Actor Jonathan Simpson played a younger Sarek in a brief scene in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, with voice-over provided by Lenard.

Prior to his first marriage, he had a relationship with a Vulcan princess which produced Sarek's first son Sybok, a character not developed until the fifth feature film in the late 1980s.

In this episode Spock must travel back in time to his childhood, and keep his younger self from dying and being replaced by an Andorian as First Officer of the Enterprise.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) begins with Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew still in exile on Vulcan.

After Kirk and his crew return and save Earth, and are largely exonerated at their subsequent trial, Sarek has a private audience with his son.

Actor Jonathan Simpson briefly played a younger Sarek during Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), with a voice-over provided by Lenard.

Mark Lenard's final filmed appearance in the role of Sarek was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).

In the first, in an episode named after him, Sarek suffers from Bendii syndrome, an incurable and terminal neurological degenerative illness that causes him to lose control of his emotions.

Though respectful of Spock's ability to make his own choices, Sarek clearly encourages him to maintain his logical Vulcan nature.

Later, Sarek is on the board of the Vulcan Science Academy, and is disappointed to learn that his son has turned down admission in favor of joining Starfleet.

At this moment, father and son have reconciled as they grieve together over the losses of their world and loved ones, before Spock leaves to stop Nero from destroying Earth and to avenge his mother's untimely death.

[4] Spock's ongoing conflict between emotion and logic is countered by his parents, Sarek and human Amanda Grayson, a seemingly loving and devoted couple.

The character of Sarek and his relationship with Spock and Amanda have been explored in depth in amateur fiction, several authorized novels, and in the animated episode "Yesteryear".

This is a central theme of the Discovery episode "Lethe", in which Sarek attempts to have both of his children accepted to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group, but is told that only one could be chosen.

The Mirror Universe counterpart of Sarek appeared in the Discovery episode "The Wolf Inside", in which he is a member of the rebellion against the Terran Empire.

[8] In 2018, CBR ranked Sarek the 5th best recurring character of all Star Trek, noting strong performances by Mark Lenard and multiple appearances across different films and shows.