OK. I see your point. Not so much lacking friends, but lacking a spouse/companion.
You're right. No beach to walk on
What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?
- Thread starter Amasov
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OK. I see your point. Not so much lacking friends, but lacking a spouse/companion.
You're right. No beach to walk on
Shit when he said this, he was a senior, living alone in his apartment, since decades. Of course he thinks he's going to die alone.
And when he "always knew" he'd die alone - you can read several things into it: 1) In TOS the Enterprise was always his great love, not any woman. So he probably knew he'd never settle down with a family, and 2) As long as his friends are there, he's invincible and they'd have his back. So the only way for him to die, is in a moment where they aren't there.
I think this works very well with the character, where he stands in life at that moment, even if it wasn't set up previously.
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Or self fulfilling prophecy
I've already said let's just agree to disagree.
And I have said that I think you are just wrong. I understand you are a writer. I respect you for that. But I still disagree with what you are saying about the writer's choice in this scenario. I do not believe the writer's words in that scene were poorly chosen at all. You are anlyzing Kirk's words like a lawyer arguing a contract law case in court. I think the writer did a fine job of having Kirk say a very human thing that makes total sense for the character.
Now, all that being said, I will just leave it there. I have stated my opinion numerous ways on the matter and I don't want to continue to beat a dead imaginary Nexus horse. So, as @Farscape One said, l will just agree to disagree and move on.
Most things that people describe as "I've always known" are things they haven't given thought to until recently, and that thought hasn't changed.
If you ever want to go down that rabbit hole, search for Brain Rot on YouTube.
"THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR".
Senility.
I think I conflated two fandoms.
There is a Doctor Who story called The Armageddon Factor.
Which is also shit.
"Spock's Brain" takes a lot of shit, but "The Alternative Factor" is truly an episode that I just cannot rewatch. I can't even tell you when I last saw that episode in its entirety. It is just so awful."THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR".
(And I agree, that is the second worst episode of TOS, with "AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD" being the worst.)
Love the others in season 3 you mention, too.
"THE EMPATH" - best showcase of the trio's bond in the franchise.
"SPECTRE OF THE GUN" - creepy atmosphere, with an interesting metaphysical thought by Spock toward the end.
"THE THOLIAN WEB" - one of my favorites of TOS period.
Heck, since we are in a thread about controversial opinions, I'll admit to liking "Spock's Brain." I think the idea of a human brain being used in place of a supercomputer is an interesting premise, if unevenly executed. I think the episode is fun, unlike "The Alternative Factor," which is just tedious. And I love the scene on the bridge where they are trying to decide which planet to go to. It is one of the only times, perhaps the one and only time, where we see Kirk work with Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura on the bridge to solve a problem as a group. And I like the use of rear projection for the viewscreen.
I like the Armageddon Factor. Last part to the Key to Time, right?
That's the one! YMMV, of course. :-)
I will watch the Alternative Factor before multiple Enterprise and Voyager and TNG episodes.
Yes, it's an underrated episode for those reasons; I'd add that it has what's probably Fred Steiner's best musical score for TOS.
As for the brain angle, I realized a few years back that the title was probably an allusion to Donovan's Brain, the 1942 Curt Siodmak novel about a dead man's brain being kept alive, which was evidently very popular, getting three movie adaptations, two radio adaptations, and a live TV adaptation between 1944 and 1962. So it would've been very familiar to late-1960s audiences.
It's loads of fun. I think it's one of those episodes that's snowballishly garnered a negative reception through word of mouth, so people watching it for the first time go into it preloaded, expecting it to be shit.
'Spock's Brain is the worst episode'... it's been repeated often enough, often in non-Star Trek contexts that it's become a kind of reality... I don't agree at all though.
It's fine. Anything written by Gene Coon is fine for me. Not the best, but it's seriously far from being the worst.
I had a theory, at least until SNW reconned them, about the origins of the Gorn. First, the Gorn Captain in Arena bled iron based blood. Secondly, the climate, air pressure, oxygen content and gravitational attraction of Vasquez Rocks the planetoid were compatible for both Kirk and Captain G. That tells me they came from compatible worlds...so why not Earth? As in pre-Chicxulub meteor impact Earth.
Perhaps some dinosaurs, gorn sized dinosaurs, developed a space program and made it off in time, ala When Worlds Collide. That's a premise worthy of Star Trek, not the xenomorphic berserker trope that we see.
Controversial?
If this gives you a story for a novel and it sells, give me a shout out in your intro, whomever you may be. I'm throwing this idea into the Universe.
Perhaps some dinosaurs, gorn sized dinosaurs, developed a space program and made it off in time, ala When Worlds Collide. That's a premise worthy of Star Trek, not the xenomorphic berserker trope that we see.
Controversial?
If this gives you a story for a novel and it sells, give me a shout out in your intro, whomever you may be. I'm throwing this idea into the Universe.
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I love Spock's Brain. The campiness is perfect. "What is brain?"
I concur. "Spock's Brain" isn't the worst TOS episode. At least these three are worse:
Possibly so are:
I expect the opposite of universal agreement. In particular, I know "Spectre of the Gun" gets a lot of love, but I never cared for it.
On the other hand, for me, these episodes are definitely better:
YMMV.
"And the Children Shall Lead"
"The Lights of Zetar"
"Plato's Stepchildren"
Possibly so are:
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
"Spectre of the Gun"
"For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"
I expect the opposite of universal agreement. In particular, I know "Spectre of the Gun" gets a lot of love, but I never cared for it.
On the other hand, for me, these episodes are definitely better:
"The Alternative Factor"
"The Way to Eden"
"The Cloud Minders"
YMMV.
I support this. I do rate these above Spock's Brain. I never cared for Spectre of the Gun as I found it just dumb, like Spock's Brain.
I would consider "Spectre of the Gun" to be a mid-range episode. Not great, not horrible. I think for season 3, it is a fairly solid offering. I particularly like how they managed to make their low budget work to their advantage in this one, creating the surreal half-complete town. I thought the atmosphere was good.
"The Empath" is brilliant minimalism with one of the most effective and memorable guest star turns of the entire series. One of McCoy's best moments in the whole show and the Troika is at their most protective and caring for one another, plus the Vians' makeup is just on-point and all the moreso given the more budget-constrained parameters imposed by the studio for the third and final season.
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