Better of the two TOS pilots?
- Thread starter Vulcanian
- Start date
"The Cage" was better science fiction but I went with WNMHGB because it had the Kirk/Spock dynamic that is the touchstone of the series for me. 
This is a hard question. I personally wasn't that impressed by WNMHGB, and I found the The Cage to be a more interesting storyline. However, I liked the characters better in WNMHGB better, so I wish there was a third option in the poll that says "I don't know but just want to see the results of other people's choices!"
This is what I was trying to get across. I'd like to see "The Cage" with the regular cast.
I feel that Yeoman Colt's line about "who Pike would have chosen" (between her and Number One) kind of blew the deal for the first pilot. That kind of character tension, between the Captain and two of his female officers, wouldn't have played well in the long run. TOS sort of flirted (pun intended) with this idea with Spock and Chapel but it was treated like a joke after the events of "The Naked Time".
Put Kirk, Rand and Uhura in place of Pike, Colt and Number One. See what I mean? We know there's attraction between these characters but we also know that they won't allow themselves to act upon those feelings.
I'm surprised that so many prefer WNMHGB. I always found "The Cage" to be the more solid and intriguing stand-alone story. YMMV.
I find "The Cage" all the more intriguing for it. In WNMHGB, the crew as we know it isn't quite "there" yet, what with the emphasis on three characters who die in the episode, a different doctor, Sulu being a physicist, no Uhura or Rand, and the different uniform schemes. The differences are interesting, but the Kirk crew doesn't really seem to "click" until McCoy and Rand join in "The Corbomite Maneuver". (Uhura joins as well, but frankly, she doesn't do anything of note in this episode, whereas the other two interact substantially with Kirk.) Also, I just generally found "The Cage" to be the more intriguing story and the better stand-alone short movie. For my money, there's no lack of good Trek with Kirk and Spock in the leads, so WNMHGB just isn't as "special".
There would be no complaint about women being on the bridge.
Story? "The Cage."
Action/tension/effects? "WNMHGB"
Action/tension/effects? "WNMHGB"
"The Cage" was a smarter, more mysterious story. Eerier. The second pilot had better acting and more action, with superior special effects. But both are better than many of the episodes(if not most)that came afterwards.
The Cage. The characters here were truly human. I think Kirk is a fantastic character, and I wouldn't want to give up a moment of Shatner as Kirk for a second (even his risk is our business speech), but it would have been damned interesting to see Christopher Pike continue.
Similar threads
- Poll
