In Search Of: A Reboot With New Episodes And Leonard Nimoy (Or A Reasonable Facsimile)
The original LOOKING FOR… was a very popular television series from 1977 to 1982. Rod Serling was the host for a short time before his death. Leonard Nimoy became the face of the show and the one we remember best. His smooth delivery of lines, voice inflections, and calm personality helped him garner huge ratings. Add to that the show’s content that covered popular topics that Nimoy listed in the opening sequence in his best Spock voice: “Lost Civilizations, Aliens, Myths and Monsters, Missing Persons, Magic and Witchcraft, Unexplained Phenomena.”
Leonard Nimoy was such an iconic part of the original series. I’m thinking the upcoming History Channel reboot needs it just as much as the original. The problem is that he passed away a while ago. So, I thought maybe the History Channel could find a way to bring it back. Maybe I’ll use a spirit medium or find a child who says, “I see dead people.” Or, try digital recreation and voice mixing. Then I realized… All you need is a Nimoy clone and one is available!
Zachary Quinto played a young Spock in the Star Trek movie reboot and played him again in two more Trek movies. Quinto is a talented actor, and even with the original Spock at his side, he played the character in an almost supernatural way. That performance linked him forever with Nimoy and I guess that’s why he was chosen to present the new LOOKING FOR…
Quinto is also the Executive Producer. He offered this statement about the reboot: “I’m so excited to re-imagine ‘In Search Of’ and explore new questions and phenomena with all the advances in science and technology we’ve benefited from in the last forty years since the original series aired. for the first time. In the spirit of my late dear friend Leonard Nimoy, we intend to honor and perpetuate his endless curiosity about the world, and the universe, we live in. Our director Eddie Schmidt and our partners at Propagate, Universal Television Alternative Studio and FremantleMedia International have started the process with enthusiasm and intelligence, and History is the perfect home for this unique and compelling series.”
He is not Nimoy and he doesn’t try to be. However, it’s hard to see Zachary Quinto as just anyone else in the role of host of the reboot. He is the slight resemblance without Spock’s makeup, but there is more. Zachary Quinto offers the same understated, upbeat delivery that Leonard Nimoy did when he was the host of the original show. The reboot also gives Quinto a chance to shine because it’s not just a reboot, but an experiment.
The show is listed as an “unscripted television” show. As Spock would say, “If one assumes that the host will read some kind of prepared material to introduce various segments of each show, I don’t see what it would be like without a script.” And if Bones answered him, he might say, “For once, I have to agree with that green-blooded, inhuman computer.” Spock might thank you for the compliment, but I’m also wondering what “unscripted” means in this case.
I hope and believe that we will see something new and unique. A reality investigation documentary style show that is best suited for today’s viewers. The original IN SEARCH OF… could have lasted another five years if I hadn’t tried to do the seventies in the eighties. It retained the iconic, but very old-fashioned, 1970s theme with outdated synth music from the late 1960s.
The original show aired in reruns on cable a while ago and got good ratings. However, it was not a show that would appeal to viewers under the age of fifty. I loved the original for its content, but watching those episodes was like watching the 1970s AIRPORT movies with that bad camera work, over-the-top characters, and silent movie star Gloria Swanson stuck in her last movie role before switching gears. plane for the trip to Heaven. The shows gave off that 70s vibe.
The reboot has to be something new and different, but not too different. We don’t need another Gong Show reboot with Mike Meyers playing a fictional British comedian who was never the host and gives a bad impression of himself. That explains Quinto’s presence. He caters to the nostalgic crowd, while also attracting a younger audience. At least ten episodes will be released and hopefully the ratings on The History Channel will provide the reasons for more. The show will premiere in the fall of 2018.
The only advice I can offer Zachary Quinto is the same advice Bones gave Scotty in STAR TREK IV: THE JOURNEY HOME. They were in a plastics factory trying to get enough materials to build a whale tank aboard their confiscated Klingon spaceship with no money or anything to trade. Scotty was supposed to be a visiting expert from Scotland and was giving a superior performance. Bones looked at Scotty and said, “Don’t get lost in the role!”