Spock/Appendices/Background information/From concept to series

From the start of thinking Spock up, Gene Roddenberry knew he wanted the character to be partly alien, and that he wanted Leonard Nimoy to play the role. Roddenberry later explained, "I made [Spock] a half-caste, because I remember thinking a half-breed Indian would be a lot more interesting than a full-blooded Indian or white, because he's going to be tugged in many different directions." (Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before, p. 15)
Gene Roddenberry also wanted Spock's appearance to be very similar to typical portrayals of Satan the Devil. "I did purposely give him a slight look of the 'devil' because I thought that might be particularly provocative to women, particularly when his nature contrasted so greatly to this," Roddenberry stated.Science Fiction should be mainly about
The following character biography appeared in Roddenberry's original, series pitch Star Trek is... (and was reprinted in The Making of Star Trek):
::"The First Lieutenant. The Captain's right-hand man, the working-level commander of all the ship's functions – ranging from manning the bridge to supervising the lowliest scrub detail. His name is Mr. Spock. And the first view of him can be almost frightening – a face so heavy-lidded and satanic you might almost expect him to have a forked tail. Probably half Martian, he has a slightly reddish complexion and semi-pointed ears. But strangely – Mr. Spock's quiet temperament is in dramatic contrast to his satanic look. Of all the crew aboard, he is the nearest to Captain April's equal, physically, emotionally, and as a commander of men. His primary weakness is an almost catlike curiosity over anything the slightest 'alien."
In the revised first draft script of (dated ), Spock was described thus; "The only exception to the familiar types represented by the crew, Mister Spock is of partly alien extraction, his reddish skin, heavy-lidded eyes and slightly-pointed ears give him an almost satanic look. But in complete contrast is his unusual gentle manner and tone. He speaks with the almost British accent of one who has learned the language in textbooks." The episode's revised final draft script (dated ) excluded mention of the "reddish skin" but otherwise remained the same. Later in the script, one of Spock's statements was directed to be delivered in an "excited" manner.
Gene Roddenberry thought up the unemotional aspect of Spock. Roddenberry explained, "As I created him, I said to myself, 'If I could just get rid of the emotions that plague me and work things out logically… ah, the things I could do!" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 47) Casting Director Joseph D'Agosta added, "On the Spock character, the only guidelines I had were that he had to be thin, and a good actor with no emotion. He was a cold, calculating, logical person. Humor was not even considered at that time." (The Star Trek Interview Book, p. 213)
Actor Martin Landau (Commander of ) was an early casting consideration for the character of Spock in TOS. This was before the role went to Leonard Nimoy.
In spite of studio request to get rid of "the guy with the ears," Gene Roddenberry insisted on keeping the character through both pilot episodes of the series. (Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories; Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime)
According to Leonard Nimoy, he felt the need to play the character as more emotional when Jeffrey Hunter was playing the internalized Christopher Pike, as opposed to William Shatner's portrayal of Captain Kirk. (Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime; et al.) Also, there was room for Spock's emotional detachment when the similarly emotionless character of Number One was discarded along with Pike, after . (Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before, p. 15)
NBC's early- publicity booklet gave this bio for Spock (reprinted in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story):
::"Science Officer Spock has a precise, logical turn of mind inherited from his father (a native of the planet Vulcanis, who married an Earth woman). Because Vulcanians regard any display of emotion as a breach of good taste, Spock rarely betrays what he is thinking or feeling, either by his speech or his facial expression. He cannot, however, mask his cat-like curiosity about everything of alien origin. This sometimes proves to be his -heel."
The unemotional quality of Spock's persona was extremely appealing to Leonard Nimoy. "What immediately intrigued me was that here was a character who had an internal conflict," Nimoy observed. "This half-Human, half-Vulcan being, struggling to maintain a Vulcan attitude, a Vulcan philosophical posture and Vulcan logic, opposing what was fighting him internally, which was Human emotion. There was a dynamic there to work with from an acting point of view." (Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before, p. 15)
Gene Roddenberry recognized Spock as a team effort. "I'll take credit for formulating Spock and guiding the character," he said, "then give as much credit to Leonard Nimoy for making it work, and also credit to the writers who kept it going in many story situations."Science Fiction should be mainly about On the other hand, Roddenberry proclaimed, in a letter to Isaac Asimov, "It's easy to give good situations and good lines to Spock." Roddenberry also thought it was easier to write Spock than it was to write McCoy.Getting Star Trek on air was impossible Nonetheless, the depiction of Spock was still to be further developed as the show began. Recalling the character's genesis, TNG Producer Robert Lewin noted, "Spock was not the hero that he became during the early part of the first series." (The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, p. 71)
The series writers' guide (third revision, dated ) gave the following description of Spock (Star Trek: The Original Series 365):
::"MISTER SPOCK": Played by Leonard Nimoy, this is the ship's science officer, in charge of all scientific departments aboard. As such, he is the ship's number two ranking officer and holds the rank of commander.
::"His bridge position is at the library-computer station, which links the bridge to the vessel's intricate 'brain', a highly sophisticated and advanced computer that interconnects all stations of the ship. From his central panel, Spock can tap resources of the entire computer system – including a vast micro-record library of man's history… plus all known information on other solar systems, Earth colonies, alien civilizations, a registry of all space vessels in existence, personnel information on any member of the USS Enterprise, or almost anything else needed in any of our stories…
::"Mister Spock's mother was Human, his father a native of the planet Vulcan. This alien-Human combination results in Mister Spock's slightly alien features, with the yellowish complexion and satanic pointed ears… He has a strange Vulcan 'ESP' ability to merge his mind with another intelligence and read the thoughts there. He dislikes doing so since it deprives him of his proud stoic mannerisms and reveals too much of his inner self…
::"We now realize that Spock is capable of feeling emotion, but he denies this at every opportunity. On his own planet, to show emotion is considered the grossest of sins. He makes every effort to hide what he considers the 'weakness' of his half-Human heredity."