“Spock's Brain” turned 57 years old on September 20. It's the show that opened season three of Star Trek: The Original Series and is widely considered the worst ever episode of the franchise. Only, it's not, really.
There are far worse episodes, not just of the franchise but even The Original Series. Seriously.
Yes, “Spock’s Brain” looks silly through the lens of time, from the costumes to the device on our favorite half-human/half-Vulcan’s head to the thingie on Dr. McCoy head. And, yes again, an air of misogyny permeates the entire episode. But the story, though clichéd, is pure science fiction. Brain swapping!
But, come on, “The Way to Eden” is a far worse Original Series episode, giving us 60s groovy in the 60s, but playing it -- and the space hippies -- as futuristic. Add in off-kilter performances, a wonky story, on-the-nose dialogue, outlandish makeups, and even worse costumes than on view in “Spock’s Brain,” and you’ve got a cornucopia of crud. It’s laughable, forgettable, and embarrassing.
“Code of Honor” also beats “Spock’s Brain” in terms of pure badness. It looks cheap, with dreadful dialogue, but those are the least of its sins. This particular Star Trek: The Next Generation episode is racist and misogynistic from start to finish, and it only feels more awful with the passage of time. Denise Crosby, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Gates McFadden have all criticized the episode, in degrees varying from totally trashing it to disowning it. It should never have been produced and it remains a stain on TNG’s legacy. Some fans cite “Shades of Gray” as the TNG’s worst moment, but that may have more to do with it being a clip show than it being truly awful. And don’t get us wrong, it’s bad, but it’s not offensive.
The same goes for other duds: Pineapples -- yes, pineapples -- take a spotlight in the Enterprise episode “Silent Enemy.” “Sub Rosa” ranks as sub-standard TNG. It’s pure silliness. The Discovery outing “Project Daedalus” asked us to mourn for Airiam as her death looms and then as she perishes, only the show had never developed the character enough for anyone to really care that much. The episode actually succeeded in pulling heartstrings, but it felt like a cheap ploy. And sticking with Discovery for a moment, many fans dislike multiple episodes.
Going first-person here for a moment, I’ve got to mention the pilot, or rather a scene from the pilot, “The Vulcan Hello.” It’s the one in which Georgiou and Burnham attract the attention of the Shenzhou by whipping up a Starfleet insignia in the sand. Really? It’s a cool image, for sure, but a laughable plot device. I think -- even now -- about that episode, the one launching a new show, and THAT is the bit that comes to mind, which is not a good thing.
Finally, there’s “These Are the Voyages…,” the Enterprise capper, and the infamous Voyager installment, “Threshold.” “These Are the Voyages…” meant well. A so-called “love letter” to the franchise under Rick Berman, it did give us the formation of the Federation. But positioning the whole show and all of its characters as a TNG holodeck exercise for Riker? Oooof. Killing off Trip Tucker? Eeesh. Enterprise, which really came into its own during the fourth and final season, deserved better, and so did the fans. As a holodeck episode, it’s actually got its moments, but as a finale, people understandably found it misguided at best and insulting at worst.
And now we come to “Threshold.” Couple a bad script with slimy lizard versions of Paris and Janeway, and we present Star Trek’s worst-ever episode. Even if the episodes explores exceeding Warp 10, and the consequences (de-evolution!) of doing so, it out-bads “Spock’s Brain” by several lightyears. It’s all-around embarrassing. There’s really not much more to say about it.