107 – Unification, Part 1

Grade: A-

Summary

While docked at a starbase, Captain Picard finds out from Starfleet that Admiral Spock may have defected to Romulus.

Commentary

Finally an episode from this season that this series can be proud of. It has been a while since we’ve seen an episode of this caliber. The writing is very good this time, and the script is excellent. Nobody says anything unnecessary. The actors are given some great lines that strengthen their characters as well as push the storyline forward. It’s a fantastic screenplay from Jeri Taylor.

The scene with Picard and Sarek was just fantastic. Patrick Stewart is by far the best actor in this series out of all the regulars, and Mark Lenard is one of the few guest stars who can match Picard’s skill. Thinking about all the great scenes that this franchise has produced, it would be very hard for me to rank them all in order. But this scene between Picard and Sarek has to be one of the very best. I loved it how Picard helps Sarek give the Vulcan greeting.

Later in this episode, we find out that Sarek has died. Personally, I’m glad that they decided to have this off-camera and didn’t ask Mark Lenard to act it out. It was the right decision to have Picard receive the message from subspace instead of witness it in person.

But there’s more to this episode than just Sarek, Spock and Picard. I thought the scenes on the Enterprise bridge were also very good. Riker is a very good First Officer, and it’s nice to see him doing something significant for a change. They’ve been using him as an extra lately, and it’s about time that he does something important again. The other regulars don’t have much to do, but the actors do a good job with what they are given.

I also liked the character of Klim Dokachin. It is strange to think that there’s a junkyard out in space, but it works fine in this episode. It creates an interesting storyline, and I was just as curious about the unidentified ship as I was about Spock’s activities on Romulus. That’s also a sign of a good screenplay – both halves of the plot are equally interesting.

Finally, one last point – Picard says that “barely a year ago,” he had a mind-meld with Sarek. Actually, that episode was in the 3rd season, about 18 months earlier than this one. But that’s just a nit-pick. Overall, this is a very good episode.

Of Note

When this episode starts, there’s an acknowledgement that Gene Roddenberry has died. It’s ironic that the episode in which Sarek dies is the same one when they acknowledge Gene Roddenberry has died.