Watching Star Trek's first pilot episode The Cage is like watching a historical what if taking place. Famously deemed "too cerebral" at the time of its production The Cage is where one of the most popular television programs of all time got its beginning. While it might be the beginning that never went much further, forty-five years later it is still a compelling piece of entertainment.
To begin with The Cage features some nice performances that make it a tragedy that never got to be developed past this one story. The best example of this is Jeffrey hunter as Enterprise captain Christopher Pike. Hunter's Pike comes across as being perhaps more sensitive then the later Captain Kirk yet just as tough. It's also interesting to note Leonard Nimoy as Spock and contrast his performance here with his later performances as the Spock of The Cage seems a bit less logical and a little more emotional. There's also a nice performance from Susan Oliver in the multiple guises of Vina which show off some considerable talent. Not to mention performances from Majel Barrett and John Hoyt amongst others.
The Cage is also blessed with some nice production values. In particular in the make-up and costumes of the Tallosians which stand-up relatively well even forty-five years later. The sets and the vast majority of the other costumes, while definite sixties creations like many of those in Star Trek: The Original Series, are nice guesses all things considered. There's also an exciting and well staged fight sequence in the middle of the story. Last but not least there's the score by Alexander Courage which shows off not only the Star Trek theme but Courage's skills as a composer. Together they show an inkling of what might have been if this version of Star Trek had not been aborted.
That said everything isn't perfect. If anything can be said to be a major drawback to The Cage it is the special effects. While most of them are passable and still work, some don't. This is especially true of the shots of the Enterprise itself which are far from convincing most of the time. There's also the matter of the warp sequence which looks to be incredibly cheaply done. That said there's also some fine effects like the sequence with Vina at the episodes end. The effects might be questionable but they serve the story well for the most part.
If any single element of The Cage stands out today it is the Gene Roddenberry script. Once you get passed some of the clunky techobabel and some of the dated dialog (like Pike's "women on the bridge" line early on in the episode) there is an intriguing and compelling tale. Beneath the surface it is a tale of a society so lost obsessed with illusion it has lost its other knowledge and its morality (an unintended metaphor for fandom perhaps?). It is also the tale of a man (Pike) who seeks to escape his responsibility and rebels when given the chance. It also contains a Nice little romance in the midst of a nicely constructed story that is far from intrusive and rather compliments the story by giving it an emotional anchor. It's no mistake that The Cage in a later form (the Original Series two-part story The Menagerie) won the Hugo Award which convinces me that, given some editing, The Cage would be just as compelling and watchable today.
The Cage stands as an interesting piece of television history. With nice performances, good production values and a script as impressive now as it was then The Cage represents the beginning of one of television's most popular series. It also stands out as a fascinating what if of how Star Trek might have been.
