If you asked most people what makes for a great fictional character who can appeal to millions across cultures and generations, I don't think "rational" would top many lists. As personality traits go, "rational" sounds a little… dry. Yet Sherlock Holmes has captured many an imagination over the years. And so has that lovable half-Vulcan first officer of the Enterprise, Mr. Spock, given name unpronounceable, brought to life by the much-lamented Leonard Nimoy who died yesterday, one month shy of his 84th birthday.
One reason hyper-rational characters can be appealing is that they tend to be excellent at their jobs, whether they're solving murders that have stumped Scotland Yard's best, or providing logical, fact-based advice to brash young starship captains. On the other side of the coin, highly intelligent science-y types tend to lack a little something in the social graces department, which a reader or viewer can either empathize with or feel superior to, and which can also be played for laughs.
Yet there is something else that Nimoy brought to the character of Spock that made us admire him and want to emulate him: Bones might get defensive ("Damn it, Jim!") and Kirk might become enraged ("Khan!!!!") but Spock keeps his cool like a frickin' Buddhist monk no matter how violently he gets tossed around that bridge, and that is damned attractive. What angst-ridden, confused, questioning teen (or adult for that matter) wouldn't pay good latinum for that kind of quiet, assured self-control?
Beyond the mind melds and the nerve pinches and the superhuman strength and whatever other Übermensch powers he has, Spock is the one guy who always keeps his head when all around are losing theirs—except of course for that one episode where some dastardly villain literally steals his brain. Is he a little emotionally repressed? Sure he is. But no matter what happens, Spock is calm, relaxed, serene. That's what makes him so, yes, fascinating to watch. And that is why we love him.
Yet there is something else that Nimoy brought to the character of Spock that made us admire him and want to emulate him: Bones might get defensive ("Damn it, Jim!") and Kirk might become enraged ("Khan!!!!") but Spock keeps his cool like a frickin' Buddhist monk no matter how violently he gets tossed around that bridge, and that is damned attractive. What angst-ridden, confused, questioning teen (or adult for that matter) wouldn't pay good latinum for that kind of quiet, assured self-control?
Beyond the mind melds and the nerve pinches and the superhuman strength and whatever other Übermensch powers he has, Spock is the one guy who always keeps his head when all around are losing theirs—except of course for that one episode where some dastardly villain literally steals his brain. Is he a little emotionally repressed? Sure he is. But no matter what happens, Spock is calm, relaxed, serene. That's what makes him so, yes, fascinating to watch. And that is why we love him.
