"The Cage" Artwork

Not much to post this time, but I wanted to spotlight a couple of images I found around the web. First, an amazing painting of 'The Cage" found at www.SpaceboyComics.com! They do a fantastic job of combining all of the most iconic images from the pilot. One of the things I like about "The Cage" is that is gives the universe we know from the series a sense of history; that there was a crew before the one we are familiar with. Although largely an issue of practicality (to use the expensive footage and to stave off deadlines where no other scripts were ready), the way it was used in "The Menagerie" made the most of having the footage, and incorporating it into the history of the characters was done in such a way as to make it feel entirely planned (more naturally than George Lucas' retroactive decision to make Luke and Leia siblings and Darth their father). Gene's idea for doing this, in the way he did, was pure (if pragmatic) genius, and as a result we have the series only two-parter (which really felt like "an event") with a special story and feel. 

(Click on images to enlarge. Once open, you may have to click again to view full-size.)

Bonus: I have found this photo only one other place, in an article that I posted awhile back. But here is the photo itself without the cheap magazine paper degrading the image. This is a special photo made behind the scenes of "Plato's Stepchildren." Wow!

Bonus link: Speaking of Lucas, here is a well-done video mashup bringing the Enterprise and crew into conflict with the Star Wars universe!