Star Trek TV Special Hosted By Leonard Nimoy Unearthed, See The Rare Footage
When a fan was busy archiving old VHS tapes, he stumbled across a Star Trek special that had been long forgotten. The content of one tape contained a 1983 rebroadcast of a 1975 syndicated special hosted by Leonard Nimoy, detailing the making of the two-part episode from season 1 titled “The Menagerie.” The special with Nimoy is considered a rediscovered treasure by Trekkies everywhere, who get a first-person narrative explaining how NBC passed on the show’s original pilot and forever shaped the future of the iconic franchise.
In 1964, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s dream of bringing his science fiction series to life on the small screen came true when NBC ordered a pilot episode. Under the working title of “The Cage,” the show follows the crew of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise as it answers a distress signal emitted from a planet in the Talos star group. Under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, a rescue party beams onto the surface of the planet to give assistance before realizing that they were lured into a trap.
Audiences still have new seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Prodigy to look forward to as well as the upcoming series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and the streaming movie Star Trek: Section 31.
What should have been the beginning of the Star Trek series was ultimately passed on by NBC. But all hope was not lost, as the network ordered a second pilot in which the entire show was totally recast, save for Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock. The second pilot pleased network executives and the run of 79 shows in the original series began in 1966.
The original series might have ended in 1969, but the cult following over the next decade led to Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.
But as Nimoy explains in the 1975 TV special, the network demand for the show’s production was hitting a limit with what the creators were capable of making in due time. As a result, it was decided to take the unaired pilot episode “The Cage” and weave it into a two-part episode where the footage could be used to tell a backstory of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the days before it was under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. The finished product was the only two-part episode of the Star Trek original series, “The Menagerie.”
The 1975 special combines the two parts of “The Menagerie” into a singular film, with Nimoy providing a detailed introduction. The special provides fans new and old with a unique look at not only the material itself, but also into a time capsule of mid-1970s life in general.
There was the short-lived Star Trek: The Animated Series in which the series regulars from the live-action show returned to voice their heroes.
The footage was taken from a broadcast shown on Oklahoma City’s KAUT-43 on February 6, 1983, and has appropriate station bumpers included in the online video. Viewing Star Trek special in this fashion gives a person the sense of what it was like to actually view it at the time that it aired, adding more depth and warmth for watchers.
The original series might have ended in 1969, but the cult following over the next decade led to Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. There was the short-lived Star Trek: The Animated Series in which the series regulars from the live-action show returned to voice their heroes. The theatrical film spawned numerous sequels before the series Star Trek: The Next Generation went into production in 1987.
Since then, fans have been blessed with numerous films as well as both live-action and animated series. Audiences still have new seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Prodigy to look forward to as well as the upcoming series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and the streaming movie Star Trek: Section 31.
