star trek 2 spock quotes

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

James T. Kirk: [eulogizing Spock] We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted, in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most . . . [voice breaks] human.

[Captain Terrell meets Khan and his followers]

Khan: Uh, Captain! Captain. Save your strength, Captain. These people had sworn to live and die at my command two hundred years before you were born! Do you mean he [refers to Chekov] never told you the tale? To amuse your Captain, no? Never told you how the Enterprise picked up the Botany Bay, lost in space from the year 1996 with myself and the ship's company in cryogenic freeze?

Capt. Terrell: I've never even met Admiral Kirk!

Khan: 'Admiral?' 'Admiral!' 'Admiral'... Never told you how Admiral Kirk sent 70 of us into exile in this barren sandheap, with only the contents of these cargo bays to sustain us.

Chekov: [furious] You lie! On Ceti Alpha V there was life! A fair chance --

Khan: [shouts] THIS IS CETI ALPHA V!!! [walks back to Chekov and calms voice] Ceti Alpha VI exploded six months after we were left here. The shock shifted the orbit of this planet, and everything was laid waste. Admiral Kirk never bothered to check on our progress! It was only the fact of my genetically-engineered intellect that allowed us to survive. On Earth . . . (grins wistfully). . . two hundred years ago . . . (sighs nostalgically). . . I was a prince . . . with power over millions.

Chekov: [angrily] Captain Kirk was your host. You repaid his hospitality by trying to steal his ship and murder him!!

[after Reliant's prefix code has been received]

Spock: Reliant's prefix number is one-six-three-zero-nine.

Lt. Saavik: I don't understand.

Kirk: You have to learn why things work on a starship.

Spock: Each starship has its own unique combination code.

Kirk: To prevent an enemy from doing what we're attempting. Using our console to order Reliant to lower her shields.

Spock: Assuming he hasn't changed the combination. He is quite intelligent.

[James Kirk has just seen Clark Terrell commit suicide and Pavel Andreievich Chekov collapse in agony.]

Kirk: Khan, you bloodsucker! You're gonna have to do your own dirty work now! Do you hear me? Do you?

Khan Noonien Singh: Kirk! You're still alive, my old friend!

Kirk: Still --"old friend!" You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target!

Khan: Perhaps I no longer need to try, Admiral. [beams up Genesis components]

Kirk: Khan . . . Khan, you've got Genesis, but you don't have me! You were going to kill me, Khan; you're going to have to come down here! You're going to have to come down here!

Khan: I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on . . . hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me. As you left her. Marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet . . . buried alive . . . [voice drops to a menacing whisper] . . . buried alive.

Kirk: [exploding with rage, able to stand no more] KHHHHAAAAAAAAN!!!

Lt Saavik: [to Kirk] On the test, sir. Will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know.

Dr Leonard McCoy: Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Star Fleet cadet who ever beat the "No-Win" scenario.

Saavik: How?

James Kirk: I reprogrammed the simulation so that it was possible to save the ship.

Saavik: What?!

David: [chuckles] He cheated!

Kirk: Changed the conditions of the test . . . got a commendation for original thinking . . . I don't like to lose.

Saavik: Then you've never faced that situation . . . faced death.

Kirk: I don't believe in a "no-win" scenario. [pulls out his communicator] Kirk to Spock.

Spock: [on communicator] Spock here, Admiral.

Kirk: Captain Spock, it's two hours. Are you ready?

Spock: [on communicator] Right on schedule, Admiral. Just give us your co-ordinates and we'll beam you aboard.

Kirk: All right. [to a completely dumbfounded Saavik] I don't like to lose. [bites an apple]

Saavik: [still arguing WHILE beaming aboard the Enterprise] But the damage report! We were immobilized! Captain Spock said it would be two days!

Kirk: Come, come, Lieutenant. You of all people go by the book!

Saavik: By the book?

Kirk: By the book! Regulation Forty-Six A: "If transmissions are being monitored during battle --"

Saavik: : [astonished] "-- no uncoded messages on an open channel!" [looking at Spock] You lied!

Spock: I exaggerated.

Kirk: Hours instead of days; now we have minutes instead of hours!

Joachim: [not just as subordinate to superior but as son to father as well] We're all with you, sir . . . but consider this. We are free. We have a ship, and the means to go where we will. We have escaped permanent exile on Ceti Alpha V. You have proven your superior intellect, and defeated the plans of Admiral Kirk. You do not need to defeat him again.

Khan Noonien Singh: He tasks me. He tasks me, and I shall have him. I'll chase him round the Moons of Nibia and round the Antares Maelstrom and round Perdition's flames before I give him up! [No one responds.] Prepare to alter course.

[Kirk hails Khan]

Kirk: This is Admiral Kirk. We tried it once your way, Khan -- are you game for a rematch? [Khan sits there silently shocked.] Khan . . . [mockingly]. . . I'm laughing at the "superior intellect." [voice dissolves into an inaudible chuckle]

Khan Noonien Singh: [barely able to restrain his passionate anger] Full impulse power.

Joachim: NO!! You have Genesis! You can have whatever --

'Khan: [grabs Joachim in anger]FULL POWER, [shoves him aside] DAMN YOU!

Leonard McCoy: Are you out of your Vulcan mind? No human can tolerate the radiation that's in there!

Spock: As you are so fond of observing, Doctor, I am not human.

McCoy: [grabs Spock by the shoulder] You're not going in there!

Spock: Perhaps you're right. What is Mr. Scott's condition?

McCoy: Well, I don't think he's --

Spock: [nerve pinches McCoy] Sorry, Doctor, but I have no time to discuss this logically. [grabs Scotty's gloves and mind melds with McCoy] Remember.

[seeing Spock lying immobilized in the radiation-filled chamber, Kirk runs towards it]

McCoy: NO!! You'll flood the whole compartment!

Kirk: He'll die . . .

Scott: Sir! He's dead already.

McCoy: [stricken] It's too late.

Kirk: Spock!

Spock: [climbs slowly to his feet and walks over to Kirk] Ship. . . out of danger?

Spock: Don't grieve, Admiral. It's logical. The needs of the many outweigh . . .

Kirk: -- the needs of the few . . .

Spock: -- or the one. I never took the Kobayashi Maru test, until now. What do you think of my solution? [He kneels.] I have been . . . and always shall be . . . your friend. [He places his hand on the chamber glass, and his voice is a whispered broken husk.] Live long and prosper!

Kirk: [places his hand against the glass as Spock slumps and dies] No. . . .

David: Lieutenant Saavik was right: You never have faced death.

Kirk: No, not like this. I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I've tricked my way out of death and -- patted myself on the back for my ingenuity. I know nothing . . . [But he cannot bring himself to complete his complaint, "I know nothing of death."]

David: You knew enough to tell Saavik that how we face death is at least as important as how we face life.

Kirk: Just words.

David: But good words! That's where ideas begin. Maybe you should listen to them. [hesitant] I was wrong about you . . . and I'm sorry.

Kirk: Is that what you came here to say?

David: Mainly. And also that I'm proud . . . very proud . . . to be your son.

James Kirk: This is Admiral Kirk. We tried it once your way, Khan, are you game for a rematch? Khan, I'm laughing at the "superior intellect."

Khan Noonien Singh: Full impulse power!

Joachim: No, sir! You have Genesis! You can have whatever...

Khan: [grabs Joachim in anger] FULL POWER! [shoves him aside] DAMN YOU!

Lenoard McCoy: Are you out of your Vulcan mind? No human can tolerate the radiation that's in there!

Spock: As you are so fond of observing, Doctor, I am not human!

James T. Kirk: [shocked at the sight of a familiar face] Khan.

Khan: You still remember, Admiral. I cannot help but be touched. I, of course, remember you.

Kirk: What is the meaning of this attack? And where's the crew of the Reliant?

Khan: Surely I have made my meaning plain. I mean to avenge myself upon you, Admiral. I deprived your ship of power and when I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life. But I wanted you to know first who it was who had beaten you.

[Montgomery Scott has just seen Peter Preston die in front of Admiral Kirk and Doctor McCoy]

Montgomery Scott: Why? Why?!

Kirk: [referring to Khan's motive] He wants to kill me for passing sentence on him fifteen years ago. And...he doesn't care who stands between him and his vengeance.

David Marcus: Every time we have dealings with Starfleet, I get nervous. We are dealing with something that... could be perverted into a dreadful weapon. Remember that overgrown Boy Scout you used to hang around with? That's exactly the kind of man...

Carol Marcus: Listen, kiddo, Jim Kirk was many things, but he was never a Boy Scout!

McCoy: Go? Where are we going?"

Kirk: Where they went.

McCoy: Suppose they went nowhere?

Kirk: Then this'll be your big chance to get away from it all.

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70 Spock Quotes on Logic and Humanity

Whether you’re a huge fan of Star Trek or not, we’re confident that you’ll get your fair share of wisdom and laughter from this collection of Spock quotes!

Spock is a half-human and half-Vulcan character from Star Trek. From his logical observations to his sarcastic comments, he is the most recognizable captain in the universe.

Even though his personality is uncanny and considered weird by others, Spock is the main reason the galaxy could live in peace. He promoted justice and fought for the rights of the oppressed. 

Indeed, we can learn a thing or two about the world through his heroic life! Come along and discover the world of Star Trek through these Spock quotes!

Start reading here.

And don’t forget to check out these Star Trek quotes and Captain Kirk quotes .

Best Spock Quotes 

1. “Life and death are seldom logical. But attaining a desired goal always is.”

2. “Loss of life is to be mourned, but only if the life was wasted.”

3. “Insufficient facts always invite danger.”

4. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.”

5. “Evil does seem to maintain power by suppressing the truth.”

6. “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

7. “Superior ability breeds superior ambition.”

8. “Pain is a thing of the mind. The mind can be controlled.”

9. “Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal.”

10. “Time is fluid—like a river with currents, eddies, backwash.”

Famous Spock Quotes 

11. “Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them.”

12. “Live long and prosper.”

13. “In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.”

14. “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.”

15. “I object to you. I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose.”

16. “Change is the essential process of all existence.”

Encouraging Spock Quotes That’ll Make You Feel Optimistic

17. “One man cannot summon the future. But one man can change the present!”

18. “It is the lot of man to strive no matter how content he is.”

19. “I like to believe that there are always possibilities.”

20. “I have been and always shall be your friend.”

21. “I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize.”

22. “There is no reason that function should not be beautiful. In fact, beauty usually makes it more effective.”

Also read: Encouraging Quotes

Spock Quotes to Show His Views on Humanity

23. “Humans do have an amazing capacity for believing what they choose and excluding that which is painful.”

24. “It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.”

25. “May I point out that I have gotten a chance to examine your counterparts closely. They are brutal, savage, uncivilized, and illogical. They are in every way examples of Homo sapiens, the very flower of humanity.”

26. “You Earth people have glorified violence for forty centuries. But you imprison those who employ it privately.”

27. “I’m frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life.”

28. “May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.”

29. “Humans smile with so little provocation.”

Wise Spock Quotes on Logic

30. “Logic is the beginning of wisdom—not the end.”

31. “It would be illogical to kill without reason.”

32. “To expect sense from two mentalities of such extreme points of view is not logical.”

33. “I see no logic in wanting to worship a deity who demands you live in perpetual fear.”

34. “I examined the problem from all angles, and it was plainly hopeless. Logic informed me that under the circumstances, the only possible action would have to be one of desperation.”

Spock Quotes That Reveal His True Nature

35. “Worry is a human emotion, Captain. I accept what has happened.”

36. “I fail to comprehend your indignation, sir. I have simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar.”

37. “Lieutenant, I am half-Vulcanian. Vulcanians do not speculate. I speak from pure logic. If I let go of a hammer on a planet that has a positive gravity, I need not see it fall to know that it has, in fact, fallen.”

38. “Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. Where the laws do not operate, there is no reality.”

39. “Vulcans never bluff.”

Spock Quotes to Explain How Violence and Evil Works

40. “Without followers, evil cannot spread.”

41. “When there is no emotion, there is no motive for violence.”

42. “Violence—in reality—is quite different from theory.”

Spock Quotes That’ll Forever Be Iconic

43. “Beauty is transitory.”

44. “One can begin to reshape the landscape with a single flower, Captain.”

45. “Every living thing wants to survive.”

46. “Virtue is a relative term.”

47. “Insults are effective only where emotion is present.”

48. “Many myths are based on truth.”

49. “Military secrets are the most fleeting of all.”

Great Spock Quotes for Star Trek Fans

50. “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

51. “I realize that command does have its fascination, even under circumstances such as these, but I neither enjoy the idea of command nor am I frightened of it. It simply exists, and I will do whatever logically needs to be done.”

52. “You’re the captain of this ship. You haven’t the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You can’t afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect. If you do, they lose faith, and you lose command.”

53. “If we start buzzing about down there, we’re liable to find their mental power is so great they could reach out and swat this ship as though it were a fly.”

54. “If those peculiar signals are coming from Captain Kirk or Lieutenant Sulu, their rationality is in question.”

Spock Quotes for Those Dealing With Death

55. “I have a responsibility to this ship, to that man on the bridge. I am what I am, Leila. If there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else’s.”

56. “You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours.”

57. “It is more rational to sacrifice one life than six.”

Spock Quotes That Highlight His Sassy and Confident Nature

58. “Emotions are alien to me. I’m a scientist.”

59. “I’ll have you checkmated your next move.”

60. “Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.”

Funny Mr. Spock Quotes

61. “If I were human, I believe my response would be ‘Go to Hell’—If I were human.”

62. “I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question.”

63. “No, ‘fascinating’ is a word I use for the unexpected. In this case, I should think ‘interesting’ would suffice.”

64. “I’ll never understand the medical mind.”

65. “Sir, there is a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder.”

66. “Has it occurred to you that there is a certain inefficiency in constantly questioning me on things you’ve already made up your mind about?”

67. “I must acknowledge, once and for all, that the purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis.”

68. “That’s right. You—humans—have that emotional need to express gratitude. ‘You’re welcome,’ I believe, is the correct response.”

69. “The precise meaning of the word ‘desert’ is a waterless, barren wasteland. I fail to understand your romantic nostalgia for such a place.”

70. “Captain, I see no reason to stand here and be insulted.”

Also read: Funny Quotes

Did You Become a More Logical Person After Reading These Quotes?

Life and its adversities always come unexpectedly and catch us off guard. With this, having a sound mind can help us make the proper decision, as Spock does. 

But, we’re still humans—prone to mistakes and aggravation. Like Spock, we can be the most logical person in the room, but we must not forget to have a kindred soul. Keep in mind that a balance between the heart and the mind is vital to carrying on in the most challenging situations.

Do not forget to be kind to yourself. Being logical is a good thing, but sometimes, being loose and letting life take its course is not a bad thing, too! 

Which of these Spock quotes is your favorite? Do you have anything more to add? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so comment down below!

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ( Paramount Pictures , 1982 ) is the second feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series . In the film, the crew of the USS Enterprise deal with a threat posed by The Original Series character Khan Noonien Singh, back from exile and out for revenge.

• 1 Khan Noonien Singh
• 2 James T. Kirk
• 4 Main cast
• 6 External links

Khan Noonien Singh [ edit ]

• Ah, Kirk, my old friend. Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space.
• [last words] No. No, you can't get away. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee .

James T. Kirk [ edit ]

• [eulogizing Spock] We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted, that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most.... [voice breaks] human.

Dialogue [ edit ]

Main cast [ edit ], about [ edit ].

• Director Nicholas Meyer, "'Star Trek': Nicholas Meyer explains his Roddenberry regret" Noelene Clark, LA Times : "Hero Complex", June 10, 2011.

External links [ edit ]

• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at StarTrek.com

• Films about revenge
• Films based on television series
• Sequel films
• Star Trek films
• Films set on fictional planets

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• Kirk : We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human.
• Khan : [ quoting from Melville's Moby Dick ] To the last, I will grapple with thee... from Hell's heart, I stab at thee! For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee!
• [ Terrell disobeys Khan's order to kill Kirk, who taunts Khan over the communicator ]
• Kirk : Khan, you bloodsucker! You're going to have to do your own dirty work now! Do you hear me? Do you?
• Khan : Kirk? Kirk, you're still alive, my old friend?
• Kirk : Still, "old friend"! You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target!
• Khan : Perhaps I no longer need to try, Admiral.
• David Marcus : Oh, no! Let go! He can't take it...!
• [ Khan beams the Genesis device away ]
• Kirk : Khan... Khan, you've got Genesis, but you don't have me. You were going to kill me, Khan. You're going to have to come down here. You're going to have to come down here!
• Khan : I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her; marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet... buried alive! Buried alive...!
• Kirk : KHAAANNNN!
• McCoy : [ Kirk runs in to the engine room and sees Spock inside the reactor compartment. He rushes over but McCoy and Scotty hold him back ] No! You'll flood the whole compartment!
• Kirk : He'll die!
• Scotty : Sir! He's dead already.
• McCoy : It's too late.
• [ They let go and Kirk walks to the glass and pushes the intercom button ]
• Kirk : Spock!
• [ Spock slowly walks over to the glass and pushes the intercom ]
• Spock : The ship... out of danger?
• Kirk : Yes.
• Spock : Do not grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many, outweigh...
• Kirk : The needs of the few.
• Spock : Or the one. I never took the Kobayashi Maru test until now. What do you think of my solution?
• Kirk : Spock.
• [ Spock sits down ]
• Spock : [ Gasping ] I have been... and always shall be... your friend.
• [ he places a Vulcan salute on the glass ]
• Spock : [ Gasping ] Live long... and prosper.
• [ Spock dies ]
• Kirk : Physician, heal thyself!
• McCoy : [ Lying on the floor, propping himself up on one elbow ] Is that all you've got to say? What about my performance?
• Kirk : I'm not a drama critic!
• [ On whether Kirk should assume command from Spock ]
• Spock : If I may be so bold, it was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny; anything else is a waste of material.
• Kirk : I would not presume to debate you.
• Spock : That is wise. Were I to invoke logic, however, logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
• Kirk : Or the one.
• Spock : You are my superior officer. You are also my friend. I have been and always shall be yours.
• Joachim : They're still running with shields down.
• Khan : Of course! We are one big, happy fleet! Ah, Kirk, my old friend, do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold?
• Khan : It is very cold in space!
• Kirk : [ hailing Khan ] This is Admiral Kirk. We tried it once your way, Khan, are you game for a rematch? Khan, I'm laughing at the "superior intellect."
• Khan : Full impulse power!
• Joachim : No, sir! You have Genesis! You can have whatever...
• Khan : [ grabs Joachim in anger ] FULL POWER! DAMN YOU!
• [ last lines ]
• Spock : [ closing monologue ] Space: the final frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
• Joachim : We're all with you, sir. But, consider this. We are free. We have a ship, and the means to go where we will. We have escaped permanent exile on Ceti Alpha V. You have defeated the plans of Admiral Kirk. You do not need to defeat him again.
• Khan : [ paraphrase from Melville's Moby Dick ] He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round perdition's flames before I give him up!
• Saavik : Admiral, may I ask you a question?
• Kirk : What's on your mind, Lieutenant?
• Saavik : The Kobayashi Maru, sir.
• Kirk : Are you asking me if we're playing out that scenario now?
• Saavik : On the test, sir... will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know.
• McCoy : Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Starfleet cadet who ever beat the no-win scenario.
• Saavik : How?
• Kirk : I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship.
• Saavik : What?
• David Marcus : He cheated.
• Kirk : I changed the conditions of the test; got a commendation for original thinking. I don't like to lose.
• Saavik : Then you never faced that situation... faced death.
• Kirk : I don't believe in the no-win scenario.
• McCoy : He's not really dead. As long as we remember him.
• Kirk : It's a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. A far better resting place that I go to than I have ever known.
• Carol Marcus : Is that a poem?
• Kirk : No. Something Spock was trying to tell me. On my birthday.
• McCoy : You okay, Jim? How do you feel?
• Kirk : Young. I feel young.
• [ Discussing the effects of the Genesis torpedo ]
• McCoy : Dear Lord. You think we're intelligent enough to... suppose... what if this thing were used where life already exists?
• Spock : It would destroy such life in favor of its new matrix.
• McCoy : Its "new matrix"? Do you have any idea what you're saying?
• Spock : I was not attempting to evaluate its moral implications, Doctor. As a matter of cosmic history, it has always been easier to destroy than to create.
• McCoy : Not anymore; now we can do both at the same time! According to myth, the Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!
• Spock : Really, Dr. McCoy. You must learn to govern your passions; they will be your undoing. Logic suggests...
• McCoy : Logic? My God, the man's talking about logic; we're talking about universal Armageddon! You green-blooded, inhuman...
• [ after allowing the simulated Enterprise to be destroyed ]
• Saavik : Permission to speak freely, sir?
• Kirk : Granted.
• Saavik : I do not believe this was a fair test of my command abilities.
• Kirk : And why not?
• Saavik : Because... there was no way to win.
• Kirk : A no-win situation is a possibility every commander may face. Has that never occurred to you?
• Saavik : No, sir, it has not.
• Kirk : And how we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?
• Saavik : As I indicated, Admiral, that thought had not occurred to me.
• Kirk : Well, now you have something new to think about. Carry on.
• Spock : He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking.
• Spock : The Kobayashi Maru scenario frequently wreaks havoc on students and equipment. As I recall you took the test three times yourself. Your final solution was, shall we say, unique?
• Kirk : It had the virtue of never having been tried.
• Kirk : Scotty, I need warp speed in three minutes or we're all dead!
• Saavik : You lied!
• Spock : I exaggerated.
• Kirk : Hours instead of days! Now we have minutes instead of hours!
• Kirk : Engine room. Well done, Scotty!
• McCoy : Jim... I think you'd better get down here.
• Kirk : Bones?
• McCoy : Better hurry...
• Khan : Captain, Captain, Captain... save your strength. These people have sworn to live and die at my command two hundred years before you were born. Do you mean he never told you the tale? To amuse your Captain, no? Never told you how the Enterprise picked up the Botany Bay, lost in space from the year 1996 with myself and the ship's company in cryogenic freeze?
• Capt. Terrell : I've never even met Admiral Kirk.
• Khan : 'Admiral?' 'Admiral!' 'Admiral'... Never told you how 'Admiral' Kirk sent seventy of us into exile in this barren sandheap with only the contents of these cargo bays to sustain us?
• Chekov : You lie! On Ceti Alpha Five there was life! A fair chance...
• Khan : [ shouts ] THIS IS CETI ALPHA FIVE! Ceti Alpha Six exploded six months after we were left here. The shock shifted the orbit of this planet and everything was laid waste. 'Admiral' Kirk never bothered to check on our progress. It was only the fact of my genetically-engineered intellect that allowed us to survive. On Earth, 200 years ago, I was a prince with power over millions.
• Chekov : Captain Kirk was your host. You repaid his hospitality by trying to steal his ship and murder him!
• Carol Marcus : Please tell me what you're feeling.
• Kirk : There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me. You show me a son that'd be happy to help. My son... my life that could have been... and wasn't. How do I feel? Old... worn out.
• Carol Marcus : Let me show you something that will make you feel young as when the world was new.
• Saavik : [ speaking to Spock in Vulcan ] He's never what I expect, sir.
• Spock : What surprises you, Lieutenant?
• Saavik : He's so - human.
• Spock : Nobody's perfect, Saavik.
• Dr. McCoy : You're hiding... hiding behind rules and regulations.
• Kirk : Who am I hiding from?
• Dr. McCoy : From yourself, Admiral.
• Kirk : Don't mince words, Bones. What do you really think?
• Dr. McCoy : Jim, I'm your doctor and I'm also your friend. Get back your command! Get it back before you turn into part of this collection, before you really do grow old.
• Kirk : Khan, how do I know you'll keep your word?
• Khan : Oh, I've given you no word to keep, Admiral. In my judgment, you simply have no alternative.
• McCoy : Where are we going?
• Kirk : Where they went.
• McCoy : Suppose they went *nowhere*?
• Kirk : Then this will be your big chance to get away from it all.
• [ Khan discovers the Enterprise and realizes it isn't as badly damaged as he thought ]
• Khan : There she is! There she is! Ah... not so wounded as we were led to believe. So much the better!
• [ Kirk unwraps Bones' birthday present ]
• Kirk : Romulan Ale. Why, Bones, you know this is illegal.
• McCoy : I only use it for medicinal purposes.
• Joachim : [ Enterprise is running with shields down ] They still haven't raised their shields.
• Khan : Raise ours.
• [ Joachim raises shields ]
• Spock : Their shields are going up.
• Khan : Lock phasers on target.
• Joachim : [ looks at targeting computer ] Locking phasers on target.
• Spock : They're locking phasers.
• Kirk : Raise shields!
• Khan : Fire!
• [ Joachim fires phasers ]
• Khan : Surely, I have made my meaning plain. I mean to avenge myself upon you, Admiral. I deprived your ship of power, and when I swing around, I mean to deprive you of your life.
• Kirk : [ reading ] "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." - Message, Spock?
• Spock : None that I'm conscious of. Except of course; happy birthday! -Surely the best of times.
• Kirk : [ Kirk is reacting - badly - to Spock ordering Saavik to take the Enterprise out of spacedock, something she has never done before ]
• McCoy : Do you want a tranquilizer?
• Kirk : [ shakes head quickly ]
• McCoy : [ 10:28 ] Dammit Jim, what the hell is the matter with you? Other people have birthdays, why are we treating yours like a funeral?
• Khan : [ holds the dying Joachim ] Joachim?
• Joachim : Yours... is... superior...
• Khan : I shall avenge you.
• Khan : [ Kirk remotely commands Reliant's shields to drop ]
• Joachim : Sir, our shields are dropping.
• Khan : Raise them!
• Joachim : [ pounds fists on console ] I can't!
• Khan : Where's the override? The override?
• Kirk : FIRE!
• Spock : You proceed from a false assumption. I am a Vulcan. I have no ego to bruise.
• Kirk : Kirk to Enterprise.
• Spock : Spock here.
• Kirk : Captain Spock, damage report.
• Spock : Admiral, if we go "by the book". like Lieutenant Saavik, hours could seem like days.
• Kirk : I read you captain. Let's have it.
• Spock : The situation is grave, Admiral. We won't have main power for six "days". Auxiliary power has temporarily failed. Restoration may be possible, in two "days". By the book, Admiral.
• Kirk : Meaning you can't even beam us back?
• Spock : Not at present.
• Kirk : Captain Spock, if you don't hear from us within one hour, your orders are to restore what power you can, take the Enterprise to the nearest star base, and alert Starfleet Command as soon as you're out of jamming range.
• Commander Nyota Uhura : Sir, we won't leave you behind!
• Kirk : Uhura, if you don't hear from us, there won't be anybody behind. Kirk out.
• David Marcus : Remember that overgrown Boy Scout you used to hang around with? That's exactly the kind of guy...
• Carol Marcus : Listen, kiddo, Jim Kirk was *many* things, but he was *never* a Boy Scout!
• Captain Terrell : Sir, I demand...
• Khan : You are in a position to demand *nothing*. I, on the other hand, am in a position to *grant* nothing.
• Sulu : So much for a "little training cruise".
• Kirk : Khan!
• Khan : You still remember, Admiral. I cannot help but be touched. I, of course, remember you.
• Saavik : Trouble with the nebula, sir. All that static discharge and gas will cloud our visual display. Tactical won't function, and shields will be useless!
• Spock : Sauce for the goose, Mr Saavik - the odds will be even!
• Dr. McCoy : [ Spock is preparing to enter the radiated warp core ] Are you out of your Vulcan mind? No human can tolerate the radiation that's in there!
• Spock : As you are so fond of observing, doctor, I am not human.
• [ Kirk and McCoy are beaming down to Regula One ]
• Spock : Jim, be careful.
• McCoy : *We* will!
• Kirk : I suppose you're about to remind me that logic alone dictates your actions?
• Spock : I would not remind you of that which you know so well.
• Saavik : Humor. It is a difficult concept. It is not logical.
• Kirk : We learn by doing.
• [ David attacks Kirk ]
• Kirk : Where's Dr. Marcus?
• David Marcus : I'M Dr. Marcus!
• Carol Marcus : Jim!
• Kirk : I hate inspections.
• Sulu : I'm delighted. Any chance to go aboard the Enterprise.
• Kirk : Well, I for one am glad to have you at the helm for three weeks. I don't think these kids can steer.
• Kirk : [ to McCoy, who is still lying where he fell during Saavik's simulation ] Physician, heal thyself.
• McCoy : Is that all you've got to say? What about my performance?
• Chekov : Botany Bay?
• [ recognizing the name ]
• Chekov : Botany Bay! Oh, no! We've got to get out of here now. Damn!
• Capt. Terrell : What about...
• Chekov : Hurry!
• Capt. Terrell : What about the...
• Chekov : Never mind that. Hurry! Hurry!
• Capt. Terrell : Chekov, what's the matter with you?
• [ Khan, about to put Ceti Eels in Terrell and Chekov's ears ]
• Khan : You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later, as they grow, follows madness and death.
• Chekov : Khan, listen to me...
• Khan : These are pets, of course. Not quite domesticated.

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10 spock quotes to remember leonard nimoy.

"Live long and prosper" and "the needs of the many" are just a few of the actor's finest lines.

By THR Staff

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Kirk loses his son but regains his best friend in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . After being reborn, advancing to middle age and undergoing a Vulcan ceremony to retrieve his aura, Spock meets Kirk again, but doesn’t remember him. He asks why the admiral would risk the lives of his crew to save him, and Kirk turns Spock’s famous logic on its head: “The needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.” There’s a pause, and Spock begins reciting lines from the end of Wrath of Khan before saying “Your name is Jim.” Cue one of the most endearing Trek moments ever as the rest of the crew runs to embrace Spock.

Leonard Nimoy died at 83 Friday , leaving behind a body of work spanning decades.

For nearly 50 years, Star Trek ’s Spock has been the most prominent philosopher in movies and television, mixing the logical mind of Sherlock Holmes and the inspirational messages of ancient proverbs.

In memory of Nimoy, let’s take a look back at 10 of Spock’s finest quotes.

10. “May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.” – Star Trek , season 3, episode 7 (“Day of the Dove,” 1968)

See more Remembering Leonard Nimoy’s Career (Photos)

9. “Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them.” – Star Trek , season 2, episode 24 (“The Ultimate Computer,” 1968)

8. “Insufficient facts always invite danger.” – Star Trek , season 1, episode 24 (“Space Seed,” 1968)

7. “In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.” – Star Trek , season 3, episode 9 (“The Tholian Web,” 1968)

6. “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.” – Star Trek , season 2, episode 1 (“Amok Time,” 1968)

5. “Without followers, evil cannot spread.” – Star Trek , season 3, episode 5, (“And the Children Shall Lead,” 1968)

4. “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” – Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , 1991

3. “I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize.” – Star Trek , 2009

Nimoy’s Spock spoke these words to a younger version of himself ( Zachary Quinto ), explaining why he asked young Kirk ( Chris Pine ) not to reveal his existence. It is among the most poignant summaries of the Kirk-Spock relationship in Trek lore.

2. “Live long and prosper.” – First spoken in Star Trek , season 2, episode 1 (“Amok Time,” 1968)

In the interview above, Nimoy revealed his Jewish heritage influenced the famous Vulcan benediction.

1. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , 1982

Spock shared this philosophy with Kirk earlier in the film, and later used it to explain why he sacrificed his own life to save the Enterprise. The line is possibly the most famous in Trek history.

Related Stories

Remembering leonard nimoy's career (photos), leonard nimoy dead: hollywood mourns 'star trek' star, leonard nimoy, the man who gave 'star trek' its heart, 'star trek': five episodes to remember leonard nimoy's spock, crack them up still 2014, thr newsletters.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan quotes

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Quotes

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This Is My Creation: The Blog of Michael Arruda

Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair, memorable movie quotes: star trek ii: the wrath of khan (1982).

The poignant final scene between Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES:  STAR TREK II:  THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

Michael Arruda

With the recent passing of Leonard Nimoy, it’s the perfect time to look at STAR TREK II:  THE WRATH OF KHAN here on MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES , the column where we look at fun quotes from some really good movies.

The STAR TREK films are chock-full of memorable lines, and STAR TREK II:  THE WRATH OF KHAN is one of the most frequently quoted STAR TREK films.  Appropriately enough, some of these oft-quoted lines are from Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock.

Death is a central theme of STAR TREK II:  THE WRATH OF KHAN, and a recurring plot point in the film deals with the “no win” scenario and how one in command of a starship should handle that situation.  It’s a scenario which the crew of the Enterprise will ultimately face at the end of the movie, and it’s Spock’s decision on how to solve it that costs him his life.

The buzz that accompanied this movie when it was first released in 1982 was that the character of Mr. Spock would be killed off.  The filmmakers seemingly diffused the anxiety fans were feeling by having Spock “die” in a simulation in the opening sequence of the film, which put fans at ease, for a while anyway, until the end of the movie when Spock would die for real.

At the time, Leonard Nimoy was not interested in reprising the role of Mr. Spock in a series of STAR TREK movies, but as the story goes, he had so much fun making STAR TREK II , that Nimoy changed his mind, and even though they went ahead and killed off his character, the door was left open for him to be “reborn” from the Genesis project and return in the next movie, STAR TREK III:  THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1984).

Spock’s death at the end of STAR TREK II is probably the signature moment of the entire STAR TREK movie series.

Let’s look now at some classic quotes from STAR TREK II:  THE WRATH OF KHAN, screenplay by Jack B. Sowards.

In this scene, young Vulcan Saavik (Kirstie Alley) questions Kirk (William Shatner) about how he handled the “no win” situation:

SAAVIK:  Admiral, may I ask you a question?

KIRK: What’s on your mind, Lieutenant?

SAAVIK: The Kobayashi Maru, sir.

KIRK: Are you asking me if we’re playing out that scenario now?

SAAVIK:  On the test, sir… will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know.

MCCOY: Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Starfleet cadet who ever beat the no-win scenario.

SAAVIK: How?

KIRK: I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship.

SAAVIK: What?

DAVID MARCUS: He cheated.

KIRK: I changed the conditions of the test; got a commendation for original thinking. I don’t like to lose.

SAAVIK: Then you never faced that situation… faced death.

KIRK: I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.

As always, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) enjoys some of the best moments in the film, including some of the best lines.  The following scene occurs as Kirk, Saavik, and McCoy are searching for the scientists working on the Genesis project.  They’ve disappeared after Khan (Ricardo Montalban) had ransacked the lab looking for them.  Kirk suggests that they use the transporter beam to follow them wherever they went.  It’s an idea McCoy doesn’t like at all.

MCCOY: Where are we going?

KIRK: Where they went.

MCCOY: Suppose they went nowhere ?

KIRK:  Then this will be your big chance to get away from it all.

And who can forget when McCoy says to Spock:

MCCOY: Are you out of your Vulcan mind?

Of course, a great deal of suspense and excitement in STAR TREK II comes from the battle of wits between Captain Kirk and Khan.  In this scene, Khan thinks he has killed Kirk, but as Kirk reminds him in one of the better lines from the film, Khan keeps killing everyone but Kirk!  This conversation occurs as the two adversaries speak through their communicators:

KIRK: Khan, you bloodsucker!  You’re going to have to do your own dirty work now! Do you hear me? Do you?

KHAN: Kirk? You’re still alive, my old friend?

KIRK: Still, old friend ! You’ve managed to kill everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target!

KHAN: Perhaps I no longer need to try, Admiral.

KIRK: Khan… Khan, you’ve got Genesis, but you don’t have me. You were going to kill me, Khan. You’re going to have to come down here. You’re going to have to come down here!

KHAN: I’ve done far worse than kill you, Admiral. I’ve hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her; marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet… buried alive! Buried alive…!

KIRK: KHAN!  KHAAAN!

But the best lines from the film come from the movie’s most powerful moment, Spock’s death.

To save the ship, Spock has sacrificed his own life, exposing himself to a fatal dose of radiation in order to get the ship to safety.  But before he dies, he manages to have one last conversation with Kirk, as the two characters are separated by a pane of glass.

This emotional scene gets me every time.

MCCOY: (holding Kirk back):  No! You’ll flood the whole compartment!

KIRK: He’ll die!

SCOTTY: Sir! He’s dead already.

MCCOY: It’s too late.

(Kirk walks to the glass.)

KIRK: Spock!

(Spock walks weakly to the glass.)

SPOCK: The ship… out of danger?

SPOCK: Do not grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many, outweigh…

KIRK: The needs of the few.

SPOCK: Or the one. I never took the Kobayashi Maru test until now. What do you think of my solution?

KIRK: Spock.

(Spock sits down.)

SPOCK: I have been, and always shall be, your friend.

[Spock places his hand against the glass and spreads his fingers in the Vulcan salute.)

SPOCK: Live long and prosper.

Pass me the tissues, please.  There aren’t many death scenes in STAR TREK or in any movie for that matter that are better than this one.

And we finish with another superb line, spoken by Kirk at Spock’s funeral, which provides yet another memorable moment from this movie:

KIRK: We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… human .

Nice stuff.

If you’d like to remember the work of Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, watch STAR TREK II:  THE WRATH OF KHAN .

Live long and prosper.

Thanks for reading!

—Michael

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55 Spock Quotes For Star Trek Fans

Why Spock Quotes?

What parents should know, what to discuss with kids, best spock quotes, spock quotes about logic, funny spock quotes.

Mr. Spock is a fictional character and deuteragonist of the Star Trek franchise. The franchise began as an original television series created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966.

The series introduced several interesting characters, including Mr. Spock. He is a half-human and half-Vulcan being. Three actors portrayed the character of Spock in motion-picture productions of the franchise.

The legendary actor Leonard Nimoy first appeared as Spock in the original series. Zachary John Quinto is seen as Spock in several Star Trek films.

Ethan Peck currently appears in the role of Spock in two recent TV series from the franchise. Mr. Spock stands out because of his calm and unbothered nature, a trait of his Vulcan heritage.

Like all other Vulcans, Mr. Spock is also a rational being. He is dedicated to following logic and reason throughout his life.

The character generated a massive fanbase for the franchise, contributing to its continued popularity. This article on Mr. Spock's quotes highlights his quick-witted answers and genuine remarks. Fans of the character might enjoy revisiting some of the exciting moments of Mr. Spock.

Children can also use these quotes to stand out among friends, like Vulcans in the Star Trek universe. The article also provides a concise introduction to the character for new fans of the Star Trek universe.

• Spock's father was a Vulcan named Sarek. His mother was a human named Amanda Grayson. 
• Other family members of Spock were also introduced. He has a half-brother named Sybok and an adopted sister named Michael Burnham. 
• There are adult scenes, representation of adult themes, and the use of insensitive words in several Star Trek productions.
• An asteroid discovered on August 16, 1971, was named Mr. Spock, as a tribute to the discoverer’s cat. The original reference is from the Star Trek franchise. 
• Mr. Spock’s first name is still unknown. 
• Captain Kirk regarded Spock as his most trusted friend, appointing him as the second-in-command of the USS Enterprise Starship. 

1. "Insufficient facts always invite danger."

2. "Practical, Captain? Perhaps. But not desirable. Computers make excellent and efficient servants; but I have no wish to serve under them. Captain, a starship also runs on loyalty to one man, and nothing can replace it, or him."

3. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

4. “Not precisely, Doctor. On Vulcan the "teddy bears" are alive, and they have 6-inch fangs.”

5. "Captain, you almost make me believe in luck."

6. "Live long and prosper."

7. "It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want." 

8. "Every life comes to an end when time demands it. Loss of life is to be mourned but only if the life was wasted. I-Chaya's was not."

9. "I am what I am, Leila. And if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else's."

10. "Beauty is transitory, Doctor; however, she was evidently highly intelligent." 

11. "I'm frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life." 

12. "You Earth people glorify organized violence for 40 centuries, but you imprison those who employ it privately."

13. "Vulcans never bluff." 

14. "It is the lot of 'man' to strive no matter how content he is."

15. "Mother, how can you have lived on Vulcan so long, married a Vulcan, raised a son on Vulcan, without understanding what it means to be a Vulcan?"

16. "Virtue is a relative term."

17. "Violence in reality is quite different from theory, is it not, madam?"

18. "Evil does seem to maintain power by suppressing the truth."

19. "One can begin to reshape the landscape with a single flower, Captain."

20. “No one can guarantee the actions of another.”

21. "I have been – and always shall be – your friend."

22. "I've noticed that about your people, Doctor. You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours."

23. "Humans smile with so little provocation." 

24. "Stonn, she is yours. After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."

25. "May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with Humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant."

26. "I see no logic in wanting to worship a deity who demands you live in perpetual fear."

27. "I realize that command does have its fascination, even under circumstances such as these, but I neither enjoy the idea of command nor am I frightened of it. It simply exists, and I will do whatever logically needs to be done."

28. "Physical reality is consistent with universal laws. Where the laws do not operate, there is no reality. All of this is unreal."

29. "I object to you. I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose."

30. "Change is the essential process of all existence. For instance, the people of Cheron must have once been mono-colored."

31. "Mr. Spock: My congratulations, Captain - a dazzling display of logic.

Captain Kirk: You didn't think I had it in me, did you, Spock?

Mr. Spock: [deadpan] No, sir."

32. "I fail to comprehend your indignation, sir. I have simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar."

33. "Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end."

34. "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

35. "We disposed of emotion, Doctor. Where there is no emotion, there is no motive for violence."

36. "It is more rational to sacrifice one life than six, Doctor."

37. "It would be illogical to kill without reason. In this instance, it is for science." 

38. "I am a Vulcan, Doctor. Pain is a thing of the mind. The mind can be controlled."

39. "They are followers. Without followers, evil cannot spread."

40. "Lieutenant, I am half-Vulcanian. Vulcanians do not speculate. I speak from pure logic. If I let go of a hammer on a planet that has a positive gravity, I need not see it fall to know that it has in fact fallen."

41. "There is no reason that function should not be beautiful. In fact, beauty usually makes it more effective."

42. "Dr. McCoy: You should taste his food. Straw would taste better than his meat, and water a hundred times better than his brandy - nothing has any taste at all.

Mr. Spock: It may be unappetizing, doctor, but it is logical.

Dr. McCoy: Ah, there's that magic word again. Does your logic find this fascinating, Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock: No, 'fascinating' is a word I use for the unexpected. In this case, I should think 'interesting' would suffice."

43. "To expect sense from two mentalities of such extreme viewpoints is not logical."

44. "Worry is a human emotion, Captain. I accept what has happened."

45. "On my planet, "to rest" is to rest, to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass using energy instead of saving it."

46. "Captain Kirk: Mister Spock. Are you out of your mind? You were told to report to me at once. Mr. Spock: I didn't want to, Jim. Captain Kirk: You? Yes, I can see that."

47. "We must acknowledge once and for all that the purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis."

48. "Dr. McCoy: Mr. Spock, you're the most cold-blooded man I've ever known.

Mr. Spock: Why, thank you, Doctor."

49. "Captain James T. Kirk: You'd make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock.

Mr. Spock: That is very kind of you, Captain."

50. "I'll never understand the medical mind."

51. "I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question."

52. "If those peculiar signals are coming from Captain Kirk or Lieutenant Sulu, their rationality is in question."

53. "The precise meaning of the word 'desert' is a waterless, barren wasteland. I fail to understand your romantic nostalgia for such a place.”

54. "Mr. Spock: Really, Captain, my modesty...

Captain James T. Kirk: [interrupts Spock]  ... does not bear close examination, Mr. Spock. I suspect you're becoming more and more human all the time.

Mr. Spock: [surprised... a little]  You... Captain, I see no reason to stand here and be insulted."

55. "Capt. Kirk: Mr. Spock, regaining eyesight would be an emotional experience for most. You, I presume felt nothing?

Spock: Quite the contrary, Captain, I had a very strong reaction. My first sight was the face of Dr. McCoy bending over me.

Dr. McCoy: Hm, 'tis a pitty brief blindness did not increase your appreciation for beauty, Mr. Spock."

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With a wealth of international experience spanning Europe, Africa, North America, and the Middle East, Anusuya brings a unique perspective to her work as a Content Assistant and Content Updating Coordinator. She holds a law degree from India and has practiced law in India and Kuwait. Anusuya is a fan of rap music and enjoys a good cup of coffee in her free time. Currently, she is working on her novel, "Mr. Ivory Merchant".

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The Best Spock Quotes

What are the best Spock quotes that you still use today? Mr. Spock is one of the greatest characters ever written for television, and thanks to his reliance on logic, he's had some interesting things to say over the years whether it was on the original  Star Trek  or any of the other series or films he's appeared in.

From comments that show just how he felt about working on the USS Enterprise with "May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant" to more helpful comments about the nature of command with "You're the captain of this ship. You haven't the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You can't afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect. If you do, they lose faith and you lose command," let's take a look at the greatest Spock quotes in  Star Trek  history, ranked by your votes.

Whatever your favorite Spock quotes are, vote them up on the list below so they will climb closer to the top.

Needs Of Many

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Long Live And Prosper

Live long and prosper.

Self-Made Purgatories

If there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them.

Critical Moments

In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.

Efficient Servants

Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them.

Maintain Power

Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth.

Glorified Organized Violence

You Earth people glorified organized violence for forty centuries. But you imprison those who employ it privately.

It would be illogical to kill without reason.

Cannot Spread

Without followers, evil cannot spread.

You Are A Liar

I fail to comprehend your indignation, sir. I have simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar.

Pain is a thing of the mind. The mind can be controlled.

Essential Process

Change is the essential process of all existence.

Intellect Without Discipline

I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose.

That Man On The Bridge

I have a responsibility to this ship, to that man on the bridge. I am what I am, Leila. If there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else's.

Virtue is a relative term.

Provocation

Amanda: After all these years with humans, you still haven't learned to smile. Spock: Humans smile with so little provocation.

Multi-Legged Creature

Sir, there is a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder.

Where there's no emotion, there's no motive for violence.

The Low Regard

I'm frequently appalled by the low regard you Earthmen have for life.

You Lose Command

You're the captain of this ship. You haven't the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You can't afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect. If you do, they lose faith and you lose command.

Beauty is transitory.

Avoid A Direct Answer

I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question.

Foolish Emotions

May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.

Different From Theory

Violence in reality is quite different from theory.

As Though It Were A Fly

If we start buzzing about down there, we're liable to find their mental power is so great they could reach out and swat this ship as though it were a fly.

Never Understand

I'll never understand the medical mind.

• Star Trek (2009)
• Star Trek Franchise
• Entertainment
• Star Trek Universe
• Watchworthy
• Adventure Entertainment

The greatest, funniest, and most iconic movie and TV quotes from your all-time favorite comedies (and a few you probably haven’t seen).

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

• View history

"At the end of the universe lies the beginning of vengeance."

Admiral James T. Kirk faces his greatest challenge yet. Suffering through doubts about his place in the galaxy, he is thrust into action once more against his most bitter foe – Khan Noonien Singh, who has escaped his exile on Ceti Alpha V and now seeks revenge on Kirk. With a powerful new device in the wrong hands and a no-win scenario in play, the cost of victory for the starship Enterprise may prove too high.

• 1.1 Act One
• 1.2 Act Two
• 1.3 Act Three
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.2 Kobayashi Maru
• 3.3 Vengeance
• 4.3.1 Star Trek: War of the Generations
• 4.3.2 Star Trek: The Omega System
• 4.3.3 Star Trek: The Genesis Project
• 4.3.4 The New Star Trek
• 4.3.5 Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country
• 4.4 Casting
• 4.6.1 Starfleet uniforms
• 4.6.2 Khan and his people
• 4.6.3 Other
• 4.7 Shooting
• 4.8 Visual effects
• 4.9 Production history
• 5 Awards and honors
• 6.1 Merchandise gallery
• 7 Apocrypha
• 8.1.1 Opening credits
• 8.1.2.1 Additional Animation Visual Concept Engineering
• 8.2.1.1 LCARS references
• 8.2.2 Meta references
• 8.2.3 Script references
• 8.3 Sources
• 8.4 External links

Summary [ ]

Act one [ ].

IN THE 23RD CENTURY...

A female Vulcan sits in the command chair on the bridge of the Enterprise . While the senior staff work at their consoles, the officer, Saavik , makes a log entry , then orders Commander Sulu , manning the helm , to project a course to avoid entering the Neutral Zone.

Suddenly, Uhura receives a distress call from the Kobayashi Maru , which has struck a gravitic mine near Altair VI ... inside the Neutral Zone. Despite warnings from both Sulu and Captain Spock , Saavik orders the ship to enter the Zone in order to beam the survivors aboard. Upon entering the Zone, the Enterprise is confronted with three Klingon battle cruisers , which open fire. The Enterprise is heavily damaged; many of the bridge officers are killed. Saavik has no alternative but to order the surviving crew to abandon ship.

Then the filtered voice of Admiral Kirk is heard. The bridge viewscreen slides aside, revealing a lighted room beyond. The Enterprise is a stage and the Kobayashi Maru was a test – one Saavik does not believe to have been a fair test of her command abilities. Kirk explains that the no-win scenario is a situation every commander may face and that how one faces death is equally important as how one faces life. Saavik seems ruffled at the advice, but Kirk offers that now she has something new to think about. As Kirk begins to leave, Dr. McCoy asks him if it would not be easier to just put an experienced crew back aboard the Enterprise . " Galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young, doctor, " Kirk replies while on his way out. Uhura wonders aloud what the admiral meant by that.

" Happy birthday. Surely, the best of times... "

Outside the simulator room , Spock awaits Kirk's opinion of the cadets ' performance. Kirk notes that the trainees wreaked havoc with the simulator room and Spock alike. Spock notes that this is a common occurrence with the Kobayashi Maru test and then recalls Kirk's own experience, noting that the admiral took the test three times and that his final solution was somewhat "unique." " It had the virtue of never having been tried, " Kirk says. He then thanks Spock for his birthday present, an antique copy of A Tale of Two Cities , reciting the book's first line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." and asking his friend if it's meant to be a message. Spock replies " None that I'm conscious of, except of course, "Happy birthday." Surely, the best of times. " Just then, Spock is called to a space shuttle to take him to the Enterprise to prepare for Kirk's inspection. Kirk tells Spock he is going home and the Vulcan watches Kirk walk off with concern on his face.

Later at night, Kirk has retreated to his apartment , to be greeted by Leonard McCoy, who presents him with a bottle of finely-aged Romulan ale , vintage 2283 . For a present, the doctor hands him something in a case – reading glasses . " Oh, Bones , this is... charming, " Kirk says. McCoy notes that for most patients of Kirk's age, he usually prescribes Retinax V , which Kirk is allergic to. Noticing Kirk is acting stranger than usual, especially after giving him the glasses, McCoy questions whether Kirk really wants to carry on the duties of an admiral or to be "hopping galaxies" in a starship. Kirk confesses it to him, and the two share a drink sitting by the apartment's fireplace. McCoy admonishes Kirk to get his command back (in stark contrast to his previous assessment of Kirk's command fitness) before he gets too old.

Meanwhile, Commander Chekov is aboard the USS Reliant , which orbits Ceti Alpha VI in connection with Project Genesis , searching for a lifeless planet to satisfy the requirements of a test site for the Genesis experiment. Although Ceti Alpha VI should be incapable of supporting life, Chekov detects a minor energy flux reading on one dynoscanner . They promptly report this to Carol Marcus at Regula I , a space station orbiting a planetoid . They believe it is something they can transplant, since it may only be a particle of preanimate matter . Marcus is unsure and tells them that there " can't be so much as a microbe or the show's off. " Chekov and his commanding officer , Captain Clark Terrell , then beam down to the surface to investigate in environmental suits . " There's nothing here. The tricorder must be broken, " Chekov tells Terrell as they fight their way through clouds of dust until they discover what appears to be a crashed derelict vessel, which Terrell remarks looks like cargo carriers . Inside, Chekov soon discovers that the derelict is the shelter for the crew of the SS Botany Bay , a ship he remembers all too well . Panicking, he rushes a confused Terrell toward the exit, only to find a group of cloaked figures waiting outside nearby.

" A criminal... a product of late 20th century genetic engineering. "

On board Reliant , Commander Kyle attempts to raise communications with Terrell but receives no response. He and Chekov are held captive by the mysterious inhabitants, their leader revealing himself as none other than Khan Noonien Singh , and it further turns out that the planet they were investigating is in fact Ceti Alpha V , which was devastated by the explosion of the sixth planet six months after Khan and his followers were exiled to the planet by Kirk fifteen years earlier . In order to find out not only why the two are there, but also Kirk's whereabouts, Khan forces juvenile Ceti eels into their ears , rendering them subservient to his every command.

Under the command of now-Captain Spock, the Enterprise is being used to train Starfleet Academy cadets, and Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu come aboard to assist in a short training cruise.

Chekov contacts Regula I to inform Dr. Carol Marcus, the head of the Genesis project, that Kirk has ordered them to take possession of the Genesis Device . Khan and his Augment followers have commandeered the Reliant , and Chekov informs Khan that Marcus will attempt to confirm the "order," something that Khan is counting on. A furious Dr. Marcus attempts to contact Kirk (who turns out to have been formerly her lover) to confirm the order, but the signal is disrupted at its source. Carol's message is thereby confusing and Kirk's replies cannot be heard by Marcus. Marcus and the Genesis Project personnel prepare to vacate Regula I before Reliant arrives. Kirk, after consulting with Starfleet Command , converses with Captain Spock in his quarters, who encourages Kirk to assume command. Kirk protests, insisting that it is okay for Spock to retain command during the mission (perhaps remembering what happened when he usurped the command of another captain of the Enterprise ), but Spock assures Kirk that, by contrast, he has no ego to be bruised by Kirk taking over for him, and further asserts that it was a mistake for Kirk to accept promotion, as commanding a starship is Kirk's "first, best destiny." Kirk agrees and assumes command, ordering Enterprise to set a course for Regula I. " So much for the little training cruise... ", Sulu notes as the Enterprise enters warp speed.

Khan, in full command of Reliant , has the ship set on an intercept course with Enterprise . Khan's second-in-command, Joachim , while pledging his loyalty and that of his comrades, tries to convince Khan that by escaping the planet, he has now evened the score with Kirk. Khan is not content to merely be even with Kirk, however, and reveals his intention to take revenge on the admiral.

While en route to the space lab, Kirk shows Spock and McCoy a briefing video on Project Genesis, the ultimate goal of which is revealed to be the creation of a torpedo-like Genesis Device, which can be fired at a lifeless planetary body and transform it into a habitable world. McCoy is alarmed at the implications of this, since if a Genesis Device were used on an already inhabited world the terraforming process would obliterate all life on the planet in mere seconds. " As a matter of cosmic history, it has always been easier to destroy than to create, " Spock mentions, although McCoy points out that the Genesis Device makes it possible to do both simultaneously, leading to a potential armageddon. Their discussion is interrupted by Saavik, who informs them that another starship is on an intercept course. A Federation starship named Reliant .

Peter Preston , mortally wounded by Khan's attack

Near Regula I, Enterprise finds the Reliant waiting for them. Despite Reliant failing to answer hails, Kirk is reluctant to raise shields – as, Saavik reminds him, regulations prescribe. The two ships edge closer, and Kirk orders yellow alert after finding the situation to be " damn peculiar " but still doesn't raise shields because the Reliant claims they can't use their communications system due to their chambers coil emissions. Spock quickly discerns that this isn't true, as Khan orders the shields on Reliant raised, then locks phasers. This is detected by Spock, and Kirk finally orders shields up but it is too late as Reliant opens fire, knowing exactly where the ship's most vulnerable points are, disabling the Enterprise 's main energizer and warp core, leaving only the battery to power the ship, and fatally injuring several cadets. Engines are down, shields inoperative, and there is only enough power for a few phaser shots, which isn't enough against Reliant 's shields. Reliant fires a photon torpedo from its aft launcher at the Enterprise which causes the crippled vessel's bridge to erupt in flames.

While Kirk is trying to hold the heavily damaged Enterprise and her injured crew together, Uhura announces that Reliant is signaling, wishing to discuss terms of their surrender . Kirk, taken aback for a moment along with the bridge crew, orders Uhura to put Reliant 's commander on screen. Kirk is shocked to see Khan in command of the Reliant . Khan arrogantly announces his plans to destroy the Enterprise , to which Kirk pleads with Khan to take him as prisoner and spare his crew. Khan agrees, but also demands all information and material on the Genesis device. Kirk pretends to comply, but actually transmits a signal using Reliant 's prefix code (1-6-3-0-9) that causes Reliant to lower her shields. Despite Khan's intelligence – he knew exactly where to hit the Enterprise for maximum damage – he is still relatively inexperienced with a starship. When he realizes what Kirk is doing he is unable to immediately find the controls to override the command lowering the shields. With the few shots auxiliary power can give him, Sulu is able to fire a few well-placed shots at the Reliant , damaging photon control and the warp drive (which also disables her phasers). An enraged Khan is reluctant to withdraw, but Joachim reminds him that Enterprise , with its disabled power systems, can't escape. Both ships limp away for repairs and the match ends in a stalemate.

Act Two [ ]

The Enterprise at Regula I

Kirk is furious at himself for being lulled into a false sense of security, spitting, " I did nothing! Except get caught with my britches down. I must be getting senile. " He then surveys the wounded in sickbay and attends Midshipman 1st Class Peter Preston on his deathbed alongside a grieving Scott. With impulse power restored, the Enterprise arrives at Regula I. Kirk and McCoy form a landing party , and Saavik reminds Kirk of General Order 15 barring the admiral, as a flag officer, from beaming into a dangerous situation without armed escort. Kirk disputes the existence of such a regulation, but then relents and invites Saavik to join the landing party. Kirk leaves Spock in command of the Enterprise , but not before the latter admonishes the former to be careful. (To that, McCoy replies that they will all be careful.)

" Oh, sir... it was Khan! We found him on Ceti Alpha V. "

Aboard the station, they find the personnel murdered and discover Chekov and Terrell semi-conscious and weakened inside a storage compartment. When the two officers come to, they claim they overcame the effects of the Ceti eels and reveal that the crew of the Reliant is marooned on Ceti Alpha V. Terrell calls Khan completely mad and that the genetically engineered superman blames Kirk for the death of his wife . Continuing their investigation, the Enterprise crew finds that the station's records of the Genesis Device have been erased. Exploring the station leads them to a transporter that has recently been activated. Checking the coordinates, Kirk realizes they beamed into the Regula planetoid . Kirk asks for a damage report from Enterprise . Spock reports that " by the book, hours would seem like days " and that main power will be not be available for two days. Kirk orders Spock to leave orbit if the Enterprise hears nothing from them within one hour. Uhura protests that they will not leave them behind, but Kirk retorts that if they hear nothing, there won't be anybody there to leave behind.

" KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! "

They follow the transporter coordinates and materialize inside a cavern. The Genesis Device is there, but before Kirk can move, he is attacked by his son, David Marcus , who accuses Kirk of trying to steal Genesis. Carol, David's mother, tries to defuse the situation, but before she can elaborate the team is threatened by Chekov and Terrell, who it turns out are still under Khan's control. David brashly tries to rush the two, but Saavik tackles him to the ground just as Terrell fires on him, misses, and vaporizes the third scientist, Jedda instead. On the bridge of the Reliant , Khan gleefully orders Terrell to kill Kirk. However, Terrell resists Khan and the eel causes him extreme pain. To escape it, he turns his phaser on himself and commits suicide. Chekov collapses and the Ceti eel slips out of his ear before being vaporized by Kirk. Khan, shocked to find Kirk alive and well, beams the Genesis Device up to the Reliant before vowing to leave the admiral and his party marooned inside Regula forever by destroying the Enterprise , whom Khan believes will be crippled for at least two days, prompting Kirk to scream at Khan in blind rage.

Later on, Kirk avoids Carol and David's questions about Khan by asking for food. Carol and David show Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik the Genesis cave , which was created by a smaller Genesis Device: deep within Regula there is a stable ecosystem that was created in just one day. Meanwhile, Khan moves the Reliant back towards the spacelab where he expects to find the Enterprise , completely helpless. However, Khan is astonished to find that the Enterprise is not there. In the cave, Saavik asks Kirk, who casually eats an apple, about his performance on the Kobayashi Maru scenario. McCoy tells her that Kirk is the only one to beat the no-win scenario, and Kirk admits he reprogrammed the simulation. David chuckles and says he cheated, and Kirk qualifies that he "changed the conditions of the test." Kirk then promptly contacts Enterprise , and Spock says they should prepare for transport. Kirk smiles at a dumbfounded Saavik and asserts that he does not like to lose. Saavik asks for clarification while beaming back aboard, and Kirk reminds her of Regulation 46A : Spock made his report using an improvised code to deceive Khan; instead of immediate repairs taking two days, they only took two hours and moved the Enterprise out of range of the Reliant 's sensors. " You lied, " Saavik tells her mentor. " I exaggerated, " Spock replies. Kirk explains, " Hours instead of days ; now we've got minutes instead of hours. "

Act Three [ ]

After assessing the situation, it is determined the Enterprise can not outrun or outgun the far less damaged Reliant . Kirk decides to take the fight to the nearby Mutara Nebula , whose ionized gases will disrupt both ships' sensors and shields, making the fight an even one. Spotting the Enterprise fleeing, Khan orders Reliant to pursue, but Joachim is reluctant, so Khan acquiesces.

" Khan, I'm laughing at the superior intellect. "

Back on the Enterprise , Spock notes with his sensors that Reliant is reducing speed and seems to be backing off its pursuit. To ensure that Khan will follow him, Kirk has Uhura contact Reliant and proceeds to taunt his nemesis, saying " We tried it once your way, Khan. Are you game for a rematch? Khan... I'm laughing at the superior intellect. " Mocked and enraged, Khan orders full impulse power above Joachim's protests and recklessly heads into full pursuit. " I'll say this for him – he's consistent, " Kirk remarks about his nemesis as the Battle of the Mutara Nebula commences. Both ships are quite hampered by the conditions, but this is a good thing for Kirk, since both ships are reduced to an equal level of non-functioning systems, whereas in open space Enterprise would have been the more disabled vessel.

" We are now entering the Mutara Nebula . "

The opening of the battle consists of a game of cat-and-mouse with both ships. Computer-targeting does not function, so both crews must rely on manual firing commands by eyeballing the opposing ships on their static-filled viewscreen. Sulu, more experienced, narrowly misses the Reliant due to turbulence, while Khan fires a torpedo aft at the Enterprise , but both fail to land a hit.

As they maneuver half-blind around the nebula, suddenly the static on the Enterprise screen clears enough to reveal that the ships are about to collide. They veer apart and narrowly miss colliding, and at such point-blank range even manual firing is enough for each vessel to inflict key hits on the other. The Reliant manages to destroy the port torpedo tube of the Enterprise , which then returns fire and damages the Reliant bridge deck, causing an explosion that kills several of the bridge crew including Khan's most trusted lieutenant, Joachim, whom Khan vows to avenge. Main power on the Enterprise goes out again and the warp drive chamber in engineering floods with radiation, forcing Scott to take the mains off-line just before he and most of his crew pass out.

The crippled Reliant adrift in the nebula

A shaken, but physically recovered Chekov enters the bridge offering his assistance, which Kirk accepts and orders him to man the weapons control station. Kirk, still struggling with a strategy to trap Khan, listens to Spock, who suggests that Khan's battle plan to that point suggests "two-dimensional thinking." Kirk, inspired by Spock's comment, orders the ship to descend vertically. Khan isn't prepared for Enterprise to drop "down" its Z-axis as he passes overhead and then rise "up" directly behind him. Reliant 's torpedo pod is destroyed by a torpedo fired by Chekov, and a phaser blast and torpedo hit blows off its port nacelle . Reliant is crippled and drifts away, trailing plasma . Most of Khan's crew is killed in the process, and Khan himself is left maimed and barely alive.

" No, Kirk. The game's not over. "

In a last-ditch effort to destroy Kirk, Khan activates the Genesis Device, which will reorganize all matter in the nebula – including the Enterprise . With the mains offline, the warp drive is inoperable and the Enterprise cannot escape the large explosion that the device will trigger. Unnoticed, Spock exits the bridge while Kirk orders a withdrawal at "best possible speed".

" We're not gonna make it, are we? "

Spock arrives in the engine room, only to be blocked by Dr. McCoy from entering the lethally irradiated dilithium reactor room. After first feigning compliance, an apologetic Spock nerve pinches McCoy and mind melds with the doctor, simply saying " Remember... " He then dons Scott's radiation suit gloves, enters the chamber, and endures the life threatening radiation while repairing the main reactor . McCoy and Scott yell at Spock to get out immediately, but he continues to work, ignoring their pleas.

As Enterprise crawls away from Reliant , the bridge crew starts to resign themselves to the seeming inevitable. Sulu says what everyone is thinking; " We're not going to make it, are we? ", which David silently confirms to Kirk. On Reliant 's bridge, Khan quotes Moby Dick using his last breaths: " No... no, you can't get away. From hell 's heart , I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee. "

Spock finishes his work in engineering, bringing the warp engines back online just in time. Kirk, believing Scott to have worked a miracle, orders Sulu to engage immediately and Enterprise streaks away into warp just as the Genesis Device explodes, completely destroying the Reliant and killing Khan and his followers. The Mutara Nebula condenses around the explosion, creating the Genesis Planet . Kirk contacts engineering to congratulate Scott, but he is surprised to hear McCoy's voice gravely reply that Kirk needs to come down. Kirk looks over and notices the empty chair at the science station . A look of horror washes over Kirk's face as he rushes down to engineering to find Spock on the other side of the reactor room's wall. McCoy and Scott restrain him from rushing in and flooding the engine room with radiation, with Scott saying that Spock is already dead. Devastated, Kirk calls out for Spock and follows as the Vulcan, blinded by the radiation, staggers to the side of the transparent wall, finally resting against it.

" I have been... and always shall be... your friend. "

Spock attempts with difficulty to explain to Kirk his reasoning: " Don't grieve, admiral. It is logical . The needs of the many outweigh... " to which Kirk replies, " the needs of the few, " and Spock nods, " or the one... " Spock states that he himself never took the Kobayashi Maru simulation " until now, " and asks Kirk, " What do you think of my solution? "

Kirk, stricken with grief, can't reply. " I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper. " He holds out his hand, in the traditional Vulcan salute , and Kirk presses his hand up to the glass as well, watching helplessly as Spock slumps to the floor and dies. It takes all of his resolve to keep his composure as he sees his closest friend die in front of him. This time, there is no going back.

Spock's funeral is held later, on the torpedo deck . Kirk says a few words in Spock's honor, concluding with a befitting statement: " Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... Human . " The crew watches (with Scott playing " Amazing Grace " on bagpipes ) as Spock's body is launched in a torpedo casing into the atmosphere of the newborn Genesis Planet.

Afterward, Kirk is in his quarters and tries to read from the book Spock gave him on his birthday but discovers that one of the lenses of his reading glasses was broken during the final battle with Reliant . Exasperated, he tosses them on the table as David enters. Kirk tries to be dismissive, but David confronts him, telling Kirk that he (Kirk) never really faced death. When Kirk admits that he hasn't, David points out that Kirk earlier told Saavik that how people face death is as important as how they face life. Kirk says those were just words, but David thinks they are good words, from which good ideas come. He then tells Kirk he is proud to be his son. The two of them hug, awkwardly at first but then with genuine warmth.

" He's really not dead... as long as we remember him. "

Later, on the bridge, Dr. McCoy, Carol Marcus, and Kirk stare at the Genesis Planet on the main viewscreen as the Enterprise departs for Ceti Alpha V to pick up the surviving crew of the Reliant . McCoy notes that as long as they remember Spock, he will not truly be gone.

" It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. A far better resting place that I go to than I have ever known. "

Kirk softly quotes the last lines of A Tale of Two Cities ; something Spock was trying to tell him on his birthday. Upon McCoy's inquiry as to how Kirk feels, he answers: " Young. I feel young. "

Spock's torpedo coffin having landed on the surface of Genesis

On the Genesis Planet, the torpedo casing containing Spock's body has soft-landed among the jungle flora of the newborn world, teeming with new life and new possibilities. Spock's voice provides the final words:

Space... the final frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise . Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds... to seek out new lifeforms, and new civilizations... to boldly go where no man has gone... before.

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Any suggestions, Admiral? " " Prayer , Mister Saavik. The Klingons don't take prisoners. "

" Physician, heal thyself. " " Is that all you gotta say? What about my performance? " " I'm not a drama critic. "

" How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say? " " As I indicated, Admiral, that thought did not occur to me. " " Well, now you have something new to think about. Carry on. "

" 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Message, Spock? " " None that I am conscious of. Except, of course, happy birthday. Surely... the best of times. "

" Galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young, doctor. "

" Romulan ale . Why Bones, you know this is illegal. " " I only use it for medicinal purposes. "

" Now, you open this one. " " I'm almost afraid to. What is it, Klingon aphrodisiacs? " " No. More antiques for your collection. " " Why, Bones, this is... charming. "

" Jim, I'm your Doctor, and I'm your friend. Get back your command. Get it back before you turn into part of this collection. Before you really do grow old. "

" He's never what I expect, sir. " " What surprises you, lieutenant? " " He's so... Human. " " Nobody's perfect, Saavik. "

" Every time we have dealings with Starfleet, I get nervous. We are dealing with something that... could be perverted into a dreadful weapon. Remember that overgrown Boy Scout you used to hang around with? That's exactly the kind of man... " " Listen, kiddo, Jim Kirk was many things, but he was never a Boy Scout! "

(to Captain Terrell) " I don't know you. " (to Commander Chekov) " But you... I never forget a face, Mister... Chekov, isn't it? I never thought to see your face again. " " Chekov, who is this man? " " A criminal, Captain. A product of late 20th century genetic engineering. "

" You lie! On Ceti Alpha V, there was life! A fair chance– " " THIS IS CETI ALPHA V!!! Ceti Alpha VI exploded six months after we were left here. The shock shifted the orbit of this planet and everything was laid waste . Admiral Kirk never bothered to check on our progress! It was only the fact of my genetically engineered intellect that allowed us to survive. On Earth... two hundred years ago... I was a prince... with power over millions. " " Captain Kirk was your host. You repaid his hospitality by trying to steal his ship and murder him! "

" This is completely improper, Commander Chekov! I have absolutely no intention of allowing Reliant or any other unauthorized personnel access to our work or materials! " " I'm sorry that you feel that way, Doctor. Admiral Kirk's orders are confirmed. Please prepare to deliver Genesis to us upon our arrival. Reliant out. "

" Starfleet has kept the peace for over a hundred years . I cannot, and will not, subscribe to your interpretations of this event! "

" Jim, you proceed from a false assumption. I am a Vulcan. I have no ego to bruise. "

" If I may be so bold... it was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny. Anything else is a waste of material. "

" Were I to invoke logic, logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. " " Or the one. "

" You are my superior officer. You are also my friend. I have been and always shall be yours. "

" He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him. I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before I give him up! Prepare to alter course. "

" As a matter of cosmic history, it has always been easier to destroy than to create ." " Not anymore; now we can do both at the same time! According to myth, the Earth was created in six days. Now, watch out. Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes ! "

" Logic? My God, the man's talking about logic! We're talking about universal armageddon! You green-blooded, inhuman – "

" Ah, Kirk... my 'old friend'. Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold... in space. "

" Admiral, the commander of the Reliant is signaling. He wishes to discuss terms of our surrender. "

" Sir, you did it! " " I did nothing! Except get caught with my britches down. I must be getting senile. Mr. Saavik, you go right on quoting regulations! In the meantime, let's find out how badly we've been hurt. "

" He wants to kill me, for passing sentence on him fifteen years ago. And he doesn't care who stands between him and his vengeance. "

" Go? Where are we going? " " Where they went. " " Suppose they went nowhere? " " Then this'll be your big chance to get away from it all. "

" Where's Dr. Marcus? " "I'm Dr. Marcus! "

" Mother, he killed everybody we left behind! " " Of course he didn't. David, you're just making this harder. " " I'm afraid it's even harder than you think, doctor. Please... don't move. "

" All is well, sir. You have the coordinates to beam up Genesis. " " First things first, Captain. Kill Admiral Kirk. "

" Khan, you bloodsucker! You're gonna have to do your own dirty work now! Do you hear me? DO YOU?! " " Kirk! Kirk, you're still alive, my old friend. " " Still – 'old friend'! You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target! "

" I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on... hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me... as you left her . Marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet... buried alive. Buried alive. " "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"

" You had your world... and I had mine. And I wanted him in mine... not chasing through the universe with his father. "

" Actually, he's a lot like you. In many ways. "

" Impulse power restored. " " Excellent. More than a match for poor Enterprise ."

" Can I cook or can't I? "

" I don't believe in a no-win scenario. "

" That young man – he's my son! " " Fascinating. "

" Admiral, what happens if Reliant fails to follow us into the nebula? " " I think we can guarantee she'll follow us, Mr. Saavik. Remind me to explain to you the concept of the Human ego. " " Best speed, Scotty. "

" Khan... I'm laughing at the "superior intellect". "

" Full impulse power. " " No, sir! You have Genesis! You can have whatever you–! " (grabs Joachim by the vest) " FULL POWER! Damn you! "

" He 's intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking. "

" Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!? No Human can tolerate the radiation that's in there! " " As you are so fond of observing, Doctor, I am not Human. " " You're not going in there! " " Perhaps you're right. What is Mr. Scott's condition? " " Well, I don't think that he — " (Spock renders McCoy unconscious with a Vulcan neck pinch) " I'm sorry, Doctor; I have no time to discuss this logically. (Mind melds with McCoy) Remember. "

" No... no, you can't get away. From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee. "

" Bless you, Scotty – GO , Sulu! "

" Jim, I think you'd... better get down here. "

" No! You'll flood the whole compartment! " " He'll die... " " Sir! He's dead already. " " It's too late. "

" I have been... and always shall be... your friend . Live long... and prosper. " " No... ! "

" We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of a new life, the sunrise of a new world, a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one. And we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels... his was the most... Human. " " Honors, hup! "

" You knew enough to tell Saavik that how we face death is as least as important as how we face life. " " Just words. " " But good words. That's where ideas begin. Maybe you should listen to them. I was wrong about you... and I'm sorry. " " Is that what you came here to say? " " Mainly. And also that I'm – proud... very proud... to be your son. "

" It is a far far better thing I do than I have ever done before... a far – better resting place I go to than I have ever known. " " Is that a poem? " " No. Something Spock was trying to tell me on my birthday. "

" You OK, Jim? How do you feel? " " Young. I feel young! "

Analysis [ ]

The screenplay for Star Trek II was written by director Nicholas Meyer, compiled from a number of drafts which all contained one or several dominant themes. One element was clearly going to be central to the audience's emotional response. Meyer explained: " Once you decide that you're going to have the death of Spock, then how does that affect the other people? Why is it there? I got a lot of stick from a lot of people from the very beginning about the idea of killing Spock. Somebody said, 'You can't kill him.' And I said, 'Sure you can; the only question is whether you do it well.' If his death proceeds organically from the theme and the story of the movie, then nobody's even going to notice it until it's on you, and no one will question it. "

In other words, Meyer was determined that his film would be about something and would do more than tell an adventure story. " We were giving birth to planets, and Kirk was meeting his son, and Spock was dying. You sort of looked at that and said, 'Well, what unifying ideas are running through here?' And then you thought, 'Ah! This is going to be a movie about... '"

Meyer decided to embrace the idea that the characters had aged, and he gave Kirk some very Human flaws, including less than perfect eyesight.

" This was going to be a story in which Spock died, so it was going to be a story about death, and it was only a short hop, skip, and a jump to realize that it was going to be about old age and friendship. I don't think that any of those other scripts were about old age, friendship, and death. "

The decision that the film was going to be about old age and friendship prompted Meyer to include a scene in which McCoy visits Kirk in his apartment and tells him that he should get his command back. With every alteration, the themes were woven tighter and tighter into the script.

Ultimately, the film presented an aged Kirk in mid-life crisis. Uncertain of his place, of himself, Kirk must make the greatest sacrifice to find out where he truly belongs.

Kobayashi Maru [ ]

In one of the early drafts for the film, the Kobayashi Maru test was suggested as a no-win scenario – one Nicholas Meyer decided Kirk had solved by cheating. Initially, producer Harve Bennett was resistant to the idea that Kirk could do anything 'bad', yet Meyer won him over; in fact, he believed the story needed Kirk to have flaws. " There's a distinction to be made between heroes and gods, " he explained, " which I think we sometimes get confused about. [...] let me explain my theory of heroism. If a man jumps into a raging torrent to save a drowning child, he performs an heroic act. If the same man jumps into the same torrent to save the same child, but does so with a ball and chain attached to his leg, he's not less heroic; he's more heroic. "

" How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say? "

" If you look at the heroes of antiquity and myth, they all have flaws. It's something that they have to overcome; their flaws are something that they have to act in spite of. The challenge is not to defy your fate, but to endure it. That is heroic. " James T. Kirk is very much like a classical hero who must confront his own weaknesses. He played God when he marooned Khan to a desert world; he chose not to be involved in his son David's life; he allowed the Enterprise to be damaged because he would not listen when Saavik told him to raise shields. When Spock dies, Kirk must endure, and Nicholas Meyer was absolutely conscious of this when he was writing the script.

" The flaw is always the same ", he explained. " The hero always thinks he knows the answer, and ultimately he learns that he doesn't. [...] There is always a point in Greek plays, known as 'peripeteia,' where the hero learns that everything he knew is wrong. And it's no accident that in at least two of my movies there comes a point where the hero says, 'I know nothing'. H.G. Wells says it in Time After Time ; Kirk says it in Star Trek II . It's when you begin to realize that you know nothing that you're ready to learn something. When you've had the shit kicked out of you, you're ready to start over, and with a little humility. As I was writing it, I was certainly getting to that 'I know nothing' point. "

Vengeance [ ]

To Meyer's mind, Khan was related to Satan, who fell from grace with God. Of course, thematically, this linked him with Genesis – another of the film's Biblical allusions.

Using the Star Trek: The Original Series first season series episode " Space Seed " as a building block, Meyer built Khan into the ultimate adversary for Kirk. As he worked on his character, he imagined how enraged a man would be after being exiled on a desert world and losing his wife. Inevitably, Khan became obsessed with Kirk, who he saw as his nemesis. " Kirk was the fiend who had imprisoned him; who had stopped him up in the bottle. I think when Khan makes his appearance in the story, Kirk is flabbergasted. He did not lie awake thinking about Khan; Khan lay awake thinking about Kirk. "

Meyer decided that while Khan had been waiting for a chance to avenge himself upon Kirk, he would have been reading. " I started thinking, 'What books does a superman take with him into exile?' At one point, Khan says, 'On Earth I was a prince', and certainly he's a fallen angel, so I picked all the books that were Lucifer-related – fallen angel – whether it was 'Moby Dick' or 'Paradise Lost' or 'King Lear', and began to build from there. I thought, 'He's probably been obsessively reading these books again and again until every word out of his mouth has been written by Shakespeare or Milton'. Actually, Melville was the one who finally took over; he just becomes completely Ahab. "

Meyer intended for Spock's death to mean something, both for Kirk and for the audience.

Inevitably, there was concern that the script might seem too downbeat, particularly because in Meyer's version there was nothing to suggest that Spock might be reborn on the Genesis Planet. He later recognized that that might have been a mistake, yet he never felt that Spock's death was depressing. " My feeling about killing Spock was that it would be moving, but that didn't mean you would be depressed by it. Romeo and Juliet die, but nobody comes out of that play depressed. We didn't want Spock's death to be meaningless. And I don't think that it is. Aristotle had the notion of catharsis – that the audience is purged through pity and terror. You don't come out of these things saying, 'I'm going to stick my head in the oven'. Kirk chooses to go on living; sadder but wiser, understanding a little more the way the world works, and that is not, per se, depressing. It may be sad, but it's not depressing. "

Background information [ ]

• This movie was the first Star Trek release to occur in the 1980s.
• The Wrath of Khan, the second Star Trek feature film installment, is traditionally regarded by fans as the best in the series, and considered by many non-fans as an excellent science-fiction picture. In 2014, it was ranked by Empire readers as #89 in a poll to determine the 301 greatest movies of all time. [1]
• The film earned US$14,347,221 at the US box office in its opening weekend, a record at the time which was broken two years later by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This film, in turn, was out-grossed by the next film in the series The Search for Spock.
• The film earned GBP£1,499,226 at the British box office upon release, and debuted at no.2 just behind Rocky III . [2]
• This was also done for the official movie novelization but subsequent prints of the film retitled it Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• Writer and producer Harve Bennett had never seen anything Star Trek related but binge watched the entire Original Series to prepare for this movie.
• According to William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories , the original title of the film was The Undiscovered Country , the undiscovered country in this case being death. According to Shatner, as he told Chris Kreski in quoting Nicholas Meyer, Meyer was outraged when Paramount marketing exec Frank Mancuso renamed the film Star Trek: The Vengeance of Khan without consulting him. Meyer said that the title was ridiculous and that they would be forbidden to keep it with George Lucas making a movie called Revenge of the Jedi at the same time. Months later, Paramount changed the subtitle to The Wrath of Khan , and Meyer hated that even more but was made to live with it, although it became a moot point when Lucas changed the title of his movie to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi . Meyer's original title was eventually used for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , which Meyer also directed.
• As with The Motion Picture , the movie was pre-sold to the ABC TV network for first time airing in the USA under a similar arrangement. This entailed two airings of the film, the first to run no earlier than 1985. [3] Its ABC premiere was on 24 February 1985, and its second run was in 1988 (ABC ran the film a third and final time on 18 June 1989, in conjuncture with their third re-run of The Motion Picture that year [4] ). Like the The Motion Picture , the television version of the movie featured deleted or alternate scenes, reintegrated for the television airing, that were originally cut from the theatrical version, and with some mild censoring, akin to the below-mentioned British television version. Unlike The Motion Picture (in the form of its " Special Longer Version ") however, this ABC version has not seen any home media format releases in the home market, nor were several scenes and takes included in the later, 2002 " The Director's Edition " DVD release.
• Several cuts were made to the film for its theatrical release in the United Kingdom in order for it to receive a more favorable classification (A for advisory, rather than the more restricted AA rating which was for over-14s only). The BBFC requested that the close-up sequences of the Ceti eels infecting Terrell and Chekov, and the later close-up of Chekov's eel leaving him, be removed as they were "almost X[-rated]". Seventeen seconds in total were removed. [5] The initial VHS release in the UK was of this cut version; an uncut version – marketed as the "Original Full Length Version" – was not released until 1988. As of 2018, it remains the only Star Trek film released on VHS in the UK to carry the BBFC's 15 certificate, although for its subsequent DVD releases it carries the more moderate 12 certificate which was introduced in the 1990s. [6] The edited version is still used for television broadcasts in the UK. The movie premiered on the ITV network on Wednesday 14th May 1986.
• Many of the outer space scenes in the first half of the movie are reused from Star Trek: The Motion Picture . These include the Klingon battle cruisers in the Kobayashi Maru sequence, the shots of the travel pod, the ' Enterprise 's departure from dry dock, and its first jump to warp speed.
• In fact, as noted in the Special Edition DVD's text commentary, Walter Koenig often joked (at conventions and in interviews) that his character had made Khan wait overly long to use a bathroom on Khan's visit to the Enterprise and that was why Khan remembered his face so well.
• In his DVD commentary track, director Meyer said that he was aware of the discontinuity but ignored it. Meyer acknowledged that he could have just as easily put Uhura on the Reliant and kept the consistency, but he preferred Chekov and referenced the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle frequently contradicted himself in his books about Sherlock Holmes , saying that the continuity did not matter, as long as he had the audience engrossed in and enjoying the story.
• Kirk says, " I know what he blames me for " after being told that Khan blames him for the death of his wife. Taken at face value, this is untrue; until that moment Kirk was unaware Marla McGivers had died, as he did not check in on the planet and Khan did not include this detail in his earlier exchange with Kirk. Given Kirk's demeanor, it is more likely that he is alluding to the fact that he marooned Khan in the first place (though with the ultimately vain hope that Khan and his people could colonize the planet where they had been marooned) and therefore had deduced that Khan was bent on revenge.
• McCoy's line " He's really not dead... as long as we remember him " was improvised by Nicholas Meyer during filming, after he read an article on the set, concerning the possibility of Raoul Wallenberg being alive. Wallenburg was a Hungarian Jew who famously saved many Jews from the Holocaust (though accounts vary as to how many he actually saved). Referring to Wallenberg, Simon Wiesenthal said in the article, " He's really not dead, as long as we remember him. " (Meyer noted this in the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan DVD audio commentary.) Since Star Trek III: The Search for Spock would show not only McCoy having had Spock's complete brain patterns ( katra ) transferred to him during a mind meld in the engine room but also Spock himself having been regenerated by the Genesis Effect, that line took on both ironic and prophetic meanings.
• No visitors were allowed on the set during the filming of Spock's death to keep it a secret as much as possible. Nicholas Meyer remembered, when they shot the scene, he looked around and saw members of the crew, including cinematographer Gayne Rescher , crying and did not understand their reason for bursting into tears. It was much later, he admitted, when he understood the significance of that scene. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan DVD audio commentary)
• The events of the film were novelized by Vonda N. McIntyre and adapted into a photostory by Richard J. Anobile .
• Montalban also said in promo interviews for the movie (which can be seen on the Star Trek II DVD set) that he realized early on in his career that a good villain does not see himself as villainous. He may do villainous things, but the character feels that he is doing them for righteous reasons. Likewise with heroes, Montalban said he always tried to find a flaw in the character because no one is completely good or completely evil. He then compared Khan to this, saying that while Khan had a rather distorted view of reality and, therefore, comes the villainous acts, he still feels that his acts of vengeance against Kirk is a noble cause because of the death of his wife whom he loved dearly.
• In other various interviews at the time of the movie and afterward, some of which can be seen on the Star Trek II DVD features disc, Montalban has also spoken about how he almost turned the role down as he wanted a rather substantial part after coming from six years of Fantasy Island . Montalban changed his mind when he read the script and realized that the other characters were talking about Khan even when he was not on screen and so it made the part seem even more substantial. Montalban also recalled that, when he first started reading the script after having accepted the role and was trying to articulate Khan, that to his horror, he sounded like Mr. Roarke and was terrified that the audiences would laugh at him. Montalban contacted producer Harve Bennett and requested a tape of "Space Seed", and after several viewings of the episode, Montalban began to recall how he had played Khan and was much more comfortable afterward.
• At a high level, the characters of Khan and Kirk can be seen, respectively, as Captain Ahab and the great white whale from Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick , which was found among Khan's possessions. Khan quoted several lines from the novel almost exactly – even down to his dying curse. The ambiguous allegorical nature of the novel was not reproduced in the film, however. The original series episodes " Obsession " and " The Doomsday Machine " and the Star Trek: The Next Generation film Star Trek: First Contact were also inspired by Melville's novel.
• As with Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Paramount filed for and obtained design patents on some of the costumes, props (including the Ceti eel ), and ships from this film.

Juday with the recreation of Chekov's ear.

• The special effects scene in which the Ceti eel got into Chekov's ear was filmed with a large recreation of the ear on a plate. The model which was used was later put in storage and was shown by Penny Juday in the special feature "Inside Starfleet Archives" on the TNG Season 2 DVD .
• The pre-launch background dialogue overheard on the bridge as Kirk and McCoy arrive is almost identical to the checklist overheard in main engineering before the Enterprise launches in Star Trek: The Motion Picture .
• Since Kirk's birthdate was established in Federation computer records in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II " to be March 22nd (actor William Shatner 's actual birthday), this establishes that the beginning of this film is set on March 22nd, 2285 .
• This is the only TOS movie in which a Federation ship fires its phasers. All other films in the TOS series have the ships firing photon torpedoes. The next film in the series to have a Federation ship fire its phasers was Star Trek Generations , twelve years later.
• As noted later, this was somewhat disappointing to Montalban since Shatner and Montalban did not meet on set either but he'd wanted to.
• This was the fourth of five Star Trek projects to be adapted into View-Master reels.
• This film marks the first appearance in the Star Trek franchise of an isolation door in main engineering. It can be seen lowering during the "surprise attack" sequence following Khan's hijacking of the Reliant . That door later became the shuttlebay door on the Enterprise -D.
• There is a "No Smoking" sign on the door of the simulator room during the Kobayashi Maru test. It only appears in the earliest part of the scene. According to Mike Okuda's DVD commentary, it was removed at the request of Gene Roddenberry, who did not envision smoking as part of the Human lifestyle of Star Trek's future. Nevertheless, St. John Talbot was seen lighting up in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , and characters would later be shown smoking in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: Picard .
• During the scene at Kirk's home where he and McCoy share a drink, a Commodore PET personal computer is recognizable at the rear of the set. At the time of filming, William Shatner was the commercial spokesperson for the Commodore line of home computers, including the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor). Although it's likely the PET in the scene was intended to be a Trek -era computer, given this film establishes that Kirk collects antiques, it could also have been part of his collection.
• The encounter between the Enterprise and the Reliant is glimpsed in ST : " Ephraim and Dot " (although the Enterprise is mistakenly labelled NCC-1701-A).
• The film's title, like so many others was altered by the teen soap drama Gossip Girl which starred Wallace Shawn as New York attorney Cyrus Rose in the second season episode "The Wrath of Con" albeit Shawn was not featured in it. Airdate Monday May 4th, 2009

The film alone does not clearly identify the year it is set on other than that it is somewhere in the early to mid 2280s . Based on some of the film's dialogue, the film was set fifteen years after " Space Seed ". Khan: " ... marooned here fifteen years ago by Captain James T. Kirk. " According to a line in the script, it was more accurately fourteen years after the episode. Kirk: " He wants to kill me for passing sentence on him fourteen years ago. " [7] "Space Seed" in turn aired in 1967 and is considered to be set in 2267 . This suggests The Wrath of Khan would be set in 2281 or 2282 though it cannot be fully confirmed given the six month gap could mean it's either early 2282 or very late 2281. Nick Meyer's commentary on the special edition DVD, explains that the intention was that the film depicted Kirk's 49th birthday. Kirk was born in 2233 , so this would support the year 2282.

Other accounts within and after the film suggest the events of the film took place later in the 2280s. The label on the bottle of Romulan ale that McCoy gives to Kirk as a birthday gift reads 2283 . In Star Trek Generations , in the Nexus , Kirk imagines himself eleven and nine years into the past, to the years 2282, when he met Antonia , and 2284 , to the day he told her he was returning to Starfleet. All those accounts suggest the events of this film occurred afterward, as Kirk was at the beginning of the film supervising command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy as an active Starfleet admiral. According to StarTrek.com , Star Trek Chronology , and Star Trek Encyclopedia , (3rd ed., p. 691) the events of The Wrath of Khan in fact occurred one year later in 2285 . This date was finally canonized in 2022 on a commemorative plaque for the Reliant which appeared in PIC : " The Star Gazer ". [8] (X) [9]

Despite its weaknesses, Star Trek: The Motion Picture had been a box-office success, so it came as no surprise that Paramount Pictures decided to develop a sequel. Gene Roddenberry 's first proposed storyline saw the Enterprise crew going back in time to make sure the Klingons did not stop the John F. Kennedy assassination. This idea was rejected and Roddenberry was forced to step into the background as "executive consultant" (at the request of Paramount executives who blamed him for the relative failure of the first film due to the constant re-writes he demanded) and Star Trek was handed over to newly-commissioned Paramount Television executive producer Harve Bennett . It was Bennett's job to develop a script that could be filmed on a reasonable budget (US$11.2 million, nearly $24 million less than the budget of TMP) and put a new Star Trek feature in the theaters in the summer of 1982. One of his biggest problems was finding the right approach to the material. The Motion Picture had adopted a very serious and epic style, which many felt was inappropriate. Somehow, the sequel would have to capture the essential heart of the show and give the audiences what they had been waiting for.

Star Trek: War of the Generations [ ]

Bennett watched all the original Star Trek episodes in preparation for his task. His trawl through the episodes provided him with what he had been looking for. He was determined that his movie would have something the first one lacked – a real villain. When he saw " Space Seed ", Bennett was struck by Ricardo Montalban 's performance as Khan, and decided that he would make the perfect villain for the film.

In November 1980, Bennett wrote a single-page outline called Star Trek: War of the Generations . In this story, Kirk is called to investigate a rebellion on a Federation world. En route he saves a woman he was once in love with and learns that their son – whom he never knew had been born – is one of the leaders of the rebellion. Upon arrival at the planet, Kirk is captured and sentenced to death by his own son before we learn that Khan is truly the mastermind behind the uprising. Kirk joins forces with his son to fight Khan, and the film ends with Kirk's son joining the crew of the Enterprise .

Bennett had already decided at the beginning that one of the film's major themes would be the aging of the characters. In the drafts that followed, Kirk was consistently confronted with a son he knew little about, Spock was often preoccupied with death, and, in the later versions, McCoy had to struggle with his feelings for a much younger woman, who had made it clear that she was interested in him.

Star Trek: The Omega System [ ]

Bennett still had to turn his outline into a workable script that could be shot, so he hired Jack B. Sowards , who had written several admired movies of the week and was a self-confessed Star Trek fan. Sowards instantly had a major impact. Where Bennett's original treatment made no mention of Spock, since Leonard Nimoy had made it clear that he was not keen to make a second Star Trek film, Sowards thought he had a way of persuading Nimoy to return: he suggested that Bennett tell Nimoy that in this film Spock would die a little more than a third into the story. The opportunity to play his death scene was too good for Nimoy to pass up, and he agreed to come aboard. From this point on, all the scripts featured Spock's death, although its position in the film would inevitably be pushed toward the dramatic conclusion.

Sowards had only a few months to write a full script before a writers's strike was called in April 1981. First, he expanded Bennett's outline into a nineteen-page treatment in which Kirk's former lover was named Diana, who was rescued from a refugee ship from Omega Minori IV where a revolution was underway, and who never told Kirk he had a son but Kirk discovers this later on. The treatment also introduced Mr. Wicks, the Enterprise 's male Vulcan science officer and Spock's replacement. Then, by February 20, Sowards had written a first draft that significantly expanded his treatment and added several vital elements. This script, titled Star Trek: The Omega System , introduced the idea that the Federation was preparing to test a terrible weapon known as the Omega System.

The film opened with Captain Terrell and his first officer, Pavel Chekov, beaming down to Ceti Alpha V, which had been selected as a test site, to make certain that the planet was as dead as sensor readings suggested. Starfleet knew that Kirk had left Khan and his people stranded on this planet, but was amazed to discover that he and a handful of his followers, including Marla McGivers , had survived. A vengeful Khan took control of Terrell and Chekov, and used them to take control of Project Omega. Terrell claimed that Kirk had ordered the Omega System to be loaded onto the USS Reliant , which was a Constitution -class starship like the Enterprise , and made it clear that it was going to be used to fight the Klingons in the Neutral Zone. Project leader Janet Wallace ( Sarah Marshall would have reprised her role from " The Deadly Years ") contacted Kirk, who ordered the Enterprise to set a course for Gamma Regula IV, the planet on which the project was headquartered. As Enterprise approached the planet, its engines were badly damaged, and Spock sacrificed his life to get them back online in time for Kirk to fight the Reliant off. Later, Khan and Kirk would fight a psychic battle in a variety of exotic locations, using quarterstaffs, whips, and swords. Khan, who had acquired impressive mental powers during his isolation, eventually won, but Kirk survived because he understood that the weapons were only illusory. The film ended with a pitched space battle in orbit around the planet, in which Kirk defeated his enemy with his superior tactics.

Star Trek: The Genesis Project [ ]

At this point, art director Michael Minor made an invaluable contribution. Bennett was concerned that the Omega System was simply a weapon and that there was nothing uplifting about it, so Minor suggested turning it into a device for terraformation , the reconstruction of a lifeless planet to give it the capability of supporting known life forms, especially intelligent ones like Humans. Because it would work by reordering matter on a planet's surface, it could still be a terrible weapon in the wrong hands, but the Federation's goal was to create a paradise, not to kill millions of millions. Bennett was delighted at this, and, in recognition of its Biblical power, the Omega System became the Genesis Device.

By April 10, Sowards had written a second draft of the script that incorporated the change and was now titled Star Trek: The Genesis Project . In this version, Janet Wallace had become Carol Baxter and Spock's death had been pushed a little later in the story. During the final battle, Khan fired the Genesis Device at the Enterprise but hit a planet, which was reborn as the two vessels continued their titanic struggle. This draft also included the first version of the simulator sequence in which Dr. Savik (formerly Mr. Wicks, now Captain Spock's first officer aboard the Enterprise ; taken from a separate six-page proposal) failed to rescue the Kobayashi Maru . When Dr. Savik questioned him about his failure, Kirk suggested that the test might be a "no-win scenario."

The New Star Trek [ ]

• Nicholas Meyer

By now, pre-production had begun in earnest, and line producer Robert Sallin and Mike Minor drew up storyboards for the effects sequences. But though this draft contained many, if not most, of the elements of the final script, Bennett and Sallin were not satisfied. To their minds, the script did not have the epic sweep needed for a major film, so they called upon Samuel A. Peeples , who had written " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", which had been the second pilot episode for The Original Series . Peeples submitted a story outline entitled Worlds That Never Were, which he transformed into the August 24th The New Star Trek script draft, entirely omitting the character of Khan and replaced him with two powerful aliens called Sojin and Moray, who had been exiled from another dimension and possessed almost godlike abilities. Also, Hikaru Sulu was the captain of the Reliant on which he served with Chekov. Finally, drawing from Theodore Sturgeon 's July 18 outline, Dr. Savik was now a half-Romulan, half-Vulcan woman. ( [10] ; The Making of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , pp. 47-51; Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 3, Issue 5 , pp. 84-85)

While Peeples was working on the script, Bennett and Sallin found a director they liked in the form of Nicholas Meyer . A week or so before the last draft was due to be delivered, they met with him and promised they would be back in touch as soon as they had the new script in their hands. Meanwhile, time pressures were becoming critical, and employees of effects company Industrial Light & Magic told the producers that without having a script within a matter of weeks, they would not be able to deliver the effects in time for the planned release date.

By the time the Peeples script arrived, Bennett and Sallin knew they could not film it. As Sallin explained: " We were off in some weird directions and I was really very concerned. It did not feel like a motion picture to me. Some of these ideas were too derivative and were too small in their scope. There wasn't anything underlying it. It was more about people shooting fire and things like that, as opposed to a real story. "

Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country [ ]

Three weeks after their last meeting, Meyer called Bennett and asked where the script was. Although reluctant to share the script, which Bennett found almost embarrassing to share, Meyer persuaded him to send him the draft. Not impressed with what he had received, he called Bennett and told him and Sallin to come up to his house with all the different drafts of the script. The three of them made a list of all the things from all the different drafts that they wanted to end up in the final film, and then Meyer set out to compile a screenplay that incorporated all those things. Meyer concentrated on crafting a strong narrative by getting all the scenes in the right order and putting the story into his own words. " I was only interested in cobbling together and cannibalizing various parts that seemed useful ", he explained. " What I fell in love with is the story. I never looked at the scripts again, so there were no words that were appropriated. It all had to be in my own language and in a way that I could understand it. " By September 10, the end product was the Meyer screenplay titled Star Trek: The New Frontier , revised on September 29 under the name Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country , and finalized on January 18, 1982 as Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country . [11]

Meyer had some very clear opinions about what made drama, and he was determined that, despite the futuristic setting, his film would make sense to a 20th century audience. Asked to quantify the character of his approach, Meyer produced two examples. The first was that he brought a sense of humor to the project, which is not to say that he did not treat it with proper respect. " I think that putting humor into a serious movie makes the serious stuff more serious, and the humor becomes more of an explosive release. " The other important decision he made was actually something he thought about when Bennett and Sallin had first asked him to direct the film. " I had the haziest notion of what Star Trek was, because I didn't really watch the show on television. I finally latched on to the idea (originated by no less than Gene Roddenberry himself) that Captain Kirk and friends were really an outer-space series of novels that I had loved as a kid, by C.S. Forrester, called 'Captain Horatio Hornblower'. So I said, 'OK, this is 'Hornblower' in outer space; I've got it'. When I wrote the script in 12 days it was very, very, very Navy, or, as my late wife used to say, 'Nautical but nice.' "

Casting [ ]

Because Ricardo Montalban had originated his role in " Space Seed " on the original program, director Nicholas Meyer was not involved with casting him, though he certainly had no complaints. " Khan is enough to tell you that this is a great actor ", he said. Most of Kirk's crew were in place, but Meyer was intimately involved with casting several new roles. He explained that what he was looking for was actors where he could see what the characters were feeling, even when they were not talking.

" For Carol Marcus I wanted a woman who was beautiful and looked like she could think; a woman who was attractive enough that you could see why Kirk would fall for her, and at the same time somebody who could keep up with him ", Meyer said. " [...] I loved Bibi Besch ; I became very close with her, and I used her again in 'The Day After'. She's no longer alive and I bitterly regret it; she was a lovely Human being, and a lovely actor. "

Paul Winfield as Captain Terrell

" Merritt Butrick is also tragically no longer alive ", Meyer lamented. " [As David Marcus] he not only had to be Kirk's son, he had to be Carol's son, so on a physical level I think what I liked was that his hair was the same color as hers but it was curly like Bill's, so I thought, 'Well, that's plausible.' "

" Paul Winfield was an actor I had wanted to work with since I saw 'Sounder,' " Meyer noted, " and I thought, 'Wow, what a lovely actor'. There was no real reason for him to be the captain of the Reliant , other than my great desire to direct him in scenes! I knew he could do it, without any question. " In The Next Generation , Winfield acted out a different role, that of the Tamarian captain Dathon , in " Darmok ".

The biggest casting coup was giving a young Kirstie Alley the role of Saavik. " She said as a child she wanted to be Spock and that she was so in love with the role that she wore her ears to sleep. [...] She didn't have to find the role; she didn't have to work her way into it ", Meyer pointed out. " She'd been living it somewhere in her head for years. There just wasn't a contest. I don't recall seeing another actor for that part who was as persuasive. " In addition to her instinctive understanding of the role, Alley brought another, slightly more definable quality to her role. Meyer explained: " The thing about her is that she's beautiful, but she also had a slightly other-worldly quality. [...] She was also able to encompass that sort of flat unemotionality, but she's basically a comedian. What I didn't know was that that flatness, like Leonard's, frequently comes out of a kind of a deadpan. I realized that when I watched her doing it. Then, at the other end of it, there she was at Spock's funeral, weeping. I remember somebody came running up to me and said, 'Are you going to let her do that?' And I said, 'Yeah.' And they said, 'But Vulcans don't cry', and I said, 'Well, that's what makes this such an interesting Vulcan.' " In dialogue not retained in the final film, Saavik was described as being half- Romulan , which might have explained her tears.

When production designer Joseph R. Jennings reported for work on the second Star Trek film, he found the sets for the USS Enterprise still standing. After director Robert Wise had finished filming the first feature, he had simply closed the stage doors and moved on. In the intervening months, the interiors of the giant starship had been sitting patiently, waiting to go back into action.

Most of the action in the film takes place on the bridge of the Enterprise . Although the set may appear quite different from the bridge on The Motion Picture , Jennings only made cosmetic changes to the design. The layout remained the same, but in order to make the second film warmer than its predecessor, the set was repainted in darker colors.

Director Nicholas Meyer very much disliked the design of the Enterprise bridge set, because in his view there were many things that did not make sense: " [...] to take a silly example, if they are in terrible circumstances and everything gets all shook up, why don't they have seatbelts? And the answer is, because if they had seatbelts, it wouldn't be very interesting. Most of the movie actually takes place on that damn bridge, which is a very tedious set to photograph, and it was also, in a reconfigured form, the bridge of the Reliant , so I spent a lot of time there. "

" The biggest problem was just keeping alive what is happening in a 360-degree world. The bridge was, very rightly, built in pie sections, so you could yank out sections and put the camera in. But, occasionally, you might want to be in the middle and sweep the camera around at what is going on. The sections are curved at the top, so when they are all in, how do you get light in there? It's a sort of a nightmare scenario. Gayne Rescher (director of photography) invented a lot of very peculiar apparatus that dropped in from the top with light coming off, like a big chandelier on a chain. "

The Wrath of Khan did not have the budget to allow for significant alterations to be made to the bridge set, but Meyer did ask Jennings to find ways of making it appear more detailed and specific. " The least I thought we could do was revamp the bridge and make it twinkle. I remember I had Joe Jennings build me a wall of blinking lights. It was on wheels, and we would shove this thing around behind people, to try anything to break up this expanse of gray panel. "

Director Nicholas Meyer insisted on a certain amount of 'business,' so the art department built gratings into the floor of the photon torpedo room that had to be lifted before firing.

Although several other sets were also still in place, the Enterprise still gave Jennings plenty of work to do. As he recalled: " A new script will call for different things; somebody walks down a corridor and goes into another room and, bang, you don't have that room, so you add it. And it grows [...] until the stage sort of bulges out. "

The most obvious new addition was the torpedo room. Few people would realize it, but this set was actually a redressed version of the Klingon bridge from the first film. The torpedo room set featured a long channel where the torpedoes were loaded. Meyer wanted to have as much movement as possible in the action sequences, so he had Jennings put grates down over the channel that had to be lifted when the Enterprise went into battle.

The Enterprise bridge set was also adapted to serve as the bridge of the USS Reliant . " We had one thing going for us ", said Jennings. " There's a great deal of similarity between the bridge of a destroyer and the bridge of a cruiser in the American Navy. We gave it a change of color and orientation, and we got rid of the big screen in front. As I recall, we changed some of the seating arrangements and the elevators a little bit, and, of course, we added the ceiling piece to it, because the beam had to come down and pin Ricardo to the floor. The whole ceiling piece was something that had never been featured in the bridge of the Enterprise . That gave it a different look. "

This "Starfleet Headquarters" set used a perspective trick to appear much bigger than it really was.

One of the non-starship sets Jennings worked on was an interior section of Starfleet Headquarters, where a brief scene shows Kirk walking out of the simulator and heading for an elevator. In reality, this set was much smaller than it appeared. Jennings explained: " Mike [Minor] had a bright idea; he went out to several hardware stores and came back with a birdbath, a planter, and a bunch of junk. He went off and fiddled with it for about two days, and he came up with a miniature. We put that in the foreground as what is called a 'cutting piece', and the real set was in the background. They tied together visually and created a perspective trick that made the set look much bigger. "

Kirk's apartment in San Francisco was filled with collectibles that demonstrated his interest in the past, including many nautical objects for which Nicholas Meyer asked.

The next time we saw Kirk, he was in his apartment. Jennings had fond memories of this set and said that the challenge was to make it clear that it was in San Francisco, but also show that it was a 23rd century building. The setting was established by using a backdrop showing the Golden Gate Bridge that had been made for The Towering Inferno . The next task, Jennings explained, was to make the room appear futuristic. " You set up your frame of reference, and then within that you've got to be honest, which will lend credibility to the physical aspects of your show. Like all architecture, it has to look as though it's possible to live in it; you look for materials, for instance, that are unfamiliar, or that are being used in an unfamiliar fashion, to make your design look different from what the public is seeing today. "

Despite the need to make the apartment look futuristic, Meyer also impressed on the production crew that he doubted things would undergo a complete change in the future, so the apartment still had to look like a home. " A fireplace would be an anachronism but would still fit Kirk's image of having a cozy place to live ", said Jennings, " so we had to make a fireplace that looked a little different; hence we used the curved wall and the mosaic treatment behind it. " Meyer also wanted to suggest that Kirk had too much time on his hands in retirement and had a real attachment to the past, so Jennings and his team filled the set with antique collectibles.

However, Meyer was unhappy with the Genesis cave set, combining live footage with a matte painting. He thought that the scene looked false and too constructed, and would have used a real location instead, but neither time nor budget would allow it.

Costumes [ ]

Starfleet uniforms [ ].

When Robert Sallin came on board as producer for Star Trek II , one of the first things he did was change the wardrobe of the Starfleet officers. Sallin wanted the uniforms redesigned, yet, entirely due to budgetary reasons, he did not want to discard the old jumpsuits from the first Star Trek movie. " [...] so I said, 'Let's do some dye tests.' To this day, I have the swatches of the different-colored uniforms that we tested to see if we could reuse some of the old material and rework it. " ( citation needed • edit )

The series of dye tests showed that the old uniforms would take three different colors well: a blue-gray ("lead"), a gold (which proved to photograph almost "bronze"), and a dark red, or maroon ("blood"). The plan was to use the modified uniforms for the junior cadets and enlisted crew while enough money could be found to design an entirely new wardrobe for the senior officers.

The section colors were preserved on the undershirts and on the rank insignia on the shoulder, although wardrobe designer Robert Fletcher assigned new colors to each section of Starfleet.

Director Nicholas Meyer had some very specific ideas about how the uniforms should look. " I decided that this was going to be 'Hornblower' in outer space, so I said, 'Okay, if this is going to be the Navy, let's have them look like the Navy; they shouldn't be walking around in pajamas.' Which seemed to me to be what the uniforms in the first movie and the TV show looked like. " Additionally, Meyer had one other, significant instruction for costume designer Robert Fletcher : he wanted the costumes to be reminiscent of the clothes worn in the film The Prisoner of Zenda . ( citation needed • edit )

Fletcher was careful not to reproduce any specific naval uniforms and used the dark red that had been discovered during the dye tests. Meyer was keen on this approach, since it made the costumes dramatic and created a strong contrast with the background. The first versions of the uniform had a stiff black collar like the costumes in The Prisoner of Zenda . Producer Robert Sallin suggested changing this into a turtleneck and after he made the alterations, Fletcher decided to use trapunto, which is a form of vertical quilting. By 1981-82, the machines and specialized needles used to produce trapunto had become exceedingly rare, and Fletcher was able to secure only one needle for the entire wardrobe department. Fletcher said: " That trapunto machine saved my life. The machines are very rare and are not made anymore. We had, perhaps, the only one in existence on the West Coast, a 50-year-old antique. We lived in constant fear that we were going to break its one and only needle, because, of course, you can't get THEM anymore either! " One day, Fletcher genuinely worried that the needle had been lost or stolen (and even entertained thoughts of it being held for ransom) when one of the department's workers had taken it home as a security measure. ( citation needed • edit )

Meyer had always wanted the uniforms to feel as real as possible, and thus asked for rank insignia. Fletcher explained: " There was kind of a complicated arrangement of divisions and ranks expressed by the braid on the sleeves. I made that up. I organized it and produced a little instruction booklet about it for the wardrobe department [...]. " On the early version of the uniforms, the insignia was on a band around the upper arm, which was later moved to the cuff. The last major change was to redesign the flap of the double-breasted jacket so that it would actually open. This was something Meyer wanted because he felt the lighter color on the inside of the flap would frame the actors' faces better. ( citation needed • edit )

The flaps, however, did present Fletcher with a problem: when they were open, one could clearly see the snaps that held it in place, and, as he says, these looked distinctly unfuturistic. " In order to make these look less like plain old snaps, I found this sterling silver chain that looked strange. I ordered a reel of it and sewed it in with the snaps to give it a feeling that it was perhaps a magnetic closing. " ( citation needed • edit )

In toto, the design for the uniforms that resulted from all this proved to be extremely difficult for fans to duplicate accurately, and it ended up being called the "monster maroon" uniform design for that reason. ( citation needed • edit )

Khan and his people [ ]

For Khan and his followers, Fletcher wanted to create a definite contrast with the highly organized Starfleet uniforms . As he explained, his idea was that they had been forced to cobble together their costumes out of whatever they could find. " My intention with Khan was to express the fact that they had been marooned on that planet with no technical infrastructure, so they had to cannibalize from the spaceship whatever they used or wore. Therefore, I tried to make it look as if they had dressed themselves out of pieces of upholstery and electrical equipment that composed the ship. " After Khan and his followers hijacked the Reliant , many of them (including Khan himself in one scene) are seen wearing the stolen Starfleet uniforms of the Reliant crew as open jackets, with Khan himself wearing one of Terrell's, as the captain's rank insignia is prominently featured. ( citation needed • edit )

Ricardo Montalban's costume was designed to expose as much of his chest and arms as possible.

He added that when it came to Khan's costume, there was another major consideration. " We wanted to show Ricardo Mantalban's physique. He was rather proud of it, as he should have been. That was a theatrical gesture. " Of course, when Khan first appears, he is dressed from head to foot in rags. Again, Fletcher said, the design of this costume was dictated by Khan's situation. " They had to protect themselves from the planet, which was very inhospitable. That was the origin for the kind of Bedouin look. If you have nothing else, and you have access to some fabric you may have ripped out of a bedroom or whatever, then you wrap yourself up to protect yourself from the sandstorm. " (In Shane Johnson's Star Fleet Uniform Recognition Manual , Khan's primary outfit was described as being the remains of a life-support suit designed specifically for use with the DY series of sleeper ships, such as the Botany Bay itself had once been.) ( citation needed • edit )

For the remaining costumes, Fletcher's biggest concern was to create a sense of contrast with the major outfits. Carol Marcus and her team were given white smocks that suggested futuristic lab coats and, in the scene where Kirk and McCoy are dressed in civilian clothes, Fletcher tried his best to make sure the outfits looked practical and comfortable. Amusingly, Fletcher said the one costume that he got asked about most made only a fleeting appearance in the film. When Kirk visits Spock in his quarters, the Vulcan is wearing the same robes he wore in the previous movie. " People always ask me what the writing on front of Spock's black velvet, at-home costume symbolize. I have to explain the language that I invented to decorate those things, and I can't! All I can say is that it's very akin to Chinese; it's non-syllabic, and the various shapes contain an entire thought and you don't use them to make words. " Whether these robes became Spock's burial robes was never made clear in the final film, but the various younger actors who appeared as the younger Spock in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock wore robes that looked very similar to those Nimoy himself had worn. ( citation needed • edit )

He added that most of the costumes feature what he described as "corrupt" colors. " Technically, they are colors that are a little bit tinged with their complements. Probably, the closest thing in art history is art deco colors. I once did a production of Offenbach's Voyage to the Moon , and I based that on the fact that the moon probably looked like an art deco world. Maybe that struck in my mind, because I used those colors here. " He added that because these colors are not quite true, there is something slightly odd about them, which gives the audience the feeling they are from a different world. ( citation needed • edit )

The casual wear worn by William Shatner as Kirk was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [12]

Shooting [ ]

Sallin insisted that Kirk's first appearance was as dramatic as possible. He wanted a shot when Kirk was silhouetted by the light behind him, and when the first version was not powerful enough, he had it reshot.

At the opening of the film, Robert Sallin wanted to make the entry of Kirk as dramatic as possible. He explained: " [...] we're introducing Captain Kirk. I think we need a little drama here, so here's what I want to do. When those doors open, the room is filled with smoke, and I want him to emerge in silhouette. I want the strongest backlight you can give him, directly behind him, so that when he walks through there are fingers of light that surround him in the smoke. I want it to look like the Second Coming. " The original version shot was not powerful enough for Sallin, so he made sure that it was reshot.

Sallin found a way of giving Meyer this shot of a torpedo without having to rebuild the set.

During Spock's funeral scene, director Nicholas Meyer wanted the camera to be directly in front of the torpedo that acted as a coffin and to move with it as it slid into the launcher. " I [Robert Sallin] got a call from the head of production at Paramount: 'Nick [Meyer] wants this, and we're going to have to rip out the floor, and we're going to have to rebuild the set so it's high enough off the ground to get the camera in. We've got to talk to Nick.' We all went down there, and everyone was gathered around looking at this through. I just turned to the key grip and said, 'Do you have a Western dolly?' That's basically a trolley that you use to pull the camera. He said, 'Yes', and I said, 'Have you that tubular track for it? And can you put on the little wheels?' He nodded, and I said, 'Can't we mount the camera on the dolly, put the track down inside the trough, then move the camera with an offset arm [which allows one to control it from above] and do the shot that way?' He said, 'Yeah, we can do that', and I said, 'What's that going to cost?' and he said, 'About $30', and I said, 'Well, I think that's what we're doing, then!' "

Visual effects [ ]

The visual effects for The Wrath of Khan were filmed quickly and efficiently – and, most importantly, they came in on budget. Unlike the first Star Trek feature, the effects were produced by Industrial Light & Magic, a company which would come to dominate the industry in the coming decades. Producer Robert Sallin recalled ILM's approach to the project: " They were incredible. The most professional, the most delightful, the most responsive; I couldn't say enough good things about the whole crew. It was an amazing experience. "

The Regula I space station

As a sequel, Star Trek II was able to reuse most of the models that had already been built for The Motion Picture. Besides the Enterprise model, Sallin wanted to make use of the orbital office complex that Kirk beamed up to in the first film; it became the Regula I space station. Steve Gawley , head of the model shop at the time, recalled: " We took it [the orbital office model] apart and put it upside down and then reattached some of the outer pods in a different way. " This also made sense from a storytelling-continuity standpoint, as it suggested that by the latter half of the 23rd century, space station designs might have become fairly standardized.

The remaining model shots required entirely new models. The ILM team built the Regula planetoid and several other simple pieces, but the main task was the construction of the Reliant , which was the first Starfleet vessel other than the Constitution -class ever seen. Paramount's art department provided the model builders with detailed drawings to work from, and, as modelmaker Bill George remembered, a general instruction that the Enterprise and Reliant should look as different from one another as possible. " The one thing that was a little bit different on the drawings was that they had come up with a totally new color scheme for the graphics, thinking that would make it look different. [...] When I got them in, I said, 'This can't happen.' So I showed them to Kenneth Ralston [ILM supervisor to the film]. His take on it was, 'Let's put on the Federation graphics we've seen before, and see what they say.' Thankfully, the producers were happy with it. "

The biggest challenge the ILM team faced was showing the heavy damage that the Enterprise and Reliant inflicted on each other in the script. The model shop used several different approaches to make sure that they did not actually have to damage the models. On the Enterprise , the damage was essentially cosmetic; pieces of aluminum were added on which were tainted so that, where need be, the damage could literally be peeled off. The damage to the Reliant was much more serious, so larger versions of different parts of the ship were built that could be destroyed.

The initial confrontation ended with the destruction of a dome (the impulse deflection crystal) toward the rear of the Reliant 's saucer. After that came the biggest single effects sequence of the film – the Battle of the Mutara Nebula . To create the nebula, the team used a cloud tank, which is basically a large container with colored liquid in it. The team spent weeks shooting the tank, searching for shots that could be used as background for the epic battle. When everything was finished, the team sat down to look through all their footage for shots they could use with the models.

The Reliant inflicts severe damage to the Enterprise.

Once the nebula had been filmed, the team focused on the starships that would be moving around inside it. Because the ships were often in the distance, the team was able to use small versions of the models which were much easier to handle than the full-size models and could perform bigger maneuvers. In one of the most impressive scenes of the battle, the Reliant fires its phasers at the Enterprise 's "neck" (interconnecting dorsal) section, cutting an enormous gash in the process – and rendering one of the Enterprise 's photon torpedo tubes useless. This shot was created using traditional stop animation techniques. Kenneth Ralston explained: " I had that section done as a wax piece and then painted it to look like the ship. Obviously, we worked out exactly how the camera was going to move. Then I just went into the wax version, and I would take little sculpting tools and rip stuff up and bend it around. We'd film that, then the camera would move whatever distance it would cover in one frame, and I'd sculpt some more damage. Then, on top of that, we did some animation of a laser hit sort of cutting into it, but it left a real cut – a big scar [...]. "

The Reliant's nacelle is blown off.

The damage brought onto the Reliant was even more severe and involved making several separate sections. " One of the engine pods blows up ", remembered Ralston. " We couldn't blow up the whole pod for some reason, so I built a shape similar to it and it was more like glass blowing out of the warp nacelle. We shot that as a separate element and then printed that on top of the actual model for the Reliant , with other pieces blowing off of it. Then, when the whole nacelle blows off, that was just a bunch of explosions and a separate arm that we shot using motion control. "

Perhaps the most important visual effect in the film in terms of historical significance is the Genesis Effect. This is the first use of particle effects in a motion picture. Particle effects are now widely used.

Production history [ ]

• 1980 – Paramount plans a TV-movie sequel; Gene Roddenberry submits a script but it is rejected and he is taken off the project, relegated to Executive Consultant; sequel upgraded to theatrical feature
• 13 November 1980 – Harve Bennett submits 1-page outline titled Star Trek: War of the Generations
• 18 December 1980 – Jack B. Sowards submits 19-page story treatment based on Bennett's outline
• 20 February 1981 – Sowards submits 1st draft of script titled Star Trek: The Omega System
• 10 April 1981 – Sowards submits revised 2nd draft of script, now titled Star Trek: The Genesis Project [13] (X)
• 1st storyboards for special effects by line producer Robert Sullin and production designer Mike Minor
• 18 July 1981 – Outline, perhaps by Theodore Sturgeon , fleshes out Dr. Savik as a female officer who becomes romantically involved with David Marcus
• 24 August 1981 – Samuel A. Peeples submits alternative 155-page script titled The New Star Trek [14] (X)
• 10 September 1981 – Nicholas Meyer submits 1st draft of final script titled Star Trek: The New Frontier [15] (X)
• 16 September 1981 – Meyer submits 2nd draft of script titled Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country [16] (X)
• 29 September 1981 – Meyer delivers 3rd draft of script [17] (X)
• 9 November 1981 – 12-week principal photography begins
• 18 January 1982 – Meyer delivers 4th draft of script, now titled Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country [18] (X)
• 29 January 1982 – Principal photography ends
• March 1982 – After marketing tests, Paramount Pictures officially changes the title to Star Trek II: The Vengeance of Khan
• early April 1982 – Paramount Pictures, once again, officially changes the title to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan to avoid confusing audiences (and as a gesture of good faith to George Lucas) with the then titled Star Wars: Revenge of the Jedi
• 12-15 April 1982 – 1st session of recording James Horner's score at the Warner Bros. lot, Burbank Studios
• 30 April 1982 – Pickup session to record the Mutara Battle score
• 3 May 1982 – 3rd session to record revised epilogue
• 4 June 1982 – Theatrical release
• 16 July 1982 – British Theatrical release. The film is cut by 10 seconds at the behest of the BBFC.
• 24 February 1985 – US Network Television Premiere on ABC Television Network.
• 10 & 13 September 2017 – For the occasion of the film's 35th anniversary , NCM Fathom Events organizes a to 600 screens limited theatrical release of the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  (Director's Cut) . A newly produced, in-depth interview with William Shatner, conducted by Access Hollywood critic Scott Mantz , plays before the start of the film. [19] [20]

Awards and honors [ ]

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan received the following awards and honors:

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• US Betamax release: 1982

Merchandise gallery [ ]

Apocrypha [ ]

• In order to explain Khan's recognition of Chekov, Greg Cox 's novel To Reign In Hell established that Chekov was a security officer at the time of this episode and he led the security team that escorted Khan and his people down to Ceti Alpha V. He also led an assault against Khan and his followers to retake engineering, but were forced back.

Appendices [ ]

Credits [ ], opening credits [ ].

• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• James Doohan
• Walter Koenig
• George Takei
• Nichelle Nichols
• Merritt Butrick as David
• Paul Winfield as Terrell
• Kirstie Alley as Saavik
• Ricardo Montalban as Khan
• Gene Roddenberry
• James Horner
• William P. Dornisch
• Joseph R. Jennings
• Gayne Rescher , ASC
• Harve Bennett
• Jack B. Sowards
• Robert Sallin

Closing credits [ ]

• Kirk : William Shatner
• Spock : Leonard Nimoy
• McCoy : DeForest Kelley
• Scotty : James Doohan
• Chekov : Walter Koenig
• Sulu : George Takei
• Uhura : Nichelle Nichols
• Carol : Bibi Besch
• David : Merritt Butrick
• Terrell : Paul Winfield
• Saavik : Kirstie Alley
• Khan : Ricardo Montalban
• Preston : Ike Eisenmann
• Jedda : John Vargas
• Kyle : John Winston
• Beach : Paul Kent
• Cadet : Nicholas Guest
• Madison : Russell Takaki
• March : Kevin Sullivan
• Crew Chief : Joel Marstan
• Bridge Voice: Teresa E. Victor
• Radio Voice: Dianne Harper
• Radio Voice : David Ruprecht
• Computer Voice : Marcy Vosburgh
• Steve Blalock ( Enterprise crewmember )
• Janet Brady
• Diane Carter ( Regula I scientist )
• Tony Cecere
• Ann Chatterton ( Augment )
• Gilbert Combs ( Enterprise engineer )
• Jim Conners
• Bill Couch, Sr.
• Bill Couch, Jr.
• Eddy Donno ( Regula I chef )
• John Eskobar
• Chuck Hicks
• Tommy J. Huff
• Hubie Kerns, Jr. ( Enterprise trainee )
• Paula Moody
• Tom Morga ( Enterprise crewman / Dry dock worker )
• Mary Peters
• Ernest Robinson
• John Robotham
• Kim Washington
• Mike Washlake ( Enterprise trainee )
• George Wilbur
• William F. Phillips
• Robert Fletcher
• Austen Jewell
• Douglas E. Wise
• Richard Espinoza
• Thomas W. Lay Jr.
• Charles M. Graffeo
• Craig Denault
• Catherine Coulson
• Tom Connole
• Jim Alexander
• Patrick Clark
• Mark S. Server
• Agnes G. Henry
• Kimon Beazlie
• Joseph Markham
• Robin Michel Bush
• Werner Keppler
• James L. McCoy
• Dione Taylor
• Mary Jane Ferguson
• Edward A. Ayer
• Martin Becker
• Gary F. Bentley
• Fred Brauer
• Peter G. Evangelatos
• William Purcell
• Harry Stewart
• Sam Nicholson
• Romolo Acquistapace
• Charles Langham
• Murphy Wiltz
• Gene Griffith
• Don Whipple
• Gary L. Jensen
• Charles C. Eguia
• Michael Friedman
• Michael C. Gian
• John Graffeo
• Al DeGaetano
• Daniel Gluck
• Daniel E. Maltese
• Mike McDuffee
• Rick Valencia
• Howard Davidson
• Terry Ahern
• Jeff Melichar
• Edward Egan
• Bruce Birmelin
• John A. Haggar
• Christopher L. Koefoed
• Cecelia Hall
• George Watters II
• Teresa Eckton
• Michael Hilkene
• Jim Siracusa
• Curt Schulkey
• Alan Howarth
• Eugene Finley
• Cliff Bell, Jr.
• Robert Badami
• Dan Wallin , Record Plant Scoring
• Ray West , CAS
• David J. Hudson
• Mel Metcalf
• Mary V. Buck
• Dr. Richard Green
• Rodger Johnson
• Marc Okrand
• Deborah Arakelian

Industrial Light & Magic , a Division of Lucasfilm, Ltd.

• Jim Veilleux
• Ken Ralston
• Scott Farrar
• Stewart Barbee
• Selwyn Eddy III
• David Hardberger
• Robert Hill
• Michael Santy
• Bruce Nicholson
• David Berry
• Keneth Smith
• Donald Clark
• Thomas Rosseter
• Ralph Gordon
• Tim Geideman
• Duncan Myers
• Bob Chrisoulis
• Patricia Rose Duignan
• Warren Franklin
• Chris Evans
• Frank Ordaz
• Neil Krepela
• Craig Barron
• Steve Gawley
• William George
• Steve Sanders
• Bob Diepenbrock
• Mike Fulmer
• Marty Brenneis
• Samuel Comstock
• Kim Knowlton
• Scott Caple
• Kathryn Lenihan
• Judy Elkins

Additional Animation Visual Concept Engineering [ ]

• Arthur Repola
• Peter Amundson
• Malcom Blanchard
• Loren Carpenter
• Robert D. Poor
• Thomas Porter
• William Reeves
• Alvy Ray Smith
• Brent Watson
• Steve McAllister
• Neil Harrington
• Dr. Robert Langridge
• Terry Chostner
• Roberto McGrath
• Kerry Nordquist
• T.E. Moehnke
• Dave Childers
• Harold Cole
• Bobby Finley III
• Patrick Fitzsimmons
• Edward Hirsh
• John McCleod
• Peter Stolz
• Thaine Morris
• Wade Childress
• Bruce Hill Productions
• Kyle Turner
• Kathy Shine
• The National Aeronautics & Space Administration
• The Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• The Burbank Studios
• Hal Landaker
• Alan Landaker
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Modern Film Effects
• Music by Alexander Courage
• Panavision ®
• Bill Baker as Trainee lieutenant j.g.
• Laura Banks as Khan's navigator
• Harve Bennett as Bridge simulator computer voice
• Pam Bennett as Khan's woman
• Steve Bond as Khan's henchman
• Fletcher Bryant as Khan's henchman
• Todd Bryant as Engineering cadet
• Brett Baxter Clark as Khan's henchman
• Tim Culbertson as Khan's henchman
• Brian Davis as trainee Enterprise crewmember
• Richard Forinash as Enterprise lieutenant
• John Gibson as Khan's henchman
• Anthony Gordon as Regula I steward
• James Horner as Enterprise training officer
• Ree Kai as trainee Enterprise crewmember
• Dennis Landry as Khan's henchman
• Cristian Letelier as engineering cadet
• MacKing as Stran
• Jeff McBride as Khan's henchman
• Roger Menache as Khan's henchman
• Chuck Powers as Enterprise crewman
• Nanci Rogers as Khan's henchwoman
• Tony Roque as Enterprise engineer
• Kimberly Ryusaki as Trainee Enterprise crewmember
• George Sasaki as engineering crewman
• Judson Scott as Joachim
• John Staible as Enterprise crewman
• Deney Terrio as Khan's henchman
• Sergio Valentino as trainee Enterprise crewmember
• Philip Weyland as Enterprise crewman
• Daniel Wong as engineering cadet
• Man cleaning floor
• Enterprise trainee blowing boatswain's whistle
• Enterprise trainee bridge officer (male)
• Enterprise engineering crewman
• Enterprise nurses
• Enterprise medical staff member 1
• Enterprise medical staff member 2
• Reliant bridge officer 1
• Reliant bridge officer 2
• Reliant navigator
• Nicholas Meyer – Writer (screenplay)
• Samuel A. Peeples – Writer (story, additional writing material)
• Lightning Bear – Stunts
• Emil Richards – Percussionist
• Marvin Hoar – Video Operator
• Peter Lauritson – Pre-production
• Joel Marston – Dialogue Coach for William Shatner
• Ed Moskowitz – Video Operator
• Kathleen Nicholson Graham – Bagpipes performer " Amazing Grace "
• Jim Padgett – Video Operator
• Kevin Pike – Special Effects Artist
• Lee Dragu – Personal Assistant: Nicholas Meyer
• David Sosalla – Model sculptor: ILM
• Kirk Thatcher – Model sculptor: ILM
• The Producers Acknowledge the Invaluable Assistance of Bjo Trimble and Samuel A. Peeples in All Matters Relating to Star Trek

References [ ]

19th century ; 20th century ; 2185 ; 2267 ; 2283 ; 2284 ; 3rd class neutronic fuel carrier ; abandon ; able seaman ; aft thruster ; age ; airlock ; allergy ; " all hands "; Altair VI ; Amber ; " Amazing Grace "; amusement ; analysis ; Antares maelstrom ; antique ; apartment ( James T. Kirk's San Francisco apartment ); area ; Armageddon ; arrival ; assumption ; atmosphere ; attack ; attack course ; attention ; authority ; auxiliary power ; bagpipes ; battery ; battle ; battle stations ; bearing ; biblical references ; birthday ; birthday present ; bionetics ; blood ; " bloodsucker "; blue shift ; boatswain's whistle ; body ; " Bones "; bookshelf ; Botany Bay , SS ; Boy Scouts ; bridge ; bridge (game) ; bridge simulator ; briefing room ; " by the book "; cadet ; cargo bay ; cargo carrier casualty ; " caught with my britches down " ( britches ); cerebral cortex ; Ceti Alpha ; Ceti Alpha V ; Ceti Alpha VI ; Ceti eel ; chambers coil ; channel ; chance ; cheating ; checkers ; children ; Christmas tree ; Ciardi, John ; civilization ; class D ; coil emission ; collection ; command ability ; command console ; commander ; commendation ; comm-pic ; comm system ; combination code ; compartment ; computer ; computer console ; comrade ; concept ; conclusion ; console ; coordinates ; cosmos (aka universe ); course heading ; craylon gas ; creature ; crew ; criminal ; damage ; damage report ; danger ; Dante ; Dante's Inferno ; data ; data bank ; data chart ; day ; death ; defense field ; departure ; destiny ; detonation ; dinner ; " dirty work "; distance ; distress channel ; domestication ; doppler compensator ; drama critic ; duty officer ; dynoscanner ; ear ; Earth ; effect ; efficiency rating ; ego ; Einstein, Albert ; elevator ; emergency channel ; emergency light ; emergency situation ; enemy ; energizer ; energy flux ; engineer's mate ; Enterprise , USS ; Enterprise -class ; escape pod ; estimating ; eternity ; eulogy ; evasive action ; event ; Excellency ; exile ; experiment ; face ; fact ; Federation Science Bureau ; fermentation ; fire extinguisher ; fireplace ; firing switch ; flag officer ; floor cleaner ; fondness ; food ; food supply ; frequency ; friend ; French language ; funeral ; galaxy ; Gamma Hydra ; Gamma Hydra sector ; garden ; gas cloud ; General Order 12 ; General Order 15 ; Genesis cave ; Genesis Device ; Genesis effect ; Genesis Experiment ; Genesis Planet ; Genesis Planet sun ; Genesis wave ; genetic engineering ; geoplastics ; gift ; " give the word "; God ; goose ; gravitic mine ; gravitronics ; green ; Green, R.N. ; hair ; hairstyle ; hate ; heart ; Hell ; hello ; hijacking ; Holy Bible ; hospitality ; host ; hour ; hull ; Human ; humor ; hyperchannel ; idea ; impression ; impulse power ; information ; ingenuity ; " in over our heads "; inspection ; intention ; intercept course ; intruder alert ; " it never rains but it pours "; jamming range ; JBK sensors synthostasis ; joke ; judgment ; K't'inga -class ; katra ; Khan's wife ; King Lear ; kilometer ; Klingons ; Klingon aphrodisiacs ; Klingon battle cruisers ; Klingon Neutral Zone ; Klingon proverb ; Kobayashi Maru ; Kobayashi Maru personnel ; Kobayashi Maru scenario ; laboratory ; lie ; life ; lifeform ; life sign ; life support system ; listening ; light ; log buoy ; logic ; loitering ; luxury ; madness ; main energizer ; main power ; main stage flux chamber ; mains ; maintenance crew ; Mark IV bridge simulator ; marksman ; marooning ; mass ; matter ; meaning ; medical tricorder ; memory ; memory bank ; message ; meter ; microbe ; midshipman first class ; military ; million ; " mince words "; mind ; minute ; mission ; mistake ; Moby Dick ; model ; molecular structure ; month ; moon ; moons of Nibia ; mooring ; moral implication ; motor ; murder ; Mutara Nebula ; Mutara Nebula, Battle of the ; myth ; nebula perimeter ; " neck of the woods "; Newton, Isaac ; Niagara , USS ; Nibia ; ninny ; No smoking sign ; " no-win situation "; odds ; offspring ; " on leave "; orbit ; order ; ore ; override ; parabolic course ; Paradise Lost ; Paradise Regained ; " par for the course "; particle ; passenger ; passion ; " pat on the back "; patient ; pawn ; peace ; perdition ; performance ; period ; permission ; pet ; phaser ; phaser emitter ; phaser lock ; phaser power ; photon torpedo ; physician ; photon control ; photon torpedo ; place ; plan ; planet ( world ); planetoid ; poem ; poetry ; population ; port ; power ; power (politics); pray ; preanimate matter ; prefix code ; prefix number ; prestage flux chamber ; prince ; prisoner ; product ; problem ; progress ; Project Genesis ; Project Genesis Summary ; promotion ; proposal ; proverb ; quadrant ; quarters ; question ; quoting ; radiation ; radiation poisoning ; red shift ; Regula ; Regula I ; Reliant , USS ; rescue ; rescue mission ; respect ; resting place ; result ; retinal scan ; Retinax V ; " Revenge is a dish best served cold "; rigor mortis ; risk ; rock ; Romulans ; Romulan ale ; running light ; sacrifice ; sailing ship ; sand ; San Francisco ; " sauce for the goose " ( goose ; sauce ): scientific research laboratory ; scientist ; Scots language ; Scott's sister ; screen ; search ; section ; Section 10 ; Section 14 ; Section 15 ; security scan ; security procedure ; self-expression ; senile ; senior officer ; sensor ; shield ; ship's bell ; ship's company ; shore leave ; signal ; Signet ; simulator room ; slit ; solution ; " son of a bitch "; sorrow ; soul ; space ; space body ; spacedock ; space shuttle ; spacesuit ; speaker ; speed ; standard orbit ; " stand by "; starbase ; starboard ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Corps of Engineers ; General Orders and Regulations ; Starfleet Headquarters ; Starfleet Operations ; starship ; static ; static discharge ; steal ; strength ; student ; subatomic level ; suggestion ; sunrise ; Surak ; surprise ; surface scan ; surrender ; survival ; survivor ; tactical display ; tactical situation monitor ; tale ; Tale of Two Cities, A ; tape ; target ; Tau Ceti IV ; teacher ; test of character ; test site ; thermonics ; thermowave multiplexer ; thing ; thinking ; thought ; throat ; Tiberian bat ; tiger ; toast ; torpedo bay ; torture ; trainee ; trainee crew ; training mission ; training voyage ( training cruise ); tranquilizer ; transmission ; transporter ; transporter room ; travel pod ( unnamed ); travel pod 05 ; treaty ; tricorder ; type 2 phaser ; United Federation of Planets ; velocity ; victim ; voice message ; Vulcan ; Vulcan language ; Vulcan nerve pinch ; Vulcan salute ; Wallis, D.E. ; warp drive ; warp engine ; warp speed ; Wave Matrix ETM Storage ; weapon ; weapons console ; weapons pod ; " wee "; week ; wind ; wisdom ; word ; wound ; yellow alert ;

Other references [ ]

• Starfleet Training Command (STC), 2nd Level: Administrative Offices ; Arakelian, D. ; Astrogation ; battalion commander ; Beam Technology ; Becker, M. ; Cole, L. ; Commandante Cadets ; Communications ; Director of Educational Services ; Engineering ; Fletcher, R. ; Gabrielle, D. ; Gluck, D. ; Gort ; Graffeo, C. ; Grodnick, T. ; Henry, A. ; Inter-stellar Ethnology ; Jennings, J.R. ; Longo, J. ; Maltese, D. ; Mark III bridge simulator ; Mark X bridge simulator ; Minor, M.C. ; Mitchell, J. ; Office of General Services ; Receivingship ; Rescher, G. ; Sofak ; Supervisor of Curriculum ; Wise, D. ; Wong, J. ; Xon
• Cargo containers : Altair IV ; Beirut Research ; Bellus 4 ; Copenhagen Base ; Kosygin Base ; New Chicago ; Talos III ; Tycho Laboratories ; Vulcan ; Zyra

LCARS references [ ]

Class 3 neutronic fuel carrier ; gravity generator ; Hermes -class ; Jupiter ; K'ushui ; NCC-500 ; NCC-585 ; NCC-3801 ; NCC-4000 ; Oomaru ; Ptolemy -class ; Saladin -class ; Shaandra ; Sol ; Thelonii ; Xanthii ; Yaan

Meta references [ ]

Script references [ ].

Excelsior , USS ; officers' mess ; Prometheus ; Starfleet General Staff ; Starfleet Operations ; technical manual ; White Sands

Sources [ ]

• Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 3, Issue 5 , September 2002
• The Art of Star Trek , Judith , Garfield Reeves-Stevens , Pocket Books, 1995
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan The Director's Edition
• Anderson, Kay. "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, How the TV Series Became A Hit Movie, At Last," Cinefantastique Magazine, volume 12, issues 5-6 (double issue) spring 1982
• A Picture is Worth a Dozen Names at StarTrek.com

External links [ ]

• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at Wikipedia
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• " Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Live Long & Prosper: 15 Best Quotes From Star Trek's Spock

Spock is known for his highly quotable lines, which range from wise observations about the universe to downright sarcastic responses.

When Leonard Nimoy stepped into the shoes of the Enterprise's resident Vulcan First Officer, he created a pop culture icon like no other. Spock, with his unique personality and character design, is perhaps the most recognizable figure from Star Trek . As his story continues in Star Trek: Discovery and Strange New Worlds , it's clear Spock's importance to Star Trek isn't changing soon.

Spock is also known for his highly quotable lines, which range from wise observations about the universe and his scientific research to hilarious quips about his companions and downright sarcastic responses to their excessive humanity. Being half-Vulcan gives him a completely different perspective, and how that aligns with his human side makes him such a beloved character nearly sixty years since his creation.

Updated January 7, 2024 by Joshua M. Patton : Spock wasn't originally Star Trek's central character , though he was the only character (and actor) carried over after the first pilot with the original Christopher Pike and Number One failed. His relationship with Captain James T. Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy formed the emotional core of The Original Series. Through his appearances in the movies, Star Trek: The Next Generation and J.J. Abrams' reboot movies, his beloved stature isn't in doubt. So, it's no accident that some of Star Trek's best lessons come from his lips.

15 "Men Sometimes See Exactly What They Wish To See"

Star trek: the original series, season 3, episode 9, "the tholian web".

In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.

Harve Bennett's Importance to Star Trek, Explained

In "The Tholian Web," Spock finds himself in charge after a mysterious encounter with an unknown alien force leads the crew of the Enterprise to believe that Captain James T. Kirk has slipped into another dimension and is now lost forever. Faced with the dilemma of sacrificing the ship's energy to rescue his friend or proclaiming him dead to maintain the ship's status, Spock deliberates the best course of action while having to deal with increasingly aggressive shipmates.

The episode comes to a head when several crew members claim to have seen strange apparitions of the Captain. While in a conversation with Dr. McCoy where Spock explains that in dire situations such as this one people could turn delusional, Kirk reappears before them. Seeing is believing for Spock, and they're able to rescue him.

14 "Having Is Not So Pleasing, After All, As Wanting"

Star trek: the original series, season 2, episode 1, "amok time".

After a time, you might find that having is not so pleasing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.

Perhaps one of — if not the most — well-known episodes in Star Trek , "Amok Time" introduced several details about the Vulcan race to the audience, most notably the existence of pon farr , the Vulcan time of mating . Deeply embarrassed by this predicament, Spock refuses to tell his friend Captain Kirk what's going on. Once Doctor McCoy discovers it is a life or death situation, Kirk diverts the Enterprise from its scheduled trip towards Vulcan against Starfleet orders.

T'Pring decides to challenge their bond by choosing Kirk as her champion, thus forcing Spock and his Captain into a duel to the death. After defeating Kirk and thinking him dead, Spock bitterly tells Stonn that having T'Pring might not be as satisfying as merely desiring her. Upon returning to the Enterprise, Spock surrenders himself for the murder of his friend and captain. However, a quick dose of sci-fi medicine from McCoy makes Kirk only appear to be dead. On seeing him, Spock actually smiles.

13 "Of Course I Care, Leonard"

Star trek beyond.

Of course, I care, Leonard. I always assumed my respect for you was clear.

The final movie in the rebooted Kelvin Timeline (for now, at least) featured the devastating destruction of the USS Enterprise in the first half-hour of the film. Spock and Doctor McCoy end up crash-landing on a planet together, with Spock near-fatally wounded. He encourages Doctor McCoy to leave him behind, calling it the logical course of action. McCoy responds, "And here I was, thinking you cared."

As much as Kirk and Spock are a big-ticket partnership , McCoy is equally important to him. Their playful rivalry is how Spock shows affection for McCoy. And, for what it's worth, Spock still doesn't come out and say he loves his friend Leonard. McCoy stops him because their love language is picking on each other.

12 "Computers Make Excellent And Efficient Servants"

Star trek: the original series, season 2, episode 24, "the ultimate computer".

Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no desire to serve under them.

Star Trek canon is replete with references to the "Daystron Institute." The man who gave it its name was Richard Daystrom, the man responsible for the Enterprise's advanced computers. This series constantly has its characters question the value of human life, and "The Ultimate Computer" is not different. An early, prescient story about automation and artificial intelligence, the episode explores the value of the human mind compared to a highly intelligent supercomputer. In advance of battle exercises with two other Federation ships, Spock tells Kirk that having a computer run the Enterprise would be undesirable as the crew is loyal to a person, in this case, Kirk.

As expected, the supercomputer swiftly takes over the Enterprise's systems. Kirk tries to reason with Daystrom, the machine's creator, who snaps at him before Spock applies the Vulcan nerve pinch , rendering him unconscious. Ultimately, Daystrom sees the folly of his ways, but not before the Enterprise killed a number of Federation officers on the other ships while the computer was in control.

11 "We Have Only Now"

Star trek: discovery season 2, episode 11, "perpetual infinity".

Now does matter. What happened before no longer exists. What will happen next has not yet been written. We have only now.

Star Trek's Use of Transporters, Explained

The first new series in the third wave of the franchise, Star Trek: Discovery , introduced Ethan Peck's Spock as part of its Season 2 storyline. Michael Burnham is Spock's foster sister, raised by Sarek and Amanda Grayson after her parents' death. Once Michael finds out the truth about how her father died and her mother was trapped in a dead future, she almost gave up. Until, at least, her little brother snapped her out of it.

Spock and Michael are presented as having an antagonistic relationship, as most siblings do. Yet, there is some deeper pain there that the show covers. In this moment, Spock is talking about how their baggage with each other and worries about the fear don't matter. Only what they do in the present can save themselves and the galaxy.

10 "Logic Is The Beginning Of Wisdom"

Star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it.

In The Undiscovered Country , the final film featuring the original cast, a space disaster leads to a rare peace offering from the Federation's most iconic villains , the Klingon Empire. Days before retirement, Spock ropes his old crew into this peace mission, but a secret plot is afoot. Chancellor Gorkon, named after Mikhail Gorbachev, is murdered. Kirk and McCoy beam over to their ship to try to save his life but are instead arrested and sent to a prison colony. During this journey, Spock gets to know Valeris, a young Vulcan lieutenant who has recently joined the Enterprise.

Early in the film, the two have a discussion about logic, prompting Spock to sensibly advise that logic should not be the end goal, but rather the starting point of obtaining absolute wisdom. This interaction takes on deeper meaning when Spock discovers Valeris was one of the people who murdered the chancellor. When confronted, she tells him she tried to explain her actions ahead of time. Spock refers back to this quote to say he was also trying to warn her away from her fear of peace with the Klingons .

9 "I Object To Intellect Without Discipline"

Star trek: the original series, season 1, episode 17, "the squire of gothos".

I object to intellect without discipline, I object to power without constructive purpose.

With Kirk and helmsman Hikaru Sulu trapped by Trelane, a man who calls himself the Squire of Gothos in the episode of the same name, Spock and the rest of the crew do the impossible to bring their crewmates back to safety.

Upon meeting the mischievous Trelane, Spock dismissively protests his petty ways, asserting that he objects to Trelane's intellect and power if there's nothing substantial but fun and games behind them. Trelane seems amused by this, remarking that Spock's human side has made him ill-mannered.

8 "You Are Defensive And, Therefore, Find My Opinion Valid"

Star trek into darkness.

Reverting to name-calling suggests that you are defensive and, therefore, find my opinion valid.

Star Trek: The Original Series had 78 episodes and six movies to define the friendship between Kirk and Spock. The Kelvin Timeline movies had just around seven hours to try to establish that bond, and Spock and Kirk are at odds for most of the first film. Star Trek Into Darkness showed they were friendlier, but when Kirk breaks the rules to save Spock, he reports it to Starfleet. Well, he does it inadvertently, but Kirk doesn't see it that way. Frustrated, Kirk shouts that he "won't take ethics lessons from a robot!"

Whatever one might think of how well those movies captured the spirit of The Original Series characters, this is a classic Spock retort. At a moment when any other character would also get angry, he simply plays it cool while still saying something perfectly designed to get under Kirk or McCoy's skin.

7 "They Are In Every Way...The Very Flower Of Humanity"

Star trek: the original series, season 2, episode 4, "mirror, mirror".

They are brutal, savage, uncivilized, and illogical. They are in every way examples of Homo sapiens, the very flower of humanity.

"Mirror, Mirror" is a fan-favorite episode that expanded the Star Trek universe and acknowledged the existence of parallel dimensions within the storytelling universe. In the episode, Spock deals with Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty's barbaric counterparts, capturing them and keeping them from harming the rest of the crew while he tries to figure out how to proceed. Meanwhile, the Prime Timeline versions of these characters have to survive in the murderous Mirror Universe.

Mirror Spock, wearing an iconic "evil" goatee, finds out about what happened by performing a mind meld on McCoy. Still logical and kind, he agrees to send the four universe hoppers back to their dimension. Once back onboard the original Enterprise , Spock ponders over his crewmates' mirror selves and their humanity.

6 "[Love] Is No Handicap, That Is True Strength"

Star trek: strange new worlds, season 2, episode 5, "charades".

You refer to my human side as a handicap. Yet my mother is the most resilient, compassionate, tolerant person I have known. One who has been judged by Vulcans her entire life. And yet she stands by... For love, for family, for me. That is no handicap. That is true strength.

15 Greatest Star Trek Villains Of All Time, Ranked

In its second mid-season "Spock hijinks" episode, a sci-fi accident leaves Spock purged of his Vulcan DNA just as his fiancée's parents insist on doing a ritual engagement dinner. Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother, teaches him what she knows about being a human living among Vulcans. When T'Pring's mother calls Spock's human ancestry a "handicap" he reveals the titular charade.

Spock often speaks with pride about his Vulcan nature and commitment to logic, yet his human half is equally important. In this episode, Spock made it clear why he respects humanity so much. While their emotions get them into trouble, their capacity to love is what makes it all worth it.

5 "Evil Does Seek To Maintain Power By Suppressing The Truth"

Star trek: the original series, season 3, episode 4 "and the children shall lead".

Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth.

In "And The Children Shall Lead," the crew of the Enterprise is at a loss when a small party beams down to the surface of Triacus. Meant to visit a small Federation outpost, the away team finds all the adults dead from an apparent mass suicide. The only survivors are a group of carefree children who seem completely unaffected by the newcomers and the scattered bodies of their dead relatives.

Upon discovering that the children are being manipulated by an evil spirit named Gorgan, Spock tells McCoy that Gorgan's goal was to keep the truth of what happened hidden in order to maintain control over his young minions, letting his evil power grow at their expense.

4 "A Friendship That Will Define You Both..."

I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize.

Star Trek in 2009 gave fans two Spocks for the price of one. Leonard Nimoy reprised the role for the first film and its sequel, his final role. The presence of Prime Spock , as he's called, allows for time-travel changes so that Zachary Quinto can don the ears as the younger version of the character. He meets his older self after Nero, the villain who chased Spock into the past, destroyed the planet Vulcan. Younger Spock asks why the Prime Spock sent James T. Kirk instead of just seeking him out, and this was his answer.

It proves that no matter the universe, Prime Timeline, Kelvin Timeline, or Mirror Universe, James T. Kirk needs Spock at his side if he is going to succeed. Luckily, in every universe but the famously evil one, Spock and Kirk become the kind of friends who save the universe together.

3 "I Have Been And Always Shall Be Your Friend"

Star trek ii: the wrath of khan.

I have been and always shall be your friend.

Star Trek II: Wrath Of Khan is beloved for not only bringing back the best Star Trek villain and giving him the screentime he deserved but also for being a love letter to Kirk and Spock's extraordinary friendship. The series always had them at the center of every narrative, positioning them as the heart and mind of the Enterprise and making their relationship an essential part of their adventures.

Spock's death at the end of the movie is one of the most significant events in Star Trek lore, showing Spock's most vulnerable human side as he deliriously expresses the importance of their friendship to Kirk in his last moments. Sure, he came back in the next movie, but it doesn't undercut the impact of this scene in the slightest.

2 "The Needs Of The Many Outweigh The Needs Of The Few"

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.

The Star Trek Economy From Latinum to Federation Credits, Explained

In the first part of Wrath Of Khan , when discussing who should lead their new mission, Kirk and Spock have a conversation about Kirk's recent promotion to admiral. Spock remarks that he thinks it's a mistake, as being a captain is Kirk's first and foremost destiny, and supports his claim by invoking that the needs of the many, in this case, the Enterprise's crew, outweigh the needs of the few.

Tragically, this line is later reprised during Spock's sacrifice, with Kirk saying the words with a dying Spock, who slowly falls victim to the radiation inside the engine room. This scene was played with the characters reversed in Star Trek Into Darkness, which also featured Khan .

1 "Live Long And Prosper"

Star trek: the original series, season 2, episode 1 "amok time," et al..

Peace and long life. Live long and prosper.

A phrase so well-known that it has entered mainstream media, "live long and prosper" and its accompanying hand gesture were first introduced in season two of Star Trek during Spock's rushed visit to his home planet in "Amok Time." Spock and T'Pau, a highly regarded Vulcan diplomat who would be officiating Spock and T'Pring's ceremony, greet each other using the phrase upon their first meeting.

The salute is as intrinsic to Star Trek as Spock himself and has made an appearance in every Star Trek film and show except Deep Space Nine . Despite the many other characters who have also uttered the phrase, Leonard Nimoy's rendition is by far the most cherished by Trekkies.

Spock Quotes

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.

In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.

Insufficient facts always invite danger.

It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.

Without followers, evil cannot spread.

Change is the essential process of all existence.

The logical approach is usually the most reliable.

Without context, words and actions have no meaning.

Sometimes, having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting.

There is a difference between understanding the path and walking the path.

Live long and prosper.

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.

Emotions are alien to me. I’m a scientist.

I find that insulting, and I’m a Vulcan.

Can an android write a symphony? Can a Vulcan pray?

I object to intellect without discipline. I object to power without constructive purpose.

The needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.

It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.

The appearance of a flaw is the beginning of wisdom.

One can begin to reshape the landscape with a single flower.

Captain, necessity is the mother of invention.

I’m not so much interested in the metaphysical.

Bluffing is a primary skill of diplomacy.

Compassion: that’s the one thing no machine ever had. Maybe it’s the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.

An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.

May I point out that I had an opportunity to observe your counterparts here quite closely. They were brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous—in every way, splendid examples of homo sapiens, the very flower of humanity. I found them quite refreshing.

Evil does seek to maintain power by suppressing the truth.

That’s true. It’s definitely easier to have faith in one’s beliefs than to be in the uncertain position of not knowing.

Without those hours of patient, silent study, no one can become a scientist.

Our ancestors cast out their animal passions on this world.

When one is unsure of one’s own position, one becomes argumentative.

If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

The complex systems of life depend upon each other. We would not exist without the microbes.

Emotion is the enemy of logic.

The prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other.

It’s fascinating how much more work I can get done when someone else does it.

Sometimes, having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.

Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them.

Instruments register only what is measurable. Quantum physics research deals with one reality of possibilities.

Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made. We are what we repeatedly do.

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Why Does Spock Never Talk About His Long-Lost Sister, Michael Burnham?

Star Trek: Discovery introduced a big retcon to Spock's history by revealing an adopted sister; here is why he never mentioned Michael Burnham before.

• Spock made a tough decision to keep his adopted sister a secret to protect the galaxy in "Star Trek: Discovery."
• Spock's history of keeping personal matters private helps explain why he never mentioned Michael Burnham.
• The addition of Michael Burnham to the Star Trek timeline has interesting implications for the Kelvin timeline.

When it comes to Star Trek , there is arguably no character more associated with the franchise than Spock. The Vulcan First Officer became the breakout character of the series and remained a fixture in pop culture. He is one of the few characters to make it past the original pilot for the series and then be a major character on not just Star Trek: The Original Series but original actor Leonard Nimoy returned to play a role in all six live-action films, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the two J.J. Abrams-directed reboots where he passed the baton on to actor Zachary Quinto. In addition, actor Ethan Peck plays a young Spock on both Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , making him the character to appear in the most entries in the franchise.

As Spock's popularity grew, creators decided to expand on his backstory. One of the most controversial decisions was the revelation of Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green in the series Star Trek: Discovery . The series established her as the adopted sister of Spock, a human who was raised alongside Spock by his parents, Sarek and Amanda Grayson. This was a major shock to fans as it was a huge retcon to the franchise. Plus, with Star Trek: Discovery originally being a prequel series, the character was never mentioned by Spock or anyone else in the rest of the franchise.

While the obvious answer was the character was not created then, the writers of Star Trek: Discovery came up with an answer that fits within the established Star Trek timeline to explain why she was never brought up again despite her close connection to Spock. This is why Spock never mentioned his adopted sister, Michael Burnham, before.

Spock Vowed Never To Speak of Her or the Crew of the Enterprise to Save the Galaxy

Star Trek: Discovery season one firmly established that Michael Burnham was adopted by Sarek and his wife, Amanda Grayson, following the disappearance of her parents at a young age. Then, in Season 2, she introduced characters like Captain Pike and Number One, who debuted in the original pilot for Star Trek alongside Spock . This raised many more concerns about how nobody ever mentioned Spock's adopted sister. The series provides an explanation in the season two finale, “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2.” The Crew of the USS Discovery is able to take the rouge AI villain Control into the 31st century, which prevented itself from establishing.

The USS Discovery is reported to have been destroyed in action. To prevent another rouge AI like Control from emerging and risking Discovery's sacrifice being in vain, Spock proposed to the surviving members of the USS Enterprise and allies of Discovery to never speak of the ship or its crew again, wiping it from history essentially. This takes place in the year 2258, about eight years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . This was also years before Spock met many members of the crew he was closely associated with, like James Kirk, Leonard "Bones" McCoy, or Uhura, so they never met Michael Burnham or knew of her existence.

This development creates a new context for viewing Star Trek: The Original Series and all subsequent stories featuring Spock after Star Trek: Discovery . He is keeping the pain of losing his adopted sister, Michael Burnham, to himself, but he also theorizes that the crew of Discovery survived and will emerge alive in the future, which he is proven correct. While Spock does not live to see it, Michael Burnham does get to see Spock's impact on the galaxy in her absence and looks to preserve the Federation her brother defined.

Spock Is Known For Keeping Things From His Friends Before

Spock, being half-human and half-Vulcan, has been known to keep things from his closest friends until it is time to inform them of an important piece of news. This is best summed up in his younger Kelvin timeline, when in Star Trek Into Darkness he informs Captain Kirk that their new science officer is, in fact, Carol Marcus, the daughter of Admiral Marcus. When Kirk asks him when he is going to tell him, Spock replies, "When it became relevant, as it just did."

This is clear many times in Star Trek: The Original Serie s. The first was in the season two premiere, "Amok Time," where Kirk discovers that Spock is bothered to T'Pring and set to be married. Later in that season, in episode ten, “Journey to Babel,” audiences are introduced to Spock’s father, Sarek, for the first time. Kirk was surprised at the announced familial connection between them as it was clear Spock never revealed much about his family to Kirk, and the Captain only gets details from talking to Spock's mother, Amanda. These two incidents show that Spock was never one to talk about himself to Kirk, so it is not out of the realm of possibility to believe that Spock would never mention Michael Burnham in public to anyone.

Star Trek: 10 Facts About Spock You Probably Didn’t Know (Or Forgot)

This also is not the first time that Star Trek has introduced a long-lost, never-before-mentioned sibling of Spock's to the franchise and used his not being the most open with his friends as a way to explain the retcon. The main villain of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is Sybok, who is revealed to be the half-brother of Spock, who is fully Vulcan and has a different mother. This means that Spock had two siblings: an adopted human sister and a half-brother who was fully Vulcan.

When Spock reveals to Kirk that Sybok is his brother, he is left in disbelief and thinks that Spock is lying. Kirk cites he would know if Spock had a brother, and Spock reveals that Sybok and he were raised together after Sybok's mother died. When Kirk asks why he had never mentioned it before, Spock plainly says, "I was not disposed to discuss matters of personal nature." showing that Spock only reveals information when it is absolutely important, even to those closest to him like Kirk. It certainly helps provide an explanation as to why Spock never mentioned Michael before.

Does Michael Burnham Exist in the Kelvin Timeline?

The addition of Michael Burnham to the main Star Trek timeline also creates a new wrinkle for the franchise in terms of the alternate reality created in J.J. Abrams's 2009 reboot, Star Trek . That film features a younger Spock and Kirk meeting at an earlier point in their lives, but no mention is made of Michael Burnham, despite Spock's parents being prominently featured in the first film. In fact, in the Kelvin timeline of films, it seems that the divergent event is what led to her never needing to be adopted.

The USS Kelvin is attacked and destroyed, resulting in the creation of a new timeline in 2233. In the original Star Trek timeline, Michael Burnham's parents did not go missing until 2236, which led to her being adopted and raised by Sarek. Since this is three years after the event of the Kelvin timeline's divergent origin point, it stands to reason the ripple effect in the galaxy meant that Michael Burnham's parents never went missing, and therefore, she was never adopted and raised alongside Spock. In the Kelvin timeline, Spock never had a sister, and Michael Burnham had to live and grow up with her birth parents.

Star Trek 4: Development History & Why It's Taken So Long

This might be an intentional choice by the creators as the showrunner of Star Trek: Discovery is Alex Kurtzman, who also was the co-writer of 2009's Star Trek , which created the Kelvin timeline and established the rules of how the universe works from branching off from the point of Nero's ship coming through the black hole. When writing Star Trek: Discovery , he likely picked the year that Michael Burnham's parents went missing to be set after that stardate, so it could be implied in the Kelvin timeline it altered events to where she would never need to be adopted.

It appears the creators have done a good job providing plenty of in-universe explanations for why Spock never mentioned his adopted sister in the original Star Trek series or in the Kelvin timeline movies.

Check out our interview with Michael Burnham herself, Sonequa Martin-Green, on the final season of Star Trek: Discovery below.

Star Trek: Coolest Starships In The Original Series

• Star Trek: TOS starships range from bizarre to iconic, showcasing the creativity and innovation of the show's artists and creators.
• The Tholian Starship and Romulan Bird-Of-Prey are among the many unique vessels encountered by Captain Kirk during his galactic explorations.
• The USS Enterprise, designed by artist Matt Jefferies, remains the most well-recognized starship in popular culture due to its innovative appearance.

Star Trek: The Original Series features some memorable quotes , uncanny aliens, and plenty of questionable fashion choices. Yet one of the show's most important aspects is its starships, which are used to both explore the galaxy and confront its various threats.

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Technical and budgetary limitations meant that many Star Trek : TOS starships were depicted as smears of light; luckily, the 2007–2008 remasters enhanced the show's visual diversity. As such, the weird and wonderful vessels encountered by Captain Kirk owe as much to the artists who worked on the remasters as they do their original creators. From doomsday weapons to massive flagships, The Original Series is full of inventive designs.

Lazarus' Ship

First appearance: "the alternative factor" (season 1, episode 27).

While TOS features some classic episodes , not all installments can be winners, as demonstrated by "The Alternative Factor". This first-season clunker sees the Enterprise crew dealing with two versions of the same man, Lazarus, from different planes of existence—if the two men touch, the universe goes boom.

The silly premise is not without its silver lining. Lazarus' dimension-hopping vessel is a brilliant piece of sci-fi kitsch thanks to its bubble-dome cockpit and retrofuturistic styling. This cute starship is also one of the most technically advanced to appear in the series: the Enterprise may travel through space (and sometimes time), but Lazarus' ship is a rare example of a craft that can move through dimensions.

The Planet Killer

First appearance: "the doomsday machine" (season 2, episode 6).

Long before Star Wars tested the destructive potential of the Death Star on Alderaan, Star Trek had its own planet-busting superweapon. Kirk's Enterprise crosses paths with the so-called Planet Killer while attempting to recover a damaged Starfleet ship, the USS Constitution . The only surviving member of the Constitution 's crew, Commodore Decker, explains that he has been investigating several ruined star systems, and that the Planet Killer is responsible for their destruction.

Star Trek: 6 Worst Things Done By The Federation, Ranked

The Planet Killer's antiproton beam represents one of the franchise's most devastating offensive technologies, easily disabling a top-of-the-line Constitution -class starship. The motives of the Planet Killer are more obscure—however, various Star Trek novels and comics have offered their own explanations for the powerful vessel. According to one questionably canon source, the Planet Killer was designed as an anti-Borg superweapon, while another novel sees the damaged ship reactivated and used to destroy an enhanced Borg cube. Whatever its purpose, it represents one of the greatest threats to the Federation.

Tholian Starship

First appearance: "the tholian web" (season 3, episode 9).

The Tholians are one of Star Trek 's most mysterious races. These apparently crystalline arachnids appear in only three of the franchise's more than nine hundred episodes, but this lack of screen time does nothing to detract from the threat posed by these xenophobic aliens.

"The Tholian Web" sees the Enterprise investigating the wreckage of another starship, the USS Defiant , which appears to be phasing in and out of existence. However, the Enterprise finds itself snared in the eponymous Tholian web when two alien starships weave an energy field around the Federation vessel. Although the Enterprise is able to escape, narrowly avoiding capture or destruction by this bizarre alien power, fans are sure to remember the unusual vessels responsible for Kirk's predicament.

The Fesarius

First appearance: "the corbomite maneuver" (season 1, episode 10).

The spherical Fesarius encountered by the Enterprise in "The Corbomite Maneuver" is the flagship of the First Federation (not to be confused with the United Federation of Planets). Its unusual, simplistic design sets it apart from the sleeker ships usually seen in the series; in many ways, it is a more rounded precursor to the Borg cube seen in The Next Generation . However, luckily for Kirk and his crew, the Fesarius is more interested in exploration than assimilation.

6 Biggest Retcons To Star Trek History

In addition to its impressive appearance, the Fesarius is also home to the alien Balok, played by Clint Howard. This was Howard's first Trek role—he would go on to make frequent appearances throughout the franchise, most recently in a 2023 episode of Strange New Worlds . The Fesarius itself would also reappear, albeit off-screen, as the ship plays a central role in a Shatner-authored novel and a Star Trek: Voyager short story.

Eymorg Starship

First appearance: "spock's brain" (season 3, episode 1).

To call "Spock's Brain" divisive is perhaps being too kind to an episode that many fans consider as the nadir of The Original Series . This campy caper involves the theft of Spock's brain (his body is turned into a robot by Doctor McCoy) and a race against time to retrieve the organ from the mysterious Eymorg civilization . Fred Frieburger, who helped to write the episode, is often accused of ruining Gene Roddenberry's utopian series—based on "Spock's Brain", the fans might be right.

However, even the worst episodes can feature interesting starships. The Eymorg vessel responsible for abducting Spock's brain is an inspired design that perfectly fits the show's bold, retrofuturistic aesthetic. There are two different versions of the Eymorg ship: a rocket-shaped vessel seen in the original episode, and a more spherical design created for the TOS remasters. Of the two, the latter is more interesting, as it draws upon contemporary ion-powered spaceships while retaining the classic sixties feel.

Romulan Bird-Of-Prey

First appearance: "balance of terror" (season 1, episode 14).

The Next Generation 's D'deridex-class warbirds maybe Star Trek 's most memorable take on Romulan starships, but the precursors seen in The Original Series are also worthy of examination. The hull and nacelles combination of the warbird recalls the design of many Federation ships—indeed, a line of dialogue cut from "Balance of Terror" suggested that the Romulans had stolen the blueprints from the Federation. The Bird-of-Prey encountered by Kirk in the Neutral Zone is more than capable of taking on the Enteprise , and is even superior in some respects.

For example, the Bird-of-Prey possesses cloaking technology, allowing it to conceal itself from enemy vessels. This makes the starship ideal for sneak attacks and hit-and-run strikes against the Federation, a strategy perfectly suited to the scheming Romulans. Furthermore, its arsenal of nuclear warheads may be relatively old-fashioned, but it is nonetheless effective.

Klingon D7 Cruiser

First appearance: "day of the dove (season 3, episode 7).

Despite being one of Star Trek 's most iconic starships, the Klingon D7 cruiser is rarely seen in The Original Series as broadcast. Indeed, the recognizable model is absent until the show's final season, as Klingon ships are instead represented by indistinct smears on the Enterprise 's screen. This shortcoming is remedied in the noughties remasters of the series, which insert CGI models of the cruiser into several earlier episodes.

8 Coolest Starships From Star Trek: The Next Generation

The D7 is primarily associated with the Klingon Empire , but this well-armed vessel also sees service under the Romulan Star Empire. For instance, a D7 is one of several Romulan-aligned ships that confronts Kirk's starship during "The Enterprise Incident", suggesting an alliance of sorts between the Klingon and Romulan states. Like many other ships under Romulan control, the D7 possesses a cloaking device, making it a deadly threat to the Federation.

USS Enterprise

First appearance: "the cage" (unaired pilot).

The Starship Enterprise has undergone numerous redesigns and reiterations since its debut in The Original Series , but Kirk's version of the Federation starship remains the most well-recognized version in popular culture. This is due, in part, to the hero ship's innovative appearance—Gene Roddenberry's design rules prevented the vessel from being just another generic flying saucer.

Yet few people deserve more credit for the Enterprise 's design than artist Matt Jefferies, who played a crucial role in crafting the Constitution -class starship. Jefferies' finest work has come to define the franchise, with this version of the Enterprise appearing throughout the Star Trek canon. Of all the ships to appear in The Original Series (and in Trek ) as a whole, none is more iconic than Kirk's USS Enterprise .

Star Trek: The Original Series

Release Date September 8, 1966

Genres Sci-Fi

Creator Gene Roddenberry

Number of Episodes 79

Den of Geek

Star Trek Just Pulled Off a Huge Call Back to a Beloved Enterprise Character

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 digs deep into The Original Series lore in an episode full of references to "The Paradise Syndrome."

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers.

Although Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is focused on a season-long quest for ancient secrets from before the dawn of history, there have also been a few episodes that have been almost standalone in structure. From the time loop in “Face the Strange” to the return of the ISS Enterprise in “Mirrors,” Discovery ’s final seasons has episodic stories, woven into the bigger arc. And, out of all of season 5, episode 6, “Whistlespeak,” is probably the most standalone of the bunch.

In order to retrieve the latest clue to the Progenitor tech, the USS Discovery jumps to the planet Halem’no, a pre-warp planet. Here, Burnham and Tilly have to go undercover to not only find the clue, but also, repair some concealed technology. Along the way, Discovery pays homage to The Original Series , the prequel series Enterprise , and beyond. Here are the biggest Star Trek easter eggs and references in the episode…

Weather Towers 

Throughout all of Star Trek , or at least the time of The Voyage Home , there’s been the strong suggestion that the weather on Earth, and other Federation planets, is controlled by low-key terraforming technology. In “Whistlespeak,” Burnham and Tilly have to fix a weather tower that is malfunctioning on a pre-warp, Prime Directive-protected planet. This exact mission hasn’t happened before, but it is reminiscent of several Trek episodes from the past…

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Going Undercover With an Indigenous Culture

The conceit that Burnham and Tilly have to blend in with a pre-warp civilization has several precedents in other Star Trek series and films. In The Original Series episodes “Pattern of Force,” “Return of the Archons,” “A Private Little War,” and “The Paradise Syndrome,” the crew has to infiltrate planets and pass themselves off as natives. Ditto The Next Generation episode “Who Watches the Watchers?” and the beginning of the feature film Insurrection . Burnham, Owo and Captain Pike also went undercover in a pre-warp civilization in the Discovery season 2 episode “New Eden.” Then, the entire Strange New Worlds gang, including Pike, Spock, and La’an all went undercover in the series premiere of that that show, also titled “Strange New Worlds.”

Finally, the very first glimpse of Michael Burnham ever happens near the start of the first Discovery episode from 2017, “The Vulcan Hello.” And in that episode, Captain Georgiou and Michael Burnham are helping save a pre-warp civilization from a drought without being detected. So, in Disco’s first season and its last, Burnham is on a very similar mission. At least once, anyway.

Subcutaneous Comms

Burnham and Tilly also rock both subcutaneous — under the skin — communicators, as well as tricorders embedded into their eyes. The retinal tricorders are new, but Kirk and Spock both had subcutaneous transponders put into their arms in the episode “Patterns of Force.” 

The scientist who created the weather towers for the Halem’nites was named Hitoroshi Kreel, a Denobulan. Though we never see him on screen, we know, generally, some basic features of what Denobulans look like. The beloved character of Dr. Phlox in the series Enterprise was a Denobulan, and it was in that series that nearly all the lore of the planet Denobula was established, even though the planet was never seen on screen. Outside of Enterprise , we’ve seen Denobulans in Lower Decks , Prodigy , and briefly in Strange New Worlds Season 2. But, despite being mentioned in this Discovery episode, no Denobulans appear.

Burnham’s Job

While it’s easy to forget what Burnham trained to do for Starfleet, this episode reminds us of the fact that in season 1, it was established that in both Starfleet and at the Vulcan Science Academy, Burnham studied xenoanthropology. She’s actually perfect for away missions like this because of her anthropological background, unlike say, several other Starfleet captains who frequently would go on missions like this.

“We could really use you at” 

Ever since season 4, Tilly has been teaching at Starfleet Academy, which, for now, is located somewhere at Federation HQ. Tilly telling Burnham she wants her to teach there too is interesting, and has some precedent in previous Star Trek lore. When Spock was teaching at Starfleet Academy, in The Wrath of Khan , he brought Kirk in to help out at the beginning of the movie. Because Tilly and Burnham are both from the 23rd Century initially, it’s not too nuts to think of them both teaching at Starfleet Academy at some point in the future, much like their classic-era colleagues across space and time.

Paradise Syndrome: Reloaded

Overall, the story of “Whistlespeak” feels like a modern update of tricky TOS episode, “The Paradise Syndrome.” In that episode, Kirk lost his memory, and became part of a tribe of Native Americans who lived on a planet that was not Earth. Progressive stuff for 1968 maybe , but less than great or thoughtful now. However, the sci-fi premise of “The Paradise Syndrome” was fantastic even if the politics were iffy: A device that was placed on the planet by an advanced alien race—designed to protect the people of the planet—malfunctions and gains religious significance. This is exactly what happens with the weather stations on Halem’no, and, just like Kirk and Spock had to go back into the obelisk in TOS to save the native population, Burnham and Tilly have to do the same thing in this Discovery episode. 

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Interestingly, this “Paradise Syndrome,” connection goes even deeper when you realize that “The Preservers,” mentioned in that episode, were the first indication that an advanced humanoid species seeded several planets with humanoid lifeforms. So, without “:The Paradise Syndrome,” you kinda don’t have the TNG episode “The Chase,” and without that, you certainly don’t have Discovery season 5’s epic search for the Progenitor tech, which goes all the way back to 1993, or 1968, or millions of years in the past, depending on your point of view.

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

Star Trek: The Original Series

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The top 10 Star Trek Federation Ships of All Time

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Originally Posted On: https://www.mahannahsscifiuniverse.com/blogs/star-trek-news/the-top-10-star-trek-federation-ships-of-all-time

Star Trek has captured the imaginations of millions of fans around the world with its iconic spaceships and interstellar adventures. From the original series to the latest installments, the Federation ships have become symbols of exploration, diplomacy, and defense. In this blog post, we will explore the top 10 Star Trek Federation ships of all time, based on their impact, capabilities, and design.

1. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D

The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D , featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation, is one of the most iconic Federation ships. With its sleek design and advanced technology, it represented the pinnacle of Starfleet’s engineering prowess. The Enterprise-D played a crucial role in numerous diplomatic missions and battles, making it a symbol of the Federation’s commitment to peace and exploration.

2. USS Voyager NCC-74656

The USS Voyager , featured in Star Trek: Voyager, holds a special place in the hearts of Star Trek fans. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the Voyager embarked on a seven-year journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Its advanced technology, including the warp drive and the bio-neural circuitry, allowed the crew to overcome numerous challenges and explore uncharted territories.

3. USS Defiant NX-74205

The USS Defiant , introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was a departure from the traditional Federation ships. Designed specifically for combat, the Defiant was smaller and more maneuverable than its counterparts. Its advanced weaponry and cloaking device made it a formidable force against the Dominion and other threats to the Federation.

4. USS Enterprise NCC-1701

The USS Enterprise NCC-1701 , featured in the original Star Trek series, is an iconic symbol of the franchise. Under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, the Enterprise embarked on a five-year mission to explore new worlds and seek out new life forms. Its design and capabilities set the standard for future Federation ships.

5. USS Excelsior NCC-2000

The USS Excelsior, introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, was one of the most advanced Federation ships of its time. Equipped with experimental technology, such as the transwarp drive, the Excelsior represented the cutting edge of Starfleet’s engineering. Although its transwarp drive was ultimately unsuccessful, the Excelsior played a significant role in the Star Trek universe.

6. USS Enterprise NX-01

The USS Enterprise NX-01 , featured in Star Trek: Enterprise, was the first starship to bear the name Enterprise. As an early prototype, it laid the foundation for future Federation ships. The Enterprise NX-01 played a crucial role in humanity’s first steps towards interstellar exploration and set the stage for the formation of the United Federation of Planets.

7. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A

The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A , featured in the original Star Trek movies, was a refit version of the original Enterprise. With its updated design and advanced technology, it continued the legacy of its predecessor. The Enterprise-A played a vital role in defending the Federation against various threats, including the Klingons and the Romulans.

8. USS Prometheus NX-59650

The USS Prometheus, introduced in Star Trek: Voyager, was an experimental Federation ship equipped with multi-vector assault mode. This groundbreaking technology allowed the Prometheus to split into three separate sections, each capable of independent flight and combat. The Prometheus showcased the Federation’s commitment to innovation and adaptability.

9. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E

The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E , featured in the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, was a Sovereign-class starship. With its advanced weaponry and state-of-the-art technology, it represented the pinnacle of Federation starship design. The Enterprise-E played a crucial role in defending the Federation against the Borg and other threats.

10. USS Discovery NCC-1031

The USS Discovery , featured in Star Trek: Discovery, is a Crossfield-class starship equipped with a revolutionary spore drive. This experimental propulsion system allows the Discovery to travel instantaneously across vast distances. The Discovery’s mission to explore new frontiers and uncover the secrets of the universe embodies the spirit of Star Trek.

These top 10 Star Trek Federation ships have left an indelible mark on the franchise and continue to inspire fans around the world. Whether through their advanced technology, iconic designs, or pivotal roles in the Star Trek universe, these ships represent the best of what the Federation has to offer

Screen Rant

Book knew 2 weird things in star trek: discovery, but how.

Cleveland Booker has been all over the galaxy in Star Trek: Discovery, but he mysteriously knew some information that seemed beyond his experience.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 - "Mirrors"

• Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 shows Cleveland Booker having curious knowledge.
• Book immediately knew the ISS Enterprise was from the Mirror Universe and he knew Captain Pike's catchphrase "Hit it!"
• Book's knowledge of the Mirror Universe and Captain Pike's warp catchphrase hints at unseen, past conversations with Michael Burnham.

Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) has traveled across the galaxy, but he knew two pieces of information that seem peculiar in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors." Written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan, Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 sends Captain Michael Burnham's (Sonequa Martin-Green) into interdimensional space, where the third clue to the ancient treasure of the Progenitors resides in the ISS Enterprise from the Mirror Universe . Book joins Burnham on this mission so that he can try to reach Moll (Eve Harlow), the daughter of his mentor, Cleveland Booker IV.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors" unlocks major pieces of Star Trek lore. Aboard the ISS Enterprise, Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker find a plaque that offers new details about the Mirror Universe's history. Burnham and Book later successfully pilot the ISS Enterprise into Star Trek' s Prime Universe. Meanwhile, "Mirrors" also reveals that L'ak (Elias Toufexis) is a Breen who rebelled against his people out of his love for Moll. In retaliation, the Breen placed an Erigah, or blood bounty, on L'ak and Moll's heads. These are new facts Book learned, but what is curious is what Cleveland already knew.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Book knew iss enterprise was from star trek’s mirror universe, cleveland booker has never been to the mirror universe.

When Cleveland Booker and Captain Michael Burnham flew a USS Discovery shuttle through a wormhole into interdimensional space, they quickly found the remnants of L'ak's ship. Michael and Book then saw a derelict 23rd-century Constitution Class starship bearing the markings, "ISS Enterprise." Oddly, it was Book, not Captain Burnham, who immediately identified this Enterprise, saying, "ISS? That's Mirror Universe." While Booker was correct, how did the 32nd-century courier know the ISS Enterprise is from the Mirror Universe?

In Star Trek: Discovery 's 32nd century, travel between the Prime and Mirror Universes has been "impossible for centuries" as a result of the Temporal Wars.

The simple explanation for how Cleveland Booker knows about the Mirror Universe is that Michael Burnham told him . Book was literally the first person then-Commander Burnham met when she arrived in the 32nd century. It took a year before the USS Discovery joined Burnham in the future, and Michael spent that time as a courier, traveling across the galaxy and falling in love with Book. It stands to reason that Michael told Book about her own harrowing journey to the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery season 1 .

Book also asked Burnham if she ever met her adoptive brother Spock's (Ethan Peck) Mirror Universe counterpart, but Michael never did.

Book Knows Captain Pike’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Warp Catchphrase

How did booker know pike says, "hit it".

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5's thrilling climax saw Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker pilot the ISS Enterprise into Star Trek 's Prime Universe. With the help of Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) , the USS Discovery's bridge crew found a way to widen the aperture of the wormhole, allowing the ISS Enterprise to exit interdimensional space. As Michael and Book launched the Enterprise's impulse engines, Book suggested Captain Burnham say, "Hit it!" since she was in the Enterprise's center seat. But Burnham replied it felt "weird" and stuck to her own catchphrase, "Let's fly!"

It's quite possible that Burnham had an off-screen conversation with Book about what her Captain's warp catchphrase should be.

"Hit it!" is the personal warp catchphrase of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) of the USS Enterprise. Pike debuted "Hit it!" when he was temporarily Captain of the USS Discovery in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, and Chris continues to say it in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . But how does Book know about "Hit it"? Again, Michael Burnham is the likely explanation. Upon her promotion to Captain at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 3, Michael needed her own warp catchphrase, and she chose "Let's fly!" It's quite possible that Burnham had an off-screen conversation with Book about what her Captain's warp catchphrase should be, and Michael told Booker about Captain Pike's "Hit it!"

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+

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Published May 2, 2024

It's The (Other) Enterprise! How Discovery's I.S.S. Enterprise Connects Three Eras of Star Trek

The Mirror Enterprise had a long road getting from there to here.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery's "Mirrors."

StarTrek.com

In the classic 1967 episode, " Mirror, Mirror ," when Kirk, Bones, Scotty, and Uhura accidentally beamed across dimensions, and onto another version of the Enterprise , the first clue that this was a parallel universe was the fact that the ship was orbiting around the Halkan homeworld from right-to-left, rather than left-to-right. So, the first glimpse of the I.S.S. Enterprise was simply that it was taking a different path, literally, zagging when it should have been zigging.

Ever since the debut of "Mirror, Mirror," the idea of an evil Enterprise grew in our imaginations, even if we didn't get to actually see it on-screen again. Even as the Mirror Universe expanded in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Enterprise , and Star Trek: Discovery , an on-screen glimpse of the I.S.S. Enterprise — traveling on a very different path from the U.S.S. Enterprise — remained elusive. That is, until now.

In the Discovery episode " Mirrors ," the final destination of this version of the Enterprise has been revealed, and in that revelation, the entire timeline of the Star Trek universe has been traversed. Unlike the classic 1701 of the Prime Universe, the I.S.S. Enterprise 's journey has lasted centuries. Here's how that journey unites at least three different aspects of the larger Star Trek story.

How Discovery Brings Back the Mirror Enterprise

"Mirrors"

In "Mirrors," the fifth episode of Discovery 's fifth season, Book and Burnham take a shuttlecraft into an unstable wormhole, hoping to find a trace of Moll and L'ak and the next piece of the puzzle that can lead them to the Progenitor 's elusive technology. But instead, adrift and displaced by nine centuries, and an entirely different dimension, they find the I.S.S. Enterprise , a ship Burnham never actually encountered while she was in the Mirror Universe in Discovery 's first season, but is nonetheless instantly familiar with.

While aboard, we learn that while this ship was part of the Terran Starfleet. At some point after the events of "Mirror, Mirror," a group of rebellious reformers commandeered this Enterprise , turning it into a ship of hope. Book finds a plaque on the ship which commemorates the ship's journey, pointing out that "The Terran High Chancellor was killed for trying to make reforms." This could reference Mirror Spock, though Burnham and Book would have no way of knowing that.

In "Mirror, Mirror," Kirk challenged Mirror Spock to be better, and try to reform the Empire which, we learned, actually did happen. But, interestingly, Burnham and Book only have one piece of the puzzle, the audience of all of the Star Trek franchise, has the rest.

The Deep Space Nine Connection

"Crossover"

In the 1994  Deep Space Nine episode " Crossover ," Kira and Bashir find themselves in the Mirror Universe after a warp bubble kerfuffle spits them out the Bajorian wormhole and into very unfamiliar territory. They’re in the Mirror Universe all right, but this is the 24th Century version of the Mirror Universe, not the 23rd Century time frame from "Mirror, Mirror." Kira comes face to face with her Mirror self, Intendant Kira, who tells her all about how Spock became the leader of the Empire, and began "preaching reforms" and "peace."

This neatly parallels what Book says in "Mirrors," but now, we learn that some Terrans who believed in peace escaped on the I.S.S. Enterprise . While the DS9 future of the Mirror Universe was bleak for Terrans, we now learn that some survived, and even made it to the Prime Universe thanks to the Enterprise . 

The Story of Another Wayward, Vintage Starship

"In A Mirror Darkly, Part 2"

The Constitution -class I.S.S. Enterprise 's journey from the Mirror Universe of the 23rd Century to the 32nd Century is also reminiscent of another TOS Mirror Universe starship crossover. Back in Discovery 's first season, the crew learns everything they need to know about the Mirror Universe thanks to information about the U.S.S. Defiant , a ship, which like the I.S.S. Enterprise , eventually moved across universes and time, as well.

In the 1968 Original Series episode " The Tholian Web ," the U.S.S. Defiant vanishes, only to reappear in the 2005 Enterprise two-parter, " In a Mirror, Darkly ." As Burnham puts it in "Despite Yourself," this journey is unorthodox, "Data suggests that in the future, the Defiant will encounter a phenomenon that'll bring it into this alternative universe's past." This means that not only did the Defiant cross universes, but time-traveled too, from the 23rd Century setting of The Original Series , to the 22nd Century setting of Star Trek: Enterprise . 

The I.S.S. Enterprise didn't travel from the 23rd century Mirror Universe straight to the 32nd century Prime Universe. As we learned in Discovery 's third season, crossing over directly between these universes at this point in time is impossible. But, it did crossover sometime before the end of the 24th Century; one of the mysterious 24th Century scientists, Dr. Cho, was Terran. And, that detail, brings the journey of the I.S.S. Enterprise , all the way back to the story of Discovery .

Discovery 's Hopeful Mirror Universe Tale

Book reads the journey of the I.S.S. Enterprise to Burnham, mentioning that this crew escaped all thanks to the help of a "Keplian slave turned rebel leader." Instantly, Book and Burnham know this can only mean "Action Saru" himself, from the Mirror Universe.

This detail ties into Season 3's two-parter, " Terra Firma ," in which Georgiou re-entered the Mirror Universe in the 23rd Century, at a point in time prior to Burnham's crossover in Season 1. But, in this version of the Mirror Universe, Georgiou, like Mirror Spock, tried to affect some positive change, which had dire consequences for her. But, at the same time, in this Mirror Universe, Georgiou had also freed Saru, and we did see him leading a rebellion toward the end of the episode. As the Guardian of Forever told Georgiou in " Terra Firma, Part 2 ," her actions in at least one version of the Mirror Universe had a big, positive impact, "You saved a Kelpien. And you didn't have to do that. And he'll save others. A lot of them."

So, thanks to Georgiou, Mirror Spock, and Action Saru, the story of the Mirror Universe in Star Trek: Discovery 's final season has become an optimistic one. Like the idealistic Terran rebels in Deep Space Nine 's " Through the Looking Glass ," not all stories about the darkest dimension in Star Trek have to end in despair. And thanks to crossover between dimensions, the I.S.S. Enterprise has now become a beacon of hope in not one universe, but two.

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Ryan Britt is the author of the nonfiction books Phasers on Stun! How the Making and Remaking of Star Trek Changed the World (2022), The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (2023), and the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read (2015). He is a longtime contributor to Star Trek.com and his writing regularly appears with Inverse, Den of Geek!, Esquire and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Maine with his family.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.