Spock & relationships

[AxelFoley]

I've seen TOS season 1 and am working on the second season as we speak, and something is puzzling me.

In season 1 he makes it clear he does not want or can be together with a human because of his Vulcan ways (naked Time & This Side of Paradise), yet his father married a human (his mother).

Shouldn't he have been brought up with better appreciation to the possibility of a Vulcan and a human being together in a relationship seeing as his mother is human? I doubt he thinks his father is less Vulcan because of his decision to marry a human.

 

[Michael]

I think what you just described may be the crux of the character of Spock. To make it short, I think he's overcompensating because he's only half-Vulcan and wants to be more Vulcan than a full Vulcan.

 

[AxelFoley]

I think what you just described may be the crux of the character of Spock. To make it short, I think he's overcompensating because he's only half-Vulcan and wants to be more Vulcan than a full Vulcan.

I thought about that myself, being brought up ridiculed and teased by full-blooded Vulcans he seems destined to not appear human in any way even though his human side shows off at some times (Amok Time for example)

 

[Michael]

I think what you just described may be the crux of the character of Spock. To make it short, I think he's overcompensating because he's only half-Vulcan and wants to be more Vulcan than a full Vulcan.

I thought about that myself, being brought up ridiculed and teased by full-blooded Vulcans he seems destined to not appear human in any way even though his human side shows off at some times (Amok Time for example)

Have you seen D.C. Fontana's wonderful "Yesteryear"? That might clarify some things about his childhood for you.

 

[AxelFoley]

I think what you just described may be the crux of the character of Spock. To make it short, I think he's overcompensating because he's only half-Vulcan and wants to be more Vulcan than a full Vulcan.

I thought about that myself, being brought up ridiculed and teased by full-blooded Vulcans he seems destined to not appear human in any way even though his human side shows off at some times (Amok Time for example)

Have you seen D.C. Fontana's wonderful "Yesteryear"? That might clarify some things about his childhood for you.

I'm afraid I have not, it's an animated episode isn't it?

 

[Michael]

^ Yes, it is. And I highly recommend it. The canon status of TAS might be questionable to some (well, not to me ), but there are few who don't consider Spock's background story (as per "Yesteryear") as canon. In fact it is even referenced in TNG's "Unification".

 

[AxelFoley]

^ Yes, it is. And I highly recommend it. The canon status of TAS might be questionable to some (well, not to me ), but there are few who don't consider Spock's background story (as per "Yesteryear") as canon. In fact it is even referenced in TNG's "Unification".

Everything TOS is cannon to me :thumbsup: Quick question, should I get TOS season 3 before I get TAS?

 

[Michael]

Everything TOS is cannon to me :thumbsup: Quick question, should I get TOS season 3 before I get TAS?

If you ask me: Yes. The third year is widely considered to be a letdown, but it has many gems you won't want to miss (now if that's not convincing, I don't know ). Also, the 22 epsiodes of TAS are considered to be the fourth season of Star Trek. So you might want to watch them in the right order.

 

[AxelFoley]

Everything TOS is cannon to me :thumbsup: Quick question, should I get TOS season 3 before I get TAS?

If you ask me: Yes. The third year is widely considered to be a letdown, but it has many gems you won't want to miss (now if that's not convincing, I don't know ). Also, the 22 epsiodes of TAS are considered to be the fourth season of Star Trek. So you might want to watch them in the right order.

Yes I keep hearing that, so I guess it's best if I buy season 3 first.

 

[Zeppster]

In the first season it's basically said that Spock's parents aren't around anymore. Direct quotes from This Side of Paradise, Corbimite Maneuver, and Naked Time imply that his parents are dead. This is the only thing that really hurts Journey to Babel when they show up. That and the fact that in This Side of Paradise Kirk seems to know about Spock's parents then on Journey to Babel Kirk doesn't seem to know who Spock's parents are(yes it's used as a devise to surprise the audience)

But those are beside the subject. I think in Journey you see why he might want to be more Vulcan. He just decided to go about it a different way from his father, and he decided to go to a people that seemed more tolerable to him. On his home world where he grew up he was basically chastised because he was half Vulcan. He wanted a fresh start elsewhere and Starfleet was a perfect fit.

But I think in the end the reason he didn't have real relationship is because of his dedication to his work.

 

[Timo]

In the first season it's basically said that Spock's parents aren't around anymore. Direct quotes from This Side of Paradise, Corbimite Maneuver, and Naked Time imply that his parents are dead. This is the only thing that really hurts Journey to Babel when they show up.

One might see this as a forte for "Journey to Babel" as well. The parents, or at least the dad, are dead to Spock for being such assholes, and he certainly isn't going to correct his crewmates if they take his use of past tense overtly literally. And then the parents turn up anyway, upsetting everybody all the more for supposedly not even being alive!

That and the fact that in This Side of Paradise Kirk seems to know about Spock's parents then on Journey to Babel Kirk doesn't seem to know who Spock's parents are

To be sure, Kirk thinks Spock's father was a computer and his mother an encyclopedia. Those could be clever allegories to cryptographist and schoolteacher, respectively, suggesting Kirk knew intimate details about Spock's parentage. But they are far more likely to be utterly random insults, intended to suggest that Spock descends from inanimate objects.

And while Spock subsequently corrects Kirk and insists his mother was a teacher and his father an ambassador, Kirk need not make a connection there. Certainly Spock doesn't explicate that his parents are still alive.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

The parents, or at least the dad, are dead to Spock for being such assholes, and he certainly isn't going to correct his crewmates if they take his use of past tense overtly literally. And then the parents turn up anyway, upsetting everybody all the more for supposedly not even being alive!

Except that in JtB Kirk seems to know that Spock's parents aren't dead as he asks Spock if he would like to visit them while they're at Vulcan, which is when Spock reveals that Sarek and Amanda are his parents.

 

[Timo]

Not a contradiction of earlier TOS dialogue, though. All Spock ever did was speak of his parents in the past tense. It's not as if he quoted their obits or anything.

Spock is introduced, and remains throughout the series and movies, a remarkably private person despite sparring verbally with his colleagues. It would make sense that this would cause his crewmates to have misconceptions, and that he would have trouble forming conventional relationships. But somebody in Kirk's or McCoy's position would have the means to dig up all the dirt on him if they felt the need to. By being distant and obscure, but not too distant and obscure, Spock would discourage them from doing so...

Timo Saloniemi