Kirk and Spock were voted favorite friendship on Star Trek
Last week, Virtual Trek Con held its annual conference and its inaugrual LLAPy Awards. These awards, according to the Virtual Trek Con website, are given to “honor the great achievements and moments in the Star Trek TV shows and movies.” And fans got to participate to help choose the winners from the various categories.
The awards had a lot of great categories including Most Shocking Betrayal, Funniest Moment in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Best pilot or first episode in a legacy Star Trek series. If you’re curious about who won what, TrekMovie has shared all the winners as well as who accepted the awards.
One category, Favorite legacy Star Trek Friendship, had eight possible winners which included James T. Kirk & Spock, Data & Geordi LaForge, Jake Sisko & Nog, Julian Bashir & Miles O’Brien, Julian Bashir & Garak, Odo & Quark, Seven of Nine & the EMH Doctor, and Harry Kim & Tom Paris. And the award went to Captain Kirk and Spock for their twenty-five year friendship that included three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series, two seasons of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and six Star Trek films.
Kirk and Spock had a friendship that lasted long beyond the ending of the series
Trekkies who aren’t familiar with the friendship that existed between James T. Kirk and his Vulcan second-in-command, Mr. Spock might question this award, but for those of us who have watched, still watch, and will continue to watch Star Trek: The Original Series and the following movies, this choice made sense.
Though the other friendships mentioned above had their moments, none had quite the emotional connection found in Kirk and Spock’s friendship. That’s not to say this friendships couldn’t have those bonds; they just weren’t really shown onscreen. In spite of my agreement with this win, I will point out that several friendships were omitted from the nominations. Those included Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, Captain Picard and Commander Riker, and Captain Sisko and Jadzia Dax. Had those been included, it might have made a difference in voter decision.
Captain Kirk and Spock had an emotional bond that carried from the television series to all of the movies. One of the most heartbreaking moments in a Star Trek film was Spock’s death in The Wrath of Khan. Spock’s resurrection doesn’t detract from Kirk’s palpable grief when he realizes he’s lost his friend. In a beautiful moment, that grief is transformed into joy when Spock’s katra was restored in The Search for Spock. It was a snapshot of true love for a friend which makes this win just.