Spock's Brain

Why the low rating? OK, I know it's not City on the edge of forever, but Spocks Brain has got a lot going for it. There's the attractive subterranean alien girls who's only ability to be intelligent lies in putting on a big football helmet with Glowy things sticking out of it. Let's not forget the 7 foot tall cavemen with funny haircuts who live on the planet surface. And best of all, and I mean this, how great is it to see Spock being remote controlled around by Dr. McCoy?

In all seriousness, Spocks brain is not the apex of Star Trek. But it is definitely entertaining and I demand it be given a little more respect :-)

Trek at it's best is sublime, at it's worst embarrassing to watch, but why is this episode so panned? It is great fun. Admittedly one is left feeling one has watched some sort of pantomime special, or a Trek equivalent of Police Squad. However, there are far worse episodes in series three - The Way to Eden is at the bottom of the barrel in my opinion - and I'm personally grateful that the studio pulled the plug as the scriptwriters were rapidly running out of new ideas.

The plot is simple. A matriarchal underground society steals Spock's brain because their old one - which controls all their underground machinery - has broke. See? Perfectly understandable. Kirk, Scotty and McCoy beam down to rescue him/it, in the process discovering there's a bit more to this act of theft than first appears.

Would it be a spoiler to reveal that Spock is reunited with his brain ready for the next episode? DeForest Kelley is a delight to watch as the stressed brain surgeon, and his banter with Nemoy immediately after is equally entertaining.

Forget the smug derision this episode gets. It's Trek at it's goofy best, up there with The Trouble with Tribbles and various other "don't worry too much about the plot" episodes.

Here I am, at the start of a new year, watching "Spock's Brain" again. There goes one resolution down the drain. It's unfortunate that this episode may have been the introduction for many viewers to the Trek series (it was the 1st broadcast of the 3rd season). What a difference a new season makes! Like "The Trouble With Tribbles," this is one of the most famous episodes, but for different reasons, having to do with the epitome of lousiness. Knowledge of Trek's cheese factor may have spread from this point. There's really nothing wrong with the plot, on paper - an early version of "Star Trek III:The Search For Spock" of '84; in this case, it's 'The Search For Spock's Brain.' Here, Kirk and crew are moving along in their starship, minding their own business, when a small ion-propelled ship approaches; a space babe materializes on the bridge of the Enterprise and knocks out everyone with the touch of a button on her spiffy bracelet (and I mean, EVERYone, on the entire ship! - similar to "By Any Other Name"). When the crew awaken, they find something missing - you guessed it! - Spock's brain! Yes, this is Spock's final episode - just kidding. Here's a minor discrepancy already: the female invader is able to conk out everyone immediately; yet later, on the planet they find her on, she and her cohorts take the trouble to affix funky belts on Kirk and his boys to send painful knockout signals. I won't even elaborate on the slow pace of this episode, with the camera, for example, settling on an immobile Spock standing there, as if something is about to happen, yet nothing does.

Someone, meaning the producers, the director and the actors, took a wrong turn or at least a sideways view of this story. As an example, when McCoy slowly informs Kirk of Spock's, eh, problem, it was probably meant to be a suspenseful, grim scene. It isn't. 'His brain is gone..!' McCoy says, looking a bit shell-shocked. Kirk mouths the same phrase, also shocked or stunned. You expect Scotty to repeat it yet again, then Nurse Chapel. I think you get the tone of most of the episode - you're chuckling by this point. By the time we get to the underground civilization on that planet, things have escalated to a laugh-riot, with 'Morgs' and 'Eymorgs' and 'you are not Morg' ringing in our ears as Kirk tries to make sense of a wacko culture divided between female rulers and male brutes. Spock's body is turned into a walking puppet, guided by McCoy's gizmo like a toy robot. Kirk's key meeting with the ruling females, all of whom speak like spoiled teenagers, becomes an exercise in ultimate Trek cheese; Kirk even gets on his knees to grovel at one point, before the female ruler sends him spasming into painful oblivion. It's rather ghastly yet you can't turn away, spellbound in disbelief by the hysterics on screen. All the concepts are sabotaged by the execution, even the climactic brain re-attachment surgery, which begins fine; McCoy gets his brain boosted and proceeds with new skills. Then he starts to forget and Spock talks him through the rest, the audience understanding full well that neither has the knowledge of these unknown techniques. Some entertainment value is there, no doubt, but beware; this all could be a... dare I say it - a drain on the brain.

This is one of my favorite episodes simply because it's one of the goofiest. Spock's brain is stolen, and the crew go in search of the brain. What makes the episode so amusing is McCoy using a remote control to drive Spock's body -- sit, stand, go forward, turn.

No, this episode did not push the boundaries of science fiction. It did not feature amazing acting talents, riveting dialogue, nor astonishing plot twists. But it was damn funny, and not because it was trying to be.

And the "teaching" helmet is a gas too. Kudos to the props department.

Don't skip this one!

I get why many Trek fans don't like this one -- it's beyond daft -- but I actually enjoyed the silliness of the episode. And the fact that it features several really hot, young women in skimpy outfits means that I don't have too many complaints.

The episode begins as the Enterprise approaches an unidentified craft. As the crew try to communicate with the ship, a beautiful woman in a purple mini-dress and thigh high PVC leg wear (like go-go boots crossed with suspenders) beams aboard and renders everyone unconscious. When they wake up, they discover Spock's body in the sick bay -- minus his brain!!!

By following the ion trail left by the woman's ship, the Enterprise arrives at a class-M planet; a landing party led by Kirk beams down to the surface, determined to find Spock's brain and restore it to its rightful place.

There are savage cavemen on the surface, and hot women down below. Kirk and his crewmates are fitted with pain belts. McCoy controls Spock's brainless body via remote control. Spock's brain is used to control the women's underground complex. And McCoy tries on a technologically advanced helmet that increases his knowledge so that he can plug Spock's brain back into his body. It's incredibly camp and utterly goofy, and clearly not to everyone's taste, but I had a lot of fun.

7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.