Star Trek loves a good courtroom drama. The back and forth of legal arguments make a great fulcrum for the kind of moral quandaries that the franchise thrives on and has resulted in some of the strongest episodes it ever produced. That includes everything from Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9, "The Measure of a Man" to Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 20, "Supernova, Part 2." It's no surprise that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds intends to make use of a trial episode too, as evinced by the recent release of a clip covering Una Chin-Riley's case before Starfleet.
Though not directly connected, Strange New Worlds' upcoming trial echoes the very first time the franchise delved into the courtroom. The Original Series Season 1, Episodes 11 and 12, "The Menagerie," essentially repackaged the pilot "The Cage" for airing on the revamped series. It featured Mr. Spock on trial for mutiny, defying orders and taking a now-paralyzed Captain Pike to the "forbidden" planet Talos IV. The new clip draws pointed attention to the link, specifically with Mr. Spock's participation in the proceedings.
The Menagerie Features Mr. Spock on Trial
The Original Series famously underwent a soft reboot after "The Cage" failed to win over executives. Chris Pike was replaced with Jim Kirk, and all the supporting crew save Mr. Spock changed to the classic characters. "The Menagerie" is simply an effort to make use of "The Cage" despite its oblique links to The Original Series as it stood. Having locked the Enterprise on a course to Talos IV, Spock faces the music with an onboard trial with Kirk, Pike and Commodore Mendez as the tribunal. The Talosians beam video footage of the Enterprise's first visit under Pike to exonerate Spock. The tribunal clears him of any wrongdoing, and Pike is delivered to Talos IV, reunited with Vina and able to live in the Talosians' illusions unfettered by his paralyzed physical body.
"The Menagerie" leans on Spock as the connecting link between Kirk's crew and Pike's, allowing the original producers to get a pair of episodes out of a pilot that might otherwise need to be scrapped. In the process, it gave early Trek fans a look at what might have been -- a promise that Strange New Worlds endeavors to keep with its stories of the Enterprise under Pike. It also establishes many of the plot threads that Strange New Worlds is now exploring, including Pike's foreknowledge of his injuries and Una's status as someone "special" (which the new series reveals as her Illyrian heritage.)
Strange New Worlds Uses Its Trial To Connect to "The Menagerie"
Una is on trial in the upcoming season for lying about the genetic augmentation that allows her to pass for human. The clip takes great care in echoing the details of the trial in "The Menagerie," from the naval-style bell that opens the proceedings to the era-appropriate uniforms with their Nehru jacket cut and polygonal medal clusters. And, like "The Menagerie," the clip features Mr. Spock on the stand, getting ready to blow the courtroom's mind with some manner of bombshell evidence.
All of which serves Strange New Worlds' primary function: showing the Enterprise under Pike in the years before Kirk took command. While Spock isn't on trial this time, his moment in the new clip brings "The Menagerie" to the forefront, along with the sparse details that the new show is busy fleshing out. That includes both Una's true nature and Pike's eventual accident, along with Kirk's eventual fate to succeed Pike as captain. (Kirk himself is slated to appear in the second season as well.)
The details of the upcoming trial are tightly under wraps, though Una will no doubt be exonerated just as Spock was. But Strange New Worlds presents it with very specific details in mind. Spock's appearance ties it up in a bow, connecting not only "The Menagerie," but everything about Star Trek's OG incarnation in the process. It's a sign that Strange New Worlds has no intention of abandoning the past as it moves into the franchise's future.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres June 15 on Paramount+.