Story: The Menagerie Part II
Written By: Gene Roddenberry
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Year: 1967
The second part of "The Menagerie" utilizes more footage from the original unaired pilot than the previous episode did, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great episode. The intermingling of both Pilot-footage and newly created Kirk footage runs rather seamless, and the plot doesn’t seem to confused or jarring.
The greatest aspect of the use of Pilot-footage is that it makes that Pilot look better than it was. Needing it to fit into the standard episode length and still add all the court martial scenes with Kirk and Spock, they had to trim the fat of the Pilot. The Pilot is really good on its own, but it does have some boring scenes, some bad ones, and some shit that could just easily be cut for time. Dropping all those scenes makes The Cage an even better story, a little more focused, and the Menagerie then becomes the better of the two stories.
In the end, I feel the conclusion is top notch, and that the Menagerie should be on the must see list for any Trek fan, casual or not.
NEXT TIME: Down the Rabbithole
Written By: Gene Roddenberry
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Year: 1967
The second part of "The Menagerie" utilizes more footage from the original unaired pilot than the previous episode did, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great episode. The intermingling of both Pilot-footage and newly created Kirk footage runs rather seamless, and the plot doesn’t seem to confused or jarring.
In the end, I feel the conclusion is top notch, and that the Menagerie should be on the must see list for any Trek fan, casual or not.
NEXT TIME: Down the Rabbithole