Full disclosure: Yep, I was (am, are, is ;') a fan of Star Trek, although never carried it into obsession.
I'd love to know the back-story of the assembling of the TOS crew - I don't know who partnered Shatner and Nimoy but that person was a cinematic genius. The interplay between the characters is to a huge degree what made the show.
We know from Chris Pine's compelling performances in the 2009 "Star Trek" remake and "Into Darkness" that the Kirk character could be replaced, but I can't imagine anyone else playing Spock (Zachary Quinto tried but came up short).
Just a small niggle, but there was one thing that always chaffed my hide about Spock....let me 'splain.
You know who/what Spock represented, right? The Spock character was inserted as a lasting reminder of the foibles of We Foolish Humans. Even when we got it right, we still somehow got it wrong. And there was Spock with his arched eyebrow to remind us. He was the enduring wisdom to our impetuosity. OK, so what?
Roddenbury, bless his leftist soul, never understood the difference between feelings and emotions. I can't really hold it against him because nearly all leftists have the same difficulty. "OK smart guy - why don't you tell us the difference?"
Feelings are the natural reactions to stimuli. Animals have them. Humans have them. Vulcans have them, too.
How do you feel?:
"I have a sliver in my hand and it irritates. I believe I'll pull it out".
How do you feel?:
"I feel a bit hungry at the moment. It's time for lunch".
How do you feel?:
"I just stubbed my toe and it hurts like hell!"
So what is an emotion? An emotion is the process whereby the human mind rationalizes a feeling.
How do you feel?:
"Øbama won the election and I'm sick to my stomach".
How do you feel?:
"I found out my girlfriend isn't pregnant and I feel like a million bucks!".
How do you feel?:
"I don't feel. Ask me what I think."
Spock, as a good (half-breed) Vulcan, often spoke loftily about his superior ability at suppressing his emotions - and I often detected the smug "Anything you can do I can do better" tone that not so subtly assumed that mere humans could not do the same. Naturally there's some truth there because we're largely taught by this depraved culture to obsess over our emotional (im)balance.
But Spock sucked at suppressing his emotions. Instead he repressed and denied his feelings. A reoccurring theme was his ongoing discord with his father. Several episodes depicted angry exchanges regarding Spock's choices in life. There were feelings there, and barely suppressed. And they were expressed emotionally by harsh argument. And it wasn't that Spock had no feelings of sexual or "human" attraction - he did. But several episodes show him fighting the "temptations of the flesh". He clearly wanted both sexual and intellectual congress with females (good for him!).
And then there was the ever-mocking arched eyebrow. How many times did he silently express the emotions of disfavor, disgust, or disapproval of his human shipmates by raising that one brow?
Alright, I see that I'm wandering toward the fringes of obsession so I'll quit. In spite of the technical flaws and the cheesy sets I adored Star Trek....and Spock.
In next month's chapter we'll explore whether or not Spock really couldn't tell a lie.
Live long and prosper