star trek brain and brain

Spock's Brain: Why The 'Worst' Star Trek Episode Divides Fans

When an episode includes immortal dialogue like "Brain and brain! What is brain?" you know it's headed for infamy. But sometimes, as any "Star Trek" fan knows, infamy breeds affection. 

"Spock's Brain" is widely known as one of the worst outings in the history of the original series, even making the top 100 in David Hofstede's immortal tome "What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History." The Season 3 episode sees the Enterprise approach an unidentified spacecraft. When the ship passes the craft's orbit, it knocks everyone unconscious. When the rest of the crew awakens, they find Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in the sick bay — alive, but inexplicably missing his brain. The frequently lovable James T. Kirk (William Shatner)  leads the crew on a desperate search for the brain thief. She turns out to be Kara (Marj Dusay), who wants to enslave men universe-wide and turn them into brainless cavemen. It's up to Kirk to put Spock's brain back in his head. Meanwhile, McCoy (DeForest Kelly) remotely controls Spock's brainless body.

The episode has earned much disdain over the years — it sits at a 5.6 on IMDb , making it one of the worst-ranked episodes of the show, and even Shatner and Nimoy expressed their distaste for the episode, despite it becoming a legendary part of Spock's backstory . Yet the episode does have some defenders among "Star Trek" fans. "Yes I know that Leonard Nimoy hated it and I don't blame him, as he has nothing interesting to do in the entire episode. However I find myself enjoying the episode every time I watch it. There is just something very charming about it," confessed u/JeremyAPerron on the "Star Trek" Reddit.

Star Trek fans have defended Spock's Brain

In spite of its reputation, a number of "Star Trek" fans admit they actually like the cheesy nature of "Spock's Brain."  u/OpsikionThemed knows it's not a smart episode, but that's not why they like it. "It's a fun episode! Dumb as a sack of hammers, but hardly deserving of its 'worst ever' reputation," they said. Most fans who like the episode note that the dramatic line delivery, nonsensical plot, and completely off-kilter science are all part of the episode's charm. In the end, the large divide of opinion seems to boil down to how serious one needs their "Star Trek" to be. In short: "Spock's Brain is MST3K-episode bad, and that's why it's one of my favorites," noted an anonymous user.

Even a number of IMDb fans are fond of the episode. "It's certainly one of the loonier plots, especially when McCoy wires the brainless Spock body for remote control. But the great thing is how the whole thing is treated completely seriously by all the actors," observed user Bigaiv .

In the end, "Spock's Brain" will likely go down in history as the campiest edition of the original series, even as it becomes less reviled over time as one of the show's worst episodes . After all — how bad can it really be if it inspired a Phish song?

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Published Sep 18, 2013

One Trek Mind: 5 Reasons To Stop Worrying And Love "Spock's Brain"

“Brain and brain! What is brain?!?”

This week marks the 45th anniversary of one of Star Trek 's not-exactly-sharpest moments. As TOS fans gathered around their color Zeniths and tuned into NBC (at the new and unfriendly 10 p.m. Friday time slot), some were left scratching their brain-encasing heads. Was this our progressive and innovative science fiction program we'd come to love or was this a Samuel Z. Arkoff film?

The episode, of course, was “ Spock's Brain ” - one hell of a way to kick off a new season of television. For a show whose notions of future tech were usually grounded in some sort of reality (or at least paid good lip service to actual science), this one really pushes it to the limit. You see, there is a society that seems to be highly advanced, but is actually run by a system of computers called The Controller. But it is running out of juice. It needs something mega-powerful. It needs Spock's brain!

Much of the episode is Captain Kirk running around looking for his beloved first officer's brain. Alas, this was before the modern zombie had been introduced to pop culture, so he doesn't wander the corridors of the Enterprise shouting “Braaaaaains!” But he does go to a planet where the women are sexy, the men are brutes and everyone is dumb as a stump.

And yet – this is not the worst TOS episode. No way. (“ And the Children Shall Lead ” is far, far worse.) More importantly, if you allow yourself to give into the spirit of the thing – and ignore the wretched sexism – it is actually quite a bit of fun.

To that end, I say let's take this episode back from the haters. Here, then, are Five Reasons to Stop Worrying and Love Spock's Brain . (I tried for 10, but it was hard. Let's not push it, okay?)

HIS BRAIN IS GONE

The word “brain” is said 37 times in “Spock's Brain.” And each time it's hard (and harder) to wonder how the actors said it with a straight face.

Maybe it's just me, but there's something about combing the galaxy looking for a stolen brain that reminds me of little kids playing in the backyard, making up a story as they go along. “Where are you going to look for Spock's brain?!?” McCoy asks. “How are you going to find it!??”

Kirk is going to find it a mix of deductive reasoning and a hunch (and a very static set of slides, care of Mr. Chekov) that's how!

TIME MACHINE IN REVERSE

When our heroes make their way down to Sigma Draconis VI they discover a society in a closed system. Physically, all is well, but socially and developmentally, it is in decay. The Morgs on the surface are basically cavemen, and the Eymorgs, the “givers of pain and delight” are mollycoddled children who live in comfort underground – a place the intellectually atrophied females can only conceive of as “here.”

The Eymorg/Morg relationship is something of a spin on the Morlocks/Eloi setup from H.G. Wells' The Time Machine . Whereas the Eloi lived up top and were idle, they were actually the unwitting engine that kept the brutal, underground Morlocks alive. As with The Time Machine, the two halves of Sigma Draconis VI don't quite know how they ended up in their current setting. By the end of the episode, when Prime Directive-smashing Kirk comes to town, they are left having to figure out how to adapt for themselves.

CARTESIAN DIALECTIC

“Fascinating. It could explain much, Doctor. My medulla oblongata is hard at work apparently breathing, apparently pumping blood, apparently maintaining a normal physiologic temperature.”

For a half-baked episode of Star Trek , “Spock's Brain” has some fun things to say about the mind-body split. Due to Kara the Eymorg's expert surgical prowess (thanks to the Teacher, of course) she is able to scoop out the Vulcan gray matter without killing him.

(Note: don't think this is a Vulcan trick. “Spock's Brain” posits that his Vulcan physiology makes him MORE dependent on his brain, hence Dr. McCoy's 24-hour ticking clock. Had Kara yanked out Chekov's brain, the implication is that the good doctor could – somehow – keep him alive longer!)

Spock is now “alive” in two places. His body is ordered around with a handheld device – something like a remote control Frankenstein's Monster. His perception, however, is floating in a void, powering and ultimately accessing the central Controller computers. (And on a Communicator frequency, lucky for Kirk and company.)

Which is the REAL Spock? Trekkies would probably argue that it's the brain – the mind – that is of paramount importance. Most of us were better at algebra than at climbing the rope in gym. Besides - when Kara first comes to the Enterprise and zaps everyone unconscious, she moves her way over to Spock and starts caressing his head, not his body.

THE TEACHER

More so than most episodes, “Spock's Brain” has some really outrageous things happening in the props department. There's the doohicky on Spock's head, the pushbutton pad that moves him around, the pain belts, and the bracelets the Eymorgs wear to activate them. There's the central controller, an opaque lighting fixture atop some white tubes (we first see it when Spock's disembodied voice says “stretches into infinity.”) And of course there are the radical-looking skirts and thigh-high boots (with straps?) that the Eymorgs wear. (Less appealing – the fuzzy legwarmers some of the Morgs wear around their forearms.)

All of this is nothing compared to the Teacher – a giant hair dryer that blows genius into your head. For TOS snarkers, the dopey image of McCoy receiving wisdom from a plexiglass head dome is one of the top things they love to shove in our face. The others, of course, are Kirk holding an unfortunately shaped prop in the cave from “ What Are Little Girls Made Of? ” (Google it if you don't know) and Abraham Lincoln floating in space. But that's another One Trek Mind list, I suppose.

And yet with all this silliness – with Kirk interrupting Spock's attempt to make sense of this episode with “we don't have time for that!” or with Spock clearing his throat to better explain how to put his brain back in his head – there's a moment that “Spock's Brain” captures that really resonates for me.

After McCoy employs the Teacher, he's able to do the brain surgery. (Come on, it's not rocket science!) But after a few moments, the godlike powers of complex thought begin slipping away. At first his comments are “of course, of course. A child could do it.” Later, he's all “Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

While I've never had my mind expanded by a leftover beauty parlor prop before, we've all experienced the moment of lucidity that comes when emerging from dreams. We've got a very real and specific understanding of how our subconscious has been communicating to us, and then it swiftly drains away, leaving only an ineffable and unsatisfactory aftertaste. Call me crazy, but the moment when McCoy loses his abilities always reminds me of this.

But what about you? Do you hate “Spock's Brain”? Do you love it for other reasons entirely? Even though you are not Morg or Eymorg, I invite you to the comments below and let me know what you think.

____________________

Jordan Hoffman is a writer, critic and lapsed filmmaker living in New York City. His work can also be seen on Film.com , ScreenCrush and Badass Digest . On his BLOG , Jordan has reviewed all 727 Trek episodes and films, most of the comics and some of the novels.

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Star Trek: The Original Series - "Spock's Brain" Episode, Explained

H ow does one select the worst episode of Star Trek ? There are over 900 entries across almost 50 series to choose from. With numbers like those, there have to be a few missteps. Some might pick the episode of Voyager in which Tom Paris and Captain Janeway become salamanders and spawn children. Others might name the extraordinarily racist TNG entry in which African-themed aliens kidnap Tasha Yar. Those fans that prefer the early terrible episodes can't go wrong with "Spock's Brain."

It's hard to imagine what the creators of early Star Trek would think about the franchise's modern state. The shows spread across mediums, capturing wildly different fan bases and exploring engaging new ideas. Though some corners of the story feel stuck in the past, it would likely shock some old writers to see how far it's all come. It's fair to denigrate the franchise's current state, but it's worth remembering the rough times in the early days.

Star Trek: What is the Highest Starfleet Rank?

What happens in "spock's brain".

"Spock's Brain" kicks off the third season of Star Trek: The Original Series with a bang as the Enterprise stumbles onto an alien ship. Suddenly, a woman from the opposite vessel teleports onto the Enterprise and activates a bracelet that stuns the crew. She selects First Officer Spock and touches his head. When Kirk wakes up, McCoy informs him that Spock is in the sick bay. He explains that the alien lady surgically removed Spock's brain, leaving him on life support. Vulcans can survive without their brain for 24 hours, giving Kirk and the crew a ticking clock to save their science officer. They follow the ship's trail to Sigma Draconis VI, a seemingly pre-industrial planet covered in ice. Their voyage drains sixteen hours, leaving them with only 8 to find Spock's brain.

On Sigma Draconis VI, the Enterprise crew meets the locals. They encounter a group of male humanoids who look like cavemen. They're called Morg. One of them warns them of "the others." Kirk asks him where the women of his species reside, and the Morg becomes confused. Chekov discovers a hidden city beneath the surface of Sigma Draconis VI. McCoy beams down with Spock's brainless body, having fitted him with a remote control to let him walk. They travel underground to meet the Eymorg, the females of the local species. They seem to have child-like intelligence. Kirk establishes contact with Spock's brain through his communicator, but the woman who invaded the Enterprise arrives and knocks out the landing party again. The Eymorg leader, Kara, doesn't understand what a brain is when Kirk demands Spock's back. They learn that Kara and the Eymorg are using Spock's brain as the "controller," a complicated computer rig operating the underground civilization. After the landing party escapes the Eymorg's clutches, they place Kara in a machine called the teacher. Kara threatens Kirk with a phaser as they debate the proper fate of Spock's brain.

How Does "Spock's Brain" End?

"Spock's Brain" raises a new problem. If they don't know how Kara took out Spock's brain, they won't know how to reinstall the organ. The teacher grants the knowledge necessary to operate. Scott pretends to faint, allowing Kirk to take Kara's phaser and turn the tables. McCoy realizes he can use the teacher to learn the steps involved, but it will only provide him knowledge for three hours. He dons the teacher helmet and begins brain surgery. While he's operating, the information slowly slips away from him. He panics, but his internalized medical knowledge allows him to reconnect Spock's speech centers. Spock, still blessed with the nigh-omniscient perspective his position as the controller granted him, talks McCoy through the operation. Spock regains his brain and launches into a long-winded speech about Sigma Draconis VI's history. Kara fears for the Eymors' continued survival without the controller. Kirk reasons that they can leave their underground city and learn to coexist with the men of their species.

"Spock's Brain" is broadly considered one of the worst episodes of Star Trek ever produced. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy publicly insulted it, expressing embarrassment and frustration with NBC's treatment of the show. It was the first episode released after the network moved Star Trek to a 10 P.M. timeslot, disadvantaging it in ratings. Several outlets rank it among their worst list, either among The Original Series or the franchise as a whole. It's a fair rating. The episode's premise makes no sense, and its execution borders on unhinged nonsense. Some small contingent of fans see "Spock's Brain" as a treasure among "so bad it's good" episodes of the long-running series. At least it's terrible in a fun way. Despite its bizarre take on gender relationships, it isn't particularly offensive. It's like a 50s B-movie played out in the middle of a Star Trek episode. Fans looking for the goofier side of Star Trek need look no further than "Spock's Brain."

Star Trek: Captain Kirk's Redemption of Spock In The Mirror Universe

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Recap / Star Trek S3 E1 "Spock's Brain"

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Original air date: September 20, 1968

Hello, I'm Leonard Nimoy, and we are In Search Of... My Brain!

In 1968, NBC wanted to cancel Star Trek after two seasons, but the cult fanbase organized a letter-writing campaign to save the show for a third season. They succeeded and Trek 's third season began with an episode no one would forget.

It all begins when the Enterprise encounters an alien spacecraft. Scotty is amazed that they are so advanced as to use ion propulsion, a technology which existed at the time the episode was written (however, as it's clearly an FTL drive, it's the same as today's In Name Only ). The spacecraft's only occupant beams onto the bridge of the Enterprise and it turns out to be yet another alien woman who wears Stripperiffic clothes. The men ( and Uhura, for some reason ) stare as the soundtrack swells with romantic music, as they've clearly never seen a woman like this before . As we will learn later on, she is named Kara ( Marj Dusay ). But Kara does not come in peace. Using a wrist band, she knocks out everyone on the ship with that "boing" sound effect which Sufficiently Advanced Aliens always use. After seeming momentarily interested in Kirk's butt, she walks up to the unconscious Spock and gleefully strokes his cranium.

After a commercial break, our heroes awaken to find Spock is no longer on the bridge. McCoy calls Kirk down to Sickbay, where we learn Spock's brain has somehow been surgically removed and he is now on life support. DeForest Kelley struggles valiantly to make the silly things he's saying sound believable , but it doesn't help that McCoy contradicts himself twice in the scene. First he says that Spock's Bizarre Alien Biology helped him survive without a brain, but then he says Spock is more dependent on his "tremendous brain" for life support. As opposed to humans, who can, of course, survive perfectly fine without brains. He also claims to have absolutely no idea how long he can keep the brainless Spock alive, but later he declares out of the blue that they have twenty-four hours. Curiously, this appears to be twenty-four hours from the moment McCoy said it rather than from when Kara actually removed the brain. In a Hilarious in Hindsight moment, Kirk says they'll have to bring Spock along " In Search of... " his brain.

Anyway, the Enterprise follows the ion trail left by Kara's ship to the Sigma Draconis system note  Yes, in the 23rd century, ion propulsion apparently allows Faster-Than-Light Travel , but they can't determine which of the system's three class M planets she landed on and none of them seem capable of creating something so advanced as FTL starships. Playing on a hunch, Kirk decides to go with the primitive ice planet, which has been giving off regular pulses.

The landing party gets attacked by cavemen and, strangely, the two Red Shirts they brought along don't die. Kirk stuns one of the cavemen and the rest retreat. They question him and he tells them about "the others", who "give pain and delight". He speaks perfect English, however, he doesn't seem to understand words like "women" or "female", or indeed the concept of a mate. No one thinks to ask where the babies come from instead. Meanwhile, Chekov detects evidence of a buried city and Kirk leads the landing party there, presuming it's where the others live. They find a cave which they conclude is a trap that the others have set for the cavemen. Kirk orders McCoy to beam down and he brings with him a remote-controlled Spock. Yes, Spock's brainless body is now controlled by McCoy with a Handy Remote Control which has all of ten buttons on it. And for some reason, Spock is now sporting the Omicron Ceti III colony outfit he wore back in "This Side Of Paradise". Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Spock's body enter the cave to set off the trap. Chekov and the Red Shirts are left to stand guard outside the cave and thus do nothing for the rest of the episode. Who would have guessed that this would be the episode in which two Red Shirts live?

The cave turns into a elevator via a Screen Shake effect and transports our heroes down to an Elaborate Underground Base , which consists of those geometric hallway sets they always use to represent interiors on advanced planets. Waiting for them is another half-naked woman with a wrist band, but Kirk stuns her before she can "boing" them. The soundtrack swells with more romantic music as they interrogate her and she provides inane answers to Kirk's questions. Kirk at first thinks she's Obfuscating Stupidity , but tricorders are apparently Lie Detectors now and Bones says the woman has the mind of a child. This is a bit of an understatement. If you asked most children what this place is, they would come up with something better than " this place is here ". Meanwhile, Scotty has managed to pick up Spock's disembodied brain on his communicator and somehow it can talk in Spock's voice without having his vocal cords. Spock's brain tells Kirk that " there is a definite pleasurable experience connected to the hearing of your voice ." Les Yay and Ho Yay in the same episode! Who doesn't love Star Trek ? Kirk tells Spock's brain that they'll get to it and the disembodied organ quips "A practical idea, Captain. It seems unlikely that I shall be able to get to you."

At this point, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Spock's body are taken prisoner by Kara. They are brought to some kind of conference room with her all-female counsel and their male bodyguards. By now, it has become apparent that the cavemen living on the surface are the "Morg", the women living underground are the "Eymorg", and that the Eymorg enslave the Morg using their wrist bands. How either society can procreate is not explained. Kirk demands Kara returns Spock's brain, but she not only has no memory of taking it, she doesn't even seem know what the word "brain" means. "Brain and brain! What is 'brain'?! " she asks in exasperation, giving us the the episode's most famous line note  and that's saying something! . Kirk asks to speak to their leader. Kara says she is leader, but Scotty and McCoy dismiss this as impossible since they need engineers and doctors and none of the people in that room are smart enough.

They finally get far enough through Kara's beautiful thick skull for her to mention that there is a "Controller". Then Kirk has an epiphany. "Spock's... brain... controls ," he says in classic William Shatner fashion. Kara leaves with her counsel to consult the Controller, leaving their Morg slaves to guard the prisoners. In stupidity which is for once justified by the plot, the Eymorg have left Kirk, McCoy, and Scotty in the same room as their communicators and tricorders. They take them back after a Fight Scene with the Morg slaves and contact Spock's brain again. Spock's brain beams them a signal which they follow to the Wetware CPU room. Kara uses her wrist band to hit them all with an Agony Beam . While writhing in pain, Kirk grabs the remote control, using Spock's unaffected body to overpower Kara and free them.

Kara pleads that her people will all die without their new Controller, saying the old one is finished. Since it's obvious they won't die just for having to think for themselves, Kirk refuses to listen and demands to know how she removed Spock's brain. Kara says she used the "old knowledge" from "the Teacher". The Teacher turns out to be a Cool Helmet and Kirk forces it onto the head of a protesting Kara. It turns out making a hostile alien smart isn't such a brilliant move, as she pulls out a phaser which she had apparently been keeping in Hammerspace since that dress certainly doesn't have pockets . Rest assured, this turns out to be a Cliffhanger Copout and Kirk gets back the phaser from her rather easily after a commercial break. Kirk and Kara have an argument in which she actually makes better sense , mostly because Kirk never addresses her concerns about her people and instead just keeps repeating that Spock will die.

McCoy suggests he could use the Teacher, but Spock's brain warns him that it wasn't made for humans and tells him that he can't take that risk. McCoy insists it's worth the risk since he could bring the knowledge he will learn to the world. Kirk lets McCoy do it. It causes him to faint, but it still works and he gasps that "a child could do it!" Naturally, the big mystery of how to remove and restore a brain is going to be resolved with The Unreveal . They even have Bones operate behind a partition so that they don't have to explain what he's doing (and so they don't have to show Leonard Nimoy's sawed-open skull with his nerve endings protruding). Oh, and they're doing this operation while in the underground Eymorg complex. How it still has light, oxygen, etc. without the Controller is not explained. Kara is also still there, acting the Neutral Female . Kirk tells her that they won't die and launches in with his Kirk Summation , telling that they'll be better off living on the surface with the Morg note  The fact that they have interstellar flight and initiated first contact themselves probably means they're not covered by the Prime Directive, but it would still have been nice to have somebody say so.

Meanwhile, McCoy is forgetting the knowledge he learned from the Teacher, but Kirk has a brainstorm to save the day. He has McCoy connect Spock's speech center and then Spock freakin' directs his own brain surgery . note  Reality Is Unrealistic : Real brain surgery often involves a local anesthetic, not "knocking out" the patient, and thus there can be some verbal feedback, though not direct instruction. In any case, the operation is successful, however improbably so. By the way, Spock's brain has now been surgically removed and restored without affecting his trademark hairstyle at all. Spock starts to talk about how fascinating the Scavenger World they've just destroyed is and McCoy snarks that he shouldn't have reconnected Spock's mouth. Cue "Everybody Laughs" Ending .

Trope and trope! What is "trope"?

• Agony Beam : The Others are described as bringers of pain and delight. The first is explained when the priestess-leader activates her Super Wrist-Gadget , sending our heroes into writhing agony thanks to the pain-belts that have been placed on them.
• Artistic License – Physics : In the episode, "ion propulsion" is supposed to be more advanced than anything the Federation has come up with. In reality, an ion thruster uses excited gases to generate a small but long-lasting thrust.
• Brain in a Jar : Spock while he's installed as the Controller, although the jar is opaque so they didn't have to go to the expense of making a brain prop .
• Brain Theft : The plot involves Spock's brain being stolen.
• Brainless Beauty : The Eymorgs. Kara: Brain and brain! What is "brain"?!
• City with No Name : When Kirk asks Luma what the Underground City is, she just answers in confusion, "This place is Here ", having no concept of any other place than the one she lives in .
• Cliffhanger Copout : Kara steals a phaser set to "kill" and prepares to shoot Kirk with it. Time for a commercial break...followed by Scotty pretending to faint , distracting Kara so Kirk can take back the phaser. Moving on...
• Kara's vacant smile as she knocks the entire crew unconscious with her Super Wrist-Gadget .
• Brainless-Spock of course reacts to nothing that is happening around him.
• Double Entendre Scotty: Pain and delight, he said up above. McCoy: I'm sure you noticed the delight aspect of this place. Kirk: Yes, I certainly did notice those delightful aspects . But that too was strictly under command of the women.
• Dumb Muscle : The troglodytes on the surface are very large and strong, but don't seem any smarter than the vapid women down below.
• "Everybody Laughs" Ending : The humans laugh as Spock rambles on while Kirk makes a futile effort to switch him off with the remote .
• Fake Faint : Kara steals a phaser set to "kill" and prepares to shoot Kirk with it. Scotty pretends to faint, distracting Kara so Kirk can take back the phaser.
• Fanservice : The Eymorg in their thigh-high boots and stripperiffic Space Clothes . And for those in the audience with a dominatrix fetish, they're into "pain and delight" as well.
• Fantastically Challenging Patient : A humanoid alien incapacitates the crew of the Enterprise . Upon recovery, they discover that she has absconded Spock's brain, leaving his body alive but mindless. It becomes the episode's mission to track down the brain thief and recover Spock's brain before his body fails from lack of purpose. Bones is ultimately able to operate on Spock and get his brain back in.
• Genius Serum : There's a Neural Implanting device called "The Teacher." It's a pimped-out crash helmet that can raise the intelligence of a Stripperific bimbo to where she can conduct Organ Theft aboard the Enterprise undetected. The heroes use to this device on Doctor McCoy so that he can reattach Spock's brain to the rest of Spock, but the effect wears off during the surgery.
• Gut Feeling : Kirk is faced with three Class M planets in the Sigma Draconis system, with only time to investigate one of them. Two have inhabited civilizations, but are not advanced enough to build an ion drive spacecraft. The other is a glacial world inhabited by primitives, but with regular pulses of energy coming from it. Kirk takes his chance on the last planet and turns out to be right.
• I've Never Seen Anything Like This Before : Scotty in response to seeing an ion drive vessel and brain-replacement surgery.
• Liberty Over Prosperity : As in "The Apple", Captain Kirk forces a society in stasis to evolve by effectively destroying their Master Computer . At least this time he offers to stay around and help them adapt.
• Lie Detector : McCoy uses his tricorder for this on Luma. Kirk: You're lying! McCoy: She's not, Jim. No change in reading. She doesn't know.
• Lobotomy : Spock's entire brain gets removed.
• Machine Worship : Kara says the Controller will have all their devotion. Kirk tries to invoke this (he even does a Kneel Before Zod ) to make Kara take them to the Controller, but even a ditzy Eymorg isn't dumb enough to fall for that .
• Major Injury Underreaction : How does Spock react to the news that he's a disembodied Brain in a Jar ? It's fascinating , of course!
• Mars and Venus Gender Contrast : The Underground City was built for the women while the men were expected to work on the icebound surface. Somehow the two societies because estranged, with the men reverting to a primitive state while the women abduct them periodically for slaves and procreation. When Kirk tries to question a Morg, he doesn't even know what a woman is — just "The Others" who "bring pain and delight" for their own mysterious reasons .
• Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty : An entire society based on this trope!
• The Morlocks : The Eymorg live in luxury beneath the surface and abduct the primitive Morg for procreation, an inversion of the Trope Namer .
• Mother Russia Makes You Strong : Chekhov says that despite its freezing temperatures Sigma Draconis VI is "livable". Kirk quips that Chekhov has a thick skin.
• Motor Mouth : Spock after his brain is restored, much to McCoy's annoyance.
• The Needs of the Many : When its pointed out that Spock will die without his brain, the priestess replies that the needs of her people take priority. Then when McCoy is told it could be fatal to use the Teacher on a human brain, he urges Jim to Just Think of the Potential! if he could retain his medical knowledge.
• This wouldn't be the last time McCoy pulled this trope. Fortunately, the next time was a hell of a lot more dramatically moving.
• Neural Implanting : The Teacher is a helmet that implants in the wearer the Knowledge of the Ancients. However the knowledge only lasts a few hours, explaining how Kara was able to pilot an ion drive spacecraft to Enterprise and conduct brain surgery, yet be a Womanchild by the time Kirk encounters her again. McCoy puts on the Teacher and gains the knowledge to replace Spock's brain, but starts to lose the knowledge before he's finished, and Spock has to guide him through the rest of the procedure.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero : Our heroes force Kara to use the Teacher, which gives her the knowledge to operate the phaser she then produces. Scotty: That phaser is set to kill . Kara: So it is. That is the knowledge you have brought me.
• Numbered Homeworld : As per Trek standard, although, for some reason, it appears they forgot what number halfway through. Having established that the planet where the crew are searching for Spock's brain is the sixth planet in the Sigma Draconis system, both Kirk and Sulu make log entries referring to it as Sigma Draconis VII .
• Obscured Special Effects : The amazing brain replacement surgery that Dr McCoy is conducting — we can't see it as Spock's cranium is inserted into a huge panel behind which McCoy is working. Saves us from having to see the gore.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten : Bones says he'll never live down the fact that Spock is telling him how to operate on his brain.
• Orchestral Bombing : Fred Steiner's overwrought score plays a big part in making the episode so... "memorable".
• Organ Theft : In this case, a brain!
• Plot-Sensitive Button : Kirk can control Spock's fine motor functions just by twisting a dial, so as to enable a brainless Spock to grab hold of Kara and force her to press the Big Red Button that releases their pain belts.
• Reaction Shot : Spock's remote-controlled body is given several reaction shots at moments when Spock would have had a reaction if he'd been himself; Remote-Control Spock, of course, just looks unsettlingly blank.
• Rule of Symbolism : The aliens who stole Spock's brain turn out to be pretty brainless themselves.
• Shaped Like Itself : When Kirk asks Kara where they are, she answers in a confused tone, "This place is here."
• Stupid Future People : Tens of thousands of years in an automated city where all their needs are catered for has atrophied the intelligence of the Eymorg. The Morg are no better off, regressing to the level of troglodytes.
• Super Wrist-Gadget : It can knock out the entire crew with a single BOING!
• Stock Footage : The first minute of the episode is a collection of recycled bridge shots edited together, taken mostly from " Friday's Child ", " Spectre of the Gun ", and " The Enterprise Incident ".
• Trap Is the Only Option : Kirk figures the food cave is a trap; he lets it take him and his team to the Eymorg city.
• Two of Your Earth Minutes : According to Kara, the knowledge from The Teacher is retained for "three of your hours."
• Violence Really Is the Answer : A Giant Mook is guarding their tricorders and communicators, with another at the door. Kirk: This fellow is keeping us from our property. Scotty: Isn't there a way to correct that situation? Kirk: I certainly think that science might provide an answer. McCoy: It does, Captain. Kirk: Agreed, Doctor. (Cue Fight Scene )
• Voices Are Mental : The Controller speaks in Spock's voice even before his vocal cords are reconnected.
• We Need a Distraction : Scotty pretends a fainting spell to distract Kara, who is holding a phaser on Kirk.
• Wetware CPU : The autonomic brain functions used to maintain the circulation of a body are used to control the life support system of an Underground City .
• Spock's in remarkably good condition for a man with his entire brain removed. Lying unconscious surrounded by life-support equipment in sick bay: okay, maybe. Walking around with just a funny-looking hat keeping him alive and directing his movement: not even future medical science can make that plausible.
• Averted in one other way, however; McCoy says that if a human crewmember had lost their brain he could keep them on total support indefinitely, but with Spock's Vulcan physiology, his body will die after twenty-four hours , in or out of the medical bay.
• Wrong-Name Outburst : Kirk calls for tricorder readings from Spock before remembering that Spock is short one brain and Scotty has the tricorder.

Video Example(s):

His brain is gone.

Someone stole Spock's brain.

Example of: Brain Theft

• Star Trek S2 E26 "Assignment: Earth"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek S3 E2 "The Enterprise Incident"

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Star Trek: Spock's Brain

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"Spock's Brain"' is the title to the first episode from season three of the science fiction television series Star Trek and is the fifty-sixth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Marc Daniels with a script written by Lee Cronin . It first aired on NBC on September 20th , 1968 .

• 2.1 Principal Cast
• 2.2 Guest Stars
• 2.3 Uncredited cast
• 3 Notes & Trivia
• 4 Allusions
• 8 External Links
• 9 Series links
• 10 Episode links
• 11 References

Synopsis [ ]

Principal cast [ ], guest stars [ ], uncredited cast [ ], notes & trivia [ ].

• " Spock's Brain " and " TOS: Spock's Brain " both serve as shortcut redirects to this page.
• This episode is production code number 60043-061.
• Stardate: 5431.4. The events of this episode take place in the year 2268 .
• This is the sixty-second episode produced in the series. It is the fifty-sixth aired episode of the series, but the fifty-seventh episode in chronological order if one includes the original unaired pilot episode, "The Cage" .
• This is the fifteenth episode of Star Trek directed by Marc Daniels . It is also his final work on the series. As this episode is a season premiere, it is naturally Marc Daniels' only work on season three .
• Teleplay writer Gene L. Coon is credited as Lee Cronin in this episode.
• This is Gene L. Coon 's tenth episode of Star Trek as a writer. It is his first episode where he is credited under the pseudonym Lee Cronin . He works on a total of four episodes from season three .
• Hikaru Sulu has the first speaking lines in this episode.

Allusions [ ]

• There are no allusions available for this episode at this time. Be the first to add some! Just click on the edit tab under the section heading and start typing. An allusion is an incidental reference made to a character, person, event or other miscellaneous piece of media that can be found somewhere in the episode itself. In most cases, this refers to characters or events from previous episodes.

Bloopers [ ]

• Nurse Chapel's skirt hikes up a bit in the early scene where she collapses on the floor revealing her undies.
• During one of the Captain's Log narratives, James T. Kirk incorrectly calls the planet that the landing party visits Sigma Draconis VII. It is actually Sigma Draconis VI.
• Leonard McCoy : His brain is gone!
• James T. Kirk : Readout, Mister Chekov?
• Pavel Chekov : No structures, Captain. No mechanized objects that I can read. No surface consumption, no generation of energy. Atmosphere is perfectly all right, of course. Temperature, a high maximum of 40. Livable.
• James T. Kirk : You have a thick skin.
• James T. Kirk : Have the transporter room standing by. I'm taking a landing party down to planet six.
• Pavel Chekov : What if you guess wrong, Captain?"
• James T. Kirk : If I guess wrong, Mister Spock is dead. Spock will die
• Spock : While I might trust the doctor to remove a splinter or lance a boil, I do not believe he has the knowledge to restore a brain.
• Leonard McCoy : Thank you.
• James T. Kirk : How do you feel, Spock?
• Spock : On the whole Captain, I believe I'm quite fit. It's fascinating! A remarkable example of a retrograde civilization at the peak, advanced beyond any of our capabilities and now operating at this primitive level which you saw. And it all began thousands of years ago when a glacial age reoccurred. You see, this underground complex was developed for the women. Men remained above. And male/female schism took place. A fascinating cultural development of a kind...
• Leonard McCoy : I knew it was wrong, I shouldn't have done it!
• James T. Kirk : What's that?
• Leonard McCoy : I should have never reconnected his mouth!
• James T. Kirk : Well, we took the risk, Doctor.
• Kara : How will we live?
• Spock : You'll learn to build houses to keep warm. You'll work. Humans have survived under worse conditions. It's a matter of evolution. Give it time.
• Leonard McCoy : I'll never live this down... this Vulcan telling me how to operate.

See also [ ]

External links [ ], series links, episode links, references [ ].

• ↑ Lee Cronin is the pseudonym for screenwriter Gene L. Coon .
• 1 Siobhan Corbyn
• 2 Colt Seavers
• 3 Jody Banks

Positronic brain

• View history

Data's positronic brain

The positronic brain was an extremely sophisticated computation device capable of artificial sentience , created by Dr. Noonien Soong , based on an idea from author Isaac Asimov . It was this unit that enabled Soong's Soong-type androids to achieve true sentience . ( TNG : " Datalore ")

This device consisted of an artificial neural network , designed to imitate the humanoid brain . The construction of a positronic brain was extremely complex, and Dr. Soong was the only scientist to have done so successfully – on at least six occasions: two unspecified prototypes , B-4 , Lore , Data , and Juliana Soong (although B-4, Data, and Juliana Soong were the only truly stable units). Lore's positronic net differed from Data's: it had a Type L phase discriminator compared to Data's Type R. ( TNG : " Time's Arrow ")

One of the difficulties in creating a stable positronic brain was determining how the electron resistance across the neural filaments was to be resolved. ( TNG : " The Measure Of A Man ")

Lal's positronic brain

In 2366 aboard the USS Enterprise -D , Data attempted to emulate his father's work, and created the android Lal . However, Lal's positronic net suffered a cascade failure , and ceased functioning. ( TNG : " The Offspring ")

In early 2368 , Data's positronic links were severed by Beverly Crusher , cutting off his brain from the rest of his body. ( TNG : " The Game ")

A positronic brain could suffer from a cascade anomaly, which would render it unconscious. ( TNG : " Inheritance ")

Around 2370 , Data began a discussion with Deanna Troi about the long-term effects of space travel on his positronic net, which Troi was later disinclined to continue. ( ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ")

Medical uses [ ]

In 2371 , Dr. Julian Bashir implanted Bareil Antos with a positronic matrix to keep him alive after part of his brain stopped functioning due to a bad reaction to various medical treatments Bashir had been forced to perform to keep Bareil available to assist in crucial negotiations with the Cardassians . Bareil awoke but said that the sensations he was experiencing did not seem real and seemed like a distant memory. Later, when other parts of Bareil's brain stopped functioning, Bashir chose to let Bareil die rather than replace the rest of his brain with positronic implants, feeling that he wouldn't be himself if any more of his brain was replaced. ( DS9 : " Life Support ")

External links [ ]

• Positronic brain at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Positronic brain at Wikipedia
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

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Trekette: Brain And Brain! What Is Brain?!

Meet Kara. She is an Eymorg from a glaciated Class M planet in the Sigma Draconis system, and the star of the episode Spock’s Brain . Luckily, she lives beneath the surface of the ice-aged planet, enabling her to wear a backless minidress and gartered thigh-high boots. To the men of her species- Morgs- Kara is one of the “Others,” or a “Giver of Pain and Delight.” She comes with a handy bracelet which she can use to inflict pain by pressing a button, enabling her to control and enslave the males of her species.

Oh, and she needs a brain, because their underground complex certainly cannot function without their “controller.” Painted into a corner, Kara does what all brainless, helpless females would do if they were in her shoes and shiny purple thigh-highs. I mean – she gets in her spaceship and finds herself a man! First, however, she has to put her thinking cap on. Yes, there literally is a thinking cap. It’s called the “Great Teacher.” The Great Teacher was left by the Eymorg’s highly advanced ancestors, the builders, who intended the Eymorgs to only use it at predetermined intervals. After all, they couldn’t have Eymorgs getting any book learning, could they?

Kara steals Spock's brain

So, every few thousand years, the priestess of the Eymorgs, in this case Kara, dons the Great Teacher and departs with enough knowledge to run a spaceship, locate a nice Science Officer, and surgically remove his brain. Three hours later, the knowledge simply wears off like cheap lipstick, leaving Kara a mere brainless Eymorg again. It seems strange to me that such advanced ancestors decided to leave the females of the species with nothing but high-tech bracelets allowing them to enslave the Morgs and a series of color-coded identical outfits. Apparently the only skills and knowledge the Eymores are able to retain are makeup application and filling caves with food to lure the Morgs into servitude. Well, there is that saying about the fastest way into a man’s heart… unless you have a pain bracelet!

This is one of the few episodes of the Original Series in which the acting outshines the plotline. McCoy especially has some great lines in this episode- I personally enjoyed his “Jim, it’s no use. You’ll get nothing out of that one. Hers is the mind of a child.” Gee, thanks, Bones! In Kara’s defense, I don’t think that any of the Morgs would have been a better conversationalist.

Apparently, Kara’s planet was once extraordinarily advanced, but fell into an ice age which forced them to build an underground complex for the women of their species to take shelter in while the men toiled on the planet’s surface. Centuries later, Morgs lived on the frozen surface with no female presence, took no mates and knew nothing of the other gender except that they were the “givers of pain and delight.”

This really makes me wonder how the species continued to propagate. Obviously there was some breeding going on to keep the species alive, if sufficient generations had passed that each gender forgot its traditional role and the brains of the species were able to atrophy from long disuse. So, was there a class of breeder-Morgs tempted out of their frozen Eden by evil, witless females wearing magic pain bracelets? Since the Morg that Kirk and the rest of the away team spoke to seemed so horrified at the thought of anyone actually seeking an audience with the Eymorgs, I can only assume there was no foreplay button on those gold bracelets. Then, after the “delightful aspects” are done with, the Morgs are forced into servitude. by the magnetic belts they wear which can be used to inflict pain by a simple press of a button on an Eymorg’s wrist.

Naturally, before the hour is up, Spock’s brain is recovered, and we can all rest easily knowing another episode is ending with the sounds of hearty, fake Kirk laughter.

But what is to become of Kara and the Eymorgs?

Well, apparently the Prime Directive does not apply to cultures run by witless females, especially when the Enterprise’s First Officer’s brain is involved. Since the Eymorgs needed Spock’s brain to keep their habitat functioning, I suppose that upon the away team’s departure they simply starved and went without life support systems until Starfleet got there to liberate them. As Kirk assured a panicked Kara- “You’ll be fine!” After all, the Morgs and the Eymorgs can “control together.”

KARA: We will die.

KIRK: No, you’ll live and develop as you should have. All this shouldn’t have been done for you. Now the women here below and the men here above will control together.

KARA: They will not help us without the pain.

KIRK: There are other ways. You’ll discover them. You must move to the surface, you understand.

KARA: We will die above in the cold.

KIRK: No, you won’t. You’ll learn to build houses, to keep warm, to work. We’ll help you for a while. Humans have survived under worse conditions. It’s a matter of evolution. You’ll be fine.

And that’s all, folks! Another new life and new civilization sought out. I just hope they got more Starfleet assistance than the Botany Bay crew!

Trekette Out!

  “Trekette” is an ongoing series by Victoria Wright looking at Star Trek through a female perspective.

Victoria is a lifelong Star Trek fan and a Las Vegas local born and raised. She is married, loves big dogs, punk rock, hippie music, and collecting sci-fi memorabilia from yard sales.

Supervisor194

April 12, 2011 at 7:17 pm

After the last few years this episode seems less silly to me than it first did, or not as silly as it’s been dubbed. Ok, it’s silly but I like it better than the new movie.

April 12, 2011 at 9:59 pm

I’m really enjoying the Trekette stuff. Keep em coming!

March 4, 2016 at 2:14 pm

It’s a femdom fantasy, thinly disguised as science fiction. I just watched it again when it came round. I love it.

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Spock's Brain Stardate: 5431.4 Original Airdate: 20 Sep, 1968

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Star Trek Re-Watch: “Spock’s Brain”

Season 3, Episode 1 Production episode: 3×06 Original air date: September 20, 1968 Star date: 5431.4

Mission summary

Enterprise is at red alert, everyone watching the viewscreen as a silver rocket approaches. No one answers their hails, and the technology and design is wholly alien. Engineer Scott is excited though: “I’ve never seen anything like her. And ion propulsion at that. They could teach us a thing or two.” But Captain Kirk is more interested in the woman beaming directly onto the Bridge, who seems to have left most of her outfit behind.

Kirk introduces himself but she just smiles vapidly. When security red shirts rush in from the turbolift, she presses a button on her armband. The lights flicker and dim while everyone on the Bridge collapses. She presses more buttons, systematically knocking out the rest of the crew on all decks—grinning all the while. She strolls across the Bridge to fondle Spock’s shiny bowl cut.

The lights come up and the Bridge crew awakens, disoriented. Kirk notices that Spock is missing and Dr. McCoy calls him to Sickbay with some bad news: the science officer is dead. No, he’s “worse than dead”!

MCCOY: His brain is gone. KIRK: His what? MCCOY: It’s been removed surgically. KIRK: How could he survive? MCCOY: It’s the greatest technical job I’ve ever seen. Every nerve ending in the brain must’ve been neatly sealed. Nothing ripped, nothing torn, no bleeding. It’s a medical miracle.

No one can quite believe this perfectly plausible scenario. Kirk takes a wild guess: the woman who arranged their impromptu naptime might be responsible. The Vulcan’s genes can keep his mindless body alive for another twenty-four hours, but McCoy’s dubious that they can track down the thief in time: “In this whole galaxy, where are you going to look for Spock’s brain? How are you going to find it?” And even if they can recover it, he doesn’t know how to put it back! But Kirk can’t be bothered with details right now.

Sulu manages to follow the ion trail of the woman’s ship, but they lose it at the Sigma Draconis system. There are three Class M planets there that can support life. Chekov pulls up a Powerpoint presentation and they all discuss the merits of each option. But with only eight hours and thirty-five minutes left to locate Spock’s brain, Kirk can’t afford to guess incorrectly. Though none of the planets seems technologically advanced enough to build a spaceship, one of them displays some anomalous energy readings: Sigma Draconis VI, a primitive planet experiencing an ice age. What the hell, that’s never steered them wrong yet. Kirk decides to beam down to the tropical zone on the sixth planet.

CHEKOV: What if you guess wrong, Captain? KIRK: If I guess wrong, Mr. Spock is dead. Spock will die.

Everyone clear on that? It’s hard to keep up with the many twists in this high-concept plot.

Anyway, a landing party explores the chilly surface of the planet. “Life-form readings, Mr. Spock?” Oops. Scotty gives him a Look. “Mr. Scott,” he corrects himself. The cavemen-like natives soon find them though, literally attacking them with sticks and stones—which are no match for a phaser beam set on wide dispersal. The primitives flee, leaving behind their leader. Kirk attempts to engage him in friendly conversation.

KIRK: We mean you no harm. We’re not your enemies, we’re your friends. We only wish to talk to you. MORG: You are not the Others? KIRK: No. We come from a far place. We are men. MORG: Men? KIRK: Like yourselves. MORG: You are small, like the Others. KIRK: Who are the Others? MORG: Givers of pain and delight.

The conversation breaks down from there: this poor man has no concept of “female” or “mate” or “companion.” He becomes agitated when Kirk asks him to bring them to the Others. (Perhaps he’s a fan of Lost .) He freaks out and runs off when Chekov discovers evidence of an underground compound. Not to be outdone, Scott finds a cave filled with food and weapons. But it turns out to be a trap with a laser tripwire in front of the stockpile. Kirk calls McCoy and tells him to beam down with Spock.

Spock arrives in hideous brown coveralls and metal headgear. McCoy shows them a neat trick: he’s rigged the Vulcan up to respond to a remote control. He walks him into the cave slowly, ticking with each step. Kirk trips the light sensor and a metal door slams shut. Then the room descends—the four of them are trapped in an elevator (and one of them looks like the devil). They’re swiftly approaching the source of the unusual power source they detected previously.

The elevator stops and the doors open into a corridor, revealing another scantily-clad woman waiting for them. Kirk phasers her before she can reach for her armband. When McCoy revives her, she identifies herself as Luma but is too simple-minded to tell them anything useful.

KIRK: Who’s in charge? I wish to speak to him. LUMA: Him? What is him? KIRK: What have you done with Spock’s brain? Where’ve you taken it? LUMA: You are not Morg or Eymorg. I know nothing about a brain.

That’s fairly obvious. But Scott has picked up a strange signal on his communicator: Spock’s disembodied voice! Unfortunately he doesn’t know where or what he is. They head down a corridor in search of him and run into the woman from Enterprise who knocks them out with a boinging sound effect from her armband.

They wake up in chairs with spiffy new belts with giant green buckles, facing off the woman who captured them (Kara) and three other women. She doesn’t even recall coming to their ship and stealing Spock’s brain. Frustrated, Kirk asks to speak to someone in charge.

KARA: I am leader. There is no other. SCOTT: That’s impossible. Who built the machines? MCCOY: Who are the doctors? Who operates? KIRK: Who controls this complex? KARA: Control? Controller? KIRK: Yes, the Controller. The Controller. Who controls? I would like to meet, to see him. KARA: No. It is not permitted. Never! Controller is alone, apart. We serve Controller. No other is permitted near. KIRK: We intend no harm. KARA: You have come to destroy us. KIRK: No, no, no. I promise you. MCCOY: We just want to talk to somebody about Spock’s brain. That’s all. KARA: Brain and brain! What is brain? It is Controller, is it not?

Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. The Controller—they’d like to see that . Kara refuses, activates their belts, and leaves Kirk, Scott, and McCoy in agony on the floor while she leaves with her little clique.

Kirk and his men easily overpower their Morg guards (who are also kept in line with green belts of their own) and recover their equipment. They resume contact with Spock’s brain through a communicator and he sends them a signal to lead them to him. They wander slowly— so slowly—through the corridors at the pace of a brainless R/C Vulcan until they reach a large chamber. Kara is already there, in distress about something. She turns when they enter and activates their belts. They fall to the floor, but Spock takes a licking and keeps on ticking—no brain, no pain.

Kirk reaches for his remote control and maneuvers the Vulcan’s body over to Kara. It grabs her by the wrists and presses the button that releases the men’s belts. Kara pleads with them not to take away the Controller, which it turns out is Spock’s brain. He’s been controlling the life support systems of the underground facility, as though he were regulating his own bodily functions.

Kirk demands that she put Spock’s brain back where it belongs, but she doesn’t know how to. The only way to gain it is through the Teacher, a spiky helmet that draws on a massive database to bestow temporary knowledge on a person. They force Kara into it and she becomes instantly intelligent and calculating. She turns one of their own phasers against them—set to kill. Scott distracts her with a brilliant strategy of his own: he pretends to faint. Kirk recovers the phaser from her, but she still refuses to help them.

McCoy offers to try the Teacher, driven by the desire to help his friend and to bring advanced medical techniques to the Federation. The incompatibility with his mind is painful, but it works:

Of course. Of course. A child could do it. A child could do it.

With his new knowledge, the doctor operates at breakneck pace on Spock while Kara complains.

KARA: You will have him back and we will be destroyed. KIRK: No. You won’t be destroyed. You’ll be without your Controller for the first time, but you’ll be much better off, I think. KARA: We will die. KIRK: No, you’ll live and develop as you should have. All this shouldn’t have been done for you. Now the women here below and the men here above will control together. KARA: They will not help us without the pain. KIRK: There are other ways. You’ll discover them. You must move to the surface, you understand. KARA: We will die above in the cold. KIRK: No, you won’t. You’ll learn to build houses, to keep warm, to work. We’ll help you for a while. Humans have survived under worse conditions. It’s a matter of evolution. You’ll be fine.

The effects of the Teacher’s instruction begin to wear off and McCoy falters, forgets, and loses confidence in his abilities. Before he loses it entirely, he manages to reconnect Spock’s vocal chords… so Spock can talk him through the rest of the brain surgery.

The operation is a success and Spock sits up, not even a single hair out of place. McCoy must have triggered the expositional center of the brain, because Spock begins explaining the back story for those who couldn’t figure it out.

SPOCK: A remarkable example of a retrograde civilisation. At the peak, advanced beyond any of our capabilities and now operating at this primitive level which you saw. And it all began thousands of years ago when a glacial age reoccurred. This underground complex was developed for the women. The men remained above, and a male-female schism took place. A fascinating cultural development of a kind which never— MCCOY: I knew it was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it. KIRK: What’s that? MCCOY: I should have never reconnected his mouth.

Here it is at last, one of the most infamous episodes of Star Trek . This is almost universally denounced by even the most hardcore fans, but even I have defended it in the past as being funny if not intelligent. No more.

To be sure, this episode does offer its share of delight, but it delivers far more pain. For all its sins, its worst quality is that it’s simply boring . From the opening scene on the Bridge, what should be a tense moment becomes a prolonged series of reaction shots. Every conversation seems to drag in this and they even had to pull out a chart to fill the time. (Granted, there probably is a good amount of waiting around for things to happen on real ships, but this is television!) There’s something very wrong when most of the episode shows them walking through corridors as if they were on a slow trek through Mordor. This is a prime example of a ticking clock story (with the actual sound provided by the mechanized Spock, however inexplicable the source). But rather than add tension, the deadline only makes the episode seem to plod that much more; most viewers (especially those who have to watch this in order to review them) will be checking the time just as often as Kirk.

The normally talented cast can barely keep a straight face, hamming their way through ridiculous lines like, “In search of his brain, Doctor.” Leonard Nimoy literally phones it in, though he actually delivers a nuanced performance even in his limited role.

There are so many failures in this episode, from the bizarre outfits Kara and the other “Eymorg” sport (extra-mini-skirts and thigh-high boots) to the simplistic plot and laughable premise. The basic idea of a mind controlling a machine is, well, fascinating—certainly more so than the haphazard division of genders and Kirk’s continuing efforts to radically disrupt other people’s way of life. Once again we have an underground power source, and an advanced race with offspring who have forgotten how to use their technology. You know, the usual. It’s hardly worth pointing out all the plot holes, but there are a lot of them.

The third Star Trek film, “The Search for Spock,” is an interesting counterpart to this episode, in which they have Spock’s mind (preserved within Dr. McCoy’s) but must recover his body to put things right. It was a little bit silly (it was an odd-numbered film, after all), but somehow the mystical aspect of the Vulcan katra is easier to buy into than pseudo-science. “Spock’s Brain” is a parody of Star Trek that just isn’t very funny.

Fire away: what do you think are the best and worst aspects of “Spock’s Brain”?

Eugene’s Rating: Impulse (on a scale of Warp 1-6)

Torie Atkinson: By the time this episode was over I had forgotten how to eat an artichoke, how to multiply fractions, and any memories of my 16th birthday. “Spock’s Brain” is such a cute name for what is truly an assault on the psyche. It’s like the song that never ends–you’re sure you’re going to die any moment now, and yet you continue to exist, soullessly…

I couldn’t possibly explain what happened here. Can anyone? Gene L. Coon gave us “Errand of Mercy,” “Court Martial,” “A Taste of Armageddon” … Even his mediocre episodes (“Miri,” “Operation: Annihilate!”, “Bread and Circuses”) were interesting, focused, well-paced, and premised on reasonably meritorious science fictional ideas. And Marc Daniels! The absolutely brilliant television director we’ve seen craft masterpieces like in “The Menagerie,” “Space Seed,” and “Mirror, Mirror” is entirely obscured by a ham-handed, half-assed, sloppy shadow of himself.

As Eugene pointed out, the biggest sin of “Spock’s Brain” is how tediously boring it is. The pregnant….pauses… and long… looks… down… the… corridors… make Antiques Roadshow seem like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. The idea itself isn’t terrible –what if a human (or Vulcan) brain really could power a complex machine? What if you could upload your personality, grant yourself immortality and a kind of godhood over worshipful, ignorant children? What would you lose by doing so? I love these kinds of questions. One of my favorite parts of First Contact is the way that the Borg Queen tempts (well, seduces, really) Data into becoming human. It’s what he’s always wanted, what he’s been working toward for seven seasons of TNG. And yet, in the end, he realizes that becoming human would mean losing what makes him Data. To give that up would mean denying the worth of the person he already is. It’s a great science-fictional dilemma: what makes you you? Are you still you if you’re a machine? If you’re in a different body? I would have loved to see Spock wrestle with these identity issues. But no. No, instead, BRAIN WHAT IS BRAIN BRAIN BRAIN BRAIN BBBBBBBBBBBB–

Sorry. Shorted a circuit there for a minute.

There’s exactly one thing I liked about this episode, and that was when Kirk said to Spock: “You say you’re breathing, pumping blood, maintaining temperature? Is it possible that you’re re-circulating air, running heating plants, purifying water?” That was legitimately clever and I was impressed! And then I became unspeakably sad that a single metaphor had given me the greatest joy I had felt in forty minutes.

Maybe Antiques Roadshow is on….

Torie’s Rating: Warp engines offline! Quarter impulse power.

Best Line: (And Worst Line) KARA: “Brain and brain! What is brain?”

Syndication Edits: (For the first time, this might be the better version of this episode.) Many reaction shots as Kara’s ship approaches; an establishing shot of Enteprise following the ion trail; most of Chekov’s first report on Sigma Draconis VI, which eliminates a plot mistake: his claim that there are no energy readings; portions of the fight with the natives and the interrogation of the Morg; Luna introducing herself; Sulu’s log entry, where he refers to the planet as Sigma Draconis VII ; Scott’s misogynistic comment, “Those women could never have set up anything as complex as this has to be;” Spock tells Kirk not to look for him; most of Kara’s absorption of knowledge from the Teacher; Kara threatening to kill Kirk; Kara declining to restore Spock’s brain, with “I would not” instead cutting directly to “No!”

Trivia: Lee Cronin’s (the alter ego of producer Gene L. Coon) original outline had some key differences from the final draft. A male alien named “Ehr Von” from the planet Nefel takes Spock’s brain while he explores an asteroid with Kirk and McCoy. Spock has to practice Vulcan mental techniques ( slon porra ) to retain his sanity. Spock had to be ordered to stop controlling the functions of the planet, and there was no Teacher—just good old-fashioned country medicine, with the help of some advanced medical textbooks and some alien surgeons. After the operation, Spock announced that the doctor had mixed up some of his ganglia, but no malpractice suit was necessary, because he could compensate with his superior control of his mind.

We can thank co-producer Robert Justman for the brilliant idea of having Spock direct his own brain surgery.

This is the only Star Trek episode to use a character’s name in the title.

In his autobiography Up Till Now , William Shatner jokes that this episode is a tribute to the NBC executives who cut the budget and moved the slow to a poor time slot in its final season.

The original score for this episode by Fred Steiner was recycled in “The Tholian Web” and “Day of the Dove.”

This is the only episode where Sulu records a log entry, good practice for his later stint as commander of the Excelsior , though the shot of him in the hot seat was reused from “The Omega Glory.”

The Teacher’s computer console is another instance where the M5 unit from “The Ultimate Computer” is repurposed.

This is the first episode where characters walk in front of the viewscreen while it shows a moving starfield.

This was the last episode directed by veteran director Marc Daniels, and it shows.

Other notes: Footage from this episode appears in the 1981 film Taps , entertaining young cadets at the Valley Forge Military Academy.

In addition to the behind-the-scenes changes in the production team, notably the introduction of Fred Freiberger, the show underwent a striking change on the screen: the title and credits for the third season are blue instead of yellow.

Previous episode: Season 2, Episode 26 – “Assignment: Earth “

Next episode: Season 3, Episode 2 – “ The Enterprise Incident .” US residents can watch it for free at the CBS website .

“ Spock’s Brain”

Written by Lee Cronin

Directed by Marc Daniels

Season 3, Episode 1

Production episode: 3×06

Original air date: September 20, 1968

Star date: 5431.4

Enterprise is at red alert, everyone watching the viewscreen as a silver rocket approaches. No one answers their hails, and the technology and design is wholly alien. Engineer Scott is excited though: “I’ve never seen anything like her. And ion propulsion at that. They could teach us a thing or two.” But Captain Kirk is more interested in the woman who beams directly onto the Bridge, who seems to have left most of her outfit behind.

Kirk introduces himself but she just smiles vapidly at him. When security red shirts rush in from the turbolift, she presses a button on her armband. The lights flicker and dim while everyone on the Bridge collapses. She presses more buttons, systematically knocking out the rest of the crew on all decks—grinning all the while. She strolls across the Bridge to fondle Spock’s shiny bowl cut.

No one can quite believe this perfectly plausible scenario. Kirk takes a wild guess: the woman who arranged their impromptu naptime might be responsible. The Vulcan’s genes can keep his mindless body alive for another twenty-four hours, but McCoy’s dubious that they can track down the thief in time: “ In this whole galaxy, where are you going to look for Spock’s brain? How are you going to find it?” And even if they can recover it, he doesn’t know how to put it back! But Kirk can’t be bothered with details right now.

McCoy, offers to try the Teacher, driven by the desire to help his friend and to bring advanced medical techniques to the Federation. The incompatibility with his mind is painful, but it works:

To be sure, t his episode does offer its share of delight, but it delivers far more pain. For all its sins, its worst quality is that it’s simply boring . From the opening scene on the Bridge, what should be a tense moment becomes a prolonged series of reaction shots. Every conversation seems to drag in this and they even had to pull out a chart to fill the time. (Granted, there probably is a good amount of waiting around for things to happen on real ships, but this is television!) There’s something very wrong when most of the episode shows them walking through corridors as if they were on a slow trek through Mordor. This is a prime example of a ticking clock story (with the actual sound provided by the mechanized Spock, however inexplicable the source). But rather than add tension, the deadline only makes the episode seem to plod that much more; most viewers (especially those who have to watch this in order to review them) will be checking the time just as often as Kirk.

The normally talented cast can barely keep a straight face, hamming their way through ridiculous lines like, “In search of his brain, Doctor.” Leonard Nimoy literally phones in his performance, though he actually delivers a nuanced performance even in his limited role.

Eugene’s Rating: Warp 0 (on a scale of 1-6)

Torie Atkinson:

Torie’s Rating:

Syndication Edits: (For the first time, this might be the better version of this episode.) Many reaction shots as Kara’s ship approaches; an establishing shot of Enteprise following the ion trail; most of Chekov’s first report on Sigma Draconis VI, which eliminates a plot mistake: his claim that there are no energy readings; portions of the fight with the natives and the interrogation of the Morg; Luna introducing herself; Sulu ‘s log entry, where he refers to the planet as Sigma Draconis VII ; Scott’s misogynistic comment, “ Those women could never have set up anything as complex as this has to be;” Spock tells Kirk not to look for him; most of Kara’s absorption of knowledge from the Teacher; Kara threatening to kill Kirk; Kara declining to restore Spock’s brain, with “I would not” instead cutting directly to “No!”

Next episode: Season 3, Episode 2-“The Enterprise Incident.” US residents can watch it for free at the CBS website.

About Eugene Myers & Torie Atkinson

60 comments.

See, you should have done this as a drinking game, like I suggested. Of course, you might have had to watch it a couple more times than you had to doing it sober…

I’ve always said that “Brain and brain! What is brain?” is a question that must have puzzled the writers of this episode.

I’ve been thinking about this episode for a while now, and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that, while this certainly may be the stupidest episode, it might not be the worst. That honor may be reserved for “The Savage Curtain”.

Something else to consider is that even though this was the first episode aired, it was the 6th episode produced for the season. Think about that. They’d just been through a near cancellation, saved only by massive fan response, they had a new, crappy time slot despite promises from the network), they had 5 other episodes in the can (most of them better, one outstanding), and they went with this… this… steaming pile. NBC wanted the show gone and they set out to damage it as much as they could. This was a deliberate insult to the fans.

Finally in Scotty’s defense, I don’t think his comment was meant misogynistically. There is no way those particular women could have built all that. They make the subjects of most blonde jokes look like Einstein.

Looking at the first five production episodes, they didn’t have a lot of good options. I think “The Enterprise Incident” probably would have been a better lead-in, but I think they may have been gambling on Spock’s sex appeal. Because nothing is sexier than a brown jumpsuit.

I’m also holding out for “The Way to Eden” as the worst episode; it’s so hard to choose in the third season, isn’t it? But you’re right–the script had some unfortunate lines that could have applied to the episode itself, such as the confused Morg’s comment, “Your words say nothing.”

…who says we didn’t do it as a drinking game? (We didn’t. Why risk having to watch it again??)

That’s a good point about the network. But why fund it at all at that point?

I don’t think Scotty’s comment is misogynistic either. These women probably can’t even dress themselves, let alone build anything of value. I wonder if it’s like Denny’s where you just point to the picture of what you want and the Teacher makes it for you.

That’s a good point about the network. But why fund it at all at that point?

Well, there was enough fan response to make NBC reconsider cancellation. Back then, there was still a belief in network loyalty (and it may even have existed to an extent). They needed a way to make the viewers give up on the show without hating NBC.

As for their options, obviously “The Enterprise Incident” was their best bet (though the network might have worried it was too political), but they could easily have gone with “Elaan” (big name guest star!) or “Paradise Syndrome”. The less said about the other two, the better.

I know what everyone says about this episode. And I don’t dispute it. But this was the first Star Trek episode I ever saw in my life and it hooked me on the series.

I don’t want to lose what it was for me in the cultural context of the time. So I’m not going to watch it again, because I’m sure I’ll have the same reaction everyone else does instead of the feeling of how jawdroppingly awesome it seemed when I was a nerdy thirteen year old. My impression then was, “Wow, this is so much cooler than Lost in Space.”

No question that “Spock’s Brain” is cooler than Lost in Space. If that says anything…

Like I said, there was certainly potential to develop some really challenging ideas and character moments, all utterly lost on a hack script and shoddy directing. But, you know, I can’t really think of a better episode for a nerdy 13-year-old. It’s got big brains, super computers, silly dialogue, a totally ridiculous plot, and is, well, fun. Imagine if you had seen, say, “Journey to Babel” first instead. How boring !, you probably would have thought. So no judgments here.

Besides, considering some of the other stuff on TV at the time…

My first Star Trek (aside from ST IV: The Journey Home) was TNG in syndication, and boy are there some doozies there…

Well, network loyalty meant more when there weren’t 300 channels and the internet all competing for viewer attention.

Big name guest stars have so far not fared well on Star Trek . For every Joan Collins we seem to get two Julie Newmars.

The return of Futurama has made me very skeptical about the benefits of lobbying for a beloved show. I’ve learned my lesson.

Hey, Lost in Space was hilarious! Often intentionally so. I used to do a killer Robot impression and had a friend who did a great Dr. Smith. Ummm… It was the 80s? You had to be there?

The first TOS episode I consciously remember seeing was “Operation: Annihilate!” The flying space pizzas made a real impression on 10-year-old-or-so me.

The new Futuramas may have clunked in a few spots at first, but I think this season is rolling fine now. (And note Leela’s improved, 2-button wrist multicontroller!)

And women in 60s miniskirts with thigh high boots for the 13 year olds who are just beginning to notice certain things….

Hiya, Eugene and Torie! I lost y’all for a while there…

Although Scott wasn’t sexist for his opinion that the Eymorg could not have built the underground, I did notice Kirk assumed their leader would be a “him”.

Memory did make this episode less dull. Maybe it was the aforementioned syndication cuts.

And yes, there will be worse.

Nope, we’re still here! Glad to see you. :)

But the leader was a “him”!

Which do you think are worse than this? Are they at least less boring?

I actually really liked Lost in Space . It was trying to be campy, so the humor usually worked. Except for that episode with the giant carrot… I’ve been meaning to watch some episodes again since they’re all on Hulu but I’m worried that it doesn’t hold up. Did you watch Lost in Space , Torie?

I think the first episode I actively watched was probably “The Menagerie,” with both parts broadcast back-to-back. I started watching during a marathon on WPIX-11 before DS9 premiered.

Yes, Kirk was far more at fault than Scott. Though I joked about the engineer being misogynistic, if anyone on the show had a reason to resent women, it would be him.

For me, this is only saved from being the single worst episode by the presence of the other bookend to the dreadful third season, The Turnabout Intruder , which relies so heavily on Shatner’s acting abilities, with predictably dire results.

Granted that my feminism may well put these two in the seat of dishonour; I also rather enjoy The Way to Eden , basically as among the best of the comic episodes. To be fair, I do tend to turn it off before the “his name was Adam” bit.

Well, I think “Who mourns for Adonais” was WAAAAAAAAAY worse than this one. This was a wee bit boring, but that was completely, infuriatingly dull and stupid. Well, de gustibus non est disputandum – let’s say: both are quite bad. :-)

This was an episode that marked me for the rest of my life. I was 7 when it aired and we watched the show, Spock’s tick-tick-ticking as the remote controlled Spock stuck with me. To this day when I think about walking around brain-dead to the world in the back of my head I hear that tick-tick-ticking of Spock on remote control. Re-watching it I was struck how over-the-top most of the performances were. I imagine on the set the view must have been along the line of, ‘Man, this is crap and I just don’t care.’ Scary to think it gets worse.

I saw enough. Not to my taste at all.

I think “Turnabout Intruder” is the episode I’m most looking forward to since so many people seemed excited to see my (unabashedly feminist) reaction to it. For me the test will be: is it more offensive than “A Private Little War”?

I dunno, “Who Mourns for Adonais?” had a much more interesting conceit: what’s the difference between a god and a space douche? :) I also thought the appeal to Lt. Palermo’s humanity in it was really interesting. It had a lot more going on in it that this one did.

But you’re right, it’s kind of like comparing different flavors of gruel.

The actors were really not into this one at all. You know that they probably started every scene with a huge sigh, reminding themselves that they’ll make rent this month thanks to Gene L. Coon. DeForest Kelly was the worst–bless him, he just cannot fake enthusiasm.

That said, an actual R/C Spock? Would kind of be awesome. Especially when you’re 7, and you can use him to beat up all the jerks who make fun of you for liking Star Trek.

I’m actively dreading having to watch “The Way to Eden” again. I once vowed I would never re-watch it, then two years later I decided it couldn’t have been that bad so I gave it another chance and deeply regretted it. It’s been at least seventeen years though, so maybe it’s better than I remember? Please?

I only saw “Turnabout Intruder” a couple of times so I don’t remember anything in particular that was awful about it, but the premise suggests it may go horribly wrong.

How often do you think about walking around brain-dead? And why?

I just realized, he sounds like he has a little winding key on his back. Which would be kind of funny.

I’ma would-be writer, so I either brain dead most of the time from lack of sleep or thinking that the writer of (Fill in the Blank) is brain dead! (And I’m working on a novel to reinvent the Zombie)

I know. DeForest chewed up more scenery in this one than Shatner did, that’s saying something. When I get an episode this bad I end up watching Scotty and all the tricks Jimmy Doohan does to hide his right hand.

“Turnabout Intruder” is offensive in different ways than “A Private Little War”, since it deals with 60s attitudes towards career women. But the thing I’m most waiting for is your response to Shatner’s performance. Let’s just say, I expect the word mincing to appear in the write-up somewhere.

It’s…special. For me, it’s worse than A Private Little War because it lampshades that they didn’t consider women the least bit capable of command, and they show it in the most ZOMG offensive way imaginable, by having Shatner be the woman in command. Just…ugh.

APLW was, though, quite thoroughly appalling.

But hey! At least they were in the Sixties. JJ Abrams hasn’t even got that in his defence. :D

Yeah, I’ve only seen Turnabout a couple of times myself, but it’s burnt into my brain permanently for all that. Let’s say as a girl trying to find a home in sff in the 70s?

Really. Not. Good.

It basically screamed at me, “Yes, there will be an awesome wonderful future with spaceships and aliens and shit, and it’s a No Girls Allowed club. Kinda like everything else, actually, so get your ass in the kitchen, unless it’s night, in which case, get it in the bedroom.”

Not that I have a strong opinion on it or anything.

I think Radio-Controlled Spock will be the name of my next Rock Band.

Are you somehow trying to imply that women* can appear in movies in a capacity OTHER than as an improbable, shallow love interest?

He had no excuse.

*I jest, what with the plurals. Of course we only need one woman as a major character. No need to do more than check it off the list.

You will think I am kidding, but my Rock Band avatars are TOS Trek and my Rock Band 2 avatars are TNG Trek (called Assimilate!).

/lying (Please, like I could ever backslash-end being a nerd?)

This one might require some margaritas, is that what you’re saying? Okay. *makes a note*

Totally. And her only Crowning Moment of Awesome (being able to speak three dialects of Romulan, and using it to get crucial intel) went like this:

Kirk: “Uhura did all this awesome stuff, and I’m going to use it to get my unqualified ass into the captain’s chair!”

Uhura: “Yep, I did that.”

Only it’s fiction, of course, because she didn’t even get to confirm her CMOA. Yargh.

LOL! Please advise on the colour and options you would like on your Personal Internetz, so I can get it sent out to you through the tubes.

We should really take pictures of those bands so we can post them here. You could explain how you designed them, or just let people revel in their geekiness without comment.

Watching — or reading — Torie go ballistic over the blatant, unvarnished, and execrable sexism should be entertaining, indeed. But I have to take issue with your dissing of Shatner’s performance. Really, for what it was meant to be, I think Shatner’s take on it was perfect.

I don’t see how you can blame the actor for delivering an excellent realisation of a character, even if the character and the surrounding narrative are abhorrent.

But — hey, this probably should wait for the actual Rewatch!

Okay, for completeness, and because I didn’t realise this was going on over here, I’ll copy my post from Tor.com, in case anyone cares. I don’t know; are we meant to post everything twice now? I’m afraid I’m easily confused….

==============

Ah, Season Three, its hour come round at last, slouches its way to ignominious debut….

I just never could figure out how they managed to get all that subtle movement out of Spock’s body with — what? — eight buttons and a dial? Did McCoy have the menu memorised? And when did he get a chance to brief Kirk on the controls, anyway?

Unlike our new reviewers, I actually thought the debate on the bridge over which planet to explore, complete with solar system chart, was pretty neat, and one of the few reasonable moments in the entire episode.

And I do agree that the cast did the best they could with what they had, as they almost always did.

So, other than the immortal phrases ‘You are not morg, you are not eymorg!’, ‘Givers of pain and delight’, and ‘Brain and brain! What is brain?!’, there’s not much else to take away from this episode.

And I notice that nobody is mentioning one of my favourite candidates for worst episode, ‘That Which Survives’ — possibly because it’s so bad and forgettable that everyone has, well, forgotten it. But it’s coming, don’t worry.

(I also liked the handy thermal uniforms which protected the landing party from the cold, despite not having any mittens or wool caps, and thus saving bunches on extra wardrobe. It’s like the Tories [and I don’t mean the good one of this blog] took over the production budget….)

If you can figure out how to screencap my Xbox, sure.

I’m especially proud of Geordi.

Yeah, being named Torie when we studied the American Revolution was a heap of fun. That scene reminded me of “The Naked Time,” actually, when they had “biohazard suits” and then the guy takes off his protective glove to touch a strange substance . Why the suits?

I liked the debate on the bridge, too. You sometimes forget that these people, in between man-wrestling and food cubes, have traditional ship-related tasks. Too bad we don’t get to see the unwashed deckhands loading torpedo bays… Oh wait, no it’s not.

The best thing about Lost in Space was Judy in that silver jumpsuit. Sigh…

Yeah, that bit with the glove always mystified me. What kind of hazmat training was Starfleet handing out? They’d probably privatised it.

“And The Children Shall Lead…” is my bottom one- poor telling of a so-so story. “Turnabout Intruder” will have some spots of poor effort, but is still very entertaining.

Stop asking about it! Just be patient. I don’t want anything spoiled for you.

I totally agree with you on the fine Spock controls, right down to his hands! And that debate on the Bridge was interesting and realistic, though I still think it went on a little too long.

Re: the thermals on the planet, for all Chekov’s posturing, I noted that he was the first to phaser the rocks to keep warm!

Also, I’m glad you found us! There’s no expectation that you post twice, but we’d sure miss you over here… :)

Oh, right . Maybe that’s what I liked about the show, but I might have had a crush on Penny. And the robot.

Training is so expensive , after all.

Well, the Robot would have been kinky, and Penny was cute, but just too wholesome. Judy, though — smoldering. Yow.

The fanwank explanation for this (and I’ll save most of the details for that thread when it happens) that I’ve seen is that Janice Lester is insane, and as the only character who says explicitly that women can’t be starship captains, it’s automatically a suspicious statement.

I realize that there’s more to it than that; I’m just throwing this out there for now.

I have to agree — “And the Children Shall Lead” has the fewest redeeming features (i.e. none). Every other episode had at least a moment of passing coolness, or a well-delivered line, or an interesting character/situation. But not this one.

It doesn’t help that, during the syndication years, it seemed to be on twice a week. (Whereas I think I only ever saw Turnabout Intruder twice, despite watching 6 times a week…)

Oh, so this is where the party is at now.

The one thing I’ll say in defense of this episode was that (it is claimed by the writer) it was written as a joke about how the revived Star Trek had its brain removed, and was picked up by the clueless showrunner. There’s ample evidence for that, but I have a bit of skepticism re. this claim since this was the very first episode of the third season. YMMV.

@52 ChurchHatesTucker

You found us! Welcome!

I certainly felt like they were pulling a joke on the fans, too.

I’m very sad that it took me this long to find the real Star Trek rewatch. Now I need to find the time to actually participate.

It’s never too late! We’ll be here. :)

I am very late coming to this party, unfortunately, but I feel compelled to defend “Spock’s Brain” slightly–really only on the charge of boredom. I admit that there are many scenes in the episode that feel unnecessarily protracted, with lots of slow conversations and walking through corridors. One particularly bad scene has Scotty finding the cave on the surface containing the food and weapons, and the landing party all stand around and discuss it in ridiculously obvious terms: “It could be a warning! Or it could be a trap for the brutes! But won’t it trap us too? &c.” But there’s so much other hilarious stuff going on that I’m willing to put up with a bit of padding. Compare it to a classic “bad movie” like Bride of the Monster ; watching that, you have to endure stretches of tedium–walking scenes, driving scenes, gratuitous stock footage, &c.–but it’s all worth it to be entertained by goofy dialogue, Bela Lugosi’s ham acting, the ludicrous apparition of Tor Johnson shambling about with his mouth wide open, and so forth.

I think there’s plenty of entertainment to be found in “Spock’s Brain”. Deliriously wretched dialogue, not just the infamous “brain and brain!” exclamation. Melodramatic line readings, e.g. “Spock’s…brain… CONTROLS! ” or, “A child could do it!!” Bizarre attempts at humor that flop, e.g. “…delightful aspects,” or, “Science will triumph.” Costuming, sets, and special effects that clearly show nobody was really trying, e.g. the bit of gold-colored tulle wrapped around Spock’s head that’s supposedly covering his open skull, the wall with a hole that just barely hides the top of Spock’s head. The laughable hand-waving that covers up the plot’s multiple sins (fine motor control over Spock using ten buttons? Spock knows how to operate on himself?) All of this stuff is why I’ve actually watched “Spock’s Brain” several times over the years, which is more than I can say of three-fourths of the third season’s episodes. No way it’s boring, especially when compared to soporifics like “The Mark of Gideon” or “Requiem for Methuselah”.

Is it offensive? Certainly the episode seems to suggest that women, deprived of the society of men, inevitably become bubble-headed children too stupid to breathe. But then it’s also suggested the men, deprived of the society of women, inevitably become violent brutes who can barely string a half-dozen words together at a stretch. I suppose it’s just another instance of that hackneyed trope of science fiction, for which I partly blame Asimov and which Star Trek enthusiastically embraced, that once the central authority of a civilization collapses it takes about a week for everyone to revert to savagery and lose all knowledge of literacy, simple machines, and personal hygiene. There is Kirk’s seeming assumption that the real leader of the Eymorg society couldn’t possibly be any of the women he met, but Star Trek would do much worse in other episodes.

One more observation: I rather like it when Kara comes out from under the “Teacher” and sharply reprimands the men (and her own Controller!) for not taking her own ability into account: “…he is giving no credit to me!”

@56 etomlins

I used to be like you. I thought the camp outweighed the boredom, and defended the humor, but this time around it had a much different effect on me. Perhaps it comes from thinking so critically about the episodes for these reviews, or because we watched it in such close proximity to many better episodes. At this point, Torie and I have also seen this episode so many times, it’s hard to be a good judge of it anymore. Have you checked out our LaughTreks commentary for “Spock’s Brain” yet? When you’re trying to fill those long stretches of silence, you become all too aware of them.

#57, Eugene: I finally got round to watching the “Laugh Treks” along with “Spock’s Brain”. Very witty! The problem of filling dead zones is a serious one and it’s one reason that the MST3K folks deserve more credit than they sometimes get: anyone can make jokes when furnished with good material to base it on, but making jokes when there’s no material takes real ability. Anyway, when I cued up your riff track I laughed. A lot. Mind you, I was a bit drunk at the time….

I don’t think this is the worst episode ever. Heaven knows it’s not good, but it has a certain amount of goofy charm, which puts it ahead of “The Alternative Factor” and “And the Children Shall Lead.”

It’s also the first episode I ever saw — in 1969 (during the summer reruns), when I was 11 — so I’ll always have a soft spot for it.

While most of the execution was execrable, I thought the idea was kind of interesting. I mean, Spock’s brain has to be one of the wonders of the universe; it’s amazing that people didn’t try to steal the damned thing every week. :-) And brainless Spock being remote controlled was genuinely creepy; Nimoy did an amazing job of giving us a Spock with nobody home behind his eyes, and what a totally different creature THAT was.

People often attribute malice to NBC in their decision to air this episode first in Season 3, but I really doubt that. NBC understood almost nothing about Star Trek, but one of the few things they DID understand was that Spock was popular. I think they ran this episode first simply because it had Spock’s name in the title; they didn’t need any deeper motivation than that.

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Star Trek : "Spock's Brain"/"The Enterprise Incident"

It used to be tough to be a geek. Oh, don't get me wrong, it still basically is—both in the biting-heads-off-chickens sense and the social outcast with a tendency to obsess over intellectual (aka, "non-sexy") pursuits sense. But these days, whether or not it'll get you laid, geek culture holds sway. The biggest movie blockbusters are genre films based on toy properties from the '80's, books dedicated to giving lonely readers a world where they are valued for their dreariness, and, of course, re-imaginings of science fiction franchises at least a decade away from relevancy. This wasn't always the case. Once, geeks had to work to defend what they loved. Case in point: when fans learned that NBC planned to cancel Star Trek after the original series' second season, they organized a massive letter-writing campaign to convince network executives that the show was popular enough to warrant renewal. The campaign, which has become the stuff of TV legend (and is a model for any niche show in danger of getting axed), was successful, and on September 20, 1968, Trek entered its third season. I can't even imagine the satisfied feeling those fans must've had, to settle in with friends and family to watch living (well, pre-recorded) proof of their commitment, passion, and enthusiasm. I'm sure even the title card had them excited. "'Spock's Brain,' huh? Neat-o! Spock is my favorite character, and he's incredibly smart, so it logically follows that I'll enjoy any episode that revolves around him and his central nervous system!" And then, the increasingly manic resistance to the truth. "Oh wow! This slow pacing really forces me to pay close attention to the storyline to keep from falling asleep! And that's a good thing, because this plot is so paper thin on the surface that it must have a deeper level that I'm missing, right?" Eventually, denial would cease, but with acceptance would coming the horrified understanding that not only did you spend a good month addressing envelopes, organizing, and making sure your demands were firm but politely phrased, just to make this episode possible—you also convinced everyone you know that the show was a.) worth saving and b.) something they should watch. So now, all of them are watching it. And some of them know where you live.

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I'd like to say "Spock's Brain" isn't that bad, but it mostly is. The only real hope after the amateur-hour cold open—disjointed, flat, with rapid cuts that don't connect together logically—is that the remaining 45 or so minutes will at least be ridiculous enough to entertain, ala "Omega Glory." But it's a mixed bag. As an episode, this is lousy, with bad, repetitive writing and weak direction, and in terms of mockability, it's maybe a C, C+. Because while the hilariously awful moments really are as hilarious and awful as promised, there's a distressing amount of dead air between them. Not only does the script not make much sense, it's padded , and that makes it worse. Once again, the Enterprise is moving through space, and once again, they come across a strange ship. Before they know what to make of it, a woman in a ridiculous outfit—ah, right, this is Star Trek , that doesn't narrow down the field. A woman dressed like an aerobics instructor/prostitute who doesn't like to change outfits between jobs beams onto the bridge. She incapacitates everyone on board with a wrist band, and then makes goo-goo eyes at the cranium of an unconscious Spock. When Kirk and the others wake up, Spock's down in Sick Bay, and as McCoy breathlessly informs the captain, "His brain is gone!" TOS isn't really known for subtle acting, but the overblown style works will with the show's inherently pulpy nature. This isn't a realistic drama, and it works best whenever one's giving it a 110 percent, because it gives a heightened atmosphere to the cheap sets and chintzy effects. If William Shatner et al is taking everything so! Damn! Seriously! then who are we to disagree? Still, it's a surprisingly delicate balance, and when the show overplays its hand, it doesn't screw around. Shatner is just a few degrees more ridiculous than usual, but DeForest Kelley is out of his mind. I'd like to think that the actors realized how terrible the dialog was and just decided to have a good time with it, because honestly, watching Kirk and McCoy grimace, cavort, and snarl their way through their scenes is entertaining, if not exactly good for the "reality" of the episode. But then, it's not like that reality was in very good shape to start with. Kirk decides they have to get Spock's brain back (duh), and that Spock will have to accompany them on the search. Which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because what else would he do? It's not like they can drop him off on Vulcan and get a new thinking cabbage installed. "Brain" is full of weird conversational fragments that dangle on the air and never really add up. There's a lengthy argument about where the ship that took the brain might've escaped to, which seems clever at first, but is soon revealed to be just another way to kill some screen time, since the conclusion Kirk comes to is the most obvious one. Then there's the scene when Chekov and a couple of red-shirts heat up a rock to keep themselves warm while waiting for Kirk and the others to return. Yes, it's clever use of the phasers (albeit one which we've already seen in season one), but since none of those characters are ever relevant to the plot again, why would we care? And why the hell not beam down some winter clothes, if they're going to stand watch? The biggest time drain is the remote control rig McCoy works up to move Spock's brainless body around. It's a terrific gag (probably not intended as such) the first time we see it, but it wears thin, especially since the episode repeatedly forces us to wait with the rest of the cast while Frankenimoy slowly walks into place. As if that wasn't tedious enough, director Marc Daniels (who also helmed "Assignment: Earth," among many others) keeps cutting to Spock's expressionless, empty face during the episode's climax, despite the fact that, since the character doesn't actually have a cerebral cortex, he's incapable of responding in any way to what's happening. Then there's the Morg and the Eymorg, the race of men and women who kidnapped Spock's brain in order to run their computers and keep them from having to think for themselves. The women, aka the Eymorg, actually did the kidnapping; they appear to be the ruling class, but have no true will or intelligence of their own, just the knowledge of their elders which is passed down to them through a plastic helmet that looks like the kind of thing a Cenobite would use for a really intense perm. What we have here is another in a long line of stupid people who used to be smart, but got stupid because their ancestors screwed up, and thank god Jim Kirk is here to fix things for them. In practical terms, this just means even more circling, monotonous dialog. The ladies repeat each line a good half a dozen times before moving on to the next. It's like a reading of sorority Twitter feeds edited by Philip Glass. "Brain" has its funny moments—RC Spock is a hoot (and man, is that remote ever specific ), the costumes are goofy as always, and there's a lumpy b-movie charm to some of the padding. And really, the basic idea is so hilariously misguided that it can't help but inadvertently generate at least some entertainment value. The climax, with McCoy trying to finally get Spock's noggin' fixed, is silly, especially the shots of McCoy looking increasingly distressed. It's not often you can watch someone assist at their own brain surgery, either. But as the start to the hard-earned third (and final) season of the show, this is not a very good sign at all. Thankfully, "The Enterprise Incident," the second episode of S3, is more solid. It's got a sharp story, an excellent mid-point twist, relatively restrained performances, and, maybe most importantly of all, a brain-restored Spock at his absolute stone cold smoothness. It's not perfect, as the third act takes some short-cuts that weaken the suspense, but unlike the premiere, it's thoroughly defensible . Viewing this as a basic median of quality for the series, you could easily argue that Trek deserved a second shot. Kirk's in a mood. It's so bad that the opening narration, traditionally the Captain's Log, is delivered by McCoy instead, explaining his concerns about James T.'s worsening mental health. Those fears are quickly confirmed, as Kirk is irritable, frustrated, and prone to snap at crew-members simply doing their jobs. Then he goes all mental and orders Sulu to plot a course straight into the Neutral Zone. Yeah, that Neutral Zone. Despite all protests, the course is set, and within moments of crossing into Romulan territory, the Enterprise is surrounded by three warships. (These warships aren't the same design as the one we saw in "Balance of Terror." According to "Enterprise," Romulans are now using Klingon ship models.) The Romulans demand that the Enterprise immediately surrender—or be destroyed. I watched these episodes on CBS.com, and the "Enterprise" summary said, essentially, "Kirk pretends to be a Romulan in order to steal a new cloaking device." While basically true, this summary does a great disservice to anyone (like, ah, me) who hasn't watched the episode before, because this plot isn't completely revealed till at halfway in. Up until that reveal, the audience knows about as much as McCoy does. Kirk is crazy, the Neutral Zone breach is inexplicable, and when Spock betrays Kirk to the Romulan Commander (a woman. A really, really lonely woman), it looks like he's turning traitor and giving up his closest friend to the enemy. Now, given the trajectory of both characters so far, it's easy enough to realize that something about what we're seeing isn't right. But what makes "Enterprise" so cool, and what makes that summary such an unnecessarily revealing spoiler, is that it plays everything with a straight face for a very long time. There's a rising tension between the reveal we know has to be coming, and our suspicions that maybe, this once, we're wrong; maybe Spock is a bastard, maybe Kirk is having a breakdown. As suspicions go, those are in the "the friendly guy on the second floor keeps saying hello because he's eye-measuring me for his skin suit" range, but there's no hard evidence they're wrong until Kirk wakes up in sick bay and gives away the game. "Enterprise"'s other strongest element is Spock's seduction of the Romulan Commander. Actually, it's more like she seduces him , but since it's in his best interests to keep her attention, he has to play things more consciously than she does. Their exchanges skirt melodrama—oh hell, they have a panting hemline that would get them kicked out of a strip club (jokes that almost make sense! You missed me, didn't you?), so your enjoyment of their scenes together depends on your appreciation of Nimoy's performance, and your patience with florid infatuation. As a long-time committed fan of both those things, I dug it, although even I was squirming at the end when Spock reveals his feelings for the Commander were genuine. Kirk generally has the seduce-and-destroy detail, so it's great to see Spock get his own chance, but having him fall for the Commander's over-the-top throbbing is a cliche. Maybe the better way to interpret their final exchange is that Spock respects an opponent, and wants to reduce her humiliation and embarrassment at falling for him. As for why this episode is good-not-great, the frantic rush to steal the cloaking device, install it on the Enterprise , rescue Spock, and escape from the Romulans, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. For one thing, this is an incredibly desperate plan by the Federation—assuming that Kirk could get onto a Romulan ship and get the device back, what's the guarantee that alien technology will work on a Federation starship? And even if it did, what are the odds of them being able to do all this before getting their asses handed to them by some very unhappy aliens? That Kirk's disguise manages to convince the crew long enough is a stretch (obviously we don't know how big the crews are, but since two distinct Romulans were sent as hostages to the Enterprise , should we assume that McCoy surgical disguise was intended to make Kirk look like one of them?), but the basic reason the Romulan Commander and her team don't just attack the Enterprise as soon as Kirk escapes with the device—at which point destroying the Federation ship should've been the only priority—is that, for some reason, she has to be present while Spock delivers his twenty minutes worth of final words. Why, though? There's no need to immediately execute Spock, and even if there was, couldn't she attack the Enterprise and record Spock's speech at the same time? This may sound like nitpicking, but in order for a climax like this to work, we have to believe that Kirk, Spock, and the rest saved the day without any narrative cheats. The momentum and goodwill built up in the first half of the episode is enough to keep a weak ending like this from being completely lousy, but the cheats are there, and they're hard to ignore. There's also some hand-held camera work that doesn't do the sets any favors; much as I appreciate the immediacy that hand-held can provide, here it just looks like we're cutting to someone's on-set home movies. Season three started out under the gun, barely eked into existence by fan desperation, and suffered from a truncated budget (which was never huge even at the best of times). In order to compensate, we need the strong scripts that the previous two seasons had shown the series' writers capable of. We're off to a rocky start, but hope is not yet lost. The following exchange proves it: Commander: Why would you do this to me? Who are you that you could do this? Spock: First officer of the Enterprise. Hell. Yes. (If that doesn't play, trust me, it's significantly more fist-pumping in action.) Grades: (I'm at a loss with the new system. Should I average these out? Use the highest grade? Just leave it blank?) "Spock's Brain": D "The Enterprise Incident": B+ Stray Observations:

• If you want to see a prime example of Shatning in action, check out Kirk's writhing when the Eymorg hit him with the pain belt.
• Speaking of, the Morg that Kirk interrogates says the Eymorg give "pain and delight." I'm a little disappointed we don't get to see Kirk, Scotty, and McCoy shuddering with—actually, no, come to think of it I'm not disappointed at all.
• "From the very first, I appreciated your ability." I think Kirk is being a sleaze here, but it's hard to tell.
• "A child could do it!"
• Another great Commander/Spock exchange: "Subterfuge is unworthy of a Vulcan." "You are being clever, Captain. That is unworthy of a Romulan."
• Next week, it's "The Paradise Syndrome" and "And The Children Shall Lead."

William Shatner is open to returning to Star Trek as a de-aged Captain Kirk, as long as it's "not just to make a cameo appearance"

"It’s an intriguing idea"

William Shatner is open to returning to Star Trek as Captain Kirk under certain circumstances – and he thinks de-aging technology could be the key. 

"It’s an intriguing idea," Shatner told The Canadian Press . "It’s almost impossible. But if it was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it."

The actor went on to suggest that he could play a younger version of the character with the aid of de-aging technology. "A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it,” he continued. "'We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.' There’s a scenario. 'Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!'"

Shatner played James T. Kirk from 1966, when he first appeared in the Stark Trek TV show, to 1994, when the character was killed off in the movie Star Trek Generations. Chris Pine played a younger version of the USS Enterprise captain in Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond , while Paul Wesley took on an even earlier version of the role in the Paramount Plus series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .  

The newest installment in the iconic sci-fi franchise, Star Trek: Discovery season 5 , is streaming now on Paramount Plus . If you're up to date, check out our guide to the best new TV shows still to come in 2024.

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Brain Candy TV Season 2 Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video

Brain Candy TV Season 2 is here with the adorable dog Lizzy returning to give exciting lessons to the kids. Watch how she engages in fun activities to teach kids about science, maths, and colors. It premiered on July 17, 2018.

Here’s how you can watch and stream the second season of Brain Candy TV via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video.

Is Brain Candy TV Season 2 available to watch via streaming?

Yes, Brain Candy TV Season 2 is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Season 2 features a total of 10 episodes. The first episode begins with Lizzy the Dog teaching about the English alphabet. She explains the importance of ABCs to the kids in an entertaining way. This proves to be beneficial for all toddlers and children who are preparing for their first day at school. Later, Lizzy performs some tricks and cute antics to explain the words that start with each letter.

The series was directed and narrated by Michael W. Moore.

Watch Brain Candy TV Season 2 streaming via Amazon Prime Video

Brain Candy TV Season 2 i s available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video is a streaming service offering a vast library of movies, TV shows, and original content accessible to subscribers through the Amazon Prime membership.

You can watch via Amazon Prime Video by following these steps:

Go to  Amazon Prime Video

Select ‘Sign in’ and ‘Create your Amazon account’

Sign up for a Prime Video membership:

$14.99 per month or $139 per year with an Amazon Prime membership

$8.99 per month for a standalone Prime Video membership

Amazon Prime is the online retailer’s paid service that provides fast shipping and exclusive sales on products, so the membership that includes both this service and Prime Video is the company’s most popular offering. However, you can also opt to subscribe to Prime Video separately.

Brain Candy TV’s synopsis is as follows:

”Join Lizzy the Dog and a collection of action-packed 3D-animated vehicles on a fun journey aimed at getting young children excited about learning. Early learning for a brighter future!”

NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

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93-Year-Old William Shatner ‘Might Consider’ Returning as Captain Kirk in New ‘Star Trek’ Project Through De-Aging: ‘It Takes Years Off of Your Face’

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William Shatner recently told Canadian Press that he wouldn’t rule out returning as Captain Kirk in a new “ Star Trek ” project if the script impressed him. While the actor’s age might pose an issue as Shatner turned 93 years old in March, that’s nothing a bit of de-aging technology couldn’t fix.

“It’s an intriguing idea,” Shatner said about returning as Kirk. “It’s almost impossible. But if was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it.”

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“[It] takes years off of your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are,” Shatner said.

Another issue around Shatner’s “Star Trek” return is Kirk’s death in the 1994 film “Star Trek Generations,” which is the last time Shatner appeared in the iconic franchise. He’s already brainstormed a plot device that could serve as a workaround and have his version of Kirk come back to life.

“A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it,” Shatner said. “‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.’ There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!’”

Variety exclusively reported in March that Steve Yockey, creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” had signed on to write the script for “Star Trek 4.” The movie is being designed as the final installment for Pine and the cast. Several attempts to get a fourth “Star Trek” movie off the ground with this cast have failed over the years. One version of the project was to be directed by Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) and written by Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”). Shakman left the project to direct Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” instead.

Other “Star Trek” projects remain in development at Paramount as well. The studio is working with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) and director by Toby Haynes (“Black Mirror: USS Callister”) on an origin story movie, while a project with screenwriter Kalinda Vazquez (“Fear the Walking Dead”) that was first announced in 2021 also remains in development.

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One Of The Best Sci-Fi Thrillers You've Never Seen Will Totally Break Your Brain

The other night, I had a hankering to watch a good high-concept movie I'd never seen before. I saw 2014's "Coherence" on a few lists, and being almost wholly unfamiliar with it, I decided to fire it up and give it a shot. Thankfully, this film gave me  exactly what I was looking for.

Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Manugian, Lauren Maher, Hugo Armstrong, and eventual "Hustlers" director Lorene Scafaria star in this ultra-low budget brain melter about a group of friends gathering for a dinner party while a comet passes by overhead. When the power goes out, a couple of them trek up the street to a neighboring house with the lights on — only to discover something that shakes them to their core. I won't get into the specifics here, but the film has an incredible conceit, and director James Ward Byrkit, who shot the movie over five nights at his own house, is able to milk huge amounts of tension and drama from the scenario he and Manugian cooked up here. 

Byrkit opted for a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" approach to shooting, largely letting the actors improvise their dialogue as long as they hit key plot points in order to achieve a more lived-in, realistic vibe. That technique could easily backfire, resulting in a movie that feels too shaggy for its own good. But the cast is up to the challenge, and the central conflict is so strong that the film never has room for useless tangents or "why'd they do that ?" deviations. Once the narrative takes off like a rocket after only a few minutes of character work, it's time to grab hold and don't let go until the credits roll.

Coherence is one of the most compelling sci-fi films of the 21st century

Shane Carruth's 2004 movie "Primer" has a legendary reputation among cinephiles as perhaps the preeminent mind-bending low-budget science fiction movie of the modern era. That's a fascinating movie, and absolutely worth seeking out if you've never seen it. But it's also notoriously complex — so much so that there's a whole infographic dedicated to trying to untangle the web of timelines from "Primer."  It's all but impossible to understand everything you're seeing on first viewing, and that's actually a big part of the reason it has such devoted fans.

"Coherence," on the other hand, shares a similar low-fi aesthetic and thrilling, reality-warping premise, but it also doesn't disappear so far down the rabbit hole that you need a guide to understand it . It's captivating enough that it easily holds your attention and keeps you on the edge of your seat, but isn't so opaque that you'll leave the film confused and unsatisfied. That doesn't mean "Coherence" is dumb: In fact, I think it's so effective that it should be passed around and discussed among cinephiles in the same breath as "Primer." Small budget be damned: "Coherence" belongs in the pantheon of modern sci-fi classics.

We spoke a little about "Coherence" (and several other movies) on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:

You can subscribe to /Film Daily on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts, and send your feedback, questions, comments, concerns, and mailbag topics to us at [email protected]. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention your e-mail on the air.