Who Saw Spock's Brain In It's Original Run on NBC?

[QuasarVM]

I not only saw "Spock's Brain" first run (I was about to have my 12th birthday), it was also the first Trek episode I ever saw.

Have any of you read the Joel Engel biography of Roddenberry? The first episode he ever saw was "Spock's Brain" and he loved it. Something about watching McCoy slowly lose his brilliance as the effect of the Teacher wore off really spoke to him. Only later did he learn that "Brain" was generally regarded as the weakest episode. I think this goes to show that we all respond to different elements in a script. While there are some episodes that I consider sub-par, I can still enjoy watching them.

Still, Quasar is dead right. There are some episodes you just wouldn't share with your non-Trek friends. And he's right about not placing too much blame on Justman, who did much for the series. I just wanted to share what he had related in "Inside Star Trek".

I heard actress Marj Dusay (who played the Imorg Kara) thought Spock's Brain was considered one of the best episodes until informed otherwise when she appeared at a convention.

I would have loved to have been a "fly on the wall" at that appearance!

Heh, I'd like to meet her. I'd ask her how it feels to be a part of one of the (if not THE) most reviled Trek episode ever. I personally don't revile it...but as we all know, plenty of Trekkies do.

 

[Jeri]

Well, there's one thing: once you're in Trek, good or bad, you're never forgotten.

 

[Neopeius]

I can't think of anything in TNG that ever approached the level of awfulness of episodes like "And the Children Shall Lead" or "Plato's Stepchildren".

Data spending 8 hours looking up in a database incidents of people taking showers with their clothes on.

 

[QuasarVM]

Well, there's one thing: once you're in Trek, good or bad, you're never forgotten.

Ooh La La!!!

She still looks good!

 

[Too Much Fun]

I can't think of anything in TNG that ever approached the level of awfulness of episodes like "And the Children Shall Lead" or "Plato's Stepchildren".

Data spending 8 hours looking up in a database incidents of people taking showers with their clothes on.

What episode was this from? I think the fact that I can't remember kind of proves my point. Those original series episodes were so horrible, I will never ever forget them and their painfully cheesy moments. This, on the other hand, sounds like some idea that, while stupid, was also harmless and forgettable. Unlike those two episodes, which will probably traumatize me forever with their unforgettable awfulness.

 

[QuasarVM]

yeah, I don't remember that TNG episode either.

That's the thing about TNG -- when it was bad it was usually BORING bad.

Not even memorable.

Plus, I've probably only seen most TNG episodes a very few times. The TOS episodes are burned into my ganglia from years and years of multiple viewing.

 

[Jeri]

One possibility is TNG:Naked Now; but it could have come up again.

 

[QuasarVM]

One possibility is TNG:Naked Now; but it could have come up again.

Ohhh YEAH!!!

Well, c'mon...how else were they supposed to track down the Psi 2000 (or whatever planet name) virus? If that's all you have to go on then...makes sense...

 

[Noname Given]

I can't think of anything in TNG that ever approached the level of awfulness of episodes like "And the Children Shall Lead" or "Plato's Stepchildren".

Data spending 8 hours looking up in a database incidents of people taking showers with their clothes on.

Or Code of Honor - I needed a shower after that load of garbage ("Urina, be my First One!" - yuck!)

 

[diankra]

A 1970s British angle here, for what it's worth...
In the 1970s we had three TV channels, so repeats were almost unknown. The one exception to this was Star Trek, which the BBC ran for half a year, most years, as a summer scheduble filler.
Though I quite liked Star Trek, I couldn't understand why it was repeated so often, when Doctor Who and Blake's 7 barely got reshown at all.
The BBC's official reason was that Star Trek was so good and popular that it deserved rescreening. The actual reason was that actors' union agreements meant it was difficult to repeat British series, whereas an imported series could be rerun - but (aside from this year's hit - Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, etc) Star Trek was the only one that was popular enough to merit it.
Fair enough. But... I have vivid memories of Blake's 7 ending with a superb season finale, and then the continuity announcer saying something like 'And next week, classic science fiction with another chance to see Star Trek, as the crew of the Enterprise go in search of Spock's Brain...' It was as if the announcer was saying 'Well, now that home-grown rubbish is over, here's some proper American SF'. (and, obviously, I wasn't impressed the next week).
Somehow, that sort of thing (know nothing announcers over-hyping weak episodes) was enough to put me off Trek for quite a few years, till TNG came along.

 

[QuasarVM]

A 1970s British angle here, for what it's worth...
In the 1970s we had three TV channels, so repeats were almost unknown. The one exception to this was Star Trek, which the BBC ran for half a year, most years, as a summer scheduble filler.
Though I quite liked Star Trek, I couldn't understand why it was repeated so often, when Doctor Who and Blake's 7 barely got reshown at all.
The BBC's official reason was that Star Trek was so good and popular that it deserved rescreening. The actual reason was that actors' union agreements meant it was difficult to repeat British series, whereas an imported series could be rerun - but (aside from this year's hit - Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, etc) Star Trek was the only one that was popular enough to merit it.
Fair enough. But... I have vivid memories of Blake's 7 ending with a superb season finale, and then the continuity announcer saying something like 'And next week, classic science fiction with another chance to see Star Trek, as the crew of the Enterprise go in search of Spock's Brain...' It was as if the announcer was saying 'Well, now that home-grown rubbish is over, here's some proper American SF'. (and, obviously, I wasn't impressed the next week).
Somehow, that sort of thing (know nothing announcers over-hyping weak episodes) was enough to put me off Trek for quite a few years, till TNG came along.

'
HA! Well, they picked the wrong episode to brag on!

Hey, I like both UK SF AND US SF! So there!

 

[IrritatingGameOfChess]

... I have vivid memories of Blake's 7 ending with a superb season finale, and then the continuity announcer saying something like 'And next week, classic science fiction with another chance to see Star Trek, as the crew of the Enterprise go in search of Spock's Brain...'

"Blake's 7" is a great show, and all four if its season finales were fantastic!

Hey, I like both UK SF AND US SF! So there!

I like them both, too!

 

[Neopeius]

What episode was this from? I think the fact that I can't remember kind of proves my point.

The Naked Now.

 

[Terengo]

I was 15 when "Spock's Brain" aired. I wasn't the most critical of thinkers back then. I recall thinking the science behind using a brain to control a city's life support system was very clever, but didn't buy it at all when they put Spock's body on remote control. I did like the idea of stored and downloadable knowledge banks. When you get right down to it, I was most impressed with the women (and their costumes).

Also, "Brain and brain! What is brain?" is one of the best lines in all of Trek, and I mean that in a good way.

 

[QuasarVM]

Yeah, there were some interesting ideas behind the episode...

 

[SheliakBob]

I saw "Spock's Brain" in first run. I remember enjoying it, even though at the time I thought parts of it were giggle-worthy.

I was in grade school at the time and my circle of friends took to making that "click-click-click" sound whenever we thought someone was being particularly "brainless".

Even being pre-adolescent at the time, that whole "Givers of Pain and Pleasure" thing, and those go-go boots hit some kind of twitchity "there's something INTERESTING about that...I just don't know exactly what it is though" nerve.

The only third season show that I remember actively disliking was "Spectre of the Gun". Loved the Melkot, hated the minimalist sets and the whole stupid "gunfight in space" scenario. blech.

 

[QuasarVM]

It was only when I was older that I grew to like the minimalist sets. I know it was for budgetary reasons, but now I think it gives the episode a kind of eerie feeling. It's as if the Melkotians didn't have enough knowledge of the period to completely flesh it out.

So, to me, kinda interesting in that context...