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The Cage episode

And by the end of "Menagerie", 13 years after the Talos IV mission, the Talosians still haven't bothered to repair the elevator.

Well, Vina DID say that they "Forgot how to repair the machines left behind by their ancestors".

:bolian:
 
I think Spock only looks bad because of the execution of the idea and not the idea itself. It’s not Roddenberry’s best dialog and really makes Spock look fairly cowardly. Had Spock looked more genuinely torn over the decision, it would have played more strongly. As it stands, “…we’re leaving!” conveys a negative message.

Say he said something like, “This is the acting captain speaking. Considering the threat posed by the Talosians, and Captain Pike’s standing order, we have no other choice. We are breaking orbit and will return with reinforcements. All decks, prepare for hyper drive!” Boom, Spock now is no longer running; he’s going to get help. Futile mission, maybe, but still better than “feets don’t fail me now!”

I agree, aside from the ending, the trims were well chosen. They are very rough around the edges. However, the scene of the Talosian’s pillaging the memory banks and Spock’s “they’ve decided to swat us” is fricking amazing. It almost makes up for the previous scene.

Also, remember at the time the original version of "The Cage" was written, Vulcans WERE NOT cold and logical. Spock was supposed t be more emotional and hot-headed in contrast to "Number One's" cold/analytical/computer-like emotional state. <-- This aspect was added to the "Mr. Spock" character and Vulcans as a species AFTER the "Number One" character was dropped from the cast. So, in that context, Spock's actions make perfect sense for the character at the time it was written/filmed.
 
Yeah, I get that, but the rest of the ship was made up of humans, too. He still could have played it less nervous. Bring third in command and all....
 
scotpens said:
Funny, it never occurred to me until just now that Vina might well have kicked the bucket in the 13 years since Pike was captured by the Talosians. Her real age would have been at least her early 40s when "The Cage" takes place, and her body was basically a jury rig.

It is weird and tragic that Jeff Hunter and Susan Oliver both died relatively young (Hunter was 43 and Oliver 58).
 
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Wow! I did not know that Susan Oliver died at 58. I thought she was still around, doing conventions and whatnot. I know she went on to become something of a director, too. I wonder if she had been an inspiration to Roxann Dawson, at all?
 
Wow! I did not know that Susan Oliver died at 58. I thought she was still around, doing conventions and whatnot. I know she went on to become something of a director, too. I wonder if she had been an inspiration to Roxann Dawson, at all?
The Green Girl documentary -- Link

Susan was a founding member of the AFI's directing workshop for women. She directed one episode of MASH and an episode of Trapper John, M.D.

As most of us Trek geeks probably know, she was also an accomplished airplane pilot. Any beautiful babe who can fly a Learjet is my kind of woman.

1403240748550111.jpg
 
It's too bad she never directed a TNG, though her health might have already been failing by then.
 
I knew Ms. Oliver was a pilot, but I had no idea she was rated for jets! Sweet!

Sincerely,

Bill
 
The blurays also feature two different versions of "Where No Man Has Gone Before." I personally like the grainy look of the original version (which was transferred from a 16mm source and is on the third season set).

I have a soft spot for the original VHS release of "The Cage." It was one of the first Trek episodes I bought on video and I watched the hell out of it. I loved the Roddenberry intro, even if he was spouting bullshit. :)
 
I prefer the restored version.

In fairness most of "The Cage" can be seen in "The Menagerie" and what's dropped is largely inconsequential. Two scenes in particular are dropped from "The Menagerie" and I can see why.

The first is Pike's commenting on having women on the bridge. It really doesn't make sense even when it was filmed because other women can be seen on the bridge besides Number One. The second scene shows Spock taking command and ordering the ship to break orbit to escape. This does make Spock look bad and it's easy to see why it wouldn't be included in "The Menagerie."

Of course, the entirety of "The Cage" couldn't fit into the alloted running time so it only make sense that the footage dropped would be that not really serving the story.

Other than those two scenes I mention it's then mostly very small trims.

I SEE. Well it looked like a boring episode but I will watch it just for kicks.
 
The blurays also feature two different versions of "Where No Man Has Gone Before." I personally like the grainy look of the original version (which was transferred from a 16mm source and is on the third season set).

I have a soft spot for the original VHS release of "The Cage." It was one of the first Trek episodes I bought on video and I watched the hell out of it. I loved the Roddenberry intro, even if he was spouting bullshit. :)

I do not have a Bue-Ray player
 
In fairness most of "The Cage" can be seen in "The Menagerie" and what's dropped is largely inconsequential. Two scenes in particular are dropped from "The Menagerie" and I can see why.

The first is Pike's commenting on having women on the bridge. It really doesn't make sense even when it was filmed because other women can be seen on the bridge besides Number One. The second scene shows Spock taking command and ordering the ship to break orbit to escape. This does make Spock look bad and it's easy to see why it wouldn't be included in "The Menagerie."

. . . Other than those two scenes I mention it's then mostly very small trims.
Some of the other cuts, IIRC:

After Pike questions why Vina wears the same metal fabric as the Talosians, she coyly replies: "Well, I have to wear something. Don't I?"

Just before the Orion slave girl illusion, the Keeper remarks: "A curious species. They have fantasies they hide even from themselves."

During the Orion sequence, the guy in the Starfleet uniform says: "Funny how they are on this planet. They actually like being taken advantage of."

(There were cuts made in this sequence even before the pilot was screened for the NBC suits. Right after the leering bald guy says "Almost like secret dreams a bored ship captain might have," there's an abrupt edit on the soundtrack.)

A substantial amount of dialogue was cut from the picnic scene.

The Keeper's description of Number One: "The female you call Number One has the superior mind and would produce highly intelligent children. Although she seems to lack emotion, this is largely a pretense. She has often has fantasies involving you."

No doubt some of that stuff was cut to satisfy the network censors.
 
The restored version on the DVD and Blu-Rays are both missing the line from Pike "you were like a wild little animal" during the picnic scene. It is on the unrestored version, however.

The Blu-Ray also has the opening shots of the Enterprise in black and white, even though the titles are in color. Even when the ship "dives" to reveal the bridge, color only comes in on the yellow square up top and the bridge scenes themselves. The DVD restored print is in full color.
 
Some of the other cuts, IIRC:


Just before the Orion slave girl illusion, the Keeper remarks: "A curious species. They have fantasies they hide even from themselves."

That line was actually "spoken" by the second Talosian. In the color DVD version of The Cage, it's been misattributed to the Keeper and correspondingly raised in pitch. Easy mistake to make when they don't move their lips. :lol:


Two lines that don't appear in either the color or the color/B&W restoration:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI__mmuIsiY[/yt]
 
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