IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN

 

Episode Title:  Spock’s Brain

Air Date: 9/20/1968

Written by Gene L. Coon

Directed by Marc Daniels

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock             DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              James Doohan  as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”        George Takei  as Lieutenant  Hikaru Sulu              Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura          Eddie Paskey as Lieutenant Leslie                 Roger Holloway as Lieutenant Lemli   Frank da Vinci as Lieutenant Brent     Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov                 Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel      Jeannie Malone as unnamed Yeoman          Marj Dusay as Kara         James Daris as unnamed creature         Sheila Leighton as Luma         Pete Kellett as Morg Guard         

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Planets:  Sigma Draconis VI

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise encounters a strange but highly advanced alien vessel.  Scotty is practically salivating over the ION-propulsion that the vessel is using.  All of a sudden, a strange woman transports on to the Enterprise’s bridge.  Captain Kirk attempts to communicate but then the woman presses a button on device attached to a bracelet on her arm.  This causes everyone aboard the ship to suddenly pass out.

As the crew wakes up Kirk notices that Mr. Spock is not on the bridge.  He then gets a desperate call from Dr. McCoy demanding that he come down to sickbay right away.  Kirk heads down there and when he arrives, he finds Spock lying on a bio-bed attached to life-support systems.  That is when McCoy gives him the bad news: Spock’s brain is missing it had been surgically removed!  McCoy has managed to get his body on life support but if it is not returned within 24 hours then Mr. Spock’s body will die.

Targeting a brain!

Lt. Sulu was able to pick up a trail from the mysterious ship and the Enterprise follows to it until it goes dead in the Sigma Draconis system.  This system has three planets none of them seem capable enough to have made a starship as advanced as they just encountered.  Kirk goes over the options with Sulu, Chekov and Uhura.  After discussing it Kirk feels the energy signatures from the ice planet makes it the option worth exploring despite that planet having the least technological development. 

Mr. Spock is missing a brain!

Kirk beams down to the planet with a landing party consisting of Scotty, Chekov, and a few security personnel.  They run into some primitive and large local men and have a brief battle that ends with the Enterprise crew stunning one with phasers and the rest running away.  No red shirts were killed. While questioning their prisoner he gets confused when Kirk mentions a woman who came aboard his ship.  This person acts like he has no idea what woman even is.  He doesn’t understand who Kirk and his crew are either but he knows they are not the “others.”  The “others” who are the givers of pain and delight. 

A man who has no idea what a woman is.

Chekov uncovers a cavern with food and Kirk concludes it is a trap.  He decides to spring the trap and sends for Dr. McCoy who comes down with Spock’s body now under remote control.  With that Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Spock’s body spring the trap and are sent to an underground facility. When they land and the door opens and another woman dressed like the one from before sees them.  Captain Kirk gets into a quick draw with her that he wins.  She is stunned and when she comes to Kirk begins to interrogate her.  She is very confused and doesn’t understand much of what Kirk is saying.  She notices that these strangers are neither Morg nor Eymorg.  However, she doesn’t explain what that means.  After engaging with her the landing party suddenly find that they can use their communicators to contact Spock’s conciseness.  It appears Spock’s brain is being used to run this whole apparatus. 

Spock on remote!

They come across the woman who had come aboard the Enterprise earlier.  Kirk is now in another quick draw situation but this time he loses as the woman hits the button and they all drop cold. While unconscious Kirk decides to enter one of his famous captain’s logs.  After he finishes with his log he returns to consciousness.  He and the other members of the landing party, including brainless Spock, now have belts on that will allow the women, whose leader we learn is named Kara (not Superman’s cousin), to inflict pain without knocking them out. 

Quick on the draw!

The audience learns that the Morg and the men who live on the surface and the Eymorg live in the advanced society below.  Occasionally the Eymorg capture some Morg and use them to move the heavy furniture, serve as guards, and mating I assume.  Every time Kirk tries to question her about Spock and his brain, she acts like she has no idea what he is talking about.  She doesn’t even remember being on his ship.  As Kirk tries to object, she gives him some pain.  

Please give me Spock's brain!

The Eymorgs leave the landing party with a few Morg guards.  However, Captain Kirk using his supreme fighting skills and Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott using their okay fighting skills, beat up the Morg guards.  As they get out Kara sees them and uses the pain belts.  Using the remote-controlled Spock, who is immune because he doesn’t have a brain, Kirk takes away the device from Kara and frees his team. 

Since it had become clear Kara had no idea what was going on Kirk uses his communicator to discuss it with Spock’s conciseness.  They then learn that Kara got the skill to remove Spock’s brain from a device called “the teacher” that houses all their civilization’s knowledge before it collapsed.  When one uses “the teacher” they gain its knowledge temporarily.  They have Kara use it again but as soon as her smarts are back, she pulls a phaser on Kirk and Scotty.  This threat doesn’t last long as Scotty fakes fainting and Kirk uses the distraction to disarm her.  Nevertheless, they need her help to restore Spock but she refuses as his brain is needed to run the device that controls their civilization. 

Spock's brain in a machine!

McCoy then decides that he will try “the teacher.”  Since he already has medical knowledge, he has something to base it on.  He also hopes to retain some the wisdom.  McCoy uses it and with his new genius begins restoring Spock’s brain back in Spock’s skull.  There is drama however as McCoy loses the information he gained.  Kirk explains in his captain’s log that as an alien to the device he can’t use it a second time.  The good news is Spock has retained some of the knowledge that he gained in the Eymorg’s computer system and is able to talk McCoy through the rest of his operation. 

McCoy in the thinker!

Spock is restored and Kirk lets Kara know that the Federation will help start their society over. Spock then goes on to explain how this gender-separated society formed leading McCoy to regret re-connecting his vocal cords.    

Spock with brain restored!

  

Additional thoughts: The funny thing is even though this episode has Spock’s name in the title and Spock’s situation is the subject the whole episode, the episode really isn’t about him.  This adventure focuses on Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy.  That is an interesting formula to have an event be all about Spock but really be a Kirk/McCoy adventure with help from the supporting cast, I wonder if they will ever try that again.

So why Spock?  That is never explained in the entire episode.  The planet’s society needs a living brain to run all their operations and they are able to preserve these brains for a thousand years or so.  But why did they target Spock?  Yes, I realize Spock is smart and all but how did they hear of him and know to seek him out?  When she is on the bridge of the Enterprise, Kara clearly knows who she is going for. This could have used an explanation. 

So, what is up with our universal translator that it can’t decipher “Morg” for “man” and “Eymorg” for “woman?”  That seems easy for me and I only speak English.  I am going to make a guess here that in the mind of the natives of this planet “Morg” isn’t just a term of gender but a reflection of their tribalistic identity therefore the translator became confused.

So, when McCoy started to forget why didn’t Kirk or Scotty throw “the teacher” on and try to take over?  That would have made more sense than Spock assisting in his own operation.  Also, since when does Spock have more medical knowledge than McCoy? I am assuming that Spock gained some extra knowledge of brain extracting procedures from his brain being the machine.  It struck me as unnecessary added drama considering how quickly it was resolved. 

This has to be the strangest captain’s log to date.  Giving us an update while knocked out.  I thought during the duel of Trelane or almost getting murdered in the mirror universe was odd timing.  At least Kirk was awake for those.

I know Leonard Nimoy did not care for this episode and I can’t blame him for there is nothing interesting for him as an actor to do.  I however found this episode surprisingly enjoyable.  I really liked how we were able to hear more from the supporting cast.  I liked his bridge staff helping Kirk brainstorm. 

Lastly one my early exposures to Star Trek came seeing this episode parodied on the Wonder Years.  It was quite funny. 

FINAL GRADE 4 of 5