I Have Been and Always Shall Be His Fan

Of the half-dozen or so significant Star Trek characters whose deaths have been depicted on-screen, Mister Spock's was by far the most affecting. Even though I was pretty sure he'd be back in the next movie (or at least the one after that), Spock's death scene in The Wrath of Khan is one of Star Trek's greatest moments. It's probably the ultimate embodiment of the character dynamics that make Star Trek more than a parade of outlandish plots and helped it endure for decades.

Leonard Nimoy turns 80 today. Like his co-star William Shatner, who himself celebrated his 80th birthday a few days ago, Nimoy has spent more than half his life as a pop-culture icon. Having directed two of the movies and contributed to the writing of at least one more, Nimoy is doubtless one of the most influential figures in Star Trek's history. This in turn makes him a big influence on the pop-culture of the past half-century. In recognition of that, here are some of Mr. Spock's finest stardates.

Mirror Mirror: Whether they came from mirror universes or alternate timelines, the history of of Star Trek is full of alternate versions of familiar characters. It was "bearded Spock" who set the standard for them, as well as spawning an enduring joke about how to tell whether a character is good or bad.

Star Trek (2009): Nimoy's appearance as "Spock Prime" easily could have been a gimmicky distraction in this re-launch. Instead, his presence was very much key to the story. Not only did his past/future actions drive the plot, he was also instrumental in helping his younger version and Kirk bring out the best in each other so they could achieve their destinies.

The Menagerie: This clever re-purposing of Star Trek's original un-shown pilot was the first time we saw Spock willingness to risk his life to save a friend. As we know, it wouldn't be the last.

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home: The movie itself makes me question the conventional wisdom that even-numbered Star Trek films are better than odd, but Nimoy has at least one great moment as Spock opposite Mark Lenard as his father Sarek. Near the end of the movie, Sarek concedes that he may have been wrong in opposing his son's choice to enter Starfleet and praises the Enterprise crew as people of good character. Spock replies "They are my friends", as if it was the most obvious (and yes, logical) thing ever. That scene between the two Vulcans was a great understated reminder that, at its heart, Star Trek is a story about people who truly care about each other and will do anything for them.

Welcome to the Shatnerdome

William Shatner has spent more than half his life as a pop-culture icon. In that time, he’s done some work that is truly great and much that is less than great. The choice of “great” rather than “good” as the metric is a deliberate one, because Shatner exists very much in his own continuum – one that is beyond good and bad. On the occasion of his 80^th birthday today, it seems fitting to look back at some of the great.

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan: Putting aside the eye-popping scene in which he screams his opponent’s name, this is absolutely Shatner’s finest performance as James T. Kirk. By having Kirk face his own mortality and the life he could have had, Shatner makes his larger-than-life character even greater.

Twilight Zone – Nick of Time: Shatner's performance in this episode is a gem that really shows why he was once regarded as one of Hollywood's best young actors. There's no supernatural element here, just a taut character drama about taking charge of one's own fate with a final twist that shows how flexible the format of Twilight Zone was.

Has Been: This 2004 album, a collaboration with Ben Folds and many others, shouldn’t work, but it does. Shatner wisely doesn’t attempt to sign but rather provides what Folds describes as a naturally musical oration. The songs are funny and touching and show that Shatner’s talent was anything but one note.

Boston Legal: Shatner’s Emmy-winning performance as legendary lawyer Denny Crane is one of the great TV roles of the past decade. Not only was it a part no actor could have played as well, it was probably a part no other actor could play, pivoting as it did on an aging legend’s balancing act between ego and anxiety. When paired with James Spader as fellow lawyer Alan Shore, Shatner did some of the best work of his iconic career.

Star Trek – The Return (Audiobook): The “Shatnerverse” is an alternative version of Star Trek’s Next Generation era where Captain Kirk is alive, well and still boldly going with assists not just from current Starfleet officers but also surviving members of his former crew, such as Spock and Scotty. This is the book that started it, with Kirk being resurrected by an alliance of the Borg and the Romulans to wreak havoc on the Federation. The plot, which reputedly started life as a treatment for a cinematic revival of the good Captain, is thoroughly preposterous and wildly over-stuffed. Hearing Shatner narrate it on audiobook, though, is three of the most fun hours one can imagine spending with Star Trek.

Live long and prosper, Mister Shatner!

Buried Treasures of The Twilight Zone

Despite owning every episode of Twilight Zone on DVD, when the Sci-Fi Channel (sorry, the name change to Syfy was just dumb) runs a marathon on holiday weekends, I have to watch. As much as I enjoy seeing the "classic" episodes like Eye of the Beholder, though, one of the great pleasures of the marathons is seeing episodes you wouldn't necessarily tune in for on their own reputation. Certainly. not all Twilight Zone episodes are created equal, and a few are pretty bad. That said, some of these lesser known stories are in their own way just as compelling as some of the program's touchstones and deserve a little extra attention. Moreover, they include some of the finest acting performances ever seen in the series, which is to say in the history of film and television.

Nick of Time: William Shatner's other Twilight Zone appearance, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, is more famous, even getting a remake in 1982's Twilight Zone movie. Shatner's earlier appearance, though, is a gem that really shows why he was once regarded as one of Hollywood's best young actors. There's no supernatural element here, just a taut character drama about taking charge of one's own fate with a final twist that shows how flexible the format of Twilight Zone was.

Night of the Meek: Reportedly, this story was the product Rod Serling's desire to do a Christmas story with Art Carney as Santa Claus. The end result found Carney playing Henry Corwin, a down on his luck soul whose job ad a department store Santa is the outward expression of his wish that both he and Christmas could be something finer. Carney gets his wish, courtesy of the Twilight Zone.

The Changing of the Guard: Numerous protagonists entered the Twilight Zone and found themselves out of their own time. In Changing of the Guard, a man who feels that time and the world have passed him by has the Twilight Zone come to him. Played marvelously by Donald Pleasance, Professor Ellis Fowler laments that his years of teaching failed to move or motivate any of his students. As he contemplates suicide, Fowler is visited by the ghosts of his former students and learns that he left a much deeper mark than he'd ever imagined. While Rod Serling's script isn't terribly original, it gives Pleasance enough to work with so that the actor's absolute conviction can make this episode something truly special.

The Masks: The only Twilight Zone episode directed by a woman, Ida Lupino (who starred in the episode The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine), The Masks is another concise character piece in the vein of Nick of Time. Lupino, who directed a number of feature films, has an unsurprising affinity for working with actors. As with Nick of Time, though, it's possible that the lack of supernatural undertones may be one of the key reasons this episode is less well-regarded than some other less substantial (and more cliched) episodes of the program.

Printer's Devil: Described in The Twilight Zone Companion as "a fairly run of the mill deal-with-the-devil story", Charles Beaumont's adaptation of his own short story "The Devil You Say?" is admittedly not the most original of episodes, even in comparison to others from the show's later seasons. It's elevated above the ordinary, though, by Burgess Meredith's performance as the, shall we say, title character. Among the highlights is the scene where Meredith's "Mr. Smith" first makes his deal with the struggling newspaper owner, comparing their soul to a vintage wine. Printer's Devil was Meredith's fourth and final appearance on Twilight Zone, which brings to mind the actor's first appearance on the show.

The Honorable Mention for Most Overrated Episode goes to...Time Enough at Last: The twist ending with Meredith's unassuming book-worm Henry Bemis breaking his glasses is probably the most iconic moment in the program's history. That undeniably good twist has helped camouflage for decades that the other 20-odd minutes of Time Enough at Last aren't themselves really all that good. It's obviously a fine showcase for Meredith and he gives it his all. Beyond that, though, there really isn't much more to it. The characters who are disparaging of Bemis and his love of books seem to do so simply because it's what he script requires, and Bemis himself doesn't have much more dimension either. In fact, what stands out most about this episode is how obvious it all feels. It's a twist worthy of The Twilight Zone that its best remembered story is actually one of its least interesting.