Editing Spock's Brain (section)

== Reception ==
The episode is generally regarded by fans, and those who took part in its production, as the worst episode of the series.<ref name="Inside Star Trek The Real Story">{{cite book|author=[[Herbert Franklin Solow|Herbert Solow]], [[Robert Justman]]|title=Inside Star Trek The Real Story|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=1997|location=June|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780671896287/page/402 402]|isbn=0-671-00974-5|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780671896287/page/402}}</ref> [[William Shatner]] described it as one of the series' worst episodes, calling the plot a "tribute" to NBC executives who slashed the show's budget and placed it in a bad time slot.<ref name="memories">Shatner, William (date unknown). ''Star Trek: Memories''. Memoir.</ref><ref name="uptillnow">Shatner, William (date unknown). ''Up Till Now''. Full general autobiography.</ref> [[Leonard Nimoy]] wrote: "Frankly, during the entire shooting of that episode, I was embarrassed —a feeling that overcame me many times during the final season of ''Star Trek''."<ref name="iamspock">Nimoy, Leonard (1995). ''I am Spock''. p.115.</ref>

Zack Handlen, of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', gave the episode a "D" rating, describing the writing as bad and repetitive and the direction as weak. He added that it had its funny moments and some parts had "a lumpy B-movie charm".<ref name="AVClub">{{Cite news |last=Handlen |first=Zack |title="Spock's Brain"/"The Enterprise Incident" |publisher=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=December 4, 2009 |url=https://www.avclub.com/star-trek-spocks-brain-the-enterprise-incident-1798207604 |access-date=September 5, 2010 |archive-date=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818010501/http://www.avclub.com/articles/spocks-brainthe-enterprise-incident,36001/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In his book ''What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History'', author David Hofstede ranked the episode at No. 71 on the list.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Hofstede|title=What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History|publisher=[[Back Stage Books]]|year=2004|pages=57–58|isbn=0-8230-8441-8}}</ref>

Swedish synthpop band [[S.P.O.C.K]] featured "Mr. Spock's Brain" on their 1993 album "Five Year Mission".<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.discogs.com/de/SPOCK-Five-Year-Mission/master/754643|title = S.P.O.C.K – Five Year Mission|website = [[Discogs]]| date=September 13, 1993 |access-date = September 9, 2020|archive-date = August 17, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220817033921/https://www.discogs.com/de/master/754643-SPOCK-Five-Year-Mission|url-status = live}}</ref>

The rock band [[Phish]] performs a song entitled "Spock's Brain".<ref name="AVClub-2">{{Cite news|title=Mike Gordon Busts Out Spocks Brain In NYC|publisher=[[Jambase]]|date=March 2, 2014|url=http://www.jambase.com/Articles/120889/Mike-Gordon-Busts-Out-Spocks-Brain-In-NYC|access-date=March 2, 2014|archive-date=March 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302231145/http://www.jambase.com/Articles/120889/Mike-Gordon-Busts-Out-Spocks-Brain-In-NYC|url-status=live}}</ref>

The episode was referenced in ''Modern Principles: Microeconomics'' by [[Tyler Cowen]] and Alex Tabarrok of [[George Mason University]] as an example of how it is virtually impossible to have a [[command economy]], in that not even Spock's brain could run an economy.<ref>Cowen, T & Tabarrak, A, ''Modern Principles, Macroeconomics, 2nd Edition'', pg. 14</ref>

Star Trek co-producer [[Robert H. Justman]]  recalled in the book ''Inside Star Trek The Real Story'' that he was the person who suggested that Spock's brain, after being rescued by the ''Enterprise'' crew, actually "takes over during surgery and instructs Dr. McCoy exactly how to go about reinserting it back where it came from&nbsp;- inside Spock's skull".<ref name="Inside Star Trek The Real Story"/>

As of 2023, the episode has an [[IMDb]] weighted score of 5.6/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708449/|title = Spock's Brain|website = [[IMDb]]|date = September 20, 1968|access-date = September 15, 2021|archive-date = October 24, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211024215907/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708449/|url-status = live}}</ref>

In 2012, ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' ranked this episode as one of top ten "must see" episodes of the original series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/10-must-see-episodes-of-star-trek-1798232845|title=10 must-see episodes of Star Trek|last=Handlen|first=Zack|website=TV Club|date=August 15, 2012 |access-date=June 29, 2019|archive-date=June 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629124959/https://tv.avclub.com/10-must-see-episodes-of-star-trek-1798232845|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, [[Wired (magazine)|''Wired'']] magazine ranked this episode one of the top ten most underrated episodes of the original television series, noting that despite it being regarded as the worst episode it occupies a special place in ''Star Trek'' lore.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/05/underrated-star-trek-episodes/|title=10 of the Most Underrated Episodes of the Original Star Trek Series|author=WIRED Staff|date=May 15, 2013|magazine=Wired|access-date=July 9, 2019|issn=1059-1028|archive-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002095907/https://www.wired.com/2013/05/underrated-star-trek-episodes/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, they also suggested this episode was skippable in their binge-watching guide for the original series in 2015.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/01/binge-watch-star-trek-tos/|title=WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Star Trek|last=McMillan|first=Graeme|date=January 28, 2015|magazine=Wired|access-date=July 24, 2019|issn=1059-1028|archive-date=December 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229121433/https://www.wired.com/2015/01/binge-watch-star-trek-tos/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, [[Syfy]] included this episode in a group of ''Star Trek'' franchise episodes they felt were commonly disliked but "deserved a second chance".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/10-most-hated-star-trek-episodes-deserve-second-chance|title=The 10 most hated Star Trek episodes that deserve a second chance|last=Roth|first=Dany|date=July 20, 2016|website=SYFY WIRE|access-date=July 18, 2019|archive-date=July 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718220028/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/10-most-hated-star-trek-episodes-deserve-second-chance|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, this episode was rated the third-worst episode of all episodes of the Star Trek franchise, including the later series but before ''[[Star Trek: Discovery]]'', by [[Screen Rant|''ScreenRant'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/star-trek-worst-episodes-ever-all-time/|title=15 Worst Star Trek Episodes Of All Time|date=May 22, 2017|website=ScreenRant|access-date=June 8, 2019|archive-date=June 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608155534/https://screenrant.com/star-trek-worst-episodes-ever-all-time/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, CBR included this episode in a list of ''Star Trek'' episodes that are "so bad they must be seen".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-episodes-bad-must-watch/|title=Star Trek: 20 Episodes So Bad They Must Be Seen|date=December 12, 2018|website=CBR|access-date=June 8, 2019|archive-date=December 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213125346/https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-episodes-bad-must-watch/|url-status=live}}</ref>  A ranking of every episode of the original series by [[Hollywood.com|''Hollywood'']] placed this episode 78th out of 79 episodes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywood.com/tv/ranking-star-trek-original-series-79-episodes-best-worst-59094091/|title=Ranking All 79 'Star Trek: The Original Series' Episodes from Worst to Best|last=Blauvelt|first=Christian|date=May 18, 2013|website=Hollywood.com|access-date=June 8, 2019|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065047/http://www.hollywood.com/tv/ranking-star-trek-original-series-79-episodes-best-worst-59094091/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[CBS News]] listed "Spock's Brain" as one of the worst in the original series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-best-and-worst-original-star-trek-episodes/|title=The best (and worst) original "Star Trek" episodes|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=September 3, 2016 |access-date=June 8, 2019|archive-date=June 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608174817/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-best-and-worst-original-star-trek-episodes/|url-status=live}}</ref> Digital Fox ranked "Spock's Brain" as the number-one worst episode of all Star Trek up to 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalfox.media/explained/5-of-the-worst-star-trek-episodes-ever/|title=The Worst Star Trek Episode of Each Star Trek Series|last=Heller|first=Leejay|date=June 16, 2018|website=Digital Fox|access-date=June 8, 2019|archive-date=June 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608195456/https://www.digitalfox.media/explained/5-of-the-worst-star-trek-episodes-ever/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

In 2017, ''[[Den of Geek]]'' ranked this episode as the second "best worst" ''Star Trek'' episode of the original series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-15-best-worst-episodes-of-star-trek-the-original-series/|title=The 15 Best Worst Episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series|website=Den of Geek|date=September 16, 2017|access-date=July 18, 2019|archive-date=March 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317054107/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-15-best-worst-episodes-of-star-trek-the-original-series/|url-status=live}}</ref>