Star Trek: Strange New Worlds succeeds where "The Cage" and Star Trek 2009 did not

Despite being one of the oldest characters in Star Trek history, Captain Christopher Pike wasn't really a compelling character until Anson Mount took the role in Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery. Even then, it has taken Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for Pike to really come into his own as a likable, inspirational lead character. Part of this is because he's not exactly like previous versions of Pike.

Captain Pike first appeared in the original Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage." Portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter, this Pike was irritable and brooding. He was not only isolated from his crew but openly adversarial with various members. While "The Cage" is an interesting episode overall, it is reasonable to say that this Captain Pike is not really all that fun to watch.

Of course, various elements of "The Cage" got repurposed into the 2-part Original Series episode "The Menagerie." This offered a comparison between Hunter's Captain Pike and the ultimate series lead, William Shatner's Captain Kirk. This Pike's cold standoffishness stands in sharp contrast to the wamer amiability and charm of Captain Kirk.

Skip forward nearly 50 years, and a new version of Captain Pike appears in J. J. Abrams' 2009 film Star Trek (and the 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness). This Captain Pike [Bruce Greenwood] is essentially a stock character of the "father figure" variety. Beyond motivating other characters, there isn't much to him. (He does say "punch it" to engage warp in the 2009 film, though, which may be an early form of Mount's "hit it" catchphrase.)

Up to that point, Christopher Pike was not exactly suited to be a compelling character. Even if his uncertainty about command in "The Cage" could be relatable, it really does come across more as whining than anything, and beyond "The Cage," Pike effectively served as a prop to motivate other characters' stories. Then, Pike appeared in Star Trek: Discovery.

While Pike was a supporting character to Sonequa Martin-Green's Michael Burnham, Anson Mount's performance as the legendary captain in season 2 was honestly wonderful. Rather than isolated and adversarial, Pike was warm and open. He was knowledgeable and thoughtful. This was established in Discovery and is now in full display on Strange New Worlds.

It is not a ding against Hunter, Greenwood, or the writers of "The Cage" [Gene Roddenberry] and Star Trek 2009 [Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman] to acknowledge that these iterations of Captain Pike are not as compelling as the Pike we have now.

Anson Mount and the writers for Strange New Worlds have obviously retained elements of "The Cage" version of Pike, like his ambivalence about command, but they have also infused him with a wonderful charm. In some ways, it almost feels like this Pike has been mixed a bit with Commander Riker, from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and not just because Riker cooks in that one episode.

In TNG, Commander Riker cultivates close relationships with various members of the crew, which builds trust and confidence among the crew. This is seen in the poker scenes, as well as Riker's regular presence in Ten Forward. Even though, Pike is a bit less involved, due to his position as Captain, he makes himself someone his crew can talk to by not placing himself on a pedestal.

By making Pike a warm, kind, open character, fans are invited to trust and care about him. Seeing that he isn't completely isolated from the people around him also makes his private struggles more salient. The Pike seen in Strange New Worlds is one I want to watch. I'm not sure I'd want to watch a series about the Pike we saw in "The Cage" or in Star Trek 2009.