No, This Hated Star Trek: The Original Series Episode Isn't The Show's Worst

This episode of Star Trek: The Original Series receives a lot of hate, but it's not even the worst episode of the series. Following the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise, Star Trek: The Original Series introduced the world to Gene Roddenberry's vision of a utopian future. While the show's low-budget effects are outdated by modern standards, TOS holds up relatively well, with compelling characters and storylines that remain relevant today. Some episodes, however, should have remained on the drawing board.

When Star Trek was good, it was really good, delivering powerful stories that have beautifully withstood the test of time. But when Star Trek was bad, well, it could be really bad, falling into the trap of painfully out-of-date stereotypes and other unfortunate tropes. Thankfully, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) made even the weakest TOS stories somewhat enjoyable, but that didn't stop some episodes from being a slog. Although the season 3 opener, "Spock's Brain," is often cited as Star Trek's worst episode, it actually holds up better than several other Trek stories.

"Spock's Brain" Isn't As Bad As You Remember

I'm Not Saying It's A Good Episode, But It's Not Star Trek's Worst

The story of "Spock's Brain" kicks off when an alien woman appears on the Enterprise, incapacitates the crew, and steals Spock's brain. Captain Kirk then sets off in search of Spock's brain, eventually discovering an underground facility inhabited by a society of primitive women who need the brain to serve as their new "Controller." Aided with knowledge from a machine known as the "Teacher," Dr. McCoy successfully performs incredibly complex surgery to return Spock's brain. Kirk informs the women that they must reunite with the men on the surface and learn to survive without the Controller.

Admittedly, the events of "Spock's Brain" make little sense, and the episode doesn't explain anything. But Star Trek often requires the viewer to suspend their disbelief, and if you can turn your own brain off for a bit, "Spock's Brain" is actually a surprisingly entertaining hour of television. Sure, the plot is ridiculous, and everyone is taking things way too seriously, but the episode has some genuinely funny moments, and nearly every main character gets something to do. Spock remains hilariously unperturbed by his predicament throughout, as his disembodied brain communicates with Kirk through a communicator (with Nimoy's voice despite not having vocal cords).

Several Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes Are Worse Than "Spock's Brain"

These Episodes Don't Even Fall Into The So-Bad-It's-Good Category

"Spock's Brain" may be nonsensical, but it doesn't do anything particularly offensive. The same cannot be said for several other episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series that have aged far more poorly than the season 3 opener. TOS season 1 has "The Alternative Factor," which arguably makes less sense than "Spock's Brain," and ultimately has very little to redeem it. In its second season, Star Trek: The Original Series delivered "The Omega Glory," which involves a planet that somehow evolved so similarly to Earth that they created the exact same flag and Constitution as the United States.

While "The Alternative Factor" is just bad, "The Omega Glory" is offensively so, with racist portrayals of the planet's inhabitants as its most egregious sin. TOS season 3, episode 10, "Plato's Stepchildren" may be most known for its Kirk and Uhura's interracial kiss, but the episode contains one of Trek's most cringeworthy moments as the locals force Kirk and Spock to "perform" for them. And last but not least, the series finale, "Turnabout Intrudor," employs sexist rhetoric that was outdated even in the 1960s and made absolutely no sense in the context of the 23rd century.

Other Star Trek Series Have Episodes Worse Than "Spock's Brain"

There Are Hits & There Are Misses, & Then There Is Whatever These Episodes Are

With over twenty episodes per season, it's not surprising that Star Trek: The Original Series and almost every subsequent Star Trek series has delivered a few clunkers. Arguably the worst TNG episode, "Code of Honor," really is as bad as most of the reviews suggest, as is TNG's "Angel One." Like the worst TOS episodes, these TNG season 1 episodes utilize out-of-date stereotypes that feel glaringly out of place in the 24th century. TNG improved drastically after its first season, aside from the abysmal "Shades of Grey," which is nothing more than a cobbled-together clip show made to save money.Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Profit and Lace" and Star Trek: Voyager's "Threshold" also have few redeeming qualities, with the former, in particular, being sexist and decidedly unfunny. And no list of bad Star Trek episodes would be complete without Star Trek: Enterprise's much-maligned series finale, "These are the Voyages...," which does the entire show a disservice by focusing on the cast of TNG and unceremoniously killing off a beloved character. Despite all of these episodes, though, Star Trek truly is great (or at least good) the vast majority of the time, and even "Spock's Brain" has its moments.