Adam Nimoy Meanders Through Memories Of His Father And His Father's Iconic Character: For The Love Of Spock!

The Good: Some decent interviews and clips
The Bad: A lot of common knowledge, Incoherent progression
The Basics: For The Love Of Spock feels far more exploitative than informative or a true tribute to Leonard Nimoy and Spock.


When Leonard Nimoy died, it was a shock and left a deep sadness within the Trekker community. For me, Nimoy's death stung, but I had had the good fortune to meet the actor multiple times at various Star Trek conventions and even inteact with him. Indeed, when I first met Leonard Nimoy, I carried out a postumous wish of a friend who died before she could meet him and I wrote a short story about it. Leonard Nimoy's death is one of the few celebrity deaths that resonated with me personally, but the sting of his death was muted rather quickly when Adam Nimoy announced his plans for For The Love Of Spock. At the time, the project did not have a name, but director Adam Nimoy announced he was making a documentary about his father . . . and he went to Kickstarter to raise funds for the project. As a fan of Leonard Nimoy's works, as one who watched legions of fans repeatedly shell out piles of cash to get Nimoy's autograph at conventions (and knowing those companies paid Mr. Nimoy for his time and service), I was offended. Leonard Nimoy did not die a pauper and regardless of how much Adam Nimoy inherited (or not) from his father, it was in pretty poor taste to solicit fans for money to complete the project.

Apparently, I was in the minority view for such things and Trekkers once again shelled out and allowed Adam Nimoy to complete what could have been a vanity project on his father's life. For The Love Of Spock is a meandering documentary that vaguely follows the narrative of Leonard Nimoy's life, blended with stories about the popularity of the character Spock and self-referential bits about the documentary itself. Given that there are two autobiographies from Leonard Nimoy, there is shockingly little information that is unique to For The Love Of Spock . . . so what is truly new in the film seems mostly like therapy for Adam and Julie Nimoy to talk about their father.

Opening with a self-referential clip that explains how For The Love Of Spock came to be, intended as a tribute to Spock for the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek, Adam Nimoy had begun work on the project before Leonard Nimoy died. After a brief biography of how Leonard Nimoy - who had never held an acting job for more then two weeks and was working as, essentially, a jack of all trades in order to make ends meet for his family while pursuing his passion of acting - was hand-selected by Gene Roddenberry to play Spock, the documentary transitions into an exploration of the character. Featuring interviews by William Shatner, George Takei, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Jason Alexander and Chris Pine and others, For The Love Of Spock discusses the dynamics of the character with how Nimoy portrayed the logical character against the more emotive Kirk and McCoy.

Adam Nimoy infuses himself into the documentary as it progresses. Adam Nimoy discusses the effect of popularity of Star Trek on the Nimoy family - mostly admitting repeatedly that his father was a workaholic who was barely around. Adam Nimoy's infusion of self into the narrative leads to some weird dead ends within the narrative, like his inclusion of a letter from the early 1970s where Leonard Nimoy wrote to Adam about his relationship with his own father after the two had a fight. Adam Nimoy then declares he was a deadhead at the time, puts up a video of Nimoy singing his song "Bilbo Baggins" . . . and the way he uses it seems like a way to subtly mock him. The weird infusion of Adam Nimoy talking about himself allows Adam Nimoy to promote himself - showing his first Star Trek convention, describing his father's support of him in being an entertainment lawyer, etc.

But the lack of a coherent narrative, any sense of linear development, quickly wears thin. For The Love Of Spock leaps from Star Trek into Nimoy's theatrical career after Mission: Impossible. But before discussing Star Trek: The Motion Picture (referencing the Animated Series, but not the aborted Phase II project!), Adam Nimoy leaps ahead to discuss directing his father in an episode of The Outer Limits . . . which came well after Leonard Nimoy had established himself as a director. In addition to having shockingly little new information, For The Love Of Spock starts to feel disengenious about the life of Leonard Nimoy.

Neglected in For The Love Of Spock is the period of Leonard Nimoy's life where he purposely attempted to distance himself from his experiences in Star Trek. Nimoy wrote his first autobiography, I Am Not Spock long before writing I Am Spock - which Adam Nimoy is shown reading and listening to in For The Love Of Spock. And then Adam Nimoy tosses in, late in the film, weird mentions of his personal conflict with his father and Leonard Nimoy's alcoholism.

The result is a documentary that very sloppily shifts from discussing the character of Spock and detailing the life of Leonard Nimoy. Adam Nimoy's late shift to discussing his estrangement seems incredibly self-serving as having so much material for people discussing Spock and Leonard Nimoy, there is an abrupt shift to only Adam Nimoy discussing his relationship with his father. In other words, despite its other narrative problems, there is a wealth of information and sources for so much of the information about all other aspects of Leonard Nimoy's life and the cultural impact of Spock . . . but then only Adam Nimoy's word for what went on in his relationship with Leonard Nimoy. And it is somewhat weird to see Adam Nimoy opening up to Zachary Quinto where Quinto asks some of the most pointed questions of the documentary. Similarly odd is that during that section of For The Love Of Spock, there is no material wherein Leonard Nimoy's second wife is given a voice in the documentary. The film climaxes not with any sort of tribute to Leonard Nimoy at any number of the Star Trek conventions that were done following his death . . . but rather with a Burning Man tribute from 2015 to Nimoy?!

So much of For The Love Of Spock is similarly sloppy or contradictory. I am a big enough person to admit when I am wrong, but with For The Love Of Spock, my impression before the fact was definitely right. This barely-documentary is more exploitative than it is revealing or engaging. For those who want to know about Leonard Nimoy's life, picking up either (or both) of his autobiographies is a far better use of one's time than For The Love Of Spock.

For other documentaries based on Star Trek, please check out my reviews of:
Trek Nation
Trekkies
The Captains

3.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Nothing Frozen In This "Timescape."

The Good: Acting, Plot, What character development there is, Effects
The Bad: There's not much in the way of character development
The Basics: When the Enterprise is in the process of being destroyed in an area where time is stopped, Picard must deduce the causes and try to save the ship!


There are several reasons why Star Trek The Next Generation remains the strongest grossing link in the Star Trek franchise. In the end, much of it comes down to originality. Star Trek was original, but it was campy by today's effects and acting standards, Star Trek Deep Space Nine was original, but it was adult, serialized, darker and required more of its audience in the beginning than most were willing to give, and Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise were both utterly derivative. Star Trek The Next Generation, though, was a true original with pretty much everything to recommend it to the general television watcher.

"Timescape" is a nice example of Star Trek The Next Generation's enduring cleverness. In the sixth season of the series, we are treated to a distinctly original story that keeps us on the edge of our seats.

When Picard, Data, Geordi and Troi are returning to the Enterprise from a conference, they begin to experience awkward temporal anomalies. Picard freezes in the middle of a story he was telling, as does Troi. The team discovers that the fabric of space has been traumatized in this area of space. As a result, time is moving at different rates at different points in the area. Cautiously, the Runabout moves deeper in, only to discover the Enterprise frozen in time in battle against a Romulan Warbird. After taking precautions to deal with the temporal anomalies, the team returns to the Enterprise to discover an apparent invasion imminent on the Enterprise. One that is likely to cost them Dr. Crusher, who is in Sickbay in the process of being shot, and the Enterprise itself, as there is a warp core breach in progress.

"Timescape" is essentially a mystery in time where members of the Enterprise crew work to piece together how and why time is fracturing while they work to determine how to fix it and save everything. This works well as it is an intriguing dilemma that is quite well put together. The technical jargon is kept to a minimum while they try to solve the problem, yet it still has the feeling of being quite complete and well developed.

Despite being a heavy special effect episode, which it does quite well, "Timescape" relies heavily on the actors to sell the circumstances they find themselves in. The primary cast for this episode consists of Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Marina Sirtis and Patrick Stewart. Brent Spiner plays the role of relief pitcher here, for a change, not stepping in to steal the limelight until after Burton's LaForge is incapacitated.

For much of the episode, Burton is given the chance to push Geordi forward a bit. He seems to be a genuine explorer here and it is refreshing to see, once again, that the characters have some sense of dynamic to them. Burton plays Geordi with a strong sense of adventure here, something that has been noticeably lacking from his past performances. Similarly, the oft-neglected Marina Sirtis here is lively and charismatic as Troi, something her character seldom was given the opportunity to be. Indeed, early scenes on the Runabout have the feel of a group of people finally talking comfortably with one another after years of getting to know one another. That's the characters gelling and the actors make it appear effortless.

The cast is rounded out by Patrick Stewart who does an impressive job of revealing his range in "Timescape." Stewart gives a surprisingly potent performance as Picard becomes a giggly child as he suffers from temporal narcosis. The abruptness of it is astonishing and the viewer never feels for a moment that they are being pulled out of the episode to watch an expert actor. Instead, we have the feeling of the character snapping.

"Timescape" offers much to the non-Trek fan. It is a fast paced, engaging mystery that keeps the viewer interested in the plight of the Enterprise and the isolated Runabout crew. The tone is one of consistent menace, which will appeal to fans of action-adventure stories. In fact, "Timescape" has something for everyone but fans of religious imagery or romance. The only real strike against this show is that - while it uses some of the actors well or pushes their abilities - it does not challenge the characters significantly. This is a puzzle of the week for them and there is no lingering growth or change as a result of this piece. Still, it is far more than enough to recommend to viewers of all ages. This is an adventure anyone who likes science fiction or mystery will enjoy.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the penultimate season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

7/10

For other Star Trek episode, movie or DVD reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"Rascals:" Command Children On The Enterprise

The Good: Humor, Acting, Moments of character
The Bad: Ridiculous plot, Silly scientific explanation
The Basics: With a strong science fiction plot, "Rascals" survives the de-aging of a few key people by keeping an emphasis on character.


Star Trek The Next Generation did so much right that it was hard to accept when they did something so terribly wrong. And "Rascals" is on the edge of that. They have one of the weakest ideas, but they pull it off surprisingly well, making us believe in the circumstances. So, in a situation that is almost impossible to suspend our disbelief, Star Trek The Next Generation gets away from the phenomenon and focuses on the characters it affects instead.

In "Rascals," Ensign Ro, Guinan, Keiko O'Brien and Captain Picard become trapped in a phenomenon while returning to the Enterprise in a shuttlecraft. When they are beamed out of it, they are de-aged. They are all preteens and the ramifications of this are diverse: Picard is unable to keep the respect of his officers to command, Miles O'Brien feels distanced from Keiko, Ro's childhood issues resurface, and Guinan decides to enjoy it. When the Enterprise is attacked by Ferengi privateers, it's up to the children to liberate the ship.

So, this is a fairly ridiculous idea; de-aging the crew. The last time this was attempted, it was in the Star Trek Animated Series. If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. I'm fairly sure those episodes are not considered Trek cannon. Anyway, this is a silly idea, de-aging the crew. But even with the most foolish idea, Star Trek The Next Generation manages to pull it off in a practical way. Instead of being caught in a phenomenon that affects the entire crew, only a few people are affected and the transporter is quite convincingly blamed. This, then, becomes an issue for the transporter, not some ridiculous spatial anomaly.

And the characters that they chose are interesting ones to pick. Picard makes an obvious choice, because we need someone to care about. Guinan is a fun choice because we know she is quite old and it makes sense to have someone enjoying the predicament. But Ro is a clever choice; she's not used to such bizarre occurrences and this throws her in a way that seems very realistic. As a result, her place in the episode is one of the more interesting. But the one that is most damaging and intriguing is Keiko. Being married and having a daughter, the greatest number of consequences ensue from her being de-aged. The scenes with her and O'Brien, where Miles is hesitant to even touch her because of the implications of her being a preteen are quite powerful.

What "Rascals" hinges on, then is the character development and the acting. Captain Picard's character development is crucial to the believability of this episode. After all of his years of disliking children, he finds himself one again and that's a difficult place for him to be. Finding limitations in using the computer and relating to his former subordinates, puts a reasonable and realistic amount of stress on the captain and it is dealt with with maturity and sensibility.

The acting in the episode is a mixed bag. Isis Jones, who plays the de-aged Guinan, is bland and lacks Whoopi Goldberg's facial control or subtle vocal abilities. As a result, her portrayal of the young Guinan is somewhat disappointing. In a similar vein, Caroline Junko King, who plays the younger Keiko delivers excellent lines and had good body language, but lacks the ability to produce Keiko's cadences and vocal styles enough to suspend our disbelief entirely.

Megan Parlen, in contrast, has Ro Laren completely nailed. She is able to pull off irritable quite well and she manages to get around several difficult lines with the sense of annoyance that characterizes Ro. She makes us believe she is Ro. Similarly, David Tristen Birkin picks up on enough of Picard's idiosyncrasies to sell us on truly being him. Birkin has a posture of dignity that ultimately throws this episode over into the recommend field.

"Rascals" is an episode that turns off many viewers immediately by its very hard, rather obvious science fiction plot. There's no way to escape that this is science fiction and if you don't like the genre, this is not the episode to sell you on it. But if you do, this is a piece that rather effectively takes a campy science fiction plot and makes something pretty worthwhile out of it with good acting in the key places and a strong emphasis on character.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the penultimate season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

5/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please check out my index page on the subject!

© 2011, 2008, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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