Star Trek Arcs I: Pike

One of the great underappreciated legacies of Star Trek is the idea of the story arc. On the surface this seems to be a simple riddle to unfold, as Star Trek began, as with all TV programming of its era, as episodic storytelling. Yet, somehow, arcs have been a part of the franchise from the very beginning.

The first pilot of the original series, “The Cage,” featured Captain Pike and a completely different crew, aside from Spock, aboard the Enterprise. In the episode, Pike discovers a planet populated by beings who are capable of casting powerful illusions. 

NBC passed on the pilot but opted to let Gene Roddenberry take another swing, which with “Where No Man Has Gone Before” turned out to be worth three seasons.

Now, towards the middle of the first season, of course, “The Cage” was repurposed as flashback material for the two-part “The Menagerie,” in which we learn that Pike has been horribly mutilated and confined to a mobile chair. Spock has agreed to bring him back to Talos IV, the planet of the powerful illusions, so that he might continue some semblance of a normal life. The episodes themselves carry the framework of a trial Starfleet is prosecuting against Spock, as we watch footage from “The Cage” as evidence.

The idea of this being an arc is kind of a matter of hindsight. In 1966 audiences would really only have known of “The Cage” as part of “The Menagerie.” It’s later fans who get to enjoy the full scope of the story. Pike himself would later resurface in the Kelvin films, as well as Discovery, in which  material relevant to the arc is inserted during “Through the Valley of Shadows,” where he is given a glimpse into his fate and even the chance to avoid it.

The next franchise arc would prove to be more deliberate, not to mention dramatic. And cinematic!