Why Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) replaced Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) is one of Star Trek's oldest questions. Star Trek's original pilot episode, "The Cage," starred Pike as a moody and contemplative Captain of the USS Enterprise. NBC passed on that incarnation of Star Trek but made the remarkable decision to commission a second pilot. Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, reconceived his series lead as the more dynamic Captain Kirk, and the rest is television history.
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