“Unification” is a political tale about the re-unification of Vulcan and Romulus, two worlds that have been at odds for centuries. By “Star Trek” lore, when the Vulcans became enlightened many millennia ago, a cadre broke away, left the planet, and settled on Romulus, eventually evolving into a new species. That was in AD 370, and Vulcan was already an advanced, futuristic world. By the 23rd century of “NextGen,” Spock had returned to Romulus to engage in a decades-long diplomatic mission to reunite the worlds. It was a tricky enterprise, however, as the Romulans are devious and conniving. Nimoy returned to play Spock, the first time he had appeared on a Trek TV show since 1969.
According to the “Star Trek” head honcho at the time, Rick Berman, Nimoy was called into the Paramount offices with a double offer. Not only was he to appear in Nicholas Meyer’s “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” but they wanted him to pass his legacy to NextGen as well. Nimoy initially balked. Berman recalled:
“It came out of Frank Mancuso, the chairman of Paramount at the time, who said to Leonard when they were planning ‘Star Trek VI,’ why don’t you figure out some way to pass the baton. Maybe you could make some elements of ‘Star Trek VI’ that reflect on ‘Next Generation’, and work with Berman to make ‘Next Generation’ reflect ‘Star Trek VI.’ I sat down with Leonard and Nick Meyer, and we discussed elements of our show. Mike and I spent a lot of time kicking things around, and finally we came back to Leonard with an idea he didn’t particularly like.”
A happy medium, however, was reached. Berman said he “made a big change in the room and [Nimoy] loved it.”
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