“The Infinite Vulcan”

A loose end that was fittingly tied off in Lower Decks, where Giant Spock's bones were seen hanging in that second-season collector's starship.

This one was so wacky that I could only chuckle and go along for the ride. The Phylosian Green Plant people were likable, and the purple flying, screeching dragon things with long tentacles were a hoot. Keniclius was a royal pain in the assinine--ridiculously slow to catch on to the fact that his Master Race to Bring Peace to the Galaxy idea was old news, and not needed. Giant Spock versus Normal Spock was so bizarre that I'm not sure what I just watched, but the mind-melding between the two was a cool idea I guess. The Plant People's Plant Space Ships were pretty. It's kind of fun that Walter Koenig wrote this. I can certainly see why he only wrote one Star Trek episode in his whole life. Jammer calls this episode "absurd", and I guess he is right. But I say that gently.

Some very interesting sci-fi with highly intelligent plant life but also held back by a slightly ridiculous character Keniclius 5 who is pursuing a masterplan all founded on an erroneous belief. He also intends to create clones by having to kill the original being.

It is a bit amusing that old fashioned weed spray is used where phasers are powerless. But ultimately, there's an imaginative and detailed story told here. The Trekkian values of peace and not imposing one's will on others comes through via the Vulcan IDIC, which Kirk sort of convinces Keniclius of. One also develops some compassion for the Phylosians who are a dying race due to humans, but yet are peaceful towards the landing party, albeit while serving Keniclius.

Good use of the Big 3 and Uhura and Scotty who have important contributions to make. Given that it is a plant episode, Sulu has a key role to play as part of the landing party. The episode title doesn't seem all that appropriate.

2.5*

I agree with the review but I’d give this 2 1/2 stars because I like Walter Koenig and the dialogue between Spock and his giant double are amusing. I also liked the plant people. The story just doesn’t hang together very well.

I wonder how many years the image of a giant Spock looming over him haunted Dr. McCoy's nightmares 🙂

Spock's Brain 2: Beyond Idiocy

0/4 stars

You knew something bad was going to happen when Sulu recklessly picked up the moving plant with his bare hands for no compelling reason. It should have earned him a demotion.

If 2 out of 4 is right down the middle, I think I'd bump it up to 2 and a half. This is a better episode than I expected from the review, even if the giant Spock is more than a little crazy. I like the race of intelligent plants and how once again the animated format allows for stranger creatures than could have been realized on the live action series. I enjoy the references to the Eugenics Wars and how they motivated Keniclius 5 on his quest, even though he has made the mistake of staying isolated so long that he's not up to speed with the current situation out in the galaxy. I loved the idea that Dr. McCoy found his grandpa's weed-killer recipe and that low-tech solution worked where phasers failed. Just an old country doctor, indeed! It might be a bit silly, but it was entertaining.

But why in the world are the clones giants? How did giant Spock get that giant uniform? How was such a massive clone created so quickly? This part of the plot certainly does not stand up to any scrutiny whatsoever. But I did enjoy Kirk reasoning with giant Spock to save the original's life. Force wasn't going to work, obviously, but still... yay for reason and understanding prevailing.

"I wonder how many years the image of a giant Spock looming over him haunted Dr. McCoy's nightmares"

That's great! :D

Positives:

Walter Koenig knows the show. He is able to insert the Eugenics wars as motivation for Keniclius, and resolve everything with the IDIC concept. He even remembers small things like Sulu's interest in botany.

I also like the fact that he makes a distinction between Trek and The Day the Earth Stood Still. An imposed peace isn't a real peace, it's tyranny.

Negatives:

I like the basic idea of Keniclius and the Phylosians, but I wish there had been more time to flesh them out. The fact that Keniclius is 20 feet tall and wearing a toga is a pretty big clue that he's gone a bit nuts, but I think we needed to hear more about how he came to believe the things he does.

GIANT SPOCK! Yeah, this was a mistake. It just comes across as silly without some sort of explanation.



I think this plot was a little too ambitious for a 20 minute episode.

Letting Koenig write "The Infinite Vulcan" was Trek's version of Ringo writing a Beatles song.

Keniclius 5: "What of my work?! If all I have lived for is already done, if the times I feared are gone, what is to become of me? There appears to be no reason why I should continue to exist."

First of all, your mouth to God's ear, Keniclius. Second, Jesus H. F. Christ, how about just kicking back with a few beers and chilling out, not bothering anyone? Why can't that be what becomes of you? See, this right here is the problem with megalomaniacal scientists. They just can't stop *messing* with everything, even when they don't have to do so anymore. Dude, just kick back, enjoy your retirement and shut up. Essentially, one plus of the episode is showing how well-intentioned ideas and scientific breakthroughs can rage out of control and become too giant (literally in this case, with giant humans and giant Vulcans).

I had to laugh that the plants turned out to catch some disease because of visiting humanoid tourists on their planet. Star Trek took over three years to *finally* suggest that explorers landing on all these alien planets might not be so good for the natives' immune systems? But I kid. There is an eerie visual (even for animation, which impressed me) where we see the old dead plants lined up against the wall as museum pieces in a dank old cave. That was well done.

But even with one or two things to take seriously within it, "The Infinite Vulcan" is pretty much primed to be laughed at and absorbed without any serious reflection. Talking plants, "primitive and aggressive," no less? Whatever, they're aliens. I too found the pterodactyl plants to be a complete hoot, especially when they carted Spock off into the sky and Kirk nonchalantly asks where they've taken him as if he couldn't care less. (Yeah, Shatner is back to phoning it in again, sad to say). The noisy screeching was a little much--I was with McCoy: "I can't take much more of this."

Giant Spock was a perfectly hokey gag just *made* for TAS. Had they never done something like this, in hindsight I would probably have objected to the fact that they didn't do anything over-the-top in a cartoon show that leant itself to it--so points for that, I guess. Sulu was priceless, by the way: "The Vulcan mind touch!" For the kids, apparently. I cracked up.


Speak Freely:
Kirk -- "Sulu, you're the most scrutable man I know."


My Grade: D+

@ PCP,

"See, this right here is the problem with megalomaniacal scientists. They just can't stop *messing* with everything, even when they don't have to do so anymore. "

Funny enough, I was watching a video last night about Tony Stark (don't criticize me, I was tired) which was just about this topic, how he's the sort of person who consistently creates problems and comes up with brilliant ways to solve them, but not before creating new problems. And in the absence of problems he'll come up with one.

@ Peter G: "In the absence of problems, he'll come up with one."

To quote my wife, when she was epically ranting about her mother / my mother-in-law: "She always has a problem for every solution!" That one has stuck with me.

No criticism from me to you about watching a video on Tony Stark. For sure, Stark and Keniclius have a lot in common with each other. These types of people are never happy unless there's a crisis to manage. Admittedly that's what science and engineering is--solving problems. Innovation happens when they identify and solve problems the rest of us never even realized we had, but every so often we really get the short straw when even more problems are created because of them. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" often comes to mind!