Hello there Geeks, its the “Sermonizer” Ryan Scott here. As you all likely know by now, the world lost a true icon when the great Leonard Nimoy passes away Friday. We were all heavily effected by this, so a couple of us felt compelled to share our thoughts on Mr. Spock’s passing.
THE ICON
I cannot say that I am a big Star Trek fan. In all honesty, I can’t even claim to be much of a Star Trek fan at all, say for the last couple of J.J. Abrams films in the latest reboot. However, when Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy passed away recently I felt perhaps as sad as any devout Treckie out there.
Why, you may ask? It’s because Nimoy was so much more than just the pointy eared guy from Star Trek. He was an undeniable pop culture icon and a voice for nerds everywhere since the 60’s.
As a life-long nerd, he was a symbol to me no less.
Even while avoiding Trek in favor of Star Wars my entire life, Nimoy always managed to permeate my interests, and that says something to me. Watching re-runs of In Search Of in my younger years helped to spawn a life-long interest in cryptozoology and other such things. Nimoy’s voice will forever be attached to that love. Not to mention that Nimoy was twice a guest star, perhaps one of the best in history, on The Simpsons— my all time favorite show…
In more recent years, I’ve looked at Nimoy and began to envy the life of the man in a way that wasn’t built on jealousy or pettiness, but in a way of respect and something to strive for. Nimoy was an accomplished actor, director, writer, host, photographer and poet. He took on his icon status and wore it like a champion among men. Think about it, have you ever heard someone say “Spock was a dick to me that one time I met him.” That’s because it didn’t happen.
As sad as his passing is, we should all consider this: Nimoy died at the age of 83 after living a long and prosperous life, by way of Mr. Spock’s famous mantra. So though many of us are feeling sad, what we should note is that Nimoy was a lucky and giving man until the day that he died and we will always have his work to remind us just how great he was, and that’s what matters.
Be not sad, dear fellow geeks, celebrate the man. Boldy go, good sir. Boldly go.
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
Earlier today, following a brief visit to the hospital earlier in the week for chest pain, Leonard Nimoy passed away at the age of 83 in his Bel Air home. He is, and will most likely always be, remembered as playing Mr. Spock in Star Trek, from 1965-1969, and would later reprise that role in eight feature films (two of which he directed, to much acclaim), and in the spin-off series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, in 1991. He has lent his voice to various video games, television shows, animated films and…most inexplicably– several musical albums.
So much has been written and summed up about the man in such a short, and shocking, passage of time. So many have written to reflect on just how great an influence Mr. Nimoy remained. What more can we add that other sites have not? What more can one writer say to add to the countless stories already being published about a man whose influence goes beyond his medium?
As a geek, Star Trek was one of the first major pieces of pop culture I latched onto as a kid. Before Netflix made it instant (and before SciFi Channel started syndicating it back in 1998), I would stay up for as long as I could for WPIX’s Star Trek marathon on the July 4th weekends. And always, the character of Spock was the one most interesting. Sure, the others were cool (like Kirk), or grumpy and sarcastic (McCoy), or always knew the best, most dramatic way to save the ship (Scotty), but Spock was all of them combined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6EoeqOu7cA
Somehow, despite his suppression of emotion, Spock was the most empathic: always was quick with a joke, and when the time called for it, he could take (or give) a punch or two. He is the only character to have made the transition from the series’ first pilot episode to the regular series. As the only alien aboard the Enterprise, Spock’s insights and perspective made him the moral center of the show, which was already geared towards more adult drama and morlaity plays. Through Spock — the logical alien — we were able to reflect on our own selves, and our culture of seemingly illogical dilemmas we all face.
Much of that comes from Mr. Nimoy, and his development of everything that would make Spock iconic. From the invention of the Vulcan salute, to the coining of the term “Live long and prosper”, to developing the Vulcan rituals, and nerve pinch, Mr. Nimoy embued his character with a rich and diverse history that would endure throughout the franchise, and that would influence countless other works of science fiction. In the creation of a single character, Mr. Nimoy influenced and affected so many lives, that his loss hurts so much more. That it could have been avoided (his death was attributed to end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which he acquired after years of smoking, despite having quit nearly thirty years ago) hurts so much more.
But with all this, there is such a legacy of one of the cornerstone characters in geek culture, one that will outlive the man who gave it so much and made it mean so much more than it could have.
A few years ago, my girlfriend and I settled through the Star Trek movies. We’d occasioned on several of the better episodes of the show prior to this, and this was her first time ever seeing most of them. When we reached the end of The Wrath Of Khan, she was in tears, and I, naturally, was bummed by the ending. But in that film was the facing of the prospect of death, of being old, and of being obsolete. Spock’s death scene will now ever always have a sadder tinge…if even ever so slightly…knowing that the actor who helped conceive it is now gone. I remember watching that scene with her, and how unique and powerful a skill it is, to breathe life into a fictional body, to give it weight and impact and to care about it so much that its passing hurts.
His character also made me want to be a better person, and to view situations with as objective a view as possible. It’s difficult. It’s hard. But, as Mr. Spock proved, it is not impossible. That is how important he is to me. And with Spock, Mr. Nimoy made so many others care, and relate, be inspired.
There is not much to say about a man who was still working tirelessly, even in his twilight years. So maybe this, Mr. Nimoy’s final tweet from four days ago, will sum it up:
“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP”
Farewell, Mr. Nimoy.
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