8 Interesting Facts About Spock’s Return on TNG [List]

On November 4, 1991, Leonard Nimoy reprized his role as Spock in part one of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Unification.”

To honor the 20th anniversary, here are 8 interesting facts about the show.

1. “Unification I and II” are two of the most watched episodes of the entire TNG series with over 25 million viewers.

2. On the official Star Trek website, “Unification I and II” are two of the highest rated episodes with an average rating of 4.5/5.

3. “Unification” aired a few weeks before the premiere of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Spock refers to the events in the movie by asking Picard if he’s aware of his role in the peace treaty with the Klingons at Khitomer.

4. This episode is not the first time one of the actors from the original series appeared on the show. The first time was when DeForest Kelley appeared as Doctor “Bones” McCoy in the first episode of The Next Generation, “Encounter at Farpoint.”

5. “Unification” was the final appearance of Spock’s father Sarek by actor Mark Lenard. Lenard himself died five years later.

6. The death of Sarek is the first true death of a major character from the original Star Trek series. Spock died earlier in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but was resurrected in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

7. This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series.

8. “Unification” memorialized Gene Roddenberry with a title card that read: “Gene Roddenberry: 1921-1991.” However, the first episode to air after his death was an earlier episode, “The Game.”

Sources:

IMDB

Memory Alpha