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Unification: random rewatch

Khan 2.0

Commodore
Commodore
just rewatched the eps in what must've been at least a decade since last saw them (maybe last saw them around 2009 in anticipation or aftermath of ST09) and its still kind of surreal seeing 'movie era' Spock interacting with Picard and Data and wandering about the TNG realm with that TNG 'look' and score etc.. kind of a 'Generations' but with Spock (and like Kirk he doesn't visit the Ent D which was abit of a missed opportunity). its abit weird seeing Picard in romulan make up first meeting huge shoulder pad Spock (there must've been a way around that).. You get the feel that this Spock is a changed man by the time of TNG, its not just a gimmick or the Spock of the movies plopped in the TNG era (which I think was the original intention when spocks TNG appearance was going to involve time travel and the guardian of forever or something that evolved into Yesterdays Enterprise)

just thinking back to 91 and remembering how it was done to create abit of anticipation for Trek VI due out a month later in December 91 (after V almost sunk the movies and TNG had gained huge popularity) and of course to tie in with the 25th anniversary (like Trials&Tribulations for the 30th). I recall buying the Unification novel and the TNG magazine that had photos from the ep but not being able to actually watch the eps in the uk until it came out on VHS a few months or maybe even a year later:( (the bbc had stopped showing TNG around s4)

And while it obviously was at a huge deal the time due to the symbolic 'unification' of TOS and TNG its become kind of a seminal focal point for future Trek referenced in ST09 and Picard (not that's ive been able to watch any Picard yet and trying to remain spoiler free) and the whole missing Spock plot and final scene of episode 1 almost draws parallels to Trek III and maybe influenced ST09 (and the likes of Force Awakens and Blade Runner 2049)
 
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How about some memories of Uni I&II now everyones going nuts over III?..(maybe title of thread should have been 'Unification memories')
 
I do remember, from back in the day, a lot fan backlash over Nimoy barely being in part one, though many fans were disappointed as well over the episode being "meh".

But there were some who thought it was an all-time great. I wonder if they still hold that belief. Re-viewings only show more needless padding, comic relief that doesn't work, and Sela being underused and relegated to a mustache-twirling villain trope that feels squarely out of place in a story that tries to be epic while using homage to attempt to feel like TOS -- but not quite succeeding.

That said, the subplot revolving around "cowboy diplomacy" with Spock/Picard scenes are still quite good. As set-pieces.

But it was gimmicky to now bring back old characters to do direct tie-ins, and it can lead to small universe syndrome too.

IMHO, YMMV.
 
I do remember, from back in the day, a lot fan backlash over Nimoy barely being in part one, though many fans were disappointed as well over the episode being "meh".

But there were some who thought it was an all-time great. I wonder if they still hold that belief. Re-viewings only show more needless padding, comic relief that doesn't work, and Sela being underused and relegated to a mustache-twirling villain trope that feels squarely out of place in a story that tries to be epic while using homage to attempt to feel like TOS -- but not quite succeeding.

That said, the subplot revolving around "cowboy diplomacy" with Spock/Picard scenes are still quite good. As set-pieces.

But it was gimmicky to now bring back old characters to do direct tie-ins, and it can lead to small universe syndrome too.

IMHO, YMMV.
oh yeh i remember the disappointment of spock only in final scene of Ep1 and the overall disappointment of ep 2 .. ep1 is definitely considered the better part (much like BOBW)
 
oh yeh i remember the disappointment of spock only in final scene of Ep1 and the overall disappointment of ep 2 .. ep1 is definitely considered the better part (much like BOBW)
Well... because any time Mark Lenard was on TNG, it was positively captivating. In hindsight, he was easily the BEST TOS guest spot of that whole era
 
They were good episodes, Spock brought gravitas to the story, and it opened up development for the Romulans that I don't feel like has ever satisfactorily paid off.
Side note, we hear that Picard was at Sarek's son's wedding. The novels marry him off to Saavik, which I always found kind of unlikely and icky given he was her mentor and there's such a huge visible age difference. It's a shame the shows never did anything with Spock's wife, there could've been potential there. Maybe left us with a child or two. TOS is completely childless except for Sulu.
 
I watched the Unification episodes when they originally aired but not since. Liked them a lot especially part 1. Will definitely rewatch soon.Greatly enjoyed part 3.
 
Pros of Unification I & II :

Spock, Spock, where is SPOCK? (Ooh, the anticipation!)
Seeing Perin again.
Sarek's Bendi breakdown.
Picard and Data's Romulan makeover.
Spock and Data's talk about being 'Human'.
Picard's mind meld with Spock, and the Vulcan's anguished tears.
"Suck salt? It's a nasty habit."

Cons of Unification I & II :

Spock, Spock, where is SPOCK? (Not in part one, apparently.)
Vulcan junk, Star Wars bar room, fat Ferengi.
Sela's back with a stupid invasion plan.
That's Malachi Throne? I can barely tell.
Romulan shoulder pads.
Gene Roddenberry is dead, and all I got was this crummy title card.
Romulans eat soup. Soup is good food.

I have always considered Unification I & II more of a missed opportunity than an epic bridging of two Star Trek generations. Discovery's Unification III has re-varnished the story arc with the gravitas it deserves. It took 29 years, but now the story hangs together a bit more.
 
I thought the part when the Romulans destroy their own invasion fleet was comical. An invasion fleet of 5,000 soldiers or whatever it was to conquer an entire planet makes me laugh.
 
Then again, it's right down the alley of certain dictators of the real world.

Then again again, Romulans cater for another cliche, too, that of obfuscators of Rube Goldberg complexity: what evidence is there that those ships had 5,000 soldiers aboard? For all we know, the Romulans just blasted their peacenik infestation to bits, in a shrewd propaganda move where they build up their Kim-Sum-Name type mad dog reputation while doing away with a domestic problem.

Discovery's Unification III has re-varnished the story arc with the gravitas it deserves. It took 29 years, but now the story hangs together a bit more.

Seeing the Spock snippet from II in that episode made me immediately want to bring a fourth story to the fold. It's remarkable how Spock says diplomacy will never work in unifying the Vulcanoid peoples - and then we cut to the 2009 movie where he is seen flinging red matter around, being oh so conveniently late from saving Romulus from destruction... Perhaps there is even more to this story, where Spock's utter frustration in I&II results in drastic measures that eventually yield III? :devil:

Timo Saloniemi
 
I always find it strange even if I understand why that episode two was filmed before episode one to accommodate Leonard Nimoy's schedule! :vulcan:
JB
 
This episode makes me feel like I did myself a disservice by not having watched TOS before TNG. I'm sure the appearance of Spock in TNG would have been a much cooler and more satisfying moment if I had have watched TOS first. Oh well, can't change the past now.
 
They were good episodes, Spock brought gravitas to the story, and it opened up development for the Romulans that I don't feel like has ever satisfactorily paid off.
Side note, we hear that Picard was at Sarek's son's wedding. The novels marry him off to Saavik, which I always found kind of unlikely and icky given he was her mentor and there's such a huge visible age difference. It's a shame the shows never did anything with Spock's wife, there could've been potential there. Maybe left us with a child or two. TOS is completely childless except for Sulu.

It wasn’t necessarily Spock’s wedding. It’s possible Sarek had another son, since apparently it’s all the rage these days to reveal previously unknown siblings in Sarek’s family.
 
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