In many fanfics, people write that Spock doesn’t need as much sleep as Humans, implying that Vulcans don’t. I myself have written that But I think that I was merely echoing other writers without doing my own research. Bad me
Does anyone know where this is from? Did the fandom make it up? Did Spock actually ever say it in an episode and I just don’t remember? Is it from a licensed Star Trek novel?
Last night I watched a first season TOS episode, the Archons one, and Spock is clearly sleeping while Kirk keeps watch. So indeed Spock DOES sleep and there is no mention of him not needing sleep but maybe he does say it at some point and I can’t recall?
Anyone? Please educate me. It’s been eons since I’ve watched every single episode of TOS but I definitely don’t remember it from the TOS movies.
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27 responses to “Question for Anyone Who Knows (or wants to discuss)”
I asked the best source I know, the Edwardo. His answer:
Yes. Well, sort of. They sleep similarly to humans, but if they have to go without sleep, they can go for about two weeks before they start going batshit. That was in both an episode of TOS and an episode of Voyager.
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Do you want specific episodes? Bc he might know
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Nah, J provided an episode example
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Gotcha! Thanks 🙂
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Yes – it comes straight from Paradise Syndrome – the obelisk episode. When they couldn’t find Kirk and couldn’t make the asteroid slow or divert, Spock stayed up without sleep for the entire trip back to the planet on impulse speed. Bones tries to get Spock to rest and Spock answers: “And under stress, we Vulcans can do without sleep for weeks.”
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Yeah I hate that episode and never watch it so that might explain my blocked memory LOL
As usual, one writer writes an episode that changes everything everyone else wrote before LOL
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We know exactly how long Spock went without sleep in Paradise Syndrome.
SPOCK: “Exactly fifty nine point two two three days, Doctor, and that asteroid will be four hours behind us all the way.”
So as you say, the Voyager writers changed – or didn’t bother to actually READ – the amount of time Spock went without sleep in TOS.
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Yep quite typical of them really!
Cool thank you my friend 🙂
Glad to know it wasn’t just a crazy fandom person everyone else simply copied!
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Just FYI for everybody to know in the future if there’s some detail like this you need for your writing, or merely for your curiosity.
When you need any details like this about ST – the easiest way to immediately find an authoritative answer to anything from any of the original ST series episodes or movies, IF you know the approximate name or year of the episode, is to check the actual scripts from:
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek
She transcribed all the scripts from all ST – EXCEPT not the ones only showing on Paramount+. On several of the stories I wrote on AO3, I used her scripts to get exact information – because a LOT of incorrect info is out there on the web.
(Obviously, if you have no idea of the episode the detail comes from, you may need to do a word search through several scripts that you think MIGHT have had a storyline with the answer. Word search makes it REALLY easy and fast to know if it’s there or not.)
Like I used info from 3 of Chakoteya’s “Enterprise” episodes scripts, two movies, and then from Roddenberry’s novel of The Motion Picture in my fic “Yet Can A Vulcan Truly Love?”
The way I found this answer was – I actually remembered Bones chewing out Spock for not sleeping in Paradise Syndrome. I went to Chakoteya’s script, did a search for “sleep” – and it instantly came up. Then when Spock was a little vague on the actual number of weeks, I remembered they traveled back to the planet on impulse power – so then I did a search for “impulse.” And that’s where I instantly found Spock’s quote of the time.
(Trust me though, a LOT of times when I’ve tried to find something, it took HOURS searching through scripts because great as imdb and alpha memory are – often, they just give you clues to where the answers are but don’t actually HAVE the answers. And sometimes those details were actually in ad lib’ed lines, so those are much harder to find. “Official” scripts don’t include ad-lib’ed lines. Chakoteya’s do!)
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I’ve used her script things myself so you are right she’s an EXCELLENT SOURCE
thank you for this!
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Oh and dang, that’s a lot of days
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(yeah, like the crazy fandom inventions of Spock’s frails and double ridges that somehow caught on and carried through art and stories for decades now! LOL)
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Yes exactly LOL
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I just spent some time googling it. Apparently it was mentioned in Star Trek Voyager by tuvok that Vulcans can go up to 2 weeks without sleeping if need be. Believe it’s episode called Muse
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708933/characters/nm0750913
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cool, thanks, and apparently it was also mentioned in a TOS episode I hate lol
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Well there’s the episode with the Native Americans on the planet. As the asteroid hurtles towards the planet AND Jim, Spock forgoes sleep
Also I see this in Wikipedia, . “Vulcans are typically depicted as stronger, faster, and longer-lived than humans,[17] however Vulcans are less cold-tolerant than humans. There are instances of them living over 220 years.[18] Having evolved on a desert planet, Vulcans can survive without water for longer periods than humans.[6] Vulcans can also go without sleep for as long as two weeks.[19]”
The citation is [19] “Muse”. Star Trek: Voyager. season 6, episode 22. I read the description of that episode. The description does not mention Tuvok or Vulcans and I don’t even recall watching that episode, if I ever did.
Now you’ve got me wondering, where rose it’s mentioned.
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I’ve never watched all of Voyager but it definitely was mentioned in The Paradise Syndrome so there ya go
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And see, I actually HAVE watched all the Voyagers more than once, and I didn’t remember Tuvok ever saying anything about how long he could go without sleep, so I would never have searched Voyager scripts. I guess the original Spock comments were too engrained in my memory, so I just tossed aside whatever Tuvok said.
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Just explains why Nimoy was sometimes less than complimentary about Voyager and Enterprise, LOL
I think they are good shows mind you but yeah I can see why he was annoyed given he had input in how Vulcans were only to have some writer change everything
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It took me long enough to Google it, that everyone else above answered before I posted my comment. Lol!
🤷🏻♀️ 😘
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Apparently everyone was eager to discuss LOL
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(I think it’s FUN to search those things out. I always enjoyed the searches MUCH more than actually writing! But – I’m weird. And being retired, i have nothing but time to enjoy it. Of course, I’d rather be able to afford a cruise or something!)
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It is fun and this is a prime example that everyone jumped in!
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You know, I saw an episode of Voyager where Tuvok stays awake and on duty for a week straight (as acting captain I believe) but towards the end of that time, the crew catches him sleeping in the center seat.
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LOL that’s awesome
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And looking above that’s what someone just said, lol. That’s what I get for not reading the comments first 😉
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No you are good! LOL
I love the contribution!
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