The TOS 'stupid statements' thread

[Noname Given]

From Spock's Brain:

"Brain and brain! What is brain?!"

And from the same episode; alhough it's not a line, it's just plain stupid, but:

How in the hell does Dr. McCoy manage to perform brain surgery of that type WITHOUT shaving Mr. Spocks head?! Hell, when Spock sits up, not a hair is out of place!

 

[marylizz]

From Spock's Brain:

"Brain and brain! What is brain?!"

And from the same episode; alhough it's not a line, it's just plain stupid, but:

How in the hell does Dr. McCoy manage to perform brain surgery of that type WITHOUT shaving Mr. Spocks head?! Hell, when Spock sits up, not a hair is out of place!

Horrible quote from an awful ep.

This may have been posted before, but here's mine:
Kirk: "The trigger has been pulled. We've got to get there before the hammer falls."
You have to love the illogical metaphors.

 

[Hambone]

Horrible quote from an awful ep.

Spock's Brain is the best episode ever. Of any ST series. Prove it's not.

This may have been posted before, but here's mine:
Kirk: "The trigger has been pulled. We've got to get there before the hammer falls."
You have to love the illogical metaphors.

Why is it illogical? I think it's a great line...it's just Kirk saying "We need to move fast". Of course, he's assuming that his friends understand that "trigger" and "hammer" refer to parts of a gun, not the Lone Ranger's horse and a washed-up rapper .

 

[Peter the Younger]

The one from "Doomsday Machine" that always makes me groan:

Decker: "It fired a beam of pure anti-protons. Absolutely pure!"

Anti-proton beams are a lot like top shelf vodka, apparently.

(And yes, I realize there is a technobabbly argument for how his statement could make sense. It's still bad phrasing and OTT acting.)

If you're going to pillory the dialog, at least quote it correctly.

DECKER: We saw this thing hovering over the planet, slicing out chunks of it with a force beam.
KIRK: Did you run a scanner check on it? What kind of a beam?
DECKER: Pure antiproton. Absolutely pure.
​

There's no bad phrasing in that. The OTTness of Windom's delivery of it is up for debate, however.

I'm afraid I don't have your encyclopedic recall. But I still think the "purity" of antiprotons is a silly way to characterize the threat of the weapon.

 

[marylizz]

Spock's Brain is the best episode ever. Of any ST series. Prove it's not.

I cannot. My mistake, I suppose it has its merits, however I do not personally enjoy it.

Why is it illogical? I think it's a great line...it's just Kirk saying "We need to move fast". Of course, he's assuming that his friends understand that "trigger" and "hammer" refer to parts of a gun, not the Lone Ranger's horse and a washed-up rapper .

Perhaps my own misinterpretation. The trigger generally refers to a gun, whereas the hammer falling traditionally refers to an auctioneer's mallet, signifying finality. I have not heard of the term used in the context you speak of, however that is a failing on my part and I acknowledge it.

 

[Maurice]

I'm afraid I don't have your encyclopedic recall. But I still think the "purity" of antiprotons is a silly way to characterize the threat of the weapon.

I don't have encyclopedic memory of that, but I do know how to Google it and find the exact quote.

He's not talking about the "purity" of the particles, he's saying the beam is 100% anti-proton and contains nothing else.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Horrible quote from an awful ep.

Spock's Brain is the best episode ever. Of any ST series. Prove it's not.

This may have been posted before, but here's mine:
Kirk: "The trigger has been pulled. We've got to get there before the hammer falls."
You have to love the illogical metaphors.

Why is it illogical? I think it's a great line...it's just Kirk saying "We need to move fast". Of course, he's assuming that his friends understand that "trigger" and "hammer" refer to parts of a gun, not the Lone Ranger's horse and a washed-up rapper .

I've always liked that line.

 

[EEE]

The one from "Doomsday Machine" that always makes me groan:

Decker: "It fired a beam of pure anti-protons. Absolutely pure!"

Anti-proton beams are a lot like top shelf vodka, apparently.

(And yes, I realize there is a technobabbly argument for how his statement could make sense. It's still bad phrasing and OTT acting.)

If you're going to pillory the dialog, at least quote it correctly.

DECKER: We saw this thing hovering over the planet, slicing out chunks of it with a force beam.
KIRK: Did you run a scanner check on it? What kind of a beam?
DECKER: Pure antiproton. Absolutely pure.
​

There's no bad phrasing in that. The OTTness of Windom's delivery of it is up for debate, however.

I'm afraid I don't have your encyclopedic recall. But I still think the "purity" of antiprotons is a silly way to characterize the threat of the weapon.

You have to think in terms of science fiction... "absolutely" pure could indicate much more that just undiluted. It could indicate a level of technology in dealing with and/or creating anti-protons that the Federation could only dream of. To me, those lines are like creating an absolutely coherent laser. If we ran into someone who could do it, it would indicate a technology we couldn't match (umm, that hasn't been done in the last 45 years since I last checked out an 8mm movie from the library about lasers, has it?).

Funny thing about this whole thread to date, one person's "stupid line," is completely logical to another... if they have the right frame of mind and/or knowledge and/or imagination and/or sense of humour and/or appreciation for the time this show was written. I think they did a pretty damn good job for what was then assumed to be yet another throwaway show (one run plus one or two syndication runs, then into obscurity).

 

[JustKate]

I don't have the exact quote, but it's from "Wolf in the Fold." The situation is that the gang is theorizing about an entity that feeds on terror, and Spock says something a lot like this: "It preys upon women because they are more easily and deeply terrified."

OK, yeah, I know it's the 1960s, but even back then at age 10, I'm like "Huh? These guys have never met my mother or any of my grandmothers!"

And I have to say that I adore "Brain and brain! What is brain?!" It's pure cheese-a-riffic fun!

 

[Peter the Younger]

You have to think in terms of science fiction... "absolutely" pure could indicate much more that just undiluted. It could indicate a level of technology in dealing with and/or creating anti-protons that the Federation could only dream of. To me, those lines are like creating an absolutely coherent laser. If we ran into someone who could do it, it would indicate a technology we couldn't match (umm, that hasn't been done in the last 45 years since I last checked out an 8mm movie from the library about lasers, has it?).

Sure, I understand that, and as I said, we can come up with an explanation that fits (Trek fans are pretty good at that, we have to be.) But the line rubs me the wrong way. Or would, if I could quote it correctly! (Oh the shame!)

Funny thing about this whole thread to date, one person's "stupid line," is completely logical to another... if they have the right frame of mind and/or knowledge and/or imagination and/or sense of humour and/or appreciation for the time this show was written. I think they did a pretty damn good job for what was then assumed to be yet another throwaway show (one run plus one or two syndication runs, then into obscurity).

True enough. Truth be told, when I re-watch an episode the scripts actually hold up very well, better than early TNG certainly. A lot of what we groan at may have more to do with the performances, and the style of acting in that era of television.

 

[EEE]

A lot of what we groan at may have more to do with the performances, and the style of acting in that era of television.

I had no groans... but then I lived when the Shakespearean-Stage-To-TV-Show School of Acting was both in-vogue, and the norm.

And I have to say that I adore "Brain and brain! What is brain?!" It's pure cheese-a-riffic fun!

I'm with you on that! I think it's one of the best lines out of the entire show, given the passage of time. To like that line, is to come to terms with being a trekkie* ...some things are just good clean fun.

*Note: "Trekkers" are really just insecure trekkies.

 

[xortex]

How stupid was Decker after seeing the Doomsday machine slicing chunks out of a planet, he beams his entire crew down to a planet!

 

[EEE]

There is no such thing as "TOS stupid statements" - only statements temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.

I missed this gem of wisdom when I made my similar statement. Smart. AND fast. *grin*

Perhaps my own misinterpretation. The trigger generally refers to a gun, whereas the hammer falling traditionally refers to an auctioneer's mallet, signifying finality. I have not heard of the term used in the context you speak of, however that is a failing on my part and I acknowledge it.

You've got me curious... where do you live that a hammer falling traditionally refers to an auctioneer's mallet? Someplace with a lot of auctions, I imagine. *grin*

 

[Noname Given]

Anopther one, this time from The Trouble With Tribbles:

Dr. McCoy: "...it seems they're bi-sexual, reproducing at will..."

Now, either Deforest Kelly flubbed the line, or David Gerrold failed basic biology as the above line makes no sense; it would make sense if it were:

"...it seems they're asexual, reproducing at will..."

 

[JustKate]

^^ I have heard of the falling hammer image in reference to auctions...but in this context, I thought of the hammer of a gun right away.

 

[Anticitizen]

Anopther one, this time from The Trouble With Tribbles:

Dr. McCoy: "...it seems they're bi-sexual, reproducing at will..."

Now, either Deforest Kelly flubbed the line, or David Gerrold failed basic biology as the above line makes no sense; it would make sense if it were:

"...it seems they're asexual, reproducing at will..."

Ha! Yeah, my eyebrows shot up at that line when I rewatched it recently.

Kinky!

 

[xortex]

You might be surprised to hear this but David Gerrold is.. oh, forget it.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Its not a question..but Kirk's "Try the J23 circuit" in Doomsday Machine

Rob

 

[boobatuba]

Its not a question..but Kirk's "Try the J23 circuit" in Doomsday Machine

That's "Washburn, try the 2G6 circuit."

Nothing worse than a Star Trek fan with an eidetic memory.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Its not a question..but Kirk's "Try the J23 circuit" in Doomsday Machine

That's "Washburn, try the 2G6 circuit."

Nothing worse than a Star Trek fan with an eidetic memory.

Guilty as charged. At least I got the number 2 right!



Rob