OTOS: the Menagerie

[Ahriman238]

Otherwise known as the episode with Chris Pike, and the one where they managed to reuse the footage from the TOS pilot nobody saw. Chuck's doing this one in 3 parts, with 2 days between each. Enjoy part 1 here

[Ahriman238]

I would have been more upset if he didn't at least address it. I get that the Talosians have advanced mental powers and want to be left alone, but there's a dozen or more races like that in Trek, so it's hard to see how they justify a death penalty for going there and not for other offenses.

[Gandalf]

Maybe the Talosians used their wacky mind powers to make them believe there was a death penalty?

[DaveJB]

Continuity wise, they give Harry Mudd a list of execution options in another episode anyway.

That was implied to be a non-Federation world though, IIRC. I also seem to recall that planetary governments still had quite a lot of autonomy in the TOS era, with Federation laws being additional to their own (same with the planet in Wolf in the Fold).

As for The Menagerie, I'd say the whole death penalty thing is worth addressing in depth since so much of the episode's plotline revolves around Spock potentially getting sentenced to death for his actions; heck, it's even the cliffhanger for the first part. Really, the episode would have worked just as well if the punishment was changed to Spock potentially getting drummed out of Starfleet, and possibly sentenced to jail time.

[Ahriman238]

Part 2 is up.

[Ahriman238]

Part 3 here.