Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Mr. Spock and Barbarella



Sure, we all know about Captain Kirk's weakness for the ladies, but what about Spock?  Vulcans aren't ones to brag, so I am sure he would keep any such dalliances to himself.  The new Trek movies have Spock in a relationship with Uhura, and I don't  really get that.  Sure, the timeline has changed and the two met earlier than they supposedly did in the classic TV series - but they are still supposed to be the same people.  Wouldn't there have been some sign of an attraction before?

12 comments:

John Small said...

There were some subtle hints in a few of the earliest episodes that Uhura at least had some interest in Spock. So the new movies do build on something that was in the original - they simply expanded it a great deal.

Bob Greenwade said...

While an interesting development (and taking John's observations into account), I think this is one of the negative things about the reboot. In fact, I think that Zoe Saldana, despite being (in my opinion) one of the best actresses in the business, was the wrong choice for playing young Uhura. Nichelle Nichols gave the character a certain grace and elegance that Zoe's performance lacks.

J. J. Abrams seems to have overlooked the fact that Spock, though half human, was raised on Vulcan with Vulcan ideals and philosophies. (And I found the "let's gang up and bully Spock" scene from the first reboot film almost insulting.) Spock's human side is quite a bit too apparent in the films.

That said, the only thing lacking on this cover is that it would have been nice if you'd been able to use Zachary Quinto's face on this rather than Leonard Nimoy's. That would have been a bit more fitting.

Paul said...

Bob, the "let's gang up and bully Spock" scene was actually one thing that was brought into the reboot from previously depicted material (and in what might be considered the original reboot). There was a very similar scene in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode, "Yesteryear",which aired in 1973,and written by respected Trek writer D.C. Fontana.
For many years, the animated series was not considered to be canon, but has, in recent years, been accepted as such by the powers that be. Even if the series as a whole had not been brought into the fold, that particular episode has, traditionally, always been the one that has been widely accepted as part of Spock's continuity. So, if you are to be insulted by that scene, you should make sure that you're blaming the right people.

Bob Greenwade said...

Thanks for the clarification, Paul. I'll now focus my indignation in the correct direction. :)

Matthew Baugh said...

Personally, I liked the way the bullying was set up. There was a logical feel to it. The Vulcan boys didn't seem mean as much as out to prove a point.

It was kind of...

"We hypothesize that Spock's human heritage will make him inferior. We propose to test this hypothesis with a series of taunts designed to inflame his human emotions."

pblfsda said...

"A Vulcan does not make logic; a Vulcan IS logic...". Oh, well, at least we don't have to worry about Klingons recording James Bond theme songs.

The next time you're in a camp science fiction mood, could we see the floating head from "Zardoz" take on the SHIELD heli-carrier?

AirDave said...

I like parts of the new Star Trek. I think they should have had more closure with Spock-Prime at the end of the first film, so that they couldn't go to that well again in the second film. The final act of Into Darkness was too much like Wrath of Khan. Because now, I'm expecting Star Trek III to be the Mirror Universe. Why not?

Derrick Ferguson said...

In TOS there were hints that there was an attraction between Spock and Uhura. They appeared to enjoy performing together as a couple of episodes showed them in the ship's mess entertaining their off-duty shipmates with Uhura singing while Spock played his Vulcan harp. And there's a few occasions where he needed assistance at his science station and he always requested that Uhura provide that assistance.

Anonymous said...

@AirDave: Actually, a better title for the second reboot would have been STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF RET-CON (which is how I unapologetically refer to it on IMDB message boards).

@D.F.--Yeah, but it's still Nurse Chapel who got to first base with him. Once, during "The Naked Now," and again during "Plato's Stepchildren!"

Anonymous said...

Have not seen all of the movie but in the cartoon the boys tell he has not mastered the neck pinch. He tries give when they insult him and one boys pushes him to the floor. From what I have heard it was much more violent in the reboot. Is this true?

Daviticus said...

@Anonymous: You mean "The Naked TIME", right?? :)

Daviticus said...

But seriously, Spock and Uhura getting together would totally make sense because ripples in time and blah blah blah! ;)

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