Sarek

Episode aired May 12, 1990
TV-PG
45m

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

YOUR RATING

Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Mark Lenard, and Joanna Miles in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi

Legendary Federation ambassador Sarek visits the Enterprise to conclude peace talks with a race called the Legarans. His arrival is accompanied with a rash of unusual emotional outbursts amo... Read allLegendary Federation ambassador Sarek visits the Enterprise to conclude peace talks with a race called the Legarans. His arrival is accompanied with a rash of unusual emotional outbursts among the crew.Legendary Federation ambassador Sarek visits the Enterprise to conclude peace talks with a race called the Legarans. His arrival is accompanied with a rash of unusual emotional outbursts among the crew.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Picard's crumbling emotions, mirroring Sarek's inner turmoil, echoes a similar scene of Spock in The Naked Time (1966), even down to a single take being used.

Goofs
The crew are entertained by a recital that starts with a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart string quartet, as promised. This needs four players: two violins, viola and cello. The piece that causes Sarek's tear is in fact Johannes Brahms' Sextet #1 - which would require six players, i.e. an additional viola and cello.

Quotes
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: It's ironic, isn't it? All this magnificent technology, and we still find ourselves susceptible to the ravages of old age... loss of dignity... the slow betrayal of our bodies by forces we cannot master. Do you still want to be one of us, Data?

Connections
Featured in Honest Trailers: The Emoji Movie (2017)

Soundtracks
Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User reviews18

Review

Featured review

9/10

Even Vulcans get the blues

I think it's impressive enough that a respected character was borough onto TNG as a bridge to the Original Series, but the execution thereof just raises it to a whole different level. Sarek is losing control of his emotions on the eve of his crowning diplomatic achievement - which is shattering to a Vulcan and an interesting way to see the effects of dementia. Picard says it best: "It's ironic, isn't it? All this magnificent technology, and we still find ourselves susceptible to the ravages of old age" But it's also Picard who ends up coming through in the end, and the scenes with Stewart and Lenard are both powerful and heartbreaking.

Honestly, before watching this, I'd just expected to see Sarek show up as little more than a nod, like DeForest Kelley in 'Encounter at Farpoint'.

But this was a surprisingly considerate story.

9/10