Susan Oliver played Star Trek‘s first ever captain’s love interest in the unaired Star Trek: The Original Series pilot, “The Cage”. Rejected by the network for being too cerebral, “The Cage” saw Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) get captured by the Talosians, who believed that he could be a worthy mate for Vina, and tested the couple in a variety of scenarios. Pike’s resistance convinced the Talosians that he and Vina would not repopulate their planet after all. After Lucille Ball saved Star Trek by convincing the network to give it another chance, “The Cage” was repurposed for “The Menagerie”, which gave Pike and Vina their happy ending.

If production on Star Trek: The Original Series season 1 hadn’t fallen behind, then it’s possible that Vina and Pike’s Enterprise crew could have been lost to time. Because “The Menagerie” canonized Star Trek‘s unaired pilot, it allowed Star Trek: Discovery to reintroduce Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and even Vina (Melissa George). This led to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds being commissioned, which now bridges the gap between the events of “The Cage”, the second TOS pilot and Pike’s happy ending with his first Star Trek love interest.

Susan Oliver Played Vina In Star Trek’s Original Pilot “The Cage”

In Star Trek‘s original pilot, “The Cage”, Vina was the sole human inhabitant of Talos IV, following the crash of the SS Columbus in 2236. The Talosians were able to bring the ailing Vina back to life. However, the Talosians’ lack of knowledge about human physiology meant that, while physically healthy, her body was scarred and misshapen. Because of this, Vina opted to remain on Talos IV instead of leaving with Captain Pike, because she wanted to keep her illusion of youthful beauty. She would later be joined by the critically wounded Fleet Captain Pike (Sean Kenney) at the end of “The Menagerie”.

Susan Oliver was cast as Vina at the suggestion of studio executive Oscar Katz, who became the subject of an on-set joke due to his “religious” avoidance of set visits. Susan Oliver carried around a sign which read “Oscar, Where Are You?” which appeared in several set photos. Oliver had a prolific career as a TV guest actor, becoming one of many Star Trek actors in The Twilight Zone, when she played a Martian in “People Are Alike All Over”. Susan Oliver was also a pilot, and was nominated for an Emmy for playing ‘Snookie’ in the 1976 NBC TV movie, Amelia Earheart.

The 2014 documentary The Green Girl was a feature-length tribute to Susan Oliver’s life and work, which contained a surprising revelation about a late career connection to Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the 1980s, Susan Oliver tried her hand at directing television, with one episode of M.A.S.H and another of Trapper John, M.D. on her list of credits. When TNG entered production in the late 1980s, Oliver offered to direct an episode, but was rejected due to her inexperience with visual effects.

Vina Returned In Star Trek: Discovery

Discovery Season 2, Episode 8, “If Memory Serves”.

Over 50 years after Susan Oliver’s portrayal of Vina in “The Cage”, Melissa George played Vina in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, episode 8, “If Memory Serves”. Set three years after the events of “The Cage”, Captain Pike returned to Talos IV to seek the Talosians’ help with restoring the damaged mind of Spock (Ethan Peck). Vina aided Pike, Spock and Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) in evading Section 31 operatives. Pike traveling to Talos IV to save Spock ultimately set up the Vulcan’s own mission to return to the planet to save his former captain in Star Trek: The Original Series, reuniting Pike and Vina for good.