Spock's Brain
The inhabitants of a planet ruled by women steal Spock's brain to run their computer system. Kirk and McCoy must confront the fierce surface-dwelling males and alien technology to reunite him.
Generally this is regarded as the very worst episode, but we think not. A truly bad episode is tedious, hopelessly confusing, or does not entertain, but this entertains in spades. It's an utterly ridiculous premise, but it holds our morbid curiousity. Let's see: we have Spock being led around with a little remote control; the Teacher, a supercomputer constructed quite clearly from a hair dryer; and, best of all, the Vulcan instructing McCoy on how to surgically reinsert his own brain! (And without putting a single hair out of place.) The idea of an all-female society is one with some merit, and is put to slightly better use in the animated Lorelei Signal. Here, the women are so dumb as to make this sexist - if it could be taken at all seriously. A bad omen for Season Three.
Spock Saves the Day: Spock does all he can considering he's reduced to a diembodied voice and an RC body. Which is still quite a lot.
Oops: The whole thing is a big "oops." Our Vulcan copes relatively well.
Developments: Most people would find being removed from their bodies an alarming experience, but our Spock finds it exhilerating! Then again, he's had out-of-body experiences in Return to Tomorrow, so the sensation might no longer seem cause for concern. Also, he might have had a period of adjustment before he's rescued. That he knows the surgical procedure told to McCoy is far-fetched, but he too might have gained the planet's knowledge.