TWOK, Koenig and "I never forget a face."

[balls]

Just curious, when Walter Koenig read the script for TWOK, did he ever express to Meyer or Bennett, "Hey, you guys do know that I wasn't even on the series when Montalban was on?" I'm guessing the idea of continuity wasn't a big deal back in 81 when they were making the movie, but did they even think about away around the issue that Chekov wasn't aboard during Khan's visit? I vaguely remember someone (don't recall if it was Meyer) joking that Chekov was on the ship and Khan needed the bathroom and he was in it. When Chekov exited the bathroom, Khan vowed to never forget his face.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Koenig has said that he realized the continuity error, but he also realized that they could very easily rewrite the script and make it so that Sulu or Uhura was the one who found Khan. It was a good part with more for him to do than usual, so he decided to say nothing.

I probably would have done the same thing in his shoes.

 

[Sibyl]

Isn't that what any actor would do?

There's pay at stake.

 

[Tenacity]

There's pay at stake.

For a actor, more important there's screen time and amount of dialog at stake.

I've never viewed Khans "I never forget a face" as a plot hole. There are simply too many ways to explain away Khan seeing Chekov somehow and knowing his name.

It's just a no starter.

 

[Solariabsg25]

Yeah, it's never been a big thing to me, and a simple hand-wave to say that Chekov was on board the ship, just wasn't bridge crew in Series One. After all, we never assume Nurse Chappell isn't on the Enterprise simply because she's not in a particular episode.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

And heck, "Space Seed" gives us a ready made answer right in the episode. Khan takes over engineering, a sequence that is never seen. Not too big of a stretch to imagine that young Ensign Chekov was one of the people in engineering who fought back against Khan. That could very likely be how he first came to the attention of Captain Kirk.

In his novel To Reign in Hell, Greg Cox had Chekov supervising the transfer of Khan's people to Ceti Alpha V after the episode. That's another possibility that isn't any kind of stretch.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I always thought Chekov in "Space Seed" was an offscreen security officer.

I mean, he's security chief in TMP, so logically he must have spent some time as a redshirt at some point.

 

[MacLeod]

I always thought Chekov in "Space Seed" was an offscreen security officer.

I mean, he's security chief in TMP, so logically he must have spent some time as a redshirt at some point.

Why, Worf seemingly went from a Red Shirt to a Gold shirt Security Chief in TNG.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ True, but Worf in the first season was pretty much a security officer anyway, despite his uniform color.

 

[Timewalker]

I vaguely remember someone (don't recall if it was Meyer) joking that Chekov was on the ship and Khan needed the bathroom and he was in it. When Chekov exited the bathroom, Khan vowed to never forget his face.

This version can't possibly be the correct one, because everyone knows that the Enterprise had no bathrooms.

 

[Tenacity]

^ The ship had bathrooms, but the bathrooms had no toilets.

 

[Lance]

My recollection was that a bathroom was implied in at least one episode of TOS ("Elaan of Troyius", where the Elaan locks herself in what I've always assumed is the bathroom in her guest quarters after arguing with Kirk.)

As for Chekov and Khan, the most compelling evidence that Chekov was on board the ship before the Botany Bay incident is that, if as we do with most of Star Trek, we assume the stardates indicate chronological order, then "Catspaw" (featuring Chekov) has a stardate that pre-dates "Space Seed" (featuring Khan). Ergo, Chekov was on the ship in "Space Seed", just not seen in that episode. That one episode was broadcast in season one and the other in season two is immaterial.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

As for Chekov and Khan, the most compelling evidence that Chekov was on board the ship before the Botany Bay incident is that, if as we do with most of Star Trek, we assume the stardates indicate chronological order, then "Catspaw" (featuring Chekov) has a stardate that pre-dates "Space Seed" (featuring Khan). Ergo, Chekov was on the ship in "Space Seed", just not seen in that episode. That one episode was broadcast in season one and the other in season two is immaterial.

Excellent! I never realized that the stardates indicated these two episodes were broadcast 'out of order'. This simple, excellent explanation, IMHO, should settle this matter about the Chekov & Khan issue ( .... but it probably won't!). The explanation that Chekov was simply elsewhere on the ship, not shown in the broadcast scenes, has always been a satisfactory explanation for me.

 

[Timo]

On top of that, remember how the crew treated Khan and how Khan treated them during the first half of "Space Seed". Like every other crew member of Kirk's, Chekov no doubt still has the superman's autograph on an unwashed body part when he beams down to Ceti Alpha Sandy...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Jayson1]

We could go with the excuse that Khan simply saw Chekov before he became bridge officer. The better idea though is to say that when Khan was a ruler on earth he had gained top level access to American secrets and one of those would have been a little visit to 1980's the crew would take. In those files are photo's of Chekov when he was on the Naval ship "Enterprise." not to mention photo's or even old video of KIrk rescuing him from the hospital. I imagine he has all sorts of info from the Ferengi being the Roswell aliens to Kirk helping Gary Seven. This means Khan new all about the crew when he was rescued and simply said nothing.

Jason

 

[arch101]

This version can't possibly be the correct one, because everyone knows that the Enterprise had no bathrooms.

Gosh, I remember hearing that joke decades ago. Maybe from the year the film came out. Hadn't heard it since. It's still funny, though.

 

[Tenacity]

if as we do with most of Star Trek, we assume the stardates indicate chronological order

In the seventies, when asked about stardates, Roddenberry said that they weren't just about timekeeping, but also involved the ship's position within the galaxy.

I've never assumed stardates during TOS were sequential.

 

[Mytran]

We could go with the excuse that Khan simply saw Chekov before he became bridge officer. The better idea though is to say that when Khan was a ruler on earth he had gained top level access to American secrets and one of those would have been a little visit to 1980's the crew would take. In those files are photo's of Chekov when he was on the Naval ship "Enterprise." not to mention photo's or even old video of KIrk rescuing him from the hospital. I imagine he has all sorts of info from the Ferengi being the Roswell aliens to Kirk helping Gary Seven. This means Khan new all about the crew when he was rescued and simply said nothing.

Jason

This is the best and most original take on the whole Chekov situation I've read in years!

 

[Sibyl]

Original? I'd say. Likely? It's a bit far-fetched, in my opinion.

 

[Timby]

Original? I'd say. Likely? It's a bit far-fetched, in my opinion.

Humor. It is a difficult concept.