 Because of the chronological differences between the settings of The Original Series and The Next Generation , it was decided that Sarek 's first wife , Amanda Grayson , would have died by the time of the events of " Sarek " . As such , the character of Perrin was created as a second human wife for Sarek . Perrin was played by Miles in her first Star Trek appearance . Both Miles and Lenard would return in the same roles for the first part of the fifth season episode " Unification " . The writers and producers were nervous about mentioning Spock in " Sarek " , with an early version of the script only calling for a reference by Picard to Sarek 's son 's wedding . The third season had seen a relaxation in Roddenberry 's previous direction that The Next Generation could not touch on aspects of The Original Series . This was especially seen at the end of " Sarek " , in which Picard mentions Spock by name during the mind meld . Piller later described this one act as " the breakthrough which allowed us to open the doors , that allowed us to begin to embrace our past " . 
