And here it is folks, my #1 pick for the worst Star Trek episode of all time: “Spock’s Brain”. This is a legendary episode, and in every bad way possible. There’s a story around that Gene Coon, who produced Star Trek along with Roddenberry, and wrote many of the episodes, wrote the script of “Spock’s Brain” as a joke because he didn’t like the idea of Fred Frieberger replacing Roddenberry as producer. Prior to working on Star Trek, he was on Lost In Space. Personally, I have to disagree with this. Yes, Lost in Space was less serious than Trek, but I still consider it part of the sci-fi genre.
I’m sure you all know the story. Alien women kidnap Spock because they want his brain to power their computer. Conveniently, he is still able to walk and operate his basic functions. This is the biggest problem I have with the episode: IT’S RIDICULOUS! There is no possible way this can work! If there is no brain, then no other organ would work either! Another thing this is known for is the constant title drops. You could actually make a drinking game out of how many times the title appears. (I’m not sure that would make things any better, because you’d have a hangover if not alcohol poisoning when you’re done.)
This was actually the season premiere for the show’s final season, and an indicator for what was to come: a lower budget due to raising the actors’ salaries and bad scripts.
Next time, my all-time favorite episode of Star Trek!
Aspie Catholic 