The Good: Fair balance
The Bad: Overproduced, Expensive, Poor likeness of Spock
The Basics: A disturbingly bad Hallmark Ornament, the 2011 Spock ornament continues the "Legends Of Star Trek" line exceptionally poorly.
I have a sneaking suspicion that my regular readers might think that I have gone soft on Hallmark when it comes to their new ornaments. The first two Hallmark ornaments from the 2011 season rated as perfect with the Limited Edition The Golden Snitch (reviewed here!) from Harry Potter and the Limited Edition Star Wars Bossk ornament (reviewed here!), which have almost entirely sold out at Hallmark stores. To counter that perception, I'm reviewing the Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament. Last year, Hallmark started the Legends Of Star Trek series with Captain Kirk and I could find those ornaments on the shelves in Hallmark stores clearance sections literally last week before the new ornaments were released. The Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament promises to be as slow a seller because it is a terrible sculpt and is proportionately expensive price tag.
Starting out at $14.95, the Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament looks only vaguely like Commander Spock. Spock, an overly-merchandised character to begin with, is already the subject of a terribly devalued ornament from 1996. The new ornament is inferior to the original, making it feel like a cashgrab by Hallmark.
For those unfamiliar with Mr. Spock, he was the chief science officer and first officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise for almost every episode of Star Trek (reviewed here!). Played brilliantly by Leonard Nimoy, Spock became an iconic character in popular culture with his logical demeanor, pointed ears and presence in every episode of the original Star Trek television show. The way he would square off with Dr. McCoy became a high point for many fans, who watched for their interactions. Spock was defined by his unemotional behavior and devotion to logic and reason. Hallmark's determination to make a "Legends Of Star Trek" series pretty much forced the company to make a Spock or Data ornament, but this is a poor rendition of the character.
Basics
The Legends Of Star Trek Spock recreates well the famed First Officer of the Enterprise in solid plastic. The ornament, released in 2011, is an absolutely terrible work. Sure, it has Spock with his tricorder out molded to be generally recognizable, but the ornament looks like an animated Spock. Measuring four and a quarter inches tall, the Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament was a lukewarm seller for Hallmark on its Preview Weekend at $14.95.
The Hallmark Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament is made of a durable plastic and has the Vulcan officer standing in his blue shirt, tight black pants and shiny black boots. The face is sculpted a bit more round than Leonard Nimoy's ever was. The strap on the tricorder is made of ribbon that frequently falls off the ornament's shoulder. This ornament is molded without deep attention to detail, like fingernails. The ornament does have pointed ears molded into the head, which looks accurate enough.
The Legends Of Star Trek Spock is colored correctly with his blue Sciences shirt, but the skin is poorly rendered. Spock's flesh is supposed to have a slightly green tinge to it and this Spock is unfortunately pale. The blue for the uniform is very bright and looks all right and to its credit, Hallmark got the badge on the outfit painted on with an accurate amount of detail and proper gold color. The tricorder has a few random red buttons painted on it, but it looks more sloppy than precise.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the Legends Of Star Trek Spock could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a low-cost (comparatively) option for those who might not want to shell out for the starship or mural series of Star Trek ornaments. This is Spock, standing alone with a ribbon for the strap on the tricorder. Having the ornament without any features might disappoint some collectors.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Star Trek Christmas Tree, the Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament is an utterly unnecessary one, in light of the past ornament. The ornament has a brass hook loop that comes out of the top of Spock's head. To its credit, Hallmark's Legends Of Star Trek Spock is well-balanced.
Collectibility
Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have made ornament replicas of almost all of the major starships from the franchise and when they started on the personnel in 1995, they were quite a bit more mass produced than that first one. The Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament was a commercial flop in its first weekend. While there is always the possibility that it will rebound as the season goes on, given the poor quality of the ornament, it is doubtful that it will.
In other words, this is not the best investment piece; hold out for it to be on the clearance racks.
Overview
Fans of the Star Trek franchise, Leonard Nimoy and Mr. Spock are likely to be disappointed by the Legends Of Star Trek Spock ornament because of the poor sculpt in relation to the comparatively high pricetag. Fans might do better to buy a cheap Spock action figure and screw a hook into its head..
For other Star Trek ornaments of characters, please check out my reviews of:
2010 Legends Of Star Trek Captain James T. Kirk
2009 Limited Edition Ilia Probe
2005 Khan
1997 Dr. McCoy
1996 Mr. Spock
2/10
For other Christmas ornament reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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