Star Trek: "The Menagerie"

Data
Title: Star Trek: “The Menagerie”
Year: 1966
Network: NBC
Episode: the eleventh and twelfth (of twenty-nine) from season one; 50 minutes each
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Directors: Marc Daniels & Robert Butler
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Jeffrey Hunter, Susan Oliver, Malachi Throne
Music: Alexander Courage
I saw it: on video and TV several times, most recently yesterday (have on DVD)
Synopsis: Spock steals the Enterprise in order to force a paraplegic to go to a forbidden planet



My reaction
Concept:
Story: They didn't succeed too well in melding the footage from "The Cage" into a new story. It's almost like one of those clips episodes TV shows always did in the 80s and 90s. They probably did as well as they could - the plot of the new footage is bold and high stakes, not just a frame - but there's not much you can do when your story needs to revolve around watching videos.
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing: Despite the awkward construction, it's still pretty exciting - especially the first half of part one, before you know where it's going.
Cinematography:
Special effects/design: The budget for "The Cage" must have been enormous.
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, ). "The Cage" was a good enough episode that this one, which cannibalizes its footage, still manages to be great.
Objective Rating (Average):