Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 108: Unification, Part I [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

A very good and refreshing storey(nice to get a break away from Klingons) where Spock is on Romulus (and is spotted by Starfleet inteligence) urging a re-unification between Vulcans and Romulans. Picard goes to see Sarek, Spocks father, to find out where Spock could've gone. It is a very moving scene with Mark Lenard (Sarek), where he portrays a deteriorating Vulcan who has lost almost all his mind control capabilities (worth watching if only for this scence, it is very moving and is a truely great loss with the death of Mark Lenard). Spock finds that many people on Romulus want follow a Vulcan way of life. Then he finds that the Procouncil wants to meet with him to urge the re-unification. It is a trap. With Spock is Picard to check-up on him. They get themselves out of the trap with a little technical help from Data. Picard offers Spock to mind meld to find out more about his father and the fact that he loved Spock. Picard and Data leave while Spock stays behind to continue to teach the Vulcan way of life to those that wish it.

Spock has defected to Romulus in order to help them reunite with Vulcan. The gem and best scene of the show was Mark Lenard's death bed scene as Sarek with Picard. It truly breaks your heart to see Sarek on the edge of death.

A Starfleet Admiral informs Captain Picard that long-range scanners have detected Ambassador Spock on Romulus, the home world of the Romulan Empire. The question on the table is whether or not Spock has done the unthinkable by defecting. The Enterprise travels to Vulcan where Picard meets with a dying Sarek, who explains that Spock has been cultivating a friendship with Pardek, a Romulan Senator. Sarek believes his son went to Romulus to meet with Pardek to discuss the possibility of the "unification" of their two peoples (An aside: seeing as how the Romulans have an empire and the Vulcans have just their planet, this reminds me of China wanting "unification" with Taiwan; these are not exactly equal parties in these negotiations--but the parallel sure works). After Sarek's death, Picard and Data are transported to a cloaked Klingon warship, which will take them to Romulus where they will beam down and attempt to locate Spock. Meanwhile, the Enterprise tries to solve a seemingly unrelated mystery: wreckage from a Ferengi transport ship marked "medical supplies" contains a navigational array from the Vulcan Ship T'Pau, which is supposedly docked in the interstellar junkyard around Qualor Two. Riker discovers not only that the T'Pau is missing but that a mysterious ship is stealing more equipment from the junkyard. Back on Romulus, Picard and Data continue their search for Spock.

"Unification I" sets up almost all of the pieces for the mystery of Spock's disappearance (there is one more important character in the tale who does not make their appearance until part two). The final appearance of Mark Lenard as Sarek is especially moving and quite unexpected. Picard finds himself caught in the gulf between father and son that is now solidified by Sarek's death. But Star Trek has always known how to make the most out of the death of their characters and this part of the story is far from over. Although he has only a few seconds of screen time in this episode, the character of Spock dominates the story. Of course Sarek is right about what his son is up to. so the challenge is to find Spock more than anything else.

Star Trek: The Next Generation was not going to lure Leonard Nimoy into making a guest appearance as Spock without giving the actor/character a real solid story line and the two-part "Unification" episode really delivers. Unlike the appearance of Scotty in "Relics," the return of Spock is integrated into on-going STNG story lines. The Romulans have become increasingly less subtle about their expansionist intentions (most recently in the two-parter "Redemption," Episodes 100-101) so that they are certainly a growing concern for the Federation. The idea that the Romulans and Vulcans have common ancestry dates back to the first appearance of the Romulans on the original Star Trek ("Balance of Terror," Episode 9). On a more personal level, there is the fact that Picard has mind-melded with Spock's father Sarek, an intimacy that has been denied the son ("Sarek," Episode 71). Consequently, the appearance of Spock on STNG is eminently logical.

At the time I first bought UNIFICATION it was sold as a two parter on one tape( The two shows were edited together as one show). I was also told that it was the biggest seller of all the shows in the NEXT GEN tapes series... I don't know if that is still true.
Anyways, it is the only NEXT GEN episodes I have from the TV series.
It is far and away the most accessible for fans of TOS of STAR TREK. Sarek's role in this film is excellent, and it brings out the emotional side ( the Romulan Side? ) of Spock in a most amazing way. As I have read, Spock relished this chance to have Spock do something additional to being a walk on role ( As he was asked to do in GENERATIONS).
Highly recommended for TOS fans who want a bridge over into the NEXT GEN universe.