Is this the one where the lizard guy tosses paper mache rocks at Kirk? Did they somehow improve that in these remastered versions?
Yeah they replaced the paper mache with plaster of paris.
And the name of the lizard race was changed from Gorn to Bob.
All right, let’s see if we can get things back on track - this week’s episode is an obscurity called “Space Seed”. Not much happens in this one.
OK, that’s only half true - Space Seed is actually a pretty famous episode, if only for the introduction of Ricardo Montalban’s Khan, who of course shares scenery-chewing duty in the greatest Star Trek film ever made (that’s right, I went there). But really though, not a whole lot happens here, it’s surprisingly low-key for an introduction of such an iconic villain.
You know the basics: Enterprise stumbles across an ancient ship, discovers it has life onboard, one wakes up who then tries to take over the ship. I find the episode more interesting in its world building and the history it establishes than the character of Khan himself. This is, I believe, the first time the Eugenics Wars and beginning of the next dark age that they brought about are mentioned. We learn how Khan’s breed of “supermen” attempted to take over the world. We’ve got more questionable activities from Starfleet officers when the ship’s historian decides to throw everything away to swoon at the feet of the recently thawed Khan, and eventually just leave everything to try to settle a wild planet with him and his brood. There’s a nice little question mark at the end that Wrath of Khan picks up on, as Kirk and Spock muse on what it would be like to return to Ceti Alpha V in a hundred years and see how things have progressed. Turns out, it wouldn’t be nearly that long.
One other thing - I like the design of Khan’s ship, the Botany Bay. It’s run-down and angular, and wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Star Wars movie, I think. Also makes a nice contrast against the curvier Enterprise.
I remember this episode well. Just to go meta for a second, I wonder when this is supposed to have happened? Eugenics Wars, I assume they happened before Enterprise (the TV series)? Did they happen before First Contact, when humans met vulcans? Because Enterprise (the TV show, not the ship) drew a pretty straight line from that first contact to humans getting out there and exploring.
Originally the 1990s. Then First Contact retconned darn near everything in the universe bc “Behrman” (reason number 123 why I still kinda hate TNG). There was a non-canon magazine called "Trek " (@RichVR remembers) that in the 80’s kicked them to the 2030s, but as I said, “non-canon”. There was some talk JJ Abrams might mess with the universe with some retconning, yet again, but he opted for that Smokin’ Aces franchise instead.
I am right there with you brother. The haters can take the “KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!” out of my cold dead hands.
Yeah, the episode mentions specific dates, with the Wars happening during the 90s, and Khan ruling the eastern hemisphere between 1992 and 1996. I haven’t kept up to date with the various retcons and I too share some disdain for TNG, so I don’t know what the timeline is supposed to look like nowadays.
Oh, and they mention offhandedly during the episode that travel between planets took years until some breakthrough happened in 2018. So there’s another deadline we blew. Thanks Obama!
Look, the TOS timeline is the true original timeline and we losers live in some sad alternate future with twitter and orange haired buffoons running major countries. Any efforts to retcon this reality are just sad and pathetic.
We know what happened in 2018. Zefram Cochran invented the Warp Drive, and then later vanished. See Metamorphisis, season 2.
He had a valediction, boyo.
Heh, I recognized the James Ellroy quote, but I can’t figure out how it applies. Help me, Spock!
Dive will get it. ;)
I do indeed. Don’t start tryin’ do do the right thing, boyo - you haven’t the practice.
Ah, I forgot that bit of TNG nonsense, James Cromwell as Cochrane.
I wish I could forget it. Maybe we can get a hot director to make a film and retcon it away?
I love TNG, but god, I hate First Contact so much. Definitely the worst TNG movie, and that’s saying something since none of them are good.
Whazzabuzzawho?!??
Yeah, you’re forgetting a couple of TNG movies if you consider First Contact the worst.