Who Saw Spock's Brain In It's Original Run on NBC?

[QuasarVM]

Well, seeing as how we were so totally dumb back in the stone age of course we bought "Spock's Brain" as being totally plausible.

OK, I'm kidding.
Seriously even though I was 8 at the time I remember it very well because it was a weird mixture of total malarkey yet kind of eerie. When McCoy said Spock's brain was gone, I remember it was shocking yet I almost laughed, it bordered on ridiculous.

So when I see Spock walking around with that gizmo on his head, I knew it had definitely crossed that border into ridiculous but still it was strange how it was Spock yet not Spock.

Maybe, maybe I could buy that alien thingy giving McCoy the temporary knowledge to reattach the brain. But when Spock starts directing McCoy and immediately sits up after the operation, I'm going "Oh c'mOOON!!" and throwing things at the TV.

Actually I didn't throw things at the TV, it was a brand new color TV, our first one. My dad had gotten a much better paying job earlier that year and one of the first things he bought was that TV.

But yeah that ep was quite ridiculous but you gotta look at it as a tall tale, a total yarn. They can still be entertaining or not. This ep kind of falls on the entertaining side although by the time Spock is directing the operation and sitting up, my suspension of disbelief was DOA.

Robert

I agree. That ending has to be one of the most absurd wrap-ups in TV history. The entire of notion of Spock directing his own surgery is complete absurd BS! But, I also think that was a product of the times. Back then, everything had to be cleanly and neatly resolved by the end of the episode.

Something like that now, might have had lasting repercussions at least for a couple of episodes. Just look at the character of Picard changed after Best of Both Worlds. It took him a couple of episodes to get over that...at least.

But even so...I don't think having Borg implants or your brain removed and restored is something one would just get over in a few minutes -- I think something like that would have been a major traumatic event for Spock. Or at least it should have been.

 

[locnar]

Two elements of Spock's Brain make it particularly embarrassing for me. In Inside Star Trek, Robert Justman takes responsibility for two of them-- (1) It was his idea to have the brainless Spock marched around by remote control. (2) He suggested the idea of having Spock talk McCoy through the completion of his own brain surgery. With these two elements removed and a less ridiculous title, the episode would be at least palatable. But, I'm with Skai, nothing brings me down more than seeing our heroes humiliated relentlessly by the Platonians in Plato's Stepchildren; there's little to recommend that one.

 

[Noname Given]

Two elements of Spock's Brain make it particularly embarrassing for me. In Inside Star Trek, Robert Justman takes responsibility for two of them-- (1) It was his idea to have the brainless Spock marched around by remote control. (2) He suggested the idea of having Spock talk McCoy through the completion of his own brain surgery. With these two elements removed and a less ridiculous title, the episode would be at least palatable. But, I'm with Skai, nothing brings me down more than seeing our heroes humiliated relentlessly by the Platonians in Plato's Stepchildren; there's little to recommend that one.

Look, over the years I've developed a soft spot for the episode myself (You can't go wrong with a cute brunette screaming "Brain and brain! What is brain?!"); but the ending where Spock then sits up after the sugery WITH EVERY HAIR ON HIS GEAD INTACT and still in place...(I did see Star Trek first run at the age of 6 - but the first episode I ever saw was Elan of Troyius)...when I saw this for the first time (in a rerun in 1971 at the age of 8 - even then I said, "Wow that one was dumb".

 

[T'Bonz]

I remember seeing "Way to Eden" first time in 1971, when I was 13. There were still hippies and such around then, we hadn't quite gone into the disco era yet (thank God.) But "Way to Eden" made me *cringe.* It was so dated, even in 1971.

"Spock's Brain" was silly and I wanted to slap the stupid chick (gee, thanks for making women look so STUPID!) but it was harmless. It was like watching a typical "Bewitched" episode, frothy and silly, but inoffensive.

It took shows like "Way To Eden," "Plato's Stepchildren," "The Cloud Minders" and so forth to really make me wince.

 

[Jeri]

...But "Way to Eden" made me *cringe.* It was so dated, even in 1971...

Yeah..."cringe" is right, but "dated" actually doesn't quite describe it. It was never like that, except in some middle-aged L.A. New York-transplant's head.

Watching TV in SoCal in the latter half of the 1960's and being a teenager, I always had to laugh at what their idea of hippies or party scenes or popular music was. Grown ups -- sheesh, gotta love em.

 

[QuasarVM]

...But "Way to Eden" made me *cringe.* It was so dated, even in 1971...

Yeah..."cringe" is right, but "dated" actually doesn't quite describe it. It was never like that, except in some middle-aged L.A. New York-transplant's head.

Watching TV in SoCal in the latter half of the 1960's and being a teenager, I always had to laugh at what their idea of hippies or party scenes or popular music was. Grown ups -- sheesh, gotta love em.

I always suspected as much... It looks like they picked up on the most superficial aspects and amped them up to absurdity...Eden is embarrassing.

So is Plato's Stepchildren.

I defy anyone to put those on and watch them before a non-Trekker...

 

[QuasarVM]

Two elements of Spock's Brain make it particularly embarrassing for me. In Inside Star Trek, Robert Justman takes responsibility for two of them-- (1) It was his idea to have the brainless Spock marched around by remote control. (2) He suggested the idea of having Spock talk McCoy through the completion of his own brain surgery. With these two elements removed and a less ridiculous title, the episode would be at least palatable.

Makes sense to me, since in the Blish adaptation, Spock never even leaves sickbay for the episode. I'll bet that bore a close resemblence to one of the early drafts. I wouldn't be quick to blame Justman completely for either element. I am sure Nimoy saw the script and said "WTF?! I only have one speaking scene in this episode -- the prologue? Um, you'd better go back to your typewriters!".



In other words, I am sure the heat was on to give Nimoy as much to do as possible within the constraints of the plot!

 

[gottacook]

I not only saw "Spock's Brain" first run (I was about to have my 12th birthday), it was also the first Trek episode I ever saw. I thereupon caught most of the third season; when weekday reruns started I got caught up on the earlier seasons, which had on average better stories but lower-quality special effects. I also liked the third-season original music the best (kudos to Duning, Fielding, et al.).

I suppose (having nothing to comare it to) that at age 12 I thought "Spock's Brain" was pretty much typical of a Trek episode: semi-serious in storyline although not taking itself too seriously. I don't think it was ever in any danger, even if it had lasted a 4th year, of resembling the just-canceled Lost in Space (1965-68), which I had seen a few times. (I do remember seeing the first episode of LiS and taking it seriously indeed - there was no element of farce about it at first.)

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Are you kidding?

No.

Overall TNG's first two seasons make TOS season 3 look like Shakesphere.

You're mistaken. Nothing can really make TOS season 3 look like something other than childish crap, and if TNG had not been considerably better from the beginning than trekkies like to say it would not have caught on and continued to grow an audience throughout its first two years.

TNG had its growing pains, no question. The brain trust behind TOS, however, had mostly either thrown in the towel or fled Paramount by the time of season 3 leaving the hapless cast to flounder as the ship sank.

 

[QuasarVM]

I wouldn't say all of TOS S3 was crap...not by a longshot. But, you're right about the creative talent leaving the show during that season along with (for the most part) Roddenberry.

I also don't think TNG 1 and 2 were as bad as some people make them out to be. These seasons were, for me, a mixed bag...but I'm glad we had ANY TNG...

Growing pains is a good term to use for these seasons though.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

TNG started to break away from TOS a bit with "The Big Goodbye." Season two is a bit weaker than Season one, even thought there's a little consistency and polish to the production, because the backstage warfare as to who would run the writing staff reached ridiculous proportions. The series finally began to right itself when Hurley was shown the door and Piller took over.

 

[T'Bonz]

Not all of S3 was bad (some eps were quite good) and in rewatching TNG S1, I wonder why I continued with it. Yes, it improved, but early on, it sucked.

I guess I was just desperate for new Trek, even bad Trek. Fortunately, TNG improved over time.

 

[locnar]

I not only saw "Spock's Brain" first run (I was about to have my 12th birthday), it was also the first Trek episode I ever saw.

Have any of you read the Joel Engel biography of Roddenberry? The first episode he ever saw was "Spock's Brain" and he loved it. Something about watching McCoy slowly lose his brilliance as the effect of the Teacher wore off really spoke to him. Only later did he learn that "Brain" was generally regarded as the weakest episode. I think this goes to show that we all respond to different elements in a script. While there are some episodes that I consider sub-par, I can still enjoy watching them.

Still, Quasar is dead right. There are some episodes you just wouldn't share with your non-Trek friends. And he's right about not placing too much blame on Justman, who did much for the series. I just wanted to share what he had related in "Inside Star Trek".

 

[Keith1701]

I did but do not recall my opinion of it.

I did, but I wasn't very impressed.

 

[Jeri]

But I think "Plato's Stepchildren" is pretty good; it's just an entertaining illustration of the adage, "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." Is it infamous because of the kiss?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

No, it's infamous because it's bad.

 

[Jeri]

Nuh-uh.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Sure, power corrupts is a good message, but there are so many better episodes with that same message. Even within that same season, there's "Whom Gods Destory". The kiss is probably the only undeniably positive thing about it, but not from a storytelling perspective - from a perspective of how it reflected on the show, since it demonstrated Star Trek's open-mindedness to diversity in breaking a cultural taboo. In the context of the episode, though, it was an awful idea and scene...just like the rest of it.

 

[QuasarVM]

No, it's infamous because it's bad.

Oh, you know Tin Man would have been so much better if it had forced the crew to sing, dance and mimic horses!

 

[QuasarVM]

Sure, power corrupts is a good message, but there are so many better episodes with that same message. Even within that same season, there's "Whom Gods Destory". The kiss is probably the only undeniably positive thing about it, but not from a storytelling perspective - from a perspective of how it reflected on the show, since it demonstrated Star Trek's open-mindedness to diversity in breaking a cultural taboo. In the context of the episode, though, it was an awful idea and scene...just like the rest of it.

I think Where No Man Has Gone Before pretty much covered the "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" thing...

...and did a much better job of it.