Hi Folks,For the first time in a very long time I saw Platos Stepchildren and I saw it in its entirety.As much as I love Star Trek,I saw something in that episode that was pretty bad.When Parmen was using his powers to make Kirk and Spock do things against they're will.Parmen makes Alexander ride on Kirks Back like a horse and Kirk makes horse sounds.Star Trek's 3rd season was Bad but that scene takes the cake.

Well, it was unnerving -- but think of it this way -- that was the point. The alien was using his super powers to humiliate and shame Kirk, which is exactly what that scene portrayed. But every time I see it, it gives me chills.

If you want bad episodes of Trek, try Spock's Brain or Turnabout Intruder.

I always thought Spocks Brain was the worst ever. I cant imagine what the writers were thinking.

^ I actually think the concept behind Spock's Brain is good science fiction. But the execution in this episode is most definitely not good Star Trek! But I think And the Children Shall Lead is worse.

I'll give you that - the idea/story behind Spock's brain could have made for a great sci-fi story...but the execution was, shall we say, lacking, IMHO.

That said, there are only a small handful of original Trek episodes that were what I would call "good science fiction."

My love of the series likely stems mainly from the fact that it is one of the first adult sci-fi series I watched as a kid and the fact that the key characters were portrayted by actors that gave them personality and dimension -- and I include Shatner here -- for all the pokes he takes on his over-the-top acting style, I think more often than not Kirk's character worked BECAUSE of Shatner's acting style. So many scenes would have fallen flat if Spock/mcCoy/Kirk/Scotty/Uhura etc had been portrayed by lesser actors.

I always thought Spocks Brain was the worst ever. I cant imagine what the writers were thinking.I've heard that "Spock's Brain" was meant to be a self-spoofing comedy episode. Only someone forgot to tell the director.

Star Trek had some REALLY bad episodes in its third season (although the quality of writing began to deteriorate in the second season). One of the all-time stinkeroos has to be "The Way to Eden," with Spock grooving and jamming with a bunch of space hippies!

yeah spocks brain and the way to eden are stinkers
"We reach"

I once did a stop-motion animation with the Mego Spock which I called "Play-Doh's Stepchildren."

:D

A few years ago on this very forum, I said how I actually like Alternative Factor and someone (not now present) told me I was factually, intellectually, morally and in every other possible aspect wrong.

It still hurts.

A few years ago on this very forum, I said how I actually like Alternative Factor and someone (not now present) told me I was factually, intellectually, morally and in every other possible aspect wrong.

It still hurts.

He was right, ya know.






:wave:

I've heard that "Spock's Brain" was meant to be a self-spoofing comedy episode. Only someone forgot to tell the director.

It seemed that many of the episodes seem to center around what the writers could do to Spock. He was the whipping boy of plot contrivances:

Leg injured on Rigel VII.

Shot by a flintlock musket in the back.

Attacked by flying omelet which latched onto his back.

Slapped brutally and repeatedly to aid in his healing process.

Blinded by light which destroyed flying omelet.

Burned by lightning bolt in the back. (Forget his brain--I'd hate to be Spock's back!)

Shocked by a cloud creature.

Suffered untold mental anguish from many mind-melds and driven temporarily insane by one in particular.

Suffered untold mental anguish from out-of-control sex drive.

Hit by poison darts.

Leg injured by papier mache boulder.

Banged around and nearly killed in a shuttlecraft by a life-force sucking amoeba.

Body taken over by an alien a couple of times and his consciousness tossed around like a hot potato on one of those occasions.

Tortured by Klingons and alien Nazis.

Telekinetically controlled by aliens.

Burned by a near-miss phaser blast.

Mentally regressed into carnivorous biped.

Brain removed.

Brain put back.

Drained of his life-force (TAS).

Cloned (TAS).

Killed by radiation.

Katra/soul/personality transferred out of body.

Rejuvenated by genesis device's radiation.

Katra/soul/personality restored to body.

With all this abuse, they could have called the series Spock Rack instead of Star Trek.:rolleyes:

Best said by William Shatner: "It's just a TV show!"

He was right, ya know.






:wave:

BEST EPISODE EVER.



:tongue:

It seemed that many of the episodes seem to center around what the writers could do to Spock. He was the whipping boy of plot contrivances:

Leg injured on Rigel VII.

Shot by a flintlock musket in the back.

Attacked by flying omelet which latched onto his back.

Slapped brutally and repeatedly to aid in his healing process.

Blinded by light which destroyed flying omelet.

Burned by lightning bolt in the back. (Forget his brain--I'd hate to be Spock's back!)

Shocked by a cloud creature.

Suffered untold mental anguish from many mind-melds and driven temporarily insane by one in particular.

Suffered untold mental anguish from out-of-control sex drive.

Hit by poison darts.

Leg injured by papier mache boulder.

Banged around and nearly killed in a shuttlecraft by a life-force sucking amoeba.

Body taken over by an alien a couple of times and his consciousness tossed around like a hot potato on one of those occasions.

Tortured by Klingons and alien Nazis.

Telekinetically controlled by aliens.

Burned by a near-miss phaser blast.

Mentally regressed into carnivorous biped.

Brain removed.

Brain put back.

Drained of his life-force (TAS).

Cloned (TAS).

Killed by radiation.

Katra/soul/personality transferred out of body.

Rejuvenated by genesis device's radiation.

Katra/soul/personality restored to body.


And not one instance of probing by UFO aliens. That's a major oversight on the part of the writers right there.

A few years ago on this very forum, I said how I actually like Alternative Factor and someone (not now present) told me I was factually, intellectually, morally and in every other possible aspect wrong.

It still hurts.

I like it too. Is that wrong??

I've actually met one of the hippie chicks at a local Trek convention. She lives about 10 miles from me. Lame episode though.

Hippie chicks?
Are you thinking of The Way to Eden rather than The Alternativer Factor?

"Attacked by flying omelet " made me laugh outloud!

"Attacked by flying omelet " made me laugh outloud!

I couldn't think of any other accurate description without being too obscure.:p

I bet you knew immediately what I was talking about.

I suppose one could have called them "plastic fake vomit creatures" but that was a little too wordy, IMHO.

Come to think of it, the Horta has been called a "deep dish pan pizza creature" before. Maybe the special effects folks were always hungry.

We always called them the fake doggy-vomit critters.

I always liked "Alternative Factor" for the first-season production values--the moody lighting and direction--and Robert Brown's performance. It's an episode that makes no sense and raises the stakes so far that it becomes ludicrous (today we're saving not one, but TWO entire universes!), it suffers from terrible continuity that never lets you determine the difference between Lazarus A and B on your own, and it gets too repetitive with all the 'blink out' scenes. Yet I will still watch it when it's on...

. . .I suppose one could have called them "plastic fake vomit creatures" but that was a little too wordy, IMHO.

Come to think of it, the Horta has been called a "deep dish pan pizza creature" before. Maybe the special effects folks were always hungry.The Horta, as some of you know, was a slightly modified and recycled giant alien germ from the Outer Limits episode "The Probe." To me, The Horta looks like my mom's tomato meatloaf. And the flying parasites from "Operation: Annihilate" look like eggs over easy made by a drunken cook.I always liked "Alternative Factor" for the first-season production values--the moody lighting and direction--and Robert Brown's performance. It's an episode that makes no sense and raises the stakes so far that it becomes ludicrous (today we're saving not one, but TWO entire universes!), it suffers from terrible continuity that never lets you determine the difference between Lazarus A and B on your own, and it gets too repetitive with all the 'blink out' scenes. Yet I will still watch it when it's on...Besides having science that is utterly incomprehensible even by Star Trek standards -- how does antimatter Lazarus exist in the matter universe, and vice versa? -- the episode gives the impression of having been extremely rushed in writing and production, with those endless scenes of spinning starfields and two stuntmen fighting in dry-ice fog repeated over and over to pad out the running time. I used to think Lazarus' tiny one-man flying saucer looked kind of cool, though.

We always called them the fake doggy-vomit critters.

Plastic vomit was my term for them

Besides having science that is utterly incomprehensible even by Star Trek standards -- how does antimatter Lazarus exist in the matter universe, and vice versa?

Matter from one universe could occupy the other as long as it did not encounter its exact counterpart. In this story, anyway. Is that consistent with "sci-fi canon" (an absurd concept right there)? No, but since anti-matter doesn't exist in real life...meh.

Just remember, this IS a show where you could cold start a matter/antimatter reaction and use it to travel back and forth in time...where an alien probe can reanimate a corpse...where a half-mile wide, planet-carving antiproton beam doesn't evaporate a starship outright...AND where a fairly straight-faced episode reveals that the 23rd century will have exact, naturally occurring analogues to Summer of Love hippies. The odds of that...I mean, really...hippies?! Alternative Factor - a cheap, weak episode, amen - is not the worst possible example of a TOS head-scratcher.

I like it strictly for personal elements - once Kirk meets the sane Lazarus, hears his side of things, and agrees with his decision to condemn himself to an eternal hell in order to save both universes. That last 1/3 was worthy of a much better episode, imo.

it suffers from terrible continuity that never lets you determine the difference between Lazarus A and B on your own,

I'd like to think the writer's intended to keep the viewer unsure there even were two Lazaruses (Lazari?) until the climax - but even if so, you're right, it's too carelessly done and disjointed.

I used to think Lazarus' tiny one-man flying saucer looked kind of cool, though.

I loved that little thing. It was like a physical realization of the Lunar Schooner from the old Space Mouse comics.
http://www.toonopedia.com/spmouse.htm

........No, but since anti-matter doesn't exist in real life...meh.

Yep...it does exist.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/antimatter_sun_030929.html

There may be a reason the episode seems rushed--a different actor was originally cast as Lazarus but he turned out to be a total drunk so the role had to be hastily recast and I believe they probably did lose at least a day or so of shooting because of that--plus there's location photography and a lot of opticals.

I can't honestly say "The Alternative Factor" is my favorite episode, but I'd FAR rather watch it than "Spock's Brain"...:freak:

No, there are hotter chicks in Spock's Brain.

...how does one fit hot chicks into a Vulcan's brain? :p

"plastic fake vomit creatures" is also great
moms tomato meatloaf also gave a me a good laugh

...how does one fit hot chicks into a Vulcan's brain? :p

I've got a bunch of hot chicks partying in my brain all the time. I look in on them every few minutes according to the statistics.:p