Quote Originally Posted by ImperiousLeader View Post
As for character assassination ... well, it's clear the intent is to try and draw a line between the emotional Spock we get in "The Cage" vs. the more controlled Spock we see with Kirk. Given he's not even on screen yet, it's early.
Well that's disappointing. If you're going to do a backstory for an iconic character, incorporating continuity to an early sketch from the canceled pilot seems like an unnecessary dramatic limitation.

I don't have an issue with Spock getting a backstory, but I'm left cold by the modern push to explain everything in geek fiction. I like my clockwork universes as much as the next nerd but...not everything requires an explanation.

The former Half Martian who appears in "The Cage" isn't Spock, he's a 'barking sergeant' before the writers and Nimoy figured out what the character was about. Even meticulously plotted drama still goes through early and trial and error. It sounds more interesting to start with the iconic end point, and work backwards without regard for a developmental oddity in the pilot. Perhaps if "The Menagerie" was a stellar episode to elevate the clip show of Pike's adventure...but its not even the best Court Martial episode in TOS, let alone Star Trek.

Hopefully this goes somewhere interesting. My fear is we're getting more historical revision like the episode of Enterprise that felt the need to explain why makeup for Klingons in the 60s was less sophisticated than later installments.