From Amazon.com
Volume 8 in the DVD series of original
Star Trek episodes includes the fascinating two-part drama "The Menagerie." As if guided by the frugal wisdom of schlockmeister producer-director Roger Corman,
Trek creator Gene Roddenberry found a clever way of using, instead of losing, extensive and costly footage from the then-unseen, discarded
Star Trek pilot, "The Cage." Roddenberry's solution was to integrate pieces of "The Cage" into a whole new story context, and the surprisingly moving result was "The Menagerie." First, a bit of background: "The Cage" starred film actor Jeffrey Hunter (
King of Kings,
The Searchers) as Christopher Pike, the original captain of the
Enterprise. Among Hunter's costars was Leonard Nimoy as Science Officer Spock, who eventually carried over, of course, into the reconfigured series starring William Shatner. Rather than write off "The Cage," Roddenberry conceived of a story line in which Captain Pike would re-appear on the show in a badly disfigured, paralyzed, and mute form--the result of a terrible accident in which the character saved a number of lives but took a pounding in the process. In "The Menagerie," Spock hijacks the
Enterprise to transport Pike to a secret destination. During court-martial proceedings for this crime, Spock's defense is presented via archival footage of an old, pre-Kirk mission aboard the
Enterprise. That footage, of course, is a re-edited "The Cage." A must-see for
Star Trek fans, "The Menagerie" is a stellar example of Roddenberry thinking on his feet.
--Tom Keogh
On the DVD
Standard version digitally enhanced and remastered
Dolby Digital remixed for 5.1 Surround Sound
English subtitles
Interactive menus
Scene selection
Special added bonus - original broadcast preview trailers
