Gef's Favorite Fictional Character --- Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Horror is one of those genres that I really enjoy but for whatever reason I don't seek out when I'm picking new books to read.  Over the last few years of blogging I think I've only reviewed about twenty books that would be in some way classified in the genre. When it comes to movies though, I would say about half of what I watch are horror movies, the reviews I've done seem to back that up.  I really do need to start doing the movie reviews again, but that's beside the point.  My point is that as much as I love horror, I don't follow that many horror blogs.  I find most of them to be way over the top and almost depressing to even look at.  One of the few bloggers I do follow, actually the first horror blog I followed, is Gef at Wag the Fox.  You can tell Gef really enjoys what he reviews.  He is a horror fan and proud of it.  What I love about his blog is that he still has a sense of humor about the whole thing and it comes across.  He takes what he does seriously, but still has fun with it.  It's a trait that many of us could benefit from.  So even if horror is not your usual cup of tea, he does review other genres as well, please go by and say hi.  I think you will all enjoy his blog as much as I do.

When I sat down to write about one of my favorite fictional characters, the first name that popped into my head was McCoy. Out of all the characters from Star Trek, Bones is the most memorable by far. Now, I enjoyed the J.J. Abrams reboot from a couple years back with Karl Urban cast as McCoy, but there's only one man I picture when I think of the ship's doctor--and that's DeForrest Kelley.

While Captain Kirk had the swashbuckling air about him reminiscent of the Errol Flynn style of characters, and Spock had the robotic detachment you might expect from an alien in a sci-fi film, Doctor McCoy felt like a character that had stepped right out of a western. And as a boy who enjoyed watching westerns on the weekends with my Dad, Bones stood out from the pack. He was empathetic, but he didn't suffer a lot of bull from his patients, and he had no qualms with cracking down on Kirk whenever the captain of the Enterprise wanted to tear off half-cocked into a battle after having his ass handed to him. Bones also had a bit of complexity, with his aversion to certain technologies like the transporters, though he did rely on his tri-quarter pretty much all the time when he needed to diagnose a patient.

Bones was a bit of a racist prick, too. At least when it came to Vulcans. Or maybe Spock just knew how to push his buttons. That green-blooded goon could be a bit of a prick when he wanted to be. In fact, some of the best scenes from the show involved Bones and Spock arguing with one another over some dilemma or philosophical question. Sure, Spock tended to when those with logic and facts, but Bones appeal for humanity, instinct, and good old-fashioned gut feelings held a lot of sway.

Aside from steely glares and acting as Kirk's conscience half the time, Bones could sling catchphrases with the best of them, too.

"Dammit, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"

or how about: "He's dead, Jim."

The guy was a one-man drinking game.

I haven't watched an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series in years, but there are certain scenes and moments from the show that apparently hardwired into my brain now, because I can envision them with no effort at all, like the episode where Bones had to re-implant Spock's brain after it was stolen--yes, stolen. The show is one of my earliest TV memories, as the reruns ran every Saturday when I was a kid, and I never tired of them. And one big reason for cherishing the show so much is because of DeForrest Kelley as Bones.