Leonard Nimoy

I can't think of too many actors I have spent more time watching in my life than Leonard Nimoy.  He was always the best part of Star Trek for me.  His character was the most interesting, and his willingness to come back for the JJ Abrams reboots really added gravitas to the films.  The character of Spock was, for me, a wonderful meditation (ironically) on what it means to be human.  Sometimes we feel out of place.  Sometimes we are not sure which part of us we should listen to.  Nimoy inhabited this role, and gave us all something to remember with it.

His best scene?  It has to be the end of Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.  After saving the Enterprise from the crazed rampage of Kirk's old enemy Khan, Spock is exposed to lethal radiation while affecting repairs of the ship.  His death scene with William Shatner is fascinating because it gets at the core relationship of the entire Original Series-this unlikely friendship between Kirk and Spock.  The scene was (in my opinion) effectively hat tipped in "Star Trek: Into Darkness" many years later, but the original scene stands out as the most emotionally evocative scene in any of the shows or movies of the Original Series.  It shows us Spock as he is: human and vulnerable, but also Vulcan and unapologetically logical.

Nimoy also directed the wonderful 4th entry in the film series.  Of course, by that point, the gyrations that had been made to keep Spock alive bordered on the inane.  But no matter, Spock lived on to give us more of the great character.

So much of the wonderful art that I love I do so because of the shared experience with my father.  Since my dad left this earth, there have been a few instances where things have happened that immediately bring him back to mind.  I think of the hours and hours at the dinner table watching Star Trek.  I think of my dad's unswerving goal of capturing all of the original episodes on video cassette (ironic to think how easy it was for me to procure the Blu-Ray set a few years ago).  And I think of the time in 2009 when I saw the "Star Trek" reboot with dad (which Nimoy anchored ever so effectively) and he burst into applause the moment the closing credits rolled.

Art does that.  It gives us appreciation for the artist.  But it also brings us as people closer together.  Thanks for all the ways you did that Mr. Nimoy.