Plot: What’s it about?
Episode #61- “Spock’s Brain” >>> Airdate 9/20/68
A strange woman has beamed aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, but her motives are unknown at first, until she strikes. Soon after she appears, the woman renders the crew members unconscious and by the time they awake, she has vanished. As it turns out, she took a souvenir with her and this is no trinket, as she stole Spock’s brain right out of his head. Bones manages to keep Spock’s body alive on some machines with blinking LED lights, while Kirk and his team seek to regain his brain and place it back inside his Vulcan skull. As Kirk arrives on the woman’s homeplanet, he discovers that Spock’s brain is being used as a power center, of all things. Now unless Kirk can recapture that brain and return it to its former home, Spock is doomed to perish…
I love the premise here and while it doesn’t live up to its complete potential, it is still a humorous episode and is well worth a look. I mean come on, some woman steals Spock’s brain to use it to power her planet…how cool is that? I’ve always liked these nonsense episodes of Trek and while you don’t see a lot of them, some gems managed to sneak through, such as Spock’s Brain. Of course, the presence of William “Big Daddy” Shatner helps the episode along, thanks to his razor sharp performance as Kirk, the venerable captain. I think Trek nerds will be all over this one, but even casual sci/fi fans might want to give this one a look, if just to see what happens when let a woman steal your brain.
Episode #62- “Is There In Truth No Beauty?” >>> Airdate 10/18/68
A team of three is beamed aboard the Enterprise, a telepath named Dr. Miranda Jones, scientist Lawrence Marvick, and Medusan ambassador Kollos. Now Jones and Marvick look like normal folks, but Kollos is hidden within a container, due his appearance. You see, if a human sneaks a peek at Kollos, he is doomed to go insane and I mean right then. As time passes, Marvick becomes jealous of Kollos and Jones, as they share a telepathic bond and Marvick is left out in the cold. But he plans to murder Kollos and with him out of the picture, he can romance Jones himself. Of course, he botches the plot when he sees Kollos and goes insane, which leads to utter chaos. Can Kirk and his crew keep this madman under control, or will he demolish the entire ship?
Although the whole Kollos idea is a cool one, this is another lame Trek episode that never comes close to its potential. I admit that Kollos is a cheap idea in terms of sci/fi, but the insane angle is cool and adds some spark to the episode, I think. I wish even more people would have seen Kollos, in order to showcase rampant insanity, which of course, Kirk would have to deal with in his usual smooth fashion. It’s always good to see another good looking woman involved, but Is There In Truth No Beauty turns out to be a real clunker and offers little to non diehard fans. Even so, Trek geeks should give it a look, although they’ll watch any of the episodes, so who cares.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. These lush transfers have been remastered and enhanced, using the most advanced technology available, or at least some halfway decent process. The prints have been cleaned up and as such, the images look much better than in reruns, which should thrill all you Trek nerds, I am sure. I found no problems with color hues, flesh tones, or black levels, as all the basics seem to be in fine working order. This is the best these episodes have ever looked, so everyone should be satisfied.
Audio: How does it sound?
As has been the case with many of the Trek episodes on DVD, these installments have been given full Dolby Digital 5.1 remixes. The results aren’t all that dazzling, but the added presence is welcome and I think it enhances the experience. The surrounds are used to hold the musical score and some various sound effects, while the front channels shoulder most of the audio burden involved. The dialogue is clean and clear, just as it should be. This disc also includes English subtitles, in case you’ll need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc contains a promotional trailer for each episode, which is swell.
