in living color star trek wrath of farrakhan

• Apr 21, 1990

Summary In Living Color was the brainchild of Keenen Ivory Wayans, the eldest acting sibling of a large and extremely talented family whose guidance toward his brothers and sisters would help shape his creation into something truly memorable, the likes of which had never been seen prior on US television.In 1989, Keenen set about making a pilot e ... Read More

Directed By : Paul Miller

Written By : Keenen Ivory Wayans, Franklyn Ajaye, Jeanette Collins, Barry Douglas, Terrence Brown, Matt Wickline, Damon Wayans, Joe Toplyn, Buddy Sheffield, Jeff Joseph, Mimi Friedman, Sandy Frank, Rob Edwards, Howard Kuperberg

Season Episodes

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Self - host, various, apollo creed, various, captain james t. kirk, jake, kelly coffield park, various, beverly trapp, daisy werthan, terrence brown, david alan grier, various, antoine mayweather, choir conductor, t'keyah crystal keymáh, various, hilda hedley, at&t announcer, tommy davidson, various, benny, byron hedley, deidre lang, fly girl, vera demilo assistant, self - announcer, announcer, various, grace jones, lt. uhura, shawn wayans, various, self - dj, self - dj, various, damon wayans, various, homey d. clown, blaine edwards, fab 'milli vanilli' morvan, godfrey hedley, head detective, hoke colburn, minister louis farrakhan, oswald bates, tom brothers, carrie ann inaba, cari french, lisa marie todd, jennifer lopez, alexandra wentworth, jossie thacker, user reviews.

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The Wrath of Farrakhan

Sketches include: "Do-It-Yourself Milli Vanilli Kit" (cut from DVD) "Arsenio and Marion Barry" "Rap Choir" "Sugar Ray Leonard Transition" "Star Trek: The Wrath of Farrakhan" "Ridin' Miss Daisy"

• Originally Aired April 21, 1990
• Runtime 25 minutes
• Content Rating United States of America TV-PG
• Production Code 7H02
• Network FOX
• On Other Sites IMDB
• Created February 6, 2020 by Administrator admin
• Modified February 6, 2020 by Administrator admin

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Published Oct 2, 2019

Infinite Jests in Infinite Combinations: Looking Back at Star Trek Parodies

We all know about SNL and "USS Callister," but did you know about the less famous 'Trek' parodies criss-cross the quadrant as well?

StarTrek.com

Star Trek parodies are almost as old as Trek itself and in all of its many iterations, the show has made easy fodder for standups and sketch shows. Spoofs like the Saturday Night Live sketches with John Belushi as Captain Kirk and William Shatner himself insisting fans “get a life!” are part of the cultural firmament, and new takes like Black Mirror ’s “ USS Callister ” give the tropes a 21st century spin.

But the well of Trek parody goes far deeper than those better-known examples, and as you’ll see below there are obscure, awkward and just plain weird takes on the U.S.S. Enterprise stretching across the decades.

In Living Color - “The Wrath of Farrakhan”

From the 1970s to the 90s a Star Trek parody was de rigeur for a sketch show, and In Living Color is no exception. “The Wrath of Farrakhan” was one of the first sketches made for the show, and the show's adept take on race is shown with Jim Carrey’s portrayal of a hapless Captain Kirk who doesn’t know what to do with himself once he gets knocked off his captain’s chair by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. It hasn’t aged perfectly (Sulu’s sexual desperation is tin-eared in 2019, and Louis Farrakahn is a complicated figure)  but the sketch is worth it just to see Uhura go off on Kirk and Spock point out that, despite being the most qualified person on the bridge, somehow Spock is only second in command.

Duckman - “Where No Duckman Has Gone Before”

The irreverent animated seiries Duckman was great when it first aired in the early 1990s. Jason Alexander has an effortless charm as the acerbic title character, Greggory Berger is perfect as Duckman’s deadpan foil Cornfed Pig, and the show’s view of modern society as a baffling fail-train still rings true decades later. Duckman’s empty swagger works perfectly for an ersatz, fourth-wall-breaking Kirk, Cornfed is a great Spock, and the choice of Gilbert Gottfried as a loudly unhinged not-McCoy is inspired. Plus there’s Fluffy and Uranus as redshirts, Tim Curry as Khan Chicken, a Marina Sirtis voice cameo and the immortal line “of all the soles I’ve tasted, his had the most..cumin.” It even ends with a live-action Leonard Nimoy cameo! Which leads us to...

The Carol Burnett Show - Mr. Spock’s Surprise Visit

Everything leading up to the reveal of Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock serves to remind us what a gift Carol Burnett was to comedy, hamming it up with an invisible baby and selling it for every second of the sketch. It was, perhaps, one of the best sendups of the name-sharing Mr. Spock and contemporaneous baby expert Dr. Spock we've seen to this day.

Spitting Image

North America didn’t have a monopoly on Trek parodies. In the 1980s Spitting Image skewered British politicians and celebrities, including a peek into the neuroses of “Leo-Nard Neemoy,” as they call him in the clip.

Like most good ideas on UK television, there was soon a short-lived American version. The American version of Spitting Image produced a spoof called “The 1987 American Movie Awards” where an ersatz Oscars show hosted by David Frost is hijacked by Leonard Nimoy and a passel of also-ran actors indignant they weren’t included in the festivities. Despite its age, it’s still quite funny, though considerably less biting than its British predecessor. “Nimoy” also looks great sporting a Starfleet regulation smoking jacket.

The Care Bears - Various Episodes

No-one should be surprised the Care Bears spoofed Star Trek; by this point Trek was a known pop culture phenomenon and was low-hanging fruit for TV writers on every rung of the career ladder. But what is surprising is that they milked the concept in almost a dozen saccharine-filled toyetic segments without getting sued. If you can get through this playlist, you’re a better person than I, or at least have a higher pain tolerance.

SCTV - “Check Please”

It’s only a commercial for a non-existent sitcom starring Spock and McCoy running a diner called “Check Please,” but in the space of about a minute Dave Thomas delivers a credible imitation of Dr. McCoy and Harold Ramis nearly convinces audiences that Spock would make a decent waiter!

The Muppet Show - "Pigs In Space"

Ok, this is a bit of a stretch, but there’s no way Pigs In Space would exist without Star Trek . Besides, the parallels between Link Hogthrob and Kirk are obvious, as are those between McCoy and Dr. Julius Strangepork. The ship is even called the Swine Trek!

The Firm - "Star Trekkin’"

UK band The Firm released this novelty hit in 1987 and it forever became the anthem of dank Star Trek clubs shortly thereafter. In the time before the infinite choices of the internet, this tune simultaneously increased one’s nerd shame while validating dedication to all things Trek . The British public seemed to enjoy the song as it spent two weeks at the top of the charts. The creators of the song decided not to appear on Top of the Pops (a TRL -esque British show) and instead commissioned a charmingly cheap music video. The stop motion and DIY puppetry made for a potent mix paired with one of the nerdiest earworms made up to that time. Looked at from a 2019 perspective, one could call "Star Trekkin’" one of the original memes.

Warren Frey (he/him) is a journalist, video editor and Star Trek fan in Vancouver, BC. He’s also one of the co-hosts of Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro. Find him on Twitter @freyburg.

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Top 11 Pop Culture References To ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan’

| June 3, 2017 | By: Matt Wright 24 comments so far

On June 4th, 1982,  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  premiered to critical and fan praise along with box office success. 35 years later it is still considered one of the best – if not the best – entry in the franchise. We already spoke to writer-director Nick Meyer about the movie’s legacy , but one of the best ways to measure the impact of film is through pop culture references over the decades, especially when it pops up in other TV shows. So today we present eleven of our favorite  Wrath of Khan homages to celebrate its anniversary.

11. In Living Color “The Wrath of Farrakhan”

Jim Carrey does his best Shatner in this Star Trek parody about the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan taking over the Enterprise, naturally prompting a “Farrakhaaaan!” scream.

10. Nerd bonding on Hawaii Five-0

In the episode “Ke Koho Mamao Aku,” Max and Sanjit  feud over “Janice Rand” (really a 1996 Star Trek 30th anniversary Barbie doll ) but eventually make up and vow they “have been and always shall be” friends.

9. Spock in the Bible on  South Park

In “Spontaneous Combustion,” Stan gives his dad a pep talk with a Bible quote, which Kyle points out is actually a Spock quote from The Wrath of Khan .

8. Clint Howard’s Khan warning on Fringe

In the episode “The Road Not Taken,” Olivia and Peter meet a concerned citizen (played by Clint Howard, who was in  three different Star Trek series  across three different decades) who thinks his name is “Spock” and who worries about a government cover-up to make a genetically engineered superman named “Khan.”

7. ‘Caaaaaan’ on the The Critic

In “From Chunk to Hunk,” there was a quick bit when Jay references the works of William Shatner, and we get a twofer with both a Rescue 911  nod and a  Khan scream parody, in honor of James “Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.”

6. Khan tries to shut down the Enterprise on SNL

Everyone remembers William Shatner’s classic “Get a Life!” moment when he hosted  Saturday Night Live in 1986, but there was another Trek sketch set on board the “Restaurant Enterprise” that envisioned Khan (played by Dana Carvey) as a health inspector.

5. Montalban parodies himself on Freakazoid

Casting Ricardo Montalban as a villain in this cult classic cousin to Animaniacs  was just begging for a Khan parody, which he delivered often.

4. ‘Wheatonnn!’ on The Big Bang Theory

Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Wil Wheaton is sort of Sheldon’s Khan as a recurring character on The Big Bang Theory and in “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary” this was made very clear with yet another Khan yell variant.

3. Rupert’s funeral on Family Guy

One of the most overt Wrath of Khan homages was is in “Road to Rupert,” which features Stewie’s teddy bear getting a very Spock-like funeral. (Apologies for the less than ideal video below.)

2. George’s scream on Seinfeld

In the episode “The Foundation,” Jerry quotes Kirk’s words about the loss of Spock ,which gets George (played by big Trekkie and future  Voyager guest star Jason Alexander) sucked into a foundation set up to honor his dead fiancé, prompting him to deliver his version of Shatner’s famous Wrath of Khan scream.

1. Operatic Khan on Robot Chicken

There is something so perfect about turning The Wrath of Khan into an opera – with action figures – in “Le Wrath Di Khan.”

What are your favorites?

Do you agree with our ranking? Did we miss any? What are some of your favorite Wrath of Khan references? Sound off in the comments below.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Original article upped from 10 to 11 things because we can’t help ourselves and thanks for reader suggestion.

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I’d add the other hilarious Robot Chicken segment: https://youtu.be/l2zpDpZ90cM

I love how it’s just a long setup for that one joke.

No mention of the first Wil Wheaton episode from Big Bang with multiple Khan references, namely “Wheeeaton!” from Sheldon.

You are welcome Trekmovie! :-)

Well, there’s Free Enterprise too, where they do the Khan yell as they are walking to go see a showing of Khan. Not so much a pop culture parody, I guess.

That is awesome!!! Bear Down!

Plus that episode of Family Guy where Montalban plays a cow.

That was absolutely hysterical.

Speaking of ANIMANIACS, it’s tenuous but a reboot is being pursued thanks to its Netflix numbers.

http://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/animaniacs-reboot-steven-spielberg-amblin-1201817336/

Yeah I saw that. Not sure how I feel about that…

A darker, grittier Animaniacs….

The Weeknd has a weird reference to it in his 2016 hit song Starboy (ft. Daft Punk). The reference is ”…Star Trek roof in that wraith of Khan…”, and you can hear it at 2:28.

I perhaps would have included Jon Stewart’s take on the KHAAN!! yell on The Daily Show, which he did several times, complete with overhead camera angle. I remember one occasion was a scientist named Khan was caught selling nuclear secrets.

I never understood why they do the overhead angle in parodies of it; wasn’t the original scene a simple, slow zoom, on Kirk’s face, at a flat angle?

Perhaps an eliding of that and the pov of where the camera pulls back for the echo?

Wheeaaattonnn!

The Star Truck segment of Animaniacs starts at 6:51: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3bE_a7IoRM

I loved the opera. I would actually pay to see that!

I miss Phil Hartman.

In an episode of Disney’s Talespin which features characters from the Jungle Book including Shere Khan, one character says “No one is dumb enough to risk the wrath of Khan.”

I think you mean LOUIE’S LAST STAND’s:

“No one’s foolish enough to risk the wrath of Khan.” — Chuck Tately, scriptwriter

I’m pretty sure DISNEY AFTERNOON’s standards and practices did their best to eliminate the use of “dumb” as an appellation referencing people including anthropomorphs.

A homage to the “Khaaan” scream was featured more than once in Seinfeld. In the episode “The Susie” (also 8th season) Elaine screams out “Suuuuuuz” with the same camera effect.

Can’t find a suitable link at the moment, but as for family guy… the brief but hilarious cut of them watching “Star Trek II TWK, edited for goats” is way better than the Spock/Bufford burial scene – that was “cute” but the goat thing… lets just say I’m glad I wasn’t taking a drink at the time.

Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8L4yvDQQHM

W.A. Hughes

Writer performer he/him/his, great sketches #4: “the wrath of farrakhan”, in living color.

What makes a sketch dated? It might seem like there’s no surer way to give your work a sell-by date than by inserting references and characters that are ripped from the headlines of a moment, but I would argue that ideas and attitudes age worse than names and events. As a recent revisit to the Al Gore “lock box” bit has proved for me, SNL’s best political bits can still funny even years after their original air date if there’s a deeper logic and purpose under all the jabs.

Take In Living Color,  the 90’s show that helped launch the Wayans family, David Alan Grier and Jim Carrey into stardom. On the one hand, many of its sketches traffic in jokes that trade on gay, sexist and racial stereotypes in a way that have not aged very well, even though this was hardly the only show to benefit from this. At the same time, we have sketches like “The Wrath of Farrakhan”, which nods to some positively ancient cultural figures (by today’s standards) while staging a surprisingly relevant parable about inequality in entertainment.

To understand this sketch, you really only need to be familiar with two things: original series  Star Trek  and Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan (and if you don’t know the latter, the sketch helpfully explains who he is for you). I imagine that once the writers noticed the inescapable pun with  Wrath of Khan  the rest kind of fell into place. In 2018, this bit fits comfortably alongside the  Black Mirror “USS Callister”   episode and the ongoing conversations about privilege and representation, while still being quite funny and including such memorable lines as “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” pronounced with a soft “f”.

The sketch itself pits the original Enterprise crew, led, of course, by Captain James T. Kirk (Jim Carrey) against the minister (Damon Wayans) and two of his cohorts, who beam aboard to confront the captain about the oppression on his bridge. The real life Farrakhan has said plenty of objectionable things , and other  In Living Color  sketches would poke fun at his paranoia and antisemitic rhetoric. Here, though, Wayans’ impression is merely a device (albeit a fun one) to voice problems that many people of color have likely had with Star Trek’s  supposedly “utopian” vision of the future from the beginning. Or, as Wayans puts it, “it is that same lie that’s got white boys rapping and the Fat Boys acting “.

As Carrey’s Kirk overacts to superhuman levels, Farrakhan stokes mutiny among the crew. It’s hard to argue against him. For example, if Lieutenant Uhura (played by Kim Wayans here) is an equal member of the team, how come she’s mainly a glorified secretary (and, as the sketch puts it “occasional chocolate fantasy”) for Kirk? In its original airdate, the character of Uhura was seen as revolutionary, but in hindsight much of her significance comes from simply existing rather than being given much agency as a character, at least until later media.

The same goes for Mr. Sulu (Kipp Shiotai), who lists off the ethnic slurs he’s had to endure under the Kirk regime. While the humor here does depend on objectifying women and assigning racial cliches to Uhura and Sulu (sassy black woman and “horny Asian brother”, respectively), you could argue that this is all part of the point. Kirk is perfectly fine with stereotyping his crew as long as they don’t challenge his authority. Plus, Sulu’s despair at being denied the chance to “do the nasty” with any of the show’s infamous sexy alien ladies echoes more recent concerns about the lack of romantic lead roles for Asian men .

Once David Alan Grier’s Spock calls him a “Caucasoid”, Kirk makes one last attempt to get Farrakhan off his ship, but ends up whimpering like a little child and running off to his room as the minister takes the captain’s seat. Even in a parody, even knowing the baggage of Farrakhan, the final sight of the spaceship traveling to Sylvia’s Soul Food Shack with the hypermasculine Kirk dethroned is strangely inspiring.

I always feel like I’m killing the actual jokes in these sketches by analyzing them. There’s so much to be said about this piece before you even touch on how funny it is. Damon Wayans’ Farrakhan would reappear several times in future  In Living Color  episodes, which makes the audience’s immediate response to him all the more remarkable. They’re not laughing because they’ve seen his other sketches, since this was only the show’s second episode. And all the supporting actors are great, from Farrakhan’s call-and-response cronies to the rest of the Enterprise crew.  There’s also a neat inversion going on here: the original Captain Kirk was always lauded for being human and emotional, but Carrey’s version acts more like a scrawny malfunctioning robot than a real person. Naturally, this lets the normally “alien” Spock come across as a level-headed dude with some good points to make (at least one person involved with this must have been a legit Trek fan, too, for there to be a reference to Nimoy being “a better director” than Shatner).

Trek heads have long rhapsodized about creator’s Gene Roddenberry’s supposedly hopeful, multiracial vision of the future, but that doesn’t mean it’s always been perceived the same way by every viewer. A sketch like this reminds us that Hollywood often expects people of color to be satisfied with negligible progress while it insists on putting white people front and center. In its own way, this sketch is both subversive and optimistic, and damn if it doesn’t make me feel like there’s still a chance to use science fiction  to empower the less privileged. Wouldn’t that be Vulcan grand?

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In Living Color: Season One

Fox, 3 discs, 299 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 May 31, 2004

by J. Williams

May 18, 2004

Rating: 3.5 of 5

This Emmy-nominated, Image Award-winning 1990s time-capsule TV series served as a springboard to stardom for the likes of Jim Carrey, the Wayans family--including creator Keenan Ivory Wayans--Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, and that big-butt Fly Girl J. Lo. But in 1990 the talented ensemble cast of this Fox-aired sketch comedy show was comprised of a bunch of hungry, largely unheard-of comedians who pushed themselves to the max for laughs and recognition. Tackling topics related to race, status, and stereotypes, as well as spoofing current events and people in the news, this 13-episode set--containing five-to-eight sketches each, coupled with hip sequences by the Fly Girl dancers--includes memorable bits such as the “Do-It-Yourself Milli Vanilli Kit,” Star Trek -spoof “The Wrath of Farrakhan,” “The Making of a Tracy Chapman Song” (with Kim Wayans' spot-on imitation of the singer), “Andrea Dice Clay,” “Michael Jackson Potato Head” (complete with peeler to update Jackson's lighter look--ouch!), “Ray Charles in Charge,” and “Mitzvah Train.” The debut season also launched recurring skits and characters, including “Homey the Clown” (Damon Wayans as a crabby clown), the “Hey Mon” Jamaican Hedley family, “Great Moments in Black History,” “Homeboy Shopping Network” (Damon and Keenan peddle stolen goods in a QVC-style program), “Vera DeMilo” (Carrey as a pigtailed, freakish female bodybuilder), “Ted Turner's Very Colorized Classics,” and, my favorite, the “Men on…” segments, featuring Damon and David Alan Grier as overtly gay critics. A blast of bawdy humor nostalgia, the In Living Color: Season One box set also includes a “Looking Back” segment and a Fly Girls featurette. Highly recommended. ( J. Williams )

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In Living Color - Season 1

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Product Description

The complete first season of the TV series In Living Color.

Like the first season of SNL , In Living Color played provocateur, with such politically incorrect sketches as "Homeboy Shopping Network," "This Old Box," and "Ted Turner's Very Colorized Classics." Other sketches, such as "Riding Miss Daisy," have a stick-it-to-the-man brazenness. Don King, Mike Tyson, Milli Vanilli, and Arsenio Hall are easy targets, but In Living Color did not spare such icons as Richard Pryor. There is the inevitable Oprah roasting, but also a brilliant Star Trek spoof, "The Wrath of Farrakhan." Among the first season's breakout characters are Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier's finger-snapping "Men on Film," and Damon's Homey D. Clown. Carrey struts his stuff as "female" bodybuilder Vera DeMilo. Coffey is a scream as Samantha Kinison and Andrea Dice Clay. While much of the topical humor has dated, sketches such as "Michael Jackson Potato Head" are timeless. The fun of revisiting this groundbreaking series is watching these fearless and talented performers go for broke, and make the most of their unlikely opportunity. --Donald Liebenson

Product details

• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 8.8 ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ Relay Time: 299 min; 3Videos
• Director ‏ : ‎ Keenen Ivory Wayans, Matt Wickline, Paul Miller, Terri McCoy
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Multiple Formats, Color, Subtitled, Dubbed, Full Screen, Dolby
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 4 hours and 59 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ April 6, 2004
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, Kelly Coffield Park, Kim Coles, Tommy Davidson
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Spanish
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
• Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Surround)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ 20th Century Fox
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0000TPA60
• Writers ‏ : ‎ Al Sonja L. Rice, B. Mark Seabrooks, Barry Douglas, Buddy Sheffield
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 3
• #488 in Comedy (Movies & TV)

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In Living Color (TV Series)

The wrath of farrakhan (1990), david alan grier: marion barry, choir conductor, larry, mr. spock.

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In Living Color

The wrath of farrakhan.

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Den of Geek

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Completely Changed Home Media

Without Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the home video market may have never experienced that '80s boom that changed movies forever.

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Along with being arguably the best Star Trek movie ever , 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is an exceptional example of sci-fi filmmaking . It blends action, adventure, love, and horror in ways that few (otherwise great) sci-fi movies have ever come close to replicating, and decades’ worth of repeat viewings and shared praise have certainly helped capture the scope of the film’s accomplishments. 

Yet, there is one part of Wrath of Khan ’s considerable legacy that remains as forgotten as the marooned settlers of Ceti Alpha V. It is the movie that not only contributed to the end of the format wars but effectively paved the way for the home media market that forever changed the way we watch (and re-watch) our favorite movies and TV shows.

The Absurdly High Costs of the VHS vs. Betamax Wars

The VHS vs. Betamax format war doesn’t even feel like a cultural skirmish these days. By the mid-1980s, VHS had established its market dominance so completely that the word “Betamax” soon became shorthand in certain circles for jokes about failed products. The popular perception was that Betamax was simply the inferior product. But the truth is much more complicated and interesting than that. 

Early on, Betamax was considered to be the vastly superior format in most traditional ways. Betamax tapes offered better video quality, clearer sound, and were not only smaller than early VHS tapes but were generally considered to be more durable. If someone sat you down and showed you the Betamax and VHS versions of the same movie playing side-by-side, you would almost certainly choose to continue watching the Betamax tape. While VHS tapes and players enjoyed several improvements over the years that gradually closed the technical gap, Betamax usually offered a better overall viewing experience.

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We’re ultimately talking about a retail battle, though, and the VHS format offered several benefits that consumers felt were worth the sacrifices in quality. Namely, VHS tapes/players boasted significantly longer total recording times, which proved to be a big selling point early on when many early adopters who purchased VCRs to record programs off of their TVs.

VHS manufacturer JVC was also much more willing to license its technology out to other companies early on, whereas Sony was comparatively more protective of its Betamax technology. Even when given the choice between those formats, companies soon discovered that VHS players were often much cheaper to manufacture. That also meant that VHS players and tapes were cheaper for consumers.

However, it’s also important to consider that both formats were ludicrously expensive for the average person. The first Betamax players typically retailed for around $1500 to $2000 (or more) for a few years after they debuted in 1975 . Adjusted for inflation, that would be around $8,500 to $11,000 today. Comparatively, you could buy a VHS player for around $1,000 to $1,500 when it launched in 1977. Those prices would fluctuate over the years, but even by 1983, a VHS player would typically still run you about $500 (around $1500 today). 

Worse was the cost of individual movies. While blank tapes could be purchased fairly cheaply (relative to the absurd costs noted above, that is) purchasing a tape of a major new movie on tape would typically cost you about $80-$100 up until around the early-to-mid ‘80s.

Again, the exact prices tended to fluctuate, but the point remained the same. Given the investment required, Betamax and VHS manufacturers typically saw the home media market as a concept that only appealed to wealthy enthusiasts. Even then, the thought was that those who purchased players would rely on recordings for entertainment, and those who did purchase movies would rent them from video stores and other outlets that were part of studios’ wholesale business strategy.

The thought of owning a personal library of movies was an almost unfathomable luxury at that time. To change that, a major studio would have to boldly go where no studio had gone before. 

Planting the Space Seed

By the early 1980s, some much-needed price drops on Betamax and VHS players allowed more people to finally get in on the home media market. It became clear that more and more people at that time were buying VHS players over Betamax players due to their lower prices, greater array of retail options, and the natural momentum of social adoption. It just made more sense to choose VHS over Betamax. The more people you knew who had the same media format as you, the easier it was to trade tapes and other resources. 

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Even still, studios largely refused to budge on the price of individual movie releases. It must have seemed foolish to lower the prices of those releases when most of those studios were still targeting wholesale buyers. Why lower the price for those buyers when you didn’t have to, and if an individual did want to spend around $100 for the privilege of owning a blockbuster movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Star Wars …well, so much the better. 

But then, in 1982, Paramount decided to try something pretty bold. To help promote the theatrical release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , they released The Original Series episode that set up the movie ( “Space Seed” ) as a standalone VHS tape. The front of that tape even promoted the release as “The Episode That Inspired Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .” 

Yet, even Paramount wasn’t bold enough to charge full price for a VHS copy of a single episode from a 16-year-old TV show. Instead, they released “Space Seed” at a special reduced price of $29.99 ; significantly cheaper than just about every other VHS on the market. There is little documentation about the logic behind the decision, but the idea seems simple in retrospect. Paramount likely guessed that hardcore Star Trek fans would jump at the chance to own even a piece of the series they loved so much. Though they must have been hopeful that the release’s low price point would appeal to even more people than that, it’s hard to imagine there were realistic expectations that “Space Seed” would become a major retail hit.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened. That $30 copy of a single Star Trek episode reportedly outsold full-length modern movies that debuted at full retail prices. Did that mean that a surprising amount of people were willing to pay for VHS copies of TV episodes? Perhaps, but the real message was that the market for home media releases was larger than anyone had previously anticipated. 

The Math of Khan

To test that theory, Paramount decided to release the VHS version of The Wrath of Khan for $39.95 (about $40 less than the average cost of a VHS new release at that time). The Betamax version of the movie reportedly launched for a similar price, though that proved to be a somewhat irrelevant factoid for reasons we’ll soon discuss.

In any case, take a moment to appreciate the risk Paramount was taking. It wasn’t just that most people didn’t buy many tapes; it was the fact that most people didn’t even think to buy tapes in the early ’80s. For Paramount’s move to pay off, they would need to get a record number of people to both open their wallets and change their hearts and minds. Anything short of a historic success would have left the studio with the painful realization that they were better off focusing on the rental market as their competition was still doing.

Thankfully, the gamble paid off. Wrath of Khan reportedly sold around 120,000 copies , which doubled the most optimistic internal expectations for its retail performance. It was not just an overwhelming retail success, but a moment that Paramount believed represented a seismic shift in the foundation of the entire entertainment industry. In fact, in an ad that promoted Wrath of Khan as an all-time best-seller, Paramount bragged about the risk they took in their decision to make “buyers out of renters.”

Of course, Star Trek wasn’t the only property pushing increased VHS sales at that time. By the early 1980s, more people were also buying pornography tapes, and an increasing number of porn studios were putting their titles on VHS due to its lower cost and growing adoption rates. They didn’t exactly take out the kind of full-page industry ads that Paramount did to celebrate their successes, but they certainly played their part. 

Even still, widespread changes in the industry weren’t exactly immediate. Some subsequent major releases still debuted at “full” price, and video rentals remained a popular and more viable option for many. Gradually, though, studios felt the winds of change blowing and began experimenting with lowering tape prices to appeal to a market that the movie industry had once undervalued.

By the time Paramount lowered the price of the Top Gun VHS to a meager $26.95 as part of that release’s massive promotional campaign (and record-breaking sales), it was clear that the home video market was no longer going to be dominated by whales and rental retailers. Soon, almost everyone would be able to build a home library around that Star Trek II VHS they likely owned. 

Never Underestimate Star Trek Fans

While Star Trek II wasn’t quite a killing blow in the VHS vs. Betamax format war, its release represented a point of no return that would ultimately seal Betamax’s cultural standing in the minds of many. The success of Wrath of Kahn showed just how important price was when it came to home media adoption.

Sony tried their best to change some of their policies to turn Betamax into a more retail-friendly format, but in the post- Wrath of Khan world, it just wasn’t enough. The dream of owning your favorite movies was no longer a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous luxury but a reality made possible by VHS. While Betamax would remain a viable option in professional settings that valued its technical qualities, Sony essentially conceded the format wars in 1988 when they released their first VHS machines. 

Theoretically, any other major release around that time could have had the impact that Wrath of Khan did had they been released at a similarly generous price point. Yet, it always felt appropriate that it was Star Trek that proved to be the cornerstone of many ever-growing home media libraries.

At a time when studios asked, “Are people really willing to pay that much money for this?” Star Trek fans answered with a resounding “Yes.” It didn’t hurt that Wrath of Khan was so entertaining and rewatchable. If you were only going to own one movie, it was a great one to own.

Matthew Byrd | @SilverTuna014

Matthew Byrd is Games Editor at Den of Geek and an entertainment enthusiast living in Brooklyn. When he's not exploring the culture of video games, he's…