# TOS: Catspaw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425 "2017-10-10T01:00:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/81 "2017-10-14T16:12:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Here is the scene in question. And yes, he looks pretty goddamned dead to me. > > [https://youtu.be/I7aujPZwQp0?t=280](https://youtu.be/I7aujPZwQp0?t=280) Ok, my last post on the subject. I’ve got to hand it to you, you must be in great demand. Emergency rooms around the nation must love to have your unique skill help them determine when someone’s dead. I mean, you can just LOOK at them, no pulse taking, no heart monitor, no brain-wave electrodes. Just one look, and you can get the death cert. out. The fact that you won’t even admit that it’s not possible to tell the difference between “dead” and “unconscious” in a situation like that tells me that further discussion is probably pointless. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/82 "2017-10-15T03:35:56Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’ll just point out that the Gorn captain lived. Well, Kirk didn’t kill him. I always assumed he was returned to his ship and then zapped into oblivion by the controlling aliens. That _was the deal_, after all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/83 "2017-10-15T03:59:31Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Well, Kirk didn’t kill him. I always assumed he was returned to his ship and then zapped into oblivion by the controlling aliens. > > That _was the deal_, after all. 😉 Indeed, it’s what happened in the Fredrick Brown short story that was the probable inspiration (at least) for the script of the episode. Or, maybe he was simply spanked hard and sent home to mommy. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/84 "2017-10-15T04:14:31Z")
The Death of Ensign Mary, Queen of Scots “I’m not dead yet, Jim.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/85 "2017-10-15T04:18:14Z")
But Kirk’s response of not killing, even when he had the right to do so, was seen to be the most civilized. That he was not an inferior lifeform. That would suggest that they would prefer not to kill, too, and Kirk had just given them an excuse. “If these guys won’t kill, then why should we?” they could ask themselves. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Gorn Captain was killed. He seemed way too gung ho on the killing (not even doing it reluctantly), suggesting they kill more easily in his society. The Klingons would kill him. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/86 "2017-10-15T11:44:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But Kirk’s response of not killing, even when he had the right to do so, was seen to be the most civilized. That he was not an inferior lifeform. That would suggest that they would prefer not to kill, too, and Kirk had just given them an excuse. “If these guys won’t kill, then why should we?” they could ask themselves. I thought they weren’t going to kill the other guys all along. I was surprised when I read the story that the entire enemy fleet was destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/87 "2017-10-16T05:10:32Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Though I do notice one script idiocy: why wouldn’t they beam up the corpses to study? We’re still talking about Sylvia and Korob, right? There wasn’t much left of their corpses to collect. They quickly died and their corpses self-combusted, reducing them to little piles of ash and wisps of smoke. I guess that planet wasn’t their most preferred environment. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/88 "2017-10-16T09:50:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > We’re still talking about Sylvia and Korob, right? There wasn’t much left of their corpses to collect. They quickly died and their corpses self-combusted, reducing them to little piles of ash and wisps of smoke. I guess that planet wasn’t their most preferred environment. When I looked at that link, what I saw was a bit of smoke and just their lifeless bodies, still lying there, just as I remembered from before. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425/89 "2017-10-16T12:10:10Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > When I looked at that link, what I saw was a bit of smoke and just their lifeless bodies, still lying there, just as I remembered from before. I’m not sure if they are doing their last wriggle or slowly falling over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tos-catspaw/798425.md?page=4)