Sure, but it's the alien half, the fact that he's not baseline human, that makes him fascinating.
Is it? I like both halves, not just the alien half. That's what's most fascinating for me.
Good writing can make aliens accessible. Pinky, the alien character in my books, is consistently the most popular of the cast.
I'll take your word for it on the character side. Good writing makes anything possible but you have to consider all factors. Good writing requires time and effort and an actor to make it work, not just "cast alien make money" type attitude that is often bandied about by us armchair writers.
I don't think it requires a human experience to connect or relate.
Requires is a strong word. It's more a matter of ease in which the audience can relate, not a requirement. But, ultimately, the more human style traits you give a character, as you note with Pilot, the easier it is for a human audience member to relate. In other words, they are not truly alien. They are relatable.
That's what I'm saying about all alien shows. You will end up with aliens taking on human traits in order to make it relatable to the audience. Even Tolkien acknowledge that his works are primarily a human story and are designed to connect with humans. That's not a bug in fiction but a feature.
I feel this shouldn't be controversial, but apparently human characters are not as "fascinating" as aliens, even when aliens exhibit very human traits.
Spock being half-human was absolutely the draw.
If he was full Vulcan, he would have been Tuvok. A fine character to be sure, but nowhere near the breakout character Spock was.
The human/Vulcan conflict was his raison d’etre.
Thank you, yes. It was absolutely part of his character. I love ST 09 because it put Spock's conflict square in the crosshairs with Sarek's line about him being a "child of two worlds." That is what draws me to Spock, not is purely logical self.
