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Leonard Nimoy as Mr.
Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock in "Star Trek: The Original Series" 1967 episode "Amok Time." Spock shows the Vulcan salute, usually accompanied with the words, "Live long and prosper."
Adam Nimoy’s documentary about his dad’s role as Mr. Spock needed to boldly go where he had not intended
Just three months before Nimoy died at 83 in February 2015, Adam Nimoy asked his father to participate in a documentary to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic character.
The older Nimoy enthusiastically agreed. Filming began after his son raised over half a million dollars on Kickstarter.
“He didn’t realize how sick he was," Adam told the Daily News about the obstructive pulmonary disease. "We both thought we were going to see this thing through together. But then his decline was very quick, it took us all by surprise."
Still, he continued with "For the Love of Spock" and it's a beautiful tribute to his father.
Naturally, or in Vulcan parlance, logically, it explores the pointy-eared, green-blooded Spock. It goes beyond The Enterprise to Leonard's extensive post-Trek career. And it delves into personal territory, with an exploration of Adam's loving but often complicated relationship with his father.
"There were a lot of issues between us," Adam said. "Two very strong points of view. As I say in the film we both had issues with substances and alcohol which we needed to deal with."
"The good news is that from 2008 till he died in 2015, we had about seven years where we were pretty close," he added.
Adam knew he needed to focus on why the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer captivated generations of viewers with his outsider status and internal conflict. He also had his dad's co-stars weigh in on Spock.
"Simon Pegg (who played Scotty in the rebooted "Star Trek" movies) mentioned something that I thought was fascinating," Adam said. "Spock had a great look and it was a very simple look. You can draw him. The straight hair, the eyebrows, the ears, boom you've got Spock. He's easily recognizable in that respect and that's what makes him iconic and easy to identify and it's a very interesting look."
"Star Trek" cast members, from the TV shows and movies, old and new, were interviewed. They include: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in the new movie series. There's also a hilarious interview with Trekkie fan Jason Alexander who does a killer William Shatner impression.
Shatner speaks lovingly of his old comrade in the documentary but doesn't mention that the two weren't speaking for the last few years of Nimoy's life.
"Bill and Leonard had a lot of ups and downs. A lot," Adam said. "They were very close sometimes and very distant sometimes. Unfortunately it ended on a down cycle. I think they would have reconciled."