Stardate: 3141.9
Quick Summary: The legendary episode with Khan. Need I say more? The Enterprise finds the S.S. Botany Bay - a spaceship from Earth in the 1990s - drifting in space with all its crew in a state of suspended animation. They re-animate Khan and bring him aboard the Enterprise. He and his crew were tyrants who sought to take over the world during the Eugenics Wars - products of a movement to improve the human race through selective breeding - and Khan et al are the genetically superior Supermen. Naturally, Khan attempts to take over the Enterprise, manages to capture its crew, and re-animates his fellow tyrants, but with a little trickery and betrayal on behalf of Lieutenant MacGyvers, Kirk is able to defeat Khan in hand-to-hand combat with little more that a plastic broken-off knob. Kirk then maroons Khan and his men to the planet Seti Aplha 5 in order to keep them out of trouble. Cue the movie credits.
Review: It's basically impossible to review this episode with an open mind. I'm way too emotionally invested in what is perhaps the greatest science fiction movie of all time to see things clearly.
That said, it's a shame Chekhov hasn't yet debuted on the show - "Botany Bay? Botany Bay? OH NO!!!". It's also quite surprising how easily Kirk defeats the physically superior Khan with a simple tool in his hand. It was very anti-climatic considering the 45-minute lead-in about what Khan was capable of. And who knew that the Vulcan neck pinch worked so easily on the Supermen? Wouldn't that elevate Vulcans to such a status?
If you haven't seen this episode (or haven't seen it in a while) what really stands out is how the storyline truly isn't anything special nor are larger philosophical issues explored. Instead, the entire episode, start to finish, is singularly propelled forward by the mere force and intensity of Khan's character alone. His performance is breathtaking. And that may be the first time I've ever used that adjective in real life. And, to be honest, I feel kinda weird about it.
In the closing scene, when Kirk maroons the Supermen on Seti Alpha 5, Spock asks "What seed have you planted today?". We all know the answer. It's just worthy to observe that, in this case, the seed pales in comparison to the spawn.
Review: 4 stars
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