Captain Christopher Pike is technically the first “Star Trek” starship captain ever. “The Original Series” pilot “The Cage” featured Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and the starship Enterprise visiting the planet Talos IV, where Pike is abducted by psychic aliens and must weather their illusions. But NBC found “The Cage” to be an unsatisfactory pilot for “Star Trek.” Creator Gene Roddenberry went back to the board, overhauling the show with an almost entirely new main cast. (Only Spock/Leonard Nimoy stayed on.)

Instead of just being forgotten, though, “The Cage” became part of “Trek” canon. Two-parter “The Menagerie” used clips from “The Cage,” saving money on new footage and telling a compelling mystery. Captain Pike wasn’t just a character prototype for Captain Kirk (William Shtner), Pike was literally the captain of the Enterprise before Kirk was. And now, thanks to the 2022 series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Pike (now played by Anson Mount) is finally starring in a show of his own.

Set a handful of years before the original “Star Trek,” “Strange New Worlds” follows the Enterprise under Pike’s command as it explores the final frontier. The series is purposefully old-fashioned, telling episodic stories about the Enterprise crew having adventures right out of “TOS.” Same Enterprise, different captain.

After the season 1 finale of “Strange New Worlds” in 2022, Anson Mount explained — in an interview with Esquire — how he and showrunner Henry Alonso Myers work to make sure Pike isn’t a carbon copy of Kirk. “The defining quality of Kirk is machismo or bravado. The defining characteristic for Picard, perhaps, is intellect,” said Mount, weighing the different leadership qualities of past “Star Trek” captains. Where does Pike fit into that? “I would like that defining quality for Pike to be the heart. That’s the best I can put it.”

The “Strange New Worlds” season 1 finale “A Quality of Mercy” introduced the show’s take on James T. Kirk (played by Paul Wesley). From the events of “The Menagerie,” we know that after stepping down as Enterprise captain, Pike will be horribly injured and end up living out his days on Talos IV. Pike had a vision of his grim future in “Star Trek: Discovery” and is understandably troubled by it.

In “A Quality of Mercy,” Pike’s own future self shows him why he can’t fight fate, by bringing him forward several years to when the Enterprise makes contact with the Romulans (as depicted in the classic episode “Balance of Terror”). In this timeline, Pike is still captain of the Enterprise, so Kirk wound up as captain of the U.S.S. Farragut instead. Kirk and the Farragut join the Enterprise in pursuing the Romulans, but Pike is still the more senior captain. The episode’s conclusion is that Pike’s more diplomatic approach to the crisis would result in disaster and war, which didn’t happen under Kirk’s more decisive hand in “Balance of Terror.”

The episode is all about exploring the differences between Pike and Kirk’s command style. In “Strange New Worlds” Pike has more of a wholesome “team dad” vibe. His hobbies include cooking and he’s in a semi-committed relationship with another captain, Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano). Kirk was always cooler and more a man of action; he’ll make gambles that Pike won’t. The J.J. Abrams “Star Trek” movies overdid that and turned Kirk (Chris Pine) into a borderline meathead skirt-chaser. “Strange New Worlds” rights the ship with Wesley’s Kirk, who is cool under pressure and an outside the box thinker but not outright arrogant either.

Kirk (who’s currently only a lieutenant) became a recurring character in “Strange New Worlds” season 2. We’ll see how much of a mentor Pike tries to be to his eventual successor, but Mount told Esquire that he hopes “Pike can give Kirk just enough of that heart for Kirk.”

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is streaming on Paramount+. “Strange New Worlds” season 3 is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, July 17, 2025.