Is it too much of a stretch to say that Star Trek just wouldn’t be the same without Mr. Spock?
Whether it’s Leonard Nimoy or Zachary Quinto playing the character, everyone’s favorite Starfleet science officer brings a calm intelligence to the bridge, and just last month, we learned that Discovery had located its half-human, half-Vulcan after months of searching.
But as it turns out, fans could’ve been treated to another return by Spock many years ago, when Nimoy was originally going to be included in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation which, unfortunately, never made it to the screen. True, the actor did reprise the role for the two-parter “Unification,” but as the TrekDocs Twitter account tells us, he was also going to feature in another installment, titled “Return to Forever.”
Pitched as a spiritual sequel to The Original Series‘ “City on the Edge of Forever” (one of its best episodes), the plot – according to ComicBook.com – would’ve revealed that “since Spock’s first journey through the portal with Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy, the Guardian has been cordoned off. Now, only a small team of Starfleet scientist are allowed to observe and record the Guardian’s images, and no one can enter it for fear of altering history.”
The episode would’ve kicked off with the “Enterprise-D shuttling Spock to the Guardian for scientific study. He’s unsentimental about being back aboard the Enterprise, but can’t shake the illogical feeling that he’s met some members of its crew before.” From there, things get pretty interesting, and you can read more about it on ComicBook.com, who’ve summed it up nicely.
Ultimately, “Return to Forever” never happened, as Leonard Nimoy apparently lost interest in the project and wouldn’t return until “Unification.” Still, this is an interesting piece of Star Trek trivia that’s sure to excite fans and get them even more eager for the next time we’ll see Spock which, as mentioned before, will be in Discovery season 2.
