Just about every Trek fan knows about the Star Trek: TOS "two pilot" story.  If not, the tale goes that Gene Roddenberry and company created the original pilot "The Cage", starring Jefferey Hunter as Captain Pike, and showed the feature to NBC.  NBC then rejected the said pilot as "too cerebral" and ordered another pilot when "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was born.

What most of us don't know is that there was an alternate version of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" that was basically lost to the annals of time.  As reported by TheFeed.com, a film collector in Germany acquired the print and "recently brought it to the attention" of CBS/Paramount. CBS is now releasing this version on Blu-ray Dec. 15.

The alternate version is in three parts with 1970s-style act breaks, an entirely different version of Captain James T. Kirk's opening monologue ("But now a new task. A probe out into where no man has gone before") and music that contrasts from the famous opening theme and an extended action sequence.

From the release:

This version of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was completed in 1965 and features archived footage that was not included in the pilot episode ultimately broadcasted.  Never-before-aired, this newly recovered version is believed to be what was originally screened for NBC, and the basis for their decision to broadcast STAR TREK®. ... "When we first discovered the original film print existed, we jumped at the chance to give STAR TREK fans the opportunity to add this never aired pilot to their collections," said Ken Ross, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Home Entertainment. "It will be a real treat for fans to see and hear how it all could have begun." (source TheFeed.com)

Read the full article here.

Image credit Trekcore.com