J.J. Abrams has given us two Star Trek films, 2009’s “Star Trek”, and this past summer in 2013, he directed “Star Trek: Into Darkness”. Now the film maker will try to resurrect another sleeping sci-fi giant, by making another “Star Wars” film. He recently said he wants the new adventure tale set in a galaxy, far far away, to be “authentic”. I’d submit this: How much more authentic can you get than a poignant story about a kidnapped brain?
“Spock’s Brain” is widely looked upon as one of the worst outings from Gene Roddenberry’s landmark TV show. The audacity of the plot sees advanced aliens – led by a befuddled, though attractive and perky matriach – beam onto the Starship Enterprise and neatly snatch away the precious gray matter of Vulcan science officer Mister Spock. The intellectual alien human hybrid sports a fantastic, organic neural network, but ripping it out of his body to ferry back to an alien world to power a weirdly Orwellian society? With this brief synopsis, you have a clue as to why this tale is regarded as pretty damn crappy.
Surprisingly, It’s not without rabid fans, however, since it comes smack dab under the heading of ‘it’s so bad it’s good’, in this case it’s so very bad, it’s rip roaring funny. It plays sort of like the ultimate ‘Mystery Science 3000’ entry for Star Trek. With lines like, “Brain and brain! What is brain? It is controller, is it not?” riffed off by the head alien, the unintentional laughs keep chuckling along. So why would Abrams want to collaborate with hip-hop group Cypress Hill, who hail from California, on a creative pairing of Trek and their music?
Cypress Hill’s big hit is a song called, “Insane In The Brain”, and some of the choice lyrics go like this:
Insane in the membrane (Insane in the brain! )
Insane in the membrane (insane in the Brain! )
Insane in the membrane (crazy insane got no brain! )
Indeed, as you see, the pairing of the two seems perfect. Spock has no brain – his Captain Kirk is nearly going insane! Abrams would do well to introduce “Star Trek” into a more modern, or even a hipper audience, despite the inroads the new movies made. Cypress Hill can cultivate more of a geek following perhaps. Who knows, if done right, a wacky collab as they say could do wonders for both entertainment franchises. Zachary Quinto’s brain being stolen and Chris Pine and Karl Urban having to lead him around by remote control? I’d buy that for a dollar! Oh yes, I would, Officer Murphy, yes I would!