Spocks Brain..... Is It That Bad ????

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Nero's Shadow, Jul 13, 2013.

  1. CaptPapa

    CaptPapa Commander Red Shirt

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    I really do not know . . .
    Is it that bad? Well . . . depends. There are probably about 70 episodes I like better, but there are a handful or so that I like less. This one is not as over-the-top ridiculous as The Omega Glory, it's not as flat-out embarrassing as Plato's Stepchildren, and it's not as irritating as And The Children Shall Lead.
    But in the end it's in the eyes of the beholder; and as someone mentioned (or alluded to) earlier, even bad TOS is pretty good. Which made me think of that tired old cliché about sex . . . ;)
     
  2. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    "Spock's Brain" isn't one of TOS' stellar moments, but neither is it the absolutely nadir. "And The Children Shall Lead" is a lot worse. And yet both episodes have a genuinely solid story idea within them that is marred by unfortunate creative choices. "Spock's Brain" has a solid SF idea in it: a living mind is needed to maintain a civilization. "And The Children Shall Lead" could have been a genuine horror story to really creep you out.
     
  3. Hambone

    Hambone Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    My stepson (age 14) is spending the summer with me and after seeing "Star Trek Into Darkness", he has decided that Star Trek is cool. We are working our way through the original series.

    His "Top 5" favorites have been "Balance of Terror", "The City on the Edge of Forever", "The Doomsday Machine", "The Trouble with Tribbles" and "Mirror, Mirror". He has excellent taste.

    So far his least favorite episodes have been "Shore Leave" (which he figured out as soon as the little antenna-gizmo made its appearance) and "The Omega Glory" (which made him laugh out loud). "Spock's Brain" he thought was "funny, but okay". Surprisingly, he really liked "Patterns of Force". Guess I'd better start checking the margins of his homework for swastikas.
     
  4. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    While there are some TOS episodes that can make me sigh with disappointment over the choices made there are none that I actually wholly dislike, even those I kinda wish had never been made.
     
  5. marksound

    marksound Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Brain isn't that bad, it's just not all that good.

    It was TV. Not a medium known for its depth at the time, or now for that matter.

    What it is, is Star Trek. Trek did (and does) good and bad episodes, and they're all Star Trek. Even the movies do the exact same thing as all the series have done. Good episodes, and not so good ones. They're all Star Trek, so they're all good.

    Like pizza.
     
  6. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    What's wrong with you? I love most of these episodes because each of these gave us something unique:

    • "The Alternative Factor" - dilithium crystal regeneration room (never seen again, thanks for this episode)
    • "I, Mudd" - port side wall of the Auxiliary Control Room
    • "Spock's Brain" - interesting wall console "starship style" in the "brain room"
    • "And the Children Shall Lead" - great tour of the "Solarium" aka Rec Room Season Three
    • "Let That Be..." - different access to hangar deck, bulkhead doors in corridors etc.
    Hmm...if these episodes are crap they definitely knew how to sugarcoat these for me. :D

    Bob
     
  7. Metryq

    Metryq Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    ^ I never said anything about "I, Mudd" or "Children." And it would seem—from the above list—that your definition of "good" is showing you more of the Enterprise interiors. Nothing wrong with that, as I know you're one of many fans doing 3D or CAD reconstructions. However, I demand a little bit more from an episode to class it "good."

    The original set designers probably cringe over such close attention to work they likely considered transitory and "please don't give it a closeup."
     
  8. ZapBrannigan

    ZapBrannigan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Has nobody mentioned Fred Steiner's music for "Spock's Brain"? Even during the episode, there are standout melodies. As heard on the La La Land CD, all the details emerge. This is a spectacular score rich with melody, beauty, and excitement.
     
  9. Push The Button

    Push The Button Commodore Commodore

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    Of all the TOS episodes, the only one that I really truly dislike is The Alternative Factor. As for Spock's Brain, I have come to appreciate it over the years, is fun in the same way that the Batman TV series was fun.
     
  10. sonak

    sonak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's become short-hand for "bad Trek," but really, it's not even in the bottom five. It's not nearly as bad as "way to eden," "alternative factor," and a few others.


    it's dumb but entertaining
     
  11. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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    Star Trek TOS is like pizza? :confused:
     
  12. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    Sounds perfectly normal to me.
     
  13. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    What I thought of the episode when I revisited it sometime ago:

    Episodes as bad as "Spock's Brain:"
    “The Apple”
    “I, Mudd”
    “A Piece Of The Action”
    “The Mark Of Gideon”
    “Turnabout Intruder”

    Episodes worse than "Spock's Brain:"
    “And The Children Shall Lead”
    “Wink Of An Eye”
    “Whom Gods Destroy”
     
  14. Darmok

    Darmok Cadet Newbie

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    I watched this episode not too long ago, I agree with most people that the idea was pretty silly but the episode itself is actually not too bad.
     
  15. CrazyMatt

    CrazyMatt Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    What a way to start the third broadcast season. Fans must have been shocked. This episode made the last second season episode broadcast ("Assignment: Earth") seem like Shakespeare.
     
  16. Belz...

    Belz... Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Say what you will about this episode, but no one can claim that it's boring.

    ...The Way to Eden, however...
     
  17. Mysterion

    Mysterion Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Not High Art, perhaps. but at least it isn't And the Children Shall Lead.
     
  18. Bad Thoughts

    Bad Thoughts Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Herbert!
     
  19. Winterwind

    Winterwind Commodore Commodore

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    I've often felt that that was the Shat's way of letting the audience know they didn't like it either.
     
  20. ZapBrannigan

    ZapBrannigan Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    In the 1970s, official fandom such as Gerrold, also Marshak & Culbreath, would refer to this with some anger. They thought "NBC's decision" to air Spock's Brain first was an insult, a reflection of how little respect NBC had for Star Trek.

    They seemed unaware of the fact that NBC did not write or produce Spock's Brain, and the network had to run the episode that was ready first, the one whose music and fx were finished and final print was delivered.

    Anyway, I like this episode. It's a fun outing with superb original music, hot women, great fight scenes, and Shatner in top form as Kirk.