RIP LEONARD NIMOY

On Friday morning we received terrible news – Leonard Nimoy had passed away. Nimoy will always be remembered as Mr. Spock from the original Star Trek TV series and films. He reprised the role in Star Trek: the Animated Series, Star Trek: the Next Generation and the recent rebooted JJ Abrams Star Trek films. Nimoy was a man who was gracious to his fans, humbled by his success, and was pretty damn talented. I could talk about how I loved Nimoy as Spock but I met him as Spock later in my life. I’ve only seen a few episodes of the original Star Trek series and I watched the first two films thinking they were quite boring. I did enjoy Nimoy’s performance though. He’s a wonderful actor, but I was a fan of him from Futurama and the Simpsons where he parodied himself a little bit. I always love it when actors play themselves on shows like Family Guy or Futurama or the Simpsons. It’s a great way to show that an actor is willing to poke fun at himself. Here are my favorite post-Star Trek Nimoy appearances:

THE SIMPSONS: SEASON 8 "THE SPRINGFIELD FILES"

In this episode, Homer believes that he sees an alien but no one believes him. The FBI, specifically Agents Mulder and Sculley, come to Springfield to investigate Homer's claims. Nimoy acts as narrator throughout the episode. Well, at least the first part of it. He seems to forget that the show isn't over and runs away before finishing the narration. It's one of the Simpsons best episodes. If you have the means I suggest looking it up. Take a look at this hilarious clip from the beginning of the episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6lTSPXDOAI

FUTURAMA: SEASON 4 "WHERE NO FAN HAS GONE BEFORE"

Again, one of the best episodes of the series. Fry wants to have a marathon of the original Star Trek films but they have been banned on Earth. He kidnaps Leonard Nimoy's head and they go into space searching for the lost episodes/films of Star Trek. They find the rest of the crew on an abandoned planet with a very devoted Trekker who gives the original cast their bodies back but makes them his slaves. It's worse than Comic Con! But the episode is hilarious.

PRICELINE

We all know William Shatner as the face of the Priceline.com commercials. Nowadays, he's recruited Kaley Cucuo-Sweeting as his daughter on the commercials. However, a few years ago, Shatner was almost replaced as the spokesman by Nimoy. These commercials were funny little reunions for Shatner and Nimoy. Yes, they were a little cheesy but it was all in good fun. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKzNNOU5lLw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yig8HJzZLM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ3TPgJ6T3I

THE BIG BANG THEORY: SEASON 5 "THE TRANSPORTER MALFUNCTION"

The Big Bang Theory has four characters that are obsessed with Star Trek so it was only logical (pun intended) that some Star Trek alum would appear on the show at some point. Wil Wheaton has made many hilarious appearances. Brent Spiner showed up and made his way to Sheldon's list. George Takei even showed up in one of Howard's fantasies. Shatner and Patrick Stewart have yet to guest star. Nimoy had semi-retired from acting by the time this episode premiered. His appearance in this episode is in a voice over. He plays the Spock action figure that convinces Sheldon to play with his Transporter toy. Sheldon breaks it and switches it with Leonard's. AF Spock returns in a dream to mock Sheldon for breaking the toy and tell Leonard the truth. Nimoy pokes fun at the Spock character and gives a very funny performance. See for yourself: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvNXolkz8-c

STAR TREK (2009)

My love of Star Trek actually began with this film. I saw a few episodes of Star Trek: the Next Generation when I was a kid but I didn't really fall in love with it until the first film from JJ Abrams. After this film I looked up the old movies (didn't really like them) but I did enjoy the series. I loved that Nimoy was in the new series. It seemed to give it credibility and felt like a passing of the torch. The scene where he meets Kirk is great and then later when he meets Spock is wonderfully done. I also loved his brief, surprising cameo in Star Trek: Into Darkness. It saddens me knowing that he won't be reprising this role again in the next Trek film. At least he left us a lasting legacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ppo5YIYwTM

I can honestly say that I will miss Leonard Nimoy. He was a great actor and brought a lot of gravitas to the roles he played. His appearances on the Simpsons and Futurama were humorous, of course, but still played with a load of sincerity that sold the performances. I will definitely miss him. 

Live long and prosper my friend.

Till Next Time!

JJ - The Comic Junkie!