JOURNEY TO BABEL
THIS IS ONE OF THE TEN BEST TREKS!
GUEST STARS...
Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt.
PLOT SUMMARY...
The Enterprise transports a group of alien diplomats
to a peace conference, including Spock's mother and father.
QUICK SCAN...
This episode features the first appearance of
Spock's parents: Mark Lenard ("Balance of Terror") and Jane
Wyatt ("Father Knows Best") are superb as the Vulcan ambassador
Sarek and his human wife Amanda. Many "Trek" fans consider
this one of the favorite episodes. It's reassuring to see that the cooly
logical Mr. Spock sometimes has family problems like the rest of us.
SYNOPSIS...
The Enterprise is transporting various interplanetary
ambassadors to a meeting on the planet Babel. One of the ambassadors
in Spock's father, Sarek.
There is conflict among the ambassadors. A ship of unknown origin follows
the Enterprise. An alien ambassador is killed, with Sarek the likely
suspect.
Kirk foils the alien ship. McCoy performs successful heart surgery on
Sarek. Spock and Sarek repair their damaged relationship.
Review:
Director Joseph Pevney's, "JOURNEY TO BABEL," is a well loved
Classic "Trek" episode, and for good reason.
This is the famous episode which introduced Spock's parents, Amanda
and Sarek. Many of us grew up with Jane Wyatt, as the mother on "Father
Knows Best." So, her being cast as Spock's human mother seems appropriate.
Mark Lenard, who did a fine job as the Romulan commander in the "Balance
of Power" episode, brings strength and dignity to the role of Spock's
father, who is a Vulcan ambassador.
The scenes of Spock and Sarek together are quite good. It helps that
Nimoy and Lenard somewhat resemble each other.
This episode is jam-packed, filled with action. We get an alien ambassador's
murder, an attempt on Kirk's life, and a life or death operation for
Spock's father.
This is one of the few episodes where McCoy gets the last word in. His
beaming smile is a delight to behold.
"JOURNEY TO BABEL" will be highly watchable for most Sci-Fi
viewers. Fans of Mr. Spock will definitely dig this episode!
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