Star Trek (1966-1969)

William Shatner on the sci-fi TV series Star Trek. (Photo: NBC)

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

The pilot episode of the original Star Trek television series, "The Cage" features the familiar starship Enterprise, but under the command Captain Christopher Pike and a substantially different crew. The Enterprise answers a distress signal from the planet Talos IV, and Pike leads a landing party to investigate. On the surface, however, he is captured by the Talosians, a highly intelligent alien race with the ability to manipulate the human mind through the power of illusion. Having also captured a human woman, the aliens plan to force Pike and the female captive to mate. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew -- including science officer Mr. Spock -- must find a way to rescue Pike and escape the Talosian ambush. After this episode's rejection by the network, the show was retooled with the introduction of Captain Kirk and several other characters. Though not broadcast in its original form until years later, footage from this episode was incorporated into Star Trek 16: The Menagerie Parts 1 & 2, which continues the story of Pike and Talos IV 13 years later. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide