Lucille Ball - The Cage - A Cultural Icon

[carolinarider09]

I was and, to some degree, still am an avid Star Trek "watcher", fan, or just liked the show and characters.   Just what I expected from the future of space travel.  And I have read a lot of science fiction in my life......

But, what I did not know (or just forgot and found out again) was who pushed the original Star Trek series into the public view. 

How Lucille Ball Helped Star Trek Become a Cultural Icon

The journey to get Star Trek: The Original Series on television was a long and arduous one, but series creator Gene Roddenberry had help from an unlikely heroine. Without the help of this woman and her studio, the franchise may have stalled and never seen the light of day. And so, as we spare a thought today for "The Cage," the original pilot for The Original Series shot on this day in 1964, we must also remember to think fondly of the incomparable Lucille Ball.

Ball is, of course, most familiar to the world as the comedic star of I Love Lucy, the show she produced and starred in alongside her husband Desi Arnaz. The success of the sitcom, which ran for six years, allowed her and her husband to purchase their own studio, Desilu Productions. When Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960 she took over the studio herself, making her one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

More at the link below if you are so inclined.

https://www.startrek.com/news/how-lucille-ball-helped-star-trek-become-a-cultural-icon

[98valk]

thanks

[flsix]

Didn't know she was instrumental in the launching of the series. Thanks for the link.

[Flat 6 man]

"The Cage" was the first pilot (the second was "Where No Man Has Gone Before"). "The Cage" was not aired as an episode since it had a different cast (Jeffrey Hunter played the captain), but it did not go to waste. It was used to make the two-part episode (the only two-part episode) called "The Menagerie."

[Oss]

The Cage was a great concept

Interesting the evolution of Spock and others between the 1st pilot and the Menagerie's  airing

In high school I read as much Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein and Bradbury as I could get my hands on

I graduated HS in 1973

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was before its time in many ways

The electromagnetic catapult was a genius idea, throwing rocks from the moon, cheap and effective