Movies - TV
Star Trek: The Next Generation's Spock Ban, Explained
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
Gene Roddenberry wanted "Next Generation" to be a cleaner, purer version of the original "Star Trek" and to be wholly unique, scrubbing it of all the old "Star Trek" characters.
According to writer Ira Steven Behr, one rule that came with this direction was that no one could say "Spock." This was particularly frustrating during the episode "Sarek."
In the episode, Sarek (Mark Lenard) carried out a diplomatic mission while suffering from a brain condition. Sarek is Spock's father and featured
in the original series.
Roddenberry, however, was adamant about not using the name "Spock." Behr recalled, "I said, 'It's Spock's father, we're already in that territory.' He said, 'Absolutely not.'"
Behr managed to get around the Spock rule by catching executive producer Rick Berman off-guard during a conversation. In the episode, Sarek said "Spock," and all was well.
The Spock ban seemed like a moot point a few years later with the airing of the two-part episode "Unification," which featured Spock himself, played by Nimoy.