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The Menagerie, Part II (episode)

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While Spock faces court martial for kidnapping Captain Pike and hijacking the Enterprise, he further explains his actions with mysterious footage about Pike's captivity by the Talosians.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

Captain Kirk, in his personal log ponders the events of the past day. Spock is facing a court martial aboard the USS Enterprise on multiple charges: Mutiny; kidnapping his former commanding officer, Fleet Captain Christopher Pike, mutilated by a recent space disaster and unable to speak; and locking the Enterprise on course for the planet Talos IV, for which the penalty is death. Spock has pled guilty to all the charges. However, when the presiding officer, Commodore Mendez, asks Spock about his motive, it gives Spock a legal opening to present his evidence: mysterious but authentic video from thirteen years before, as the Enterprise, commanded by Captain Pike, became the only starship ever to visit Talos. The recap concludes with the revelation that the video presentation is itself being transmitted from Talos.

Act One[]

The court martial reconvenes, this time in closed session. Mendez reminds Spock that Starfleet has ordered no contact with Talos IV, with no exceptions. Spock says that the Talosian Keeper has taken over control of their viewscreen. The presentation resumes as Captain Pike had been knocked unconscious and captured by the Talosians. (TOS: "The Cage") The Talosians make Pike relive the deadly battle on Rigel VII with the Kalar two weeks earlier in a deserted fortress. But Pike deduces that he is still in the cell, which Spock calls a "brilliant deduction."

Later, the viewscreen shuts off. Pike's head has slumped over, and Spock says the Talosians know that Pike is fatigued, so they have ceased transmitting the image. As Kirk remarks that the Talosians must care for Pike, Spock confirms that the Talosians want him back, alive. Mendez demands an explanation, but Spock insists that they will understand only after they reach Talos and watch the rest of the video transmission from the Talosians.

Act Two[]

Talosians 3

The Talosians

The court martial and the viewscreen presentation resume. The Talosians continue to show Pike a spacewreck survivor from the SS Columbia named Vina, in various guises, to induce Pike to breed, but he is only interested in learning from her the parameters of the illusions and of his imprisonment. Here she appears as a green-skinned Orion slave girl. Mendez mentions that the seductive women are said to be irresistible.

Act Three[]

The viewscreen presentation continues: The Talosians beam down Number One and Yeoman Colt to give Pike a choice of mates, but their laser pistols do not work. Pike deduces that this too is an illusion and uses a weapon to threaten the Talosian Keeper and win their way to the planet's surface.

The presentation is interrupted again and the Talosians seem to have abandoned Spock. Mendez demands that the court-martial panel of three captains reach a verdict. Spock asks Pike to wait to reach Talos, telling him that he will have a chance for life, but Kirk likens it to life as a zoo specimen or amusement. Pike, Mendez, and finally, Kirk vote that Spock is guilty of mutiny, as charged.

Act Four[]

Lieutenant Hansen reports from the bridge to Mendez that the Enterprise has entered orbit around Talos IV. Spock tells the court that Talos controls the Enterprise, just as it did on her previous encounter, and that Mendez's inquiry into Spock's motives will now be answered.

The Talosians had abandoned their effort to capture and breed Humans as servants when Captain Pike and the others threatened to destroy themselves using a forced chamber explosion with Una's laser pistol, a decision the atrophied Talosians had claimed condemned them to eventual death. Vina had declined rescue by the Enterprise, for a reason made evident at the end of the Talosians' presentation: the Talosians show Vina to be horribly disfigured, though their mastery of projecting illusions lets her live a normal life. Spock's purpose in bringing Pike back to Talos IV was to enable Pike to live out the rest of his days in the same fashion; the Talosians offer to "free" him from his wheelchair. The basis of General Order 7, the capital crime forbidding contact with Talos IV, is also evident now: to keep Humans from learning the Talosians' power of illusion which would lead to their own destruction.

Kirk then addresses Mendez, but Mendez suddenly disappears. The Talosian Keeper explains that Mendez's presence on board the Enterprise and on the Starbase 11 shuttlecraft with Kirk was merely an illusion. Spock and the Talosians orchestrated events to keep the crew from regaining control of the ship too quickly. Kirk challenges Spock, saying that despite the harsh regulations, Spock could have come to him for help; alluding to Kirk's willingness to help his friend, no matter what. Spock admits the reason he did not simply reveal his plan to Kirk was that he did not want to run the risk of subjecting anyone else but himself to the death penalty.

The real Commodore Mendez, still at Starbase 11, sends a message that he too has received the Talosians' presentation. Uhura reports to Kirk that he has suspended General Order 7 for this occasion and directs Kirk to proceed as he thinks best.

Kirk asks Pike if he wishes to accept the Talosians' offer. Despite his earlier protests against Spock's actions, Pike does not hesitate to signal "yes", and Kirk invites Spock to escort his former captain to the transporter room. Spock expresses thanks, both for himself on Pike's behalf, which Pike is quick to second with another "yes." Before Spock wheels Pike out, however, Kirk adopts a mock serious tone, saying he is "concerned" that Spock is exhibiting a disturbing tendency toward flagrant emotionalism. Spock regards this as an insult and insists that his actions have been completely logical.

After Spock and Pike depart the briefing room, the Talosian Magistrate invites Kirk to look at the viewscreen again, where he sees the healthy Pike and Vina walking hand-in-hand.

Log entries[]

Memorable quotes[]

"They're like animals, vicious, seductive. They say no Human male can resist them."

- Mendez, commenting on Vina as an Orion slave girl


"Guilty, Captain, yes or no?"
(Pike offers a single beep from his wheelchair.)
"Yes. I must also vote guilty as charged. And you, Captain?"
"Guilty. As charged."

- Mendez, Pike, and Kirk, rendering their verdict against Spock


"Talos controls the vessel now, as they did thirteen years ago. You asked me 'why'. Commodore. You'll see your answer now."

- Spock to Mendez, as the motivation for returning Pike to Talos IV is about to be revealed


"Mr. Spock, even if regulations are explicit, you could have come to me and explained."
"Ask you to face the death penalty too? One of us was enough, captain."

- Kirk to Spock, after the Talosians reveal the truth


"I want to talk to you. This regrettable tendency you've been showing lately towards flagrant emotionalism –"
"I see no reason to insult me, sir. I believe I've been completely logical about the whole affair."

- Kirk and Spock, as Pike is moved out of the briefing room


"Captain Pike has an illusion, and you have reality. May you find your way as pleasant."

- Talosian Keeper, to Kirk (mirroring the similar farewell that he gave to Pike thirteen years earlier)
For memorable quotes from "The Cage", click here.

Background information[]

Production timeline[]

Production[]

  • The first draft of this episode's script (along with that of "The Menagerie, Part I") was completed on 3 October 1966 with the subsequent final draft being turned in on 7 October, with further revisions on 10 October.
  • Robert Butler is the only credited director on this episode. However, Butler had actually directed "The Cage", which provided much of the material used in this episode. After Marc Daniels was assigned to direct the new footage, it was decided that he and Butler would share credit for the two episodes, Daniels for the first part and Butler for the second. [1]
  • This is the only episode of any Star Trek series which uses a captain's log to recap the events of the previous episode in a story arc. All others use a more traditional "previously on…"-type of recap. The portion of the recap where Spock pleads guilty was not seen in part 1 and may have been recorded solely for this episode.
  • In a deleted scene from this episode, McCoy and Scott explain to Kirk how they figured out which computer bank Spock tampered with to lock the ship on course. They took perspiration readings on all banks, and since Spock's sweat has copper in it, traces of copper were found. [2]

Cast[]

Preview[]

  • The preview is from the perspective of Spock: "This is Mister Spock. You'll learn next why returning Captain Pike to Talos IV was worth risking my life and Captain Kirk's career. Join us then to see the conclusion of the incredible adventure on that forbidden planet." It is implied but not stated that the word after next is "week".

Reception[]

  • Along with Part 1, this episode won the 1967 Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation".
  • Gene Roddenberry picked the whole two-parter as one of his ten favorite episodes for the franchise's 25th anniversary. (TV Guide [page number? • edit] August 31, 1991)

Remastered information[]

  • "The Menagerie, Part II" was the thirteenth remastered episode of the The Original Series to air. It premiered in syndication the weekend of 2 December 2006. Among several new, digital shots created for the episode, a new, more realistic digital matte painting of the Mojave replaces the original backdrop, as does a high quality shot of Rigel VII and Talos IV from space.
  • A limited-time-only theatrical presentation with "The Menagerie, Part I" occurred on 13 November 2007 and 15 November 2007. It included a message from Gene "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr., a twenty-minute "making of" documentary about the restoration process, and a trailer for Season Two of the remastered series. [3](X)

The next remastered episode to air was "The Corbomite Maneuver".

Video and DVD releases[]

Unusually, this tape contained both parts of "The Menagerie" (usually, US releases were single-episode).

Links and references[]

Starring[]

Also starring[]

Special guest star[]

Guest star[]

Also starring[]

Featuring[]

And

Uncredited co-stars[]

Uncredited co-stars appearing in the original Star Trek episode[]

References[]

2236; 2254; Adam and Eve; adaptability; "all right"; alternative; ancestor; animal (creature); answer; bargain; beauty; blood; bluff; boasting; brain; bridle; bravery; breeding stock; briefing room; cage; captivity; career; cell; century; chance; childhood; children; choice; circuit; clothing; coffee; colony; color; Columbia, SS; community; computer; confusion; contact; continent; conversation; cooperation; course; custom; danger; death; death penalty; deception; deck; desire; dignity; disaster; distress signal; dream; dress; Earth; emotion (aka emotionalism); encampment; engage; engineering deck; event; evidence; evil; experience; experiment; eye; fable; family; fatigue; feeling; flesh; fly; forced chamber explosion; frustration; general court martial; General Order 7; guilt; hair; hand; hate; head; hearing room; Hell-Fire; helm; hope; hour; Human; Human history; hunger; husband; hyperdrive; illusion; image; imprisonment; inhabitant; injury; intelligence; jailer; Kalar; keeper; laser; laser cannon; laser weapon; lie; life; logic; machine; Mary Lou; memory; memory capacity; menagerie; mental power; Milky Way Galaxy; mind; minute; mutilate; name; narcotic; neck; nourishment; order; Orion slave girl; overload; person; physical body; Picasso; place; planet; plant; plea; power; prisoner; proof; protectiveness; protein complex; punishment; quality; question; reality; red; relationship; Rigel VII; Rigel VII moon; rock; sabotage; saddle; screen; second; session; ship's captain; shuttlecraft; signal; slave; society; soul; space; spaceship/space vehicle; space regulations; specimen; Starfleet; stellar group; strength of will; subject; sugar; surface; survey expedition; survivor; sympathy; table; Talos IV; Talos system; Talosians; Tango; telepathy; theater; theory; thermos; thing; thought; thought record; thousand; threat; trade; transmission; trap; trial; tricking; universe; vegetation; verdict; vial; volunteer; vote; wall; war; week; wife; window (transparency); year; youth; zoo; zoological garden

Unreferenced materials[]

body chemistry; calcium; copper; McCoy, Leonard; perspiration; salt; Scott, Montgomery; skin; sodium; spectrograph beam; Sulu, Hikaru; tapes; Vulcan

External links[]

Previous episode produced:
"The Menagerie, Part I" 		Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1 		Next episode produced:
"Shore Leave"
Previous episode aired:
"The Menagerie, Part I" 		Next episode aired:
"The Conscience of the King"
Previous remastered episode aired:
"The Menagerie, Part I" 		TOS Remastered Next remastered episode aired:
"The Corbomite Maneuver"
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