It Took Spock’s Father To Break 2 Big Roddenberry Star Trek: The Next Generation Rules

Ambassador Sarek's (Mark Lenard) guest starring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation broke two of Gene Roddenberry's unofficial rules for the series. Set about one hundred years after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, TNG followed the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D. TNG introduced a new era of viewers to the utopian future Gene Roddenberry created, but the show initially had few connections to the Star Trek of the 1960s.

Near the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, Mark Lenard returned to Star Trek as the aging Ambassador Sarek. Although Sarek had only appeared in one episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, he left quite an impression as the ever-logical Vulcan father of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Aside from a brief cameo by DeForest Kelley in TNG's series premiere, Sarek was the first character from TOS to appear alongside Captain Picard and his crew. Sarek's presence also led to increased conflict among the Enterprise-D crew, as the Vulcan's Bendii Syndrome projected his strongest emotions.

“Sarek” Broke Roddenberry’s No TOS Characters On Star Trek: The Next Generation Rule

Sarek Is 202 Years Old When He Visits Picard's Enterprise In "Sarek"

When Star Trek: The Next Generation first began, Gene Roddenberry wanted it to separate itself from Star Trek: The Original Series by focusing on entirely different characters and new alien species. After DeForest Kelley's appearance as Admiral McCoy in TNG's premiere, Captain Kirk's adventures were rarely referenced, even when it would have made sense. After TNG had been on for two seasons, however, Roddenberry began to relax this particular rule, finally allowing a prominent character from TOS to appear on TNG. "Sarek" not only featured the return of Ambassador Sarek, but also name-dropped Spock himself.

Directed by Les Landau and with a teleplay written by novelist Peter S. Beagle, "Sarek" tells a simple story that sees Ambassador Sarek visit the USS Enterprise-D to negotiate a historical trade agreement between the Federation and the Legarans. When crew members aboard the Enterprise begin experiencing strange bursts of emotion, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) determines that Sarek is suffering from Bendii syndrome, a degenerative neurological disease that sometimes affects elderly Vulcans. Mark Lenard delivers a brilliant performance as he struggles to accept the truth of his condition.

“Sarek” Broke Roddenberry’s No Conflict Among Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Crew Rule

Sarek's Emotions Wreak Havoc On The Enterprise Crew

Gene Roddenberry insisted that there be no conflict among the crew members aboard the USS Enterprise-D, which limited the types of stories Star Trek: The Next Generation could tell. Sarek's projected emotions in "Sarek" allowed TNG to find a loophole to Roddenberry's rule, as the conflict among the crew came from an outside source. Throughout the episode, Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) get into a screaming match (about their love lives, of all things), and Dr. Crusher slaps her son Wesley for arguing with her.

These outbursts of emotion culminate in an all-out brawl in Ten Forward that finds Enterprise officers tossing one another over the bar and through glass tables. When Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) tries to intervene, he gets punched in the face for his troubles. Captain Picard eventually goes to Sarek with his concerns, but it takes some convincing for the elderly ambassador to accept the truth. In the end, the conflict created by Sarek's emotions has no lasting consequences, as the crew members understand they were not in complete control of their actions.