Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Star Trek: The Original Series 111-112 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-08-21 12:00:12
Edited:
2026-01-08 03:08:17
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Episodes: The Menagerie Part 1 & Part 2

Go to this site: Cinebingers.ca for the unedited versions of all our content.

👉 https://cinebingers.ca/qzbmVv0vK4 👈 for the full reaction where you do not need your own copy.

👉 https://cinebingers.ca/nTsbvrVct0 👈for the full reaction where you need your own copy.

If you are on a phone/tablet, hold down the link above and press "open in browser", or go straight to Cinebingers.ca on your browser app.

Files

Comments

JakeyShakeyBakeyBoy

The Menagerie episodes used to rerun a lot on Foxtel (cable television Down Under Australia basically) way back in the day and were the first Star Trek TOS I personally saw. Pretty much began the trend for multi-episode arcs for its later series. I think they had a theatrical anniversary re-release in some parts of the world for both parts as well, unless I’m thinking of something else? Haha

Smanuelle

Can I drop a recommendation of a series? Since you both are dnd players and I don't know if you two already watch Critical Role, maybe you could react to Legend of Vox Machina. Also Mighty Nein when it's released.

ChiefKC

"The Menagerie" was created as a means to reuse footage from "The Cage" — the unaired 1965 pilot episode of Star Trek

Michael Bauer

A great use of the (then) unaired pilot - very much looking forward to watching the reaction later today.

Raven Dark

So, I saw this two-parter a long time ago, and only vaguely remembered it. I either didn't realize, or I forgot, how well-regarded it is. I wasn't sure I was going to have time to watch the whole thing now, so I listened to your afterthoughts first, and I'm glad you loved this double episode. I remember really liking it myself. I'll go back and watch the whole thing, but to answer your questions about the rank thing now in case I forget later. Some of the details for me, especially with TOS are a little fuzzy, so anyone feel free to correct me if I get them wrong. George, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Jean-Luc Picard (pronounced John-Luke, and he's sometimes just referred to as Picard) is the captain of the Enterprise, like Kirk is in TOS. William T. Riker (often just called Riker) is Picard's second in command. I think Spock is the same rank under Kirk. I think Spock is also the science officer, but that part's a little confusing to me. Simone, yes, Picard calls Riker "Number One," all the time. George, you're right, a Second In Command is the correct phrase for a person immediately in command under a captain. The title "Number One" is the same thing, as in, first in command under Picard. I know, it's confusing, because one implies second, and one implies first, but it's equal. Really looking forward to watching this with you two.

Amos T Fairchild

Let's not waste the first pilot film. We'll use it here. lol.

WayneC

George, 0.9G is about the same gravity as Venus. Mars' gravity is around 0.38G.

WayneC

Captain Pike in the chair reminded me of Davros from Doctor Who.

Actuarial Lurker

So in the episode within the episode which was the original pilot of the show from 1965- Majel Barrett was the first officer (she of course is Deanna Troi's mother in TNG, the voice of the computer, Nurse Chapel in TOS and Rodenberry's wife). Test audiences didn't believe a woman could be 2nd in commend even 300 years in the future so they made her into a nurse

Brandon

George, I am someone who completely prefers Star Trek over Star Wars - and I would absolutely die laughing if you were dressed in more and more Star Wars gear with each passing Trek reaction. 🤣 Edit: I completely forgot to mention The Simpsons referenced the big-brain aliens in an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon where a bunch of big-brain Itchys use telekinesis to chop Scratchy into pieces in the middle of an arena for their own amusement.

Actuarial Lurker

This is the SAME Starship Enterprise but 12 years earlier when Spock was more Junior and before Pike was injured. There is a whole new spinoff series of Pike and his crew that takes place in the 2250s where TOS Season 1 takes place in 2266

Actuarial Lurker

They wanted Spock to look "Alien" with pointier ears and slanted eyebrows in the unaired pilot, but the execs and focus groups though Spock looked like Satan and it would get low ratings from Fundamentalist Christian viewers so they made Spock look more human resulting in the actual look in the series that aired

Da Big Appa

From what I understand since Star Trek is a ship it uses Navy terminology. In doing so the 2nd in command is the first mate. I think this is where calling the 2nd in command #1 comes from.

Amos T Fairchild

This is the same pike as in Strange New Worlds series. The Kelvin Timeline Pike in the modern movies is an alternative timeline sooo.... It's complicated. lol. Hmm. Is that spoilery?

WayneC

From what I understand, all of Star Trek, or almost all, is in the Milky Way galaxy. The Delta Quadrant is a sector of the Milky Way. Though I can't recall what was happening with that wormhole near DS9.

Raven Dark

While I'm in between episodes and can stop without having to worry about resynching mid-episode, I wanted to add a few thoughts. George, I also would not be offended if you showed up with Star Wars gear to watch Star Trek episodes. I love both universes, and I would find it hilarious. But you're saying that reminds me of a meme you may have seen. The caption usually says something like, "How to offend four fandoms at once." There are variations of it, but in one, there is a picture of Captain Picard that has the quote, "Use the Force, Harry," with the attribution, "Gandalf." Oh, and while I was watching this first of the two parts, I remembered, there is another phrase for what you were referring to as a Second In Command. First Officer. That's usually the term used for Riker in TNG, when Picard isn't calling him "Number One," and for Spock in TOS. Again, all the same thing, but I think that's why it's Number One, and not Number Two, as would seem to make more sense. Number One, as in First Officer. When I left my first comment, I knew there was another phrase for it, but I couldn't quite call it up until I heard someone say it in this episode.

CT

To answer one of George's questions: 99.9% of Trek takes place only in this galaxy, mostly in the "Alpha Quadrant" (the 1/4 of it that includes Earth).

CT
>>147169219

DS9 explores the Gamma Quadrant, Voyager explores the Delta Quadrant.

MrTickleTrunk
>>147168740

I think that's also why his skin was a shade of green originally? To look less demonic? They obviouslty didn't stick with that but he started off closer to a typical sci-fi "Martian" skin tone. :)

Brent
>>147167280

Also I'm pretty sure her character is the one who is meant to be logic over emotion, but audiences also couldn't believe that lol. But they liked the idea so they gave that trait to Spock (that's why he's smiling and shouting in the pilot) lol

Darin Foat

This episode came about because production was running behind schedule on the first season. They were coming up on a deadline where they were expected to deliver two episodes, and they only had time in the schedule to shoot one. So Roddenberry hit on the idea of repurposing the footage from the pilot and making a two parter. The original version of the pilot, The Cage, was finally aired as a special many years later. That's why it has a 1988 broadcast date on IMDB. The original cut contains all of the footage seen in The Menagerie, plus a couple additional scenes and, obviously, a different ending.

MrTickleTrunk

DEFINIETLY do the Star Wars joke PLEEEEASE! Most ppl have a sense of humor and will defend you in the comments. It'll be hilarious if George just goes more and more Star Wars as you keep going. lol

michael mccafferty

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes place aboard the Enterprise while Pike was captain. It is a prequel to TOS, and IMO it is a great show. Anson Mount, who plays Pike, quickly became my favorite captain. The accident and the "beep chair" are canon. Lower Decks has beep chair jokes. The reason for the "beep chair" is because the actor who played Pike in The Menagerie was not the same actor from The Cage; they needed to put on so much makeup that you couldn't tell it was a different actor, and terrible scarring was the idea they landed on; if the character couldn't speak, you wouldn't notice that their voices were different. Majel Barrett was the actress who played Number One, then Nurse Chappel, and eventually Diana Troy's mother in TNG. Barrett was the wife of Gene Roddenberry, creator and showrunner of the series. One of the reasons The Cage was declined was that the screeners were uncomfortable with a woman as first officer. Roddenberry lost that fight, and had to retool the original cast but continued to cast Barrett frequently. In every episode where the computer speaks, you may notice that it is Barrett's voice. Roddenberry was a passionately optimistic person who believed that we could only get to space by leaving prejudice and bigotry behind us; he was also a pill-popping womanizer, which explains why, on the one hand, the show features a diverse, multi-ethnic cast and, on the other hand, the women wear mini skirts and go-go boots.

Monica Alarcon
>>147170071

There has been instances where they leave the galaxy but they are rare. Most notably in the TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before" if I recall correctly. But yeah. The quadrants are of the milky way.

Raven Dark

Yep, both of these episodes are just as good as I remember them. This reaction makes me happy. Star Trek TNG is my favorite series of Trek, though, so I'm excited for you to get to that one.

Robert Evans
>>147172323

Roddenberry claims that it was resistance to a woman high up in command but there are studio notes indicating that the suits were more concerned that the producers girlfriend (not yet his wife) would be a star and that could cause trouble if they fell out. Roddenberry is not always a reliable narrator

Paul Peavler

The quadrants that Simone referred to are just quadrants of the galaxy, not the entire universe, so most Trek takes place within just the Milky Way (there are a few exceptions, but you’ll see them, and some are kind of retconned later). In fact, most of Trek takes place just in the Alpha and Beta quadrant. Earth is on the border of the Alpha and Beta quadrants but most of the Federation is in the Alpha quadrant. The Klingon and Romulan Empires and the neutral zone are in the Beta quadrant. The Delta and Gamma quadrants are too far away for (most) Trek ships to reach in a reasonable time period. However, Star Trek Voyager takes place almost entirely in the Delta quadrant after the ship gets stranded there in the premiere, and in Deep Space Nine they discover a stable wormhole (in the premiere, no spoilers) that connects the Alpha and Gamma quadrants.

Monica Alarcon

You'll have to wait until Strange New Worlds for more background on this episode's Number One... Wich I estimate you'll reach around 2045

Bruce Woodcock

In Starfleet, a starship Captain's 2nd in command is known as the "First Officer" (or very rarely, "Executive Officer" or "XO"). The informal title for this position is "Number One". It's not a rank, but a position. In the initial Pilot episode "The Cage", which we see here, Spock is the Science Officer and Majel Barrett portrays Number One. As part of the changes made from the pilot, Spock was retained and the character of Number One was dropped (and Majel Barrett recast as Nurse Chapel). Spock is both the First Officer and the Chief Science Officer for TOS, but the title of "Number One" is not used again until Riker in The Next Generation. The mystery of the original Number One's real name and background was one discussed in various books and other non-canonical media but not officially explained until Strange New Worlds. This episode of TOS is the "canonical" Captain Pike, and his official adventures are further portrayed in Discovery and Strange New Worlds. The Pike and other characters of the "new" Star Trek movies are a different timeline which will be explained when you get to them. Also, not sure if anyone answered this before, but Yeoman is also a position, not a rank. It's the role of the Captain's personal assistant. Yeoman Rand's rank at the time was unknown, but she was a non-commissioned officer of some kind (probably chief petty officer). Commissioned Officers have the ranks you probably know: Ensign, Lt., Lt. Commander, Commander, Captain, Commodore, Admiral.

Perry Campbell

Great reaction ❤️❤️❤️Can’t wait for (balance of Terror) it’s my favorite episode

Crystal

yes, as you go thru Star Trek & have questions about cannon, you're going to get a lot of "well, actually"'s, lol! Trekkers are just as passionate as Star Wars fans, if not more so. also, prolly should have mentioned it earlier, but the communicator actually inspired the first brick phone. there's a whole documentary about how Star Trek changed the world by inspiring people to pursue the tech they saw in the show.

Tony E Crumpton

Number One = First Officer. He or she is second in command behind the captain.

R Harper

1) Spock is limping because he is one of the injured crewman involved in the fight on Rigel 7 that Pike references to the ship doctor "seven dead and many injured." 2) Vulcan's blood is green due to copper-based hemocyanin. Thus Spock's pasty complexion is green hued, he bleeds green, if you bruise him the bruise is green, they were trying to differentiate differences between humans and Vulcans so subconscious you understand that Spock is a different race. Rodenberry wanted Spock in the crew to remind the viewers you are in space with aliens. (Humans our blood is red and based on iron.) 3) Star Trek TOS and TNG rarely go beyond the Milky Way galaxy even time of TNG is only been maybe an eighth of the Milky Way galaxy explored it is so vast a thousand stars ships with a thousand crews couldn't map it in a thousand years. If any Star Trek series goes beyond the Milky Way Galaxy it's usually a result of an accident, a wormhole, or a super being transporting them. Considering how illogical would be to start exploring other galaxies when there's probably a good 80 % of the Milky Way not explored.

Corthos Entertainment

great reaction! So two things: Star Trek usually takes place in just one galaxy, the Milky Way. It's broken into four quadrants - Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Everything in TOS and TNG takes place in the Alpha Quadrant, with very few exceptions (sometimes stories take place elsewhere). The other thing ... you guys should TOTALLY watch the Futurama episode that parodies this episode. It's so much more, and has the voices of the surviving cast members from the original series. I think everyone would enjoy that!

Dee Aitch
>>147169214

I mean the name of the timeline is slightly spoilery, but knowing that the movie is an alternate universe isn't really spoilery.

Darin Foat
>>147162887

Spock is the both the First Officer and the Science Officer of the Enterprise. It's unusual for one person to hold both posts, but Spock is a super bad ass genius, so he can manage. :)

Pearl Jam

"Number One" is a nickname or informal title for the First Officer. The First Officer is the same as the Second in Command of a starship. The rank of Commander is often held by the First Officer but can also refer to other roles depending on the ship's hierarchy. “Yeoman” is a nickname or title for enlisted personnel who perform clerical work and serve as stewards or personal assistants for officers.

Opti_Frog

The mental image of Picard calling Riker "Number two" made me laugh so hard. 😂

punterjoe

Patrons watching you watching Kirk & Spock watching The Cage..... more than meta.... it's tribbles all the way down 😉

TomGas2025

I can't wait until you reach the movies, TNG, DS9, Voyager and so on...You are in for a wild ride I promise you that. PS: Number 1 = 1st Officer

punterjoe
>>147186626

Yeah. It's a TOS classic. I'm looking forward to Simone & George watching Devil In The Dark. 🖖

Paul G

Funny that Simone recognizes the Majel Barrett Number One & Nurse Chapel connection but not the TNG connection(s).

Pearl Jam

🚨 Nerd Alert 🤓🚨: Here’s an exhaustive list of Starfleet colors and what departments they, generally, represent. The early movies have a tendency to break these rules. Some crew members may even switch colors depending on their role at the time (Jordie from TNG goes from Gold to Red when he’s in charge of Engineering; Doc from VOY goes from Blue to Red when he takes command). Pre-TNG (in the Star Trek universe timeline): 🔴Red = Operations / Security / Engineering 🟡Gold = Command 🔵Blue = Science / Medical 🟢Green = Command ⚪️White = Medical TNG+ 🔴Red = Command 🟡Gold = Operations / Security / Engineering 🔵Blue = Science / Medical 🟢Green (rare, mostly after Voyager started) = Science / Medical ——— Here’s an exhaustive list of Starfleet ranks from lowest to highest. Most of these are rarely, if ever, mentioned but may be identified by insignia: Enlisted Ranks (aka: “Crewman”): 1. Crewman Recruit 2. Crewman Apprentice 3. Crewman 4. Petty Officer 3rd Class 5. Petty Officer 2nd Class 6. Petty Officer 1st Class 7. Chief Petty Officer 8. Senior Chief Petty Officer 9. Master Chief Petty Officer 10. Command Master Chief Petty Officer 11. Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer 12. Master Chief Petty Officer of Starfleet Cadet Ranks (aka: “Cadet”): 13. Cadet 4th Class (1st Year) 14. Cadet 3rd Class (2nd Year) 15. Cadet 2nd Class (3rd Year) 16. Cadet 1st Class (4th Year) Warrant Officer Ranks (aka: “Chief”, also has acting/provisional variations): 17. Warrant Officer 18. Chief Warrant Officer 3rd Class 19. Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class 20. Chief Warrant Officer 1st Class Officer Ranks (also has acting/provisional variations): 21. Ensign 22. Lieutenant Junior Grade 23. Lieutenant 24. Lieutenant Commander 25. Commander 26. Captain 27. Fleet Captain Flag Officer Ranks (aka: “Admiral”): 28. Commodore 29. Rear Admiral (Lower Half) 30. Rear Admiral (Upper Half) 31. Vice Admiral 32. Admiral 33. Fleet Admiral 34. Admiral of the Fleet

Mikeo8575

There's a documentary called "How William Shatner Changed the world" about how Star Trek influenced technology.

Alan Kobb

To answer George's question, Star Trek never actually leaves the galaxy. In the 3rd episode, you saw that an attempt to leave the galaxy left two crew members with enhanced ESP abilities, In other episodes we occasionally see beings or artifacts from other galaxies, but Star Trek is limited to a fairly small portion of our galaxy because our galaxy is so huge and has so many thousands of star systems in it. Even later Trek series limit themselves to this galaxy. Deep Space 9 features a wormhole that takes ships to another quadrent of he Milky Way and Star Trek: Voyager features a ship being thrown to another quadrent, but Star Trek ships never actually leave the galaxy. (I suspect someone is going to call me stupid because in one episode of some series they left the galaxy, but to be safe, nearly everything is in this galaxy in all Star Trek series.) They had several reasons for making this episode. Primarily is that they were running late in finishing episodes and were maxxing out their budget. The expensive, old fashioned special effects took months to complete. So long that they were very close to not delivering episodes in time for broadcast. One episode was delivered to the New York broadcast center just 2 hours before it was due to be broadcast! Not only did they have all of this footage ready, but the new scenes took place on the ship and space station, using interior sets that were cheap and quick, so it made sense to turn it into a few episodes "on the cheap" so they could catch up. In subsequent seasons they purposely made a few of what came to be known as "bottle episodes" (like a ship in the bottle) that would take place primarily on the ship and could be done cheaply and quickly. Examples include The Doomsday Machine, Balance of Terror and The Trouble with Tribbles. There are plenty of examples in TNG and other Treks as well. As it turns out, many of these episodes are considered the best of the best. The ones I mentioned above would join this one on most Trekkie's top-10 lists. Calling a first officer "Number One" is a tradition going back to the days of sail and the English Navy. Back then, Lieutenant wasn't so much an official rank, but simply what you called the captain's key subordinate. The First Lieutenant would traditionally and somewhat affectionately be called Number One by the Captain.

JBK405

Personally, I like "The Cage" better in-and-of-itself than I do these two episodes making use of its footage. I don't think these episodes are bad, but they cut out bits of the original episode here-and-there so you lose a lot of the character moments and story beats. Many people above have already explained that 'Number One' is a common way to for a captain to refer to their second-in-command. But in this episode, "Number One" is ONLY referred to by that designation, and no name was given to the character in the script. Gene Roddenberry said in some script notes that she's from a planet or species that selected her as as the smartest member of their entire population, so she was literally Number One and that was her only identifier. Later works (Novels, the current TV shows, etc.) did give her an actual name, and "Number One" went back to being "This is how we address the ship's First Officer". I love the "Star Trek" series that we ultimately got, but I am honestly curious to see what we could have built if we’d had Captain Pike’s adventures instead of Kirk’s. First off, it seems to have been headed in a more serialized direction than what Star Trek ultimately became. And I know that’s hard to judge based on one episode, which is literally and by definition not part of a serial, but I base it on the way this episode is written essentially as a sequel to another episode. As revealed in dialogue, the Enterprise is fresh from an adventure on Rigel which lead to the deaths of several crewmen and the injury of several more. Pike is morose over his self-perceived failure to prevent the battle, and characters still carry their wounds (Spock, infamously, walks with the limp that you noticed). We never do learn exactly what happened, why the ship was there in the first place or how the battle started, because that’s not this story. But it establishes that what happens on the show is an ongoing adventure, and they don’t just reset back to zero at the start of a new episode. I’m reminded of the way Star Wars began in the midst of Vader’s pursuit of the Tantive IV; the action’s already going and we’re popping in right in the middle. It includes more women in the main cast, and in command authority as well. Number One is the ship’s First Officer, and takes command once Pike is captured. There’s one scene immediately after Pike is captured where the officers are discussing options and she’s running the meeting, and it’s indistinguishable from the Kirk-led discussion amongst the senior officers in “Balance of Terror”. The show also includes more props, more nameless and functionally pointless gadgets carried around by extras, and I actually like how it fleshes out the world. When the away team is first beaming down to Talos IV we see all of them (Including Captain Pike) hooking gewgaws onto straps fitted to their uniforms and then covered by a jacket. One of them is carrying a full backpack as well. This helps sell that they’re there to do stuff, carrying what is presumably scientific equipment and supplies. In the main series (And most of all followup shows as well) they beam down with a single phaser and a tri-corder on a strap and that’s it. I carry more stuff in my pockets in my day-to-day life, let alone when I’m expecting to have to rely on my stuff in case of emergencies. On the obverse, there’s absolutely no PoC in the main cast at all. No proto-Sulu or Uhura. They also went whole-hog in with “crew member has crush on the captain” with Yeoman Colt and made it a plotpoint, with the Talosians lining her and Number One up side-by-side and literally tallying up who would be a better mate for Pike. I’m glad that wasn’t used for the main series. Still, I’d like to have seen what they could have done with this series.

Robert Elliott

First so glad you’re enjoying TOS. The rank follows Naval ranks. The captain is in command under him is the 1st officer or number 1 in Star Trek. This would be Spock in TOS and Riker in TNG. Next would be 2nd officer Scotty in TOS and Data in TNG. 3rd office is Sulu in TOS and Geordi in TNG. This are the ranks as one of these higher up leaves the bridge the next one in line will take “THE CHAIR” of command

Skyruff Creative

I would ignore the nelson ratings for 60's TV show. There were no VCRs or other recording devices. You had to plan ahead to watch everything via your TV guild listings. The episodes could have been preempted, opposed by sporting events, enable to be seen because of regional storms which blocked TV reception etc.

REDR58
>>147208859

Yeah it’s hard to believe she doesn’t recognize the computer’s voice (in multiple series) as Barrett’s!

REDR58

Speaking of Talos IV, check out “Jason and the Argonauts” from 1963.

JoeNotCharles
>>147216040

One of the recent series, which is set in the far future even compared to TNG, has a season-long arc culminating in their ship making an expedition outside the galaxy. Which strengthens your point, actually - AFAIK there are no random episodes where they just fly a ship out of the galaxy, the one time that happens it's a major event. (Plus there are some times where godlike aliens who transcend space and time take the ship Somewhere Else, but that's different.) Ironically the Enterprise just randomly decides to fly backwards in time more often than any ship just randomly decides to fly outside the galaxy...

JoeNotCharles
>>147164835

There was also an entire season of Doctor Who that was just like this episode - the whole thing was the Doctor on trial, watching other episodes on a screen and occasionally breaking in with objections. It wasn't very good, though... (It was one of the last seasons before Doctor Who was cancelled the first time.)

JoeNotCharles

A comment not about Star Trek for once: George, with your love of myth, you've gotta watch Jason and the Argonauts. It's a fantasy movie from 1963 (3 years before Star Trek!) and the effects are mind-blowing. Talos, the magic construct, has a major part which is considered a classic.

Ken Schneyer

Lovely reaction, you two! I enjoyed every moment of it. Yes, without spoilers, I can confirm that this story is canon. I can't explain how Pike could appear in the 2009 movie without giving spoilers, but I promise that it will make sense once you do see the film. As Simone remembers in some part of her mind, "Number One" is an affectionate way for the captain to refer to his First Officer. (Picard calls Riker Number One, not Number Two. :) Simone, you're delightful, even when your memory fails.) If you ever see "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", you'll get a bit more depth on that topic than I can safely give you now. First Officer = second in command. Second Officer = third in line of command. And so forth. (cf. Moby Dick) In the original pilot, Number One was the Executive Officer and Spock (a lieutenant) was just the Science Officer. But one of the things the network didn't like about "The Cage" was that the First Officer was a woman, especially an unemotional woman ("cross you with a computer" etc.). So they eliminated the character, and gave Number One's unemotionality (and her rank) to Spock. That's why we see Spock grin in "The Cage", but nowhere else. (The network also didn't like the alien with the pointed ears, but that was something Roddenberry insisted on keeping. Spock is the only character from "The Cage" to appear in the rest of the series -- which provides, of course, the premise for "The Menagerie".) This episode casts a long shadow. There are echoes of it in Season 2 of TOS (only briefly), in the 2009 movie, in ST:Discovery, and in ST:Strange New Worlds. The trope of a person in intolerable circumstances living out his life in illusion, fantasy, etc. is actually very old. In science fiction, the idea of making this illusory life technological had existed in stories and novels for a few decades before this. And there may even have been "Twilight Zone" episodes that had already suggested the possibility on TV. And of course, eventually this is The Matrix, isn't it?

CT

The post is tagged Star Wars, FYI.

Peter Dillard

They don't leave the galaxy in TOS. Can't wait for you to get to 'Balance of Terror'.

Peter Dillard

#1 is just a reference to her being the executive officer (#1 after the captain). It's not a rank.

Kevin Manson

Perfectly said Ken :) The whole Star Trek journey is long and strange, with lots of twists and turns. As the show passes from generation to generation it will continue to reference itself, with easter eggs, callbacks, and direct sequels to events, until it becomes its own nostalgia and legend that the current series embrace. Your reactions are great and so genuine. Love it!

Andrew Roach

When the first pilot was rejected but a second pilot was requested, almost unheard of, the actor playing Pike was no longer interested hence we got Kirk. I am certainly glad for this but one wonders how different the series would have been with Pike. As for viewing numbers, TOS was basically a failure. It was due to be canceled after season 2 but a famous letter writing campaign by fans got it renewed for a third season. While that may not seemed to have been worth it since it was still cancelled after its third season it was worth in the end because that third season gave it enough episodes to go into syndication, otherwise it would have died then and there. After it was canceled the moon landing occurred and captured people's imagination which in turn perhaps sparked Trek's success because it became a smash hit in syndication and led the way for all that followed. Also while the show originally aired there was no such thing as demographics, had there been the network would have realized that the prime audience, kids and young money spending adults, were the one watching the show. Finally you are right, Trek is all about the details and the tech, it does try to put the science in science fiction as compared to Star Wars which is more fantasy and doesn't care about how ships can go faster than light. Later Trek actually thought about that and, yes time to show my knerd knowledge. Staying true to the science concept that ships cannot actually go faster than the speed of light Trek came up with the idea that starships don't, instead they create a warp bubble around the ship which transports them into subspace, a realm where you can go faster than light.

Jonas

"Number One" is a nickname that Starfleet captains often use for their First Officer. First officer is the same as the first mate on a ship at sea.

Matt88g

Pike was a big part of the jj Abraham’s movies(reboot), I haven’t seen the new tv show strange new world but I know pike and Spock are main characters

michael denny

post tagged star wars. very funny.....

SpankTheMonk

The Star Trek Voyager intro might be my favorite ( not the show itself- I think I am between TNG/Deep Space ) can literally feel the longing and emotion as if the music were words. So hauntingly beautiful- can’t wait George if you to get that far - no spoilers till then 🖖 🫶 On the flip side Star Trek Enterprise made it to American- even as an American I really didn’t like the music. I always liked to believe that Star Trek and Federation was global. It undercut that dramatically and I skip it every time like avoiding fire.

SpankTheMonk
>>147179900

As new trek shows post JJ Abram’s movies burn my Star Trek soul (except Picard season 3 - nice save Terry) I am ok with that time-line.

SpankTheMonk

Oh and the inception level watching reminds me of the Empress in The Never Ending story telling Atreu about Bastian, giving me ASMR chills down my back 😱

G Lam

Point 1: Riker is called Number 1 (as is Number one in The Cage). Point 2: The actress for Number 1/Nurse Chapel is the actress who plays Troi's mother. Who is also, the voice of the TNG computer. And as a SIGNIFICANT note... she married Gene Roddenberry! Point 3: All of Star Trek (any series) is based in the Milky Way galaxy. Voyager's estimate to cross the Milky Way galaxy was 75 years, and they had the fastest ship of all other Star Trek shows before it.. The nearest galaxy is 50 times that distance away... which no-one attempted. (There are some exceptions to these, and TOS takes some big liberties, which aren't repeated post-TOS)

gfixler

I love Simone's brain. It's such a mess like mine. She's watched every episode of TNG, 178 episodes of Picard saying/yelling "Numbah One" (British accent), and she says "Picard calls Riker Number Two." 🤣 It's okay, Simone. I know the struggle. I told my friends the story of finding my poor, dead, hamster one morning when I was a kid, with them all looking more and more sad as the story continued, finally ending with "and he just fell out of his shell, dead" and they looked at me like I had two heads. One friend said "But... But hamsters don't have shells..." and I said "Oh, sorry, I meant hermit crab." They just about all fell on the ground laughing. My brain can be so useless. Maybe Simone was thinking of Austin Powers. "Who does Number Two work for?!"

Mr. Writhms

The newest series “Star Trek Strange New Worlds" (on its 2nd season) is a prequel to TOS. It the Enterprise when it was a new vessel, run by Captain Pike and Mr. Spock. And there is a new recruit, fresh out of the Federation academy named Uhura. I hope you get to that series eventually. Star Treks will probably be real by then. 😊

gfixler

I am loving that George is enjoying this. I was a little bit worried he'd find it way too corny, because it can be really corny in the 60s, even though I love that about it. Him mentioning loving lore, and already being interested in the lore here, made me think he may actually become a proper Trekkie. There's so much lore, and it's deep enough and rich enough to hook you. The thing about this era was that sci-fi wasn't the huge thing it is now, so a lot of these guys, especially anyone older, is going to be a stage actor, who probably did Shakespeare, and the acting feels like that, like Kodos here. It's dramatic, they project to the back of the theater, they ham it up (like that actress who crash landed on that planet and lived with the butt head aliens). Stories have sci-fi elements, but still feel like they were written by people who 1) came from theater, and 2) grew up watching the Wild West, like the Lone Ranger, which was huge back then. And then they were headed up by a creator who was in the Navy, and thought of it all like morality plays taking place on a navy vessel in space. It's kind of fascinating to watch them all feel their way through it, though, and figure out what this new thing was that's now such a phenomenon.

RogueRN

Simone silently mouthing the show 'tag line' might be one of the cutest goddamn things I've ever seen...

Matthew Maxon
>>147210564

Scottie wore Red the ENTIRE TIME, including AWAY MISSIONS and SURVIVED IT ALL!!! Engineers are TOUGH!! :D

Matthew Maxon
>>147205090

Insert Beavis and Butthead joke about Beavis as Picard ordering Butthead as Number 1 -"Number 1, I order you take a Number 2." Laughter follows.

Marcus Hicks

I thought this was actually a really clever way of getting the original Pilot into the Original Series.

Angela D. Mitchell

This two-parter has always stayed with me ever since I saw it as a kid. It's still so smart and moving, and has such genuinely thoughtful and imaginative writing.

David Martin

If George introduces Star Wars stuff deliberately, it will just add to the many annoyances he already contributes to the site . Things that make me want to discontinue my membership each time he does yet another thing to interrupt my enjoyment of the show. Too many to list here.