Yes, I am a Star Trek fan and proud to proclaim it. Although I liked Patrick Stewart’s run, my heart is with the original and my favorite character of all is Mr. Spock. I did like Kirk, tolerated Dr. McCoy and enjoyed the rest of the crew, but loved Spock.
When I was a younger, I thought Mr. Spock was cool because he was an alien with weird ears who threw up the first alien gang sign that meant live long and prosper. He was smart, strong and could put guys to sleep with the touch of two fingers on their shoulders instead of sitting through a math class.
When I grew a little older, I got a different view of Spock after reading the excellent adaptions of the original series by James Blish, which I highly recommend. Each episode was told in a short story form and you got more of a taste for the characters’ thoughts and actions. I’d estimate that at least ninety percent of the time, Spock directly or indirectly got the Enterprise out of trouble.
As one of my daughter’s observed, Spock was the go-to-guy for ideas that saved the day. It was always fun when the human side of him slipped out and let’s not forget that raised eyebrow, she said.
I began to realize Kirk was absolutely right when he eulogized Spock in “Wrath of Kahn” as the most human of all. Although Spock was half human, his appearance and adoption of the Vulcan way of life made him an outsider. He submerged his human half so there was always a battle within and with others. In other words, his character had conflict and backstory.
He lived by logic instead of emotion but when those emotions broke through because of some strange alien force, then watch out. He cried. He laughed. He made women crazy. He was unreachable, which made lots of females, from cloud dwellers to Romulan commanders, want him.
He tried not to show the human half, but did everything in his power to save those humans. And though Spock knew the value of science, he also knew the value of life. His humanity blazed like a photon torpedo.
Of course, Spock was brought brilliantly to life by Leonard Nimoy, who was nominated for three Emmys. TV Guide also named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. And we can’t forget, Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.
Not all of us may come up a Mr. Spock, but as writers, we should always be reaching to create such wonderful and memorable characters.
So Live Long and Prosper and don’t forget to write.
Below is a list of Mr. Spock’s top ten best quotes.
http://www.top10-best.com/m/top_10_best_mr_spock_quotes.html