My first Star Trek experience came in a little shack in a run-down neighborhood off Northwest 10th street in Oklahoma City during the early 1980s. We visited my elderly great-grandpa, Charlie, a chain-smoking ne’er do well, who lived on Social Security payments and pain medications. I remember sitting in that tiny, tiny room on his bed, that functioned as a couch, while he sat in that worn out recliner puffing cigarettes and watching Star Trek.
Watching those old episodes took me to another world where poverty and addiction were things of the past. Instead, humanity charted a new path into a bold future into space on a mission of peace and goodwill, which gave hope to a kid like me growing up in a world where the Soviet Union and the US always seemed at the brink of war much like the Klingons and Federation. Though not containing Klingons, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the culmination of my Star Trek experience and has impacted my life for over thirty years.
We watched episodes like “The Menagerie,” “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” and “Space Seed.” In Space Seed, Khan Noonien Singh and crew, rescued by the Enterprise, attempted to take over the ship and drive a wedge using Lt. McGivers attraction as one means to overthrow Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and company. Of course, this did not work because Kirk was unstoppable and his bond with Spock and McCoy made it impossible to defeat the Enterprise. Because of that, Khan, McGivers and Khan’s crew were exiled to Ceti Alpha V.
The original viewers of Space Seed waited fifteen years to find out what happened. Since my first watch took place in the 1980s, my wait took much less time. The opening scene signaled new life into the Trek franchise, as it took a dramatic departure from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Everything old seemed new – the uniforms, the action, and the effects. But it all felt familiar – the friendship, the perfectly timed Trek humor, and Khan added another connection to the past.
Like so many, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan captivated me. It was Trek at its finest. The nods to classic literature. The impossible odds. The quotable lines. McCoy’s verbal jabs at Spock. And William Shatner at his most Shat-tastic. But what made The Wrath of Khan so moving was the power of the deep bonds of friendship.
The theme of friendship permeates Trek, but especially in The Wrath of Khan. The opening sequence pulls the viewer in as is plunges you into the Kobayashi Maru test and sneakily leads you to believe the Enterprise may have lost key crew. Kirk’s birthday placed him in his 50s and gives us a glimpse at Spock’s human side as he tells him to take back his command and says, “You are my superior officer. You are also my friend. I have been and always shall be yours.”
Then, moments later, McCoy shares a tender moment with his friend. Never addressing him as Admiral, with country doctor demeanor in full force, Dr. McCoy diagnoses his friend with the true problem – loss of purpose. As they sit fireside enjoying that bootlegged Romulan Ale, he implores him “I’m your doctor and I’m your friend. Get back your command. Get it back before you turn into part of this [antique] collection. Get it back before you truly do grow old.” The honest words of friends, even when those words cut like a knife.
And throughout the film, friendship propels the Enterprise. In some ways, I tend to view this movie as the juxtaposition of friendship with self-service. Admiral Kirk relies on the relationships he built with his senior crew. You see this when Lt. Chekov cannot bear to kill his former commander. There is something deeper. Meanwhile, Khan’s own crew say to him, “yours is superior” before he passes into death. Khan never seems willing to sacrifice for those who gave so much to support him. He desires adulation. Kirk, on the other hand, takes risks for his crew and, though commanding, leads with vulnerability and risk for his friends.
Friendship allows Kirk to trust his crew. Friendship is evident when Kirk and Spock communicate “by the book” to buy more time. And old friendship rekindles as Dr. Carol Marcus reunites with her former lover, introducing him to his suspicious, angry son. The twinkle in Kirk’s eye as he bites the apple and says, “I don’t like to lose” as the crew beams back to ship to face Khan again.
Ultimately, friendship saves the Enterprise. In the ultimate act of sacrifice, Spock gives his life to save the crew. The look on Kirk’s face when he sees Spock’s empty chair as Scotty calls him to engineering says everything. The final conversation between Admiral and Captain is not merely an exercise in military decorum, but true friendship. The Vulcan salute as two dear friends, separated by death and glass, say their parting words demonstrate the bond of love shared by friends.
As Spock’s lifeless body is about to jettison to the Genesis planet, Kirk bestows the ultimate compliment when he says, “of all the souls I’ve encountered, his was the most…human.” Khan’s death birthed Genesis and Spock’s death created something new as Kirk bonds with his son over the death of his dear friend. In the end, friendship overcomes all.
I’ve seen The Wrath of Khan over 200 times since I first watched it as a boy. I can quote every line when I watch it. Unfortunately, I never saw it with my great-grandfather. He passed away before we had the ability to watch it together, given the technical constraints of the mid-1980s, and living on the edge of lower to middle-class America in Reagan’s 80s.
Though Charlie and I never bonded over Kirk shrieking “Khaaaaaaaannnnnnn! Khaaaaaaaannnnnnn!!,” he did introduce me to this universe of possibilities. In a way, he introduced me to a narrative as old as humanity itself, yet as alluring as the 23rd Century – the bond of true friendship. I loved my great-grandpa, scallywag as he was. I loved watching Trek with him. I’m glad I first met Khan Noonien Singh sitting on that twin bed in the shack he built in that run down neighborhood in Oklahoma City. Whenever I see The Wrath of Khan the friendship that holds that movie together makes me think of the bonds created in that little house as a little boy who had no idea how much Trek would impact his life.
