Spock's Brain was an okay episode for me to be honest! I've never got the hate for it at all and the teacher was a great device even if you could only use it the once!
JB
JB
Hey, I never noticed that before....
- Thread starter Warped9
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Flesh out the story of how and why the male-female schism took place, which presumably got cut, concentrate on that... get the women out of the bimboesque costumes, and you've got the makings of a good episode. McCoy and the Teacher are classic Trek... The sickbay scene nicely validates the whole situation dramatically... I never found Spock sans brain to be even slightly comedic. As a kid I was imagining that empty skull, horrified at the idea.
All of the ship-board scenes were taut and suspenseful. The briefing on the bridge was an especially nice scene. Once they beam down, though, it gets progressively silly.
Steiner’s score has something to do with this. While the soaring “Teacher” cues were wonderful, the fight scene music was just goofy. I swear that there’s a sad “wah-wah” trombone played when Scotty fakes a fainting spell.
It’s a mixed bag, that ep.
Shatner really sells it in Sickbay with Bones how serious this is. I just didn't like that they brought his body along that much, but I suppose if Leonard Nimoy wasn't in enough scenes he wouldn't have been paid. Bimboesque costumes were the norm, I thought they were trying to go for the same dichotomy as the Eloi and the Morlocks. The part where Spock helps McCoy finish reconnecting him should have been done better, it made it seem too.... something, trivializing perhaps, and silly even though some brain surgeries really are done with the person awake.
I don't know why it's singled out so and trashed so much, and the whole third season with it.
Assuming that “the knowledge” could be given to anyone, Scotty could have taken over for McCoy. Perhaps another hour of competent surgery would have been enough to successfully complete the procedure. Scotty’s engineering background (working with his hands) would only have helped.
I did some digging into this one a few years ago. All the subsequent research I've done confirms my initial conclusions -- "Spock's Brain" was never conceived as a comedy.
http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/09/that-darned-brain.html
I bet he would have tried harder than Freiberger and Singer did to keep Fontana in the fold, but I doubt he could have done much to get Coon more involved. Coon was committed to another series (It Takes a Thief) and seems to have worked on Star Trek's third season as much as he was physically able (story and teleplay for two shows, story outlines for two more, and two other story assignments that were apparently abandoned, probably because he was busy at other work).
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Or Dr. M'Benga, or Christine.
Thanks for the clarification, Harvey!
Journey to Babel...
The red shirt, second from right, was a semi-regular background crew member.
Later on in the episode he changes to a command tunic and sits at the Navigation station.
The red shirt, second from right, was a semi-regular background crew member.
Later on in the episode he changes to a command tunic and sits at the Navigation station.
He does a good actor trick to indicate the character thinking...for just a moment, he starts to mouth what McCoy just said to him, silently.
I always thought it was funny that security details were the only ones that had to tuck in their shirts......I guess so they could "quick draw" easier.Journey to Babel...
The red shirt, second from right, was a semi-regular background crew member.
He was under contract to appear in every episode at a flat fee. Even if they didn't use him, they'd still have had to pay his full per-episode fee.
They are wearing a wide belt, almost a cummerbund. The belt being on top reminds me of the ammo belts Shore Patrol would wear (Look at Steve McQueen's The Sand Pebbles for examples.) Mentioned earlier in this thread:
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/hey-i-never-noticed-that-before.274883/page-116#post-12966740
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/hey-i-never-noticed-that-before.274883/page-117#post-12968185
Thank you. Then I suppose they thought it was a good idea to have him walking around like that. Not that Mr. Nimoy didn't do a great job of it, it actually makes me think he isn't even there the way he moves.
Cummerband!!!! I preferred Montalban myself! 
JB
JB
I have to admit I probably hate every Spock scenes off the ship. I can't get past him walking around without a brain and don't like the surgery humour. It makes light of the serious of the situation but not in a particularly humourous way.
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