More than any other Trek outing, Star Trek: The Original Series is a straight-up fever dream. Between the ancient aliens, missing brains, and the occasional godlike being, there are times when it feels like the Enterprise crew beamed into a sci-fi writer’s bad trip. While the show was brilliant and pioneering, it was also completely unhinged.
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Beyond the simply strange and kind of camp, several TOS episodes cross a line into “I can’t believe NBC let this air.” For better or worse, it’s hard to imagine how these outlandish deliria escaped a fate on the cutting room floor. On a spectrum of fantastic, so-bad-it’s-good, and just plain awful, here are five episodes of Gene Roddenberry’s The Original Series that feel like genuine hallucinations.
5) “Wolf in the Fold”
This Season 2 episode starts with a one-minute close-up of an alien belly dancer and ends with the ghost of Jack the Ripper possessing the Enterprise computer and processing pi to infinity. Scotty is recovering from an injury and, according to McCoy, needs some “rest and relaxation.” Moments later, on the pleasure planet, a woman is stabbed to death, and Scotty is found standing over her body holding the knife. An investigation then goes off the rails as more people die and Spock deduces that the culprit is, in fact, a time-traveling psychic entity that once inhabited Jack the Ripper.
Between the Piglet-voiced investigator and the sensual extraterrestrial cold open, the episode is so absurd it almost passes for parody. But the wildest part of “Wolf in the Fold” is why the Enterprise crew is there in the first place. Scotty’s medical leave is due to a head injury caused by a female crewmember, and McCoy, in all his wisdom, decides the best cure for Scotty’s resentment toward women is to essentially send him to a strip club. After the three women, including a Starfleet officer, are brutally murdered, everyone just… moves on. Watching it now, it’s no wonder later generations decided the Enterprise really needed a counselor.
4) “The Way to Eden”
You can’t talk about unhinged Trek without someone bringing up the space hippies. If you’ve ever seen “The Way to Eden,” you’ve basically experienced ’60s psychedelia, as the episode follows a tribe of flower-power idealists who hijack the Enterprise on their quest to find the mythical planet Eden. They wear bright, chincy, eye-sore outfits, play lute tunes, and spend their time preaching anti-establishment philosophy to an unenthusiastic Captain Kirk. Meanwhile, Spock becomes their unofficial therapist, analyzing their “illogical” rebellion while trying to relate to their ideals.
Although it may seem ridiculous to us now, and probably did upon its initial airing as well, it is essential to remember the context: the episode aired in 1969, at the height of the counterculture movement, and it was genuinely trying to say something. The space hippies aren’t portrayed as dumb; rather, one’s a doctor, another a scientist, and one even used to be a Starfleet cadet. They’re intelligent people, but dangerously idealistic, and the show goes out of its way to show both the logic and lunacy in their thinking. The ending, where their leader’s blind devotion leads to destruction, turns the campy episode into a cautionary tale about cults of personality — something just as relevant now as it was then.
3) “Miri”
Described as deeply unsettling, creepy, and even “greasy” by fans, “Miri” is an episode that might’ve been better off dying in the writer’s room. The crew beams down to a planet that’s a replica of Earth, where all the adults have died from a plague, leaving behind feral, centuries-old children. The crew tries to navigate this bizarre society of “Onlies,” but things take a wrong turn when Miri, a prepubescent girl played by Kim Darby, develops a crush on Captain Kirk. The writing tries to frame it as an innocent adoration, but modern viewers can’t help but cringe as Shatner’s Kirk flirts with her to calm her down.
It’s an uncomfortable watch to say the least, and it’s honestly baffling the episode ever got made. The premise, a planet of forever-children, could have been standard Trek, but the awkward romantic overtones and borderline grooming behavior pushed it into cringe territory, at least by today’s standards. The “bonk on the head” scene is admittedly funny, and some fans defend Kirk’s behavior by pointing out the girl was technically 300 years old and that he was only flirting to learn more about the Onlies. Whether you agree or not, it’s difficult not to marvel at the sheer audacity of TOS airing this story on a primetime network.
2) “Plato’s Stepchildren“
“Plato’s Stepchildren” is simultaneously one of TOS’s most ridiculous and disturbing episodes. The Enterprise crew encounters aliens who idolize Plato, granting them godlike powers and a sadistic streak. The crew is forced into humiliating situations, including Kirk being made to behave like a horse, while Uhura and Chapel navigate the perverse whims of their captors. The alien society is rife with ethical issues that would spark immediate controversy today: eugenics practices, a little person in servitude, and the infamous whipping scene. Yet, somehow, the most controversial thing at the time was the episode’s interracial kiss, which faced resistance from southern network affiliates.
Yet despite all the controversy, the episode works in its own twisted way. Shatner’s over-the-top performance is perfect for capturing the humiliation by the Platonians. Many fans consider Alexander to be one of TOS’s best supporting characters. While modern audiences may struggle with some elements, the episode cleverly explores themes of power, consent, and dignity. Perhaps its premise is a little too Ancient Aliens-esque, and maybe it’s both progressive and problematic, but it challenges viewers to confront an uncomfortable truth, which aligns it with Roddenberry’s vision for Trek.
1) “Spock’s Brain“
There’s high camp, and then there’s “Spock’s Brain.” In this Season 3 opener, an alien civilization’s central mainframe fails, so they steal Spock’s brain to serve as a replacement. Meanwhile, Spock’s body is left behind on the Enterprise, lifeless, while Dr. McCoy frantically tries to use an alien speed-learning machine to master the surgery needed to reconnect it. Only, the device wasn’t designed for humans, so McCoy forgets most of what he’s learned mid-operation.
Given the quality of most TV writing today, it’s almost unbelievable that “Spock’s Brain” ever made it to air. The odball episode is so pathetically endearing that it almost demands affection, despite being dubbed a “turkey” of the season by Leonard Nimoy himself. While the initial reaction to the episode was disappointment, the insane brain heist has since become a cult favorite among fans and is now considered the number one so-bad-it’s-good episode. “The ones who took Spock’s brain, doctor,” and “Brain and brain; what is brain?” are still some of the most quoted lines to ever come out of the sprawling sci-fi franchise. Why and how it ever got the green light remains a mystery, but needless to say, we’re thankful it did.
Which crazy TOS episode did we miss? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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