It's not easy being green (-blooded). The latest 'Strange New Worlds' shows it's harder than you'd think to play a Vulcan

Vulcans have been living long and prospering in "Star Trek" ever since the Enterprise took its maiden voyage in pilot episode "The Cage." As well as being founder members of the Federation, their pointed ears and logical worldview have become synonymous with the franchise. Legions of fans have tied their fingers in knots in an effort to imitate Mr. Spock's famous salute.

As recognizable as they are, it turns out that playing a Vulcan is rarely quite as easy as donning a pair of prosthetic ears, aggressively shaping your eyebrows, and adopting severe bangs. In the fun new "Strange New Worlds" episode "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans," Enterprise crew members Pike (Anson Mount), La'An (Christina Chong), Chapel (Jess Bush), and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) experience the reverse of the procedure that briefly made Spock fully human in season 2's "Charades," as their genomes are resequenced to make them full- (and presumably green-) blooded members of the species.

Of course, Vulcans are not traditionally renowned for their sense of humor, so it's ironic that this unashamedly comedic outing — the latest illustration of "Strange New Worlds"' fondness for gimmick-heavy episodes — should play its new Vulcan crewmembers for laughs. The question is, would Surak, the legendary pioneer of Vulcan logic, approve?

The rearranged DNA manifests differently in each of the Vulcan newbies. Captain Pike turns into a very shouty, hygiene-obsessed boss from hell – his new-found passion for stand-up meetings and 42-minute shift patterns really is the stuff of nightmares. Nurse Chapel concludes that sleep, friends, and romantic entanglements have been hampering her productivity. And communications officer Uhura opts to embrace the improved efficiency of her Vulcan conversational skills, before deploying a morally questionable mind meld to turn Beto Ortegas into more suitable boyfriend material. La'An, meanwhile, starts to exhibit the dictatorial traits of the warmongering Romulans, who — unbeknown to most of the Federation — split off from the Vulcans to go their own way a few millennia previously.

The one thing that unites the quartet is that they're all cartoon versions of Vulcans, more caricatures than actual characters. Almost by default they talk in the slightly robotic voice that many assume to be a Vulcan trait (La'An being the notable exception). It's a mistake plenty of actors have made in the past, but looking back through "Trek" history, the most memorable Vulcans tend to be rather more nuanced and, dare we say it, human.

Ignoring original "Trek" pilot "The Cage" (where his line delivery is remarkably similar to Vulcan Pike's), Leonard Nimoy's OG Spock has more depth than pretty much any of the Vulcans who followed in his footsteps. Captain Kirk's first officer may not be prone to outward displays of emotion, but his wicked sense of comic timing (and a strategically raised eyebrow) are all he needs to shut down Dr. McCoy's barbs. Nimoy's successors in the role, Zachary Quinto and Ethan Peck, have also negotiated the two sides of Spock's human/Vulcan heritage with style — Peck has even turned him into something of an interstellar lothario.

Besides, when Spock tries to use the Kolinahr ritual to purge his last remaining emotions in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," there's no question he becomes a much duller character as a result. It's therefore a big relief when his more playful, and at times borderline sarcastic, self returns in "The Wrath of Khan." Admiral Kirk isn't joking when he says of his fallen comrade, "Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… human."

Spock's protégée, the brilliant Lieutenant Saavik, also sidesteps Vulcan cliché. A deleted scene (and various non-canon spin-offs) have explained away her unconventional behavior as a consequence of her half-Romulan heritage. More importantly, however, Kirstie Alley's performance in "The Wrath of Khan" is loaded with personality, her Saavik admitting to being confused by human emotions while displaying plenty of her own — she even sheds a tear at Spock's funeral.

When Robin Curtis inherits the Saavik role in "The Search for Spock," her more stilted, more stereotypically Vulcan performance leaves you wondering if you're watching the same character or someone who just happens to have the same name.

As Spock notes in "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans," it's not that Vulcans don't have feelings, it's more that their emotions are so powerful that they need to deploy logic to protect themselves and the people around them. We have seen what can happen if those barriers break down, like when Captain Picard mind melds with Spock's ailing dad, Ambassador Sarek, in "The Next Generation" episode "Sarek."(Then again, Mark Lenard's long-running performance as Spock's dad is another that ensures emotion is always bubbling beneath that stoic Vulcan exterior. Maybe Sarek's connection with his feelings is one of the reasons he married a human woman…).

Yet, somewhere along the line, Vulcans have become the butt of the joke with their stiff, snobbish demeanor a source of ridicule for their (supposedly) more progressive human shipmates. Spock tries hard to adopt some "colorful metaphors" in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," and even harder to "comprehend the meaning" of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." The Vulcan dignitaries in "First Contact" seem utterly flummoxed when Zefram Cochrane's plays Roy Orbison on the jukebox, while Captain Archer loves to moan about the Vulcans' big brother attitude in "Enterprise." In "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans," Spock is happy to admit that many Vulcans are "jerks."

Now, doesn't it feel a little odd that "Star Trek" has allowed so many Vulcans — one of the most iconic alien races in sci-fi, don't forget — to become so, well, one note? Surely boiling Vulcan culture down to a checklist of presumed character traits is rather too reductive, even in a comedy episode like this week's "Strange New Worlds"? Especially as said characteristics were never part of Spock's DNA in the first place.

Spock, "Lower Decks"' T'Lyn, and planet Earth fanboy Doug (a brilliant cameo from Patton Oswalt) have all shown that Vulcans can be funny without becoming jokes themselves. Indeed, from T'Pol to Tuvok, Saavik to Spock, Vulcans have repeatedly proved themselves to be among the brainiest, hardest-working members of Starfleet. Sure, they may not always be the first name on the list of invites for that party in Ten Forward, but there's more to being a Vulcan than pointy ears and pretending that every day is international talk like a robot day.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" debut on Paramount+ on Thursdays.