Daily Recco, March 26: Live Long and Prosper watching Star Trek The Motion Picture

There are sci-fi films and then there are phenomena. The kind of phenomena that occurs but once in a lifetime. A lifetime to “Live Long And Prosper”. Any remote interest in the science fiction world, and you should have guessed by now (irrespective of the generation you belong to) that we are talking about the phenomenal world of Star Trek. And the onset of this phenomenal world on the silver screen was Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979).

The first in the series made for an unparalleled base to the five subsequent Star Trek films. The Star Trek characters that were accessible only on television episodes until then, walked, talked and breathed on the 70-mm screen as if they were not larger-than-life already. To those who had not watched the TV series, Star Trek - The Motion Picture became sort of an induction into the universe that led them back home to their television sets.

And oh boy, the special effects! Remember the scene where the starship Enterprise intercepts the cloud? The attack by the aliens? Where would it be if not for those special effects? A trivia here: did you know that the makers fired the first special-effects team, and the release was delayed by over a year as new effects were devised and photographed? Woe betide you if you even begin comparing those effects with the ones generated now with the kind of technology available today.

The movie (second only to the preceding television series) created the kind of fans (read: devotees) over generations who went on to become protective and even possessive of the characters created by Gene Roddenberry.

And let’s face it: who has not fantasised about Spock and Kirk? How many of us, even now, greet fellow Trekkers with the “Live Long And Prosper” and a Vulcan Salute? Who hasn’t tried to have discreet conversations with fellow fans in Klingon? In fact, we know of a character (read: Sheldon Cooper) who even wanted his wedding vows written in Klingon (a proposition that was sadly shot down by his fiancée).

We have rooted for Spock’s seemingly haughty emotionless personality as the triumph of logic, making him indispensable, Kirk’s heroic demeanour despite his limitations as a human, and tried to ape the lovable and dependable Scotty’s distinctive Klingon vocabulary.

Leonard Nimoy became our beloved pointy-eared Vulcan — Spock — who came to save us, all the way from Vulcan. He left the world star-struck (pun intended) playing Spock for more than 40 years and spanning many different generations. He was our role model when our hearts ruled our head, but the situation demanded cold, undiluted logic. Taking to technology over the years, Nimoy stayed true to Spock and created the Twitter hashtag LLAP (Live Long and Prosper). He will always be Spock despite other actors essaying the role over the years.

Nimoy’s birth anniversary today is the most auspicious day to mark your foray into the Trek universe. Fellow-Trekkers, watch the film on Amazon Prime Videos (again!) and Live Long and Prosper.

Also Read: How Amul bade farewell to Spock of Star Trek