Haven't seen this episode in a long time but it aired on MeTV last night. I know it's regarded as the worst TOS Star Trek episode but actually I don't think its all that bad. I think there are other episodes far worse than this. Shatner put in a straight forward believable performance. The score was good. Even the joke at the end when McCoy said he shouldn't have "re-attached" (?) Spocks mouth was pretty funny!
Writer David Gerrold selected 2 of the 3rd season episodes to be amongst his worst 4 in one of his books on classic TREK:
"The Alternative Factor" "The Omega Glory" "Spectre of the Gun" "Spock's Brain"
Those 2 were both credited to that pseudonym "Lee Cronin" utilized by former producer Gene L. Coon. Seems to me that "Spock's Brain" accrued the reputation as one of the 'worst' because Trekkies were expecting another "Amok Time" to open the season.
Interesting replies. I always thought "Spock's Brain" was considered the worst. "Plato's Stepchildren" ranks high on the list for me. Any of the episodes that focused on soap opera romance bored me to death, hated them all!
-Never mind the stupidity of the premise that a planet suffering from overpopulation would find space to build a full-length exact duplicate of the Enterprise. The *real* stupidity of the episode is that if Gideon has an over-population problem then all they have to do is ask the Federation to let some of their people be resettled on a planet with more space and bang, problem solved. Simple as that. But if you resorted to something that simple and logical in a universe where there certainly is no shortage of uninhabited planets with habitable atmospheres, then you wouldn't have an episode written by Cyrano Jones to give us sledgehammer speeches.
"Patterns Of Force"
-The Federation has some pretty poor standards for vetting their historians if they have a guy who thinks you could recreate a "good" Nazi Germany complete with trappings of swastikas and titles like Fuhrer etc. And gee, the Enterprise just happens to have a WW2 German colonel's uniform handy for McCoy to beam down in?
And gee, the Enterprise just happens to have a WW2 German colonel's uniform handy for McCoy to beam down in?
Since they had food synthesizers I assume they had clothing synthesizers as well. McCoy did complain that the computer made one of the boots too tight.
OK. You've asked for it. Here is my list for the worst episodes for each season, followed by the worst scenes.
Season 1
#1 The Alternative Factor: Psychedelic garbage. Something about an energy pulse and a teleporting man who falls off a cliff 3 times.
#2 Miri: Disease kills adults but not irritating Mad Max children.
#3 The Galileo Seven: The shuttlecraft is stranded on a cheap planet with cheap giants. A racist crew resents Spock. Heavy-handed.
Season 2
#1 The Apple: Oompah-Loompah-colored white-haired humanoids, living in Gilligan’s island huts, worship a rock serpent. Spock gets injured 3 different times.
#2 The Omega Glory: The away team is stranded on a planet and will die if they leave. A shirtless, seemingly animalistic tribe, worships the U.S. flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. (But of course!) Kirk gives an impassioned speech about the Constitution (not, notably, some important Federation document). Give this man an Emmy!
#3 Catspaw: The landing party ends up in a haunted house.
Season 3
#1 Spock’s Brain: Someone steals Spock’s brain (after they have stolen the writers' brains).
#2 The Way to Eden: Hippies take over the ship and sing anti-establishment tunes remarkably similar to those from the era in which Star Trek was made.
#3 Plato’s Stepchildren: In an Ancient Greek setting, the leader uses his telekinesis to bend others to his will – including keeping the landing party prisoner. Lots of embarrassing scenes for Shatner and Nimoy, including forcing Nimoy to sing and have fits of laughter and sobbing. Episode lasts an eternity.
WORST SCENES FROM ANY SEASON
#1 – The Changeling (season 2): Uhura gets her memory wiped by a satellite. She has to relearn everything. Her re-education includes her reading like a pre-school kid and is embarrassing and terribly written.
#2 – Plato’s Stepchildren (season 3): A midget rides Kirk who whinnies like a horse.
#3 – The Way to Eden (season 3): Enterprise crewmen, including security guards, groove to the sounds of a Hippie band.
#4 – Spock’s Brain (season 3): McCoy leads a brainless Spock around with a remote control.
#5 – The Apple (season 2): The Oompah-Loompahs learn to kiss by watching Chekov and another crewmember make-out. They are taught to kill by a man whacking a melon with a stick.
S2: The Apple (pretty rotten, but we do learn from Kirk that sex is something "you'll like...a lot"), Obsession (not bad, just don't care for the episode), The Omega Glory (why this one was chosen as the GAF View Master "Star Trek" I'll never know), The Trouble with Tribbles (a few tribbles go a long way, also probably an example of overfamiliarity breeding contempt), A Private Little War (though I kinda dig the mugato, gumato...)
S3: Where does one begin with the "Freiberger season?" Spock's Brain (yeah, have to include it), Wink of an Eye (though there's no doubt Kirk shagged the beautiful alien woman), The Cloud Minders, The Way to Eden, Plato's Stepchildren, The Mark of Gideon, And the Children Shall Lead (even the children cast thought it was stupid!), The Lights of Zetar (zetar sounding like the name of a 60s Japanese robot toy) Turnabout Intruder (pretty much the bottom of the barrel). That's nearly a half season of shows.
Disagree about The Galileo Seven, from it I learned the word 'inculcated' (who says series TV can't be educational?) Also, this was one of Jim Henrikson's first assignments as series music editor, his tracked score being culled largely from earlier scored shows (particularly The Naked Time, Charlie X, Mudd's Women and The Enemy Within), is, IMO, masterful.
And gee, the Enterprise just happens to have a WW2 German colonel's uniform handy for McCoy to beam down in?
Since they had food synthesizers I assume they had clothing synthesizers as well. McCoy did complain that the computer made one of the boots too tight.
-The Federation has some pretty poor standards for vetting their historians if they have a guy who thinks you could recreate a "good" Nazi Germany complete with trappings of swastikas and titles like Fuhrer etc. And gee, the Enterprise just happens to have a WW2 German colonel's uniform handy for McCoy to beam down in?
Valora Noland made it totally watchable. As silly as the premise was I actually like this episode.
I already mentioned this but any episode regarding a characters love life just bores me to death. Be it Kirk (The City on the Edge of Forever), McCoy (The Man Trap ) or Scotty (Wolf in the Fold). I can stand This Side of Paradise only because Jill Ireland was so gorgeous. And realty if I was honest, Space Seed is boring as hell. Whats more boring than the romance of a crew member we knew nothing about before this episode?
McCoy did complain that the computer made one of the boots too tight. 
As silly as the premise was I actually like this episode. 