The Sanctified Nerd

In this second installment on the Vulcans, I want to give some of my thoughts on the two Vulcan characters I'm most familiar with - Mr. Spock and T'Pol. Spock is iconic, so he needs no introduction but T'Pol is a major Vulcan character in the Star Trek  Prequel Show, Enterprise . I love much of what goes on in the first season and a half of Enterprise , so my opinions on T'Pol do not reflect my opinions on the show as a whole. First, let's talk about Spock. Spock is easily the most iconic character in Star Trek  and one of the most well known in all of science-fiction for that matter. Catchphrases abound, from "highly illogical" to "live long and prosper." Spock has a very measured temperament and presence. When you think of a logical Vulcan, you think of Spock. And yet, he balances his logical nature with genuineness. At the end of The Wrath of Khan , also known as the best Star Trek  movie ever made, when Kirk says "Of all the souls

Intro A pointy-eared stoic race with a dedication to logic and reason - these are the Vulcans. Gene Rodenberry's Space Elves are easily the most iconic alien race of the Star Trek  universe thanks to Mr. Spock. Other Vulcan characters of note include Surak, Sarek, Tuvok, and T'Pol. I have not seen Voyager  aside from a few episodes so I have no opinion of Tuvok but T'Pol is probably the least enjoyable Vulcan of the bunch. She conveys less the idea of logic and more a sense of resentment for being stuck with humans. Vulcans have always struck me as quite inconsistent as despite their professed adherence to logic they are nonetheless deeply mystical. The Enterprise  episode "The Andorian Incident" features a Vulcan Monastery, for example, and of course, we have the classic TOS episode "Amok Time" in which we learn just how violent the Vulcan mating ritual is. Granted, this is seen as logical, a releasing of emotions for an intense but short per

Apologies for the delays. I've missed the last few weeks of #TrekTalkTuesday installments because I've been working on my own  Star Trek  inspired series, SpaceWard  with the first "episode" now available on Kindle  so, of course, I've had my hands full. Today though, I want to introduce a mini-series within "Trek Talk Tuesday" on the various alien races in the Star Trek  universe. For now, I'm limiting the discussion to the prominent humanoid species - Vulcans (and Romulans)/ Klingons, Ferengi, Andorians, Betazoids,  and possibly a post on the various "creature features" of TOS. I'll be starting with the Vulcans (hopefully next Tuesday, but possibly the following week) over the course of two posts (because there is a lot to cover) and a third "spinoff" on the Romulans. Next, I'll spend a week on the TOS Klingons and a week on the TNG Klingons. The new  Star Trek: Discovery  Klingons don't matter because it'