How well do you know Star Trek's two different pilot episodes?

This in-depth quiz was made for Trekkers by a Trekker.

Thanks to MeTV fan Christopher Seeley from Killeen, Texas, for submitting this quiz! Do you have a great idea for a quiz? Share it with us!

When it comes to the origins of Star Trek, things get a little confusing. Series creator Gene Roddenberry wrote a pilot episode called "The Cage" that features the starship Enterprise but with Captain Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter, at left in the image above) at the helm, not James T. Kirk. Filmed in early 1965, it was rejected for being too slow and intellectual. It wasn't a complete waste, however, as the footage was used in the two-part episode "The Menagerie."

Roddenberry got a second chance with the story "Where No Man Has Gone Before," written by frequent Western scribe Samuel A. Peeples. A more action-oriented, less cerebral plot convinced the executives at NBC to move forward with the show.

But the confusion really stems from the fact that the second pilot filmed wasn't the first episode to air! The very first Star Trek installment on TV was "The Man Trap." "Where No Man Has Gone Before" aired third. 

Of course, this is all old news to dedicated Trekkies. How well do you know this iconic series' two pilot episodes? See how many you can get right in this fan-made quiz!


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  1. What was Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry's original concept for Star Trek?
  2. In "The Cage," the Enterprise loses three crewmen and sustains injuries to seven additional crew members in a battle on which planet?
  3. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before," the Enterprise encounters an old-style ship recorder from which vessel?
  4. In "The Cage," the scientists from the crashed ship SS Columbia belonged to which institution?
  5. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before," what is Captain James R. Kirk (William Shatner) surprised to see LCDR Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) reading in sickbay?
  6. In "The Cage," which emotion blocks Captain Christopher Pike's (Jeffrey Hunter) thoughts from the Talosians?
  7. Paul Carr (Lt. Lee Kelso in "Where No Man Has Gone Before") appears as a bridge officer on which sci-fi series?
  8. What was actor Malachi Throne's (Commodore Jose Mendez) first contribution to Star Trek in "The Cage"?
  9. Who wrote the poem "Nightingale Woman" as revealed in "Where No Man Has Gone Before"?
  10. Where was Captain Christopher Pike from "The Cage" born?
  11. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before," an Enterprise landing party visits a lithium cracking station located on which planet?
  12. In "The Cage," Vina (Susan Oliver) appears to Captain Pike in a variety of forms. Which of the following was NOT one of them?
  13. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before," LCDR Gary Mitchell used his powers to conjure up food for himself and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner (Sally Kellerman). Which food was it?
  14. Majel Barrett, who played Captain Pike's Number One in "The Cage" went on to what Star Trek role?
  15. John Hoyt (Dr. Philip Boyce from "The Cage") and Paul Fix (Dr. Mark Piper from "Where No Man Has Gone Before") were both in the episode "The Martinet" of which TV Western?
  16. Which Hollywood legend saved Star Trek from cancellation in February 1966 before the series even really began?

How well do you know Star Trek's two different pilot episodes?

Your Result...

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132 Comments

DMZMAN 8 months ago
What was the name of Captain Pike's horse?
JohnAustin779 33 months ago
I got 11 out of 16 correct. Some of these questions were pretty tough! Great quiz though 🖖.
DIGGER1 35 months ago
How well do you know Star Trek's two different pilot episodes?
You got 15 out of 16
Was this quiz familiar territory or were you out of your element?
Snickers 36 months ago
14 out of 16. Anyone notice that in the episode "Where no man has gone Before" the headstone on Kirk's grave reads James R kirk instead of James T Kirk?
srrainwater 36 months ago
15/16. Blue shirt wins. Wife's score? Well let me start digging redshirt sized hole!
Terrence 37 months ago
4 correct and those were all guesses
htgaines 37 months ago
I knew the actor playing lee Kelso appeared on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, never realized he was on Buck Rogers too. And I have the full 2 season set on dvd!
Deleted 38 months ago
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texasluva 38 months ago
okay placing that into word pad. next
texasluva 38 months ago
I have like 25 windows open. Let me close some to see your #1 hint LOL
Grabar 39 months ago
Wasn't it James T. Kirk - T for Tiberius? I believe y’all wrote R. Or was it R in the ‘The Cage’?
jamiahsh Grabar 39 months ago
Kirk was not in The Cage. In Where No Man Has Gone Before, the Captain’s “tombstone” (fashioned by his best friend-turned-advanced being) read incorrectly “James R. Kirk.” Apparently “gods” are not all that, after all.
htgaines jamiahsh 37 months ago
The T didn't officially stand for Tiberius until the Star Trek animated series in '73/74.
Hogansucks1 39 months ago
16 for 16. “(The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few)”. “(Or the One)” 🤨 🖖
GregLemieux 39 months ago
13/16. I've never gotten around to seeing "The Cage" on its own.
Lacey GregLemieux 38 months ago
Svengoolie showed it not all that long ago.
StrayCat GregLemieux 37 months ago
i have a VHS of it. it was in black & white.
Wiseguy StrayCat 37 months ago
It was filmed in color (otherwise it couldn't have been used in "The Menagerie." No colorization back then. For some reason, a B&W copy was made, then after the color version was used in The Menagerie, the color version was lost. The first VHS release could only use the B&W version. In the late 1980s, the color version was found and it was broadcast* as a special during the first season of The Next Generation.

* actually what was broadcast and later released on VHS was a hybrid of scenes from "The Cage" and scenes from "The Menagerie," which is why The Keeper's voice keeps switching from the original (Malachi Throne) in scenes not used in "The Menagerie" and the final voice.

Artsynanna 39 months ago
This quiz was harder than I thought it would be.
Wiseguy 39 months ago
When narrating the footage from The Cage in The Menagerie Spock makes one of his infrequent mistakes. He says the Enterprise was returning from a routine patrol when they encountered the distress call. Actually they had been in a fight with aliens on Rigel VII wherein several members of the Enterprise crew were killed or injured including Spock (injured, that's why he is seen limping) and the Captain's yeoman (killed). Hardly a routine patrol. Spock should have reviewed the footage first.
Hogansucks1 Wiseguy 39 months ago
‘Quite’
Pacificsun Wiseguy 38 months ago
He was (also) limping because of a twisted ankle on the actual shoot. That's why it didn't persist.
jimmyvici 39 months ago
Set phasers to kill. This quiz is dead to me.
Deleted 39 months ago
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jamiahsh 39 months ago
Don’t forget, he also played Jesus, himself in King of Kings
Pacificsun 38 months ago
He was a good actor, just too serious to be "Jim Kirk" throughout an entire series!
Snickers 36 months ago
I think he would have made a great captain
JDnHuntsvilleAL 39 months ago
THROW OUT #7 & #15. The quiz is about how well we know STAR TREK, not other shows.
cseeley90 JDnHuntsvilleAL 39 months ago
Did you get those questions right?
Filmnoirfan 40 months ago
9/16 - guessed on all of them - never seen either episode
Mac2Nite 40 months ago
15 out of 16. Didn't know Capt Pike was from "Mojave." Didn't know Mojave was an actual place unless you add "Desert" or "River" to it... and still am not convinced it is. The word Mojave by itself refers to the Native People indigenous to the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert. So, I can see how and why I missed it... and question whether the author of this quiz left something out. 🧐
Hogansucks1 Mac2Nite 39 months ago
Yea- they left out the state/ country of origin after Mojave. It should have been correct, not only out of respect to the indigenous tribes, but the readers also. I’m sure that was not their intent ! 😊. (Mojave, CA.) 🤓
Hogansucks1 Mac2Nite 39 months ago
THE city of Mojave, CA. U.S.A.- is just N.W. of Andrews Airforce Base, CA. U.S.A. 🧐 😊
Wiseguy Mac2Nite 37 months ago
Vina says it used to be a desert in the "olden days" so it may be where the desert USED to be (where it is now).
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