• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Chekov Needs Medical Attention (TWOK)

Tallguy

Tallguy

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
We watched TWOK tonight. (Yay!)

I don't believe I have ever noticed this: When Jim and Carol have their heart to heart poor Pavel Chekov, first officer of the U.S.S. Reliant is still laying wounded in the corner. Hmmm. Then I realized that Jim and Carol LEAVE him to go see the cave. THEN I REALIZED: When we see the Gang laying about waiting for Spock to be ready, TWO HOURS later... CHEKOV ISN'T THERE. Poor fellow has had this terrible traumatic experience, has just had his brain assaulted buy a space eel, and the only doctor on the planet leaves him in a tunnel while the doc reminisces with friends.

If I hadn't remembered his later scenes I was half expecting them to beam up without him!
 
It would seem that Chekov's recovery was, in no small part, due to Terrell's death...after Terrell commits suicide, Chekov's eel somehow senses the death of its "brother" and thus instinctively forces its way out. And as soon as the eel leaves him, Chekov is able to recover relatively quickly.

(if the eel had remained in Chekov's head much longer, the "madness...and death" Khan spoke of, would have been much more likely.)

In any case, somebody must have seen to Chekov's needs, as he later reports for duty on the Enterprise ("Could you use another hand, Captain?").
 
Last edited:
Sadly, I was too busy noticing the bright and colorful and out-of-place blue, red, and yellow canisters as they must surely represent the old TOS TV show being buried in the middle of nowhere. More 4th wall easter egg things than in a bowl of steaming hot hasenpfeffer...

Actually, I'm more curious as to how the little fritter decided to leave Chekov right on cue. My guess is that strong conflicting emotions releases too many brain chemicals that are like souring baby's formula and, in effect, terrorizes the little bloodsuckers to go nuts -- like any one of us chucking a stink bomb in the bathroom* the way Bart Simpson had, with all the room's said occupants wanting to scarper straightaway. Had Terrell held out a little longer, he would not have died and could have been in sequels instead of becoming a comic relief character for "227" and Darmok and others. Then again, we'd lose out on admirals Morrow and Cartwright and Cartwright rules them all. Still, Paul Winfield is always fun to watch. Loved his stoic nature in TWOK, but I digress. Chekov was a quick healer, after TMP had shown when he was promptly fried by VGer's lightning (also on cue.)

It's probably a small script oversight. After reading on the number of rewrites and how fast some had to be, it's amazing how tight the end result is. (So glad they dropped McGivers entirely, save for her death. The dialogue she had was awful...)


* or frog in the ladies' dorm as some stupid frat joke from an early-80s camp movie**, but the end result is always the same.

** Didn't they do that in one of the forty "Meatballs" movies***?

*** Yeah, there's only four, but they feel ten times as many...​
 
Qonundrum said:
I'm more curious as to how the little fritter decided to leave Chekov right on cue.
Click to expand...

As I suggested, the eel in Chekov's brain probably sensed the death of its "twin" and was agitated enough to leave Chekov's head right then and there.

That's the vibe I got from that scene, anyway.

On the other hand, the thing that *I* don't get about this whole Ceti eel thing is - if the eels in the brain render Terrell and Chekov vulnerable to suggestion, why is it only Khan's suggestion that they obey? Shouldn't they take orders from whoever happens to be near them at the time? Why is Khan the only one who can control them?
 
Mr. Laser Beam said:
On the other hand, the thing that *I* don't get about this whole Ceti eel thing is - if the eels in the brain render Terrell and Chekov vulnerable to suggestion, why is it only Khan's suggestion that they obey? Shouldn't they take orders from whoever happens to be near them at the time? Why is Khan the only one who can control them?
Click to expand...
I always took it as a result of his highly detailed experience with what was basically the remaining lifeform on the planet. He, himself might have further bred them for this specific purpose over many years, presuming that if he ever could escape the planet, he'd need a tool to gain advantage & power. This is why I don't think Khan was as frivolous a threat as others might suggest. He was planning much more than to just capture a Starfleet ship & get revenge on his nemesis. With a cache of Ceti Eels, he might have been able to subdue key persons that would allow him to gain control over much more.
 
Perhaps Khan bonded with them. They tried to attack him and make him suggestible to their will, as some fungi do to insects.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Because of his superior will, physiology, and intellect, Khan won the battle of wills and got them to do his bidding instead.

As for poor Pavel, perhaps all he needed post-medical attention was a good long nap, partially induced by his meds. Sitting next to him while he was unconscious wouldn't help anything.
 
That must have been very uncomfortable for Chekov. Of course, he was physically uncomfortable from what he just went through with the eel, but now he has to listen to this very intimate conversation between Jim and Carol 10 feet away from him. Surely, they could tell he was conscious and listening to what they were saying. I found that odd, and even more odd that they got up and left without even looking at him. I mean, that did know he was there, right?
 
Laura Cynthia Chambers said:
As for poor Pavel, perhaps all he needed post-medical attention was a good long nap, partially induced by his meds.
Click to expand...
Chekov looked like he was still half asleep when he reported for duty on the Enterprise bridge. It was kind of funny how he lumbered his way to the weapons console.

Maybe what Chekov really needed was more nap (recovery) time instead of rushing back to work.

Interestingly, Chekov also needed medical attention in TMP.

We didn't get to see the quality or timeliness of the medical care Chekov received, if any, in TWOK; but Chekov definitely got immediate care after his hand got zapped by a bolt of electricity in TMP. He got attention not just from Chapel, MD, but from Ilia as well. The TLC he got from Ilia's touch seemed to have contributed mightily to his quick recovery in TMP.

It was too bad for Chekov, that there wasn't a Deltan to lend a hand to stimulate Chekov's healing process in TWOK.
 
After the eels, the fall in Voyage Home was yet another head trauma…I think his body chemistry was perhaps less accommodating than Reliant’s Captain.

This also makes me wonder about the TNG “Conspiracy” bugs…convergent evolution…using hosts to spread them to other worlds…
 
David cgc said:
I believe "Chekov getting hurt" was a pattern that started in TOS.
Click to expand...
I think it was "Chekov screams." "The Tholian Web" and "The Way to Eden" kicked that off. TMP, TWOK and then TVH continued the fun and games for Pavel.
 
Tallguy said:
I saw Walter some time before Star Trek IV came out. He told the audience "Yes, you'll all be pleased to know that Chekov gets hurt again in this film!"
Click to expand...

I bet nothing had hurt more than that outfit he had in TSFS...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I know sci-fi is supposed to predict and creatively have a go at fashion trends, but freeze-frame at 0:21 then wince. It's so over the top as it is 6 years too late to fit into Studio 54.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
There be collars removed!

I forgot just how good that battle was, too...
 
Last edited:
Must've been laundry day for Chekov when they went rogue. Not only does he lose the collar and... cravat? Waistcoat? ...almost immediately, he also swaps his beige suit for a leather one in TVH, when everyone else wears what they left Earth in. Same shirt, though, which is Starfleet-issue, but for enlisted crew.

Maybe he was raiding the ship’s stores for a change, and all that was left was old disguises from when they visited a Dutch planet or a Cowboy planet.
 
Last edited:
https://fanfare.metafilter.com/9747/Star-Trek-III-The-Search-for-Spock

OH YEAH Chekov's Little Lord Fauntleroy getup. lolol

Harve Bennett: ...The first time you see Chekov, well, we didn't see his costume objectively next to Kirk's macho jacket and Bones's marvelous pants. But all of a sudden we see Chekov onstage and he has this great Little Lord Fauntleroy white collar. We got by it without reshooting the day with a series of clever cheats. We got a new collar, picked up close-ups on the black turtleneck for the rest of the picture. But he still has it in the master shot. Bob Fletcher, our costume designer, did Bones from his Georgia background, Kirk from his admiration of naval flyers and stuff like that. This was supposed to be Chekov's admiration - get this - of the poet Pushkin. Now that's a fine hobby for a Russian space person to have, but Pushkin is always drawn in his great Byronic collar from that period and it looks darn silly...

Walter Koenig: That little pink suit was interesting because I thought it was kind of ridiculous looking...We shot some footage with it and Michael Eisner looked at the dailies and said he didn't like it and Leonard came up to me and said "We're going to take you out of the costume." I said "Thank God," and he said "Why didn't you say something?" I was a little bit irritated, thinking "Why the hell didn't I say anything?" It was because I was so into this mindset that I was just the hired help and had no input...
 
Ssosmcin said:
I think it was "Chekov screams." "The Tholian Web" and "The Way to Eden" kicked that off. TMP, TWOK and then TVH continued the fun and games for Pavel.
Click to expand...
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top