# Spock's Brain - worst episode ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702 "2006-09-14T15:54:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/141 "2007-06-15T21:10:25Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] Spock’s Brain IMHO gets a bum rap for no good reason. [/QUOTE] Oh, there’s a good reason: The incredibly crappy wooden dialogue phoned in by guest actors. “You are not Morg! You are not Eymorg! What are you?” “No! Kara, do not let them take the Controller!” “They will be prevented!” Also, the premise of a species of humanoids divided into two separate and hostile societies of males and females is . . . well, not totally dumb, but this was a really dumb way to develop it. Besides, refresh my memory – how exactly were these people supposed to reproduce? And **all** of them appear to be mentally retarded. Not merely ignorant, but retarded. How did that vast complex of machinery get built in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/142 "2007-06-15T21:11:40Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] Remember, the remastered versions loose some bits of the episodes to make room for the new shots. In the episode mentioned, The Doomsday Machine, there’s a snippet missing where Decker mentions that he doesn’t suppose Vulcans do bluff. Small, but important. I caught one of the remastered episodes, “The Immunity Syndrome”. Not terribly keen on the new theme, but the new effects are a bit of a hoot. I’d love to see one of the new landscapes from episodes like “Spock’s Brain” or “Amok Time”. [/QUOTE] My understanding is that the remastered versions that are currently being broadcast are shortened (missing some scenes) for the purpose of longer commercial breaks. The remastered FX footage replaces the old FX shots and the amount of actual footage is about the same. Hopefully, when these are released on DVD ALL the original (non-FX) footage will be restored. I’m not sure what is new about the theme song. Is there some re-mixing of it that these old ears don’t detect? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/143 "2007-06-15T21:14:37Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] And **all** of them appear to be mentally retarded. Not merely ignorant, but retarded. How did that vast complex of machinery get built in the first place? [/QUOTE] I thought the idea was that the machine made life too easy, and their intelligence atrophied as a result. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/144 "2007-06-15T21:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] Hopefully, when these are released on DVD ALL the original (non-FX) footage will be restored. I’m not sure what is new about the theme song. Is there some re-mixing of it that these old ears don’t detect? [/QUOTE] I don’t like that “hopefully”. Someone posted that the episodes will have all footage when released on DVD. Mrs. Plant is really annoyed about the re-recorded score. I think it sounds great. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/145 "2007-06-15T21:36:17Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] I laugh at Eden, [Charles Napier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Napier_%28actor%29) as a hippy? Funny how that’s never mentioned in any articles about his hard man image in the movies and TV 😃 [/QUOTE] Every time I see him on another show these days, I sing out “Goin’ to Eden, yay brother…” And I use “Brain and brain.. what is BRAIN” all the time. Why yes, I am a geek. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/146 "2007-06-15T21:48:34Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] I’d love to see one of the new landscapes from episodes like “Spock’s Brain” or “Amok Time”. [/QUOTE] [www.trekmovie.com](http://www.trekmovie.com) has before and after photos for all the remastered episodes. You’ll have to look around for the “TOS-R” section of the page. They may be down right now–when I went over to get the actual url for the Tos-R pages I got a screen saying they had exceeded their something-or-other. The Alaska-like background for the “Spock’s Brain” beam down does look nice. The “Amok Time” desert/mountaintop is quite nifty as well. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/147 "2007-06-16T01:07:00Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] Would sex with a robot, a _girl_ robot, be more akin to masturbation or bestiality? [/QUOTE] Masturbation, obviously. A robot is a device, not a living thing. It’s basically a very complex vibrator. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/148 "2007-06-16T02:52:06Z")
I would assume that the DVD set would leave as much original (non-FX) footage in, as is available from the original broadcast versions. (I am gonna guess that the original episodes were filmed with “x” minutes, then got snipped/edited down to fit the broadcast time that was the standard back then. (Which is what? What is it now? 48 minutes?) The DVD set does not have to be “Edited to run in the time alloted”. But that is just that, assumption. I didnt see one in [Startrek.com](http://Startrek.com)… Is there a developer’s forum for the remastered episodes were we can search for (or ask) some of these questions? 1. How much original (non-FX) footage is included in the DVD set? How does this compare to what was originally aired in 65-67? 2. When will the entire orginal series be considered finished in regards to this remastering project? When will this remastered TOS be available on DVD sets? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/149 "2007-06-16T03:49:47Z")
Between this thread and watching the refurbed eps every Saturday (they have been showing many of the worst the past month) I’m seeing just how LAME most ST-TOS eps were. Some are BARELY BETTER than the “Lost in Space” episodes Channel 23 shows in the slot before. OTOH, they follow ST-TOS with “Maverick” and “Have Gun, Will Travel.” I love that channel! ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/150 "2007-06-16T04:05:39Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] Between this thread and watching the refurbed eps every Saturday (they have been showing many of the worst the past month) I’m seeing just how LAME most ST-TOS eps were. Some are BARELY BETTER than the “Lost in Space” episodes Channel 23 shows in the slot before. OTOH, they follow ST-TOS with “Maverick” and “Have Gun, Will Travel.” I love that channel! [/QUOTE] I am facinated by how those old episodes are held in reverence today. (I have a soft spot for them as well.) I presume that is because, for me, when I saw them, I was very young, not yet corrupted (and made cynical) by life, excited about what the future may hold for me, and a hyperstimulated and hyperactive imagination. 🆒 Seeing them again temporarily places me back into that frame of mind. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/151 "2007-06-16T09:07:03Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] Between this thread and watching the refurbed eps every Saturday (they have been showing many of the worst the past month) I’m seeing just how LAME most ST-TOS eps were. Some are BARELY BETTER than the “Lost in Space” episodes Channel 23 shows in the slot before [/QUOTE] Even as a fan, I know there’s a lot of silly stuff between the decent episodes. For all the nonsense from Lost in Space like the vegetable revolution episode, there are equally silly episodes like The Children Shall Lead and the Space Hippies :rolleyes: On balance though good Trek is better than good Lost in Space or Land of the Giants. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/152 "2007-06-16T16:58:28Z")
My understanding is that Okuda and company timed the new special effects to run eaxactly the same length of time as the originals. It is also my understanding that when the remastered eps are released to DVD, the non-FX footage will be the entirety of that show’s original. Thus if a show originally ran 49:12 in 1966, when it is released on TOS-R DVD, the version with the new FX will also run exactly 49:12. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/153 "2007-06-16T23:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] The worst one was when the Sun worshippers ended up being Son worshippers. Har dee har har. Maybe I can suspend my belief enough to believe the Universal Translator but not so much that they have the same homophones too. [/QUOTE] Actually, that was the one where, on first hearing a local speak, Kirk commented, “Hodgkins’ Law of Parallel Development – the language here is English.” :rolleyes: On a world, yet, which is just like Earth, except that Rome never fell – so the Angles and Saxons never would have migrated to Britain and so on. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/154 "2007-06-17T01:49:44Z")
[QUOTE=well he’s back] Yes, all good replies - but I’m curious which episode y’all think was the most sexist. Now, that’s a tough call. There are so many. When I was a little girl teenager watching the original series when it was originally on, I was most offended by the episode where a woman wanted to become Captain and this was supposed to be all so horrible. Gah. [/QUOTE] Well, Starfleet in TOS **did** have female officers; none was ever shown in command of a ship, but the possibility was implied. The villainess in [_Turnabout Intruder_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnabout_Intruder_%28TOS_episode%29) could have chosen a Starfleet career instead of a scientific career. But she didn’t just want to be Captain, she wanted to be **Kirk.** Her former lover. Steal his body, steal his identity. Ewww. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/155 "2007-06-17T01:55:14Z")
[QUOTE=bughunter] Yea, there’s that, too. But iirc, Miri was written early on, and the writers/producers were still working out characterization. If that’s any defense. Rand always was depicted as an object of desire, though, as in _Charlie X_, _The Enemy Within_, etc. Perhaps that’s why they decided to drop her from the cast after Season 1. [/QUOTE] The concept was there even in the [original pilot,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menagerie_%28TOS_episode%29) where it was made very clear Yeoman Colt was carrying a torch for Captain Pike. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/156 "2007-06-18T04:01:27Z")
I think maybe “Plato’s Stepchildren” may be worse than “Spock’s Brain”. The antics that the actors are asked to perform are even more humiliating than those in “Brain” and worst of all, it’s just plain boring. “Brain” is silly and insulting, but it holds my interest. “Plato’s”, I just wanted to be over. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/157 "2007-06-18T04:10:56Z")
Have we forgotten how painful it was to watch to watch Lazarus vs Lazarus in The Alternative Factor? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/158 "2007-06-18T07:54:32Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] Have we forgotten how painful it was to watch to watch Lazarus vs Lazarus in The Alternative Factor? [/QUOTE] That’s another silly episode I like, mostly for the idea that we could flip around between universes and not explode horribly (was that mentioned up thread?) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/159 "2007-06-22T23:23:55Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] Nah, not the worst episode. I found the one with the “space hippies” to be worse; embarassing and irritating to watch, in fact. Also, I hated the one you mentioned where the aliens just _happened_ to develop the American flag and Constitution, word for word. [/QUOTE] I like the bad episodes if they are unintentionally funny. Both “Spock’s Brain” and “The Way To Eden” fall into this category, IMHO, so I always enjoy watching them. The ones I think are the worst are ones that seemed to be lacking in concept and acted out woodenly. For example, “The Savage Curtain”, where they are forced fight alongside the phantasms of Abraham Lincoln and the founder of the Vulcan civilization. Because Lincoln is usually perceived by us as a grave, heroic figure, it’s hard to see how the writers could give some spark to his lines–and they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702/160 "2007-06-22T23:30:22Z")
The one I hated, was the OK Corral redux. Just lame. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spocks-brain-worst-episode-ever/372702.md?page=9)