Star Trek Strange New Worlds: A Journey through Time with Captain Pike – the iconic Captain in retrospect

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS

December 08, 2022 at 6:30 p.m

Star Trek icon Captain Christopher Pike leads his own series in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but the character has been around for over 55 years and has been played by different actors.

• With “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” Captain Christopher Pike leads his own series for the first time.
• Pike was originally supposed to be the main character as Captain of the Enterprise in 1965, but was left out in favor of Captain Kirk.
• Still, Pike has been an iconic role since the ’60s. In 2009’s “Star Trek,” the role was reprized. We’ll take you through the years with Captain Pike!

With the launch of Paramount+ in Germany, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” finally started streaming in this country. The series revolves around the starship Enterprise, led by Captain Pike (Anson Mount). In the “Star Trek” chronology, Captain Christopher Pike is the predecessor of Captain James T. Kirk and has been a household name for Trekkies since the 1960s.

Actor Anson Mount quickly became a fan favorite after appearing in Star Trek: Discovery, giving him his own series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Mount was able to convince despite big footsteps that had to be filled!

Since Pike has rarely appeared in the films and series, he quickly became something of a mythical figure for fans. A moral “Star Trek” captain who acts sincerely and selflessly. A shining example of what Starfleet is all about.

We take a look back at Pike’s evolution through the years – from Jeffrey Hunter to Bruce Greenwood to Anson Mount!

1. 1965 Star Trek pilot: Jeffrey Hunter plays Captain Pike for the first time

2. “Star Trek” 2009: Bruce Greenwood breathes new life into Pike

3. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” 2022: Anson Mounts Pike becomes a fan favorite

1965 Star Trek pilot: Jeffrey Hunter plays Captain Pike for the first time

In 1965 the “Star Trek” pilot film was produced: “The Cage”. “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry shot the space adventure for US broadcaster NBC and introduced his cast around Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. Hunter portrayed a dutiful captain struggling with self-doubt.

Hunters Pike was a bit disillusioned and struggled with being lonely as captain. A profound main character, who was less well received by the then broadcaster NBC. So Gene Roddenberry had to change the character for the series and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) became the captain of the Enterprise.

Kirk was received much better by the network and the series went into production. However, Pike was not simply deleted from the series. Roddenberry made Kirk Pike’s successor and used the scenes filmed with Jeffrey Hunter for a double episode of Starship Enterprise.

The double episode takes place after Pike’s fatal accident. The former captain is confined to a wheelchair and brought to Talos IV by Spock (Leonard Nimoy). There, through telepathic abilities, he is given the opportunity to spend a pleasant old age.

Although the scenes with Jeffrey Hunter were used for the double episode “Talos IV – Taboo”, Sean Kenney played Pike, confined to a wheelchair with a scarred face.

The actual pilot film “The Cage” was not broadcast until 1988. Previously, Roddenberry only showed the Pike adventure at fan conventions, so Pike quickly became a hot tip among die-hard fans. For others, Kirk’s predecessor was previously just a minor character.