There must be some cosmic Star Trek serendipity going on, but the same week William Shatner reached his 81st birthday (!), Leonard Nimoy completed his cameo for The Big Bang Theory.
Not to mention by the time you read this, Nimoy will be hitting the big 8-1 himself.
Although he still looks good, Nimoy will not physically appear on the show, but is providing his voice, which should be instantly recognizable to any self-respecting geek. On The Hollywood Reporter’s website, he was photographed giving the Live Long and Prosper hand signal with Bang star Jim Parsons, and on the show, Doc Spock is Parsons’s idol.
Needless to say, Trekkies everywhere have responded very favorably to this. Zap2It called it “a dream come true to nerds everywhere,” and TVLine.com called it “the photo that’s been five years in the making. Chuck Lorre, co-creator of Bang also said, “We’ve been chasing Leonard for years, and he finally gave up. We caught him.”
As Nimoy said, “I thoroughly enjoyed myself. [They’re] a talented company and a smart show; they made me welcome.” Nimoy has been on Bang’s most wanted list for a cameo experience for a long time, and he graciously came out of retirement to summon the voice of Spock for the show.
It’s inspiring to see anyone past eighty still working and keeping active, and as we’ve seen with Shatner, he’s got more energy than somebody twice his age. With his one man Broadway show, Captain Kirk sure isn’t slowing down, and it’s good to see Nimoy living up to his Vulcan creed of living long and prospering as well.
