Spock

Related Topics:
Spock :: Spock's_Beard :: Spock,_Benjamin

For the paediatrician, see Benjamin Spock.

Spock, also called Mr. Spock, from the Original Star Trek TV series is one of the most enduring characters from American 1960s television. Mr. Spock is an alien, half-Vulcan, half-Human. He held various ranks within Starfleet but his service with Captain James T. Kirk as First Officer of the Starship Enterprise is his legacy. The character's appeal derives from Spock's socially conscious but technically proficient nature. In addition, his personal struggle between the Vulcan logical self and human emotion created evocative drama. He was portrayed by actor Leonard Nimoy (except for brief scenes of a much younger Spock in two later movies).

Personal life

Spock is the son of the Vulcan ambassador Sarek and his human wife Amanda Grayson. Although Spock identified himself as Vulcan, he had an ongoing internal conflict between the reason and logic of his Vulcan half and the emotion and intuition of his human half. By human standards, however, he was incredibly logical and utterly unflappable in the face of danger.

Spock had an older half-brother, Sybok, who eschewed pure logic, and was banished from Vulcan for his heresy.

Spock is generally considered to have married at some point, because Captain Jean-Luc Picard once observed that he had met Sarek at "his son's wedding". Seeing as Sybok died before Picard was even born, it is safe to assume that he was referring to Spock's marriage. The non-canon novel Vulcan's Heart features the marriage of Spock and Saavik.

In the episode "This Side of Paradise," when asked by Leila Kalomi whether he has another name, Spock responds "you couldn't pronounce it." In the episode "Journey To Babel" Spock's mother Amanda is asked about her last name. She replies that she can pronounce it "after a fashion and with much practice." It seems likely that his family name is unpronounceable by those who speak Federation Standard and Spock is his familiar/personal name.

In the non-canon novel Yesterday's Son, Spock is revealed to have fathered a son while trapped in the past on the subsequently destroyed planet Sarpeidon. In the sequel, Time for Yesterday, Zar returns to mindmeld once more with the Guardian of Forever.

Early years

According to the non-canon animated series, Spock was subject to considerable harassment by his peers as a "half-breed" in his youth (this is largely corroborated by Spock's mother, Amanda's, statements in the episode Journey to Babel), and he was deeply conflicted as to what path to follow. To prove himself, he prematurely underwent an important coming of age trial without his parents' knowledge, but his pet sehlat, I-Chaya insisted on accompanying him against his guardian's wishes. During the trial, a dangerous beast attacked the pair and I-Chaya was seriously wounded fighting it. Although they were saved by a relative who had followed them (actually the adult Spock himself who had gone back in time to save himself at this moment), I-Chaya needed immediate medical attention. Although Spock was able to bring a healer, the sehlat was beyond meaningful aid when he arrived. When presented with the options granting his pet a painful extended life or a merciful release, Spock logically chose to have I-Chaya euthanized. That decision marked his commitment to follow the philosophies of Surak and the Vulcan ideals of logic and strict emotional control. (See The Animated Series for an explanation as to why this material is not considered canon by Paramount Pictures.)

In 2267, he earned the Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor and held an A7 computer expert classification. Non-canon novels suggest that Spock in fact held the only A7 classification in Starfleet.

Starfleet

Nearly Spock's entire Starfleet career — he joined Starfleet against his father's wishes, as Sarek wanted his son to attend the Vulcan Science Academy — was spent serving onboard a single ship, the famous starship USS Enterprise. The non-canon young adult novel 'Crisis on Vulcan' depicts Spock's first experience with the ship. He accompanies his father on a diplomatic mission aboard the Enterprise, and while there meets his future captain, Christopher Pike, then serving as the first officer under Robert April, the first captain of the Enterprise. Spock becomes impressed at the humans, and particularly with the logical setup of the ship, which leads him to consider a career in Starfleet, which becomes a serious consideration when Pike invites him to do so.

He served for nearly eleven years under Captain Christopher Pike. Publications from the producers of the Original Series indicate that Spock's "backstory" had him assigned to the Enterprise while still a Cadet, and that he was later commissioned an Ensign and subsequently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. The first time the viewing audience saw Spock he was a full Lieutenant, serving as a junior science officer onboard the Enterprise ("The Cage"), although series creator Gene Roddenberry originally billed Spock as the ship's First Lieutenant. Some of Spock's experiences serving under Captain Pike were depicted in the non-canon comic book series Early Voyages.

Spock's first temporary command was in 2254 when he ordered the evacuation of the Enterprise from Talos IV, after all of the senior officers had been kidnapped by the hostile inhabitants. In the early 2260s, Spock was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and assigned a dual posting as both the Executive Officer (or First Officer) and Senior Science Officer of the Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk ( The Original Series), with whom he became good friends, but Spock was constantly getting into arguments with the more passionate Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. By 2267, Spock had risen in rank to a full Commander. He resigned his commission in 2270 in order to return to Vulcan and undergo training for the Kolinahr discipline.

In 2271, Spock returned to active duty, reinstated as a Commander, and posted as the Senior Science Officer to the USS Enterprise. Following the V'ger crisis (chronicled in The Motion Picture), and the loss of Enterprise Executive Officer, Captain Willard Decker, Spock apparently resumed his dual post of First Officer and Senior Science Officer of the USS Enterprise. It is assumed that another mission of exploration followed this event, however this has yet to be established into canon.

A number of years later, the Enterprise was assigned as a training vessel under Starfleet Academy. Spock was promoted to Captain and assigned as the Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise as Kirk had reverted to his former rank of Admiral in Starfleet Command. In 2285, Spock was temporarily relieved of command during the Genesis Crisis ( The Wrath of Khan), when Admiral James T. Kirk took command of the Enterprise as per Starfleet regulations in order to investigate an emergency situation surrounding the Regula I scientific research space station, but ultimately resulting in combat with the exiled tyrant Khan Noonien Singh. During the final battle, Spock entered a radioactive antimatter control chamber without a protective suit. He performed this heroic deed in order to return the ship's warp engines to service just barely in time to allow the Enterprise to escape the explosion of the Genesis Device. When Kirk asked why he had done it, he replied: "Because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." While the planet Genesis was created, Spock died.

Rebirth

Spock's death at the end of The Wrath of Khan was not the end of his story. Just before entering the radioactive control room, Spock had performed a mind meld with Dr. Leonard McCoy, and had transferred his katra, or spiritual essence, into Dr. McCoy's brain at death. In an honorary space burial Spock's body was enclosed in a torpedo and fired over the rapidly forming Genesis planet (the work of the Genesis terraforming project). The non-canon novelization of the film had postulated that Kirk's reasons for giving Spock this space burial were that Spock had requested in his will not to be returned to Vulcan, and to have Spock cremated when the torpedo casing burned up upon entry into the Genesis planet atmosphere.

As the planet's gravitational fields were still in flux, the torpedo soft-landed instead of disintegrating in the atmosphere or crashing into the planet. Spock's dead cells were "regenerated" by the Genesis Wave, his body was actually "re-born" on the planet. (The nature of the katra was further explored in Enterprise; see the main article on Vulcans for more about the katra.) The USS Grissom soon arrived to study the planet, Dr. David Marcus and Savvik beamed down upon discovering an animal life form on the surface - which turned out to be the regenerated Captain Spock. Grissom was soon destroyed by a Klingon vessel that had arrived in orbit over Genesis. Soon it became apparent that Spock's body and the Genesis planet were linked together - as the planet rapidly aged so did Spock. It became clear that the Genesis planet was unstable and would soon destroy itself.

At about the same time that Spock's body was regenerated on Genesis, his father Ambassador Sarek had visited Kirk at his apartment. He revealed to Kirk the existence of the katra, and that Spock would have transferred it to someone else at death. Sarek had assumed that since Spock and Kirk were so close, Spock would have chosen Kirk to carry his katra. But Spock wasn't able to touch Kirk before dying. Kirk knew that Spock would have chosen someone else, and by reviewing engineering tapes they found that Spock had mind melded with Doctor McCoy. Sarek remarked, "One alive, one not. Yet both in pain." Sarek told Kirk to bring both McCoy and Spock's body back to Mount Selaya on Vulcan so that both could be helped, or "find peace".

Kirk attempted to get official sanction to return to Genesis to recover Spock's body. This permission was refused, so Kirk decided to steal the Enterprise and go there himself. Kirk, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov stole the Enterprise and left for Genesis. Upon arriving they faced a Klingon bird of prey commanded by Commander Kruge - who was determined to turn Genesis into a weapon for the Empire. Kirk was forced to destroy the Enterprise to prevent its capture by the Klingons, and kill Kruge in hand to hand combat on the planet surface. Kirk then saved Spock's body - which had reached about the same age that Spock was before his death on Enterprise, and tricked the one remaining Klingon into beaming him aboard Kruge's vessel. Kirk and his fellow shipmates were able to take control of the bird of prey and set course for Vulcan.

Once Kirk's party arrived at Vulcan with Spock's body, they climbed the steps to the Vulcan temple at Mount Selaya. The priestess there confirmed that Spock's body was alive, and asked Sarek what he wanted done. Sarek asked for fal-tor-pan - the refusion of the katra into Spock's body. The priestess told Sarek that particular rite had not been done in many centuries and that his request was not logical. Sarek inisisted, and the priestess asked for the person holding the katra. When McCoy announced that he held the katra, she told him that this would be extremely dangerous to both Spock and McCoy and that he would have to choose whether or not to proceed. McCoy chose the danger, and the fal-tor-pan ceremony was begun.

After several hours, the fal-tor-pan ceremony was complete. Spock was about to leave with the other Vulcan monks when he stopped. Spock walked over and said to Kirk that his father had told him that he had been his friend and that Kirk came back for him. He asked Kirk why he would do such a thing, Kirk told him that the "needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many".

Following this rebirth, Spock completed an accelerated training program and was reinstated as a Captain in Starfleet. Following a period of disorientation and amnesia, Spock's original personality and memories from his katra reasserted themselves. This was shown when Spock was able to answer all the questions asked of him during a test except one, that being "How do you feel?" When he did not know how to answer, his mother reassured him that the answer would come to him in time. Later, on Earth, Sarek asked Spock if he had a message for his mother before Sarek left for Vulcan. Spock asked his father to tell her that he felt fine.

McCoy once asked Spock what his experience of death and rebirth felt like, telling Spock that he really had "...gone where no man has gone before." Spock replied that it would be impossible to discuss the subject without a common frame of reference, which would perhaps mean that Spock didn't know how to explain what he had experienced to other people or in a more jokey reference, that McCoy would have to die and be reborn to understand the answer.

Later life

In 2286, after the "Whale Song Incident", he was assigned as the Executive Officer of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) ( The Voyage Home), although he retained the rank of captain. Spock remained as the Enterprise Executive Officer for the next five years. During this time, he participated in a historic journey to the center of the galaxy ( The Final Frontier).

The Undiscovered Country

Shortly after the explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis in 2291, Sarek asked his son to assist with diplomatic efforts in the wake of the crisis. Spock began by entering into a dialog with the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon, who would propose to Spock that negotiations between the Empire and the Federation begin at once. Spock approached Starfleet Command, and gave a briefing about the disaster that befell the Klingons, and outlined the diplomatic efforts that would occur between the two governments.

Part of the diplomatic mission would include escorting Chancellor Gorkon to Earth; Spock volunteered the Enterprise and Captain Kirk for the mission. Kirk was displeased with the notion of doing so, because he had still not forgiven the Klingons for the death of his son.

Spock, along with the rest of the senior staff boarded the Enterprise. He found that his protege Lt. Valeris was assigned to the ship. The Enterprise soon left Earth orbit and met the Klingon ship carrying the Chancellor. The Chancellor and his party beamed aboard the Enterprise for dinner. Valeris had suggested that Romulan Ale be served for dinner, it had the unfortunate effect of diminishing the inhibitions of the participants. As a result the dinner degenerated into an argument, to Spock's considerable embarrassment. After dinner Spock discovered a neutron source near the Enterprise. After telling Kirk of it, a torpedo suddenly hit the Klingon ship. He then told Kirk that they had "fired upon the Chancellor's ship." Kirk and Dr. McCoy beamed aboard to render assistance, and were arrested when Gorkon died. Spock took command of the ship, and when Kirk and McCoy were found guilty of murder, he had the crew search for evidence that the two men were innocent. He took the ship to rescue the two men from Rura Penthe once Kirk and McCoy escaped from the prison and got outside the prison's shield.

Once Kirk was back onboard, they quickly figured out that Valeris had betrayed them and the Federation. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy arrested Valeris, and learned the details of the upcoming Khitomer Conference. The Enterprise sped towards the conference, and was soon attacked by the ship that had fired the torpedo - a Klingon Bird of Prey commanded by General Chang that could fire when cloaked. The Bird of Prey was able to inflict considerable damage on the Enterprise until Spock figured out that the Bird of Prey expended energy, and gas just like any other ship. He and Dr. McCoy were able to rig a torpedo to track this gas and destroy the Bird of Prey.

The Enterprise crew beamed down just in time to prevent the assassination of the Federation President. Afterwards Spock became a key figure in forming the lasting alliance with the Klingon Empire ( The Undiscovered Country). He also formed a friendship with the Romulan Senator Pardek, which would last for over 90 years.

After Starfleet

Sometime after the decommissioning of the NCC-1701-A, Spock retired from Starfleet service and focused on diplomacy. It was during this time that he publicly challenged his father's position on the Cardassians, which was considered controversial. These events were explored in the non-canon graphic novella Star Trek: Enter the Wolves.

His activities and whereabouts over the next 70-75 years are as yet unrevealed, but Spock apparently took a wife during this time (Jean-Luc Picard once remarked that he'd attended the wedding of Sarek's son). The non-canon novel Vulcan's Heart features the marriage of Spock and Saavik (at which a young Jean-Luc Picard was in attendance).

In 2368, Spock was seen outside his then-role as Federation ambassador on the Romulan homeworld of Romulus. He was attempting to bring about a peace between the Romulans and Vulcans, healing a rift between the two peoples that had lasted for thousands of years. ( The Next Generation "Unification Parts I and II") It's possible that his work may have been responsible for the improving relations between the Federation and the Romulans ( Nemesis), however nothing has been established in canon as yet.

In the novel Captain's Blood, Spock stages his own mock assassination at a peace rally on Romulus following the events of Nemesis in an effort to play himself off as a martyr for the cause of Romulan-Vulcan reunification and exploit the unstable Romulan political climate to succeed in reunifying the Vulcans, Romulans, and Remans.

Abilities

Various episodes of TOS revealed different facets of Spock's personality and abilities. For example, "The Omega Glory" revealed that Spock had the ability to exercise limited, short-range control over the minds of others — an ability never again exhibited by any Vulcan. This, combined with Spock's ability to transfer his katra, has led some to speculate that Spock possessed more advanced mental and psychic abilities than average Vulcans. TOS also revealed that Spock is an accomplished musician, adept at playing a form of Vulcan harp. He also (in "Requiem for Methuselah") displayed advanced knowledge of classical music. He also possessed enthusiasm for three-dimensional chess.

Given his skills at science, math, chess, diplomacy, unarmed combat and his apparently limitless knowledge (best seen in The Trouble with Tribbles), Spock may properly be considered a polymath.

Vulcan Nerve Pinch

Spock, like many of his race, employs the so-called Vulcan nerve pinch as a defensive (and, on occasion, offensive) attack method. This maneuver renders most humans and humanoids unconscious by applying pressure at pressure points at the intersection the shoulder and neck of humans. Normally the pinch is used against humans and humanoids, but there is at least one instance of Spock using the pinch against a horse-like animal in The Final Frontier. In early sources such as The Making of Star Trek by Whitfield and Roddenberry, it was suggested that only Vulcans could administer the pinch, however several humans including Jean-Luc Picard as well as the android Data have been shown successfully administering it, although Dr. McCoy failed his attempt in Search for Spock even though he carried Spock's katra at the time.

The Vulcan Death Grip was a more extreme version used by Spock in the episode "The Enterprise Incident" where it apparently killed an insane Kirk. However it was actually a ruse to allow Kirk to feign death and then surreptitiously steal the cloaking device from the Romulan flagship, so it is unknown if the Vulcan Death Grip actually exists, as it has not been used by any Vulcan before or since. The fact that Spock later denied the existence of the Death Grip would seem to indicate that it does not.

Mind meld

Spock famously performed a mind meld on a number of occasions to communicate with a creature that did not speak the universal language, or to delve more deeply into another's subconscious so as to retrieve important information not otherwise accessible. This technique involved placing his fingers at key points on the face (or equivalent thereof) of the being in question. After a moment, his consciousness was merged with the consciousness of the being, thus leading to thoughts and emotions being shared by both.

The Mirror Spock

In the mirror universe, Spock was first officer of the ISS Enterprise in 2267. Like his counterpart, Spock was a logical being who was loyal to his captain, James T. Kirk, and chose to warn him when he was ordered by the Terran Empire to kill him and take command if he did not launch an attack against the Halkans in retribution for their refusal to negotiate with the Empire.

Before Kirk left, believing that Spock would one day become captain of the Enterprise, he planted a seed of doubt about the inevitability of the Empire, asking Spock if violence was the only logical answer. Spock promised to consider Kirk's words.

As Kirk predicted, Spock later on became the captain of the Enterprise. Spock used the ship as a power base to accumulate influence, and eventually rose to become leader of the Terran Empire. He instituted major reforms, turning the Empire into a more peaceful and less aggressive power. Unfortunately, Spock's reforms left the Empire unprepared to fight the united Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, who conquered the entire Terran Empire, enslaving the Terrans themselves as well as the Vulcans.

The Mirror Spock’s goatee entered folklore and has now become synonymous with evil twins and parallel universes. The progressive rock band Spock's Beard was named after this and in an episode of South Park Cartman's good twin appeared wearing a goatee. An episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured a parallel universe counterpart of Mike Nelson that had a goatee. In the animated television series Futurama, the recurring robotic character of Flexo was visibly distinguishable from his 'evil' counterpart, Bender – a series regular of questionable morality – solely by his goatee, which Bender lacked.

Trivia

In popular culture, particularly among non-fans of the series, Mr. Spock is often misnamed Dr. Spock and is confused with the real-life physician Dr. Benjamin Spock. Trek creator Gene Roddenberry denied that he named the character after the real-life Spock; he was simply looking for an alien-sounding name. The Star Trek novel Strangers from the Sky is one of the few works associated with the franchise to make direct reference to Benjamin Spock when Spock is actually given the name "Ben Spock" by an elderly man during a visit to the 21st century.
The Jack Vance science fiction novel Star King, written a few years before the original Star Trek series premiered, contains a minor character occasionally operating under the alias "Mr. Spock."
Many fans believe that Spock is the first Vulcan to join Starfleet, a fact that appears to be contradicted by the series Enterprise; in fact, there is no reference to Spock being the first. It has been suggested that he is the first to graduate from Starfleet Academy, however. Note: some official documentation from Paramount such as the startrek.com website support the first-Vulcan-in-Starfleet theory, as do some original Trek novels, however these sources are not considered canon: only what is shown on screen is considered canon in the Star Trek universe.
The Enterprise episode, "Two Days and Two Nights" reveals that Spock's grandfather, Skon, created an English-language translation of Surak's writings. Sub-Commander T'Pol gives Captain Jonathan Archer a copy of this book as a gift in this episode.
Mr. Spock first appeared in the first proposed but rejected pilot episode The Cage in which he was seen serving under Captain Christopher Pike. He was depicted as more emotional than he was in the regular The Original Series run. The cold, logical aspect was mostly associated with Number One. Fanon often speculates that Spock, in his younger years was experimenting with his human side but also looked up to Number One as well. One of the reasons this first pilot was rejected (chief reason being too cerebral), reportedly was the apprehension about Spock's outward appearance being too satanic, considering he was intended to be a main character. Ironically, Spock was the only character from the original pilot to make it into the second pilot and thus the regular series.
Several stages of Spock's life, from childhood to adulthood, are shown in the film The Search for Spock. This marks one of two films in which actors other than Leonard Nimoy have played the character. During this film, he is played by Carl Steven (age 9), Vadia Potenza (age 13), Stephen Manley (age 17), and Joe W. Davis (age 25). Because of his rapid aging and the pain associated with it, the young Spock is often heard screaming; these screams were recorded by Frank Welker.
Spock is briefly shown as an infant in The Final Frontier, during a mind-meld with his brother Sybok who projects the images for Kirk and Doctor McCoy to see. In this instance, the infant Spock is played by twin brothers because of regulations concerning the use of child actors.
The Futurama character Kif was inspired by the show's creators wondering how Spock must have felt being treated the way he often was by Kirk (as noted in several Futurama DVD audio commentaries).
The Vulcan peace sign (the Vulcan salute), employed by Spock, is a modification of the sign used by Kohens, the Jewish priestly class. Actor Leonard Nimoy devised this gesture and the accompanying greeting ("Live long and prosper," "Peace and long life") based on his own Jewish heritage.
In The Undiscovered Country, Spock says, "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The statement was originally made by Sherlock Holmes, and has led fans to speculate that Spock is descendant either of the fictional detective or his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (The Holmes reference may also be an inside joke based on the fact that Nimoy has played Holmes on stage, and director Nicholas Meyer has written three Holmes novels.)
Academy Award-winning actor Martin Landau was initially offered the role of Spock but turned it down. Ironically, Nimoy replaced Landau when he left Impossible in 1969.
It is revealed in The Voyage Home that Spock dislikes Italian food.
Spock does consume alcohol (Requiem for Methuselah and The Final Frontier), notably brandy and bourbon.

External links

StarTrek.com: Spock

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Spock