The Search for Spock

[thefourthvine]

Okay. This is going to be pathetic. I know that. I can't help it.

A little less than two weeks ago, I watched Star Trek XI, a departure from my normal non-canonical reading policy occasioned entirely by my love of Spock. We will not speak of the 94 pages and counting of STR drawerfic I have written in the last ten days (while having my Yuletide story beta-read and beta-reading another, and of course taking care of the earthling, and celebrating Hanukkah). What we will speak of, in sad, sad tones, is the lack of Spock in my life.

This is causing me to contemplate something entirely unprecedented: watching original Star Trek. For more Spock. (Actually seeing the movie gave me an unholy love not just of Reboot Spock but of Nimoy Spock, too. He is so awesome! He loves Jim so much! I want to squeeze his pointy ears OMG!)

But watching the whole series is entirely out of the question. I don't have the time, and I really really don't have the tolerance for television. So, dear people who have already seen the original series - if I'm only going to watch eight episodes, which is generally my max for any series, what should they be? (I am willing to watch both Spock-intensive and just generally awesome episodes. Also anything really slashy, of course. And if you want to include notes about why I should watch them, my love for you will be that much greater.)

Also helpful: any episodes that I should definitely avoid, for reasons of animal harm, child harm, or massive suckiness.

I thank you in advance. And so does Best Beloved, who will have to watch all these episodes at least twice - once without me, once with, so that she can explain what the hell is going on - and who is, frankly, just not that into Spock. If you want, I can even post episode reviews of the ones I end up watching, as an expression of my gratitude (and total Spock-driven insanity).

Comments

[stranger]

As a couple of people have said above, the ST movies II and IV are both terrific on general principles and for Spock. However, Warning: there is severe imperillment of whales in ST IV (although no whales we meet as persons are actually injured).

On the ST Original episodes, "Amok Time" shows most of the information we have on Vulcan society, i.e., Spock's childhood culture. "Journey to Babel" shows a lot about his parents, also useful. "Mirror, Mirror" gives an AU Spock (in contrast, mostly, with "our" Kirk). You will probably have heard through the ether already, but do avoid "Spock's Brain," which is widely thought to be the worst episode ever, despite the presence of the word "Spock" in the title.

The more notable pro novels, especially Duane's about Vulcan and "Ishmael" by Hambly, are completely worth the time. (John Ford's are also great, but not especially Spock-centric.) The "Phoenix" novels are h/c so thick it's like slash, essentially near-slash fanfic that got published. This may be a good or bad thing to you. K/S of the late 70s and early 80s was busy inventing a new genre all over the map, with highs, lows, expeditions to alternate dimensions, and a major colony in Pre-Reform Vulcan.

[thefourthvine]

As long as the whales are not actually injured, I can probably white-knuckle through the whale imperilment, and I will have to; Best Beloved prefers the movies to the series, and is lobbying for the One with the Whales.

Amok Time, Journey to Babel, and Mirror, Mirror are all definites. Spock's Brain is indeed famously bad, and while I occasionally do like sincerely crappy media, not when it involves Spock.

I've read one of Duane's tie-ins, and holy shit, Ford wrote a tie-in? I am totally going to have to read that.

It must have been awesome to be there for K/S when all this was happening. Perhaps someday they'll make a movie about it! (And the cast will be 75% men, and all the female characters will be young, white, skinny, and gorgeous.)

[stranger]

Ford wrote Final Reflection, serious and good writing about Klingons, all blood and history, and also How Much for Just the Planet, a sort of Gilbert&Sullivan-Rube Goldberg comedy romp for starship crew, planetary government, and star-crossed lovers. The guy had an awesome range. Either stands as a book without the ST references, but is more fun (for fans of course) with them.

Early K/S was astonishing, all right, for both the highs and lows.

[astridv]

Oh, yes, I forgot about Ishmael. Totally seconding that rec. A time-travel amnesia crossover with Spock in the center. Loved that one. And I also liked Duane's Vulcan novels. And iirc she also wrote some about the Romulans, also quite good.

I may be the only one who didn't at all enjoy the two Phoenix tie-ins. Back then I had no idea what slash or h/c was, and okay, I've always been a genficcer at heart but I've also always loved h/c... except they are done so unsubtly that it took over the story imho.

[stranger]

As you say. Hee ha hoo, were the Phoenix books ever unsubtle! They may have been the first unabashed h/c I ran into, and even as a baby fan who hadn't heard the term "hurt comfort" at the time, I could see that, shall we say, the writers had an agenda. I sometimes liked it and sometimes got tired of it. And it was a completely different tie-in book, by Della Van Hise, that scandalized the publishers (or someone) as being nearly-almost slash!