NPR: On Air: Mr. Spock

On Air: Mr. Spock

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Leonard Nimoy (right) as Spock and Jeffrey Hunter as Capt. Pike in the original Star Trek pilot episode.

Mr. Spock: You think he's smart, standoffish, and sexy. But at the very beginning, NBC didn't find him quite so appealing. In fact, as Neda Ulaby reports in her In Character profile for Weekend Edition Sunday, network suits told Gene Roddenberry to "lose the Martian."

We all know how that turned out.

In Neda's piece, Leonard Nimoy explains how Spock's signature line -- "Fascinating" -- came about. Plus expert commentary on the Vulcan's enduring appeal -- from a professor at MIT, no less -- and selected excerpts from your earlier conversation about Spock here on the blog.

It's all over there on the story page. Enjoy.

-- Trey Graham

6:00 AM ET | 06- 1-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Uh, masculine for an alien... maybe. However as far as the human race is concerned; James T. Kirk has been and always will be "da man."

Sent by James Downing | 1:06 PM ET | 06-02-2008

Hahaha . . . I don't know if Kirk is that much more manly than Spock. They were often pretty intent on tearing each other's clothes off and staring intently into each other's eyes, after all.

Sent by Lindsay | 4:58 PM ET | 06-02-2008

They didn't bring up that Spock was probably the most three dimensional character on the original show. There was also an element of wish fulfillment about him. He's the ultimate square peg, but his best friend is the most popular guy there.

Sent by Joe Medley | 9:01 AM ET | 06-07-2008

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Elizabeth Blair

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Trey Graham

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On Air: Mr. Spock

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