I’d like to say something narcissistic like…there’s nothing that ages you as much as the retirement of one of your favorite Science Fiction characters, but I have to remind myself that it’s not all about me, at least not all the time.
I’ve been a big sci fi fan forever, since I was a little kid making up fantastical stories in my head. Mr. Spock, of the original Star Trek series, has to be one of the most compelling television characters ever written. Why? Because while his exterior was all logic and reason, his interior was filled with deep emotion, fire, passion, violence, rage and love. That’s why I was so drawn to the character - his duel/dueling nature. Despite the fact that the show was, more or less, schlock, Leonard Nimoy portrayed Spock’s inner conflict with a subtlety few actors can match - he played Spock with qualities I’ve only seen appear in the characters of a Shakespearean tragedy. When Mr. Spock smiled…OMFG! You could knock me over with a feather! Oooh, and the very idea of the pon farr - watch Amok Time - great episode. Wouldn’t I have liked to be the object of Spock’s lust when the pon farr takes him???
Sure, James T. Kirk with his boyish, Iowa (I’m from Iowa), aw shucks charm got all the girls, but the cerebral Spock was my hottie.
It’s hard for me to imagine that Leonard Nimoy is older than my mom - who says she’s older than dirt - He’s an icon. That’s the thing about film - our icons are suspended in time. Perhaps Mr. Nimoy didn’t like being pigeonholed - I know he wrote two books, I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock. But for me, there is only one Mr. Spock and it’s him. He’s a great Mr. Spock. Live long and prosper.