William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk replaced the original Captain of the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Christopher Pike, who was played by Jeffrey Hunter. Hunter starred in the first Star Trek pilot that creator Gene Roddenberry wrote and produced for NBC studios, "The Cage". Star Trek's original pilot featured Captain Pike as a prisoner of the Talosians, highly intelligent aliens intent on keeping Pike on Talos IV as a mate for Vina (Susan Oliver), whom they'd rescued from a downed starship 18 years earlier. The Talosians would provide for Pike's every need and want through their impressive telepathic skill, but Pike would be trapped in the fantasy with Vina.
According to NBC execs, "The Cage" was "too cerebral" for 1960s audiences, with a focus on the questions raised by a difficult morality play, instead of the pulpy, sci-fi action-adventure series - "Wagon Train to the stars" - that the network was expecting. In fact, producers thought little about Star Trek actually worked. Leonard Nimoy's Spock was "demonic", with his pointed ears and brows. Majel Barrett's Number One, the USS Enterprise's First Officer, was too serious - and a woman. Most importantly, Jeff Hunter's Captain Pike didn't seem like the right kind of leading man for Star Trek. Instead of scrapping Star Trek, however, NBC ordered a second pilot, with one caveat: the entire cast needed to be replaced.
Why Jeffrey Hunter Was Replaced By William Shatner as Star Trek’s Captain
NBC Executives Wanted Roddenberry To Retool Star Trek's Pilot
Jeffrey Hunter's Captain Christopher Pike was replaced by William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk as part of NBC's bid to completely revamp Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek concept. In exchange for another shot at making Star Trek, Roddenberry agreed to most of NBC's terms. Captain Christopher Pike was out, and Twilight Zone actor William Shatner was brought on as Star Trek's new leading man, Captain James T. Kirk. The studio allowed Roddenberry to keep one of the original characters, and since it was important to the theme of Star Trek that an alien be among the Starship Enterprise's bridge crew, Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock got to stay.
Freed from Star Trek, Jeffrey Hunter pursued movie roles instead of languishing on a television series.
Besides being asked to leave, Jeffrey Hunter simply didn't want to do Star Trek after the first pilot. Jeffrey Hunter was convinced by his wife, Barbara Rush, that he was a movie star, so Hunter refused to return to TV. Freed from Star Trek, Hunter pursued movie roles instead of languishing on a television series. Pike's stint as the Enterprise captain was explained as preceding Kirk's in Star Trek: The Original Series in season 1, episodes 11 & 12, "The Menagerie". The TOS two-parter interspersed footage from "The Cage" with new material that featured Sean Kenney as Captain Pike, now disfigured by a tragic accident.
It Took Over 50 Years For Captain Pike To Return To Star Trek TV
Anson Mount Plays Captain Pike In Star Trek: Discovery And Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
It took over 50 years for Captain Christopher Pike to return to a Star Trek television series. Captain Christopher Pike was little more than the answer to a trivia question until Anson Mount's version of Captain Pike debuted in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, which also featured Ethan Peck as Lieutenant Spock, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and brand-new USS Enterprise sets. As Captain of the USS Discovery, Anson Mount's Christopher Pike was a full-fledged character and a compassionate captain. Pike and his original USS Enterprise crew generated demand for the show that Star Trek: The Original Series would have been if Hunter's Pike hadn't been replaced with Shatner's Kirk.
J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) rebooted the franchise with Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) preceding Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) as captain of the USS Enterprise, but Kirk is unquestionably the lead of Abrams' Star Trek movies.
Anson Mount's Captain Christopher Pike leads Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, in what may be the longest time ever between a show's pilot and its series order, as Roddenberry's original concepts are updated for the Star Trek: The Original Series prequel. Captain Christopher Pike, Number One, and Mr. Spock are all present in the cast of Strange New Worlds, joined by other familiar characters from Star Trek: The Original Series like Jess Bush's Nurse Christine Chapel and Celia Rose Gooding's Ensigh Nyota Uhura. But Star Trek never would have launched or become a phenomenon without Jeffrey Hunter's Pike being replaced by William Shatner's Kirk as the Enterprise Captain in Star Trek: The Original Series.
