Production Order Group Viewing 2018

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

In later Star Trek, including TOS, normally a distress call would be received, the Enterprise would go to Talos IV beam down, and then Kirk (for instance) would be captured. Cue opening credits. "The Cage" is much slower and more deliberate in its pacing while trying to make us familiar with the operations of the ship before starting the actual adventure itself.

It's the pilot of the first ever Star Trek series. You have to introduce viewers to the very notion of Trek, as well as the characters.

Later serieses had to introduce new locations, new centuries, and new characters, clocking in at about an hour and a half to "The Cage"'s hour and three minutes.

Further regarding Rigel VII - we know Kirk knows about that incident via "The Menagerie", but he might have forgotten - Rigel II, IV, V, X, and XII all are mentioned or visited in TOS. That's a lot of Rigels. (TNG adds Rigels III and VI)

 

[Marsden]

I intended to watch last night, but today was good.

One thing that strikes me about the pilot is there is really two plots in motion, they overlap quite a bit, but one is Captain Pike is burned out and the other is the Talosians need another human for Vina. I think the "too cerebral" and other complaints about Pike are from that more than any failing of Jeffery Hunter, he was seriously considering quitting, giving up, in the beginning. Being this is his first appearance, it's hard to distinguish he's just having a bad day or he's a defeatist person. At the end he seems more ready to face new adventures but all the same it seems to have colored the character. His only other appearance doesn't give him much to prove anything.

I know this has been said before, but Number One is the real hero of this episode. She's in command for over 75% of the running time and she makes the decision at the end that they won't be captured and used for slaves. I also liked Colt, she seemed ready to help as soon as they were beamed down and ready to accept Number One's decision even though it means death. I also liked how she followed Number One around in the briefing room, she was her Yeoman now. The thing I didn't like was she was the subject of two little scenes that really don't fit that well, the infamous "women on the bridge" towards the beginning and the "who would be eve" part on the end. Was Roddenberry really trying to show women are fully integrated as officers aboard ship in the future but felt he needed to throw these lines in to make it more acceptable? I think the first part should have been totally rewritten and the last adjusted, why did Colt smack right in to Pike? That was strange, the no women on the bridge was very strange, the only good thing being Number One's reactions and I don't buy she was supposed to be emotionless.

Spock and the other crew were good, I'd have liked to see more of them, including Pike and Boyce. I liked that off duty personnel weren't living in their uniforms. This was a really good story and a good beginning. I'm looking forward to more.

Ancient Greek fable, Deioneus was pushed by Ixion into a fiery pit so that he wouldn't have to pay the bride price.

 

[Mytran]

...why did Colt smack right in to Pike? That was strange,

Just an attempt to show that she was young (commented upon by The Keeper later in the episode) and inexperienced working in the hustle and bustle of the Bridge, I think.

...the no women on the bridge was very strange,

Indeed! One of the harder quotes of Star Trek to try and rationalise. Perhaps Pike was going to say "young woman Yeoman" and tripped over his words, then tried to dig his way out from that glare by Number One?

 

[Pauln6]

Just an attempt to show that she was young (commented upon by The Keeper later in the episode) and inexperienced working in the hustle and bustle of the Bridge, I think.


Indeed! One of the harder quotes of Star Trek to try and rationalise. Perhaps Pike was going to say "young woman Yeoman" and tripped over his words, then tried to dig his way out from that glare by Number One?

Al the other women on Pike's crew worked in engineering .

 

[Marsden]

Anyone remember there was that whole big deal about Number One not having a name because she was from another planet where they didn't have names?

 

[Pauln6]

Anyone remember there was that whole big deal about Number One not having a name because she was from another planet where they didn't have names?

They stole it for the Borg. I recall they said that Christine Chapel was born from the same genetic batch but had to decided to adopt a name.

 

[Archivist13]

I just want to say this is all awesome stuff! From the comments you can already tell how deep and intricate Star Trek was after even the first originally unaired pilot. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the series brings!

 

[Archivist13]

Production Order Week 2
Star Trek S01E03 (Second Pilot) Where No Man Has Gone Before
Kirk confronts two crew members (Gary Lockwood, Sally Kellerman) after a psychic force invades their minds.

 

[Commishsleer]

I intended to watch last night, but today was good.

One thing that strikes me about the pilot is there is really two plots in motion, they overlap quite a bit, but one is Captain Pike is burned out and the other is the Talosians need another human for Vina. I think the "too cerebral" and other complaints about Pike are from that more than any failing of Jeffery Hunter, he was seriously considering quitting, giving up, in the beginning. Being this is his first appearance, it's hard to distinguish he's just having a bad day or he's a defeatist person. At the end he seems more ready to face new adventures but all the same it seems to have colored the character. His only other appearance doesn't give him much to prove anything.
.

Its just too early in the game for Pike to be hating his life. And I just don't see this episode changing his mind.
. Just loving his job.
Contrast that to Kirk's first appearance in 'Man Trap'. Walking through the place like he owned it teasing McCoy Loving the job. However by 'Naked Time' Kirk too was lamenting he couldn't chat up Rand. Also too early in the game to be resenting his life. And strange considering no-one was stopping him chatting up Lenore or kissing Shaw

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

Production Order Week 2
Star Trek S01E03 (Second Pilot) Where No Man Has Gone Before
Kirk confronts two crew members (Gary Lockwood, Sally Kellerman) after a psychic force invades their minds.

Does it matter which version we watch (the standard version or the original cut on the Season 3 BD set)?

 

[Archivist13]

Does it matter which version we watch (the standard version or the original cut on the Season 3 BD set)?

Probably doesn't matter. I watched the standard version which is on the Season 1 BD set. From what I understand the original cut on Season 3 BD set is actually trimmed a bit and has a different opening and closing. I might just check out the original cut to, since I have it, to see what the difference is.

 

[Marsden]

I forgot one more thought about my viewing of "THE CAGE" Everyone seems to attribute Excellent! to Mr. Burns, but the Keeper had him beat by about 25 years. Excellent.

 

[Poltargyst]

WNMHGB is one of my very favorite episodes. I always liked it a lot.

Oh, Kirk is so young and handsome in this episode.

Spock: "One of my ancestors married a human." They hadn't yet decided that it was his father.

Still no "Space, the final frontier" in the opening.

I don't think you can play chess illogically. That tends to lead to a loss.

Some humans naturally have ESP including the ability to see through barriers and start fires with their minds. I wonder why they dropped the idea. Because they decided Vulcans would have ESP abilities instead?

Gary and the Yeoman holding hands through the emergency. There's a case where it's not only a woman expressing fear, a man does here too.

Nine dead?!?

I always really liked Mitchell and Dehner as characters, and I always liked the actors too. Too bad they couldn't have kept them on as regular characters. I would have liked that.

Strange to see them give so much air time for Mitchell and Dehner in sickbay when neither of them are regulars.

I like briefing room scenes where people argue. I like that people feel passionately about their position and are free to express it. I like also that you can see both sides of the argument. Good writing, really builds the drama. Such a TOS staple. (Unlike the wimpy hand-wringing that goes on in TNG briefing room scenes.)

Kirk should have just let Gary and Elizabeth go, especially when he saw she was affected. Was he afraid they were still a threat to the ship or to humanity in general to even be stranded?

Ah, the first Kirk morality speech.

And the first appearance of Kirk's manly shoulder courtesy of a torn jersey during a fist fight.

It always looked to me like the rock just covered the grave and that Gary could have survived beneath it. I'm sure someone must have written a sequel where Gary and Elizabeth survive.

The first instance of a little, very little, humor between Kirk and Spock at the end.

This is a pretty good show. I hope the network okays the series.

 

[Maurice]

The format of the show always allowed for guest stars to play major roles. That's the actual meaning of the pitch "Wagon Train to the stars" which refers to the series format whereby that show would feature guests found in the train and tell their stories framed by the regular cast.

 

[Harvey]

Gary and the Yeoman holding hands through the emergency. There's a case where it's not only a woman expressing fear, a man does here too.

Um...what? That’s not the way the scene was written, directed, or acted. Smith is afraid and Mitchell, ever calm, reaches out to reassure her. They’re not expressing fear equally.

 

[Mytran]

It's also exactly the scene that new writers were told to avoid in the writer's guide.

 

[Commishsleer]

It's also exactly the scene that new writers were told to avoid in the writer's guide.

It also happened a couple of times in other episodes - Kirk and Rand and Kirk and Noel I think. So did anybody read the writer's guide? I wish they had.

 

[Mytran]

I think this is the only time it happened on the Bridge in the middle of a crisis though

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I think this is the only time it happened on the Bridge in the middle of a crisis though

Kirk and Rand did it in "Balance of Terror" if I recall. He put his arm around her when a Romulan blast was incoming. Right? It wasn't done in "The Changeling" for incoming torpedoes, by which time the new Writer's Guide must have made the rounds.

 

[mb22]

It always looked to me like the rock just covered the grave and that Gary could have survived beneath it. I'm sure someone must have written a sequel where Gary and Elizabeth survive

The god-being in Star Trek V?