the Edge of Forever,” which would win the same award a year later—was the toastmaster of the awards ceremony.
For a time, the only color footage of “The Cage” available was what came from this episode, and the early VHS releases of “The Cage” mixed black and white with color footage until a color print was located.
Malachi Throne was up for the role of Boyce in “The Cage,” but he didn’t want to be the third lead; he wanted to play Spock, but Leonard Nimoy was already contracted by that point. He accepted the role of the voice of the Keeper instead.
Filming this as a two-parter in the series scotched Roddenberry’s hoped-for plan to release “The Cage” as a movie.
This is the second time the Enterprise has visited Starbase 11, only this time Mendez is in charge. It’s possible that both commodores are part of the command structure: Stone wore operations red and was in charge of the repair schedule for ships at the base (he even had a chart in his office), while Mendez wore command gold.
Several prose and comics stories have taken place in and around the framing sequence, including the short story “A Private Anecdote” by Landon Cary Dalton in Strange New Worlds, the comic book Captain’s Log: Pike by Stuart Moore & JK Woodward (which dramatizes the accident that crippled Pike), and the novel Burning Dreams by Margaret Wander Bonanno.
The remastered version released in 2006 named the shuttlecraft Kirk and Mendez took from Starbase 11 to the Enterprise as the Picasso. The two-parter was shown in a limited theatrical release in November 2007, as a promotion for the impending release of the remastered editions of the second season.
Some works of tie-in fiction have had people other than Spock serving under both Pike and Kirk, most notably Vulcan’s Glory by D.C. Fontana positing that Scotty was on board as a junior engineer during the Talos mission, but this very episode makes that unlikely if not impossible, since Scotty is right there in the early parts of the court martial before the revelation that the transmissions are coming from Talos IV, leading to it becoming a closed session. If Scotty had been on that mission, it would’ve come up in the episode—and, for that matter, he wouldn’t have needed to be excluded from the court martial, since he was there…
Your humble rewatcher had the great pleasure of meeting Sean Kenney, who played the injured Pike, at Treklanta this past spring, where we were both guests. Kenney wrote an autobiography called Captain Pike Found Alive! which is partly about his experiences filming this two-parter.
To boldly go. “Spock would have some logical reason for going there.” This is an iconic episode, with good reason. The image of Pike in the wheelchair is one that has become seared on popular culture, not to mention the fact that—until the VHS release of “The Cage” in 1986—this two-parter was the only way to see the original pilot. It’s an interesting episode for the same reason that “The Cage” is, as a look at what Star Trek might have been. Better still, it edits down “The Cage,” and all the cuts are good ones, either scenes that the story can live without (Spock trying and failing to leave orbit) or that are actively offensive (all of Pike’s “I don’t like having women on the bridge” lines, to which I say good riddance).
Unfortunately, the framing sequence around it is just horrible. It’s impressive to see Spock willing to throw his life and career away out of loyalty to Pike, but it would’ve been more impressive if any of his actions had any consequences. Or, better yet, if he’d just asked Kirk for help, something Kirk himself said at the end. As it is, he’s committed several crimes, and even plead guilty to them, and the only one that he’s actually let off the hook for is violating General Order #7. He still forged orders, lied to his commanding officer, assaulted two fellow Starfleet officers (the two guys he nerve-pinched in Starbase Operations in Part 1), impersonated a captain, hijacked the Enterprise, and kidnapped Pike.
The framing sequence is a desperate attempt to create suspense, which is the only reason why Roddenberry whips out the big gun of the death penalty: Look, Spock’s putting his life on the line! But, seriously, the death penalty for going to a planet full of powerful telepaths? That’s a bit of an overreaction, especially since the Talosians are obviously capable of tricking people into coming to their world (that’s kind of how the whole thing got started).
Perhaps hyper-aware of the infamous “too cerebral” note he got from NBC, Roddenberry’s framing script also constantly interrupts the action of the footage from “The Cage” so Kirk, Mendez, and Spock can provided clunky exposition to explain the storyline. It’s at least partly to give the main characters and main guest star more lines, but it feels like he’s insulting the audience’s intelligence.
Leonard Nimoy does excellent, efficient work as a saboteur and mutineer, reminding us just how impressive Spock is, and also showing the deep reserves of loyalty and friendship without losing the character’s calm and logic. DeForest Kelley does a great job going from defending Spock to Kirk to being so totally gobsmacked when Spock submits himself for arrest, and Malachi Throne is simply superb as Mendez. But overall, the framing sequence is dumber than a bag of hair, redeemed only by the flashbacks that it frames. I’d give the frame a 2, and since I already gave “The Cage” a 6, that makes it easy to give the episode this rating…
Warp factor rating: 4
Next week: “Shore Leave”
Keith R.A. DeCandido wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest, it was the low spark of high-heeled boys.
Yup. The death penalty stuff always annoyed me, too.
If I were the Federation, I’d be seriously worried after this episode. I bet they didn’t expect the Talosians’ powers to extend all the way to Starbase 11. What are they planning to do now, quarantine the whole area?
Someone on this rewatch once commented that Spock has always had “consent issues”. This episode is a prime example. Isn’t it possible that Pike doesn’t want to go to Talos IV? Maybe he has friends or family who could take care of him, talk to him and walk him every day? If he can signal yes and no, i.e. two different signs, he could learn to communicate much better in a little while, using Morse code or whatever. I would prefer that to a lonely life made up of illusions.
At least Kirk has the good sense to ask Pike at the end whether he wants to go or not.
Did I already mention that the first pilot was actually produced under the name “The Menagerie,” and was only retroactively restored to its working title “The Cage” in reference books and home-video releases to avoid confusion with the 2-parter?
Also, it wasn’t a color print they found; it was the color footage that had been trimmed out of the master print in order to cut it into the 2-parter. Unfortunately, it was without an audio track, so the complete full-color version still has the composite audio track from the previous home-video release (using the rougher soundtrack from Roddenberry’s B&W print for the cut portions and the “Menagerie” soundtrack for the rest), leading to the myth that it was colorized.
My big problem with the frame sequence is the premise that Pike can only communicate with beeps, that medical science’s understanding of the brain doesn’t allow anything more. That’s hard to reconcile with modern medical science and its ability to enable quadriplegics to communicate. Heck, it’s hard to reconcile with next season’s “Metamorphosis,” which introduces a universal translator capable of translating alien brain waves directly into speech. I suppose it could be rationalized by assuming that the radiation damaged the part of Pike’s brain that can form speech in the first place — although I don’t see how the Talosians’ illusion powers could fix that. They couldn’t fake him saying something if even he lacked the capacity to conceive the words.
Another possible rationalization is that medical science has cured so many disabilities that society has largely lost its mechanisms for helping people cope with them. Maybe it’s so rare for someone to be as incapacitated as Pike that the means to help him function and communicate need to be reinvented, and Pike’s injuries are just too recent for that to have happened yet. Although that would negate the idea that risking the death penalty to take him to Talos IV is his only option for a tolerable life. All in all, the episode’s ideas about disability are pretty primitive on multiple levels (see also Vina).
That “Half-Vulcan Science Officer Spock” bit is a result of the prop maker taking the script too literally, probably because the text wasn’t expected to be legible onscreen. An interesting point about legibility: There’s a line in part 2 where Uhura says the orders come from “Comsol, Starfleet Command,” and the Star Trek Concordance interpreted that as being short for “Commander, Solar Forces.” But once the HD remastered editions came out, it was discovered that the signature at the bottom of the orders read “Robert L. Comsol, Commanding Officer.” So that was actually the given name of the guy in charge of Starfleet Command during TOS, yet decades of fans had never realized that. (I believe I was the first person to incorporate this information into a work of fiction, establishing Comsol as the commander of Starfleet in my TOS-era Department of Temporal Investigations novel Forgotten History.)
The backing-and-forthing of the title of the original pilot was covered in the rewatch of “The Cage,” yes. :)
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
My theories? Everyone responsible for disciplining Spock remembers quite clearly that someone else took responsibility, but if pressed would have difficulty remembering who but only that somehow he beat the rap. Well they would if pressed anyway, but somehow anytime someone thinks about pressing the issue they see something that demands their attention. Gotta love friends in high places and godlike aliens.
That is my second theory. The Talosians were Starfleet’s first encounter with beings on the godlike-alien scale and so everyone ran around in little circles, waving their hands in the air, screaming and shouting, and generally panicking and they came up with a massive overreaction. Since then they’ve experienced others on the Godlike alien scale who are much higher up and have concluded the Talosians are pretty weakass, so on review they just quietly junked the whole Upon Pain Of Death stuff as being Patriot Act level overreaction to the level of threat. And now everyone just harrumphs a lot when it is brought up and changes the subject.
I’m missing the odd tag for this episode(s).
JanaJansen: Eeeek! I totally forgot to tag the post. The fine folks at Tor.com put in some of them, but I’ve now edited the post with all the tags. Including the silly one. :)
—KRAD
(Deleted by its author)
First and foremost, RIP James Horner. He passed on WAY too soon. His contributions not only to Trek, but to a multitude of films will be fondly remembered. And hopefully forever. Films and TV shows wouldn’t have nearly the same impact if not for the work of these talented composers.
You know, for years and years, I always felt I was missing something whenever watching this episode. I never understood as to why Spock had to be facing the death penalty. Then it occured to me that it was nothing more than an idiotic plot device to create tension at the end of part 1.
The framing device may be stupid, but this is still an episode I enjoy watching time and again, if only to see their reactions to The Cage.
And I genuinely enjoy the ending. Not Kirk’s stupid grin per se, but the fact that Pike got a second chance at a happy ending alongside Vina, even if it was only an illusion. When you stop to think about the man who was considering retiring after the Rigel incident, plus the whole Cage situation and becoming paralyzed, I can’t help but side with Spock on this issue.
As for the wheelchair and the blinking lights, they generated a lot of fun memes (and a great running joke on Futurama), but Stephen Hawking’s continued existence and ability to communicate pretty much dated this episode, and almost on arrival.
However, I have a fond view of this episode just because I absolutely love the name Malachi Throne, it has such a nice ring to it.
@7: The actor also played a character conveniently named Prime Minister Malachi on Babylon 5. Worth watching simply to listen to Peter Jurasik’s eloquent pronunciation of the name.
This patchwork quilt of an episode is the epitome of a hot mess. I wouldn’t give it a Warp Factor rating. It barely limps along on impulse drive…
I originally thought I liked the framing sequence, until I realized I only like Leonard Nimoy’s performance. The rest is all crap, but Nimoy makes it quite good for me.
Regarding Pike’s beeps, we have far more advanced assistive communication technology today for aphasic patients. There’s even eyeblink/eyegaze tracking for people with Locked In Syndrome. No reason whatsoever it has to be so basic in this episode. I like the beeps as a story device, but it’s thoroughly unrealistic.
Christopher, regarding Comsol in Forgotten History – there’s some confusion in Memory Beta about it. The page for Comsol indicates In Tempest’s Wake established him as Commander of Starfleet. (Actually, it says “maybe,” but Dayton said on Twitter that it’s him.) But Forgotten History predates In Tempest’s Wake by six months, so…I’m still confused.
Gonna have to disagree on Spock being ridiculous, Keith. I think it no more ridiculous than Kirk doing pretty much the exact same thing some eighteen years later for Spock in Star Trek III.
I love this episode, Keith–AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME! :-)
Seriously, I can overlook all the flaws because it works for me on an emotional and conceptual level. I suppose if I had to look at it really critically, I’d feel the same way you do. Luckily, I don’t have to! ;-)
As it stands, I agree that Malachi Throne is superb as Commodore Mendez, and I also love the moment when McCoy snaps, “Well, confine him!” after Spock says that confinement to quarters is an appropriate measure.
I’d also like to mention DC’s STAR TREK series, Volume 2, issue #61, written by Steven H. Wilson with art by Rod Whigham and Arne Starr. It’s a story about Spock returning to Talos IV after STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER and discovering what has become of Captain Pike and Vina in the intervening years. I haven’t read it since it came out, but at the time, I thought it was an excellent read and a very well-done follow-up to “The Menagerie.”
And in Volume 1 of the DC series, there was ANNUAL #1 by Mike W. Barr and Dave Ross, which showed the first meeting between Kirk and Pike, when Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise, as established in “The Menagerie.” Again, a great read, with wonderful art. I much prefer it over Vonda McIntyre’s ENTERPRISE: THE FIRST ADVENTURE, which covered the same ground.
Glenn Greenberg
@10/MeredithP: Forgotten History spans a period from 2266-75, plus 2383. It establishes that Comsol retired and was succeeded by Nogura sometime in 2269, presumably after Vanguard ended. I haven’t read In Tempest’s Wake yet, so I don’t know what it establishes about Comsol.
@12/Glenn Greenberg: Also, DC’s second annual, also written by Barr, features a return to Talos IV to repel a Klingon occupation of the planet. Marvel’s “Telepathy War” crossover storyline in Starfleet Academy and several other comics has a similar premise, but with the Jem’Hadar instead of the Klingons.
And I also prefer Mike’s version of Kirk’s first mission to McIntyre’s.
@13/Christopher – Well, your book came out first, so you established it, presumably, regardless of which is set sooner.
@11: It’s not that Spock was ridiculous. I actually agreed with his reasoning, even though he tries to say it was logical.
It’s that he suffered virtually no consequences for his actions. Kirk still lost the rank of Admiral over his actions on Star Trek IV.
This is one of the first original series episodes I saw. We had it on laser disc, and when I started getting more interested in Star Trek, I dug it out and watched it. I think I must have seen some of the movies at this point, or at least parts of them, or otherwise had some knowledge of the older characters (certainly I did of William Shatner, from Rescue 911). So it was fascinating to me seeing this “old” Star Trek show with the younger actors in these 60s future-concept settings.
I can forgive some of the lack of computer foresight for the series, but I don’t really see why even in the 60s they couldn’t think of anything better than beeps, especially considering the episode is hundreds of years in the future with transporters and warp drive. I mean, you can teleport a human, but Pike can only beep “yes” and “no.” And there aren’t even separate yes and no lights either…just ONE light, with yes and no determined by the number of beeps. It’s like they were setting up Futurama and South Park on purpose.
@16, yes Kirk was demoted, but the movie, although trying to make it sound like disciplinary, but it was also just as much reward for a job well done because everybody knows Kirk’s first love was starship command.
I have the Hallmark Keepsake Christmas ornament of this episode.
Its creepy. I love it.
Just how far can the Talosians reach?
Was Pike really signaling “yes” at he end, or was that an illusion?
“Yeoman with Strong Female Urges Colt”?
And there is no E-stop or emergency shutdown for the engines?
Maybe Mendez very recently relieved Stone?
Pike’s chair was pretty advanced for 196x.
Maybe Spock lost his first promotion to Captain as a result of this.
OK, so this episode brings me to what has to be one of my favorite masquerade/costume contest bits ever in my convention-going life – https://youtu.be/my-ri8iInXo?t=120 It’s only about 45 seconds, but I just can’t help laughing each time I watch it. (Full disclosure – I was chairman of this particular convention ;) ).
Regarding this episode, I’m torn. I understand this was pretty much slapped together to buy them some time so I can forgive some of the issues – but “Death penalty”? At the time this episode was filmed, anti-death penalty sentiment was running very high and it was just a couple of years from being (temporarily) abolished in the US but yet it’s an acceptable punishment here? Oy vey…
@20/critter42 – That was awesome. I have seen other gag versions of Christopher Pike, but I love that! Thanks for sharing it with us. Nice Masquerade video, too, that’s not always easy from the audience!
Glenn: I mentioned Star Trek #61 in my rewatch of “The Cage.” And I actually prefer McIntyre’s first mission to Barr’s, if forced to choose between them, but I think both of them are deeply flawed for different reasons.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
Yes, the framing story is very, very lame. The Death Penalty is way OTT. I do think it was put in there so that they would be forced to see the story, since they weren’t allowed to talk about Talos IV at all, ever. I do think that part of the reason Spock gets away scot-free is because everyone on Starbase 11 realized that they too are in violation of General Order 7 and Spock certainly knew about that lawyer with the books and HE would note that everyone who saw what happened would be under indictment as well if they tried to bring charges and maybe we should just pretend this never happened. Really, do you want everyone in the Federation to know that this bunch of telepaths can reach out over billions of miles and manipulate people’s minds so that they can’t tell what is real? There are certain things worth hiding, even if it means Spock doesn’t get punished.
What really blows my mind is that we spend two entire episodes leading to the statement that a highly advanced, highly intelligent race was being wiped out because they created a way to make dreams reality. That they decided that they preferred to live in their dreams and their world was falling apart and they could no longer breed. And what does the Federation take from this? Let’s build a HOLODECK! One that malfunctions all the time. We will create the exact thing that helped destroy the Thalosians because Why Not?
ETA: Do you know if they tried to get Hunter back to play Pike for this episode? I know he didn’t want to continue on Star Trek when they reworked the premise, but switching out actors seemed odd. I know he died young, but a quick check shows he was alive when this was shot.
Nimoy makes this episode work. He’s incredible here.
I figured this episode’s effect on Spock’s career is the reason he isn’t running Starfleet by the time of the movies.
@24: I don’t see it that way. That would presume Spock had any ambition to rule a military organization. While there are definitely Vulcans with an ego, he’s always been more of a servant, willing to do whatever it took to help everyone else, and teach others to fulfill their hopes and dreams (ST II is the textbook scenario on both accounts).
And case in point, instead of rising to Admiral the way Kirk did, he chose to become an Ambassador after Starfleet, following in his father’s footsteps instead.
They did reach out but Hunter was making a movie at the time and was therefore unavailable.
@17/leandar: Yes, it was a reward, but
1. technically, it still was a punishment,
2. the reward was not for getting Spock back, but for saving the Earth afterwards.
Whereas in this episode, there are no consequences at all, and that’s silly.
@critter42 post 20–your comments about the death penalty actually make the whole point of why it was written into the story–“Here we are in this totally egalitarian, libertarian future where we respect all life under all circumstances…and this planet is so f***ed up that we’ll still execute anybody who goes there!” It was INTENDED to be over the top in order to stress just how concerned Starfleet was about this planet. Whether or not they pulled that feeling off…eh.
My biggest beef with this episode is with the wheelchair–I know others have basically said this already, but if Pike was physically able to turn that light on and off to say yes and no, I can think of NO logical reason why he can’t use the flashing pattern to do other things, like flash Morse Code, as someone suggested. There’s simply no argument I can think of to rule out the possibility of using Morse.
@28/DonRudolphII: It was me who suggested Morse Code, and I think the reason why he can’t do it in the episode is that he has been injured very recently and hasn’t learned to do it yet. But there really should be someone with him, teaching him, right when we meet him.
There were many problems with the framing sequence, but one thing I found absolutely ridiculous was saying it was going to take a long time to find out what Pike was repeatedly signalling “no” about. All they had to do was what Valentine did with her paralyzed grandfather (Noirtier) in “The Count of Monte Cristo” who could only indicate yes and no with his eyes.
Mendez: Captain Pike, please stop me with a yes when I get to the right letter. A, B, C … (eventually reaches S)
Pike: Beep
Mendez: Second letter. A, B, C … P
Pike: Beep
Mendez: A, B, C … O
Pike: Beep
Mendez: A, B, C
Pike: Beep
Mendez: Spock. You want to say something about Spock.
Pike: Beep
Mendez: Second word. A, B, C …L
Pike: Beep
Mendez: A, B, C … I
Pike: Beep
Mendez: A, B, C, D, E
Pike: Beep
Mendez: Are you telling me Spock lied about something?
Pike: Beep
And the rest would be easy. It wouldn’t take months. Only a few minutes.
As I said, the only way the inability to communicate with Pike makes sense is if his brain damage prevents him from even formulating sentences in his mind. I think it is possible to have brain damage that allows one to understand speech but be unable to formulate language oneself, since they’re different parts of the brain. So it’s not just that he can’t physically convert the sentences in his mind into perceptible speech, but that he can’t even remember how to organize his thoughts into language.
But, again, if that were the case, then he’d be just as incapable of communicating through Talosian illusion. Unless the Talosians are reading his mind deeply enough to understand his abstract feelings and reactions and are guessing what he would say if he had the means.
Frame: 6.Sure, it’s difficult to see how Spock could have avoided being cashiered (Friends in High Places? cf “Amok Time” and how Spock’s family is important enough to rate having T’Pau officiating at Spock’s wedding), but the frame works on its own terms, and Nimoy and Throne (what a great speaking voice) are outstanding
The Cage: 8.Classic Trek.
Christopher, I thought back when we rewatched “The Cage” you told us about some sort of “lock” condition that is at least similar to what Pike’s plight seems to be; I know you mentioned it in Uncertain Logic. Doesn’t mean you have to find it a satisfactory explanation, I guess, but you did acknowledge there was one… or sort-of one…
I’m with @12/Glenn: I love love love this episode. It has been (and always shall be) my favorite TOS. So it has plot holes and leaps of logic and scientific improbabilities – most Star Trek adventures do. “The Menagerie” does what few other TOS episodes do: it adds history to the in-story universe. “Where No Man…” and “Balance of Terror” do, too, among a few others, but “The Menagerie,” jumping back and forth between the “present” and “13 years ago,” really opens up worlds of possible stories in “revealing” that the Enterprise has a history. Starfleet and the UFP are shinier than our good friends over in the Galaxy Far Far Away, but the Trek universe, too, is a “used universe,” and we see that here.
Another reason I love “The Menagerie” is that it was this intriguing look at a Star Trek that never was. I will grant that some of the impact of this diminished in 1986, when “The Cage” became available on its own; but I would watch this endlessly to catch as many details as I could about what the Enterprise and Starfleet were like before Kirk.
So maybe my reasons for liking this episode aren’t exactly the Trekkiest of reasons — it’s all pretty fannish navel-gazing stuff, as I lay it out here — but what can I say? I also think @11/leander makes a good point. In ST III, Kirk asks for permission to help a comrade, and is denied. And given what we’ve just seen of Starfleet bureaucracy in “Court-Martial,” maybe Spock has every reason to think his request would have been denied. (Especially if he thought he’d have to deal with Commodore Stone rather than Mendez!)
As for the death penalty, in my fantasy 50th anniversary Star Trek movie, there would be some reason for the Enterprise-E to have to visit Talos IV, and the resolution of whatever Universe-Threatening, Crossover-Creating Crisis (TM) there was would result in an official revocation of the “last remaining death penalty on the books.” It’s far too niche and narrowly focused to ever be done, but it would make me happy. :)
@10/Meredith – Forgive me, I see you already mentioned Locked In Syndrome, the condition I was asking Christopher about. I didn’t read all the comments carefully enough. No argument from me that the “beeping only” is way unrealistic, given what we know and can do now. But at some point, “Hey, it was the 60s” is the only possible answer. (Unless, of course, a lot of medical science was undone in the post-atomic horror, and we still haven’t re-established it all by the 23rd century…. Keep those retcon engines at full power, Mike!) :)
I also meant to add that I agree with Keith that “The Menagerie”‘s cuts of the pilot improve the thing immeasurably. Watching that VHS in ’86 was a rude awakening when it came to the sexism running rampant.
@31/Christopher – You’re describing expressive aphasia, or Broca’s aphasia, perfectly. Damage to Broca’s area in the brain will preserve comprehension but inhibit expression. Patients can usually still speak, but forming coherent sentences is difficult. Combine that with dysarthria (inability to physically form speech movements, which is evident in Pike), and you get heavily simplified communication. Note that expressive aphasia isn’t the ability to form thoughts – he would have them – but the inability to express them. So perhaps the Talosians would have direct access to his thoughts, without relying on him to organize them into communication. (Note that Broca’s aphasia impacts all forms of linguistic expression – spoken, written, and signed language.)
@34/Mike – The difference between Locked In Syndrome and expressive aphasia is that people with Locked In Syndrome are capable of fully expressing their thoughts if given appropriate technology. Broca’s aphasia limits their ability to even express, regardless of the technology, as Christopher was talking about.
Brains are amazing machines, and it’s amazing what can go wrong…
@22 Krad — Interesting that you prefer McIntyre’s story over Barr’s. Would love to know the major problems you have with both stories.
One of the big blanks I fill in myself is in regard to Vina. Does she know when was duped 13 years ago and has been playing house with a fake Pike? When real Pike happens to become a candidate for the, Island of the Misfit Disabled did he tell her, “hey girl, it’s really me now?” In my own head Vina was in on this with the Talosians: without, at least, that she is still stuck in not-a-person status for the Talosians and Starfleet.
Glenn: my biggest problem with Barr’s story was that it didn’t need to be the first mission. There was nothing “first-mission-y” about it, save for the presence of Pike. There was very little sense of it being the start of the journey, not enough of a first-time feel. It was a good story, and a good use of Pike, but it could’ve been any Enterprise adventure taking place prior to “The Menagerie.”
McIntyre at least made an effort to show the early days of the characters’ relationships to each other, to good effect. The seeds of the later relationships were very well sown in the book. The problem with her novel was the reverse of the comic: the actual story was kinda dumb.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
Here’s a review (here on Tor!) of McIntyre’s “Enterprise”.
Too bad my internet handle is already MaGnUs and variations of it (they have been for over 20 years), or “Partly Latino Navigator Jose Tyler” would be my new one! And Spock taking over the Enterprise so easily… is this a precursor to “Data hijacks the Enterprise singhandledly”?
@7 – pen_pals: “The Malachi Throne” sounds like a king’s position, like the Iron Throne in GOT/ASOIAF.
@35: So people with Broca’s aphasia are also unable to use a little talking pad with a picture of an apple or a bed or something to communicate their desires?
@35/MeredithP: That’s a great explanation!
@41/crzydroid: Usually people with Broca’s aphasia can still speak single words, although it takes some effort. They have lost their grammar, though, so they can’t form sentences. I guess this means that they might not even need the talking pad.
So if Pike could still speak, he could say “Spock… lie…”, but I don’t know if RichF’s idea would work, because I don’t know if people with Broca’s aphasia can spell. MeredithP, do you know this?
Like I said before, I have to wonder why they couldn’t just point a “Metamorphosis”-style universal translator at Pike and interpret his thoughts directly. If they could do that with an energy cloud creature, you’d think they could do it with a human being. (Or… hmm… could it be that the events of “The Menagerie” led to the swift revocation of General Order 7, and the mind-reading UT was the first product of trade with the Talosians…?)
@41/crzydroid – Oh, they certainly can. And as JanaJansen notes in @42, single words still work – though in Pike we have dysarthria (inability to speak) so that would be difficult. But many forms of AAC (augmentive and assistive communication) that are used for patients with aphasia are very concept-based, because the grammar has gone. (Jana, yes, spelling is usually affected as well.)
What Pike would need to communicate effectively, assuming dysarthria, quadriplegia, and expressive aphasia, is a picture board; we can assume this would be eyegaze based and not need an assistant. Now, could that have been conceived of when the show was made? Quite possibly, as communication boards were available as early as the 1920s, becoming more common in the 1950s. Morse Code was also used during this period, and it doesn’t take long to learn, so the producers could have used either a picture board or Morse Code, with a yeoman helping him communicate.
But then we don’t have the dramatic aspect of the story. Spock offering to take Pike to Talos with nothing but Pike’s plaintive cries of “no! no!” That long, emphatic “YES.”
Some info on helping aphasic patients communicate: http://praacticalaac.org/strategy/making-it-work-6-aac-strategies-for-people-with-aphasia/
Huh. The pathetic technology (and obvious plot device) of Pike’s communications array always bugged me … which now I see might be ironic, because I have actually experienced what people here are calling Broca’s aphasia.
I had “confusionary” migraines as a child that included this symptom sometimes. I could understand my Mom’s questions to me, and I could sometimes bark out single-word answers before I got too confused about how to talk, especially if the single-word answers were “yes” or “no.”
So, from first-hand experience: yes, spelling would have also been nigh-impossible. In fact, from what I remember, what Broca’s aphasia felt like was an extreme unreliability in very-short-term memory: once I decided what message I wanted to convey, I would forget the words involved in a fraction of a second, and would sometimes have trouble remembering what the question was for more than a second or two. Spelling would have demanded WAY too much remembering what letter I was on, or even what word I had set out to spell.
(Technological progress aside, this episode still bores me to tears.)
@44: Thank you. This just confirms with me though, that Pike’s chair suffered a little from a failure of imagination.
@45/McKay B – Ah yes! Transient aphasia is common with confusional migraines. Broca’s aphasia is so named because it’s damage to Broca’s area in the brain, but it’s just a fancy term for expressive aphasia, and you had the transient version. Fascinating to hear about it from you, thank you. I’ve studied communication disorders somewhat but I always like to hear how individuals describe it, never having experienced aphasia myself.
Side tangent: there is also receptive aphasia, known as Wernicke’s aphasia because it’s damage to – surprise! – Wernicke’s area. With receptive aphasia, comprehension is also compromised, and although the person can produce fluent speech, it is usually devoid of meaning. It’s all quite interesting.
@45/McKay B: I have always wondered how aphasia actually “works” – understanding others, yet being unable to speak oneself. Thank you for the insight!
@43/Christopher: Hey, if we assume inter-episode continuity, I know of a facility where Pike could get a perfect android body. Also, the universal translator probably hasn’t been invented yet, because everybody speaks English anyway.
Seriously: I imagine that a telepathic creature creates a different kind of brainwaves – they somehow “leave” the brain and “enter” others. Maybe they are more like language than normal brainwaves, and thus easier to interpret by the universal translator. Of course, it still could be a Talosian invention.
@48/Jana: Yes, that’s a fair point — that maybe the UT from “Metamorphosis” was geared more toward receiving strongly broadcast neural emanations than detecting the weaker ones of a human brain. But then, that would’ve severely limited its usefulness and pretty solidly invalidated the “Universal” part of the name. (Unless maybe it was manufactured by the Universal Electronics Corporation…?)
Universal Electronics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems,part of the Weyland-Utani Corporation.
A Universal Translator that’s not as universal as the name suggest reminds me of sporting events such as “the World Series” played by baseball teams from just two countries. :)
Universal is the new Acme!
Or General Products, from Larry Niven’s Known Space setting.
@37/Tribblesandbits (great handle, btw) – The Talosians’ mental power is so great, perhaps they swapped out the illusory Pike from 13 years before with the real one in such a way that Vina never noticed. Illusions within illusions… Or maybe she’s always known she was with an illusory Pike, and so was thrilled to have the real one return. Either way, though, yeah, it’s not great for her being viewed as a person. Maybe that would be the plot of my fiftieth anniversary movie: someone at Starfleet finally realizes, “Hey, we could put Vina back together better than the Talosians did; let’s go get her out of there and give her a shot at a real life…”
Or Madison Square Garden, which is no longer actually in Madison Square. Or Manhattan College, which is in the Bronx, not Manhattan. Or…
Okay, I’ll stop.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
(Comment deleted by its author)
Agree with all re:Pike’s chair. However, am I the only one who thinks of a Dalek when he sees Pike this way!? Lol
@57/Danis – I hadn’t thought of it before, but now I shall never be able to un-think it! Ha! Oh, the crazy fanfic crossovers that could be (have been?) written…
@58 MikePoteet I’ve read the tng/DW x-over but it was cybermen teaming up w/Borg.
Good comic though !
It looks too much like Davros’ chair to think of anything else.
@60Athreeren
I was thinking that but couldn’t remember his name ;
@29 JanaJansen Good point and interesting argument!
@ChristopherLBennett #31 The only problem with the argument you make in that post is that, at one point in the episode, Commodore Mendez specifically told Kirk that Pike’s mind is completely intact, but is trapped in a completely useless body with no way to communicate except to flash that light. That certainly implies that Pike is able to formulate thoughts.
And another thought (no pun intended) just popped into my head–why didn’t Spock (or anybody else, for that matter) think of using a mind-meld to communicate with Pike??
@62/DonRudolphII: First off, let’s be clear: People with the kind of aphasia we’re talking about are perfectly capable of formulating thoughts. Their intelligence is intact. They just lack the ability to put those thoughts into words.
And yes, I know what Mendez said. The point I’ve been making is that the things asserted in the episode don’t make sense. If Pike’s mind was completely intact, then there are multiple ways he could’ve communicated beyond a simple yes/no beep. So restating the episode’s claims doesn’t accomplish anything beyond underlining the problem. I’m trying to think of alternative scenarios that could make more sense. Sometimes you have to squint a little and overlook some of the details to make sense of a Trek episode.
As for the mind meld, Spock certainly could’ve done that, but he’d already decided that more drastic measures had to be taken. He already knew what Pike was going through (presumably because the Talosians informed him), and he was doing something about it. A mind meld would’ve been redundant for his own purposes. As far as any other Vulcans were concerned, it would’ve been a delicate thing to ask, since it’s a rather personal and invasive process. Between this episode and “Dagger of the Mind,” we know that Spock served in Starfleet for over a dozen years without ever melding with a human. Other Vulcans might’ve been even more reluctant to try it.
@ChristopherLBennett/63 Okay, I see where you’re coming from now!! :)
For some reason I posted this in the “Court Martial” thread by mistake…..
I’m under insane deadline pressure this week, so the rewatch of “Shore Leave” will be put off until the 7th of July.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
@krad #65: “For some reason I posted this in the “Court Martial” thread by mistake…..”
Perhaps you’re overstressed? Next thing, you’ll be expecting us to believe you saw a little girl chasing a large rabbit across a field!! ;) LOL I had to say it–it was too easy (and too appropriate)!!! LOL
I’ve always wondered why Mendez showed Kirk the Talos IV report. There was no mention of it prior and absolutely no reason to believe the situation with the false message had anything to do with it. Spock served with Pike for 11 years. Presumably, they’d encounter countless strange situations, just as the current mission has. My only answe r is that Mendez was at that point as well.
The situation in The Search for Spock has a number of differences:
1. Kirk was acting at the request of Spock’s closest relative. No mention is made of any family Pike might make and Spock deliberately went against his wishes. However, that was probably more about not letting Spock get into trouble.
2. Kirk wasn’t facing death for his actions.
3. Kirk actually asked his friends for help. He d
Star Trek:TOS The Talosian created a machine that can make them live any fantasy they want with perfect simulation. This destroys their civilization and they need breeding stock to survive.
Star Trek:TNG Guess what! We created a machine that lets you live any fantasy you want with perfect simulation and everyone (not named Barkley) uses it responsibly and there are no negative affects on our civilization! Spock, uh, guys, remember when you almost executed me because I disobeyed an order to stay away from Talos 4 because having a machine that can create perfect fantasy setting is TOO DANGEROUS!
@69: Percysowner: What machine? The Talosians’ illusions were telepathic. The fear was that their ability to control and manipulate people’s minds could be a dangerous weapon. Their telepathy was so powerful that they could influence the crew of a ship in orbit, even make them perceive a false distress signal from parsecs away. Which makes the whole idea of a quarantine kind of useless, in fact, since the Talosians could easily affect people’s minds without needing to leave their world; but maybe that’s exactly why the ban was so strict, to ensure that nobody would be lured there by another illusion. The Talosians could make people perceive anything, but not actually control their actions, so the restriction against going to Talos IV would’ve had to be severe enough that no trick or temptation would be sufficient to override it.
One of the questions raised concerns the lack of the advanced technology of the time limiting the ability of Pike to do more than flash lights yes or no.
But we have no idea the extent of Pike’s injury. Maybe he was so injured that by today’s standard, he’d be in a coma on life support. Or dead.
Why not assume this all they can do given his injury? Just because it’s the future doesn’t mean everything is possible.
I liked the suggestion that what we see is a stopgap. Pike’s condition is still being assessed and possibly not stable. Further deterioration may be a concern or improvement possible. In either case it probably will take time to produce a, support system tailored to his specific needs.
@72/Roxana: In theory, that makes sense, but it would invalidate the need for the whole story, because the premise is that taking Pike to Talos IV in violation of Federation law is the only possible way to allow any improvement in his condition. If his condition is only temporary and there are better adjustment mechanisms available, then it becomes illogical and pointless for Spock to risk the death penalty and hijack a whole starship just to help him.
But even a better wheelchair and a vocorder isn’t the equivalent of the complete freedom from his damaged body the Talosians offer. There are men that would prefer even a severely limited Real Life to illusion but Pike isn’t one of them as he proves at the end. Spock presumably knows this.
@74/Roxana: Plenty of people lead fulfilling lives with disabilities. I don’t believe Spock would risk his career and his life to take Pike to Talos if it were simply a matter of Pike not yet having learned to cope with his new situation. That’s a matter best dealt with by therapy, not mutiny. And Spock would be guilty of ableist bigotry if he just assumed that living with a disability was so horrible a fate that surrendering him to his former abductors to live a life of illusion was better.
Really, that’s the problem with the whole episode. It’s based in an antiquated and deeply prejudiced set of attitudes about disability. We know better now as a society. We have enormously better methods, not only for physically treating and compensating for disabilities, but for helping people adjust psychologically. The fundamental premise of the frame story is antiquated and unenlightened and just doesn’t hold up in modern terms.
I definitely believe there is ableism involved. Remember Spock cones from a culture where seven year olds are tested for survival skills. I suspect Vulcan is very ableist.
@76/Roxana: To the point that Spock would commit mutiny and hijacking? I still say that’s a stretch. Spock wouldn’t have gone to those lengths if it were just a matter of it being his personally or culturally preferred option for Pike — he would only have done it if he were convinced it was the only possible option. The ableism was on the part of Gene Roddenberry for setting up that situation in the first place.
Although, of course, Roddenberry was hampered by a few things. He had to craft a story that incorporated the presentation of “The Cage” as historical events, that tied the present story into the Talosians and their use of illusion, and that accommodated the need to replace Jeffrey Hunter with a different actor in different parts of the same episode. And this is what he came up with.
Personally I’ve always thought it was awfully generous of the Talosians to take Pike in considering he’d stomped their last hope of racial survival. Given that they’ve accepted that a human support colony just won’t work they’re not getting anything out of this arrangement – except making Vina happy assuming that’s important to them. Maybe it is, maybe she comes up with more fun fantasies when she’s happy.
Stephen: your comment was deleted because you made your point in a manner that insulted the intelligence of anyone who disagreed with you — which you’ve done again in this second comment by saying, “I wrote by far the most intelligent remarks about “The Menagerie” on your site.” That is beyond rude. Your points about the episode could have been made without assuming everyone who does not share your high opinion of the episode is an idiot.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
Comment @80 unpublished. To follow up on Keith’s remarks, you can find our full moderation policy here–we ask that you keep your comments civil and be respectful of others even when disagreeing with their opinions.
@Krad/To boldly go…
As I recall, doesn’t Spock answer the question that he wasn’t going to ask Kirk to face the death penalty too?
Fun trivia about the Orion Slave Girl. When the dailies came back on the episode, she appeared caucasian. The response was ‘Paint her greener!!’. This happens like three times until they find out the problem: the guy doing the color tech for the film obviously is just doing a job and not involved with the show in any other way keeps seeing the film and going ‘Good God, this came out green!’ and then ‘correcting’ the color.
@84/Wayne Ligon: It wasn’t the dailies for the episode, it was a makeup test with Majel Barrett as the model.
‘The Menagerie’ is a clever way to salvage the failed pilot ‘The Cage,’ but this episode is simply too long and did not really need to be two parts. As such they had to “pad it” with unnecessary segments like Kirk reminded of Helen Johanson and others. When Spock is monkeying with the communications center on the Starbase, there’s an unintentionally hilarious slapstick moment when Chief Humboldt (?) attacks Spock with what looks like a pair of pliers and completely misses (at very short distance!). Also, at the end Pike is free of his paralysis and is romping arounf with the beautiful blonde Vina on the planet. But it’s been 13 years since they last saw each other. What has Vina been doing all that time? And was she the crippled, deformed Vina of “reality” or did the Talosians restore her health and beauty 13 yeats prior? And what about Pike’s real paralyzed body? Was it buried somewhere? Or did the healthy illusory Pike somehow “replace” the crippled fellow??
@86/Palash: “this episode is simply too long and did not really need to be two parts.”
From a production standpoint, it did. As Keith explained in the Trivial Matters section, “The Menagerie” came about because the production was running behind schedule and needed time to catch up. Building a 2-parter around the unused pilot footage let them produce two episodes in the time it took to shoot just one, and that let them get back on schedule.
@86, What has Vina been doing all that time?
At the conclusion of “The Cage,” the Talosians produced a duplicate of Pike for Vina to remain with. Though it wasn’t presented that way in “The Menagerie,” the option is there, along with all the experiences Pike had had up to that point.
Somehow my Comment 87 disappeared when I attempted a edit. Weird. It passed the moderators before and all I did was mark the quotation I forgot before. Oh well, I’ll try again.
Its all a illusion. The Talosians cannot heal anyone. (They can treat someone, as they originally did with Vina.) They can’t fix Vina anymore than they have. They can’t fix Pike. Both are physically in the same state they were in when we lost saw them. The Talosians are simply giving them the illusion of youth and health. Heck, technically we don’t even know if Vina is still alive. She could well be dead and the Vina we see in the last scene is simply an illusion as well.
You ask what she has been doing for the last 13 years. Does it matter? Likely, whatever she was doing before Pike and the Enterprise first visited. Its not really important to the story.
@90 – Editing a comment on a moderated thread puts that comment back in the moderation queue until a moderator re-approves it. In this case, you reposted the comment before we could re-approve the old one, so I just approved the most recent one. Thanks!
I always found The Cage to be a major slog, and revisiting that in such depth really makes this seem like filler. Actually, I think there’s one good episode in there; making it two-part is of no value. The first part is kind of intriguing in terms of the “is Spock lying” start, and then how well he orchestrated things to get where he was going. Most of part II is replaying The Cage, with the cut scenes that don’t add much to the plot, and interrupt the ‘Cage’ narrative (assuming you want to see that). Ultimately, I’d go with a warp factor five.
I guess what’s really frustrating is that they could have cut all the scenes from The Cage way down and had a pretty good one-part episode. Even with the inconsistencies, it’s kind of a good story. Of course, I’m also judging from the perspective of having all access: it’s a little different in a world that mostly didn’t see The Cage, so I suppose you don’t want to be too hard. Still, I think there could have been a really good episode here.