“Sarek” is written and from a story by: Peter S.
Beagle, from an unpublished story by: Marc Cushman and Jake Jacobs, and is
directed by: Les Landau. It was produced
under production code 171, was the 23rd episode of Star Trek: The
Next Generation Season 3, the 71st episode overall, and was
broadcast on May 14, 1990.
“Journey to Babel” is D.C. Fontana’s Star Trek
masterpiece, along with “Amok Time” it is the episode to flesh out who the
Vulcans are and who Spock is as a person.
“Journey to Babel” introduces Spock’s parents, Sarek, played by Mark Lenard,
and Amanda Grayson, Sarek being the full Vulcan, emotionally distant father of
Spock. Sarek as a character would appear
in an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series and in four of the six Star
Trek films, three at the time of this episode. “Sarek” brings back Mark Lenard as Sarek to Star
Trek: The Next Generation for an episode that works as the perfect parallel
to that first appearance in “Journey to Babel”.
The setups are similar: diplomatic missions to enter trade relations between
the Federation and a civilization when something goes wrong with deep
connections to Vulcan, implicating Sarek.
“Journey to Babel” is special because it explores how Sarek as a
character does actually care for his son and the sacrifice Spock has to make
which brings them closer and the love he has for his wife. “Sarek” is interesting because Spock is nowhere
to be found, for good reason as Star Trek: The Next Generation should not
be reliant on the original series which is partially responsible for the issues
of the first two seasons. Instead, “Sarek”
is an episode that is primarily concerned with examining aging gracefully and
stepping out of the limelight.
The premise is that the negotiations with the Legarans
will be ambassador Sarek’s last duty as an ambassador, he will be retiring
after this mission with his second wife Perrin, played by Joanna Miles. The conflict of the episode is also about
aging, after several crew members become agitated and coming to blows the
hypothesis Picard and Crusher come to is that Sarek is suffering from a rare,
degenerative disease. He is losing
control of his emotions and his innate empathic abilities as a Vulcan are destabilizing
the emotions of those around him. The
conflict comes from the crew having to first uncover why the crew is getting
angry, allowing for several scenes where our main cast are allowed to shout at
each other in releases of emotion, and then convince Sarek that he has this disease. What dramatically enhances the premise of “Sarek”
is that it can be read as a tribute to Gene Roddenberry whose health at the
time was declining. The episode’s
conclusion, Picard participating in a mind meld and taking on Sarek’s pain,
insecurities, and regrets. This adds an
extra layer of humanization as Patrick Stewart essentially plays Sarek for a
brief moment.
“Sarek” is written by Peter S. Beagle, an author most
well known for The Last Unicorn, and he brings a particularly human
element to Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is not an episode with an A/B-plot structure,
Sarek’s story driving everything, but it does devote several scenes to the
smaller emotions of the side characters.
Wesley Crusher gets to be excited for a date and just about every
character is allowed at least one emotional freakout, even O’Brien who has over
the course of this season become this regular presence in the transporter room. This aspect of the story is integral to
making Sarek’s emotional arc actually work because Beagle in many ways is
celebrating the breath of humanity. The most
interesting scene in the story is actually the opening conversation between
Picard and Riker, because it’s two men discussing a living legend. Stewart and Jonathan Frakes play the scene, a
fairly normal scene of mostly expository dialogue, as in complete
adoration. The image of the stoic
Captain John-Luc Picard being far too excited to meet Sarek as a child that just
adds so much to who Picard is as a person.
Beagle’s script also is handling delicate matters quite well. Bendii syndrome metaphorically reflects conditions
like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease within the episode, and the script is one
of the few times Star Trek hasn’t completely demonized these sorts of
health issues. Beagle does not make
Sarek uncapable because of his condition, despite it he is still himself and his
biggest problems are his aides keeping his own health issues from him in
attempts to preserve his legacy and allow him to continue his work. It’s not his wife who is causing him issues,
his own insecurities are doing that by making him believe he does not love her
though Joanna Miles plays Perrin as a woman deeply in love and deeply
loved. It is telling that the tip off
that something wrong with Sarek is not anger, it is tears at a string quartet
of Mozart’s performed in Sarek’s honor.
The script isn’t the only thing that makes “Sarek” as
an episode work so well. Les Landau at
this point has directed several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation,
but “Sarek” is one where his style shines in particular. Take the opening expository scene for
instance, it’s one long tracking shot as they are walking to the transporter room. While it does not add character like some other
examples, the motion helps the forward momentum of the exposition before we can
meet Sarek and begin the episode proper.
When Data is discussing Sarek’s condition with his aide Sakkath, played
by Rocco Sisto, the camera is placed in a way to partially obscure the scene
which feels closer to a piece of film direction over an episode of television. It adds to the atmosphere and primes the
viewer to see the duplicitous and shadowy nature of Sakkath’s actions while
placing Data in the light, representing the correct viewpoint. The use of shadows then becomes representative
of the anguish Sarek’s condition has caused and of what the mind meld with
Picard does at the climax. While in negotiations
Sarek is lit in a positive light, representing the return to his faculties,
when we cut to Picard suffering he is lit equally in shadows and in uncomfortable
close up to enhance the anguish of Stewart’s performance. These are all particularly small details,
they are all within the confines of a busy television schedule, but Landau is
quickly becoming one of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s directors to
really watch out for as interesting despite directing quite a few episodes per
season.
Overall, “Sarek” has a premise that could easily fall
into the trap of nostalgia, but giving it to a writer like Peter S. Beagle
means it becomes a very human story of aging and moving into late stages of
ones life with grace. It’s an episode
that does not demonize the elderly, something that Star Trek has had difficulty
with in the past, instead looking at what it all means to live life and confront
those insecurities. The script and
direction are perfect, enhancing some of the best performances from the cast,
even the cast members who are given only small roles in the episode. It’s perfect.
10/10.
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