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Did the Beastie Boys influence Star Trek's Mr. Spock?
As noted in our Star Trek review, J.J. Abrams has created a Trekverse in which Budweiser, Nokia cell phones and the Beastie Boys co-exist with phasers, Romulans and the Vulcan nerve pinch.
The inventive Web site Sly Oyster has taken this information and pointed out a weird pop-culture echo chamber effect involving two of those things, suggesting that the Beasties may in fact have influenced Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto).
Here's the reasoning: We see young Kirk punch up the 260-year-old Beastie Boys song "Sabotage" on his stepdad's 280-year Corvette as it's racing toward the cliff. If THAT Beastie Boys song exists in this universe, then so does the more appropriately titled "Intergalactic" (video below), which includes this line:
"If you try to knock me you'll get mocked / I'll stir fry you in my wok / Your knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop / Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock."
It's therefore logical that Mr. Spock himself may have come across that song—perhaps in his studies at Stafleet Academy—which could have given him the idea for that famous move.
We're just sayin' ...
By Roger Workman at 12:40 PM ON 05/15/09
No.
By MartinCahn at 12:45 PM ON 05/15/09
Cute idea, but the Vulcan neck pinch was around long before Spock was born -- in any universe.
LOVED the movie!
By stargazer1682 at 12:47 PM ON 05/15/09
Yeah, no.
By wordwitty at 12:47 PM ON 05/15/09
Isn't it obvious? Spock went back in time and ran into the Beasti Boys. They were referring to the person they met who could pinch a man unconscious, not the character on a show.
By stargazer1682 at 12:55 PM ON 05/15/09
That actually sounds like a cool idea - that in the Star Trek universe, that reference is incidental and people that hear that line in that world, don't understand who or what they're talking about with that line - which works, since a lot of songs are like that.
By raul at 1:07 PM ON 05/15/09
As I recall mr. spock made a visit to San Francisco during the 80's. Maybe one of the Beastie boys was on that bus when he used it. Maybe one of the Beastie boys was that dude got the Vulcan nerve pinch in Star Trek IV.
By pete at 1:15 PM ON 05/15/09
this is such a stupid entry I am offended. I'd complain about the time I lost reading it, but I wasted even more writing about it- that's how offended I am! Howabout some real news, Sci-Fi Wire!
By asd at 1:30 PM ON 05/15/09
Think of it this way. Alex De Large also loved driving recklessly and blasting music from hundreds of years ago. That almost makes it sorta related to a friend of cool.
By xanadude at 1:34 PM ON 05/15/09
WOW! Yes very cool. That whole sequence with the red convertible being chased by a flying police vehicle also screams inspiration by RUSH's "Red Barchetta"
By xanadude at 1:39 PM ON 05/15/09
WOW! Yes very cool. That whole sequence with the red convertible being chased by a flying police vehicle also screams inspiration by RUSH's "Red Barchetta"
By Nick at 1:40 PM ON 05/15/09
My brain is going to explode! :)
By LeeR at 1:43 PM ON 05/15/09
my feelings exactly Pete, i posted something similar a lil earlier, but it got removed, maybe i shouldnt have used the word crap...where IS the real news??
By Muldfeld at 1:50 PM ON 05/15/09
The reasoning for these products is simple: commercialism, on the one hand, and cheap attempts to relate to the audience through cliche Hollywood notions of Americana. They did the same thing on "Lost" with skinny dipping right after Claire is kidnapped and Hugo listening to his chill music on his walkman and Sawyer handing Kate a mixtape. These are supposed to be touching, when they actually feel incredibly contrived. Pathetic. I whinced when I heard "Sabotage".
By Mr Cinema at 2:21 PM ON 05/15/09
Is this a news website or is it being turned into a blog?
By Jaxx at 2:22 PM ON 05/15/09
This was the dumbest part of the movie...like anything by the Beastie Boys is going to survive until the 23rd Century
By Darkboar at 2:34 PM ON 05/15/09
Wish I had not read this ;p
By BVK at 2:47 PM ON 05/15/09
Jaxx is obviously not familiar with Futurama...
Thanks for giving me a good laugh, sci-fi... I paid no mind to the bud & nokia cameos, but I hadn't throught through the "paradox" created by the existence of the Beastie Boys in the Trek-verse. I think I just swallowed my own brain.
By brum at 2:51 PM ON 05/15/09
Slow news day!!!!!
By Aysel at 5:38 PM ON 05/15/09
This isn't news.... :/
By kizer at 7:13 PM ON 05/15/09
People are saying Beastie Boys wouldn't last that long, but a 280 year old Vette would? hahahahaha
So your saying Mozart wouldn't either?
By Shaun at 7:21 PM ON 05/15/09
“These are supposed to be touching, when they actually feel incredibly contrived. Pathetic. I whinced when I heard "Sabotage".”
about as contrived as vic fontaine, from deep space nine, singing “the way you look tonight” or one of the many other standards he performed?
By mistrx75 at 8:13 PM ON 05/15/09
"Isn't it obvious? Spock went back in time and ran into the Beasti Boys. They were referring to the person they met who could pinch a man unconscious, not the character on a show."
Probably did it while he was recording "Spock vs. Q"
By IsoTek at 1:28 AM ON 05/16/09
"“These are supposed to be touching, when they actually feel incredibly contrived. Pathetic. I whinced when I heard "Sabotage".”"
Also about as contrived as Tom Paris working on a hotrod in a holodeck recreation of past America. Or when Data took comedy lessons from a holographic Joe Piscapo. C'mon dude, unclench.
By Johnny at 4:13 AM ON 05/16/09
Pete and Lee and others who are whining about the Beasties and the direction of this site, go read the dying newspapers if you want hard news. As a fan of both the Beastie Boys and Star Trek, i enjoyed this piece.
By TMR013 at 11:06 AM ON 05/16/09
Well, just proves my point about ST 90210, all gimmick no substance.
I'm going to watch the remastered ST ROK, am way more excited about that then this fake Trek drivel.
By Son of a Maui Portagee at 4:41 PM ON 05/16/09
TMR0133,
ROK? Do you mean TWOK? Or did I just slip into an alternate Earth where RETURN OF KIRK was made?
By jolinar at 4:50 PM ON 05/16/09
Maybe the Star Trek shows & movies exist in the "Star Trek" universe. You never know.
By King Ad-Rock at 10:54 PM ON 05/16/09
Perhaps Kirk and Spock saw the Beastie Boys' "Ch-Check it Out" video and witnessed themselves fighting like they eventually would when Spock goes through pon farr. Oh, that's right, T'Pring has been sucked into a black hole. Maybe they'll now fight over Uhura?
By King Ad-Rock at 11:01 PM ON 05/16/09
Hey, come to think of it, Spock was messing around with Uhura while T'Pring was still alive. Well, like Sarek always says, "Hate the kal-toh, not the player".
By stealthgear at 1:05 AM ON 05/18/09
During the filming of Intergalactic, the Beastie Boy's achieved warp, causing the Vulcans to form the first contact. At this time Nero appears and the Beasties are sucked into the future, spiral out of controal and land on the iceplanet where Spock is just doing absolutely nothing in a cave.
One of the Beasties get pinched as Spock defends his home from intruders. Later they find out it was all a mis-understanding, and spock eventually helps them get home to 1998, where they write him into the song.
The fact that Spock appears in TOS and other movies as himself is evidence that he, Leanard Nimoy, had further singularity adventures and is indeed an alien from the future.
By 3155555555 at 7:13 PM ON 01/31/10
Wow, why is everybody hatin' on the Beasties? Star Trek fanboys should be honored to have the Beastie Boys in their movie.
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3155555555:
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