Is "Genesis" the "Spock's Brain" of TNG?

[Smiley]

"Genesis" is not the "Spock's Brain" of TNG; it's much worse than that. "Spock's Brain" is at least an entertaining implausible story with plenty of 60s style. "Genesis" is simply dumb for all of the reasons that Trekker4747 stated and more.

The moment that killed it for me? Crusher finds out that Worf has a venom sac, then proceeds to ask him to open his mouth while she's standing right in front of him. What did she think would happen?

 

[Trekker4747]

"Genesis" is not the "Spock's Brain" of TNG; it's much worse than that. "Spock's Brain" is at least an entertaining implausible story with plenty of 60s style. "Genesis" is simply dumb for all of the reasons that Trekker4747 stated and more.

I was feeling kind.

The moment that killed it for me? Crusher finds out that Worf has a venom sac, then proceeds to ask him to open his mouth while she's standing right in front of him. What did she think would happen?

That Worf's venom was made of delicious fudge?

Genesis is harmless silly fun......

Too bad in the '90s people -and sci-fi fans in general- expected more from their shows than episodic nonsense where things happen with zero consequences and the things that DO happen are devestating events that would ruin people, relationships and careers.

The episode rapes itself and the entire franchise at the end with the soft, bent, and abused dildo belonging to Rosanne Barr and then turns it on the fans.

 

[Cyke101]

I can forgive bad science, but I generally dislike episodes where the conflict is resolved without any form of character development whatsoever. Unless you're the type to argue that Ogawa's fetus had a full arch.

If we kept the premise the same, at least show our heroes doing something in addition to dealing with the crisis, which is only the framework. Have them bond or fight. Just something.

 

[RAMA]

I actually couldn't care less if the science is rediculous in this episode, I find it very enjoyable and well directed. If I wanted to be convinced by theories on Evolution I would watch a documentary. This is supposed to be escapism after all.

We can "allow" the ridiculous science. I mean transporters and warp-drive have a few ounces of ridiculum to them. But my problem is the way it was used, the contrivances, and the way everything is just shrugged off and ignored at the end.

"Oh, I just accidently activated ALL of your T-Cells instead of one, so the crew de-evolved, people were killed, people were traumatized, the ship was put in shambles. But it's ok now. Ha ha ha ha. I even had my face burned off but I'm all happy and stuff now!"

God. This episode reeks of Bragaisms that would become staples in Voyager.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Braga is an.... "ok" writer. He's got some good ideas in his head. Good ideas that BECOME good and even awesome when ran through the wringer of someone much better than him Piller and RDM for example. But when he's got no one to run checks on him and tune in his idea? We get episodic silly CRAP.

You do realize of course NO ONE remembered anything they did while in that state...its hardly likely there would be phsychological trauma if we accept they were all restored normally.

RAMA

 

[WillsBabe]

There are aspects to this episode I quite like. I think Gates did a nice job building up the atmosphere of foreboding and things being out of kilter at the beginning of the episode. I really like the scene in 10 Forward with Worf and Troi. I think the de-evolved Worf is impressive, and I love the moment when Picard comments that any minute now he'll be swinging through the ship looking for lunch! I really don't like the light, humourous ending, though, when you think of the implications of what all this has done to the crew. OTOH, it's such an outlandish episode that to address all that would have probably been too big an issue.

 

[Orac Zen]

This is in my bottom three eps for the entire series and in my bottom five for all Trek. It's complete and utter garbage - one of the worst instances of what I call Trek's Magical DNA Syndrome (TM), where DNA can do Absolutely Anything (no matter how absurd and implausible) which can then be undone with some sort of convenient medical 'babble in time for the end credits. "Spock's Brain" is so bad it's hilarious; "Genesis" is just flat-out bad and for mine has zero redeeming features. To each their own, however.

 

[Trekker4747]

You do realize of course NO ONE remembered anything they did while in that state...its hardly likely there would be phsychological trauma if we accept they were all restored normally.

RAMA

I don't recall them suggesting, or saying, that no one remembered what happened. Even if so, people were still killed, Beverly still had her face burned off with Klingon venom and Troi still was biten severely in the cheek.

Beverly and Troi's experiences happened before the more severe effects of Barclay's Protomorphisis Syndrome's more severe changes took hold.

All stuff they're going to/should remember.

And Riker still lost "much" of his brain and had to have it (somehow) "re-grown" and "somehow" had the parts that needed to regrow retrained and/developed to his "normal" state. (But, I guess they did manage to "reteach" Uhura everything she knew after her mind was wiped by NOMAD.... Even her memories?) Feh.

Still, an absurd and ridiculous episode. I mean it's got a level of "fun" to it and it's at least watchable (same cannot be said for Shades of Gray) it just reeks of Bragaisms and has too much of an aborted non-ending.

 

[Rhaenys]

I can forgive bad science, but I generally dislike episodes where the conflict is resolved without any form of character development whatsoever.

I don't really agree... There age very good episodes, that are plot centered, without that "character development", like Timescape, Cause and Effect, which are one of the best TNG episodes, IMO.

Character development is good, but it's so overrated today.

Genesis has definitely some plot holes, and it's not very realistic episode, but at least, like Trekker4747 wrote, it has a lavel of fun, and it's watchable.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Yeah, this story has all the scientific accuracy of the average Super-Friends episode, but any show that can take a person dying of old age and beam her through the pattern buffers with a hair follicle and magically restore her DNA to perfect health and then never use this to save a single life in the future, always gets some slack from me.

It was dumb, but fun. Forgettable, too. But at least they let the music have some volume for a change.

 

[Unicron]

The moment that killed it for me? Crusher finds out that Worf has a venom sac, then proceeds to ask him to open his mouth while she's standing right in front of him. What did she think would happen?

She also told Barclay that the T-cell in his DNA was acting up, but as the ST Encyclopedia pointed out, it's the other way around (there is DNA in T-cells, but not T-cells in DNA!).

 

[I am not Spock]

"Genesis" is not the "Spock's Brain" of TNG; it's much worse than that. "Spock's Brain" is at least an entertaining implausible story with plenty of 60s style. "Genesis" is simply dumb for all of the reasons that Trekker4747 stated and more.

The moment that killed it for me? Crusher finds out that Worf has a venom sac, then proceeds to ask him to open his mouth while she's standing right in front of him. What did she think would happen?

Yeah. When TOS was bad, it was at least entertaining. 'Spocks Brain' and 'And the Children Shall Lead' even had a few fun moments that nearly saved them. When TNG or any of the other Berman Trek shows are bad, they are just bad. 'Genesis' was a stinker.

 

[Maurice]

...I thought in the Trek world they say that humans evolved from monkeys...

Ape-like common ancestor. Monkeys aren't the same thing.

 

[The Sneeze Police]

Not one of my favorites, and I haven't ever watched it again on DVD, but I'll watch it when it comes on network TV.

 

[saxarocks]

i dont like how silly almost always has to be considered bad. i loved watching the actors have to make fools out of themselves. it is one of my favorite episodes for that reason.

 

[WalkinMan]

IMO, Genesis is nowhere near as bad as Spock's Brain. Sure, it had flaws, but nowhere as cringe-worthy a line as...

"Brain and Brain, What IS Brain??"



Not to mention, at least Genesis had thematic elements, interesting EFX, etc. to make it more interesting. Spock's Brain was near-cancellation, jump-the-shark waste of episode filler.

 

[cultcross]

i dont like how silly almost always has to be considered bad.

Only when it's, well, bad.
The Magnificent Ferengi is silly, and I love it. Trials and Tribbleations is silly and it's brilliant. Silly doesn't mean bad, necessarily. But Genesis and The Outrageous Okona (for example) are both silly and bad.

 

[Nebusj]

IMO, Genesis is nowhere near as bad as Spock's Brain. Sure, it had flaws, but nowhere as cringe-worthy a line as...

"Brain and Brain, What IS Brain??"

On the other hand, is there any line in `Genesis' that anyone actually remembers? ``Brain and Brain, What IS Brain?'' has got some cachet.

Not to mention, at least Genesis had thematic elements, interesting EFX, etc. to make it more interesting. Spock's Brain was near-cancellation, jump-the-shark waste of episode filler.

Of course, Spock's Brain does show the division of society into a female/technological/mental/comfortable side and a male/primitive/brawn/struggle side, and how neither can actually be progressive or useful until brought together. If you want to claim Genesis has a theme it's cheating to ignore that Spock's Brain has them.

(Not to mention other little points, such as how it requires several people to provide Kirk with an inadequate substitute for his friend and first officer. Then there's how neither Spock nor McCoy by themselves can bring Spock back to health, although in combination they can work wonders.)

 

[WalkinMan]

Those are valid points about the 'themes' that Spock's Brain has. What I was referring to was 'atmosphere' -- more accurately stated. My sense of Spock's Brain was that it was as dead to watch as it was brainless. And usually I'm quite generous with Trek episodes. I concede however there are flaws in Genesis as well. But I meant that the atmospheric elements of Genesis were more interesting. The 'haunted house' feel really gave that episode a creepy foreboding sense that wasn't seen in TNG before.

Moreover, on the issue of 'themes', I'm inclined to view the male vs. female, yin-yang brought-together thing as somewhat gender stereotypic...that men are all "dumb muscle" and women "empathy and thought." While it's true that the genders can complement each other, humans have less sexual dimorphism than other species, despite what some pop authors and cultural aphorisms may claim. Going to the male vs. female split is often too easy, since all of us possess male and female qualities in real life. Perhaps the themes of this TOS episode do not translate as well to the modern day as others.

Lastly, it's telling how Leonard Nimoy himself spoke of feeling ill and disappointed at the filming of this episode, while Gates McFadden was embroiled in set unrest over hers. Both probably suffered somewhat from those issues, but in the end IMO the disenchantment translates more obviously in Spock's Brain.

 

[ToddKent]

The way Barclay delivers the line "My capillaries are shrinking" is hilarious.