Should we generally be wary of episodes with character names in the title?
Spocks Brain..... Is It That Bad ????
- Thread starter Nero's Shadow
- Start date
Should we generally be wary of episodes with character names in the title?
I reckon not. Spock's Brain - I liked it! That fight scene was hilarious; Kirk taking on 2 guys while the others are just thrown around.
TNG: Datalore - liked it
Elementary, Dear Data - pretty damn cool
Menage a Troi - not awful
Data's Day - like my favourite episode!!
A Fistful of Datas - also cool. Like Elementary, Dear Data
DS9: Dax - loved it
Our Man Bashir - IF YOU INSULT THIS EPISODE I WILL SEND MY ARMY OF METAPHORICAL TRIBBLES WITH THUMBS TO EAT YOU
I don't know about any others but they were all fine in my opinion. Unless you start counting minor character name episodes like Ensign Ro and Melora and all the Q ones
It's in the lower echelon of Star Trek episodes.
In one of the other threads, someone pointed out some of the TOS scripts original outlines in the Orion Archives.
Lets see if I can work out how to post a link http://www.orionpressfanzines.com/articles/spock.htm
The original premise for Spock's Brain didn't seem as bad as the finished product. I just think they tried too hard to engage the audience by including Spock in every single scene. Sometimes less is more.
If we didn't have Zombie Spock or Spock assisting in his operation "Spock's Brain" wouldn't have been nearly so bad. OK I agree and half as long.
Lets see if I can work out how to post a link http://www.orionpressfanzines.com/articles/spock.htm
The original premise for Spock's Brain didn't seem as bad as the finished product. I just think they tried too hard to engage the audience by including Spock in every single scene. Sometimes less is more.
If we didn't have Zombie Spock or Spock assisting in his operation "Spock's Brain" wouldn't have been nearly so bad. OK I agree and half as long.
^^^Not the full outlines, just synopses of them. I guess I need to put that at the top of the articles in bigger letters. 
Sir Rhosis
Sir Rhosis
I'm more wary of episodes with pretentious, pseudo-literary titles. Like "And the Children Shall Lead," "Is There in Truth No Beauty?", "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," and "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky."
(There was a vogue for long, flowery, literary-sounding episode titles in TV dramas of the 1960s, though it was winding down by the time of Trek TOS. Check out some of the episode titles from Route 66 and Naked City.)
I stand by what I said earlier about Spock's Brain. *shudder*
Slightly OT: The fashion of long, literary sounding names is alive and well in science-fiction, just look at the episode listing of Babylon 5, Andromeda and Farscape. I tend to be most annoyed by the Latin ones, they're so pretentious (Dramatis Personae, Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges). Sometimes it's funny when the same episode names are used in different shows, although given the total number of episodes made when you count all TV shows ever created, that's pretty much inevitable.
Slightly OT: The fashion of long, literary sounding names is alive and well in science-fiction, just look at the episode listing of Babylon 5, Andromeda and Farscape. I tend to be most annoyed by the Latin ones, they're so pretentious (Dramatis Personae, Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges). Sometimes it's funny when the same episode names are used in different shows, although given the total number of episodes made when you count all TV shows ever created, that's pretty much inevitable.
Actually I like TOS episodes flowery names (they're interesting) and most of the episodes you listed.
I even like the name City on the Edge of Forever even though it seemingly makes no sense
Depends on your taste and you get used to them after 30 years.
"The Omega Glory" is much, much worse than "Spock's Brain".
I love the titles of TOS episodes. I do not think they are pretentious or pseudo-literary at all.
I honestly don't mind it at all. An interesting concept - that the human/humanoid brain is far more complex than a man made computer and could be used to run a huge underground city. But there were moments: like when Spock is giving instructions to McCoy on completing the brain surgery, where you have to laugh and not take it too seriously!
A few changes made might have made a world of difference to this episode. Sometimes people get brain cramp and poor decisions are made. Other times it can seem like nothing is going right and the episode comes out well.
TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise" is an example of when supposedly nothing went well on that production and yet somehow everything came out fine. Mind you the followup to those events resulting in Tasha Yar's daughter boggles my imagination.
TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise" is an example of when supposedly nothing went well on that production and yet somehow everything came out fine. Mind you the followup to those events resulting in Tasha Yar's daughter boggles my imagination.
I think it's great.
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The fact is, most Trek episodes are silly. When you hard core critique these things and analyze every little detail then that pretty much ruins the whole thing. I like this episode, Star Trek is supposed to have a certain level of humor, that's one of the things that makes it Star Trek. Yes it's a little cheesy sometimes, but good God a lot better than the stuff that makes you cringe on TV today. I can't think of a good example but almost every sitcom makes me cringe at some point.
IzzyatWarp9:
Our Man Bashir is a perfect episode. I can't even word when talking about this episode I love it so much.
IzzyatWarp9:
Our Man Bashir is a perfect episode. I can't even word when talking about this episode I love it so much.
I remember once I compiled a list of the top ten most garish episode titles of 1960s TV. I'll have to see if I can dig that one up.
I actually enjoyed "The Omega Glory" and put "Spock's Brain" into the so bad it's good catagory.
Hmmm... like with "Santa Clause Conquers the Martians"?
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