GUEST POST: Tony Tellado Asks "Is Spock a Cautionary Tale?"
Ethan Peck, Leonard Nimoy, and Zachary Quinto as Spock, with Tony Tellado. Images: Paramount / Courtesy of Tony Tellado.
AUGUST 15, 2023 - Spock, who could not fit in on Earth or on Vulcan due to his dual heritage, is a reflection of us, as he deals with his stoic Vulcan side and his emotional human side.
In the original series episode “The Naked Time,” Spock loses all control of his emotions in the famous heartbreaking briefing room scene, exposing his human side for Jim Kirk to see. In “Amok Time,” Spock has the blood fever, where he must take a mate or die. Here we see the end of his relationship with T’Pring but in Strange New Worlds, we are exposed to their beginnings with foreshadowing that Spock’s Starfleet career would come between them. It’s been interesting to see their courtship and how the human side affects it. Season 2 promises to show us more.
Getting back to “Amok Time,” Spock expresses his outward delight in seeing James Kirk alive (thanks to Dr. McCoy). What Is usually forgotten is that in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, through V’Ger he comes to find peace in both halves existing together as a Vulcan and human. This is a huge lesson for Spock and us, to meld our reason and emotions.
I can’t help but show admiration for the metaphorical significance of Vulcans. As part of our history, humanity struggles with our reasonable side and our emotional side. Each can influence our decisions. The Spock character is too rich not to mine for more stories, especially in Strange New Worlds, where he is still figuring out who he is, and learning to live among humans.
In the Kelvin universe, Zachary Quinto’s Spock is also not the finished product. losing his temper with James Kirk and also having a romance with Lt Uhura. I felt the use of Vulcans was diminished in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and at times Enterprise. The Vulcans seem to spend too much time scolding us than helping guide us to a better place. T’Pol changed that for me. By working with a human crew, she was exposed to humanity every day, and got to see their values and their weaknesses first hand.
Tuvok was a worthy edition to get Vulcans back on track in my book, with echoes of the Kirk-Spock relationship with Janeway. We saw their connection, especially in the series finale for Voyager, “Endgame.”
Gene Roddenberry was brilliant in embodying characteristics in his characters. Kirk was courage, boldness, the explorer; Dr. McCoy was the heart, the moral compass; and Spock was the logic, the reason, and called us out for past and current mistakes.
In the original Planet Of The Apes film, If I can detour from Star Trek for a moment, Dr. Zaius remarks that man’s reason goes hand in hand with his lunacy. Written by the brilliant Rod Serling, the original Apes film is a cautionary tale. In Spock, there is a cautionary tale as well but with a solution: if we control our emotions and use our reason we can and will survive.
In 1994, Tony had an idea for a sci-fi radio talk show, dreaming of national syndication. He found a small station in New Jersey and a sympathetic co-host who helped get to the General Manager. The first shows were a bunch of guys (too many) talking about genre and pop culture but Tony wanted much more.
After a few years, he decided to buy air time on a New York station in 1996 and, with Ernest Lilley, launched the show on a 50,000-watt radio station, with guests like George R.R. Martin and Joss Whedon.
In 2005, on Lilley’s recommendation, Tony signed on with podcast host pioneer Libsyn and the show was reborn as a podcast. Over 1,000,000 downloads later the show had found an international audience, with guests that include composers, writers, and other key contributors to genre entertainment. After podcasting a few years Tony created Time Capsule, a magazine interview-driven podcast series.
Tony has also attended and covered The Tribeca Film Festival, San Diego Comic-Con, and New York Comic-Con.
