Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) curiously referred to himself as the USS Enterprise’s"second officer"early inStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1.Star Trek’s signature character, the half-Vulcan Mr. Spock held the rank of Commander and performed the dual roles of Science Officer and First Officer onCaptain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) Starship Enterprise. However, the Vulcan preferred the distinction of Science Officer.
InStar Trek: The Original Series' season 1 episode, “The Enemy Within,” Mr. Spock oddly called himself"second officer"of the USS Enterprise. In “The Enemy Within,“Captain Kirk is accidentally duplicatedin a transporter accident. One Kirk is malevolent while the other Kirk retains his compassion, but both versions weaken without the other. Along with Leonard Nimoy inventingSpock’s Vulcan nerve pinchto subdue the evil Kirk,“The Enemy Within” is the only time Spock describes himself as"second officer.”
Why Spock Called Himself “Second Officer” In Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1
Star Trek Was Still Figuring Itself Out
“The Enemy Within” was the fourthepisode ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesbroadcast on NBC, and, at that point, the terminology used by Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi show was still a work in progress.Star Trekhadn’t yet settled on"Starfleet"as the command authority of the Starship Enterprise, and the"United Federation of Planets"was still to be coined by producer Gene L. Coon.Spock calling himself"second officer"is likely just an early error, perhaps born from the idea that Kirk was"first"since he was the Captain.
Star Trek: The Original Series Cast & Character Guide
Star Trek: The Original Series features some of the most iconic characters in all of science fiction with the crew of the original USS Enterprise.
Since Gene Roddenberry famously came from a military background,Star Trek’s Starfleet adapted the ranks and terminologysimilar to the United States Navy. Directly beneath the Captain is the First Officer, which was Spock’s role, as well as Science Officer, which was invented byStar Trek.Gradually,Star Trekcodified Starfleet’s in-universe command structure, although the role of second officer did return inStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Science Officer became the preferred role for Spock because he was the scientist of Kirk’s command crew.
Spock calling himself"second officer"at this early point inStar Trek’s run may also be a remnant ofStar Trek’s original, rejected pilot, “The Cage,“where Number One (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) was the USS Enterprise’s First Officer. Lieutenant Spock was the Enterprise’s second officer at that point, and it may have carried over intoStar Trek: The Original Series. Gradually, Science Officer became the preferred role for Spock because he was the scientist of Kirk’s command crew, although the Vulcan was also First Officer.
Ambassador Spock Was Listed As “Second Officer” In His Star Trek Beyond Obituary
A Callback To Star Trek: The Original Series?
Interestingly, Ambassador Spock was listed as"Second Officer - USS Enterprise"and"Executive Officer - USS Enterprise-A"in his obituary seen inStar Trek Beyond. In J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009), Ambassador Spock time traveled to the alternate Kelvin timeline where he lived the remainder of his life.
Star Trek: How Old Was Spock When He Died (Both Times)
Spock died twice in the Star Trek timeline but confusingly, the Vulcan died in two separate realities and his second death was earlier than his first.
“Executive Officer"is just another term for First Officer, while"second officer"may be a sly callback toStar Trek: The Original Series' “The Enemy Within"by the Justin Lin-directedStar Trek Beyondpenned by Simon Pegg and Doug Yung.
Who Are Star Trek’s Other Second Officers?
Another Star Trek Legend Also Called Himself “Second Officer”
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Lt. Commander Data(Brent Spiner) referred to himself as"second officer.“As Operations Officer of the USS Enterprise-D, Data was technically the second officer in Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) bridge crew command structure, underneath First Officer Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes).Data is the onlyStar Trekcharacter who called himself"second officer"after Spock, and the android’s terminology was, unsurprisingly, correct.
Spock’s 10 Best Star Trek TOS Episodes
Star Trek: The Original Series is not short on great episodes featuring the Vulcan Spock, one of the most popular characters in all of Star Trek.
“Second officer"was an unofficial role held by severalStar Trekcharacters. Science Officer Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) and Strategic Operations Officer Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) could be consideredStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s second officers. Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ), Security Chief ofStar Trek: Voyager,was essentially Captain Kathryn Janeway’s (Kate Mulgrew) second officer. As was Chief Engineer Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) onStar Trek: Enterprise.
The term “second officer” didn’t get popularized in Star Trek after Spock and Data.
OnStar Trek: The Original Series, it wasScotty (James Doohan)who was the USS Enterprise’s actual second officer. As Chief Engineer, Scotty was regularly called upon to command the Enterprise when Captain Kirk and Spock weren’t aboard. However, the term"second officer"didn’t get popularized inStar Trekafter Spock and Data, but it’s generally an unspoken of, but still real, position in Starfleet.
