Do you wish more two-parters had been made for TOS?

[Christopher]

Turnabout Intruder is abominable, and it's just a shame that such a stinker was the last episode of TOS to air. (In Spock's Brain it's at least possible to admire Nimoy's acting skills. His eyes look totally dead when he's without most of his brain.)

"Spock's Brain" has a lot more going for it than is generally appreciated. Sure, it's got a silly B-movie premise, but it's well-made. The actors treat the premise with great seriousness and elevate it. Nimoy's absence allows the rest of the ensemble to shine in a way they were rarely allowed to. The production values are excellent, with the rear-projected bridge viewscreen being a particular highlight. And Fred Steiner's musical score is perhaps his finest work for the entire series, as if he felt an obligation to compensate for the weakness of the material and sell it through the score. As ludicrous as "Spock's Brain" is, it's nonetheless fun and watchable. There are other episodes that are just dire and unpleasant, and "Turnabout Intruder" is definitely on that list. ("The Alternative Factor" and "And the Children Shall Lead" are there as well, and probably others.)

 

[The Old Mixer]

Nimoy wasn't absent...Spock's brain was.

 

[Christopher]

Nimoy wasn't absent...Spock's brain was.

I'm referring to the scenes where Nimoy was absent, notably the bridge scene where Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov all got to participate with Kirk in the deductive and problem-solving process that Spock would normally have carried all by himself. It was one of their best moments in the series, and it was only possible because Spock wasn't there.

 

[JimZipCode]

And Fred Steiner's musical score is perhaps his finest work for the entire series...

Not sure I agree with you on the overall ranking of the score, but whenever I listen to "Caveman Fight" or "Scientific Fight", I can't get it out of my head for a week.

 

[Spock's Barber]

I've gotten flak for bringing this up before, but I feel that TOS has its share of episodes that feel padded out to fill an hour timeslot as it is...stories that could have been told more tightly in a half-hour format.

When Rod Serling was working on the Twillight Zone series, the CBS network big wigs came up with the idea that the TZ was good for 30 minutes, SO it had to be great as an hour long show! Serling was adamantly opposed to the idea, simply for the reason you posted. Most of the hour long TZ episodes drag on with needless dialogue. I don't think that ST needed any more 2 part episodes. The hour long format was just fine.

 

[CrazyMatt]

I'm sorry, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that anyone would want more of "Turnabout Intruder." I'd rather subtract an hour from its running length than add one.

Agreed. This episode should have been a no-parter.

 

[tomalak301]

"Spock's Brain" has a lot more going for it than is generally appreciated. Sure, it's got a silly B-movie premise, but it's well-made. The actors treat the premise with great seriousness and elevate it. Nimoy's absence allows the rest of the ensemble to shine in a way they were rarely allowed to. The production values are excellent, with the rear-projected bridge viewscreen being a particular highlight. And Fred Steiner's musical score is perhaps his finest work for the entire series, as if he felt an obligation to compensate for the weakness of the material and sell it through the score. As ludicrous as "Spock's Brain" is, it's nonetheless fun and watchable. There are other episodes that are just dire and unpleasant, and "Turnabout Intruder" is definitely on that list. ("The Alternative Factor" and "And the Children Shall Lead" are there as well, and probably others.)

After watching Spocks Brain this week, I noticed that the first half of the episode is actually quite good, especially the scene where Kirk is having a discussion on the bridge regarding what planet to go to. A scene like that typically doesn't happen in the series, so it was refreshing that it happened here.

An episode like And the Children Shall Lead, on the other hand, is repetitive and just annoying.

 

[Supernova Nexus]

For the most part, TOS episodes did not seem to require a two-parter to expand on the theme, given the pace of most episodes.

 

[Vandervecken]

I'd have liked to have seen more of Nimoy as Henoch, so for that alone I'd have liked a two-parter of Return to Tomorrow. More on Sargon's people would have been good, maybe one or two more of them, eg a relatively weak-willed member or at least Beta male/female member of his kind still surviving, a doctor to instruct McCoy, etc.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

Turnabout Intruder ranks as my worst TOS episode behind even Spock's Brain.

Personally, I could watch Turnabout Intruder all day. It's unintentionally hilarious at times and never boring.

Here's a weird idea: "Mirror, Mirror" is Part 1, and STC's "Fairest of Them All" is Part 2. Works for me.

Speaking of STC, they are planning a 2-part series finale for a few years from now, so it'll be interesting to see how the pacing works out on that.

 

[Greg Cox]

When Rod Serling was working on the Twillight Zone series, the CBS network big wigs came up with the idea that the TZ was good for 30 minutes, SO it had to be great as an hour long show! Serling was adamantly opposed to the idea, simply for the reason you posted. Most of the hour long TZ episodes drag on with needless dialogue..

Yep. There's a reason TZ went back to half-hour episodes the next season.