Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 31 - Episodes 61 & 62: Spock's Brain/ Is There In Truth No Beauty?

Rating:
Summary: One good One Bad
Review: While I agree that Spock's Brain is not the best effort of the third season, I would rather sit through this episode than "Plato's Stepchildren" or "The Way to Eden" or "The Mark of Gideon". I think these three should have been scrapped before they were aired in 1968-69.
"Is There In Truth No Beauty" has always been one of my favorite episodes since I was a kid. It would be interesting to bring the Medusans back in a future episode to test their great navigational skills. Lots of sequel potential here.

Rating:
Summary: One corny episode, one complex episode
Review: Why does Checkov take the foreground on the cover? He only had bit parts in these episodes.

OK, on to business.

Spock's Brain. It's the corniest premise, with the corniest lines, with the worst acting. If Star Trek has a reputation for bad acting, it's because of this episode.

Maybe it's the directing, not the acting. Dammit Jim, I'm an engineer, not a TV producer. But someone is to blame.

These are a few of my favorite things: Shatner trying to deliver the line, "His...... brain???" with due disbelief, while trying to hide his own disbelief in the silliness of the script. McCoy waving his arms around exclaiming, "Where are we going to go to look for Spock's Brain?" looking as if he can't find the motivation for making such wild gesticulations. The "special effect" where the camera shakes as they go down the elevator. The unknown reason their pain bands knock them out in a few seconds the first time, but the second time they can stay conscious long enough to manipulate Spock's body with a remote control to make him push the button on the girl's bracelet. How they managed to make the remote control -- with only four buttons -- control fine movements of Spock's left forefinger. How Spock jumps off of the operating table as soon as McCoy sews up his skull.

On the other hand, the subterranean society is filled with slender, Presbyterian women wearing their thighs up to their miniskirts, which is still relevant 35 years later. Only one picture of Sheila Leighton on all of Google. Unfortunately it's only a bust shot, and I'm a leg man.

Ironically, it's episodes like this that may have led to the Star Trek craze, and ultimately the Movies. Wasted talent during production of the TV show caused an overcompensation -- a yearning to see this great ensemble deliver more quality material, because in The Original Show, they occasionally didn't have any.

This episode is not camp. This is an episode that is totally accessible to 11 year olds.

However, I don't have a clue about "In Truth No Beauty," any more at 44 years old than when I was 11. Maybe I should figure out the deeper symbolisms before passing judgment on this episode -- figuring out what the title means would be a good start. Maybe if I watch it another hundred times. No problem.

I was always annoyed that Diana Muldaur's costume didn't do justice at all to her [endless] beauty. (Do I recall her hair was in a "bun?") Maybe that was intentional, for a symbolic sort of reason. As usual, her acting is Royal Shakespearian, even if I don't quite understand what her character's problem is.

Here's another historically interesting example of Star Trek innovations preceding 1960's technology. Spock retreats to a cubicle to meld with Ambassador Kolos, and within a couple of decades, everyone's working in a cubicle. Without Star Trek, there would be no Dilbert. It's also interesting that Diana Muldaur's daughter, Maria (from Midnight at the Oasis) wrote the incidental music for this episode.

The rest of the Enterprise crew won't leave much of an impression in this episode, because they're all in the shadow of Nimoy's breakout, garrulous character, whom he gives a strong component of Sci-Fi. It really belongs to Muldaur and Nimoy.

The directing is good, but the characterizations are a bit nebulous. Characters are supposed to arrive at this point with strong emotions, but it's our homework assignment to fill in their implied histories. The script provides a canvas with lots of room for the audience to go back and discuss such details, like an exercise in Philosophy, but I would have been more satisfied if they provided a little more "on the surface."

Lastly, I always thought those swirling colors at the southern edge of the galaxy were apropos for the Psychedelic 60s. I wonder if I can program my computer to make my monitor do that.

A generous 2 stars for Spock's Brain (includes one star just for being a Trek), and 4 stars mostly for Nimoys' big scene in "Beauty," for an average of 3.