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The Cage

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Series :
Season Ep :
1 x 01
Title :
The Cage
Rating :
2
Overall Ep :
1
First Aired :
27 Nov 1988
Stardate :
2713.5
Director :
Year :
Writers :
Your Rating :
4.6667 for 3 reviews
Reviewer : Guybrush Rating : 5
Review : This episode strikes me as one of the finest in all Star Trek, a level I place few TOS episodes on. For one thing, this episode feels more cinematic than any other original series episode. Perhaps because its longer run time affords it a lengthier three-act structure, but also because as a stand alone episode without others in production at the same time, The Cage its crew's full attention and care. The concepts represent strong science fiction that additionally is pure Gene Roddenberry in regards to an inspiring view of mankind of the future.
Reviewer : Indefatigable Rating : 4
Review : The original pilot, famously 'too cerebral' for the network bosses. Well, maybe they thought they were right, but I believe this was one of the best. It's odd when watching how different some things seem, especially where they sound effects don't seem to match the pictures, but that's simply because they decided different effects sounded better for different things. The sets also seemed more primitive, even in the remastered version. Still, some things actually seemed better - the uniforms were more practical for one thing. The acting was excellent as well. Jeffrey Hunter was a far better actor than William Shatner, and I really wish we had seen more of Captain Pike. Majel Barrett's 'Number One' was a curious character (pity we never found out her name) and the original version of Spock was certainly different from the character we know (although he was the only 'survivor' from the original cast). Still, I can't fault the story. Rodenberry managed a subtle reversal, from Pike being powerless in a cage, experimented on like a lab rat, to Pike being the key to the Talosians' survival, taking almost complete control of the situation. Almost, but not total. He also did it with his own mind, and the crew's best efforts to throw technology at the situation came to very little - although they did provide Pike with some useful laser pistols. It also highlighted the danger of disappearing into a fantasy world and leaving the real world to fall apart around you (something Mr Barclay and certain Trekkers ought to remember). It's a great unknown whether a series with Captain Pike's crew would have worked, but I would have liked to find out. This would have been an excellent start.
Reviewer : =NoPoet= Rating : 5
Review : This is easily my favourite episode of TOS and I feel it stands against The Forbidden Planet as an example of classic sci-fi done well. The story is good and even tragic. The episode is much more forward-thinking than the rest of TOS with a female second in command (we wouldn't see this in a main Trek cast until DS9 thirty years later!) and while some of the women are treated as dolly-birds, it's not as bad as what will come after. I've often seen this episode being under-rated, and to turn it into what is basically a clip show to fill a two-part episode later in the series is a downright insult. Fair play to the new generation of Trek films remembering Captain Pike commanded the Enterprise before Kirk.
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© Graham & Ian Kennedy Page views : 9,693 Last updated : 28 Mar 2024