Tread Perilously is a podcast in which hosts Erik Amaya and author Justin Robinson watch the “worst” episodes of popular TV shows, attempting to determine if they would continue to watch the series based on the most off-key moments.
This Week: Star Trek‘s “Spock’s Brain”
Tread Perilously rings in 2018 by getting back to basics: bad episodes of good television. And few episodes of Star Trek are as bad as “Spock’s Brain.
When an ill-conceived civilization’s central processing unit — the Controller — begins to fail, it sends an attractive “Imorg” scout to find a suitable replacement. Identifying Spock (Leonard Nimoy) as a good candidate, she quickly detaches his brain from his body. Soon, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the rest of the Enterprise crew are on a desperate search for Spock’s brain while Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) somehow keeps the autonomic functions of Spock’s body running. Will he be able to reconnect brain to body before time runs out? Also, what is “brain?”
Erik tries his best to say “Spock’s brain is missing” with a straight face. Justin recalls childhood visits to the Paramount studio lot. Both get distracted when the conversation leads to Jaws the Revenge and Grindhouse. They also posit a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called “Riker’s Brain.” Erik declares Kelley as the MVP of the episode for repeatedly referring to Spock’s brain without breaking into giggle-fits. Brain puns appear throughout the discussion while Erik and Justin declare the third season of Star Trek as a failed experiment. Erik has a hard time saying the word “autonomic.” And the appearance of hipster cavemen leads to Thag, the Neanderthal with a Sleep Number franchise.
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