| Species | Vulcan |
|---|---|
| Home planet | Vulcan |
| Affiliation | United Federation of Planets |
| Posting | Vulcan ambassador to the Federation |
| Rank | Ambassador |
| Portrayed by | Mark Lenard Jonathan Simpson Ben Cross |
Sarek (pronounced /ˈsærɛk/) is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock. The character was originated by Mark Lenard in the 1967 episode "Journey To Babel." Lenard previously portrayed a Romulan Commander in another episode of the original series, 1966's "Balance of Terror."
Actor Jonathan Simpson played a younger Sarek in a brief scene in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, with voice-over provided by Lenard. Ben Cross portrayed Sarek in the 2009 motion picture Star Trek.
The character appears in the original Star Trek series, the animated series, four Star Trek movies, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and numerous Star Trek novels and comics.
Contents |
Sarek was born in 2165.[1] He is the son of Skon of Vulcan and a never-identified spouse. Solkar, Sarek's grandfather (Skon's father) was the first Vulcan ambassador to Earth, and was the captain of the Vulcan survey ship T'plana'hath which made first contact with Earth. (Star Trek: First Contact) [2] Sarek was married twice, and had two sons. Prior to his first marriage, he had a relationship with the Vulcan priestess, T'Rea, which produced Sarek's first son Sybok, a character not developed until the fifth feature film in the late 1980s. Sarek later married Amanda Grayson, a native of the planet Earth. After Amanda's death, Sarek married Perrin, also human, who survived his death. Sarek and Perrin had no children.
Sarek's second son, Spock, entered Starfleet Academy. Sarek opposed the decision, and the two were estranged for 18 years. Following an Enterprise mission where Spock helped save Sarek's life, father and son reconciled.
Sarek has had many diplomatic successes. Throughout each series and film, Sarek is shown to have great compassion for humanity and Earth. The underlying message of his character is a juxtaposition of deep caring, love and compassion against the steel of pure logic.
In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Sarek asks Kirk to bring Spock's body back along with his katra, or living essence, to Vulcan. Having died heroically in Wrath of Khan, Spock placed his katra in the mind of his friend Leonard McCoy for safekeeping. The Genesis Device had regenerated Spock's body and restored his life, and he is returned to his home planet where Sarek asks the priestess T'Lar to perform a fal-tor-pan, reuniting Spock's mind and body. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when Spock and the rest of Kirk's crew return to Earth and save it from destruction before being largely exonerated at their subsequent trial, Sarek had a private audience with his son. Sarek admitted he was wrong in opposing his son's induction into Starfleet, praising his comrades as people of good character.
Spock's ongoing conflict between emotion and logic is countered by his parents, a seemingly loving and devoted couple. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Sarek", Lenard made one of his last appearances as the character. Sarek suffers from Bendii Syndrome, an incurable and terminal neurological degenerative illness that makes him lose control of his emotions. Having established a mind-meld with Jean-Luc Picard, Sarek is able to continue with an important diplomatic mission, but his emotions are expressed privately through Picard, among them his deep love for Amanda, Spock, and Perrin. Sarek finally succumbs to Bendii Syndrome, dying in the TNG episode "Unification, part I", which takes place in the year 2368.
Mark Lenard's final filmed appearance in the role was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The film was released before his last broadcast appearance. Here the character is once again shown as a diplomat participating in the Khitomer Conference, the first diplomatic meeting between the Klingons and the Federation.
The character of Sarek and his relationship with Spock and Amanda have been explored in depth in amateur fiction, several authorized novels, and in the animated episode Yesteryear, written by D. C. Fontana.
Sarek appears in the 2009 Star Trek film, played by Ben Cross. Though respectful of Spock's ability to make his own choices, Sarek clearly encourages him to maintain his logical Vulcan nature. Sarek maintains that he married Amanda because it was logical to do so - since as the Vulcan ambassador, it would of course fall upon Sarek to observe human behavior. Later, Sarek is on the board of the Vulcan Science Academy, and is surprised to learn that his son has turned down admission in favor of joining Starfleet. This led Sarek and Spock's relationship with each other, as in the original series, to become estranged.
When the mad Romulan captain, Nero, makes clear his intention to destroy Vulcan, Spock arrives to transport Sarek, Amanda, and the rest of the Vulcan council to safety; however, Amanda is lost in the attempt. On the Enterprise, Sarek once again tries to help Spock, who is continuing to struggle with his emotions. Sarek advises Spock that if he feels anger (at Vulcan's destruction and Amanda's death), then he should not try to hide it. Sarek also admits to his son: "You once asked me why I married your mother...I married her because I loved her." Sarek affirms to his son that not all Vulcans are as emotionless as they appear to be; even Sarek is painfully grieved over the loss of his beloved wife. At this moment, father and son have reconciled as they grieve together over the losses of their world and loved ones, before Spock leaves to stop Nero from causing any more destruction and to avenge his mother's untimely death.
Sarek appears in the following episodes and films:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||