Star Trek Discovery & Captain Pike

My dad is a huge fan of The Original Series so he was a little hesitant about Discovery and but I think season two managed to do some things that he really enjoyed. Particularly related to Captain Pike. What he enjoyed specifically was the references to the original pilot( The Cage) with Captain Pike. I enjoyed how Discovery tied in with The Cage but I enjoyed even more Anson Mount's performance as Pike. He really stepped right in to play Pike and didn't even skip a beat. It was so enjoyable to watch him on screen with the Discovery crew. I am absolutely thrilled that Pike, Spock, and Number One will be getting their own Star Trek series with the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds. I also like the title they chose referencing the speech Kirk and Picard give in The Original Series and Next Generation episode opener.

However, I want to talk more about how Discovery tied into The Cage and how well they did it, as I think it was probably the best part of the entire season.  So let's go through what was well done.

The first thing my dad noticed with tying it into The Original Series and The Cage is Number One. I really wish we had her actual name but it wasn't revealed in Discovery and I think it is the only choice that I find a little odd but I digress. However, the choice to keep Number One and have her be a woman just like in the original series let along make sure she was brunet shows attention to detail. My dad talked about what a big deal it was to have a first officer be a woman and it was not received well and Gene Roddenberry was forced to change and not have a woman first officer. But Discovery has brought Number One back and I am excited to get to know her more.


The second part that Discovery tied specifically to The Cage was including the planet Telos IV and the Telosians. It gave a clear and firm tie. My dad was actually quite please with the upgrade the Telosions got in design. Yes it doesn't look exactly like in The Original Series but special effects makeup and CGI have upgraded. However, Discovery stayed true to the original concept of the design. Vina also being there provided a clear tie to The Cage. I am not sure if I fully understood her connection to Captain Pike but maybe I need to rewatch The Cage to get a bigger picture. However, I also know that Discovery was also handling what we know will happen to Captain Pike in the future.

I am looking forward to when Covid-19 will allow filming to happen and we can watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.