The combination of Spock with “Where’s Waldo?” is a million-dollar idea. Too bad it appears I didn’t get there first. But even if I did, I probably would have thrown it away for free on Facebook or tossed it off as a quip to entertain my friends, like I do with so many of my other million-dollar ideas, and then leave it out in the sun to blanch with the rest of my cavalier creations. If only I had a Boswell to follow me around and document my genius, or a sheepdog to nip at my shanks and corral me into actually doing something with them.
Be that as it may, this post isn’t about me; it’s about Spock. I’m not quite sure why “Star Trek III” (1984) bears the subtitle “The Search for Spock.” It’s not like nobody knows where he is. The big question, once it’s figured out WHY he is, is how to get him back. Undoubtedly, this conundrum will be addressed as part of our conversation this week, when we talk about the film on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.”
Spock, of course, nobly sacrificed himself at the climax of the greatest of the “Star Trek” movies, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” “Kahn” was popcorn entertainment with resonance, the installment that proved, after a lumbering start to the celluloid franchise, that “Star Trek” could successfully make the leap to the big screen, with an exciting adventure story and compelling characters (Ricardo Montalban, clearly making use of his gym membership), and still honor its sacred roots.
I remember at the time there was a lot of behind-the-scenes wrangling, with Leonard Nimoy wanting to leave the series. After all, this is the guy who titled his autobiography “I Am Not Spock.” (He later recanted with a second memoir, titled “I Am Spock.”) Clearly, this was a guy who was conflicted about his legacy. But he never played Spock, in whatever incarnation of “Star Trek,” without great integrity. Perhaps it’s for this reason that Spock remains, arguably, the most fascinating (you see what I did there?) character in the entire “Star Trek” canon.
Anyway, that tension hung over “Star Trek II,” and, in those days before the internet, fandom was abuzz with the question, “Will Spock die?” Kirk even tosses off a coy remark, early in the film: “Aren’t you dead?” “Star Trek III” continues to play with audience expectations by not listing Nimoy among the actors in the opening credits. But hey, he directed the film, and his character’s name is right there in the title. He had better come back!
“Star Trek III” hopes to replicate some of that “Kahn” magic by coming up with another sacrifice to equal the emotional wallop of Spock’s loss, and I’m sure it’s one that hit hardcore Trekkers where they live. But come on, it ain’t Spock. At the end of the day, when the fanboy tears dry, what’s sacrificed can be easily replaced, and has been, how many times?
But looking back, as someone who graduated from high school in 1984, the loss takes on a certain loaded significance, I admit, as, like the crew of the Enterprise, my ongoing mission to seek out new life and new civilizations would never again be quite the same. The life would be there, but where’s the joy in uncovering new civilizations without the comfort of old, familiar things?
Roy and I will reflect on this and other matters, as we take a nostalgic trip back to “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,” for the 40th anniversary of its release. We’ll be joined by our friends, Mike & Marybeth of SciFi Distilled, who certainly know a thing or two about “Trek.” In fact, one of them will be joining us from the Star Trek Original Set Tour in Ticonderoga, NY. Without their kind assistance, no doubt, Roy and I would run long and perspire.
We’ll be searching for you in the comments section for a group mind meld, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. To miss it would be illogical, as we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!
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For the Trekker who has everything (provided he or she hasn’t picked it up since it’s publication in 2017): Robb Pearlman’s “Search for Spock”
