Khan Will Potentially Address 43-Year-Old Plot Hole Involving Chekov
I theorize that Star Trek: Khan will solve the biggest plot hole about Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) fromStar Trek: The Original Seriesthat was created by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Star Trek: Khan is an original dramatic narrative podcast that tells the story of what happened to Khan (Naveen Andrews) and his genetically engineered followers in the nearly two decades after Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise left them on Ceti Alpha V.
Khan returned in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, torturing Commander Chekov and Captain Clark Tyrell (Paul Winfield), before stealing the USS Reliant and the Genesis Device to seek revenge on Admiral Kirk. But there is a mystery in Star Trek II about Khan and Chekov that has lasted for 43 years.
Theory: Star Trek: Khan Will Solve How Khan Knew Chekov In Star Trek II
I believe Star Trek: Khan will finally deliver an explanation of how Khan remembered Chekov in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. After all, Chekov wasn’t in Khan’s only Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “Space Seed,” in season 1. Chekov was created and introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2.
In Star Trek II, Khan told Chekov flat out, “I never forget a face,” and the mistaken arrival of Pavel and the USS Reliant, who thought they were on Ceti Alpha VI instead of V, fueled Khan’s revenge plot that led to mass destruction and the death of Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Star Trek: Khan‘s explanation could be as simple as retconning Star Trek: The Original Series so that Chekov was already aboard during “Space Seed” but wasn’t yet a bridge officer who appeared in the episode.
Khan read the USS Enterprise’s technical manual and crew files, so his genetically engineered mind could have easily memorized everyone aboard the starship, including Chekov, if he was there.
Why Khan Knowing Chekov Became One Of Star Trek’s Biggest Plot Holes
Khan remembering Chekov in Star Trek II was a snafu by director Nicholas Meyer, who wrote the shooting draft screenplay for the second Star Trek movie. Meyer wasn’t a Star Trek fan originally, but he watched several episodes in prep to direct Star Trek II.
To his credit, Walter Koenig quickly identified the plot hole of Khan knowing Chekov when he read Star Trek II’s screenplay, but his objection didn’t change what made it into the film. Khan knowing Chekov has lingered as a strange plot hole for four decades.
In interviews and at Star Trek conventions over the years, Walter Keonig has given his own tongue-in-cheek answers for how Khan knows Chekov. My favorite is Koenig’s theory that Chekov was trapped in the boiler room during Khan’s takeover of the Starship Enterprise.
Star Trek: Khan‘s story takes place simultaneously in Star Trek: The Original Series and the Star Trek movies’ timelines. I sincerely hope the podcast plugs Star Trek II’s 43-year-old Khan and Chekov plot hole.
Marc Daniels, Joseph Pevney, Ralph Senensky, Vincent McEveety, Herb Wallerstein, Jud Taylor, Marvin J. Chomsky, David Alexander, Gerd Oswald, Herschel Daugherty, James Goldstone, Robert Butler, Anton Leader, Gene Nelson, Harvey Hart, Herbert Kenwith, James Komack, John Erman, John Newland, Joseph Sargent, Lawrence Dobkin, Leo Penn, Michael O’Herlihy, Murray Golden
Writers
D.C. Fontana, Jerome Bixby, Arthur Heinemann, David Gerrold, Jerry Sohl, Oliver Crawford, Robert Bloch, David P. Harmon, Don Ingalls, Paul Schneider, Shimon Wincelberg, Steven W. Carabatsos, Theodore Sturgeon, Jean Lisette Aroeste, Art Wallace, Adrian Spies, Barry Trivers, Don Mankiewicz, Edward J. Lakso, Fredric Brown, George Clayton Johnson, George F. Slavin, Gilbert Ralston, Harlan Ellison
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