The Wild, Wild West: "The Night of the Brain."

Contrasts.

Oops, sorry, wrong review.

But, regardless of all the relevance and philosophy of "Kung Fu," there must be something said about just being entertained.  In fact, that's why most of what the '50s wrought is still around.  As long as it can be watched with some kind of fascination, if it be pure fun or used as comedy fodder, it has a point.   There is no waste of film that cannot, on some form, can be used as entertainment.

So, I enjoy "The Wild Wild West" for the same reason I was made:  Entertainment.

Anyway, this time around, West and Gordon receive a mysterious message about the death of a magician friend in the form of a newspaper that is dated Tomorrow in a town that they are just passing.  Ironically, the train breaks down just as they reach this town, so they decide to investigate.  They witness the magician's act and death by a bomb.   And the same thing happens with an old commander of Jim West's, by malfunctioning dueling pistol.  Finding the newspaper has a brand that denotes the press that makes the paper, West and Gordon tracks it down, only to find a dead man (stabbed in the back) and a poster for a psychic that brings "The East to the West."  Taking the hint, West goes to her and barely misses the old 'chair sinks into the ground' trick.  Of course, he takes another seat and is shot up into a hole in the ceiling.

Clever.

This leads West to the underground lair of the Brain, a mastermind (sorry)  who is determined to rule the world from his electric wheelchair hidden behind a wooden box shaped like a miniature train that sprouts steam at random intervals that makes it 'appear' to be a miniature steam powered vehicle.  The Brain (real name is Braine, natch) tells West this is so he can conserve his energy so it could be used for powering his immense brain.  Well, aside from having a large forehead, I can only assume about the brain of the Brain.  Anyway, he has a plan to take over the world by making himself Supreme Overlord and making West, such he's such a capable soldier, as his second-in-command.  Which, I guess makes sense: West is a higher-up in the Secret Service in one of the most powerful countries in the 1800s.   However, part of the Brain's plans is disguise makeup, which he uses to make his Henchman an exact replica of Artemus Gordon.  Gordon, by this time, has also broken into the Brain's lair, which really blows any conception of the Brain having a real secret hideout.

Anyway, Artemus finds his evil doppleganger and knocks him out.

The Brain shows West his other dopplegangers, which happen to be exact replicas of all the world's leaders.  The Brain wants his ascension to be unanimous, apparently.  Anyway, he gives West a choice:  either join him or the Psychic gets it.  And who is going to give the Psychic 'it?'  None other than Gordon's doppleganger!  Looks simple, doesn't it?  Gordon will just rip off his false face and the Brain's plans are RUINED! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!

If only.

The Brain, playing the Greek Chorus, asks his doppleganger to remove his mask.  Unlike other megalomaniacs like this sort, he is actually using common sense.  The doppelganger complies...to reveal the face of the actual man behind the doppleganger.  Fooled you, huh?  Well, no.  It turns out that Gordon is more clever than we thought, and was wearing TWO face masks:  the doppleganger's real face and the doppleganger's false face.  Complicated, huh?  Well, this would have worked if the Brain DIDN'T know about it.  Apparently he knew about it all along which leads to the final sequence in which the Brain just ignores the "Dr. Evil" way of doing things and shoots West, Gordon, and the Psychic (but wasn't she on the Brain's side?  No matter) in the head.  The End.

No, wait.....

The Brain, blowing all chances of him being a decent villain, decides to take West out of the mortal coil by hooking two horns to his vehicle and chasing him around a improvised underground rodeo field.  I kid you not.  But, the Brain ain't that smart.  West is able to dodge the vehicle and the Brain ends his life by hitting the bleachers full of his dopplegangers going full steam ahead and blowing them all up.  All loose ends finished, the episode ends after an epilogue I can't really remember.

But, I can't really fault this episode.  I grew up on the James Bond flicks so I have a certain expectation for what I like.  And I like world-hungry maniacs, especially the 'Brains' who want to make the world better in their own terms.   And, despite what I said about the wheelchair, I do like it.  It has that hybrid quality that the "Wild Wild West" is known for:  common-day technological advances in yesterday's means:  hence, a steam-powered wheelchair that with a bit more work could have been absolutely beautiful, with it's golden tubing and real moving stagecoach wheels.  But the idea outweighed the budget in it's typical way and hence, we get some cheesy prop that still sticks in my mind.

Unlike the intricacies of the plot, except for that clever triple-cross involving Gordon, the doppleganger, and the Brain.  That kind of expectation and denial of a cliché is pure genius.   If more writers would get it through their heads to circumvent clichés instead of playing into them and making fun of it as a replacement for the above method, there would be more entertainment and less hackwork.

But I digress, per usual.

RATING:  Doesn't have the loopholes that "Lord of Limbo" did, but offers little in way of the Brain's true motives.  But the style, mood, and genius of this series (especially playing with that cliché of the doppelganger) has won me over.  This is why I love the series.  Pure entertainment:  Three Stars out of Four.  Enjoy with some popcorn and let your mind go into neutral.