A Brief by Doug Draper
Once upon a time, in the years following NBC’s stupid decision to cancel the original 1960s Star Trek series after only three seasons, a story continually circulated around the Niagara region that went like this.
Leonard Nimoy in his iconic Star Trek role as Spock
Somewhere in Niagara, in one of Her Majesty’s courts, a young man found guilty of some minor crime that left him facing at least a few months in jail, was asked by the presiding judge if he had anything to say prior to sentencing.
According to all accounts circulating in the community at the time, this young man used the opportunity to flip open something akin to a pocket book or wallet he used as a prop for a then futuristic wireless phone featured in the Star Trek series and said: “Quick Scotty. Beam me up!”
Again by all accounts, there was an audible chuckle from almost everyone in the court but the judge who imposed the maximum number of months of jail time he could under the law.
The popularity of this story at the time – it would probably go viral around the globe in this internet age – spoke to how much Star Trek had already become so embedded in the DNA of our culture.
Certainly that was the case once again this Friday, February 27th, 2015 when the death of Leonard Nimoy at age 83, and who played Spock on the original Star Trek series and went on to play a key role in some of the blockbuster Star Trek movie sequels, was carried as major “breaking news” on cable channels in the U.S. Canada through the rest of the day and through the night.
Don’t get me wrong on this. I am far from the ‘Treky’ many others I know are, but I liked the show and the Spock character Leonard Nimoy played too. The character became iconic and by all reports Nimoy was a very nice person with artistic talents far broader than the elephant-like ears, bowl haircut and emotionless, robot-like behavior that came to define him. At one point, Nimoy went out of his way to write a memoir called ‘I Am Not Spock’.
Yet just as another example of how much we have dumbed down to a point where news about celebrities receives more attention than issues far more important, reports on Leonard Nimoy’s passing garnered far more ink and airtime than a report on the same day that one of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s most effective and high-profile political critics – Boris Nemstsov – was assassinated a short walk away from the Kremlin in Moscow and only a few days before he was scheduled to stage a major anti-Putin rally in that city.
It also received more media time than talks in Ottawa, Canada over how the Harper government should properly address the death and disappearance in recent years of more than a thousand aboriginal girls and women, and the continued depressing news that a majority of Canadians (according to recent polls) are prepared to goo along with a Harper ‘anti-terrorist bill’ that could significantly compromise citizens’ rights and freedoms.
It is enough to leave me saying; ‘Quick Scotty. Beam me up!’
(NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
What’s the old saying…”Bread & circuses”?
Bury what’s important under “cultural” nonsense.
RIP Spock.
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Is there any adult out there that doesn’t know who Spock is? What fun we have had because of the Star Trek franchise.
While Leonard Nimoy will be with us for years to come in re-runs of this memorable sci-fi series, he has indeed been beamed up! He not only gave an enjoyable portrayal as Spock , but his character also added several catch phrases to our culture.
I for one, missed very few episodes of Star Trek — the real generation — and was taken aback with the short-sighted decision to end this imaginative series. Thanks to Leonard Nimoy and the rest of the cast, not just our generation (and I’m a senior) but for the next, and I suspect the next after that, we will still be on warp drive through space.
Just look how “Spock” is influencing the story line on shows like Big Bang Theory!
Rest well, Mr. Nimoy. Thank you.
May you continue to “Live well and prosper” in re-runs here on earth. I, and many others, will miss you.
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I never got into any subsequent productions of Star Trek, as to me there was but one series, the Original. Mr. Spock was a unique character, portrayed so well and naturally by Leonard Nimoy that we might’ve actually believed him to be authentically half-human and half-Vulcan. Anyone growing up in the 1960’s certainly has his image, demeanor, sayings, and mannerisms well-engrained in the psyche, along with other impacting influences, many of which came to us via TV, in those precious and dynamic times. Another reason to be thankful for reruns and recordings, to perpetually enjoy such great acting from the final frontier. The human emotion which you tried so hard to suppress, behooves us to mourn your loss in this realm, but we now give you that Vulcan salute in the afterlife dimension, as we realize you will continue to live long, and prosper us, forever.
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