Luck of the Genesis (plot) Device?

[Vger23]

You know, a discussion with @eschaton on the Discovery boards raises an interesting question:

What would the producers and Nimoy have done to bring Spock back if it weren't for the extraordinary coincidence that the Genesis Device, which was integral to the plot of WOK, was conceived before there was any thought of resurrecting the character?

It almost makes you question the facts, because without the Genesis Device it would have been almost impossible to find a way to return Spock to the franchise at that point.

 

[David cgc]

It almost makes you question the facts, because without the Genesis Device it would have been almost impossible to find a way to return Spock to the franchise at that point.

Time travel? Mirror universe? Experimental clone?

As I recall, an article one of the old "Best of Trek" books had some theories on how Spock would come back after his death, and while the path of least resistance was the writer's conclusion (body recreated by Genesis, mind provided by McCoy after that seemingly-inexplicable mind-meld), a bunch of other ideas were floated and rejected.

Okay, I've found the piece, "Spock Resurrectus — Or, Now That They've Killed Him, How Do We Get Him Back" by Pat Mooney. It doesn't seem to be up on-line anywhere, but skimming through my copy, it seems the theories floated were, well, time travel, cloning, and mirror-Spock.

They probably only flew due to audiences becoming increasingly inured to sci-fi nonsense due to years of non-stop Trek, but there are also all the ways people came back to life in the '90s show. O'Brien being replaced by his own future self, Kim and Naomi being the sole survivors from a duplicate Voyager, any number of transporter-beam mishaps...

 

[Vger23]

Time travel? Mirror universe? Experimental clone?

As I recall, an article one of the old "Best of Trek" books had some theories on how Spock would come back after his death, and while the path of least resistance was the writer's conclusion (body recreated by Genesis, mind provided by McCoy after that seemingly-inexplicable mind-meld), a bunch of other ideas were floated and rejected.

Okay, I've found the piece, "Spock Resurrectus — Or, Now That They've Killed Him, How Do We Get Him Back" by Pat Mooney. It doesn't seem to be up on-line anywhere, but skimming through my copy, it seems the theories floated were, well, time travel, cloning, and mirror-Spock.

They probably only flew due to audiences becoming increasingly inured to sci-fi nonsense due to years of non-stop Trek, but there are also all the ways people came back to life in the '90s show. O'Brien being replaced by his own future self, Kim and Naomi being the sole survivors from a duplicate Voyager, any number of transporter-beam mishaps...

it is amazing though, the the Genesis Device, which was conceived in a disassociated earlier draft much earlier in the film's production, existed and was the perfect (and relatively reasonable) catalyst for Spock's return. It's almost uncanny...like it was meant to be.

I find it hard to believe they would have ben able to bring him back as convincingly or as dramatically if that set-up had not been there all along.

 

[Sareesataka]

To paraphrase Kirk, "They would have found a way. If there were that much money at stake, they would have found a way!"

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Vulcan mystic mumbo-jumbo.

 

[F. King Daniel]

If not for Genesis they'd have come up with something. Time travel is the obvious first choice.

 

[thribs]

You know, a discussion with @eschaton on the Discovery boards raises an interesting question:

What would the producers and Nimoy have done to bring Spock back if it weren't for the extraordinary coincidence that the Genesis Device, which was integral to the plot of WOK, was conceived before there was any thought of resurrecting the character?

It almost makes you question the facts, because without the Genesis Device it would have been almost impossible to find a way to return Spock to the franchise at that point.

Simple. The sling shot.

I would have done what they did in Hercules and have the Mirror “bearded” Spock replace him.

 

[General_Phoenix]

Even more interesting is if Spock had remained dead, then Earth would have been doomed because of the whale probe.

 

[ParkerGlyn]

They could have gone and found Spock Two (that giant-size copy of Spock from TAS "The Infinite Vulcan" https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Spock_Two ) then take him into that subspace compression anomaly from DS9 "One Little Ship" to get him back to a normal size.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Vulcan mystic mumbo-jumbo.

Maybe not so quickly the producers would've invented an idea to resurrect Spock because IMO Kirstie Alley was introduced to replace him. I know Discovery has limited the scope of what Star Trek can do, but I disagree of how hard it would've been to resurrect Spock. The body was still intact, and he was going to be launched in to space. Who is to say the Romulans could've taken the body and found a way to re-animate it based on some ancient Vulcan mysticism or the Vulcans retrieved the body themselves?

The crew of the Enterprise may have thought he was dead but actually Spock went into some form of hibernation which was not known to Starfleet at the time. I can go on, Vger23, not impossible at all for the producers to bring him back. And I believe if they've waited to bring him back I thought they could've made a better resurrection film.

 

[Antonovus]

Probably more emphasis on the mind-meld. Or I agree, some Vulcan mysticism. I mean, its science fiction. They would have found some way.

 

[Search4]

Not dead at all. His inner eyelid would protect him.

Or Khan blood - there must be a molecule somewhere.