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Sarek (episode)

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Violent emotions sweep the Enterprise when Ambassador Sarek comes aboard to finish a long diplomatic mission.

Summary

Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan is called aboard the USS Enterprise-D to fulfill his latest diplomatic duty, a treaty with a mysterious race known as the Legarans. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Commander William T. Riker are in the corridor and Picard says that he was tongue-tied the first time he met Sarek. Riker asks Picard if the rumors that Sarek will be retiring after these negotiations are true, and the Captain confirms that it's unofficial but true, and the successful negotiations with the Legarans will be considered a perfect way to end an exemplary career. They get to the transporter room and Sarek's aides, Ki Mendrossen and Sakkath, are beamed aboard. Mendrossen advises that Sarek is not a young man anymore, and though Sarek may wish to attend the events that the Enterprise has prepared for him, he says that it is ill-advised because Sarek will tire too easily. He must be ready to negotiate with the Legarans when the Enterprise arrives at Legara IV. Picard says that they have readied a Mozart concert for him. Sarek and his wife, Perrin, are then beamed on board the Enterprise. He introduces his wife, who, like his first wife, is Human. Sarek tells Picard he wishes to visit the conference room. Mendrossen says that he should rest, but Sarek is insistent on visiting the conference room.

Ensign Wesley Crusher and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge are preparing in the conference room the slime pit that is the home environment for the Legarans. Wesley says that he has a date with Ensign Suzanne Dumont. Geordi jokes that Wes would be too chicken to have even asked her out, but congratulates him. Sarek inspects the conference room and becomes uncharacteristically irritated that it is not properly prepared. After he has calmed down, he retires to his quarters, declining (through his aides) Picard's invitation to show him the ship.

Picard and Riker discuss how Sarek is not as frail as Mendrossen implied. Picard will not cancel the concert even if the Ambassador is unable to attend, but regrets that the guest of honor won't be there. Troi suggests that Picard invite Perrin, understanding this could lead to Sarek attending, agrees and heads straight down. Arriving at their guest quarters, Perrin says that Sarek is meditating and unable to greet Picard. Picard says he came to ask Perrin to the concert and to bring Sarek to the concert if he is willing to attend. After Picard leaves, Perrin consults with Sarek in the other room, and it turns out he cannot meditate and hasn't for weeks.

Wesley and La Forge verify the temperature of the slime in the tank, which is 150 degrees Celsius. Wes, unusually impatient, asks to leave for his date and Geordi remarks that nothing's going to happen anyway. The two quickly descend into a huge argument, as Geordi says that Wes is not going to get anywhere with Dumont and Wes retorts that at least he doesn't have to get his women on a holodeck. The two are ready to come to blows when Riker walks in and breaks it up. Wes leaves, while Geordi insists that nothing is the matter.

Picard and Riker go to the recital, as they discuss Worf putting a previously exemplary officer on report for insubordination and Riker brings up the earlier incident. Before they can discuss further, Sarek and his group come in the recital room. He says it was at his wife's insistence and that it seemed the ideal diversion. Picard introduces Data who asks which performer's style they'd like to hear, as he is programmed with varieties for 300 violinists. Perrin asks Data to play in the style of Tataglia. While the concert is going on, Sarek actually cries at a moving moment in the performance. Picard notices this and, while retaining his composure, is astounded to see a Vulcan crying to music. Sarek and his group quickly leave, and as they do Troi also feels something unusual from them.

Dr. Crusher summons Wesley to sickbay, and after picking a fight with him about not having attended the concert, she slaps him as hard as she can. Later she tells Counselor Troi that she would never hit Wes, especially as it was unprovoked. It was from a sudden burst of anger. Troi says that she has heard the same thing from 10 other people in two days.

Sakkath gets a tour of the bridge from Data and he asks if Picard is prepared to go through negotiations with the Legarans if the ambassador's diplomatic capabilities are compromised. Data infers that Sarek may not be able to conduct negotiations as originally thought, but Sakkath backtracks and says that he was merely interested in different scenarios of the situation.

In Ten Forward, Miles O'Brien starts an argument with one of the other officers about the table they were going to sit at. La Forge sees this and calms them down and offers to buy everyone a drink. At that moment, Riker and Worf discuss Worf's recent behavior and they walk into Ten-Forward where everyone is in a fist fight.

Picard, Riker, Troi, and Dr. Crusher are in Ten-Forward discussing the fights that have been occurring. Eventually, Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi deduce that Sarek is suffering from Bendii Syndrome, a rare disorder that causes Vulcans over the age of 200 to lose emotional control, and he is unconsciously broadcasting his intense emotions to the humanoids around him. Crusher says that all the fights started when the Vulcan party beamed aboard. She says that they can test for Bendii Syndrome but the results of the test to confirm it will not be available before the scheduled meeting with the Legarans.

Picard summons Mendrossen to his ready room and tries to reason with him that Sarek may have Bendii Syndrome, but Mendrossen refuses to listen. He summons Data and has him talk to Sakkath, who admits, after Data uses logic with him, that Sarek is not able to continue his diplomatic duties in his condition. It turns out that Sakkath has been using his own telepathic abilities to keep Sarek's emotions under control, but the strain of the mission has made it impossible to hold in Sarek's abilities.

Riker tells Picard that he needs to tell Sarek about his condition, but they end up yelling at each other on the bridge. Data calms them down and Picard takes up the unpleasant task of confronting Sarek. He finds Perrin and tells her that Sarek may have Bendii Syndrome, but Perrin is in complete denial about Sarek's condition, saying that there has not been a case of it in Sarek's lifetime and that he does not have it.

When he finally gets to speak to Sarek, he does not believe that he has the disease, but he will submit himself to take the test. Since the conference is in a few hours and the test results cannot be determined for at least a few days, Picard asks that he postpone the conference with the Legarans. Picard reveals that Sakkath has been holding together Sarek's emotions and Sarek tells Sakkath that his assistance will no longer be required. He then asks everyone to leave while he speaks to Picard.

Sarek offers Picard the chance to present his arguments and he will listen and consider them logically. Picard explains the violent emotional outbreaks that have been occurring on the ship, and that he feels Sarek is responsible. Sarek counters that any number of unexplained phenomena could be the cause, and while Picard states that other possibilities are being researched, there is also the fact this began after Sarek came aboard and that it can't be a coincidence that his wife and staff have been isolating him. Sarek suggests that Picard is reacting to their emotional feelings concerning his age, but Picard reminds him that Sakkath doesn't feel emotions. Sarek argues that Sakkath is a child who mistakenly thought that he needed help... but Picard reminds him that he did need his help at the concert. The mention of the concert causes Sarek to hesitate, as Picard reminds him that he cried... he saw the tears. Sarek at first denies it, then correct Picard that there was 'one tear'. Picard then comes back with his original question; Is it logical for a Vulcan to cry?. Sarek, beginning to lose control as his anger is rising, reminds Picard that the Legarans will meet with only him and there are no other solutions. Picard reminds Sarek that he himself has said that there are always other solutions, and that Sarek would never be afraid to look at something he didn't want to see. Sarek angrily accuses Picard of trying to discredit him, but Picard stands firm with the statement that Sarek of Vulcan never confused what he wanted with the truth. Sarek is now becoming blind with fury, and Picard tells him that he can hear the anger in his voice. Sarek screams that it is illogical to become angry, and his hysterical reaction proves that everything that Picard has claimed is true.

Picard, upset at what he had to do even if it was the right thing, knows that Sarek is in no condition to do the negotiations and prepares to inform the Legarans personally. Perrin asks Picard to let Sarek continue the negotiations, but Picard cannot do anything. She asks Picard to volunteer to allow Sarek to mind meld with him, so that Sarek would have Picard's emotional control. Sarek is reluctant, warning that this would cause Picard to be overwhelmed by extremely powerful Vulcan emotions, but he ultimately agrees.

After the meld is performed, Picard is indeed overcome, and in the presence of Beverly Crusher, pours out the contents of Sarek's secretly anguished soul. In the meantime, a restored and rational Sarek successfully completes his negotiations with the Legarans.

The link is dissolved, and with the negotiations over and Sarek under less pressure, Sakkath can again help him. Picard shakes Perrin's hand, and then tells her that Sarek loves her. She says that she knows. Picard bids farewell to Sarek in the transporter room. Their lives have been forever joined, and each will carry a part of the other with him. Picard feels he has the better part of the bargain. As the Vulcan party leaves, Sarek grabs his wife's hand.

Log Entries

  • "Captain's log Stardate 43917.4. The Enterprise has been given the singular honor of hosting the first meeting between the Federation and a mysterious race known as the Legarans. We are in orbit around Vulcan preparing to welcome aboard Federation Ambassador Sarek and his wife Perrin, who like his first wife, is from Earth."
  • "Captain's log supplemental. In three hours time we are scheduled to meet with the Legaran. However it is all too evident that Ambassador Sarek is in no condition to proceed with the conference."
  • "First Officer's log Stardate 43920.7. Ambassador Sarek has successfully concluded the negotiations with the Legarans. The USS Merrimac (NCC-61827) has arrived and will transport the Ambassador and his party back to Vulcan."


Memorable Quotes

"I met him once... Many years ago, very briefly at his son's wedding. I can tell you, was quite a moment for a young lieutenant. Standing in the presence of such history... I remember he spoke to me, and I just stood there grinning like an idiot."
"You, tongue-tied?"
"Indeed. How do you make small talk with someone who's rocked the Federation?"

- Picard and Riker


"These walls are too bright!"

- Sarek, on the Legaran's conference room on the Enterprise


"The way Mendrossen described him, I expected to see a frail old man."
"I hope I'm that frail when I'm 202 years old."

- Riker and Picard, discussing Sarek


"I don't have to tell you that insubordination is a serious charge to be filed against anybody. Moreover, Ensign D'Amato has always been an exemplary officer."
"Perhaps, but he directly challenged my authority."
"Is it my imagination, or have tempers become somewhat frayed on board this ship lately?"
"I hadn't noticed" (pause) "I see what you mean."

- Riker and Worf, upon entering a barroom brawl in Ten Forward


"That girl's way out of your league."
"At least I don't have to find my women on the holodeck!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"

- Geordi La Forge and Wesley Crusher are having a heated - and uncharacteristic - verbal argument, brought on by Sarek's condition


"Didn't your mother teach you manners?"

- Miles O'Brien, to a sciences division crewman who stole his table in Ten Forward


"I have been accused of many things in my life, never an excess of emotion."

- Sarek


"My husband has taken an interest in your career. He finds it to be...satisfactory."
"My word...high praise from a Vulcan."

- Perrin and Picard


"I don't understand this. Everyone is protecting Sarek: his wife, Mendrossen, even you!"
"What would you have me do? March down there and destroy the man?!"
"The mission with the Legarans cannot be carried out with Sarek in this condition!"
"I know that!"
"THEN TELL HIM THAT THERE IS NO WAY!!"
"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!"
"Captain! Commander!"

- (Riker and Picard have been affected by Sarek's condition; Data snaps them out of it)


"I saw you crying."
"I did not cry."
"I was there, I saw the tears."
"You exaggerate, captain. I recall only one tear."
"So you were emotionally affected by the music."
"That is not possible."
"You still haven't answered my question, Sarek. Is it logical for a Vulcan to cry?"

- Picard and Sarek


"I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO IN THIS MANNER!!!"
"Do I hear anger in your voice?"
"It would be illogical for a Vulcan to show anger! It would be illogical! Illogical! Illogical! Illogical!"

- Sarek and Picard


"A mind-meld can be a terrible intimacy, captain."

- Sarek to Picard


"My wife, you will leave me now. I require solitude."

- Sarek, to Perrin


"NOOOOOOO!!!! It is... it is... wrong. IT IS WROOONG!!! A lifetime of discipline is washed away, and in its place... (laughs briefly then grunts) Bedlam. BEDLAAAAM!!! I am so old... there is nothing left but dry bones (sobs) and dead friends. Oh, tired. Oh, so tired."

- Sarek, in Picard's mind shortly after the mind meld


"I will take my leave of you now, Captain. I do not think we shall meet again."
"I hope you are wrong, Ambassador."
"We shall always retain the best part of the other inside us."
"I believe I have the better part of that bargain, Ambassador. Peace and long life."
"Live long and prosper."

- Sarek and Picard

Background Information

Story and script

  • According to Michael Piller, the story originally pitched involved another ambassador who begins to have mental problems on a mission. He recalled, "As we started talking about it in house on staff, we said what would really be interesting is if you took a very powerful member of either Starfleet Command or the Federation, and have them going through a time of their lives, like so many of our parents, where they're beginning to have problems with aging. From that point, it was two or three steps of somebody saying, 'How can we turn it into a science fiction show?' Somebody said, 'If you were a Vulcan, you could have some real telepathic impact from some kind of disease,' and from that point it was really short-stepped to, 'What about Sarek?' Sarek is an extraordinarily honorable character who we felt obliged to protect and deal with in a very respectful manner. At the same time, this becomes an extraordinarily personal story. A real stunning show." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
  • Piller noted that the use of an established character like Sarek helped to "bring home the idea that even the greatest of men is subject to mental illness." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
  • Marc Cushman recalled that after he pitched the story of Sarek going through senility, Gene Roddenberry had him write two scripts: one with Sarek and another with a new Vulcan character. Roddenberry "started to have second thoughts about tying the two shows together," Cushman said. After some time had passed, and The Next Generation had been on for more than two years, Roddenberry came to feel that the time was right to make the episode with Sarek. (From One Generation To The Next: The Making of "Unification")
  • For Piller, there was an even deeper resonance to the story. "What I remember most about that episode, however, is that in a very real way it reflected what was going on with the show at the time we wrote it. Gene [Roddenberry] was beginning to go into decline. Not that he was completely uncommunicative, but it was clear that he was not the same man that he had been. We all respected him so much, and he had been such an important, strong leader of the franchise and everything it stood for. But here is this great man - and I've only known him for less than a year at this point - here is this great man going into decline, and I immediately felt a very strong connection to the premise of 'Sarek,' because I could see that it really was about the universe that we lived in on a daily basis. If you go back and look at 'Sarek' closely, what that character is, is Gene Roddenberry." (Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission)
  • The script received an uncredited page one rewrite by Ira Steven Behr and Ronald D. Moore. (AOL chat, 1997)
  • Behr wanted to include more direct references to Sarek's son, Spock, but recalled it was a great challenge to even mention the character at all, as there was caution among the writing staff at this time towards referencing the The Original Series. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
  • Behr added on the Spock reference "I broke open the barrier and made it possible for The Next Generation to use names like Spock on-screen. That was a major taboo when I got there. No way could you mention the original Star Trek characters. It took days and days of arguing to slip in a single reference to Spock. So I like to think in my own sort of incoherent way I helped start to push open the door to what was a very, very closed and narrow franchise". ("Behr Necessities", TV Zone special #34)

Reception

  • Ronald D. Moore commented, "I think in some ways, it's even better than 'Journey to Babel'. Mark Lenard has a chance to do some solid acting. It's a character-driven show and that's different for us." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
  • Michael Piller observed, "The key to the whole season is in personal stakes and personal drama. The Sarek story touches a lot of people." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
  • Director Les Landau remarked, "There are some great moments in that show. When we first see Sarek listening to the concert and reacting to Data's beautiful playing of the violin and we, finally, see the tear fall from his eye...it reaches such a point within him that he can no longer take it and must leave the environs of the Enterprise theater which surprises the captain and Troi especially. There was just something about the way Mark Lenard played this moment and reacted that just made [it] extra special.
"The other moments that particularly come to mind in that episode is the mind meld between Picard and Sarek. Trying to come up with a way to conceptualize and shoot that became a frustrating point. I think, ultimately, when the two actors got to the set and showed me what they wanted to do, it just melded together and became a wonderful moment within the show. You always come to the set with a prepared framework for a particular scene, but you use that only as a schematic. When actors get to a set, all your planning can go out the window, and such was the case when Sarek finally says to Picard, 'Illogical, illogical,' to shed some kind of emotion. The dynamics between Picard and Sarek reach a level that I think is classic in Star Trek history.
"I think the most outstanding moment is when we finally see Picard sitting with Beverly, where he is the mind of Sarek thinking about his life that has come before, his former wife and the one and only reference to his son, Spock. If you watch what Patrick did in that scene, it is truly spectacular. I have had many great experiences on the show, but certainly that was one of the best. Patrick is so capable on so many different levels that one just lets him go." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

Continuity

  • It is revealed in this episode that Coridan successfully joined the Federation after the events of TOS: "Journey to Babel", partly thanks to Ambassador Sarek's support.
  • Sarek introduces Perrin to Captain Picard and Commander Riker as "she who is my wife". He introduced his first wife, and Spock's mother, Amanda to Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy exactly the same way.
  • Sarek admits that, in her lifetime, he never revealed the depth of his love for Amanda. In Star Trek, his alternate self would, after her untimely death, tell Spock much the same thing.
  • During his argument with Geordi, Wesley indirectly refers to the chief engineer's experiences with the holographic Leah Brahms, depicted in TNG: "Booby Trap".
  • Though Data and company are supposed to be playing a concert of Mozart, the piece that brings Sarek to tears is the slow (second) movement of the Sextet #1 in B-flat Major by Johannes Brahms, which requires six instruments, not the four we see. (Although, the initial piece is indeed part of the Mozart Quartet for Strings No. 19 in C).
  • This is the first time a Vulcan mind meld was done in the series.
  • Picard's crumbling emotions, mirroring Sarek's inner turmoil, is an echo of a similar scene of Spock in TOS: "The Naked Time", even down to a single take being used.
  • Mark Lenard reprised his role of Sarek for this episode. His next appearance would be in "Unification I" where his character died from his illness. However, his last appearance was almost exactly a month later (from a production point of view) when Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country hit the theaters.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Ensign Gates, one of the Enterprise's many flight controllers. She would appear in 35 more episodes. She was played by regular background actress Joyce Robinson.
  • First UK airdate: 8th April 1992

Video and DVD releases

Apocrypha

The portion of the novel Federation set in 2366 begins during this episode's epilogue as the title character and Perrin are about to leave the Enterprise.

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

Guest stars

Co-star

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt doubles

Stand-ins

References

2164; 2273; Alpha Cygnus IX; ambassador; bacteria; Bendii Syndrome; Betazoid; book; Celsius; chief of staff; command center; concert; Coridan; D'Amato; Dumont, Suzanne; Earth; emotion; empath; Federation; flagship; food replicator; Grak-tay; Grayson, Amanda; Heifetz, Jascha; holodeck; insubordination; Klingon Alliance; Legara IV; Legaran; Legaran system; logic; love; meditation; Menuhin, Yehudi; metathalamus; Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus; Merrimac, USS; NCC-7100; personal assistant; rank; Sextet Number 1; small talk; Spock; String Quartet Number 19; Tataglia; tears; telepath; Troi, Ian Andrew; Treaty of Alpha Cygnus IX; violin; virus; Vulcan; Vulcan (planet); Vulcan mind meld; water; wedding

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