Radiation-poisoned Spock: Most depressing Christmas ornament ever
Nothing says "Christmas spirit" like seeing Mr. Spock succumbing to radiation poisoning.
"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" made a big impression on me as a youngster. I remember running downstairs from my bedroom after dark so my parents could assure me that an alien earwig wasn't going to invade my brain.
My memory is hazy, but I'm pretty sure I also cried during Spock's poignant death scene as he succumbs to radiation poisoning while his friend Captain (Admiral at the time) Kirk looks on helplessly from the other side of a glass wall. It's the sort of moment you look back on as one of the most moving scenes in all of Star Trek. What it doesn't bring to mind is festive holiday fun...until now.
Hallmark has long made a wide assortment of Star Trek Christmas tree ornaments so fans can deck their halls in geeky style. This year, Hallmark brings us The Needs of the Many Ornament, an odd tribute to Spock's death scene.
The ornament is "artist crafted" and battery operated with "Magic Sound," a button-activated snippet of dialogue of the farewell spoken between the two beloved characters. It depicts Kirk and Spock kneeling in the engine room of the USS Enterprise, their hands on either side of the glass.
Perhaps Hallmark timed this ornament as a tribute to Leonard Nimoy. The actor who played Mr. Spock passed away in February. Perhaps it's just a coincidence.
It's hard to imagine how such a sorrowful happening is supposed to invoke the spirit of Christmas, until you start looking deeper into the scene. Spock sacrificed himself ("The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one") to save the Enterprise. The sound clip ends with Spock's declaration of his eternal friendship with Kirk.
Maybe this decorative item is actually the most loving Christmas ornament ever created, though it also qualifies as one of the weirdest.
(Via Nerd Approved)