Why did Spock show emotion around Pike?

GR married Barrett in 1969, when the show had already been cancelled.

 

I belive it was mostly emulation to better fit in with the mostly human crew.

 

See?

 

Spock's odd behavior in "The Cage" always puts a smile on my face.

"CHECK... THE... CIRCUIT!"

 

The fact is, they hadn't finalised much at the time of The Cage, a lot of things could change, and it's pretty much the norm in TV shows. For example in the NCIS opening episode, Gibbs meets Fornell for the first time, yet later it's been established that not only did Fornell marry one of Gibbs's ex-wives, but that Gibbs had also warned him off! And that's a show not in the fast-and-loose '60's when continuity wasn't a big issue.

However, both Pike and Number One were both very logical and business-like characters, so having Spock be the same would have actually alienated viewers as they'd be unable to relate to any of the big-three characters.

In story though, we could always just put it down to Spock's "teenage" rebellious years, which he'd worked mostly out of his system by the time Kirk took command.

 

If Spock were just a Vulcan, he'd be pretty boring because quite frankly, Vulcans are pretty dull to have around. What makes Spock interesting is precisely the fact that he is half-human and therefore prone to having those rare moments of emotionalism that make us love him.

 

Agreed. As can be expected of those that are mindful of improvement and developing as people and professionals, Spock had matured by the time he became 1st officer. Referencing that key mother-son moment from Journey to Babel, Amanda described how Spock, as a boy, would be out of sorts after facing the ridicule of his peers. Those peers were undoubtedly Vulcan boys, not half human/half Vulcan. With that one can see that maturity and discipline go hand in hand with Vulcan culture, and that both are attained over time.

 

Earlier conception of the character.