"Space Seed"
"Space Seed." This is very likely my favorite episode of the original Star Trek series. It's certainly up there with "Where No Man Has Gone Before," "Amok Time," and others. It's a classic through and through, and is damn near perfect in my estimation.
The Enterprise comes across a two-hundred year old ship adrift in space. Kirk beams aboard with a landing party and there finds that the ship is a sleeper vessel, with seventy human beings in suspended animation. Kirk revives the sleeper who is apparently the leader, who calls himself Khan. Khan dodges Kirk's questions about how and why Khan's ship, the S.S. Botany Bay, was out so far in deep space. During a briefing, Kirk and Spock reveal to the department heads that Khan is in fact Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically-engineered "superman" dictator, created during The Eugenics Wars on Earth in the 1990s. True to his nature, Khan takes control of the Enterprise, but Kirk escapes imprisonment and fights Khan, regaining control. Khan and Lt. Marla McGivers are faced with imprisonment and court martial, respectively, or the chance to build a new life on the uninhabited world Ceta Alpha V. The Enterprise leaves Khan and his followers on Ceti Alpha V, and Spock suggests that it would be interesting to see what "crop" grows from the "seed" Kirk planted in leaving Khan free to rule his own world.
It's easy to see why producer Harve Bennett chose to make the second Star Trek feature film a sequel to "Space Seed." Ricardo Montalban's Khan is a charismatic and engaging villain, and is more than a match for the physical and mental prowess of Captain Kirk. "Space Seed" is filled with tension, drama, excitement, and mystery, and it all comes from Montalban's electric portrayal of Khan. What's also interesting, and this is something I didn't realize until I watched the episode again for The Trektastic Voyage, is that the crew of the S.S. Botany Bay mirrors the crew of the Enterprise. Both are made up of multiethnic crewmembers, and both are commanded by strong men whose abilities inspire fierce loyalty and devotion.
"Space Seed" has everything you could want in a story, as does its sequel, "The Wrath of Khan," which I'll be reviewing in September of 2007. Because my schedule lined up with the Star Trek Remastered schedule, I decided to watch the remastered "Space Seed." I was highly impressed by the CGI models of the Enterprise and the Botany Bay, and by the clarity of the HD picture. In lieu of screencaps showcasing the ships, a brief video below showcases the "new" Enterprise and Botany Bay in action. Following that are a few other caps from the show.
The episode's title card, featuring the CGI Enterprise and Botany Bay.
CGI footage of the ships from YouTube.
Kirk and the man who may be his deadliest and most equal foe, Khan.
Khan and his future bride, Marla McGivers, excited at the prospect of taming a strange new world.
The Enterprise comes across a two-hundred year old ship adrift in space. Kirk beams aboard with a landing party and there finds that the ship is a sleeper vessel, with seventy human beings in suspended animation. Kirk revives the sleeper who is apparently the leader, who calls himself Khan. Khan dodges Kirk's questions about how and why Khan's ship, the S.S. Botany Bay, was out so far in deep space. During a briefing, Kirk and Spock reveal to the department heads that Khan is in fact Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically-engineered "superman" dictator, created during The Eugenics Wars on Earth in the 1990s. True to his nature, Khan takes control of the Enterprise, but Kirk escapes imprisonment and fights Khan, regaining control. Khan and Lt. Marla McGivers are faced with imprisonment and court martial, respectively, or the chance to build a new life on the uninhabited world Ceta Alpha V. The Enterprise leaves Khan and his followers on Ceti Alpha V, and Spock suggests that it would be interesting to see what "crop" grows from the "seed" Kirk planted in leaving Khan free to rule his own world.
It's easy to see why producer Harve Bennett chose to make the second Star Trek feature film a sequel to "Space Seed." Ricardo Montalban's Khan is a charismatic and engaging villain, and is more than a match for the physical and mental prowess of Captain Kirk. "Space Seed" is filled with tension, drama, excitement, and mystery, and it all comes from Montalban's electric portrayal of Khan. What's also interesting, and this is something I didn't realize until I watched the episode again for The Trektastic Voyage, is that the crew of the S.S. Botany Bay mirrors the crew of the Enterprise. Both are made up of multiethnic crewmembers, and both are commanded by strong men whose abilities inspire fierce loyalty and devotion.
"Space Seed" has everything you could want in a story, as does its sequel, "The Wrath of Khan," which I'll be reviewing in September of 2007. Because my schedule lined up with the Star Trek Remastered schedule, I decided to watch the remastered "Space Seed." I was highly impressed by the CGI models of the Enterprise and the Botany Bay, and by the clarity of the HD picture. In lieu of screencaps showcasing the ships, a brief video below showcases the "new" Enterprise and Botany Bay in action. Following that are a few other caps from the show.
The episode's title card, featuring the CGI Enterprise and Botany Bay.
CGI footage of the ships from YouTube.
Kirk and the man who may be his deadliest and most equal foe, Khan.
Khan and his future bride, Marla McGivers, excited at the prospect of taming a strange new world.
posted by Christopher at 11:20 AM
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