When I was younger, probably ten or so, I used to think Star Trek was dumb. I don’t really know why, I just know that a couple of kids in elementary school that enjoyed pretending to be in Star Trek on this fire truck-like contraption during recess were of the social persuasion that I tried to avoid, even though I was probably barely a ring up myself being a big Power Rangers fan among other things. Thankfully I would come to understand my social status in life as I starred at the sky from the bottom of the well in later years. Karma, I suppose.

Star Trek sort of crept into my life in several weird ways. My uncle’s VHS collection contained all of The Original Series. Re-runs of The Next Generation aired on television. I ended up sitting down a few nights and just watching episodes of TNG on TV. Something about it was interesting, flying through space, averting danger, exploring worlds. I was the type of imaginative child that always wanted to be in some grand adventure, and space was it. So as you can imagine, when I discovered original Playmates toys of the Enterprise-D and Picard and Worf figures in the basement that my grandmother bought me for Christmas, I wanted to play with them. I had no idea why my father put them downstairs. They’re toys, right? I didn’t know the first thing about collectables, so I unfortunately tore them open to play with them. I rather regret that now. Had I known, I’d have kept them sealed and bought a second to play with. What’s worse, is that I tried to put them back in and tape it up to hide that fact. Did not work. Fortunately I didn’t get too badly yelled at, and after that cat was out of the bag, I continued to play with them so much that I continued to buy more of the ships. They’re all in my attic now. The Enterprise-D, Future Enterprise-D, Enterprise-E, Voyager, the Borg Sphere, The Phoenix, and the old Romulan Warbird. I also have a bunch of other Trek toys like the phaser and tricorder. Yeah, somehow that which I did not understand turned into that which I’ve loved the most. My fascination with Trek, space, and NASA, led to my interest in giant robot anime and science-fiction anime among other things. Video games may have started me on the path to nerdom, but Trek probably solidified it. I was even trying to draw Starfleet ships in the sixth grade and enjoyed drawing button panels to stick on desks and doors.

I admit, I was never the biggest fan of the original Trek series. I’ve watched most of it, and while enjoyable, I unfortunately am probably a heretic of the Trek fandom by preferring the newer shows more, as they were my generation’s gateway. Still, the adventures of the USS Enterprise under Kirk and Spock are the legacy with which the franchise was built on. “The Wagon Train to the Stars”, Gene Roddenberry certainly brought the magic, but Leonard Nimoy brought the charm and the charisma of the Vulcan race to the screen. I enjoy deadpan expressions and especially deadpan comedy, and the allure of watching a man play a stone-faced character, incapable of laughter, but capable of deadpan snark and sarcasm, was a delight to watch. Even people who have never seen any episode of Star Trek know who Spock is, or the Vulcan hand gesture, or even the Vulcan nerve-pinch. Nimoy played a character that has gone beyond that of a mere show character and entered the very fabric of society, the phrase “Live long, and prosper” prevailing in our cultural lexicon even to this day.

I keep saying this generation needs a new Trek series on television, and that it has been far too long since one was on, not since the end of Enterprise and Voyager. We’re no longer interested in space anymore, when there is still plenty out there we’ve never actually seen, but could keep writing stories about. Nimoy’s role in the new movies helped hopefully jump-start a new push to bring Trek back into the collective consciousness, hopefully well. It’s great that he got to make one last movie appearance in the years before his passing, just simply for now.

Mister Spock embodies Star Trek, and Star Trek has been a part of my life for close to twenty years now. It’s sad to see him go, but all good things must come to an end.