This was the first pilot for the series, written by Gene Roddenberry and produced in 1964. Famously, this pilot wasn't picked up because it lacked the action Roddenberry had promised the execs at NBC, but the network was impressed enough to order a second pilot.
If this pilot had been picked up, "Star Trek" would have been a very different show. Obviously, Captain Pike, as played by Jeffrey Hunter, was in charge here, with a mostly different crew. Majel Barrett played Number One, the female first officer with the logical computer mind, John Hoyt played a older and kinder medical officer in Dr. Boyce, and Mr. Spock was alien, curious and emotional.
Even deeper, the plot and tone of this pilot is very serious and gets into some interesting moral territory. Pike is a different sort than Kirk or Picard; he's less sentimental than the former and more inclined to brute force than the latter's preference for diplomacy.Watching this again was fun, and this stands up really well. Here's some of the thoughts that came to me as I watched.
* I think it's cool that Spock uses hand gestures to control the monitors on the bridge. Why was this idea not kept around?
* The crew is seen for one of the few times in casual fashions that reflect our times and aren't "futured" up. Also, the women wear pants with their tunics; the miniskirts (and the need to pander) were still a ways off.
* I wonder if Spock's satanic appearance was inspired by the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke's excellent novel "Childhood's End." Since he wasn't supposed to be the logical one at this point, at least it's likely that Roddenberry gave him this appearance for much the same reason Clarke did.* Many elements from this pilot showed up later in The Next Generation, such as Pike saying "Engage!" and the name of Number One.
* The sound work is pretty innovative and more robust than it was later in the series. (Yes, I know it was originally mono, but it still sounds good.) I especially like the very powerful hum of the transporter. It makes them seem more powerful and dangerous.
* The backgrounds on the planet sets were all much more detailed than we got later on, when orange skies and foam rocks stood in for most planets. Most impressive are the detailed images of distant cities and clouds. The clouds gave this show a more glum, overcast kind of look that suits its melancholic tone.
* A friend of mine always called the Talosians "assheads," and it's hard to disagree. They even had what looks like a butt crack on top!
* The fight scene at Rigel 7 appears to be the only sequence shot outdoors, most likely on a backlot somewhere.
* Having an opponent fall to his death from about 10 feet up, as the gladiator does, was used in the second pilot with Gary Mitchell, becoming perhaps the first Trek plot cliche.* I'd never noticed that the tunic collars when worn with the crew jackets foreshadow the red jackets and sweaters look created in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."
* Best line cut from the re-edit used in "The Menagerie" was from the very sexy Susan Oliver when she says, with just the right tone, "I have to wear something .... don't I?"* The Talosians evoke a punishment for Pike very much like hell "from a fable you heard in childhood." Does Pike consider hell a fable, or is that the Talosians' judgment? Trek has always been tolerant of native religions, but few members of the crew or Starfleet is ever shown to have much of a religious bent. What's interesting is that, in the history of humankind, religioun and missionary goals have always been (and still is) perhaps the prime motivator after greed of "Trek"-like explorers.
* Those Talosianas sure are creepy watching Pike and Vina confess their attraction. Even more so considering you can't see their hands.
* I always liked the dancing green slave girl sequence and can't help but laugh when Spock reacts to Colt and Number One vanishing from the transporter room by screaming, "The women!"
* Man, Pike's got a mean streak that'd make Worf blush: "Is your blood red like ours? I'm going to find out."
* Seems like Federation technology even at this point could have helped Vina look a little more normal. Still, a pretty good effect for a TV pilot in 1964.The version I watched was on the DVD release of Season 3, which includes both the original version and the restored version.
For those who don't know, the original color version was cut into a two-part episode with a new framing sequence and retitled "The Menagerie." For a long time afterward, it was thought that no full-length color version survived. This "original version" takes the color stuff used in "Menagerie" and fills in the other spots with black and white footage from a reference print. This version was shown extensively at Trek conventions for years, and aired this way with an introduction by Roddenberry shot in 1986 that is included on the DVD.
Shortly afterward, the missing color elements were found and used to create the "restored" edition, which looks great even 44 years later.
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