Has The Cage ever been shown on TV?

[Cyrus]

"The Cage"(cut from 63 mins. down to about 44)was part of the basic syndication package in my area for years before Sci-Fi got the rights to the series in 1998.

Yeah, a shorter version of "The Cage" was added to syndication package quite a while ago, before the series went to Sci-Fi. So the answer to the original question is that "The Cage" has been shown on TV many, many times, though for the most part it was the truncated version.

I haven't seen any updated schedules but it seems the TOS-R version of "The Cage" will be shown before the new movie opens. They seem to be on a countdown, with TOS episode #3 (The Corbomite Maneuver) airing this weekend followed by episode #2 (Where No Man Has Gone Before) next weekend. So "The Cage" is probably after that, airing the first weekend in May.

 

[Captain Robert April]

How much time is blocked out for "The Cage"? Just an hour, or will they live a little and make it a 90 minute event?

 

[cooleddie74]

Knowing syndicators, they'll just air the 20-minutes-shorter truncated version with remastered f/x. I don't see the local channels wanting or getting a 90-minute slot to show an unedited copy.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Bloody savages...

 

[cooleddie74]

Bunch of savages in this TV industry...jamming footage-trimming gum in the locks.

 

[Klingon Empire]

As far as I know, it was never aired. The closest I ever came to seeing it was "The Menagerie"

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

I haven't seen any updated schedules but it seems the TOS-R version of "The Cage" will be shown before the new movie opens. They seem to be on a countdown, with TOS episode #3 (The Corbomite Maneuver) airing this weekend followed by episode #2 (Where No Man Has Gone Before) next weekend. So "The Cage" is probably after that, airing the first weekend in May.

According to TitanTV, you're right. It's also scheduled for only 1 hour.

 

[Cyrus]

According to TitanTV, you're right. It's also scheduled for only 1 hour.

It's too bad if it's the 1 hour version, though expected. I am hoping that the TV stations will be given a choice, that way some of them may decide to give it a 1.5 hour slot and air the longer version.

 

[Sector 7]

It seems to me The Cage was shown on the convention circuit in the mid-1990s (I think I remember so...).

 

[Hober Mallow]

It seems to me The Cage was shown on the convention circuit in the mid-1990s (I think I remember so...).

I don't think so. The Cage aired on television in 1988 after the B&W white/color video was released. I do remember hearing about it Roddenberry showing it at conventions, but in the 70s.

 

[Captain Robert April]

GR showed it during his lectures in the mid 70's, along with three of the blooper reels (for the longest time, it was the only way to see the third season blooper reel).

Took a minute to figure out the thing was in black & white.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Didn't know about the sound thing. I was told in 1988 by someone in Roddenberry's office that the color print had turned up shortly after the BW/Color version had been released.

It wasn't a whole "color print" that turned up. The ST editor who'd clipped out the bits needed to create "The Menagerie" two-parter in the 60s had souvenired the unwanted bits and had had them filed in his attic for decades. When he saw Roddenberry's intro in the colour/bw restoration VHS, he realised that he still had them and contacted Paramount.

That makes a lot of sense.

There's also a rather strong urban myth that claims that Paramount simply had the b/w clips colorized, and made up a story about the original editor handing over the missing color footage because it sounded better in media releases.

Neither the world in general nor fandom in specific lack for idiots.

 

[darkshadow0001]

I know The Cage was first shown on TV as part of the special 'The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next' in October 1988. But has it ever been shown after that, like an ordinary episode of TOS? I wouldn't know because I only ever watched TOS on video.

I've read that a partially black-and-white version of The Cage was released on VHS in 1986. If this is true, then 1986 would be the true release date of The Cage. But I can't find any information about this supposed video tape anywhere. It's not on eBay or Amazon.com. Does anyone know where I can find information about it?

I remember seeing it a long time ago on TV, but I don't recall what channel.