Now I really know why I like Spock's Brain...

[gottacook]

Bad Atom: Thanks for the link; seems to be accurate when composers are named, but not necessarily otherwise - case in point, "Patterns of Force," which is credited to Duning in the episode itself but is called "tracked from other episodes" in this chart; the minor-key military music doesn't appear in any other episode, I think, so I've always attributed it to Duning.

I wrote to Duning in 1980 as a fan of his Trek music - and he wrote back! He was just at the end of his career then, with the theatrical film The Man with Bogart's Face (aka Sam Marlowe, Private Eye).

My favorite of his Trek scores is probably "Metamorphosis" followed closely by "Is There in Truth No Beauty" and "Return to Tomorrow," but "The Empath" holds special meaning for me because of its rhythmic suppleness (especially in the several-minutes-long dialogue-free fourth-act scene).

Not to stray too far from the topic: I think all the third-season original scores are great (OK, maybe "ATCSL" a little less so, but the leaving-orbit cue at the end, reharmonizing the C-B-D-Bb motif from earlier, is top-notch). It so happens the third-season shows are the only ones I saw first-run, so my memories may be colored accordingly, but I really think they hold up very well.

 

[T'Bonz]

The idea of removing someone's brain and using it to operate something was interesting, but the execution was so bad. The women? I remember thinking at the time (when I first saw it,) that the writer must have really thought women were utterly stupid and worthless.

Then again, in the 1960s, many women were written to seem like brainless ninnies. Way too many.

 

[Christopher]

^^To be fair, the men of Sigma Draconis VI weren't very bright either. I think the intent wasn't "Women are idiots" so much as "People who become too dependent on super-advanced technology to do their thinking for them become mindless."

 

[T'Bonz]

You're right about that. I guess the stupidity of the women was more grating on my nerves though.

 

[cooleddie74]

Say what you will, Kara and Luma were HOT.

Besides, any STAR TREK episode with Blair's mom from THE FACTS OF LIFE in a miniskirt and go-go boots isn't a complete waste and loss.

 

[opali]

"Spock's Brain" is a greatly underappreciated episode. Sure, it's got a silly story, but it's got good production values, it features one of the best musical scores of the entire series, and it gives the whole cast a chance to participate more than usual. And, bottom line, it's entertaining. There are several TOS episodes that are worse than "Spock's Brain," notably "The Alternative Factor," which is a total mess and just isn't fun to sit through. "Spock's Brain" is fun. The reason it's so infamous as the "worst" TOS episode is not because it's actually the worst, but because it's the most enjoyable and unforgettable bad episode.

Agreed. "The Way to Eden" was quite the low point all around, in my opinion. I still watch it , but it is harder for me to sit through than "The Alternative Factor" which was, I would say, the weakest of Season 1. "Spock's Brain" has so much more going for it than either of those episodes.

 

[cooleddie74]

The Lazarus episode tried to be moody and creepy but the cheesiness and massive loopholes in logic in the plot sank it. The Eden episode tried to make a comment on late 60s hippie philosophy and its failings, but the over-the-top campiness and goofiness tanked it.

 

[gottacook]

Aw, man - I can't let criticism of "The Way to Eden" just slip by. The original music in the UNCUT episode is really excellent, and Charles Napier's singing isn't bad either. Adam is really the central guest role, more so than Dr. Sevrin.

I admit: My opinions are colored by this having been an episode that I saw first-run, when I was 12 1/2. Not only that, but my parents had just been to NYC to see the musical Hair on Broadway, and we had the 8-track tape of the original cast album in the car constantly (I thank my folks for helping to show me that words in themselves aren't dangerous; some of those songs featured some rather interesting words). That is to say, I could appreciate what this episode with its musical numbers was trying to do: to emulate the best qualities of the justifiably popular Hair. Viewers today don't make this connection, but the episode would likely never have happened without it.

Okay, Irina's surname gets pronounced three different ways by two different actors, and there's that pesky reversed shot of Kirk watching Sevrin eat the poisoned fruit - but the third season is necessary to help us appreciate how great most of the first- and second-season episodes were.

 

[EEE]

I have said this elsewhere here, but Daniels direction of the 'I'm in control of my emotions' briefing room scene in NT is possibly THE single most important scene in Trek history - it is the scene which defined Spock's character forever- and it is done in one exquisitely long dolly shot - and it was done in ONE take at the end of a shooting day!

If I recall, that's the scene where Nimoy had to go to Roddenberry to protect his character from the original setup of the scene (breaking down in the corridor versus in private). Again if I recall correctly, it was quite the heated situation between Nimoy and the director.

 

[cooleddie74]

I'll always admit that Charles Napier's singing in "Eden" is the best part of the whole episode. The music may have been cheesy, but it was fun.

 

[johcomp]

Nothing is as hilarious to me in Spock's Brain as Shatner's scene-chewing campness during the "Great leader..Great LEADER!! We come from far away to LEARN from your ConTROLLer!!!" and "you MUST put BACK what you have TAKEN!" Classic Shatner at his best!!

 

[Gov Kodos]

"Spock's Brain" is one of my guily pleasures. A fun episode that was well directed and had some comedy, some drama, and some scenes you could call either way. Bone's "I knew I shouldn't have reconnected his mouth." still sounds funny after countless viewings.

 

[cooleddie74]

After that WONDER YEARS episode I'll never look at "Spock's Brain" the same way again.

 

[opali]

Aw, man - I can't let criticism of "The Way to Eden" just slip by. The original music in the UNCUT episode is really excellent, and Charles Napier's singing isn't bad either. Adam is really the central guest role, more so than Dr. Sevrin.

I admit: My opinions are colored by this having been an episode that I saw first-run, when I was 12 1/2. Not only that, but my parents had just been to NYC to see the musical Hair on Broadway, and we had the 8-track tape of the original cast album in the car constantly (I thank my folks for helping to show me that words in themselves aren't dangerous; some of those songs featured some rather interesting words). That is to say, I could appreciate what this episode with its musical numbers was trying to do: to emulate the best qualities of the justifiably popular Hair. Viewers today don't make this connection, but the episode would likely never have happened without it.

Okay, Irina's surname gets pronounced three different ways by two different actors, and there's that pesky reversed shot of Kirk watching Sevrin eat the poisoned fruit - but the third season is necessary to help us appreciate how great most of the first- and second-season episodes were.

Ha ha. Well put. There is the way Adam moves his fingers when McCoy says that he is dead, too, but ah well. It's all in good fun.

Nothing is as hilarious to me in Spock's Brain as Shatner's scene-chewing campness during the "Great leader..Great LEADER!! We come from far away to LEARN from your ConTROLLer!!!" and "you MUST put BACK what you have TAKEN!" Classic Shatner at his best!!

Agreed...

 

[JoeD80]

Desi Arnaz somehow got all the credit, but it was Daniels and Karl Freund the cinematographer who really pioneered how to shoot I LOVE LUCY live and before an audience, thus inventing the modern sitcom.

Since Ralph Levy directed the pilot, it would have been hard for Daniels to pioneer that; although Daniels did 3-cameras (Levy had done 4), it was producer Jess Oppenheimer who came up with the live studio audience idea.

 

[kissthestar]

...Those that are just plain horrible in every way (e.g., Cat's Paw)...

I like cat's paw; it has "cat" in the title, has a cat in the show and portrays the boys in chains in a dungeon. Very entertaining indeed.

And it has that great moment where Kirk glances in McCoy's direction and says, "Bones..." Then, he sees actual bones. Love it. Also like the advanced-technology-seems-like-magic aspect of the ep. Plus the little alien forms at the end of the ep would make great pencil novelties. Like the MacBeth ref, too.

 

[cooleddie74]

The dungeon and "Bones" scene in "Catspaw" actually works for the most part. I try not to notice the med school craniotomy/sawcut marks in the skeleton's skull though.

 

[ClayinCA]

And it has that great moment where Kirk glances in McCoy's direction and says, "Bones..." Then, he sees actual bones. Love it.

...And then Kirk calls him either "Doc" or "McCoy" for the rest of the episode! Absolutely classic.

 

[cooleddie74]

And it has that great moment where Kirk glances in McCoy's direction and says, "Bones..." Then, he sees actual bones. Love it.

...And then Kirk calls him either "Doc" or "McCoy" for the rest of the episode! Absolutely classic.

A delightful, classic bright spot or two in an otherwise cheesy dumbfest.

 

[tranya]

This thread is rather amazing -- I've known Marc's name since childhood, but never fully appreciated what he brought to the show until now. Thanks for illuminating this!