CULTURE: REMEMBERING LEONARD SIMON NIMOY
March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015
Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! It is great to see you as always! I hope that life is treating you well and that your tech is functioning as it should!
Yesterday the world was rocked by the passing of Leonard Nimoy otherwise known as Mr. Spock. I thought that I would write about Nimoy's and Star Trek's influence on my growing up as a child. What was your experience with Star Trek? Were you Mr. Spock or were you Captain Kirk in the playground? Here's my experience...
#LeonardNimoy #Spock #StarTrek #SciFi
ACROSS THE STARS
What can I tell you about Star Trek that you don’t already know or can find out for yourselves via Google? All I can say is that I used to watch Star Trek religiously as a child; come home from school, wolfed down my dinner and settled to watch what has to be the most successful Sci-Fi series of all time at around 19.00 on BBC 1. I was definitely too young to understand some of the deeper episodes when Captain Kirk wasn’t seducing or being seduced by some sexy looking female alien. Star Trek opened up my mind to imagine what the future would be like. I was always torn between wanting to be a charismatic fearless hero like Captain Kirk or the calm, deep and logical Mr. Spock. This was always a bone of contention and confusion in the playground at school; you know how it is... One minute you are Kirk and the next you are Spock. Many a make-believe game was spoiled by other children wishing to change characters on the fly and not to mention not being able to stay dead.
I see Google as being Star Trek what with Google Now and the ability to translate languages spoken in real time. Of course, we have communicator in the form the mobile phone and smartwatch. Yes, I know I keep ripping on Apple but I do see them as being the Borg of the later Star Trek spin offs; they assimilate the technologies of others and call claim them as its own. OK! Enough of that already... Star Trek has inspired science and the technological industries.
I wonder what it must have been like for Leonard Nimoy to see much of Star Trek materialize in his lifetime... The 3D printer, handheld devices that can analyze blood, tablets (not that I can remember a tablet featured in Star Trek) and voice recognition – artificial intelligence that has many of us holding conversation – of sorts – with our devices.
MR. SPOCK
Throughout my child to the present day I have felt like an alien... I sometimes feel that I am the most misunderstood person on the planet! Such thoughts and feelings should never be with a child but such is life. For sure the Spock character gave me someone to identify with during my school years. Spock rarely got angry and chose – most of the time – to deal with situations with logic. People seem to forget that Spock influenced Kirk to be more thoughtful and less emotional. The constant verbal sparring between by Dr. Bones McCoy and Spock showed me, as a child, that some people are like that... ...some people need to cause some kind of fray when there is absolutely no need for it. It’s illogical and that’s the nature of a lot of people – I included.
I had learning difficulties growing up which was undiagnosed, dyslexia and dyscalculia, these afflictions were quite hard to deal with. Teachers would just get incredibly upset with me because I mostly likely defiled their dreams of being that special one who got through to all the pupils albeit inadvertently. Apologies, former teachers! It was the character of Mr. Spock that helped me use my mind in a different way. I knew that I had a flair for creativity and writing – even though I had certain limitations. I often would find myself in a world of my own trying to write about it in the hope that I would be understood better.
I became an artist / writer with the influence of the Mr. Spock. The mind is such a great place to explore. I think I surprised my teachers in high school when I became something of a poet. Yes, my brain does work!
LEONARD NIMOY
There was a time when I was fascinated by the man behind Mr. Spock. Even without the pointed ears the man looked pretty much like the half human alien he portrayed. He had a face like no other. I found his face delightfully bizarre in that he, as an actor, could look villainous but when he smiled I could see or at least imagine a heart-warming personality. Sometimes we think we know but do not.
I found the man mesmerising as he had a great sounding voice and he certainly knew how to emote with it. To see him in roles outside Star Trek was a sight to behold as a child. I remember him in Mission Impossible and a few different shows... shows that I shouldn’t have been watching but as an insomniac child I would often get up and watch these delightfully fascinating Sc-Fi / Horror TV series like the Twilight Zone. If my memory serves his character was on a train being seduced by a lovely looking woman and he was resisting... ...and when he gave in the woman became hysterical and cried for help or something like that... I think he was dragged off by the train police... Such were the times. But that has obviously stuck in my mind. I also remember seeing Nimoy in the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I found his portrayal of Dr. David Kibner character to be kind of creepy. I have to see that film again as my mind has developed considerably; I watched the film when it came on TV and I was anticipating another kind of horror which sent me in the wrong direction so to speak. But I was creeped out further when this body snatching spore enveloped Dr. David Kibner’s body.
I found the man amazing as he had many talents: actor, singer, writer, photographer and director. I thought Three Men and a Baby (1987) very enjoyable. The actors Ted Danson, Tom Shelleck and Steve Guttenberg never had a better on screen role. I was also very impressed that Nimoy directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984 and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986. I think The Search for Spock was quite emotional when we saw the rebirth of the character. I also loved the ‘save the planet’ tone of The Voyage Home.
Going back to Nimoy’s distinctive voice... I loved his work in cartoon series The Simpson’s and especially Futurama! You can hear that he had a great sense of humour and was able to laugh at himself, Spock and the Star Trek phenomenon – including fans.
BEAMED UP
So many people, including I, said “rest in peace” upon learning of Nimoy’s passing after 83 years on planet Earth. But when I think about death it is an odd concept or at least our attitudes towards it. Unless cremated the body – the shell does anything but to rest in peace. We either don’t want to think about the process a seemingly lifeless body has to go through or don’t believe there is an afterlife or a life beyond death.
Through Star Trek I have come to love science fiction, science and technology. Perhaps it is odd that this appreciating of science fiction has me to understanding that the amazing energy that powers the body has been transformed. When a light bulb blows the electricity is still there. It is so very odd that we only think of outer space in the context of the stars and other planets. But we often forget or seem to forget that we too are in space! The Earth is very much like a spaceship Enterprise (a strange name for a spaceship / starship given that enterprise is destroying the planet) and that our bodies are a biological spacesuit.
I would like to think of Leonard Nimoy continuing his voyage through space and time. Most certainly, I / we will still connect with his creative spirit and endeavour to make the most of our duration on starship Earth until the day we are beamed up too!
Oh, the Vulcan nerve pinch does work! Don’t try this at home. Better still, don’t try it at all.
Ah, I also have to state that Star Trek is also partially responsible for getting me into Electronic music what with all those lush sounds of laser beams, sliding doors and computer bleeps, etc. Thank you, Leonard Nimoy and Star Trek!
Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit! Live long and prosper!
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