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

[princessofgeeks]

I got no episode titles for you, sadly, but you are so right. Spock rules.

[zats_clear]

dear god woman, you must include the Pon Far episode where Spock returns to Vulcan to mate and Kirk fights for his soul, the one where Spock laughs, and anything that includes Spock!Mommy

someone with more coherent canon references can tell you which ones those are! live long and prosper!

[were_duck]

The pon farr episode is "Amok Time" from season two and it is a MUST WATCH for the slash, the Spock-centrism, and bonus smiling Spock. In it, we also learn that Vulcan is, like, totes sparkly.

[gnomad]

I have no episode titles for you besides Amok Time, but I totally approve of this desire for more Spock love. And drawer fic! Mmmmmmmdrawer fic.

[melannen]

There is, to be honest, no particular reason for you to need to watch actual episodes of ST:TOS; there are a great many novels, which are considered canonical by most fanwriters, which give much better Spock than the series ever did.

I suggest everything by Diane Duane, but especially Spock's World; the IDIC Epidemic and the Vulcan Academy Murders (also there is Captain Pike-ness in these!); The Price of the Phoenix and the Fate of the Phoenix (epic H/C with barely hidden slash!); Ishmael (crossovers out the wazoo! Amnesia!); Strangers from the Sky (more amnesia! Spock on 21st century earth hanging out with hippies and peaceniks!); Prime Directive (Spock hanging out with hippies and peaceniks in 21th century Earth! Dr. McCoy: Space Pirate!)

The problem with me reccing you episodes is that there is *nothing* that hits my embarrassment squick so badly as "Vulcans losing control of their emotions", and nearly all the episodes that most Spock fangirls would rec you have a plot that consists of "Vulcans losing control of their emotions." (Spock snapping & then retiring to meditate like in Reboot was fine; I'm talking epic, extended, public wallowing where he visibly tries to either stop or go hide but can't.)

I still haven't watched "Amok Time" all the way through; "This Side of Paradise" was agony; "Journey to Babel" was fine, except for the Spock storyline; "All Our Yesterdays" was so traumatizing I can't even face reading the novels based on it; "The Galileo Seven" wasn't *as* bad, but still not something I'd voluntarily subject myself to; "The Naked Time" had many cringe-and-look-away moments; "The Enterprise Incident" was a combination of pure win and I-can't-believe-they-made-him-do-that-on-camera; "The Search for Spock" required me to not watch the screen at any point when Spock was on it.

So. Um.

It's possible that watching Star Trek at a young age gave my embarrassment squick a particular trigger for Vulcans, but I don't suggest you risk it.

I'd suggest the second and fourth movies (get a summary of the third one); the animated series episode "Yesteryear" (has some bad bits, but outweighed by the adorableness of six-year-old Spock) (sorry, forgot that one has animal harm); and a selection of episodes that are good, if only moderately Spock-heavy.

"Devil in the Dark", "A Piece of the Action", "Spectre of the Gun", "A Private Little War", "Immunity Syndrome", "Balance of Terror", "The Tholian Web", and "The Trouble With Tribbles"* are eight episodes that are objectively quite good, and all have plenty of Spock being awesome without him having to weep in the middle of the bridge, thank you.

*There is harm to tribbles in that episode, but it's off-camera. And it's tribbles.

[winter_elf]

Journey to Babel - you get to meet Spock's dad, Kirk is hurt, Spock must take over command, and Bones guilts him that he's ignoring his dad for duty (dad is also hurt). Spock angsts very well and the slash leaps off the screen :)

Amok Time - Spock goes into Pon Farr and ends up fighting Kirk "to the death".

Mirror, Mirror - Spock with a beard!! Evil!Spock! See the original AU and why its so copied all over the place.

Trouble with Tribbles - okay, not so much a Spock episode... but I love the Tribbles! :)

[melannen]

Oh - I can't believe I left out "Mirror, Mirror." That one's safe! You can swap out "A Private Little War" for "Mirror, Mirror".

[thingswithwings]

I second the rec of Diane Duane Star Trek novels. *swoons*

Def. watch "Amok Time," of course, and also "The Naked Time" and "This Side of Paradise" (canon sex pollen ftw! Spock goes on vacation). For me, when I really want good Spock, I go back to the films, particularly II (Wrath of Khan, blub!) and IV (The Voyage Home, lol whales). There's also some seriously slashy stuff going on in "Star Trek V: Captain Kirk Is Climbing A Mountain Why Is He Climbing A Mountain," but it's kind of bad (Shatner wrote and directed it), so you takes your chances.

Oh, and Spock and Kirk wear gold lame loinclothes in "Who Mourns for Adonais," which endears it to me particularly. And "Spock's Brain," though probably the worst written episode of television in history, is hilarious and contains cyber-robo-remote-control Spock. Let's see, what else . . . in "I, Mudd," Spock goes head to head with other robots and rocks pretty hard, which I love, though there is some of the usual background "men want robot women to serve their every whim, heh heh heh" stuff that you unfortunately see in a lot of TOS episodes.

I'd advise you not to watch "The Galileo 7" - the writer decides they don't like Spock and basically spends an episode making fun of him and taking him down a peg. >:( Also, watch out for "The Enemy Within" - the premise of it sounds amazing when you look at an episode summary (Kirk gets split into his evil Id-like half and his gentle puppy-loving sweetheart half - literally he pets alien puppies in this episode) but it also has this whole rape plot that absolutely freaks me out, and reveals some pretty icky gender politics.

Similarly, be on your guard for Plato's Stepchildren . . . it's basically where the "aliens make them do it" trope comes from, and reveals that trope as pretty horrifying and rapetastic. I do treasure the part where aliens make Kirk neigh like a pony while a small person rides on his back, but then there's a scene later where the aliens force the crew to have sex with each other (almost), which is where the famed interracial Kirk/Uhura kiss comes from, and I honestly can't watch that scene it's so squicky to me on race/gender fronts.

man, it's been way too long since I watched TOS! I can't remember hardly any of my favourites. I'll have to watch this post. :)

[msilverstar]

Embarrassment squick represent! I don't dare watch TOS now, I don't want to kill all my happy memories

[melannen]

There are lots of episodes that remain awesome! Awesomer than I remember! I have done some rewatching lately.

Just... you know, not the episodes that are about making Spock lose his control in public. D: (Or pretend, under orders, to lose his control in public. Or be persecuted because he doesn't want to lose his control in public--)

[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.

[dragonfly]

There was a time when I knew every episode title and summary by heart, but I have not actually re-viewed TOS as an adult, not to mention as a person who has moved beyond the seventies (yes, I know it was aired in the sixties, but I first saw it in the first few seasons as reruns in the early seventies) so the ways in which it is politically, racially and genderly WRONG are probably myriad, which is also too bad because it was incredibly more RIGHT than anything else at the time but I digress. ::takes a breath::

That said, here are my recs:

Amok Time -- really, you must see it in order to get the tons of Pon Farr fics as well as the canonical cultural background on Vulcan. Besides, very slashy. *g*

The Devil in the Dark -- pretty cool episode in which we see Spock using his mind meld powers to save the day.

Mirror, Mirror -- Don't watch this first, since as the seminal AU, you need to see the normal universe first. But then, do see this one.

The Tholian Web -- Spock dispassionately following Star Fleet chain of command when Kirk is presumed dead.

The Trouble With Tribbles -- not particularly Spock-centric, but light hearted in tone, one of the best written episodes, and, consequently famous, so not to be missed.

The Balance of Terror -- again, not Spock-centric, but my personal favorite episode. Based loosely on WWII submarine warfare movies. But good! Really!

You wanted eight and this is only six. Be advised relatively few episodes didn't feature Spock fairly prominently, usually being very Spock-like, because that's what he does.

I wasn't discerning enough in my youth to identify major suckiness, but I would avoid the social commentary episodes, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, The Mark of Gideon, The Way to Eden, and Turnabout Intruder.

Oh God, don't watch The Paradise Syndrome. I liked it at the time but now I can only remember fake Native Americans in Disney costumes.

I don't remember any harm to children -- there are at least two episodes that feature children -- or animals, unless you count tribbles, and they're not so much harmed as ... disposed of. But they really are just cute vermin. *g*

[auburn]

So, almost everyone mentioned 'Mirror, Mirror' and 'Amok Time', which I agree with, they give good Spock, because even AU Spock is Spock. He's rather archetypical.

I'm gonna recommend 'City on the Edge of Forever'. It isn't Spock-centric, instead it shows off the triad friendship of Spock, Kirk, and McCoy. I think it displays Spock at his very best - how much he knows Kirk, even to knowing saving him from pain would be the wrong thing (in the big picture sense and the personal one), how smart and adaptable he is, and the dry humor too. It's also just a really good episode, even in retrospect.

(I'm beginning to believe I shall be the last person on the planet to see XI. I've got the Netflix DVD sitting on my desk, but no will to watch.)

[aris_tgd]

Unlike a few people above, I really liked Gallileo Seven as a Spock episode--I felt it was less about the writers taking Spock down a peg and more about them showing how Spock needs to learn how non-logical people work in order that they might work together to survive. It's early Spock days so he's not good at that yet. But he gets better!

I've only seen season 1 and a Trek-in-the-Park version of Amok Time, so I'm not very qualified to give recs. But the Trek-in-the-Park Amok Time was awesome.

(I have no slashy Spock icons, so have a slashy Doctor/Brigadier icon instead.)

[thefourthvine]

Spoooooock. I think I need an icon to express my love!

[thefourthvine]

Amok Time is the number-one most suggested episode. Possibly Pon Farr appeals to fans! Just possibly!

Peace and long life.

[thefourthvine]

There is wide and extensive love for Amok Time, and I must say I am not surprised, given what happens.

Also, more Spock love is clearly necessary beyond all things.

(Drawerfic now at 100 pages, making it the longest fiction I have ever written. *hides omg*)

[thefourthvine]

I have a huge embarrassment squick, but I didn't imprint on Vulcans growing up, so I'm really curious to see how these episodes take me.

And I've read Spock's World, which I thought was strangely McCoy-centric for, you know, a book about Vulcans, but entirely worth reading. (Just, I find I judge tie-in novels more harshly than I do most pro fic.) I will look into Duane's other tie-ins, definitely.

I can totally understand, though, why Star Trek was the first slash fandom - slash is all about that emotional breakthrough, and Spock is apparently the ultimate character people want to see make that emotional breakthrough, just going by the number of eps that squick you.

[quinfirefrorefiddle]

I watched TOS over and over again with my dad as a small child, so the slashiness of stuff is still kind of new to me. However.

"Amok Time" and "Mirror, Mirror" for reasons stated above.

"Empath" is actually a Kirk, Spock, McCoy friendship ep, they're stuck in a bad situation and have to help each other to get out, it's one of my very favorite episodes (my favorite is not Spock-centric) and shows each of their strengths and failings. It does involve torture, but only of adults.

"City on the Edge of Forever" is one of the best hours of television ever made, and features one of the best female guest stars Star Trek ever had (the character's name is Edith Keeler, you may have heard of her elsewhere) and Spock plays several important roles in that storyline.

"Balance of Terror" which features Romulans, who in TOS are like Vulcans with emotions and a raging Napoleon complex. (Be warned, these are not your Reboot Romulans.) Spock has some severe identity issues.

Both episodes of "The Menagerie" which has Spock basically committing mutiny against Kirk in order to help his former mentor. The message about women in this two-parter is pretty horrific, but Spock is in rare form.

And finally... I'll go with "The Tholian Web" which really is an excellent ep for several reasons, but Spock is perfect as well. Spock and McCoy also have to learn to work together, and that's beautiful to watch.

Of course, mix those up until they're in the correct order....

Also, movies 3, 4 and 6 are particularly good for Spock. 6 is my favorite of all the Trek movies, including the new one, and I love Reboot.

Good eps that won't really help you with Spock: "The Trouble with Tribbles"- yeah, I love it, everyone does, you should see it, but not because of Spock's role (though he does have a hilarious scene all of his very own, it's just not enough to make the top 8 for him). "Devil in the Dark" which does let Spock save the day but we don't get a lot about what makes him tick.

Stay away from: "All Our Yesterdays" which is Spock-centric but has him regressing to caveman-ness; "Miri" which features Kirk as a creepy pedophile; "This Side of Paradise" which involves alien spores that kill logic; "The Way to Eden" which has Spock in a jam session with hippies; "The Cloud Minders" which has yet another blonde fall for Spock.

[thefourthvine]

These are all extremely popular episodes, and will certainly make the final list. (Because, okay, I am biased. Amanda! Pon Farr! Canon AU! Fuzzy creatures! It's like a list of all the things I love.)

[thefourthvine]

I second the rec of Diane Duane Star Trek novels. *swoons*

I read Spock's World, and my reaction to it was really interesting (um, to me, not to anyone else); I'm entirely willing to read further ones by her!

Shatner wrote and directed it

Why? OMG, why? Did he have the producer's children as hostages or something?

Oh, and Spock and Kirk wear gold lame loinclothes in "Who Mourns for Adonais," which endears it to me particularly.

Sold! I am totally and completely sold! (Why don't male leads wear gold lame loincloths anymore? Think how much SGA would have been improved by that! Like, that one ep where John grows the beard and wears natural fibers - I haven't seen it, so maybe it's awesome, but I know this much: if he had instead worn a gold lame loincloth, it would have been much more awesome. I feel cheated of my right to action heroes in gold lame!)

I do treasure the part where aliens make Kirk neigh like a pony while a small person rides on his back

Oh my god, just this line squicked me. (It's like some horrible blend of humiliation and mind control!) I can never, ever watch that ep. Thank you for warning me. Likewise, I will be avoiding Galileo Seven - obviously anyone who doesn't like Spock is not someone whose work I wish to know.

[melannen]

I am curious to see your reaction to Amok Time, too. I love Pon Farr in theory, but I still have not managed to get past ten minutes into that episode before I just turn it off. :/ And yes, so much of the Spock love is about making him show emotion against his will - and the showrunners realized that early on. It's a trope that bothers me a lot on many levels, and embarrassment!squick and my own identification with Spock are only two of them - though I can still enjoy it in text, if it's done the right way.

I have to admit that as much as I love Spock, McCoy is my favorite, which *may* skew my recommendations a bit. (Or rather, Spock is who I identified with. McCoy is who I wanted to marry. ST:TOS is an OT3 fandom for me, and it doesn't get much more OT3 than Spock's World.)

Oh, and I have belatedly realized that "Devil in the Dark" will almost certainly twig you on child harm and/or animal harm, even if the children/animals being murdered are just badly made props; it almost makes me cry sometimes, and I never cry at TV.

So I replace my rec for that with "Unification", which is the TNG episode that has Ambassador Spock bringing peace to the Romulans in it, and is both very relevant for Reboot and full of old!Spock awesome.

[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.)

[thefourthvine]

I'm worried about how the gender and race stuff is going to read, too, but I'm hoping I can keep in mind that it was a giant step forward at the time. *crosses fingers*

And, let's see - Amok Time is so definitely first, and all the rest of your suggestions seem like winners, too. Thank you!

(OMG fake Native Americans DO NOT WANT. Thanks for the warning, and that is forever stricken from the list of possibles.)

[thefourthvine]

City on the Edge of Forever also has gotten a lot of votes! In fact, it and Amok Time are the two biggest winners (Mirror, Mirror is third). I'm a little alarmed to see that City was written by Harlan Ellison, but I will work through it.

I'm beginning to believe I shall be the last person on the planet to see XI. I've got the Netflix DVD sitting on my desk, but no will to watch.

All I can say is that I found it deeply, deeply awesome. (Also, if even I have seen something, you may well be in contention for the honorable title of Last to See.)