| Series: | Star Trek |
| Creator: | Gene Roddenberry |
| Voice: | Mark Lenard ("Yesteryear") |
| Full Name: | S'chn T'gai Sarek |
| Species: | Vulcan |
| Spouse: | Amanda Grayson Perrin Landover |
| Gender: | Male |
| Sarek | |
| Family: | Skon (father) Solkar (grandfather) |
Sarek 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 originally played by Mark Lenard in the episode "Journey to Babel" in 1967. Lenard later voiced Sarek in the animated series, and appeared in Star Trek films and the series .
Actor Jonathan Simpson played a younger Sarek in a brief scene in , with voice-over provided by Lenard. Ben Cross portrayed Sarek in the 2009 Star Trek film. James Frain plays Sarek in the television series .
The character appears in the original Star Trek series, the animated series, five Star Trek films, two episodes of , and numerous Star Trek novels and comics.
Sarek was born in 2165.[1] He is the son of Skon of Vulcan and the grandson of Solkar (the first Vulcan ambassador to Earth).[2] Sarek was married twice, and had two sons. Prior to his first marriage, he had a relationship with a Vulcan princess 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, with whom he had Spock. After Amanda's death, Sarek married Perrin, also human, who survived his death. Sarek and Perrin had no children together.
Sarek's second son, Spock, entered Starfleet Academy. Sarek opposed the decision because he wanted Spock to enter the Vulcan Science Academy which he had arranged for years before and the two were estranged for 18 years. Following a mission on the Enterprise where Spock helped save Sarek's life, father and son are reconciled in the episode "Journey to Babel", with Mark Lenard portraying the first appearance of Sarek.
Mark Lenard voiced Sarek in the episode "Yesteryear". In this episode Spock must travel back in time to his childhood, and keep his younger self from dying and being replaced by an Andorian as First Officer of the Enterprise. Spock, posing as a relative, meets a younger version of Sarek.
Mark Lenard portrayed Sarek in movies based on the original Star Trek series. In (1984), Sarek confronts James T. Kirk at his apartment, thinking that Spock placed his katra, or living essence, into Kirk's mind (since Kirk was the last person to be with the dying Spock), and asking Kirk why he did not return Spock to Vulcan. Unknown to either Sarek or Kirk, Spock had actually placed his katra in the mind of his friend Leonard McCoy for safekeeping. Kirk later discovers this through the security tapes during the last moments of Spock's life in his fight to save the Enterprise from Khan. Sarek asks Kirk to bring Spock's body back along with his katra to Vulcan; Kirk promises to do so. The Genesis Device regenerates Spock's body and restores his life; Kirk and his crew manage to get Spock off the planet and return him to his home planet of Vulcan. There, Sarek asks the priestess T'Lar to perform a fal-tor-pan, reuniting Spock's mind and body. Sarek thanks Kirk for the rescue of Spock, which took place at the expense of the destruction of the Enterprise and the death of Kirk's son. Kirk admitted if he did not try to save Spock, he would have faced a deeper guilt in his soul.
(1986) begins with Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew still in exile on Vulcan. Sarek travels to Earth to speak on behalf of Kirk (who is facing charges from the Klingon Empire), and is subsequently trapped on the planet when Earth is threatened by destruction by an alien probe. After Kirk and his crew return and save Earth, and are largely exonerated at their subsequent trial, Sarek has a private audience with his son. Sarek states that he is pleased with Spock, and admits that he was wrong in opposing Spock's induction into Starfleet, praising his comrades as people of good character.
Actor Jonathan Simpson briefly played a younger Sarek during (1989), with a voice-over provided by Lenard. The scene is in reference to Spock's birth and Sarek remarking he is "so human."
Mark Lenard's final filmed appearance in the role of Sarek was in (1991). This film was recorded after, but released before, his last broadcast appearance in The Next Generation. It takes place in the time period of the original series, in the year 2293. Sarek is once again shown as a diplomat participating in the Khitomer Conference, the first diplomatic meeting between the Klingons and the Federation.
Lenard made two appearances as the character in . In the first, in an episode named after him, Sarek suffers from Bendii syndrome, an incurable and terminal neurological degenerative illness that causes him to lose control of his emotions. For example, when Data and a quartet play Brahms' first sextet, second movement, he is moved to tears.[3] Having established a mind meld with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Sarek is able to continue with an important diplomatic mission, but his emotions are expressed through Picard, among them his deep love for Amanda, Spock, and his current human wife Perrin, causing Picard to almost go insane. His death from Bendii syndrome occurs in the first part of the TNG episode "Unification".
Sarek, played by Ben Cross, appears in the Star Trek reboot (2009). 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 disappointed to learn that his son has turned down admission in favor of joining Starfleet.
When the vengeful 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. When Cadet Kirk provokes Spock to force him to relinquish command, it is only Sarek's stern "Spock!" that calms the enraged half-Vulcan. When Spock leaves the bridge, Sarek is clearly displeased by the events and follows him. 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 destroying Earth and to avenge his mother's untimely death.
James Frain played the role of Sarek in .[4]
Spock's ongoing conflict between emotion and logic is countered by his parents, Sarek and human Amanda Grayson, a seemingly loving and devoted couple. 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". Movies and episodes of have also added to background on these relationships. Spock and Sarek's relationship is formal and respectful, but strained. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who mind melded with Sarek before he died, also mind melds with Spock in order to share Sarek's thoughts and feelings about his son. Little is known about Sarek's relationship with his oldest son Sybok, but presumably it was a difficult one since Sybok rejected Vulcan ways and was banished from the planet.
Sarek's adoptive daughter Michael Burnham was added in . Sarek in many ways is closer to Burnham because he shared part of his Katra with her. Still, when forced to choose between Spock and Burnham, Sarek favored his biological son. This is a central theme of the Discovery episode "Lethe", in which Sarek attempts to have both of his children accepted to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group, but is told that only one could be chosen. Sarek ultimately chose Spock, who opted to join Starfleet instead, rendering Sarek's decision futile and causing him to feel terrible guilt over having to make the choice (and over misleading Burnham about her application since he had originally told her that she was rejected).
The Mirror Universe counterpart of Sarek appeared in the Discovery episode "The Wolf Inside", in which he is a member of the rebellion against the Terran Empire. (Like Spock's mirror counterpart, this Sarek sports a Van Dyke beard.) He is revered as a prophet by the other rebels, due to his Vulcan mental abilities. Unlike the regular universe Sarek, this version never adopted Michael Burnham and has never met her before. When Burnham arrives at the rebel encampment and claims to want to assist the rebellion, the rebels assume she is her own mirror counterpart (who has orders to eliminate the rebels), but Sarek performs a mind meld and pronounces that she is telling the truth.
Sarek appears in the following episodes and films:
In 2009, IGN ranked Sarek as the 13th best character of Star Trek overall.[5] In 2015, SyFy rated Sarek as among the top 21 most interesting supporting characters of Star Trek.[6]
In 2016, ScreenRant rated Sarek as the 11th best character in Star Trek overall as presented in television series and films up to that time, highlighting the character's relationship with his son Spock.[7] They note how Sarek appears across multiple incarnations of Star Trek, and both Spock and Sarek try to understand each other and their own feelings.
In 2017, Den of Geek ranked Mark Lenard's Sarek as the number one best guest acting performance on Star Trek: The Next Generation, for his performances in "Sarek" and "Unification, Part I".[8]
In 2018, CBR ranked Sarek the 5th best recurring character of all Star Trek, noting strong performances by Mark Lenard and multiple appearances across different films and shows.[9]