Friday, January 1, 2016

FROM SPOCK TO THE SIXTH DOCTOR - THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR NIGHTMARE COAT


Take a look at that outfit on Spock!


Here's why I like this mash-up between 'Star Trek' & 'Doctor Who' - one could actually work up a story for this!


The Second Incarnation of the Doctor visited the planet Vulcan in the story "The Power Of The Daleks", just a few weeks (our time) after 'Star Trek' introduced Vulcan as the home planet for Mr. Spock.

Here's how the TARDIS Data Core wiki describes Vulcan:
Vulcan was roughly twelve parsecs away from any other colony. The atmosphere was breathable by humans. It had very little radiation and the average temperature was 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees F). It was a young, volcanic world, with nutrient-rich soil, but with no native life. It had poolsof fuming mercury. Vulcan's day was several hours shorter than Earth's.

And here is how Vulcan is described by the Memory Alpha wiki for 'Star Trek':
Vulcan was an inhabited M-class planet in the Vulcan system. It had no moons, but appeared to have close planetary companions. This was thehomeworld of the Vulcans, a warp capable humanoid species.  Vulcan was located "a little over" sixteen light years from Earth. Vulcan was located near Andoria.

Vulcan had a considerably higher gravity, thinner atmosphere, and higher temperatures than Earth. Its climate was generally harsh, with most of the surface consisting of large deserts or mountain ranges, along with scattered small seas. Desert areas were prone to large amounts of heat, light, and electrical sand fire storms. By the mid-23rd century, the phrase "Hot as Vulcan" had become part of the vernacular. When Doctor Leonard McCoy visited the planet in 2267, he came to understand what the phrase meant. (ENT: "The Forge", "Awakening", "Kir'Shara"; TOS: "Amok Time")

Vulcan with night side lights from orbit in 2370

Vulcan was divided into provinces. There were several tourist attractions on Vulcan, including active volcanoes, ancient ruins, and lava fields. 


THE DOCTOR ON VULCAN

Taken together, both entries about Vulcan come from the Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy and the contradictions are a perfect example that this encyclopedia needed a new editor.  The two descriptions could be reconciled for the most part.  As for Vulcan having no native life, that is an outdated entry in the Guide based on those first human visitors who landed and set up their settlements in an uninhabited part of the planet.  The Second Doctor more than likely knew of the existence of the logical sentients who inhabited that world, but probably figured that to inform the human colonists would be an interference in the timeline. 

(I also think the Vulcans of Vulcan had different names for themselves and for their home planet, but when dealing with the rest of the galaxy's inhabitants, they deferred to the use of the Terran terms because their own names were unpronounceable by humans.)

So....

At some point before the Doctor regenerated into his Sixth Incarnation, he must have visited Vulcan again, perhaps several times, probably while Spock was still living on the planet.  (Based on Spock's age in the picture, I'd say it was more likely a return visit.)  During those trips to Vulcan, the Doctor picked up several knick-knacks.  (How do you say "tchotchke" in Old High Gallifreyan?) 

And he picked up several Vulcan customs and techniques - for example, the Vulcan sign of greeting....



And the Third Incarnation of the Doctor showed that he knew how to employ the Vulcan neck pinch in "The Mutants".

After whatever adventure the Doctor and Spock had together (I'd like to think it was the Fourth Doctor with Mr. Spock), Mr. Spock gave this outfit to the Doctor as a token of friendship.  More than likely Spock saw it as a way of getting rid of that outfit as it offended his logical self.

So why would Spock have been wearing it in the first place if he didn't like it?  Maybe it was a gift from some human cousin on his mother's side of the family.  Surely Amanda Grayson had some kin.  Or, as I suggested on my Toobworld Facebook page back in August when I first saw this picture, maybe it was some sort of ceremonial garb to be worn upon the completion of Pon Farr.  And we know that since the Vulcans endured pon farr every seven years, there were plenty of opportunities for Spock to have need of such a wardrobe for the ritual's finale.

At any rate, the Doctor would have accepted the "token of friendship", perhaps even knowing it was just a means for Spock to dispose of it.  And it wouldn't be long before one of his future incarnations decided it was the perfect outfit for him to wear on his travels through Time and the Relative Dimensions in Space.....

BCnU!

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