Star Trek: 10 CORE Spock Moments

10. Check The Circuit

Spock spoke the first lines ever heard in Star Trek, with Leonard Nimoy's deep voice asking a fellow crewmember to 'Check the circuit!'

In The Cage, Spock is both a science officer and an example of alien life co-existing peacefully aboard the USS Enterprise. Serving under Christopher Pike, this version of the character was a template for what would come later. Though shades of the logic that would define Vulcans going forward were there, Spock was also quick to smile, unafraid of the odd outburst, and was an outward fan of blue flowers.

This early pilot was a suggestion of what Star Trek was. With Strange New Worlds picking up several years after this story (several decades later in the real world), the Spock on show there was closer in tone to this version.

Perhaps Gene Roddenberry knew that Spock was destined to become the icon that he did. Giving him the opening lines in a brand-new show, as well as crafting that alien look (one that was a shade too demonic for some viewers at the network in the mid-60s), was a gamble. Had Leonard Nimoy not been able to pull it off, the chances were that Spock would have followed the rest of that early crew of the Enterprise into rewrite oblivion, serving as sacrificial lambs on the altar of network approval.

Thankfully, with that clear and concise order, Spock entered the public consciousness, even if the initial audience was just the executives waiting, red pen in hand.