Star Trek's Unaired Pilot: The Cage

It's 1964, and television Western writer Gene Roddenberry has just been rejected by NBC executives for the pilot to his new interstellar science fiction project: Star Trek. That pilot was entitled The Cage, and it was turned down on the basis that it was "too intelligent."

Damn right it was too intelligent. Not in a hard sci-fi, technological, hyper space and time travel understanding kind of way, but Star Trek was, and always has been, a show that could hack away at some of the touchiest social issues of the period for the simple reason that it's not so touchy if it takes place on another planet with a race of aliens rather than humans. Who cares if aliens live in a society of hierarchical oppression? Oh wait, that's a reflection of Western culture? Shit.

The Cage introduces the USS Enterprise and its crew: starring Mr. Spock, Captain Pike, Number One, and Yeoman Colt. If you're wondering who three out of four are, it's not because you're new to the series; the relaunched pilot, The Man Trap, reinvented the crew of the Enterprise. I only mention it because I'm about to blasphemy myself as a non-trekky when I say that Captain Pike had that perfect period acting, and character-wise, the perfect street-smarts and attitude, and here it is: I wish he had made it on to Season 1. Shatner just doesn't really do it for me. I don't get it. I guess he'll have to grow on me. I like Pike better.

So Captain Pike is tired and jaded and wants to retire from the ship, and he is given the perfect opportunity to do so when he lands on a Matrix-esque planet where he could just pull a Cypher and stay a while in a fantasy land inside his head.

"Why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill."

The purpose of his mind-trap is to get him to agree to be the partner of Vina, a human woman who was greatly disfigured in a space ship crash. As you can see, the aliens who took her in can deceive Pike's mind to make him think she is beautiful, when really she's a scarred, oldish, crone.

The other character missing when Season 1 got green-lighted is Number One, our feminist lead, second in command and the only woman allowed on the bridge. Because, according to Pike, she's "different, of course." Yeah, never say that to a woman. This is the face she'll make at you:

Oh, and the doctor (who is, I'm informed, not Dr. McCoy) reminds me of the doctor on Battlestar:

"Sometimes a man'll tell his bartender things he'll never tell his doctor."

The Cage is kind of awkward, I'll be honest. The aliens helping Vina, the Talosians (or whatever), try to manipulate Pike by capturing Number One and Yoeman Colt as well and offering either of them to be his, erm, partners, in the hopes that he will choose Vina over his female co-workers. Talk about office romance. While the show, I've heard, champions feminism, I suppose the question The Cage asks is how to deal with women entering command with concern for professionalism and sexuality. It's just so awkward because the Talosians can read the women's minds and they tell Pike that both of his co-workers have feelings for him, or would consider a sexual relationship - I mean how do you show up to the office the next day?

Well, they didn't - neither character appears in the actual pilot, The Man Trap, an episode that I felt carried some of the themes of this story, including a female who, like Vina, can change her appearance. However, unlike the Sherlock pilots, this new pilot was completely rethought, reworked from start to finish. The story that is most like The Cage is called The Menagerie, a two-parter spanning episodes 11 and 12, and in fact, The Menagerie features much of the footage from The Cage.

Needless to say, I would have liked a series that included The Cage and some of its characters.

Star Trek had a rocky history in terms of production and reception. The original pilot was rejected and it's lucky NBC bought the series and filmed a completely new one. The series was almost cancelled after Season 1, it never did well in ratings, it was moved to the Friday night death slot in Season 2 and the shows cancellation in Season 3 was hardly unforeseen - which hopefully means the original series ended on a well-written note, with a storybook ending. I'll let you know when I get there.

The Matrix Live: Film in Concert with the Seattle Symphony [Review Time]

Welcome to the real world.

On June 28 and 29, the Seattle Symphony put on two performances of The Matrix Live. After seeing an ad for this on a bus, I found myself asking something very similar to Neo's driving question: What is the Matrix Live? Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix Live is. You have to see it for yourself. Okay just kidding. It was a showing of The Matrix on screen with a performance of the original film score by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, live. And it was awesome.

If you can't remember what the Matrix score sounds like, here's a video of the opening that should tickle your memory:

As far as film scores go, this one, composed by Don Davis, is pretty fantastic and original, not to mention a perfect fit for a steam-punk instant classic. I'm not a music expert, so my purpose is mainly to recommend seeing The Matrix in this format (no matter how much you have to pay), because it is probably the ultimate nerd experience. I mean it's exciting even to see The Matrix in theatres. I was 10 years old when it came out, so I did not. And on top of that, the music is incredible. It's interesting to watch a film and pay extra special attention to how the music complements it. And of course, it was worth it to see a crowd full of leather trench coats and sunglasses. There was even at least one near-perfect Trinity look-alike.

I was also incredibly excited to see the Seattle Symphony, and they did not disappoint. The sound was absolutely perfect. It was conducted by Don Davis, the original composer, himself.

If you think you're replicating this experience with your 7.1 turned to max, you're dead wrong. And you should probably go to hell. If ever you see a city near you performing The Matrix Live, I highly recommend you don't pass up the opportunity to see The Matrix on the big screen with the score performed live.

Your favourite Sci-Fi stars in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse

It's always nice to see your favourite stars turn up time and time again in your favourite shows, and if you pay any attention to Joss Whedon's series' at all, you'll have noticed he has favourites too. Actors he enjoys working with turn up in many of his projects, and Dollhouse is no exception. It's a pretty good reason to watch the show. But it's not even just Buffyverse, Firefly and The Cabin in the Woods I'm going to be focusing on here. There will be special guests from other sci-fi projects as well. I've been keeping my eyes open for them!

Eliza Dushku as Echo

We first got to know her as Faith, another slayer and badass foil to Buffy, and part of what made the show worth watching. Now Dushku plays Echo, or Caroline, a lost girl whose memories and self have been removed by the Dollhouse and replaced by whatever they want to program her with. It's kind of like in the Matrix when Neo downloads kung-fu skills into his brain. The question is how Caroline came to be a doll, or as the company calls her an "active", or programmable empty zombie-like adorably clueless being that fulfills... desires. And solves mysteries. And pulls off heists. And pretty much anything else you pay her to do. It's a nice bonus that she's pretty. You can also check her out on an episode of season 4 of Big Bang Theory. Let me know in a comment if you've seen her in any of your other favourite sci-fis.

Tahmon Pinkett (Helo!) as Agent Ballard

It completely kills me to see Helo from Battlestar Gallactica in every episode of Dollhouse. And you will hear me refer to him primarily as Helo, because that's who he is. Remember his, "Frack, I'm sleeping with a cylon" face? You're going to see it again. He's just so good at it, why let that talent go to waste? Adorable. He's been on Stargate SG-1 and Dark Angel as well. Less to the point, I noticed he was on Castle with Nathan Fillion, another Whedon fave, so kind of a cool co-incidence.

Amy Acker as Doctor Saunders

This pretty peppy girl you've come to know as Winifred Burkle on Angel (a Joss Whedon production) is barely recognizable as Doctor Saunders, a sad and scarred employee of the dollhouse who is tormented by her loyalty to the corporation, and by whatever mangled her face. She's conflicted, and a little grouchy. You'll also see her in an episode of Alias, one of Supernatural, and in Whedon's The Cabin the Woods next to this man:

Fran Kranz as Topher Brink

He might be relatively new among Whedon's favourites, but the character isn't new at all. He's your young, nerdy, hillarious genius a la Warren or Andrew from Buffy. But now he's in Dollhouse and Cabin in the Woods. Fun fact: He and Amy Acker are also in a newly slated Whedon Shakespeare adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing that's going to have lots of these favourites casted. And he was what IMDB lists as a "passenger" in Donnie Darko which could just mean an extra on a bus or the airplane, but knowing Donnie Darko, that could be code for some freaky time-travel thing.

Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton

If you've seen this face before, it's because you've seen the sequels to The Matrix; he plays Lock in Reloaded and Revolutions. Okay Harry Lennix has been in a lot of things but we're focusing on the sci-fi! On Dollhouse he plays Boyd, Echoe's handler, which means it's his job to protect her, and to control her. He prefers to do the former. He becomes very attached to the doll and shows devotion to her almost before the dollhouse aka his employer. Again, very adorable, once you see how docile and childlike Echo can be with her mind wiped and how Boyd treats her like his daughter when he should treat her like a bomb about to go off.

Alexis Denisof as Senator Daniel Perrin

Okay, I actually haven't seen him yet as I'm not into Season 2, but this is Angel's Wesley Windam-Price we're talking about, and I have some fun-facts about him. You could say he's a Whedon favourite based on his place in Buffy and Angel, but he hasn't done a lot else in Hollywood. But did you know that he's married to Allyson Hannigan, who played Willow on Buffy, and that he plays Sandy Rivers on How I Met Your Mother with her? Not impressed? Well here's another fun fact: You know the opening lines of The Avengers? "The Tesseract has awakened" blah blah blah "And the humans, what can they do but burn?" Guess who voiced that character, known only as "The Other". That's right, Whedon favourite Alexis Denisof! Crazy. And he'll be playing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. So worth a mention at the least!

Alan Tudyk as Stephen Kepler

Take Wash from Firely and add some pot and an obsession with the environment, and you will get the essence of Whedon's favourites. One beloved role and cast member evolves into an even more hilarious one. Seeing Wash show up in Dollhouse was what drove me to write this post, because seeing him in a verbal battle with Helo from Battlestar Galactica was just too much for me, and I knew I couldn't be the only fan of niche nerdy things whose mind would explode after looking at this exhaustive list of crossovers. I live to search IMDB to see who has worked with whom, so you don't have to!

A couple more name-drops. Enver Gjokaj, who plays the active Victor, made it into The Avengers as a cop. Summer Glau from Firely and Felicia Day from Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog also deserve a mention, if only to pile excessively onto my point that this show is full of your favourite sci-fi cast members!

Of course, let me know in a comment if I missed anyone or anything. I would definitely like to make this list exhaustive and include all of the roles that connect one actor to another in a giant network of nerd fandom!

The Allegory of the Matrix [musing time]

"I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did."

The above quotation occurs early in the film, and is probably the first indication that this movie has a much deeper meaning than meets the eye. I think when most people watch The Matrix, they see a hard sci-fi action flick with an interesting premise and a guy who can dodge bullets. New breakthroughs in cinematography, a dystopia with the twist that our world is really just a computer simulation, cool black shades and lots of guns. But what these lines spoken by Trinity do for the film is pull the audience into the world of The Matrix and include them in Neo's struggle. Not the struggle against machines that have enslaved humanity, but his struggle against enslavement of the mind - something the Watchowskis are claiming affects us all.