Patrick Stewart Was Touched When A Legendary Star Trek Character Paid Tribute To Him
There have been quite a few cool "Star Trek" crossovers over the years, bringing characters from one series in the franchise onto another. Some of them are really fun and work well, like the "Star Trek: Lower Decks" crossover with "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," while others are a little bit messier, like "Star Trek: Generations," which blended the original series with "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Patrick Stewart's Captain Jean-Luc Picard was unfortunately involved in "Generations," but he also got to crossover into the first episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and he got to have a much better "The Original Series" crossover on a season 5 episode of "The Next Generation." In the two-parter "Unification," Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) goes missing and appears to be located on Romulus, leading to fears that he might have defected to join the Romulans. Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) end up tasked with trying to track him down and find out what he's up to, which leads them on a wild journey that involves Ferengi, Klingons, Romulans, and everyone's favorite half-Vulcan.
The stoic Spock and almost equally stoic Picard get a chance to meet, and what's more, Spock gets a moment to sort of pay tribute to Picard. In his recent memoir, "Making It So," Stewart reminisced about the episode and revealed just how much that moment means to him.
'An almost Vulcan quality'
In one of the final Next Gen episodes overseen by "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, two of the franchise's most unique analytical minds had a chance to meet at last. Stewart was extremely positive about his time working with Nimoy, whom he described as being very warm toward the cast, and noted just how much everyone missed him after those two episodes wrapped. It's revealed that Spock was working on a secret peace mission and is still firmly on the side of the Federation, and Spock was left impressed by his time with Picard. This meant the world to Stewart, who explained:
"I am honored that the writers gave him a speech in which Spock pays my character tribute. 'He intrigues me, this Picard,' Spock says to Data. 'Remarkably analytical and dispassionate. There's an almost Vulcan quality to the man.'"
There really is almost a Vulcan-like essence to Picard, who tries to use logic at all times. This analytical mind is what made him so deadly as Locutus of Borg, which is enough to make one wonder about what Spock might have been like were he assimilated. The similarities in personality between Picard and Spock are numerous, which is probably why Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Picard's number one, Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), also have a lot in common. The dynamic just works!
Men defined by logic
Stewart also detailed another moment he loved in the episode, in which Data and Spock have a brief chat about whether or not Spock feels he has missed his humanity. When Spock replies that he has "no regrets," Data points out that "no regrets" is a human expression, which of course Spock finds "fascinating." While Picard and Spock's interaction was certainly special for Stewart, Data and Spock also have their own shared traits that make their introduction so interesting. Both constantly question what it is to be human, as Spock often seeks to repress parts of his humanity, whereas Data wants to claim them. It's a shame that they didn't get to spend more time together, because the potential for character insight is massive.
One of the things that makes "Star Trek" work in all of its incarnations is that it uses its non-human characters to create allegories for very human experiences. Data and Spock are two of the earliest and best examples of this, and seeing them onscreen together was wonderful, however brief. Picard being there too was just the icing on the cake.