WEBVTT - Trek Through Trek: Star Trek “The Cage” 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:05.840 Warning, today's episode contain spoilers for the original the historical 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:26.560 pilot of Star Trek the original series titled The Cage. Hello, 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.520 and name is Jason and I'm roseay Night, and welcome 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:32.239 back to Xtravision of the podcast where we dive deep. 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:34.120 It's your favorite shows, movies and pop culture coming in 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:35.960 from my heart, where we'll bring you three episodes a week, 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:37.400 plus news on Saturday. 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.600 In today's episode, beat me up, Scotty or not, because 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:42.600 Scotty is not in. 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:44.040 This episode and that's right. 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:47.520 Today we are revisiting the first episode of the Star 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:52.320 Trek the original series, called The Cage. Now there is 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:56.160 no Kirk here. This is Captain Pike. So come with 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.800 us as we kickstart our trek through Trek. You can 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.320 think of this as our own episode two because if 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:03.920 you enough of you listen and the feedback is good, 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.319 we will be back with more Trek in the new year. 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:13.720 And of course, Star Trek is a landmark sci fi 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:17.400 property in only three seasons, which is kind of like 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.280 mind boggling to think about, Like the original show only 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.840 ran three seasons, even the fact that it was made 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:25.360 after this up ordered pilot that we're going to talk 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:28.440 about right, then cut up and used for the actual 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.959 on air pilot. This pilot was received and kind of 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:34.319 disastrous fashion, although it is quite good and you could 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:39.000 see a lot of the strands that became the vibe 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.759 of Original Trek here. Just the fact that it got 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:46.839 made and made such an impact in its only three 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:51.120 season run means that it's simply one of the most 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:54.560 important sci fi properties ever, and we're delighted to be 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:56.760 talking about it. I mean, it's like a show that 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.360 I think I've talked about this a lot. When I 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:03.520 was like in middle school and started getting really into 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:07.560 staying up late, especially on summertime, and on the weekends, 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:12.600 they would play Star Trek on the local TV station 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:15.680 back to back with Get Smart, so it'd be like 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:18.600 two episodes of Get Smart, which is which was a 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.760 thirty and then an episode of Star Trek and then 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:23.720 two episodes of Star Trek or something like that. So 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:25.560 it'd be like from nine to ten it was like 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.200 Get Smart, and then ten to midnight it would be 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:32.960 Star Trek. And that's how I watched all of the 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:37.200 original Star Trek, just like in weird orders and just 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:41.600 like it, and it was so fun and I was 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:44.840 absolutely delighted by it and became like a big part 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:50.200 of my just like every night experience when I was 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:52.440 that age. How did you first get into try? 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:53.799 I actually loved that. 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.760 That was your experience because England had a very similar 0:02:56.840 --> 0:03:01.160 version of it, which was basically you would have five 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:07.119 thirty PM Neighbors, six pm Simpsons obviously the best, then 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:09.760 six point thirty you'd hope it was Fresh Prince of 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:13.160 bel Air, but if it wasn't, then it was usually 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:15.280 Star Trek and that would run for like a solid 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.440 three hours. So I saw all different versions of Star Trek. 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:22.160 I saw the original series, I saw Voyager. I saw 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.200 a really terrifying episode of Deep Space night and about 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:27.600 nightmares that came to life that had me up for 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.320 like a week, And yeah, I just I think this 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.800 is such an interesting show. I'm so happy we're able 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.000 to finally start digging into it because this was always 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:36.720 our dream. Was like, if we're going to cover Star Trek, 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:38.800 we're just gonna do it from the beginning, like there's 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.640 no way that we're doing like choppy kind of bits 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:43.520 and bobs, and people have always wanted us. 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:43.920 To cover it. 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.680 So yeah, I'm really excited to cover it, and basically 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:52.160 this is the rundown of the episode. Solid recap because 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.680 this episode is crazy, really long. It's a wild breaks 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:59.280 basically every rule of pilot writing, which I love. Then 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.160 we're going to talk about the themes, which here are 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:06.800 very much like leadership, women in the workplace, surveillance, propaganda. Also, 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.600 those themes die into why the show didn't necessarily get 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:12.880 made in this form too, so we will talk a 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:17.279 little bit about the history and the production of the pilot, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:22.479 as well as how this led to the original Real 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.600 Star Wars pilot. Depending on which version you watched when 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:27.599 you were a kid, that will either be The Man 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:30.560 Trap or Where No Man Has Gone Before, which were 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.440 the two episodes which aired out of order as pilots. 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.040 And Yeah, it's gonna be great. We're gonna dig in. 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.440 So this is track through Trek now a quick production 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:40.880 note which I'm very happy to say because I love 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:44.480 holiday season. So this holiday season we are going to 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:47.240 be sharing some shorter stocking. 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.240 Stuff for episodes with you. 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:50.719 With so many great shows and movies coming out this 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.039 next few months, the episodes will help us cover some 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:57.000 extra content, including books and comics that we wouldn't necessarily 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.360 be able to get onto our normal episodes, so stay 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.960 tuned for these stucking stuff is starting the week of Thanksgiving. 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:08.719 The first three cap all Right Star Trek the original 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:12.560 series series one the Cage. We open in Space the 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.800 Final Frontier, although, as we will discuss later in our 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:19.880 little factoid section, we don't get the iconic Space the 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.400 Final Frontier narration from our Captain Kirk because it is 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:24.680 not Captain Kirk as Captain Pike. We're on the bridge 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:28.400 of the starship Enterprise, though Captain Chris Pike and his crew, 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:32.960 including Science Officer Spock, receive a warning of an incoming signal. 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:36.760 It's a very old distress signal, like the old type, 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.480 and apparently there was a ship like eighteen years ago, 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.240 the SS Columbia, that was lost out here, and so 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:47.200 they're thinking, oh, this is it. Pike is like, well, 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:48.800 guess what. We're not going to check it out, though. 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:53.040 We have to go to Vega, and unless there are 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:56.680 survivors down there, or any evidence that there could be survivors, 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.040 we're not going to go because it was a long 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:00.719 time ago. Were gonna deal with a. 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:01.400 Crash right now. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:09.640 Kind of a persnickety like no from Christopher Pike, who 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:13.840 then goes to his quarters and you discover why Captain 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:16.520 Chris Pike is in such a busy mood. It's because 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:19.120 they had just been through a battle on Rigel for 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:23.960 and lost people. And doctor Haskins comes in to Christopher 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:27.279 Pike's quarters, and it's very clear right away that doctor 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.320 Haskins is an older guy and Pike are like it's 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:34.440 like a mentor mentee or just like a shoulder to 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:37.159 like lean on kind of relationship with doctor Haskins. He 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.080 comes in with his little doctor case, opens it up 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.800 and starts making a martini for the cat, which is 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:46.080 which festival I shouldn't have but that's okay, shouldn't happen. 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:50.360 But also so Star Trek coded like so much of 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:53.560 what is interesting about this episode is though it is 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:57.840 very introverted and kind of way more serious. 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.800 It does establish a lot of the kind of. 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:03.720 Like groovy things that would go on to kind of 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:10.520 cement Star Trek storytelling, whether that's romance, whether it's unexpected drinking, 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:15.560 whether it is kind of the mundanity and brutality of 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.080 war combined with kind of the craziness of a sci 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:18.920 fi adventure. 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:21.320 A lot of it is here, and it is. 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:24.960 Yeah, it's very interesting that this is where Roddenberry chose 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:25.320 to start. 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:27.440 Let's be real, way ahead of its time. 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.400 This is like a fifth season kind of version of 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:31.080 Star Trek. 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:36.920 No, that's very, very true. So Pike is like, he's 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:39.679 feeling really bad about the fact that they lost people 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:43.520 on Rigel and the stress of command is wearing on him. 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:46.200 He's really beaten down by the whole thing, and he's like, 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:48.400 you know, I'm thinking about hanging it up. I'm thinking 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.560 about hanging up the cowboy hat, the spurs, the whole thing. 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.240 I'm feeling washed. I don't want to do this anymore. 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:58.400 And then Doc is like Doc, who is clearly kind 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.160 of like his therapist as well as medical doctors, like 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.200 why don't you just I don't know about that, Like 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.120 what drink your martini? And then like let's sit on that, 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:10.240 don't make any rash judgments. Then Spot calls with news 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.720 guess what, cap there are survivors. We just we got 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:17.600 another message from this distress signal and there are survivors. 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:20.679 So Pike is like, fine, we'll head to Tallows. Pike 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.720 is like a high strung guy. He's on the bridge 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:29.240 a Yeoman comes in with the orders that he himself 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:32.240 told her to bring at five am, and he's like, 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:34.920 why are you here, guy, I talk you interrupt me 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.640 on the fucking bridge and and she's like, I'm just 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.120 bringing you the reports that you told me to bring 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.280 it this very time. And he's like, all right, sorry 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:45.040 about that, Yeoman, but I'm just not used to a 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:46.600 woman on the bridge. I don't think there should be 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:48.400 women on the bridge. And then he looks over and 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.240 he's like, oh, yeah, my second in command number one 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:52.240 is a woman. 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.680 There's a Woman's like, but not you, number one of 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:56.079 you know. 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:58.680 You know what I mean, you're acceptable. Yeah. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:04.040 Also this is Michelle Barrett Rodin Brie, who is Jean 0:09:04.120 --> 0:09:06.240 Rodenbree's wife and who would go on to play many 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:12.360 different characters of in Star Trek where Rodin Breed kind 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:14.400 of write her in, but this was obviously meant to 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.640 be a huge role for her. And as you will, 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.600 we will get into Pike was not the only one 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:22.040 upset to see a woman on the bridge. 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:22.840 Let's put it that way. 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.760 Pike gets the science support and basically this planet is Earth, like, 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:30.480 they can land. They don't need any other you know, 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:34.200 breathing helmets or anything like that. So Pike is like, Okay, 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:39.160 it's gonna be me. Spock and four other Red Shirts 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:45.480 were going down there. Number One, you're in command, although 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:50.760 he the implication is kind of that he doesn't think 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.840 number one it would be safe for her to go 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:58.240 down there, and maybe she couldn't handle it, but he 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:01.160 also puts her in charge, you know, without a second thought. 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:04.199 So it's it's a quite complex kind of view of 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.559 Christopher Pike. They go down there. It's a rocky planet, 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:12.120 very desert like. Pike and Spok are like intrigue. They're 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.880 these little blue leaves that amid a sort of frequency 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.920 that we just never go back to that but it's 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:23.000 very mysteriously. Chrisms very interested in it. And after looking 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.640 around for a while, they find the survivors camp and 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.120 the survivor of the Columbia. They're all old as shit. 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.800 They're like, you know, they look like eighteen sixties prospectors, 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:36.000 you know, their hair all wild, giving. 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:41.000 More looks in the time machine like that, like cavemen. 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:44.360 So they're like, what's going on with Earth? And Pike 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:48.080 and Spok are like Earth is great, just like you 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.840 left it there are new technologies now where we can 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:54.280 like fly here faster than light. So there's a lot 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:56.000 of cool stuff, but you know, we'll get you out 0:10:56.040 --> 0:11:01.760 of here. So they are preparing to remove the survivors 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:06.120 to the ship when they meet Vienna, who apparently was 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:09.320 a child when the Columbia crashed, and so now she's 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.160 like this beautiful blonde, nineteen or twenty year old woman, 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:17.160 and Pike is immediately like thrown that there's this hottie 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:23.360 like out here on tallows. Meanwhile, somewhere else, a group 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.600 of bald, veiny headed aliens or like watching this whole 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:30.120 scene unfold in their cave, and the leader makes some 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:32.400 sort of signal we can't hear them speak and we'll 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:36.360 figure out why soon to his two like lieutenants, and 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:40.600 they head off. Pike is packing helping pack stuff up 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:42.040 so they can all go back to the Enterprise, and 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.960 they're almost ready to go, and Vena's like, hey, I 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:47.920 can't help, but noticing you're a man of prime breeding stock, 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:51.840 He's like it's like what, and then she goes like, 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:54.600 I think it's time to show you our secret and 0:11:54.640 --> 0:12:00.280 he's like okay, And meanwhile the doc is noticing that 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.360 the survivors, despite their bedraggled look are like very healthy, 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:07.679 almost too healthy. He's looking like good. 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.400 Yeah, looking great, Like what's gotten shilling down that for 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.680 a long time? Are you really survivors or are you 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:15.920 members of this strange society? 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:20.360 The leader of the of the bedraggled Columbia survivors then 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.079 is like, well, that's because of some kind of secret 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.680 that you're not ready for, which is what. It's like what? 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:31.880 And then that guy, the leader of the survivors, tells Viena, Hey, Vena, 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:36.319 go take Captain Pike somewhere private to show him the secret. 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.360 And so Pike is like, okay, let's go around the 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.360 corner and go to this rock out crupping and she's 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.920 like okay, ready, here it is and he's like what, 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:48.600 I don't see anything, And then she disappears and the 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:50.840 aliens come out of the cave and stun Captain Pike 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.000 and they take him prisoner. The rest of his crew 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:54.680 is like trying to blast through the door, but it's 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:57.319 no good. They can't they can't get him. The door 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.760 is apparently made of some super strong material. Spock radio 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.800 is the strip. He's like, hey, it's a trap. They've 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.680 got the captain. We're leaving. Pike wakes up in a 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.840 cell and he's in like this extensive underground cave base 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:17.000 in this clear walled cell, and he can see Pike 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:21.199 like this kind of bear pig creature with its ash 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:25.360 cheeks exposed, like walking around and other like weird creatures, 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:26.200 like a huge rooster. 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:27.640 Yeah. 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:30.480 The aliens come in and they stare at Pike, and 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:35.560 Pike is like, listen, I'm the captain of the USS Enterprise. 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:40.400 Our mission is totally peaceful. I'm a very experienced space captain, 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:42.959 and you should let us out. Let me out. And 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:48.120 the aliens are like, look, how simple this organism is 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.480 a very simple, like dumb creature. They still speak with 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:56.120 their mouths and stuff, and they were easily tricked by us, 0:13:56.720 --> 0:14:00.319 and isn't that isn't that interesting? And then Pikes starts 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:02.800 to get like gangster with it. He's like, listen, I've 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:07.600 got fucking We've got phasers, we've got like laser cannons, 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.600 we've got the tor the space torpedoes, we've got all that, 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.800 like we could destroy this place, like, don't get into 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.520 it with us. And the aliens, meanwhile, are still talking 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:19.080 with themselves like, watch now he's gonna get mad and 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:24.000 threaten us. And watch now he's gonna now he's gonna 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.600 try and break the glass. Watch this, this is it's 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:27.480 a law clear. 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:27.920 Yeah. 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:32.600 I also want to say huge another huge change here, 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:36.920 or ironically a law change that really sets up one 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:44.520 of the most continuously talked about canonical, uh hypocritical kind 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.280 of things about Star Trek, which is the idereas you 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:53.000 go you don't leave anything behind, you don't change a planet, 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:54.400 you don't attack a planet. 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.880 It's a peaceful situation that Pike is not in. That sage. 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:00.280 Pike is like, I'm gonna blow your show. What are 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:00.760 you gonna do it? 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:00.960 Boy? 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.680 It Now Honestly, that actually happens a lot, even though 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.440 the Federation are not meant to do that. These motherfuckers 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.920 are always getting involved in other people's business. But very 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.760 funny to a Pike kid just immediately be like, I'm 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.040 gonna blow up your planet, let me go, And then 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.560 the aliens are like, oh, okay, we've had that one before. 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.120 Yeah, So the aliens are like, okay, this one is 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.560 quite spirited, and we'll begin with the experience quite soon. 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:26.840 Spock and the crew back on the enterprise or studying 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:28.400 the planet to try to figure out, like what can 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.120 we do, and they realize that the underground aliens like 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:35.400 trick them set them all up. The doctor points out 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:40.320 that the aliens must have some sort of telepathy and 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:44.240 ability to project illusions into their minds, and right now 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:47.200 they might be doing that, Like we can't trust anything 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.359 we're doing. They use this illusion of Vena the hottie. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.080 Actually he doesn't mention this there, but like that was 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:56.560 a big part of it. So Number one wonders, like, oh, 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:58.400 I wonder what the aliens want, Like what could they 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:02.640 possibly want? Spots like I don't know, but he does 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:07.120 figure just based on his readings that the aliens must 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:09.480 have three times at least three times the brain power 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:13.600 of their own. Yeah, that's why they're so big. So 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.440 Number one is like, okay, well, here's my idea. Take 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.120 let's take some of the cannons out of the ship, 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:21.560 let's bring them down to the surface, and let's just 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:23.680 drill our way through the door. 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:24.760 Crazy. 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:32.960 Meanwhile, thousands of aliens, off camera but mentioned, are simultaneously 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:36.000 probing Pike's mind and looking at his memories and just 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:38.640 reading him like a book. As he searches for a 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:42.200 way out, and they find out about the recent events 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.000 on Rigel and his guilt about that, and they decide 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:48.240 to use that memory again and his own guilt against him. 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.320 Suddenly Pike is like on Rigel and Vina is there 0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:54.840 begging like Pipe help me, Oh my god. Pike is like, 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:58.760 he knows immediately, like this is an illusion. You're from 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.000 the planet, Like we're back on the planet. This is 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:05.560 not happening. But he's also I'm in my cell and 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:08.240 this must be some sort of space zoo. But then 0:17:08.760 --> 0:17:12.640 the space barbarian that apparently killed Pike's crew members shows 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:16.199 up and starts going fucking ham and Pike is like, 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:19.280 fine enough, like this I just instinctively like I have 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.879 to fight this barbarian. And a lot of it is 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:28.720 because of his own very period correct feelings of must 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.840 protect woman from yes barbarian. 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.800 To that really interestingly, even though he knows Vena isn't 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.840 really real, but yeah, he even he even speaks to. 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:39.960 The aliens about that. 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:44.440 So this is again establishing a much more complicated understanding 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:51.160 of gender and masculinity than most shows at this time, 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:54.240 which would obviously go into shape kind of the legacy 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:54.919 of Star Trek. 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:59.320 So Pike does manage to kill the barbarian and then 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.080 Poofy's back going to sell with Vena and Venus hugging him, 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:05.919 and the aliens are watching like absolute freaks outside the glass, 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:10.840 and Vina's like, listen, and here the innuendos are like 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:15.320 so strong, it's crazy to think, like in the sixties, 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:18.159 what this must have felt like. Of course this was 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:20.760 not this pilot was not aired, but you know, it's 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.080 a very similar kind of innuendos. In the later series, 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:26.240 Vina is like, listen, am I real? Am I not real? 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:28.080 I can be as real as you want, like anything. 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:30.400 Yeah, She's like, maybe a woman be real? 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:34.399 Yeah, what kind of woman have you fantasized about? Like 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:36.560 I can be that. I could be anything that you 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.080 want in the whole world, Like you know, just use 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:44.480 your imagination. We could do that. And Pike is like, interesting, 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.040 that's an interesting thought. And I'm not saying no, But 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.320 how do I keep the aliens out of my mind? 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:49.959 Do you know any way? 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:52.760 I want? Like they won they want to be in 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:54.080 my mind while I'm banging. 0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:57.679 Yeah, I think I do. 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:01.320 And her reaction, even though she doesn't say there's a 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:03.320 way to keep them out. Her reaction tells him there 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:06.520 must be some. Meanwhile, outside of the cave number one 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:09.520 and the rest, they're drilling with those ships cannons and 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:11.840 they go full power and they don't see any change 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:17.720 in the door. Doc points out that again, they're like, hey, uh, 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:21.280 we don't know what to trust down here, Like they 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:23.760 could be fucking with our minds right now and we 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.359 would not know, So just be aware of that. Pike 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:30.639 is chatting with Vena about the mind control and Vina's like, fine, fine, fine, 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:37.400 if you promise to share whatever your most secret sexual 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:41.760 fantasy is so we can live it together, I will 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:44.560 tell you, like how to keep the aliens out of 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:47.280 your mind. So she then tells him, Okay, the aliens 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:51.360 went underground because of war, and that's underground over centuries, 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.880 they developed them mental powers. But then they got their 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:57.560 mental powers are so strong that they just got trapped 0:19:57.960 --> 0:20:01.040 in a maze of their own fantasies and delusions that 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:05.520 they project apparently into each other's minds and everything and 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:07.960 and so they're just kind of like a lost species. 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:11.440 She confirms that there is this is a zoo and 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:14.480 and then it becomes clear, Okay, we need a pair 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:17.240 of humans, but like, where would the woman come from? 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:20.560 Is Vienna even real? And Vina's like, no, I'm real, 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.760 and again I can be like much realer in any 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.040 way you want. But then all of a sudden, she 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:30.400 screams and disappears in the big head alien like apparently 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:32.840 like just made her disappear. 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:35.360 We don't sucked him, sucked her back into his big 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:39.840 butt slash testical brain uncle something like that. I did 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:43.439 think this was actually very evocative and a great moment 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.800 when she is, you know, talking to Pike and they 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:49.400 kind of have this like picnic projection, and she sort 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:52.200 of says to him, like, just tell me any fantasy, 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:53.080 whatever your. 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:55.639 Dream is, let me live it with you. 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:58.760 Because I think she is aware that she doesn't really exist, 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:00.439 but in that way, maybe they would let how to 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:01.040 stay alive. 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:01.639 I don't know. 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:02.600 I was very ebucative. 0:21:02.600 --> 0:21:08.760 And again the creepy, haunting, existential kind of throwaway moments 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:12.920 that made star Trek what it is being seeded hit because. 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:13.920 Then she just doesn't exist. 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:19.320 Yeah, because there's like deeper There are deeper complexities as 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:21.920 you drill down into Starturek, which makes it very interesting 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:26.880 even for the period. So Pike is, you know, how 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:28.960 do I escape from here? He's trying to figure it out. 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:30.959 He can't. The aliens come over and they feed him. 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:34.400 It's feeding time. They give him just like a gross 0:21:34.560 --> 0:21:38.840 like a flagon of a gross nutrient liquid, and the 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:42.000 alien is like, you gotta eat that, and if you 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:44.760 don't eat it, we're going to torture you with various 0:21:45.200 --> 0:21:48.800 torture illusions. And now Pike is. Now Pike is really 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:52.000 fascinated because he's like, why not just make me think 0:21:52.040 --> 0:21:59.119