 | |
| Vina | |
| Continuity: | Star Trek |
| Type: | Minor character |
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | SS Columbia; Talos IV |
| Status: | Alive |
| Born: | 2206 [1] |
| First: | Star Trek: The Cage |
| Actor: | Susan Oliver |
Vina was a fictional character featured in the Star Trek television franchise. Played by actress Susan Oliver, she appeared in the original unaired pilot episode of the first Star Trek series "The Cage".
Biography[]
Vina was a crew member aboard the scientific research vessel, the SS Columbia. In the year 2236, the Columbia crash-landed on the planet Talos IV. All of the crew members had died in the crash save Vina, who had been seriously injured. The native inhabitants of the planet, the Talosians, had never seen an Earth woman before. They tried to heal her injuries, but with no knowledge of human anatomy, they were unable to put her back together properly. Vina survived the procedure, but was horribly disfigured. The Talosians were telepathic creatures and used their abilities to plant the image in Vina's mind that she was healthy and beautiful. They imprisoned her as one of many specimens in their underground zoo, but did not regard this treatment as inhumane. In fact, they believed they were improving Vina's quality of life by keeping her contained. As the surface of Talos IV had only recently begun to support life again, the Talosians decided that Vina would serve as their "Eve" in the hopes of repopulating the world (presumably, the Talosians were incapable of reproducing on their own any longer, possibly as a side effect of the radioactive elements on the planet's surface). Years passed and Vina's life remained relatively unchanged. Living in a fantasy reality, she no longer had any concept of the passage of time.
Eighteen years later, in the year 2254, the USS starship Enterprise received a distress signal originating from the Talos Star Group. The crew believed that it had been sent by the SS Columbia. This was but another trick of the Talosians who manipulated the ship's sensors, luring them to their planet. A six-man landing party came to the surface of Talos IV to investigate. The Talosians created the illusion of an encampment filled with various survivors from the crash. Among them was Vina. Dressed in simple attire, she immediately found herself attracted to the landing crew's captain, Christopher Pike. Under orders from the Talosians, she lured Captain Pike towards a canyon wall, which concealed a doorway into the Talosian underground. Pike was captured and locked inside a transparent cage - one more helpless prisoner of the Talosians' menagerie. The Talosians believed that Captain Pike would serve as an adequate "Adam" to Vina's "Eve".
Vina as an Orion slave girl.
Vina appeared to him in his cell. She offered him the opportunity to live out any dream or fantasy he could imagine. All he had to do was submit to the Talosians' will. Like any sentient being, Pike was unwilling to spend his life living in a cell, no matter how appealing his jailers might make it appear. Vina continued to offer ways of pleasing him and she appeared before him in several different guises. She appeared as a princess on Rigel VII. She appeared as his wife back in his home town of Mojave. She even appeared as an Orion slave girl at the Orion colony. Ultimately however, Pike dismissed all of these images, knowing that none of them were real.
The Talosians quickly discovered that humans were too primal and violent and they could never expect someone such as Pike to become the caretaker of a new race. They decided to let him go and showed that they harbored no ill will towards him. They even dispelled the illusion they cast over Vina, revealing her true visage (she was actually much older than she appeared to be previously). Pike asked the Talosians to restore Vina's illusion of beauty. Pike left Talos IV, but the Talosians created the image in Vina's mind that he had remained. Vina experienced the fantasy of Pike and she living out their days together in happiness. [2]
Thirteen years later, Captain Pike was crippled in an accident that left him a quadriplegic. He was invited back to Talos IV where the Talosians were able to provide him with the appearance of restored health. They dispelled the illusory Captain Pike that Vina had come to know and she was now able to live out the remainder of her years with the real Captain Pike. [3]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Vina was created by Gene Roddenberry.
- Archival footage of Vina from "The Cage" was inserted into scenes from the season one Star Trek episodes "The Menagerie (Part 1)" and "The Menagerie (Part 2)".
- Vina's appearance as an Orion slave girl is the only representation of the race featured in the original Star Trek television series. An image of Vina as an Orion slave girl was used as one of the closing stills in the end credits of several episodes from season one.
See also[]
Media
The World of Star Trek
Star Trek miscellaneous
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ The Star Trek novel, Burning Dreams, puts Christopher Pike's birth in 2219, and mentions Vina was thirteen years his senior, hence a birth year of 2206.
- ↑ Star Trek: The Cage
- ↑ Star Trek: The Menagerie (Part 2)