# could jeff hunter made star trek a success? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2019, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331 "2019-07-01T06:11:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331/21 "2019-07-02T03:23:58Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Ironically, if I remember correctly, it was Hunter’s wife who objected to him continuing with the effort, considering TV Sci-fi as being “beneath” him. :smack: > **[Jeffrey Hunter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Hunter)** > > Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as The Searchers and King of Kings. On television, Hunter is known for his 1965 role as Captain Christopher Pike in the original pilot episode of Star Trek. > Hunter was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Edith Lois (née Burgess) and Henry Herman McKinnies. His family was of Scottish ancestry. After 1930, he was reare... > [@](#): > > Hunter declined to film a second Star Trek pilot requested by NBC in 1965, and decided to concentrate on motion pictures. He told the press, “I was asked to do it, but had I accepted, I would have been tied up much longer than I care to be. I have several things brewing now and they should be coming to a head in the next few weeks. I love doing motion pictures and expect to be as busy as I want to be in them.”[19][20][21][22] The films he made afterward included _Brainstorm_ and _Dimension 5_, which had sci-fi elements, and _A Witch Without a Broom_, which was straight up fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331/22 "2019-07-02T04:54:49Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Hunter _was_ King of Kings, but the Pike character was wrong for 60s TV Sci-fi. His character type seems more DS9 to me. Or _ **Forbidden Planet** _. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331/23 "2019-07-02T11:43:10Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Agree that Pike, as we saw him in the first pilot, could not possibly have interacted with the rest of that cast the way Kirk did with his. Whether that would have been \*worse \*or _better_, it’s hard to say. It would definitely have been a different show. As you point out, very difficult to know. But you can take the first hand full of episodes produced (not aired of course, but produced) and compare those with the rest of most shows that run for a significant period of time and they change. Isn’t that always discussed with TNG? So it’s hard to know. But Hunter was a seasoned professional. I’ll presume that he would have developed as had the rest of the cast. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331/24 "2019-07-02T13:52:03Z")
Jeff Hunter’s captain would have been a little more serious. His character reminded me a little of Picard in TNG. I think that’s the direction Jeff would have taken the character. I would have enjoyed watching Jeff develop this role. Kirk was Captain Hornblower, a swashbuckling, romancing, action character. The pilot was rejected for being too cerebral. Roddenberry made several character adjustments. The captain became larger than life. I lost track of how many women he kissed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331/25 "2019-07-02T14:53:02Z")
Leonard Nimoy has said how Shatner’s broader acting style allowed Spock to come into his own. The subtle, often gently mocking Spock we know from TOS wouldn’t have existed without Shatner’s Kirk to play against. And it’s hard to imagine Star Trek being a hit with the weird, intense Spock we see in the pilot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jeff-hunter-made-star-trek-a-success/836331.md?page=1)