TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“Star Trek: The Cage.” Paramount. $29.98. Though never aired, this 73-minute, half black-and-white, half color pilot helped creator Gene Roddenberry sell “Star Trek” to NBC. The 1965 show has charm, historical interest, a young Leonard Nimoy portraying a rather excitable Mr. Spock and the late Jeffrey Hunter as the starship Enterprise’s Captain Pike instead of William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Though the episode--with a foreword and a last word by Roddenberry--is a bit rough-edged and the black-and-white/color switch is disconcerting, there’s a wonderful aura of Flash Gordon techno-wizardry combined with a good script. A hefty portion of this pilot was used in the later two-part episode “The Menagerie.” A must for fans. Information: (213) 468-5000. 1/2