goun@elmer.DEC (Roger H. Goun) (05/23/84)
I am currently compiling videotapes of shows before they are taken
off the air due to Paramounts subscription offering. The one show
that I have never seen was the pilot "The Cage". Has It ever been
aired at all ?
I have never seen "The Cage" on TV, only on film. I don't think it was ever
broadcast as a Star Trek episode, either during the original run or later.
The full-length version of "The Cage" is much more interesting than the
chopped-up bits seen in "The Menagerie." In particular, the development of
the characters is much better. I was also surprised to notice that several
scenes have a much different meaning when edited for the TV episode then
they did originally, but I'm at a loss to remember specific examples of
this now. Can anyone else fill in the gaps for me?
What makes you think that you won't be able to see episodes in syndication
once Paramount starts selling the videotapes? It's the first I've heard of
this.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that Menagerie was the pilot
for Star Trek. However, after seeing it last night, it seems more
likely that the story spock shows on the display screen during his
trial is actually culled from the pilot show.
"The Menagerie" was a first-season, two-part TV episode, which used scenes
chopped out of the pilot, "The Cage," to represent events which occurred
eighteen (?) years ago.
On jettisoning the primary hull:
I seem to recall an episode in which Kirk is trapped on a planet's surface,
while the Enterprise is being pulled down to destruction by a tractor beam.
Kirk orders Scott via communicator to jettison the warp engines and get
away with the main hull if he has to.
My impression is that it is the warp drive and engineering nacelles which
can be jettisoned in an emergency, possibly allowing the main
(saucer-shaped) hull to escape on impulse engines. The impulse engines are
located at the back of the saucer, just above the pylon leading to the
engineering nacelle.
On ST III spoilers:
I long ago gave up any hope that I could avoid learning plot details of
upcoming SF films before their release. Even National Public Radio revealed
Luke's true parentage just before the opening of "Return of the Jedi." It
is naive to expect all net.startrek readers to do better, no matter WHAT
spoiler protocol you try to enforce. If you REALLY don't want to learn
about ST III, avoid the media (including net.startrek) completely until
you've seen it!
-- Roger Goun
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Tel: (617) 568-6311barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin) (05/25/84)
Roger H. Goun asks: I was also surprised to notice that several scenes have a much different meaning when edited for the TV episode then they did originally, but I'm at a loss to remember specific examples of this now. Can anyone else fill in the gaps for me? -------------------- The only thing I can think of offhand is the last scene on the planet, in which Pike and the girl are walking hand-in-hand back into the cave. In the original this occurs after Pike wins his freedom; the Pike walking back into the cave is just an illusion to keep the girl happy, which was a demand that Pike made. In "The Menagerie" this scene is an illusion for both of them, as Pike has just returned to the planet. -- Barry Margolin ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar