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When it became known that Khan would be the antagonist of Star Trek II, how was the fan reaction?

FTL travel violates the laws of physics.

Yes, it does. Do better than chanting "Alcubierre."
How about astrophysics, via the fact that the Universe is expanding at over THREE TIMES lightspeed.
Nothing of the kind. How much sf of the 50s and 60s have you actually read?
It doesnt count if nobody has ever seen or heard of it.
 
Trolling
How about astrophysics, via the fact that the Universe is expanding at over THREE TIMES lightspeed.

Okay, there's one more thing you don't understand. We'll add it to the list.


It doesnt count if nobody has ever seen or heard of it.
Lots of people have seen or heard of it, including many who worked on Star Trek. Like the guy who wrote "Devil in the Dark."

Just not you.
 
I was 9 years old, so I didn’t even know who Khan was. But even at 9, and never having seen Space Seed, I could completely understand what was going on with just the tiny bit of backstory the movie provided.
Yeah, right just like you understood that planets spontaneously explode and push other planets into their place, rather than that the Enterprise was a scientific research vessel for choosing safe colonization sites.
That was the RET of CON, saying Khan was a criminal in exile that tried to steal Kirks ship and murder him. When actually, Khan was the absolute ruler of 25% of Earth in 1997, but there were no massacres under his rule, and no war until he was attacked.... and he wanted to save humanity and find a suitable planet to lead, and asked the crew to join him. Meanwhile Kirk had dropped ALL CHARGES, since it would be a waste of Khans vast potential, and he hadnt harmed anyone.
Meanwhile Khan CHOSE to live on the planet, and finish his original mission as a world ruler, rather than live in the 23rd century as a populist.

If you even watched Space Seed, your view was clearly tainted by the film.
 
Nice dodge, and I don't mean a pickup.
No, I meant it from the start.

But by all means, feel free to name any science fiction of note, which subverted the standard theme of evil aliens and mustache twirling humans in this manner.
 
It's amusing that Khan as a character was elevated from being one of dozens of TOS antagonists into an enduring figure in pop culture on the basis of Montalban's verging-on-camp performance in TWOK.

He's nearly a Batman '66 villain Ala Caesar Romero.

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Aliens that are initially hostile but turn out to be sympathetic:
“The Martian Chronicles” (1950) — Ray Bradbury

Aliens that seem threatening but are actually relateable:
"Childhood's End" (1953) Arthur C. Clarke

Human antagonists who are not "mustache twirling" villains:
“The Stars My Destination” (1956) — Alfred Bester
 
Aliens that are initially hostile but turn out to be sympathetic:
“The Martian Chronicles” (1950) — Ray Bradbury

Aliens that seem threatening but are actually relateable:
"Childhood's End" (1953) Arthur C. Clarke

Human antagonists who are not "mustache twirling" villains:
“The Stars My Destination” (1956) — Alfred Bester

I’ve seen and heard of these, so I’d just like to make it clear that they count.
 
I’ve seen and heard of these, so I’d just like to make it clear that they count.
People who try to discount prose sf in order to paint mass media like Star Trek as groundbreaking in its futuristic notions or narrative content are unfamiliar with the genre and its history.

TV and popular films are derivative almost by nature.
 
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People who try to discount prose sf in order to paint stuff like Star Trek as groundbreaking in its futuristic notions or narrative content are unfamiliar with the genre and its history.

There are those who believe that sci-fi basically started with Forbidden Planet and that’s just tragic. As a kid, I was fed Bradbury, Clarke, Asimov, Herbert and Bester by my older brother.

Figuratively of course.

And the roots go far deeper than that. Centuries deeper.
 
Was it unexpected? Did it seem strange to have a direct sequel to an episode of the classic series? And how was Khan perceived before the film? A worthy adversary? Or did he owe all his success to the film, and before its release, fans were thinking, "Who, him?!"?
To answer the OP, it seemed intriguing that they'd do a sequel. The original episode was a popular one. And there was a commonly held opinion that what Bennett may have "seen" in "Space Seed" was the fact that in 1981 Montalban was a bigger name than any of the Trek cast, and willing to work for TV rates despite also having a forty-year film career; Fantasy Island was a top-20 network television series and Montalban had high audience recognition and popularity from his association with it.
 
Okay, there's one more thing you don't understand. We'll add it to the list.



Lots of people have seen or heard of it, including many who worked on Star Trek. Like the guy who wrote "Devil in the Dark."

Just not you.
@Mudd : Warning for trolling. This post was clearly trying to goad the other guy into a reaction.
You ARE the list... the IGNORE list.



Empty vessels make the most noise... and empty heads even more so.
Warning for flaming. Deal with the post, not the poster.

If either of you has a problem, PM me per board rules.
 
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