"Spock's Brain" is terrible. Rumor has it overworked TOS writer/producer Gene Coon wrote this mess intentionally as a joke, an over-the-top example of decrepitude towards which science fiction storylines inevitably creep. Whatever the story behind the story the fact is this episode suffers not only by today's standards but even those of when it was made. It looks like Trek but that's about it. Hamming it up Shatner seems in on the joke. Nimoy is reported to have hated it. Kelley plays it perfectly straight. Scott, Uhura and Chekov get more than a few lines, and Sulu gets his one and only log entry sadly only to misidentify the planet (as oddly so does his captain). The Morg and Eymorg thankfully deliver their shallow lines without dissolving into farce.

It starts the third season out well enough, but by the time we get to "his brain is gone" so also is any temptation to take this material seriously. By the time McCoy equips Spock's cerebrally challenged body to operate by remote control (proof of Scott's engineering prowess!) it seamlessly launches the viewer into laugh out loud risibility. Disembodied brains that speak by communicator? No problem. A society of minds hip to thigh boots and make-up but not brain and brain what is brain? (The cave-dude speaks pretty eloquently too.) Patient-assisted brain replacement surgery that leaves the hairline perfectly coiffed, why not? When an episode doesn't make sense to those still counting their age with two hands, Houston we have a stinker. That the mention of merely the title provokes more smiles than grimaces could be considered a blessing.

In "a rose from every dunghill" category there is a unique effect on the bridge here, an extended sequence showing off a rear-projected viewscreen (impressive enough, for its day) that the camera exploits at length. This scene is also a good chance to see Kirk interact with his bridge crew to tease a mystery into a hunch. (And the planet Sigma Draconis VI looks impressively ice-aged from orbit.) The "ion ship" design and Teacher mechanism lack even the simple inspiration the surprisingly memorable score provides. No sense examining why the setup is abysmally stupid nor even in chalking up another computer killed by Kirk. Yet in the end even bad Trek remains Trek at the core and there's no exception here. (It certainly inspired a kindly homage on "The Wonder Years" that's worth a look.) This may be like a little brother episode to Trekkers, one that only they can pick on.


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