Leonard Nimoy passed away today at the age of 83. It’s just impossible to overstate what a fantastic and enduring character he created in Mr. Spock. As Charlie Jane Anders writes today, before Spock, that kind of character-the emotionless alien-was a one-note character, but he managed to imbue him with a terrific range and depth, squeezing a tremendous amount out of a raised eyebrow or a single word (“fascinating”). The fact that everyone knows Mr. Spock, whether you’ve seen the original Star Trek or not, is a tribute to what he created. They don’t come any cooler than Leonard Nimoy.

