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A Ceti eel crawling in the sand

A Ceti eel larva emerging from Chekov's ear

The Ceti eel was a burrowing desert animal native to the planet Ceti Alpha V . Capable of surviving extremes in its environment, the Ceti eel was the only known indigenous creature that survived the orbital shift of Ceti Alpha V following the explosion of Ceti Alpha VI .

Ceti eels incubated their larvae within the plates of their jointed carapace. Once emerged, an eel larva could enter the ear of a larger animal, where it wrapped itself around the cerebral cortex . The effect caused the host extreme pain and rendered them extremely susceptible to outside suggestion. Over time, as the larva matured, the subject suffered from madness and eventual death .

Twenty of Khan Noonien Singh 's followers were killed by Ceti eels in this fashion, including his "beloved wife." ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Ceti eels could also be eaten, and were being sold at an Orion outpost on Qo'noS in 2257 . ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

A young Ceti eel crawling on Chekov's face

In 2285 , Khan used Ceti eels to gain the cooperation of Captain Clark Terrell and Commander Pavel Chekov of the USS Reliant . However, both men fought against the eels' control of them; Terrell even committed suicide (vaporizing himself with his own phaser ), rather than execute Admiral James T. Kirk as Khan had ordered him to do. After Terrell's death, Chekov collapsed in agony, whereupon the eel that had infected him – possibly sensing the death of its "brother" – crawled out of Chekov's ear and fell to the ground, where it was quickly vaporized by Kirk. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Ceti eels were among the dangerous lifeforms kept in Narj's Miraculous Menagerarium in 2381 . ( LD : " I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee ")

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

Gene Roddenberry took exception to Kirk killing the eel. Roddenberry commented: " Remember when the eel came out of Chekov's ear? What did Kirk do? He had a look of disgust on his face and grabbed his phaser and went 'zap'. Now, how dare he destroy a lifeform that had never been seen before. It needs studying. They had [Kirk] act like a old woman trampling on a tarantula. Now that's not the Kirk we built up for three years ". ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , page 118)

Detail of D275777

As part of its campaign to protect its exclusive right to market Star Trek -related items, Paramount sought and obtained a design patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office for the Ceti eel. Called an "ornamental design for a toy animal", it was issued in 1984 .

The name "Ceti eel" is never referenced during the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Khan describes the animal without naming it, and McCoy doesn't recognize it when it exits Chekov's ear, though Chekov had told Kirk and McCoy of it when they were on Regula I .

In Evan Carlos Somers ' original draft for DS9 : " Melora ", Fallit Kot (then named Megzie Del) – who had served an eight-year prison sentence due to Quark – threatened to kill Quark by using a type of Ceti eel, planning to insert it into Quark's ears. According to Somers, these creatures would have been " the Ceti eels introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , but this variety didn't cause mental vulnerability for mind control [....] I thought that would be a fitting, torturous end for someone who had caused eight years of suffering. " ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine  issue 6 , p. 62) In the first draft script of "Melora", the creatures were described as "tiny lizards" and were kept in "amber liquid" which was in "a transparent tube". They were described as "a cousin of the Ceti Alphan Cortical Parasite" and were said to "enter through the ears causing instant madness", though the time they took to destroy the victim's mind was also referred to as potentially variable (from a couple of hours to a week), depending on the wishes of their owner. The idea of using the creatures in "Melora" was later altogether abandoned, in rewrites.

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman , screenwriters of the film Star Trek , created the Centaurian slug as an homage to the Ceti eel. [2]

External link [ ]

• Ceti eel at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Calypso (episode)

Den of Geek

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan – The History of the Horrifying Ear Scene

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is beloved, but contains a truly horrifying moment.

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“You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion… Later, as they grow, follows madness and death…”

– Khan Noonien Singh

At school the next day, it was all we could talk about. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan had aired on TV the night before, and for many of us impressionable youngsters, it was the first time we’d seen laid eyes on the movie.

We were too young to have heard about the “Spock must not die!” fan backlash that erupted before the sequel’s release in 1982. We didn’t know about the film’s emotional ending, which was moving in a way that few of us could have expected. And we most certainly weren’t prepared for what we can only describe as That Ear Scene.

If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know the bit I’m referring to.

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Oh dear lord no make it stop

Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) lands on a seemingly deserted planet with Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield),and discovers that it’s the residence of Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). A genetically-manipulated genius with an alarming appetite for despotism, Khan was left in exile 15 years earlier, and he’s plotting to exact his revenge of Kirk for the inadvertent death of his wife and 20 of his men. As part of his plot, Khan introduces Chekov and Terrell to his household pet: a loathsome, slug-like called a Ceti eel – an example of the creatures that had killed those close to him years earlier.

Watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Amazon

Grasping a couple of the creature’s greasy young with a pair of tongs, Khan explains that the eels have a tendency to worm their way into their victims’ ears and attach themselves to their brains. Khan takes Chekov and Terrell’s space helmets and drops an eel into each one. Chekov and Terrell, held down by Khan’s minions, can only gawp in fear.

“Let me introduce you to Ceti Alpha V’s only remaining indigenous life form,” Khan says with a grim smile. “What do you think? They’ve killed twenty of my people, including my beloved wife…”

Now, if you happened to be (say) a nine-year-old kid growing up in the late ’80s, this was strong stuff already. We weren’t yet versed in the dark world of body horror. We hadn’t seen Alien , or The Exorcist , or any of those infamous movies of the ’70s, though we’d heard hushed stories about some of their more extreme moments. Okay, so we’d watched a bunch of Nazis’ faces alternately explode or melt at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark , but that was more a hide-behind-a-cushion scene – or, if you were feeling macabre, a cackling-with-glee moment.

This bit in The Wrath Of Khan , however, was something else. Even the suggestion of something from another planet burrowing into our ears wasn’t just shudder inducing, it was the out-and-out stuff of nightmares. Add to this the disgusting design of the creatures – all segmented bodies, leech-like movements and icky ooze – and the suggestion that Chekov, one of the sweetest characters in all of Star Trek , might succumb to one of these things, was terrifying.

Surely Kirk would sweep in at the last moment, brandishing a phaser and rescue Chekov and Terrell at the last moment. Wouldn’t he? Well, no. The space helmets are crammed onto the victims’ heads, and we’re forced to watch, in horrifying close-up, as the absolute worst happens: one by one, the eels slither across faces and burrow into ears. Chekov and Terrell scream.

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The slug and the newspaper

Early in S tar Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan ‘ s production, the Ceti eels weren’t really eels at all. As originally written, the creature would control its hosts’ minds by attaching themselves to their necks – a plot point which might have been inspired by Robert Heinlein’s 1951 novel, The Puppet Masters . Producer Robert Sallin didn’t think much of this idea, however – it sounded too familiar, he thought – and so he resolved to come up with a better concept for a mind-controlling parasite.

The inspiration came from an unexpected angle: a newspaper lying outside his house one morning.

“I went out to pick up my newspaper,” Sallin told Cnet in 2013, “and there was a slug on the pathway. I thought, what if that slimy thing was able to go into the ear?”

The design of the Ceti eel came courtesy of ILM’s Ken Ralston, a visual effects supervisor charged with making the most of Star Trek II ‘ s relatively meagre budget; after the so-so performance of the incredibly lavish Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, Paramount had decided to reign in its spending. Ralston came up with a range of concepts for the eel, some with legs, others with flowing tentacles.

The one Sallin ultimately chose was both the simplest design and the most abominable: a segmented, tough-looking creature which lay on its belly. In a masterfully brilliant touch, Ralston imagined that the eel’s larvae nested among the segments of its mother’s back, and had to be pulled free with a forceful yank from a pair of tongs.

The effects which brought the eels to life were simple and low-tech. The full-grown creature is simply a latex puppet, operated from below. The larvae which crawl across Chekov and Terrell’s faces are pulled along with a piece of monofilament. The close-ups of an eel crawling into the ear were created by fashioning an oversized portion of Chekov’s head from rubber. In a brilliantly nasty touch, the larval eels were slathered in a translucent substance to make them look more slimy and unpleasant. That substance was little more than raspberry jam.

It’s worth noting that Ralston and his designers were, whether they knew it or not, following in the footsteps of director David Cronenberg. Seven years earlier in 1975, he’d made his feature debut with Shivers , a low-budget horror in which a Canadian high-rise building is taken over by fleshy, slug-like parasites very like the ones in The Wrath Of Khan . Cronenberg had, like the makers of the Star Trek sequel, originally envisaged a more complex creature – something like a spider – but when he realized that would be too difficult, he came up with a more simple design instead.

Like Ralson, Cronenberg and his team fashioned the parasites out of latex and moved them around in front of the camera with thin, mostly invisible lengths of monofilament. The results, as creatures crawled into hosts through mouths (and other orifices), turning them into raving sex maniacs, was quite controversial at the time. One headline at the time read, “You should know how bad this movie is, you paid for it,” referring to the revelation that Shivers was funded at least in part by tax-payers’ money.

The obvious and major difference between Shivers and Star Trek II , though, was that the former was rated R while the latter was given a PG (at the time, PG-13 didn’t yet exist). When test audiences were shown an early cut of The Wrath Of Khan , they were left squirming in their seats; Sallin recalls that one audience member exclaimed, “That’s the grossest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Indeed, the original edit was reportedly considered slightly too gross, and was edited down slightly for Star Trek II ‘ s theatrical release. “I loved sitting in the theatres when everybody cringed,” Sallin admits.

No really, make it stop

Even in this form, the Wrath Of Khan ear scene is still a toe-curling moment. The joins in the special effects might be more glaring to modern eyes, but it hardly matters – what makes the sequence so effective is not only the sheer nastiness of the creature design, but the quality of the performances (look how coldly Khan stands there as Chekov and Terrell writhe in agony) and also the simple concept itself. There’s something about being powerless to stop a creature crawling in our ear that strikes at a primal, gut level.

Over 30 years later, the ear scene still works as an effective horror moment, and I’d argue that there’s an entire generation who’ve grown up with the after-image of the Ceti eel burned into their memories. The suffering that Khan meted out on two innocent space travellers – Terrell wound up obliterating himself with his phaser rather than kill Kirk; Chekov survived after the eel oozed out of his ear – set him up as one of cinema’s most imposing villains. The eels gave Star Trek II a horror edge which set it apart from the more stately Motion Picture .

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were certainly affected by the Ceti eel, since they wound up putting a remarkably similar parasite – a Centaurian slug – in their 2009 Star Trek reboot. For pure shock value, nothing can beat the first appearance of Khan’s hideous eels in The Wrath Of Khan .

The beasts prompted horrified discussions at our school in the late 80s, and even now, we remain vaguely fearful of things crawling about in the dark, waiting for us to sleep, hoping to find somewhere warm to hide in our ears…

This article originally appeared on Den of Geek UK .

Ryan Lambie

Supernatural Wiki

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A second form of the Khan worm came into existence, described by Dean as like a "cousin" to the first. This version does not take control of the host body. Instead this version of the worm acts more as a parasite. [1]

• 1 Characteristics
• 3 Physical Appearance
• 4 Powers and Abilities
• 5 Weaknesses
• 6 Known Khan Worms
• 7 Appearances
• 10 References

Characteristics [ ]

The Khan worm was a worm that entered into people's heads through their ears or mouth, and controlled their actions. Dean said it was like a Khan worm on steroids, and referred to it as "twelve inch herpes". When possessing someone, it left dark green sludge in its victim's ears, though it could stop this if it wanted. It also spilled the same sludge out of its victim's nose when it was injured or in pain.

The second version of the Khan worm differed from the first in several respects. This variety absorbed all bodily fluids, causing the host to go mad with thirst and drink any liquids they could find; and eventually forced the host to kill and drink blood from other people. This version of the worm acted more as a parasite, drying out its host and moving on. This version appeared to have originated in the Middle East.

Unlike the first, which entered through the ear, this version forced itself into its host's mouth and down their throat.

History [ ]

Created by Eve , she planted the only known worm inside a trucker , who went on to kill his family. It then passed to one of his co-workers who killed twelve people. While investigating the murders, it infected Dean Winchester , who killed his cousin Gwen Campbell . It then infected Samuel Campbell , and later Bobby Singer , who killed Rufus Turner while possessed. While possessing Bobby, it told Dean and Sam Winchester that it was created by Eve, who intended for supernatural beings to take over the world. It was then electrocuted to death by Dean while still inside Bobby, who managed to survive the experience.

Four years later, a variant of the Khan worm possessed an American soldier held prisoner in Iraq. When two soldiers tried to rescue him, the worm attacked and infected them while its original host was killed. This variant did not take complete control of the body, but compelled the host to drink excessive amounts of liquids to the point that they would drink blood or gasoline before the host dried out and the worm moved on to a new host. This caught the attention of Sam, Dean, and Cole Trenton who tried to save Kit Verson , the worm's surviving host. Kit turned out to have at least three Khan worms inside him and infected Cole with one. Dean killed another, and the last forced Kit to retreat. Sam captured Kit and tried to save him, but was ultimately forced to kill him and the worm in self-defense. Dean managed to save Cole by forcing the worm's exit with rapid dehydration and crushing it. [1]

Physical Appearance [ ]

This creature appeared as a brown worm, and possessed two large black curved fangs.

The second version was smaller and sleeker than the first, had small black pincers at its back end, and a black body leading to a red spot where a pair of large white pincers emerge from its front.

Powers and Abilities [ ]

It was able to enter a person's body through the ear and control their actions. While possessing a person, it greatly enhanced the strength of its host. The hosts retained no memory of the time when the Khan worm was controlling them.

• Animation - At least one worm was able to animate one of its hosts after he died. The variation couldn't do that, as it isn't in control of its host's body.
• Super Strength - It was small and weak in its true form, however it was able to magnify the strength of any host it had taken. The second variant also possessed this power, but was weaker than the first.
• Supernatural Durability - The worm enhanced the durability of its host, and allowed them to survive bullets and withstand considerable damage. The second variant would leave the host if the host was fatally injured rather than remaining however.
• Super Agility - When not possessing someone, the worm was incredibly quick and agile, and able to jump from host to host with ease. However, while the variant was still agile, it was less so than the original, and was able to be easily squashed.

Weaknesses [ ]

• Diminutive Size - Though agile, the khan worms are vulnerable to being crushed easily due to their size.
• Electrocution - The khan worm could be injured by electricity. Prolonged duration exposure could kill it. The variant species, however, was unaffected by electrocution.
• Extreme Dehydration  - A variation of the khan worm that fed off hydration can be ousted from a body by not consuming any liquids for a prolonged period and being forced near extreme heat sources.

Known Khan Worms [ ]

• Original Khan Worm (deceased)
• Unnamed Variants (deceased)

Appearances [ ]

• ...And Then There Were None
• Mommy Dearest (mentioned only)
• The Things They Carried
• This is the first of the two supernatural creatures that Dean Winchester has named, the other being Jefferson Starships .
• The name "Khan worm" is a reference to the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , specifically the scenes involving the parasitic Ceti Eels. Like the Khan worms, the Ceti Eels are worm-like parasites that burrow their way into the victims' ears and take possession of their minds.
• As one can assume the first/original Khan worm that appeared was an alpha , the weaknesses and abilities of other Khan worms are slightly different, as alphas are shown to be superior to others of their species (i.e. Alpha Shapeshifter not being vulnerable to silver , Alpha Vampire having extendable fingernails). This may be why the variant species is weaker and more primitive.
• The variant version of the khan worm looked similar to a Goa'uld, a parasitic alien race from the show Stargate SG-1 . The worm even changed hosts in the same manner as the Tok'ra variant of that species. On the spin-off Stargate Atlantis , character Colonel Steven Caldwell was possessed by a Goa'uld. Caldwell was played by Mitch Pileggi who portrayed Samuel Campbell who was possessed at one point by the original version of the Khan worm. The Stargate SG-1 character Samantha Carter also acted as a host to a Tok'ra. Carter was played by Amanda Tapping who would go on to play the angel Naomi on Supernatural .
• The variant version of the Khan worm also bears a striking similarity in function to the parasitic sluks from " The Price ", episode 19 of the third season of Angel . They even share the constant thirst for water.
• The Khan Worms are a very similar species with the Bisaans , although they most likely have no relation with each other, since the Khan Worms were created by Eve in 2011 and the Bisaans already existed at least decades before this.

See Also [ ]

References [ ].

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Things They Carried
• Supernatural
• 1 Dean Winchester
• 3 Jack Kline (Nephilim)

Khan Worm: Mythical Creatures

The Khan worm is a mythical creature that has been featured in various forms of media, including the television series Supernatural. This six-inch worm is named after a Star Trek character and is considered one of the scariest monsters in the show due to its grotesque appearance and ability to possess and control people.

According to legend, the Khan worm enters into people’s heads through their ears or mouth and takes control of their actions. It is said that the worm can be killed by fire or by cutting off the host’s head, but it is extremely difficult to remove once it has taken control of a person’s body.

While the Khan worm is a fictional creature, it is based on the real-life Mongolian death worm , a legendary creature said to inhabit the Gobi Desert. The Mongolian death worm is said to resemble a large, thick-bodied worm measuring anywhere from 2 to 5 feet long, with dark red skin and spike-like projections at both ends.

Origins and Mythology

Cultural Significance

The Khan Worm is a mythical creature that is believed to inhabit the deserts of Mongolia. It is also known as the Mongolian Death Worm, due to its supposed deadly nature. The worm has been a part of Mongolian folklore for centuries, and it is said to have significant cultural significance in the region. According to local legends, the Khan Worm is a powerful and dangerous creature that can kill a human with a single touch.

Historical References

The first recorded reference to the Khan Worm was made by an explorer named Roy Chapman Andrews in 1926. He described the creature as a large, thick-bodied worm that was buried under the sand of the Gobi desert. Since then, many expeditions have been launched to try and find the creature, but none have been successful.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the Khan Worm remains a popular topic of discussion among cryptozoologists and enthusiasts of mythical creatures. Some believe that the worm is a real creature that has yet to be discovered, while others think it is simply a legend that has been passed down through the generations.

Overall, the Khan Worm is a fascinating creature that has captured the imaginations of people around the world. While its existence remains a mystery, its place in Mongolian folklore is secure, and it will continue to be a source of wonder and speculation for years to come.

Physical Description

Size and Shape

The Khan Worm is a legendary creature that has been described in various ways. According to some stories, it is a giant worm that can grow up to 10 feet long. Others believe that it is more like a snake, with a long, slender body that can reach up to 20 feet in length. Regardless of its size, the Khan Worm is said to be a fearsome creature that can strike fear into the hearts of those who encounter it.

Color and Texture

The Khan Worm is often depicted as a dark, slimy creature with a rough, scaly texture. Some legends claim that it has a bright red color, while others describe it as being a dull brown or black. Its skin is said to be tough and impenetrable, making it difficult to kill. The Khan Worm is also known for its sharp teeth and powerful jaws, which it uses to latch onto its prey and drag it underground.

Overall, the Khan Worm is a formidable creature that has captured the imaginations of people around the world. While its existence has never been proven, the legends and stories surrounding this mythical creature continue to fascinate and intrigue those who are drawn to the mysteries of the unknown.

Habitat and Ecology

Geographical Distribution

The Khan Worm is a mythical creature that is said to exist in various parts of the world. According to legends, it is believed to inhabit areas such as forests, caves, and other secluded places where it can remain hidden from humans. The Khan Worm has been reported to exist in areas of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Environmental Adaptations

The Khan Worm is known for its ability to enter the human body through the ears or mouth and control the actions of its host. This ability is said to be a result of the worm’s unique adaptations to its environment. The Khan Worm is believed to have developed a complex nervous system that allows it to control the actions of its host while remaining hidden from detection.

In addition to its ability to control its host, the Khan Worm is also known for its ability to adapt to different environments. It is believed that the worm has developed a number of physical adaptations that allow it to survive in different environments. These adaptations include the ability to survive in low oxygen environments, the ability to withstand extreme temperatures, and the ability to survive without food or water for extended periods of time.

Overall, the Khan Worm is a fascinating mythical creature that is said to exist in various parts of the world. While there is no scientific evidence to support the existence of the Khan Worm, its unique adaptations and ability to control its host make it a popular topic of discussion among those interested in mythical creatures.

Powers and Abilities

Supernatural Powers

The Khan Worm is a parasitic creature that can enter a human body through the ear and take control of the host’s actions. Once inside, the worm enhances the strength of its host and can make them do its bidding. This ability makes the Khan Worm an extremely dangerous creature, as it can use its host to carry out its evil deeds without any suspicion.

In addition to its mind control abilities, the Khan Worm also possesses some supernatural powers. It can regenerate its body parts, making it difficult to kill. It can also reproduce asexually, creating more of its kind to infest new hosts. The Khan Worm’s ability to adapt and evolve makes it a formidable opponent for any hunter.

Despite its many powers, the Khan Worm does have some weaknesses that can be exploited. One of its weaknesses is salt. A salt circle can be used to trap the worm and prevent it from escaping. Another weakness is fire, which can kill the worm and prevent it from reproducing. However, it is important to note that the Khan Worm is a highly intelligent creature and can adapt to new threats quickly. Hunters must be careful not to underestimate its abilities.

In conclusion, the Khan Worm is a terrifying creature with powerful mind control abilities and supernatural powers. Although it has weaknesses, it is a formidable opponent that should not be taken lightly. Hunters should exercise caution when dealing with this creature and be prepared for anything.

Khan Worm in Popular Culture

Literature and art.

The Khan Worm is a popular creature in literature and art, especially in the horror and fantasy genres. In the TV series “Supernatural,” the Khan Worm is a new type of monster created by Eve, Mother of All. The worm is named after a Star Trek character and is known for its grotesque appearance and ability to possess and control its host. The Khan Worm is also mentioned in the book “The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons, and Ghouls,” which provides a detailed description of the creature’s physical characteristics and behavior.

Film and Television

The Khan Worm has made appearances in various films and TV shows, including “Supernatural” and “Star Trek.” In the “Supernatural” episode “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” the Khan Worm is featured as the main antagonist. The worm is portrayed as a six-inch creature that can control its host’s mind and body. In “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan,” a character named Khan uses genetically engineered worms to control his enemies.

Video Games

The Khan Worm is also a popular creature in video games. In the game “World of Warcraft,” the Khan Worm is a type of worm that can be found in the game’s dungeons and raids. The worm is known for its ability to burrow underground and surprise its enemies. In the game “Destiny,” the Khan Worm is a type of alien creature that can be found on the planet Mars. The worm is known for its ability to regenerate its health quickly and its ability to fire a powerful laser beam from its mouth.

Overall, the Khan Worm is a popular creature in popular culture and has made appearances in various forms of media, including literature, art, film, television, and video games. The worm is known for its ability to possess and control its host, its grotesque appearance, and its ability to surprise and attack its enemies.

Comparative Mythology

Similar creatures in lore.

The Khan Worm is a mythical creature that is said to inhabit the deserts of Mongolia. It is described as a large, carnivorous worm that can grow up to several feet in length. While the Khan Worm is a unique creature, there are several other mythical creatures from different cultures that share similar characteristics. For example, the Mongolian Death Worm, which is also said to inhabit the Gobi Desert, is described as a large, worm-like creature that is capable of killing humans.

In Norse mythology, the Midgard Serpent, also known as Jormungandr, is a giant sea serpent that is said to encircle the world. Similarly, in Hindu mythology, the Naga is a serpent-like creature that is often associated with water and is believed to possess magical powers . These creatures share similarities with the Khan Worm in their serpent-like appearance and ability to cause harm.

Interpretations Across Cultures

Comparative mythology is the study of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to identify similarities and differences in the ways that different cultures have interpreted similar phenomena.

In the case of the Khan Worm, its appearance and behavior have been interpreted differently across cultures. In Mongolian mythology, the Khan Worm is seen as a dangerous creature that must be avoided at all costs. However, in some other cultures, such as Chinese mythology, worms are seen as symbols of good luck and prosperity. This suggests that the interpretation of the Khan Worm is influenced by cultural beliefs and values.

Contemporary Beliefs and Studies

Khan Worm is a mythical creature that has fascinated people for centuries. It is believed to be a giant worm that lives deep underground and feeds on minerals and rocks. There are many contemporary beliefs and studies about this creature.

One of the most interesting studies about Khan Worm is its possible connection to earthquakes. Some people believe that the creature moves underground and causes the earth to shake. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim.

Another contemporary belief about Khan Worm is that it has healing properties. Some people believe that its skin and blood can be used to cure diseases and ailments. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim either.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, Khan Worm remains a popular creature in mythology and folklore. Its unique appearance and mysterious nature continue to capture the imaginations of people around the world.

Preservation of the Legend

The Khan Worm, also known as the Mongolian Death Worm, is a mythical creature that has been a part of Mongolian folklore for centuries. Due to its mysterious nature and lack of concrete evidence, the legend of the Khan Worm has been preserved through oral tradition and storytelling.

Mongolian nomads have passed down tales of the Khan Worm from generation to generation, describing the creature as a large worm-like monster with a thick body and blood-red skin. The legend of the Khan Worm has been so deeply ingrained in Mongolian culture that it has even been referenced in popular media, including the television show “Supernatural.”

Despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting the existence of the Khan Worm, efforts have been made to preserve the legend. The Mongolian government has recognized the importance of the country’s folklore and has taken steps to promote and preserve it.

In recent years, tourism has also played a role in preserving the legend of the Khan Worm. Tourists are drawn to Mongolia to explore the Gobi Desert, where the creature is said to reside. Local tour guides often share stories of the Khan Worm with visitors, keeping the legend alive.

Overall, the preservation of the legend of the Khan Worm is important to Mongolian culture and history. Through storytelling, tourism, and government recognition, the legend will continue to be passed down and remembered for generations to come.

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Star Trek's Wrath of Khan succeeded even if Gene Roddenberry balked at its most famous scene

Credit: Paramount Pictures

When you think of 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , you probably think of two things, perhaps simultaneously: Captain Kirk yelling “KKKKKHHHHHAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!” and Ceti eels burrowing their way into Commander Chekov and Captain Clark Terrell’s ears. History being what it is, you can’t have one without the other and still have a classic, but Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry — who was famously forced out of WoK ’s production after the lackluster response to 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture — thought that Kirk’s killing of the Ceti eel that emerged from Chekov’s ear wasn’t something a proper Starfleet admiral would do. Granted, this comes from the guy who also supposedly tried to spoil Spock’s death, so perhaps he had ulterior motives.

To discuss such sabotage, and everything else Khan- related — like why the film is likely William Shatner’s most focused Kirk performance, how it became the first movie to take you to the CG stars, and how Ricardo Montalban’s pecs "are real, and they’re fabulous" — we caught up with the experts at the Inglorious Treksperts podcast , Mark A. Altman and Daren Dochterman, who are hosting an interactive virtual screening of Paramount’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Saturday, April 25.

Altman, who's also a prolific producer and TV writer, literally wrote the book on  Trek :  The 50 Year Mission: The Complete Uncensored, Oral History of Star Trek ; and Dochterman, a 30-plus-year entertainment industry vet , worked as visual effects supervisor on the Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and as a concept artist on Star Trek: Picard . So their insight is particularly... fascinating.

Lucky for you, the duo boldly goes deep into Star Trek II  with SYFY WIRE in the Q&A below...

(Credit: Paramount Pictures)

Why does Wrath of Khan hold up so well?

Daren Dochterman: It is a mythic story of good and evil. It takes the characters in a place that we hadn’t really dealt with before, with Kirk turning 50 years old and feeling worn out and out of date. And he’s trying to figure out his place in the galaxy again. This is a very life-changing event for him, both in his dealing with Khan, and dealing with what happens on the mission. And it’s a very well-told tale.

How did William Shatner feel about playing middle-aged?

Mark Altman: At the time, he had concerns about portraying a character that was aging, but a lot of that came out of the response to the criticism of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , where some of the critics felt like the characters hadn’t acknowledged the fact they were growing older — although some of us would argue they did, that the characters did evolve in that movie — so it was really brilliant of [director] Nicholas Meyer to embrace the idea that these actors were older, and they weren’t at the same place they were 10 years earlier in the TV series.

Which is why, even now, that first scene resonates so well, in Kirk’s apartment, where Bones is calling him out on growing older, and not being happy with a desk job, and of course once again taking command of the Enterprise .

…and having a little Romulan Ale!

Altman: And having a little Romulan Ale. And getting those glasses because he’s allergic to Retinax.

How did Nicholas Meyer have such fantastic insight into what Star Trek needed if he was coming from outside of Star Trek ?

Altman: [Paramount was] desperate; they were out of development money; they had a bunch of scripts that were going nowhere fast. There were various iterations where Khan had magical powers. There was another version that Sam Peeples wrote that took Khan out and there were these two Wonder Twins type villains, which was ludicrous. Basically, to save the movie they needed someone who was a writer and a director. And Nick rewrote this incredible script in a little over a week... 10 days. And what he did, was he basically tapped into things that he loves — stuff like Moby Dick and Horatio Hornblower — and was able to use the touchstones of Star Trek in a way that felt very fresh at the time, and still does.

He really embraced it, and taught himself... you know everybody who got involved with Star Trek at the time fell in love with Star Trek...  [executive producer] Harve Bennett was smart enough to watch every episode of the original series before he started the gig, and then Nic Meyer really familiarized himself with what Star Trek was , and what the underpinnings of Star Trek were, which is why that film was so effective and continues to endure over 30 years later.

Why did Harve decide on Ricardo Montalban’s TOS episode “Space Seed” as the jumping-off point?

Altman: Well, I think there was a lot of criticism over The Motion Picture not having a real villain, you know V’ger is very heady, cerebral context, and to a lot of people it was very similar to NOMAD in “The Changeling.”

So they needed a real black hat, a baddie. And in watching all those episodes, he really gravitated towards the star power of Ricardo Montalban and that role, and it seemed like such an obvious choice for a villain for that piece, and he was obviously right.

And that’s without any guarantee that Ricardo Montalban was even going to do the movie at that point. He was off doing Fantasy Island . The idea of him coming to play a villain when most people knew him as a good-natured guy in a white suit who hung out with Hervé Villechaize on an island granting people’s fantasies, to then say, "We’re going to make this guy the most villainous vengeance filled guy in the universe," at the time was fairly unique, and a sort of a gutsy move by everyone involved.

I heard Ricardo didn’t exactly fall back into the role as smoothly as Corinthian Leather.

Altman: Well, that’s true, that he was sort of playing it like Mr. Roarke in space, and giving a very broad performance. And it was Nic Meyer who basically pulled him aside and gave him some adjustments. And Ricardo very famously said, “Ah, you’re going to direct me! I need direction, I don’t know what I’m doing.” And obviously, between Ricardo and Nic, they did something pretty amazing.

One of the thing’s Bob Sallin, the producer, told us on the podcast was that some of the lead actors who had sort of been phoning it in, after they saw what Ricardo was doing on the movie, [they] suddenly started taking the movie a lot more seriously and really had to up their game.

Is it true that the film boasts the first full CG scene in film?

Altman: No, that was actually in Young Sherlock Holmes .

Dochterman: No, no, no...  Young Sherlock Holmes was the first CG character ... yes, that [ Wrath of Khan  scene] was done by ILM’s then-unnamed computer division, that figured out the whole Genesis presentation reel, and that was the first extended scene that was all created in CG.

And, of course, the star fields in Star Trek II were also created as CG. Not a lot of people realize that.

Altman: It’s really cool looking in the opening credits, you see the way that it moves through the stars, it’s all computer-generated and very unique at the time.

And those stars, are they accurate?

Dochterman: I think at one point they put the actual stars of our part of the galaxy into an Evans & Sutherland computer, and supposedly they are accurate. Now, accurate from where is the question, because you’re traveling through them so fast. 

Because if they’re accurate from Earth, they aren’t going to be for long as you’re warping through them.

Yes, warp confuses things. What about Ricardo Montalban’s pecs? Are those accurate, or are those computer-generated?

Dochterman: They’re real and they’re fabulous!

Altman : That’s probably the question [Nicholas Meyer] is asked more often than anything.

How did they come up with the Ceti eel?

Altman: I think that was in one of the earlier scripts. The Ceti eel was always in there, and something left when Nic Meyer was playing Mad Libs and connecting all the earlier drafts for what he ultimately wrote.

It was something that Gene Roddenberry really hated, when Kirk phasers and destroys the Ceti eel after crawling out of Chekov’s ear, because... well, Daren what would he say?

Dochterman: [As Roddenberry] “We don’t’ destroy life. The Star Trek characters would not go out of their way to destroy a life form, no matter what it would do.”

Altman: But he started drinking his own publicity at that point, and believed all this stuff. After he’d been replaced by Harve Bennett, he had a lot of quibbles and problems with Star Trek II , the most famous of course being that Spock would die, and [he] was the one who leaked that fact to the newspapers and to the fans to try and prevent that from happening.

I read that Leonard Nimoy only took the part if Spock would die.

Altman : Well, that was what he wanted. He wanted to die, he wanted to be done with Star Trek . He had a lot of aspirations beyond Star Trek . After Star Trek 1 , he felt that this was a dead franchise, and his deal was, “Yeah, I’ll do the movie, but only if you kill me off.”

They got cold feet and realized they couldn’t do Star Trek without him, and he used that to leverage a directing gig on Star Trek III .

What’s one thing that’s often overlooked about Wrath of Khan ?

Dochterman: A lot of people have this one idea of Wrath of Khan , that it’s Kirk shouting “Khan!” at the top of his lungs. However, that’s only a moment in this amazing performance by Shatner. Shatner is arguably the most restrained and serious and focused in all of the films. He has a really interesting journey from the beginning where he’s a little bit listless and not knowing where he fits, to the end where he feels young again. It’s an excellent character-driven part on Shatner’s part.

Altman: It really was Star Trek II that in a way, you could argue, saved the Star Trek franchise. As much as we love Star Trek: The Motion Picture , it was not a success in the perception of the studio, so Star Trek II came along and really engaged an audience and critics, and made Star Trek a viable franchise again. It was not only a critical success and a terrific movie, it really was the movie that saved Star Trek .

With the purchase of a $1.99 “ticket,” fans from across the galaxy can celebrate the franchise's incredible endurance, and join the communal fun while watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , this Saturday, April 25, as boldly hosted by the Inglorious Trekspert ’s Mark A. Altman and Daren Dochterman.

• Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
• William Shatner

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Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan: Official Clip - Khan's Worms

Where to watch star trek ii: the wrath of khan.

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The podcast where we break down and discuss each of the Star Trek films, one minute at a time…

Wednesday Jun 29, 2016

The Wrath of Khan Minute 23: Khan's Non-Canonical Ear Worm

Khan wants an answer and breaks out his interrogation tricks to get it - full body lifts, gorgeous pecs, and a disgusting sand worm...

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Is This Star Trek Kahn Movie Scene The Scariest Star Trek Scene Of All Time?

Last Halloween, we ask our readers what they thought the scariest moment in Star Trek history was? The ear worms from Wrath of Khan were the winner. But we wanted to pose the question again to see if we’d get any different results?

Ear worms? Anyone have something better? Place your vote here in our Facebook Question.

And by the way, please don’t vote for the infamous slow-motion Captain Kirk fight scene with the rubber suit alien. That’s embarrassing, not scary.

Would you willingly put a worm into your ear? Didn’t think so. We asked our readers what they thought the scariest  Star Trek  moment in history was. The earworms from The Wrath of Khan  was the winner. But we wanted to pose the question again to see if we’d get any different results. Do you have something better than earworms? Cast your vote here in our Facebook poll .

Star Trek Moment: Kirk vs Gorn

And by the way, please don’t vote for the infamous slow-motion Captain Kirk fight scene with the rubber suit alien named Gorn . That’s embarrassing, not scary.

Frank Wilson is a retired teacher with over 30 years of combined experience in the education, small business technology, and real estate business. He now blogs as a hobby and spends most days tinkering with old computers. Wilson is passionate about tech, enjoys fishing, and loves drinking beer.

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Jan 4, 2014 at 12:14 AM

ear worms FTW

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- Revenge is a dish best served cold

Though most of the Star Trek cast’s principals were not exactly working steadily and could easily sign on for Star Trek II, III, IV, etc. etc., Leonard Nimoy was a sticking point. After the incredible under-writing of characters in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Nimoy was hesitant to take on another ST film; after all, the guy had co-starred in Invasion of the Body Snatchers the year previous and was into his 5th season as host of the TV documentary series “In Search Of.” Nimoy ultimately acquiesced, of course, but demanded the inclusion of Spock’s death in the script.

And when shooting was done, Nimoy decided it had been so much fun that, yes, he’ do another one.

For most casual fans and devotees alike, the Wrath of Khan represents peak Star Trek, and why not? From the TV show came all the pulpy heroism and space operatics, from Hollywood came the big-budget special effects that made for all the edge-of-seat starship dueling that dominates the third act. Star Trek II was not stuff for the popcorn munchers, this was movie science-fiction done differently: Star Trek II isn’t straightup science fantasy like Star Wars, nor is it the heady philosophy of 2001: A Space Odyssey nor the comedy hijinks of a Back to the Future.

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan *is* Star Trek.

The federation starship Reliant is captured by a craft captained by one Khan Noonan Singh, a one-time genetically altered “super soldier” who had a previous encounter with Captain James T. Kirk and the starship Enterprise crew. Among the officers taken with the ship is Commander Anton Chekov. Khan learns about the federation’s new planet-building device known as Genesis, going on to plunder the space station housing Genesis and taking the scientists primarily responsible for its development, Dr. Carol Marcus and Dr. David Marcus.

While on a training exercise with Captain Spock’s protégé Lt. Ssavik, the Enterprise receives a distress call from the Regula space station. On its way to Regula, the Enterprise is jumped by the Reliant, now piloted by Khan’s crew and a battle ensues. The Enterprise progresses onward to Regula, ultimately finding the Genesis scientists and the Reliant crew. Believing Kirk et al to be stranded within the interior of Regula, Khan takes the Genesis device and gets the Reliant repaired. Kirk cries out “Khan!” and finds out Dr. David is his son – one in every port, eh, Kirk you old dog…?

Kirk and Spock have outwitted Khan, however, and all are soon back aboard the Enterprise, which leads the Reliant into a nearby nebula inside of which a terrific space duel ensues. Kirk naturally gets the better of Khan, who, before dying, uses Genesis as a missile to destroy the Enterprise. This is avoided but only due to the Spock’s suicidal manual repair of the warp drive. Spock is given a funeral and his body laid to rest on the new planet created by Genesis.

Within maybe five minutes, the upgrades from the first Star Trek cinematic experience are apparent: The snappy red uniforms, the special effects (solid without all the pretentious Hollywood epic-ness) and Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavik Rarely has *any* actor in Star Trek nailed his/her characterization from the go, but Alley certainly does here: No supporting character in a ST film is flat-out this good until Alfre Woodard and James Cromwell come along in Star Trek: First Contact.

As for the actual plot of Star Trek II, we’d advise you not to look too closely. Star Trek II is ruled by healthy dollops of coincidence and plot convenience, starting with the good old “the Enterprise is the only ship within range” trope and running straight through to “good thing they didn’t actually, you know, *bury* Spock’s body.”

But for once, Star Trek Guide is willing to overlook certain major plot holes (hey, good thing that brain worm thing left Chekov’s head of its own accord) for the sake of Star Trekkiness. Ricardo Montalban as Khan gets his scene-chewing moments, but tones down the melodrama for film to decent effect. Scriptwriter Jack B. Sowards gets high marks for balancing the character in correct proportion, i.e. the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trio gets the majority with others contributing in turn, as well as memorable dialogue.

Also, Khaaaaaaan!

Star Trek Guide rating ***** of 5

Imdb rating: 7.7/10, rotten tomatoes critic rating: 88%, rotten tomatoes audience rating: 90%.

Star Trek: Khan Noonien Singh's Last Words Are Deeper Than You Think

Classic Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) has had a long-lasting legacy that continues into the current canon. Decades after he died in one of the best Star Trek films , "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," the Federation is still profoundly affected by his misdeeds. This is in part because he pushes for genetic engineering, but it's also a testament to how charismatic he was as a character. After being an episodic villain in "Star Trek: The Original Series," he returned to wreak havoc on Admiral Kirk (William Shatner). Khan's quest for vengeance leads to his demise, but not before his famous last words.

"No! No! You can't get away ..." Khan says to the Enterprise as it flies away. "From Hell's heart ... I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath ... at thee." Star Trek has long leaned into taking inspiration from modern-day classics, and that is where Khan's final words come from. He is reciting "Moby-Dick," the Herman Melville epic about Captain Ahab's quest to destroy the titular whale. This ending is fitting for the film, as Ahab and Khan were both vengeful captains in their own right. While Ahab quested to kill his literal white whale, Khan went after his metaphorical one. Kirk was always the foe that got away. But Khan's farewell is about more than surface-level connections.

Khan is an epic figure

Like Captain Ahab, Khan is such a larger-than-life character that he has stood the test of time. "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" focuses on the repercussions of Khan's effect on the world through the eyes of his descendant, La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong). Khan's devotion to genetically augmenting the human race defines him, and he never changes his mind. Similarly, Ahab is as vitriolic as he was when he first started hunting the whale. He fails to kill Moby-Dick and watches it destroy his ship and most of his men. Even so, he uses his final moments to curse the whale. He understands his fate, but wouldn't change anything. This is also the place that we leave Khan at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

After sustaining injuries on his ship, he shows no remorse for what he did. His actions directly cause Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) death and reaffirm he was only ever interested in world domination. He dies, cursing Kirk while he himself is the one who caused his downfall. He dies as he lived, full of hate. The tragedy of it all is that he could have turned back at any moment. But like Ahab, his fate was to be drowned by his own revenge.

Khan (Ricardo Montalban)

Character analysis, a whole new meaning to the phrase "earworm".

As villains go, it's hard to top Khan Noonian Singh for pure buttoned-up fury. He's an angry, angry man when we first meet him… and he looks even angrier than when we saw him in the original Star Trek episode "Space Seed."

But one of the great things about this movie is that you don't need to have seen the earlier episode to get where Khan is coming from. They get you up to speed quick and then let the man do his thing.

And by "do his thing," we mean, "be a psychopath armed with squicky space-worms."

Khan began life as a genetically engineered conqueror who controlled over one-quarter of the Earth in the dangerous future of the early 1990s. (We know, we know. This movie is so 80s it bleeds Aqua Net.) Eventually deposed, he and his followers escaped by boarding a spaceship in cryogenic storage, hoping for their lot to improve in the reaches of space.

It didn't. They got revived by the crew of the Enterprise, and Khan responded by trying to kill Kirk and take the ship. Kirk, never one to be outdone in the "take the law into your own hands" department, exiled Khan and his followers to a desert planet, where they could eke out a rough living.

You Say "Revenge-Crazed Megalomaniac" Like It's a Bad Thing

Now here's the thing: Khan's crew didn't go alone. One of the Enterprise crew—Lt. Marla McGivers—fell in love with Khan and helped him try to take over the ship. When the dust settled, she went with him to Ceti Alpha Five: giving up paradise in the Federation and a snazzy Starfleet career to fight dust storms and suck moisture out of the local plant life.

She gave up everything for him…and for that, she got to die sometime after they were exiled when one of those Ceti eels crawled into her ear.

KHAN: What do you think? It killed twenty of my people, including my beloved wife.

It was an ugly way to go, and Khan isn't the kind of guy to forget about something like that. When the planet shifted its orbit and nobody came to check on them, he basically had nothing to do but stare at the walls and plot all the various ways he could brutally murder the guy who put him there. Namely: one James Tiberius Kirk.

And when one turns an intellect as big as Khan's towards revenge, things get dangerous.

At Least He Loves His Wife?

That thirst for revenge comes across as a deep wellspring of passion, reflecting the passion he felt for his dead wife. (Ricardo Montalban goes into some detail on it during an interview for the film, which you can peep over in the " Best of the Web " section.)

His need to carve off a piece of the man supersedes everything else. He and his gang escape—by hijacking another Federation ship, more successfully this time—and basically can do whatever they want after that.

But Khan isn't interested in doing anything but putting Kirk in his place. None of the tempting possibilities of escape—building a new empire/blackmailing governments with the Genesis device/eating ice cream for the first time since the 1990s—appeal to him, because he makes Liam Neeson look like a mild-mannered forgiveness-happy bloke:

KHAN: He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before I give him up!

That last bit is a riff of Moby-Dick …a little book about a man who's too obsessed with vengeance to know what's good for him. And revenge-thirst is the most notable feature of Khan's personality.

Just take a look at how dogged his quest for vengeance is…even when the Enterprise has him basically cornered:

KIRK: This is Admiral Kirk. We tried it once your way, Khan. Are you game for a rematch? Khan? I'm laughing at the "superior intellect." KHAN: Full impulse power! JOACHIM: No sir! You have Genesis. ... You can have whatever you... KHAN: Full power! Damn you!

Sure, Khan's strength and intellect make him a scary bad guy, but his thirst for vengeance ultimately forces him to essentially sign his own death warrant. But this character trait is also the thing that makes him human, what turns him from a cartoonish supervillain to someone whose actions are made understandable.

He is, in short, a villain worthy of challenging Kirk to a duel to the death…and a character who turns this space opera from a good yarn into something really epic.

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W hy's T his F unny?

You haven't got a name for me yet. I'm new around here. Eve cooked me up herself. – Khan worm, 6.16 ...And Then There Were None

• 2.1.1 Type 1
• 2.1.2 Type 2
• 2.2.1 Type 1
• 2.2.2 Type 2
• 3.1 6.16 ...And Then There Were None
• 3.2 10.15 The Things They Carried
• 6 References

The Khan worm is a monster newly created by Eve after she is released from Purgatory . [1] [2]

Characteristics

Although it looks like a cross between a simple slug and a centipede, it is a self-aware, intelligent parasite that can enter a person's ear and take control over their actions as well as access their memories. After it leaves its host's body, a black, gooey substance is deposited in the person's ear. Other names: Herpe and Sluggo (by Dean). [2]

A second form of the Khan worm exists that does not take control of the host body. [3] This variety absorbs all bodily fluids, eventually causing the host to go mad with thirst, drinking any liquids they can find, and eventually forcing the host to kill and drink the fluids from other people (blood, organs, marrow, etc...). This version of the worm acts more as a parasite, drying out their hosts and moving on; it also appears to have originated in the Middle East, though how long it has existed is unknown.

Powers and abilities

• Possession – The Khan worm can control their victims' actions and access their memories once it has entered their body through the ear.
• Reanimation – The Khan worm Could reanimate a host body's corpse if it has been killed.
• Superhuman strength – The worms can increases the strength of the host bodies they possess.
• Enhanced durability – Unlike the original Khan worm, the variant was immune to electrocution.
• Possession – Enters body through the mouth and feeds on their bodily fluids, which increases their need to remain hydrated.
• Superhuman strength – As with the original Khan worm, the variant increases the strength of the host bodies they possess.
• Crushing – The Khan worm is incredibly vulnerable outside it's host, and is able to be killed by being stepped on.
• Electrocution – A current of electricity can stun or kill a Khan worm depending on its intensity and duration.
• Dehydration – Rapid dehydration will force an offshoot version of the Khan worm to leave the host body exposing it to hunters.

6.16 ...And Then There Were None

Eve originally plants the parasitic creature in the ear of a trucker named Rick , and it goes on to kill Rick's family. The creature then possesses one of the trucker's co-workers, who kills 6 people at the Starlight Cannery. While investigating the murders at the cannery, Dean is possessed and the creature uses him to kill his cousin Gwen . After it leaves Dean's ear, he tells Sam , Samuel , Bobby , and Rufus that it is like a Khan worm on steroids, and also refers to it as a "twelve inch long herpe." It then possesses Samuel, who is killed by Sam. When Bobby and Rufus resolve to cut open Samuel's head to check for the newly dubbed Khan Worm, it animates Samuel's dead body and fights them. During the struggle, Samuel's body is thrown back against exposed wiring and electrocuted, and the Khan worm is stunned before retreating to possess someone else. The hunters are unsure who is possessed and so shock each other one at a time to try to reveal the Khan worm. While possessing Bobby , it quickly stabs and kills Rufus , but Sam and Dean overpower him and cover Bobby's ears and nose with duct tape so that the Khan worm cannot escape. It tells them that it doesn't have a name yet because it is a new monster recently created by Eve, who intends for supernatural beings to take over the world. They electrocute Bobby until it falls out of his ear, dead.

10.15 The Things They Carried

Sam and Dean investigate a murder suicide where an Special Forces vet killed another vet, and drank her blood. His widow reports he had an insatiable thirst before he died. The Winchesters discover another member of the same squad, Kit Verson , is experiencing similar symptoms. They visit his wife Jemma , and she confirms this, and reports he is missing. As they leave Cole Trenton is waiting for them. Cole is a friend of Kit's and wants to help - and ensure Sam and Dean don't kill Kit.

Cole finds out from a military contact that the squad concerned was on a mission to rescue a POW held at the Najaf cemetery in Iraq. Footage from the mission shows that the POW was crazed, and was probably the source of infection.

Cole and the Winchesters find that Kit has killed a man at a convenience store. Cole finds out that Kit may have gone to his father's cabin, and takes off to find him. At the cabin, Kit attacks Cole and a Khan worm, leaves his body and enters Cole through his mouth. Sam and Dean arrive, having tailed Cole, but are unable to capture Kit.

Sam takes off after Kit, and Dean attempts to expel the worm from Cole using electrocution, which had worked previously. Despite repeated efforts, it has no effects. Cole and Dean then come up with the idea of dehydrating Cole to drive out the worm, so they light a fire and turn the cabin into a virtual sauna. While Cole attacks Dean twice eventually it works, and the worm leaves Cole and Dean kills it.

Meanwhile Kit has returned home and crazed with thirst, attacks his wife. Sam arrives and saves her and ties up Kit. However he escapes and Sam has to kill him.

• Dean and Bobby both refer to it as the Khan worm because it is reminiscent of the Ceti eel from the Star Trek movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan which after entering through the ear, wrapped itself around a person's brain stem causing extreme pain before making them susceptible to suggestion, and eventually causing madness and death. It was referenced also in 2009's Star Trek reboot in the form of the Centaurian slug which entered through the mouth and also wrapped itself around a person's brain stem and released a toxin which made people susceptible to speaking the truth.
• The original Khan worm has similarities to the Goa'uld from Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis in both appearance and behavior. In Stargate Atlantis , Mitch Pileggi , who portrayed Samuel Campbell , portrayed the character of Colonel Steven Caldwell who was briefly possessed by a Goa'uld similar to how Samuel was possessed by the Khan worm.
• ↑ 6.12 Like a Virgin
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 6.16 ...And Then There Were None
• ↑ 10.15 The Things They Carried
• Creatures & Spirits

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‘Supernatural’s Scariest Monster Appeared More Than Once

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The Big Picture

• The Khan Worm, a six-inch worm named after a Star Trek character, holds its own as Supernatural 's scariest monster due to its grotesque appearance, and its ability to possess and control its victims undetected.
• The Khan Worm is capable of controlling people's bodies and minds, leading to gruesome acts of violence and creating a sense of unease and paranoia among the characters.
• In Season 10, the Khan Worm returns with evolved abilities, such as resistance to electrocution and dehydrating its victims, making it even more formidable and terrifying.

Sam and Dean Winchester ( Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles ) may have conquered countless baddies over the course of Supernatural ’s historic fifteen-year run, but no monsters were more frightening than the ones that turned the beloved brothers against each other. While shapeshifters and leviathans impersonated our heroes, and angels and demons took their meat-suits for a spin, one often forgotten monster of possession pushed the boundaries of trust between the Winchesters and their friends, and left a slimy trail of deadly carnage in its wake. This is, of course, none other than the nefarious Khan Worm — named by Dean, feared by all, and ready to crawl into your ear and make you shoot your cousin.

The Khan Worm Was Created by Eve in Season 6 of ‘Supernatural’

Okay, a six-inch worm named after a Star Trek character might not seem like the biggest contender for Supernatural ’s most terrifying beast, but when we sit back and think about what this monster was capable of, along with all the grotesque side effects of its attacks, we can see how the Khan Worm holds its own among the likes of vampires and changelings and remains the show’s scariest monster.

We first meet the Khan Worm in Season 6, Episode 16, “...And Then There Were None.” The tragic episode of Supernatural lives up to its name as by the end of the episode, Sam, Dean, and Bobby ( Jim Beaver ) are the only ones left standing following a brutal hunt. The episode starts with Season 6’s resident big bad, Eve ( Julia Maxwell ) hitching a ride with a God-fearing truck driver. She kisses the man, and he rejects her advances, but he then returns home later that night and slaughters his family with a hammer. After getting wind of this murder spree and learning that another local man went uncharacteristically ballistic, Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Bobby’s old hunter friend, Rufus ( Steven Williams ) roll into town to investigate, seeing Eve on a security tape with the killer truck driver, who was found to have no memory of his crimes.

Eve was introduced in Season 6 as the “Mother Of All,” aka the creator of the Alphas, who are the first of every monster. Long story short, anything involving her is some seriously bad news, and the hunters head to the cannery where both murderous men were employed to investigate further. At the cannery, the gang is shocked to find their recently revived grandfather, Samuel Campbell ( Mitch Pileggi ) and cousin Gwen ( Jessica Heafey ) also on the case.

The Khan Worm Was ‘Supernatural’s Scariest Monster

For those who need a brief refresher, during Season 6 when Supernatural was trying to navigate its way post- Eric Kripke , the storylines got admittedly more convoluted than they had been in the past. This included bizarre developments like Soulless Sam and the reincarnation of Samuel by Crowley ( Mark Sheppard ) , and Robo-Sam and Grandpa Campbell became a stellar — if not slightly unhinged — hunting team along with never-before-seen third cousins Gwen and Christian ( Coren Nemec ). This newfangled family business largely fell apart when Sam reunited with Dean and got his soul back, so seeing Samuel and Gwen working a case again was as shocking to the audience as it evidently was to the brothers.

The initial shock and granddaddy-issues quickly subside, however, when Dean suddenly shoots Gwen point-blank, killing her. Rufus finds a dark ooze coming from Dean’s ear , and a disgusted Dean then informs the team that a large, black worm-like creature slithered out of his ear and into an air vent, and that he has no memory of shooting Gwen. The group quickly deduces that the worm is controlling people’s bodies and minds, and Dean is quick to dub it the “Khan Worm.” Things delve deeper into body-horror territory when Sam shoots Samuel, whom he believes to be possessed by the worm, and we learn that the monster can keep a person alive even after a bullet to the brain. This is horrifically deduced when Samuel awakens mid-lobotomy (Bobby and Rufus cracked out the cranial saw to see if Samuel did in fact have the worm inside him) and attacks the men. Bobby inadvertently shoves Samuel against a live power outlet, and the electric shock proves to be the only tried and true way to expel the worm from one’s body.

The Khan Worm Brings Out 'Supernatural's Best Performances and Horror

Now, what makes the Khan Worm scarier than any other nightmarish creature that possessed characters on Supernatural ? First off, the Khan Worm is virtually undetectable . Unlike demons that flash black eyes or leviathans that open up their entire face revealing forked tongues and rows of sharp fangs, there really isn’t a good way to tell that your buddy is under the worm's influence until he’s shooting you in the face. This inability to tell when one has been infiltrated by the worm also leads Sam into a small tailspin, because he fears that he may have murdered his grandfather for no reason. While Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Rufus take turns zapping themselves with a live wire to see if any worm fluids start flowing from their ears, there’s still something incredibly eerie about a parasite using your loved one’s hands to murder you. This is exemplified when Rufus notices something off about Bobby, and Bobby lunges at him, fatally stabbing his best friend in the chest.

Similarly, while you can fill a water gun with harmless holy water or borax in order to weed out other beasts, electrocuting your besties is not only wildly impractical, but also extremely dangerous to the person being zapped. After Sam and Dean see that Bobby has become the Khan Worm’s newest host , they knock him out and tie him up, knowing that the only way to free Bobby is to electrocute him until his body becomes inhabitable to the worm, essentially frying it alive inside Bobby’s body. The brothers are forced to duct tape all the worm’s possible escape routes (ie. Bobby’s ears, nose, and mouth), and hold a sizzling wire to his neck, unable to watch as their adored father figure twitches and smokes, with dark ooze leaking out around his face as the worm meets its maker. Bobby miraculously survives the Khan Worm's attack and his subsequent electrocution, but then has to return home and bury the friend that he killed under its dark influence.

The Khan Worm Returns in 'Supernatural' Season 10

Although there were tons of spooky monsters on Supernatural , we also have to admit that some of their scare power was diminished by cable-TV restrictions or iffy special effects (sorry, Wendigo). The Khan Worm, being a monster of possession, was rather allowed to be frightening through the performances of the actors it was controlling, giving them an eerie, growling voice, while also being equally disturbing through the strong visual of the wriggly, oozing beast itself. Watching our beloved Bobby Singer taunt the boys as the Worm forces them to shock him within an inch of his life isn't a visual that many will soon forget. Perhaps the most frightening thing about the Khan Worm, however, is that it seems to have the ability to evolve .

Whatever Happened to the ‘Supernatural’ Spinoff ‘Bloodlines’?

There is nothing more haunting in the Winchester world than this failed ‘Supernatural’ backdoor pilot.

In Season 10, Episode 15 of Supernatural, in the midst of the ongoing Mark of Cain drama, Sam and Dean learn after a series of violent attacks by veterans that the Khan Worm (or at least its "freak cousin," as Dean astutely observes) is back and better than ever. Remaining a thick, gooey worm-like creature that possesses its host and forces them to do its evil bidding, the Khan Worm, which now also has horns, has streamlined its process, now just crawling out of one man's mouth and squirming directly into the next. The worm has also upped its game by becoming resistant to electrocution and dehydrating its victims so powerfully that their skin begins to peel, and they'll settle for drinking blood if it is the only liquid available. When the worm enters Dean's unrequited nemesis-turned-casual friend, Cole Trenton ( Travis Aaron Wade ), they learn that the worm can be forced out and promptly squashed if the person it's inhabiting becomes dehydrated so quickly that the worm is forced to evacuate. This isn't discovered, however, until after Dean has spent a few minutes frying Cole with jumper cables as the man convulses in pain and nearly dies.

Should Supernatural return for its rumored revival , it seems highly unlikely that the dreaded Khan Worm will reprise its role as the show's scariest monster. However, with its slimy, writhing body, insatiable bloodlust, and ability to make even the most loyal hunter turn on his best friend, we can at least rest assured that this squirming vermin won't be underestimated by the Winchesters anytime soon.

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"Wrath of Khan" Worm Found in Mussels

"That looks like the thing they put in Chekov's ear in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan! "

It's not often you hear that phrase in the wet lab of the E/V Nautilus when a scientist pulls a polychete specimen out of a mussel sample collected from the seafloor, but that's exactly what happened when we examined large mussels recovered from the Kick 'em Jenny volcano in 2013. 

See? Right?

We returned again this year for a better look, and the Corps of Exploration on the  Nautilus  spent the last several weeks exploring the area around the only active submarine volcano in the Caribbean. In the outer regions of this volcano, the team discovered cold methane seeps with large communities of chemosynthetic mussels and other organisms. A cold methane seep can occur where a compression event (like a landslide) pushes methane out of the earth without necessarily heat or active venting. This methane then becomes a food source for bacteria and organisms that thrive on the seep. They are hard to find, because they cannot be seen in seafloor mapping, and you have to drift over the top of them with a camera-armed submersible like the ROV Hercules that made these discoveries.

So, what about these alien-like worms? Well, they are found nested inside each of the mussels we've found on the cold methane seeps. Some mussels were found with more than one inside, but even the juveniles had a tiny polychaete living with them. One of our zoological experts on board, Dr. Judith Gobin, from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, is a self professed "worm lover" and could not contain her excitement over finding these particular polychaetes.

"They're wonderful!" she exclaimed, while the rest of us made a face and tried to turn away.

Well, I guess everyone needs someone to love them.

These particular polychaetes love the host mussels in which they live. Dr. Gobin and other scientists suspect they are  Branchipolynoe seepensis , and their host mussel is closest to  Bathymodiolus boomerang , but they have not yet confirmed the exact species of these organisms.

The mussels live on the methane and filter feed, like intertidal mussels, but consume unique microbes that live in their gills as symbionts. The microbes convert methane to energy that the mussels use as their food source. Their relationship with these microbes is so efficient; the mussels themselves have a reduced digestive tract.

The worms live with the mussels in what is thought to be a commensal relationship, or mutually beneficial, and they feed on the gills of the mussels, as well as other invertebrate organisms. 

So why are they blood red? They are full of hemoglobin, which at that depth gives them an increased ability to absorb oxygen efficiently, since dissolved oxygen is limited there. 

Khan may not be able to use these guys to control your mind, but they can certainly help us learn a lot about the amazing environment in which they live.

For more information on methane mussels we explored in the Gulf of Mexico, visit our blog post from July  and this overview article from the Houston Chronicle .

Kick 'em Jenny Submarine Volcano Project

This cruise to the southern Lesser Antilles volcanic arc is part of the INSPIRE project, funded by NSF with the purpose of studying and improving telepresence for ocean exploration. Scientists will implement several student-designed exploration projects led from shore. Kick’em Jenny is the most active submarine volcano in the Caribbean Sea, and during the past century it has shown a history of progressive growth with explosive eruptions.

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How Kirk Came Back to Life In Star Trek Into Darkness and Why It's a Problem

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• Star Trek Into Darkness was controversial due to its misleading marketing about Benedict Cumberbatch playing Khan.
• The film remixed classic Star Trek moments, like Captain Kirk's resurrection using Khan's blood, creating narrative issues.
• The revelation of a potential "death cure" in Starfleet, via Khan's blood, was a major story thread left unresolved.

When creating a new installment of a beloved storytelling universe, whatever story it tells is bound to be controversial to fans. Yet, Star Trek Into Darkness is perhaps the most controversial of the 2010s reboot movies for a number of reasons. However, the biggest problem with the Star Trek Kelvin Timeline is tied to how Captain James T. Kirk came back to life in Into Darkness after dying of radiation exposure.

During the marketing for Star Trek Into Darkness director J.J. Abrams, the cast and anyone involved swore on a stack of Starfleet manuals that Benedict Cumberbatch was not playing classic villain Khan. This was a lie, which Abrams admitted was a mistake and it hurt the film. Yet, even if they'd been upfront about what they were trying to do, the whole story would've still been problematic and not just because of casting. The film "remixed" one of the classic Star Trek moments earned after decades of stories. Beyond the impact on the viewer, the way Doctor McCoy is able to revive Captain Kirk from death created a massive problem the successive film simply never mentions again. Khan's blood is, effectively, a "cure" for death.

Why It Was a Mistake to Try to Revisit The Wrath of Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness

The new star trek series could erase the kelvin timeline, but shouldn't.

Since the Kelvin Timeline movies debuted, some Star Trek fans want them erased from canon, and the Paramount+ series could do it. But it shouldn't.

Spock's death in The Wrath of Khan is a singular moment in Star Trek and, arguably, cinema. In the docuseries The Center Seat - 55 Years of Star Trek , director Nicholas Meyer talked about shooting that scene and how it brought the crew to tears. The history between Kirk and Spock, as well as William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in those roles, gave it a poignancy that can't be matched or imitated . The two characters -- who mean so much to fans and each other -- are separated by a simple pane of glass, creating a heartbreaking closeness and distance in those final moments. The scene in Star Trek Into Darkness , which swaps Kirk and Spock, has none of that.

When filming that scene, legendary Star Trek producer Harve Bennett realized they needed an "out" for Spock. On that day, Leonard Nimoy improvised the mind-meld with an unconscious Doctor McCoy, saying the word "Remember." They knew they needed a way to bring Spock back from oblivion, and it took two full movies to do it: The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home . Both the Spock character and Nimoy continued, even appearing briefly in Star Trek Into Darkness to offer some sage advice to his younger self. Yet, this universe and these versions of the characters had neither the history nor the narrative space to do justice to their version of this moment .

Fans and critics alike can quibble about whether Khan should've been used in the story or not. In fact, Khan is barely a villain in the movie, with Admiral Alexander Marcus as the true "heavy" of the film. The inclusion of Khan , and this clunky remix of Spock's death, undercut what was a relevant and, arguably, powerful story about American foreign policy over the past 30 years like Star Trek: The Original Series often did with the politics and conflicts of its day. Like with the prescient political allegory in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Star Wars prequels, fans missed all that. Only rather than being too far afield from what they expected, Star Trek Into Darkness tried to recapture the magic of one of the universe's best stories of old.

Star Trek Into Darkness Used Khan's Super Blood to Bring Kirk Back to Life

Star trek into darkness is a better movie than fans remember.

From the Khan deception to a corrupt Starfleet, Star Trek Into Darkness was a controversial movie, but a decade later, it's better than fans remember.

While the Star Trek films of the past took two sequels to bring back the version of Spock audiences recognized, the Kelvin Timeline had no such luxury. Kirk needed to be alive and back in command of the USS Enterprise when credits rolled. In fact, the film ends with the beginning of the "five-year mission" the ship was on in Star Trek: The Original Series . Spock was revived thanks to "the Genesis Device" which created life on dead planets. Kirk was revived by Khan's genetically-augmented blood which didn't create life, but it did bring one of Star Trek 's fuzzy little tribbles back from the dead .

In the scene in which Kirk regains consciousness -- apparently two full weeks after Khan's defeat -- McCoy mentions he was "barely dead." Earlier, he places Kirk's body in a cryo-tube to "preserve brain function." This suggests that without this device, Kirk's death would've been more permanent, Khan's "super-blood" notwithstanding. Beyond this, the characters don't turn to Star Trek 's signature "technobabble" used to explain the magical, impossible things they do with their future technology. How Khan's blood reanimated the tribble, or Kirk for that matter , is left to viewers' imaginations.

Similarly, Into Darkness doesn't reveal what happens to Khan or his genetically augmented "family" in the cryo-tubes. There is a single scene of them all laid out in a dark, sealed room, reminiscent of the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark . While this is something of a story problem, it also creates an in-universe problem that pushes at the limits of scientific ethics and how far these scientists of the future can go to preserve life . After all, that is one of the central missions of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. Khan's blood, even if only in certain cases, is a cure for death.

Has Starfleet Found a Way to Reverse Death in the Kelvin Timeline?

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In the film, McCoy is insistent that it has to be Khan whose blood is used to bring Kirk back. Despite the fact there are more than ten dozen other genetic augments in cryo-tubes on the ship. Again, this is not explained, but it's easy to surmise why it had to be Khan. In Star Trek: Enterprise , other genetic augments like Khan appeared in a story, showing not all of them were created equal .

As a prequel, Enterprise is technically part of the Kelvin Timeline , too. With Kirk's life on the line and time being of the essence, McCoy is insistent on using Khan's blood to synthesize his death cure simply because he knows it will work. But what about after the events of Star Trek Into Darkness ? Unless Starfleet Medical would be able to synthesize McCoy's cure without more of Khan's blood, he and any augments with this specific modification could reverse countless unnecessary deaths .

Anyone who succumbs to radiation poisoning or similar maladies could be revived and healed with a simple infusion, provided they were frozen before brain function ceased. While the film makes it clear that using Khan and his fellow augments as instruments of death is evil, would it be so bad if their blood was used to save lives? Since Khan and his fellow augments simply want to live their lives in peace, they might even consent to allowing Starfleet to "use" them to create a bulwark against death.

Should Star Trek Revisit Into Darkness in the Final Kelvin Timeline Movie?

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Star Trek Beyond didn't bring up Khan, his super-blood or McCoy's death cure, even though they could've used it. With a fourth and final Kelvin Timeline film on the horizon, should this topic be broached again? At the very least, storytellers could hand-wave it away like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker did with "the Holdo Maneuver" from Star Wars: The Last Jedi . With a few lines of technobabble, McCoy or someone else could explain Kirk's resurrection was a fluke and successive attempts to resurrect the recently dead had failed.

It's been almost ten years since this cast joined together to make a Star Trek film. The tragic passing of Chekov actor Anton Yelchin only adds to the reasons never to mention this again. Still, without sufficiently addressing McCoy's serum that resurrected Kirk in Into Darkness , the question of whether Starfleet is sitting on a "death cure" is a very large story thread left dangling. For all the questionable decisions made during the making of and release of Star Trek Into Darkness , this is perhaps the biggest mistake.

Star Trek Into Darkness is available to own on DVD, Blu-ray, digital and streams on Paramount+ .

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After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction

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Robin Curtis Looks Back at Star Trek III: The Search for Spock For Its 40th Anniversary

Curtis on portraying Saavik, being directed by Leonard Nimoy, and more!

StarTrek.com

Forty years ago this weekend, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock inherited the monumental task of picking up the tale of Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the U.S.S. Enterprise crew following Spock's tragic death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Written by Harve Bennett and directed by Leonard Nimoy himself, the film dealt with the aftermath of the battle with Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), the evolution of the newly-created Genesis Planet, and Kirk's unsanctioned jaunt to bring Spock's body and katra — a Vulcan’s living spirit — to be reunited on Mount Seleya.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Complete with Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of a ruthless Klingon commander named Kruge, the original Star Trek series' cast's signature camaraderie, and an adventurous spirit, the third Star Trek film welcomed Robin Curtis to the role of Lieutenant Saavik, the Vulcan officer who accompanied Kirk's son Doctor David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) during his expedition to the Genesis Planet. Curtis was kind enough to speak to StarTrek.com and help us celebrate The Search for Spock 's 40th anniversary by reflecting on her time as Saavik and the rare experience of playing a Vulcan while being directed by Leonard Nimoy.

Four decades later, and Robin Curtis recollects that her respect for Nimoy as a director and collaborator was established the instant they met. "Right out of the gate, I could express nothing but praise for working with him, and it's only gotten better over time. Like good wine, my experience with him has aged well," remarks Curtis. "I look back with such fondness at his sensitivity, his respect for other actors, his ability to orchestrate the existing cast — his fellow coworkers for so many years — and newcomers like myself and Christopher Lloyd."

During her audition for the role of Saavik, Curtis had the unique distinction of hearing Nimoy's insight into what an actor can do to truly become a Vulcan. "Mr. Nimoy took such a lovely, intuitive approach to directing. He said, 'Vulcans have 1,000 years of wisdom behind the eyes,'" says Curtis of Nimoy's early advice regarding the Vulcan nature. "When I was given the role, he told me I should look in the mirror [and practice] talking without using my face to express what I was saying. Being so still and so contained near about did me in, and I thought I was failing so miserably at it that I was going to be fired. I didn't feel the innate knack or confidence that I was nailing it."

The challenge of assuming a Vulcan disposition weighed even more heavily on Curtis' shoulders when placed in context with her desire to deliver an excellent performance. "I was as serious as a heart attack on the set! I didn't speak until I was spoken to, which is totally unlike my normally sociable self. I was very earnest, wanting to show and demonstrate that I was grateful for this part. I wanted to do a good job and hit it out of the park," adds Curtis, who sensed that Nimoy appreciated her devotion to the film and her role as Saavik, as well as her overall work ethic and approach to acting.

In spite of her doubts, Curtis had her morale boosted by a pact she made with the director. "I shook his hand on my very first day of filming, and I said, 'Mr. Nimoy, you seem to think I know what I'm doing. And I need to tell you I do not.' And he said, 'Robin, I will take you every step of the way. I will never take you out on the end of a limb and leave you there.' I said, 'Deal.' And we shook hands on it, and he fulfilled that promise in each and every scene," declares Curtis.

Curtis also attests that there were certain scenes which were easier to approach and more straightforward than others. Those involving Saavik and weighty emotions demanded more scrutiny and attention. For example, while holding Saavik, Kirk's son David Marcus, and a reborn Spock hostage on the Genesis Planet, Kruge ordered one of his soldiers to kill a prisoner in order to demonstrate his conviction toward acquiring the Genesis Device. The sentence was inflicted upon David, and Saavik was forced to report the death to the man's father. "That [moment] filled me with anxiety and dread. How could I possibly say that with the Vulcan demeanor?"

Those complexities also rang true on the other end of the emotional spectrum. With a rapidly aging Spock overwhelmed by the urges of the pon farr , or the Vulcan time of mating, Saavik guided him through the intimate process. This scene, with its close contact and affectionate hand gesture, represented another significant Vulcan hurdle to overcome. "The reverence and enormity and profundity of pon farr , and going into this cave with Spock," begins Curtis. "We came to the set with no sense of what that would look like. [Young Spock actor] Stephen Manley and I were both a little trepidatious about what Lenoard was going to have us do. What would a Vulcan love scene or Vulcan foreplay look like? In fact, I've only just learned recently that the simple gesture that Leonard introduced us to that day, the notion of [the characters] joining their fingers, was originally introduced by Spock's mother and Sarek in the television series."

Behind-the-scenes of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Of course, having pioneered the Vulcan temperament for nearly 20 years by the time The Search for Spock entered production, Nimoy was singularly suited to answer questions about such delicate matters. Whether dealing with Saavik's reaction to David's death, the intimacy of pon farr , or any of Curtis' other scenes, Curtis recalls Nimoy's valuable input. "He would take me aside before every scene, and we'd sit down at the edge of the set on the platform, and I'd say the lines. He would moderate me no differently than we do with our cars with the radio volume. I was so grateful for that," shares Curtis.

Shifting her focus to her overall impression of their professional association, Curtis conveys her appreciation for Nimoy's leadership on the film before admitting she does have one slight regret. "I absolutely love the man. Loved him as a person, loved him as a director, and I'm sorry that I was too shy to even hint or suggest that we would have a friendship outside the realm of the shoots themselves."

While their friendship was largely limited to the production itself, the director did leave an indelible impact on Curtis' personal life. "Leonard Nimoy was aware that my father was battling cancer at the time, and it wasn't looking good," notes Curtis. "The best thing I remember about Star Trek is that it was a colossally beautiful distraction from the agony we were feeling as a family. Leonard Nimoy reminds me of my dad, and they were the same age. And [Nimoy] was so sensitive and kind about the idea that Star Trek was such a gift and a bright light for my family in a time of suffering. Ultimately, my dad lived long enough to see the movie. I went home to be at the Riverside Mall in Utica, New York, with my neighbors and family, and my dad made it to the movie theatre. I will always be grateful for that."

Curtis' thankfulness extends to the many fans who regularly compliment her for her tenure as Saavik in The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . "I'm flabbergasted at the multitude of ways that [Star Trek] has enriched my life. My heart explodes over the tenacity of the fans and how the franchise only gets better and richer. People are very generous and sentimental about [ The Search for Spock ]. They understood it was part of a triumvirate [of films]," observes Curtis. Referring to her final on-screen moments in The Voyage Home , in which Saavik and Amanda Grayson remain behind on Vulcan, Curtis jokes, "What did she and [Amanda Grayson actor] Jane Wyatt get up to? [ laughs ] What happened with the pon farr ? Did she end up being pregnant? I think the fans were just as curious as I was."

Perceiving her connection with the fans as a gift, Curtis contemplates an unexpected phone call she received from a medical facility in Cleveland, Ohio. A young man who she had once met at a convention had been taken off of dialysis and given only two weeks to live. The staff member contacting Curtis informed her that the man's last wish was to share a meal with her. "I had shown him some kindness at a convention in Ohio in the '90s, and he remembered," reveals Curtis, who didn't hesitate to make the five-hour drive to Cleveland that very same day. Before leaving, Curtis advised the caller, "You tell him I'll be there for dinner, and I wouldn't miss it for the world." Arriving Friday evening, Curtis spent every waking hour of that weekend with the fan. After departing on Sunday, they talked each day until he passed the following week. "That was a gift to me, and I like to think maybe a small gift to him," explains Curtis, noting that their connection has endured via her ongoing friendship with the fan's aunt.

The Search for Spock clearly meant a lot to those who watched it repeatedly, but Curtis' own perception of the movie has evolved since its release. "I saw the film at the time and then never saw it again for so many years. My memory of it was that it was depressing [ laughs ]," confesses Curtis. "The fact of the matter is, everything dies. Genesis dies, the ship dies, Kirk's son dies. Spock comes back to life, but he starts out dead [ laughs ]." As was the case for many of us, the pandemic changed everything for Curtis. "We were all in our houses and seeking connection. I felt like I needed to go back, so I rewatched [ The Next Generation two-parter] 'Gambit,' and I rewatched the movie. And I thought, 'This is funny!' There's a lot of good parts in this film that aren't depressing. I don't know why I had that impression stuck in my brain, but maybe it's because my involvement was very serious. Everything I had to do dealt with great disappointment and loss and tragedy."

Looking back, Curtis cites Sarek's mind meld with Admiral Kirk as her favorite scene, describing the sentiment behind the characters' interaction, the cinematography, and the close up of the actors' faces as "gorgeous." Though she felt the mood on the set of The Voyage Home was more joyful and playful — after all, she still has Polaroids of herself making funny faces with Walter Koenig, George Takei, Kirk Thatcher, and other cast and crew, Curtis maintains fond memories of working on The Search for Spock . "The cast were so generous and classy with me, and they understood the weight upon my shoulders as the newcomer. They were reassuring. I remember Walter Koenig told me to keep a journal. And of course, like a jackass, I didn't listen. [ laughs ]," jests Curtis. "Now, I wish I had kept one."

The Search for Spock 's conclusion exuded hope and wonder, as Spock's body and katra were reunited in a ceremony on Mount Seleya. Following his resurrection, Spock passes by each crew member in attendance, eventually finding himself embraced by the group. Although a glance between Spock and Saavik was fleeting, much preparation went into that moment. "[Nimoy] approached me before the scene and asked, 'How would you feel if you were to suddenly come upon somebody that you loved or were intimate with on a New York City street? How would you imagine that?' In the matter of a split second, so many thoughts went through my mind," says Curtis. "First, what a personal question to ask. Then I felt tenderness, embarrassment, sentimentality, nostalgia, and vulnerability all at once. I looked up at him, then looked down. He said, 'That’s it!' And I thought, ' Oh, okay, I love you! ' It is so lovely and simple when a director does that. No arm wrestling had to happen, he just asked me a simple question and I got [the scene]."

As for The Search for Spock 's ending, when Spock's friends crowd around him on Vulcan, Curtis recollects that she and the other cast members were given a general direction to "be encouraged by that moment and confident that his katra had been restored. Sometimes we don't work those moments out, and it's all on the fly. It was very much off-the-cuff." Whether meticulously planned or inspired by the moment, these scenes combined to create a film that has stood the test of time and established itself as a crucial installment in the pantheon of Star Trek stories.

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

All About Worms

Your place to find out all about worms, caterpillars, and other (not so) creepy crawlies.

Wrath of Khan Worm Ear

The Wrath of Khan Worm Ear is, in reality, an earworm. The nickname was acquired from the show Star Trek as ear worms were used as a form of torture during the show. Worms would be put into someone or something’s ear in order to cause pain and discomfort. The worms would enter the brain through the ear and then eat the victim’s brain causing great agony and, in the end, causing the victim to go insane.

In reality, the term earworm refers to getting music, a song or a part of a song stuck in one’s head. The inability to get lyrics or sound out of one’s mind can be rather irritating at times. The phenomenon is common and most everyone has experienced it at one time or another in their lives.

It is important to note that earworms are not actual living creatures. It is simply a name that came about from the German language to describe the experience of getting a song in one’s head and then not being able to get rid of it.

Some people are more inclined to have this experience than others. There does not seem to be any logic or reason behind why this occurs more frequently for certain individuals although there has been a connection between the frequency of occurrence and individu8als with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

OCD is a serious disorder that afflicts thousands of people around the world. Considered an anxiety disorder by the medical community, OCD causes individuals to have obsessive thoughts and repeat actions over and again to ensure that they have been done correctly.

For example, people with OCD may be obsessed with the number three so they have to do everything three times. They have to wash their hands three times every time they wash them; open and shut doors three times; or start their cars three times before starting to drive. There are medications to treat OCD and these medications have been shown to help some people with the disease reduce the frequency of earworms.

People with OCD report having earworms more often than those without. Research has documented the occurrence and the frequency of occurrence many times and alternative names for the phenomenon have been suggested. In 2003, Sean Bennett suggested Musical Imagery Repetition (MIR) as a possible name. And, in 2007, Oliver Sacks suggested Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI).

Neither of these names has replaced the Wrath of Khan or Earworm as the most common reference. The Wrath of Khan seems to be popular for the connection between the phenomenon and the idea of torture as the inability to get a repeating song or lyric out of one’s head can truly seem like torture at times.

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Why William Shatner Allegedly Blocked Kirstie Alley From Returning For 'Star Trek 3,' According To A Trek Documentarian

Posted: June 2, 2024 | Last updated: June 2, 2024

Space may be the final frontier in the "Star Trek" world, but apparently, earthbound grudges can still travel quite keenly through the vastness of space. "Icons Unearthed" director Brian Volk-Weiss knows that firsthand, as an interview he conducted for another project involving Gene Roddenberry’s “Wagon Train to the stars” saw "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’s" Kirstie Alley tell a story about how William Shatner allegedly blocked her from returning for the next film in the series that gave us some of the best sci-fi movies.

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Star trek: discovery season 5 finale ending & shocking epilogue explained.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Star trek: discovery proved burnham’s starship is better than uss enterprise in 1 big way, discovery’s ending sets a star trek record & creates 2 new admirals.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery's Season 5 & Series Finale - "Life, Itself"

• Captain Burnham makes a pivotal choice to banish the Progenitors' technology for the greater good of the galaxy.
• USS Discovery's epic battle against the Breen pays homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation with a saucer separation.
• The finale hints at a future for Admiral Burnham and the USS Discovery, leaving the door open for potential sequels or movies.

Star Trek: Discovery 's stunning season 5 and series finale concludes the hunt for the greatest treasure in the galaxy, and the extended finale's emotional epilogue finally answers one of Discovery 's biggest questions as it says goodbye to Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her crew. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise and directed by Olatunde Osunname, Star Trek: Discovery 's finale, "Life, Itself", sees Captain Burnham make a pivotal choice about the Progenitors' treasure while the USS Discovery defeats the Breen.

Captain Burnham competed with Moll (Eve Harlow) for the Progenitors' technology, but it could only be Michael who could access it as she passed every test that came with the Progenitors scientists' clues . Burnham met one of the Progenitors (Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama) who revealed Michael was to be the new steward of the Progenitors' technology, as Betazoid scientist Dr. Marina Derex was when she found it in the 24th century. Meanwhile, Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) faced down Breen Primarch Tahal (Patricia Summersett) while Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) led the USS Discovery to keep the Breen dreadnought from reaching the portal to the Progenitors' technology. Here's how Star Trek: Discovery ended and what it all meant.

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Why Captain Burnham Sends The Progenitors’ Technology Away

Star trek already has "infinite diversity in infinite combinations".

The Progenitor gave Captain Burnham the choice of what to do with the power of creation, and Michael decided that no one culture should control it. Instead, Burnham decided to send the Progenitors' portal into the binary black holes' event horizon to keep it safe and unreachable. Michael's decision was born from the fact that she didn't want the responsibility of being the technology's steward but, more importantly, Burnham realized Star Trek 's galaxy already has "infinite diversity in infinite combinations". Control of the technology, even by the United Federation of Planets, would ultimately lead to abuse, war, and death.

The Progenitor revealed that the technology is older than they were and that their species found it and decided to use it to populate the galaxy with myriad humanoid lifeforms because their species was alone in the universe.

As she exited the Progenitors' dimension, Captain Burnham witnessed four billion years of creation and everything that led to the galaxy's existence. This solidified Michael's choice to banish the power of creation. Tragically for Moll, the Progenitor revealed to Burnham that while the technology could resurrect L'ak (Elias Toufexis) physically, it can't restore his memories or his personality . Burham and Moll returned to the USS Discovery where Moll was taken into custody. Burnham told her crew that she would speak to President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) and Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) about her choice to banish the power of creation, and she felt that they would agree. Ultimately, Burnham was empowered by the Progenitor and made the unilateral decision she felt was right for the galaxy.

Moll too willingly accepted Burnham's explanation that there was no way to resurrect L'ak, but it's possible Moll was fed her own information when she tried and failed to access the Progenitors' technology.

USS Discovery Beat The Breen With A Star Trek: TNG Enterprise Tribute

Discovery did a saucer separation.

As Ambassador Saru and Commander Nhan (Rachael Ancheril) tried to ward Primarch Tahal from entering the battle for the Progenitors' portal, the USS Discovery was still outmatched by the Breen dreadnought. Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) piloted a shuttle to lock onto the portal. They succeeded because Culber was able to access the memories of Trill scientist Jinaal for the right coordinates . Hugh achieving the ineffable though Jinaal paid off his growing spiritual enlightenment throughout Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

Meanwhile, Commander Rayner and the USS Discovery defeated the Breen dreadnought with one final, awesome tribute to Star Trek: The Next Generation and the USS Enterprise-D. Rayner ordered a saucer separation and gambled on Discovery's spore drive being able to jump the dreadnought if it was in the middle of both components of Discovery. Saru then led Tahal's ship to the other Breen dreadnought as Rayner's daring plan worked: All of the Breen were instantaneously sent to the Galactic Barrier, a node to the USS Discovery's journey to make First Contact with Species 10-C at the end of S tar Trek: Discovery season 4 .

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's story is a sequel to the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6 episode, "The Chase".

Doctor Kovich's True Identity Is Daniels From Star Trek: Enterprise

It's been a long road getting from there to here..

Star Trek: Discovery finally revealed the identity of Doctor Kovich (David Cronenberg): the bespectacled Federation official, Kovich, is the older version of Agent Daniels (Matt Winston) from Star Trek: Enterprise ! In the 22nd century, Daniels posed as a member of the NX-01 Enterprise's crew and revealed Star Trek 's Temporal War to Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). Using the codename "Doctor Kovich", which is itself a Red Directive, Daniels is now protecting the Federation and the timeline post-Temporal Wars.

Star Trek legacy Easter eggs shown in Doctor Kovich's office include Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) VISOR, Captain Benjamin Sisko's (Avery Brooks) baseball, and a Chateau Picard wine bottle.

Doctor Kovich introduced himself to Captain Burnham as "Agent Daniels, USS Enterprise... and other places" , which is a nod to the 26th century's USS Enterprise-J Daniels served on, but also the NX-01 Enterprise led by Captain Archer. Further, Kovich had plans for Moll, believing the skilled former courier could be "useful" after she serves her Federation prison sentence. There were numerous theories about Doctor Kovich's true identity, including that he could be a Lanthanite or El-Aurian, but Kovich really being Agent Daniels is a stunning revelation that pleasingly ties Star Trek: Discovery back to Star Trek: Enterprise .

How Star Trek: Discovery Ends For USS Discovery’s Crew

Discovery's crew gets one final reunion.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's ending gave certain members of the crew conclusions to their arcs . Dr. Hugh Culber had one of his big questions answered about his growing spiritual enlightenment. Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) saw the growth of Captain Burnham and Commander Rayner's relationship and decided to apply a similar mentorship program to Starfleet Academy. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) protested Burnham banishing the Progenitors' technology, but resigned himself to his achievements and being proud of what a fine (and wise) Starfleet Officer Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) has become.

As seen in Star Trek: Discovery' s finale epilogue, the crew of the USS Discovery assembled on the bridge in a powerful and resonant ending reminiscent of Titanic . Not only was the cast of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 all there, but so were Commanders Kayla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo), and Lt. Commander Ronald Bryce (Ronnie Rowe, Jr.), who missed most or all of Star Trek: Discovery season 5. It was a beautiful moment honoring the actors and characters who have spanned Star Trek: Discovery 's five seasons.

Book & Burnham Reunite At Admiral Saru & President T'Rina's Wedding

Discovery's first couple are back on..

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's original ending was the wedding of Saru and President T'Rina (Tara Rosling), which took place "several weeks" after Captain Burnham found the Progenitors' technology. The Kelpien and Vulcan tied the knot, and Admiral Charles Vance revealed that Saru has been promoted to Admiral. Meanwhile, Burnham and Cleveland Booker put their personal turmoil behind them and declared that they love each other. United once more, Book joined Burnham on the USS Discovery's next mission after Doctor Kovich summoned her with her Infinity Room symbol .

Thanks to his heroic efforts in helping locate the Progenitors' technology, Book's Federation sentence has been commuted and he is a free man.

Saru and T'Rina's wedding was attended by the crew of the USS Discovery, who are Saru's family, and many Vulcan and Federation dignitaries. While it wasn't made clear, Star Trek: Discovery 's finale hints that Commander Rayner remained aboard the USS Discovery as First Officer and Lt. Tilly returned to her teaching post at Starfleet Academy. Presumably, the rest of the USS Discovery's crew reported to their starship for their new mission after Saru and T'Rina were wed .

Admiral Saru likely took a new role overseeing Starfleet with Admiral Vance at Federation HQ so he could remain close to his bride, T'Rina.

Star Trek: Discovery Epilogue: Admiral Burnham and Book’s Son Is The New Captain Burnham

Starfleet's burnham legacy continues..

Star Trek: Discovery 's finale epilogue flashes forward roughly 30 years , placing it in the 3220s. Cleveland Booker has been happily married to Admiral Michael Burnham for decades, and they have made their home on Sanctuary Four, where Book and Michael once dropped off Molly the trance worm in Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Book also planted the world root from Kwejian he was given by the Eternal Gallery and Archive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 on Sanctuary Four, which remade the planet's flora into a new, thriving version of Kwejian, Book's doomed homeworld.

Michael and Book also have an adult son who is the new Captain Burnham. Named for Book's nephew Leto (Luca Doulgeris), who died along with Kwejian at the start of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Michael and Book's son is the newly promoted Captain Leto Burnham (Sawandi Wilson), who came to Sanctuary Four to escort his mother to Federation HQ and the USS Discovery's final mission. Admiral Burnham had wise words of connection and family for her son, who hopes to find the same relationships with the crew of his unnamed starship as Michael did with the USS Discovery's crew.

Admiral Michael Burnham learned the lesson that the deeper meaning she was searching for was spending the time you have with the people you love.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Epilogue Finally Confirms Short Treks' “Calypso” Is Canon

Discovery answers its biggest short trek mystery.

Star Trek: Discovery' s finale epilogue ends with one last incredible surprise as the series sets up the Star Trek: Short Treks episode, "Calypso" and officially makes it canon . In "Calypso", Zora (Annabelle Wallis) and the USS Discovery are alone in a region of space for hundreds of years when a soldier named Craft (Aldis Hodge) comes aboard and forms a bittersweet relationship with the lonely A.I. Admiral Burnham tells Zora that Discovery's final voyage is a Red Directive mission , and she only knows the word "Craft" but not who or what it means.

To synch back up with Star Trek: Short Treks ' "Calypso", the USS Discovery is retrofitted back to its 23rd-century Crossfield Class design, with the A removed from its USS Discovery-A designation . Admiral Burnham tells Zora that when they reach their destination, she and the crew will leave. But after Zora meets Craft, the USS Discovery will come back and form a new family with the descendants of her original crew. The final shot of Star Trek: Discovery is the USS Discovery given full honors by Starfleet in a sendoff as it spore jumps to its destiny in "Calypso".

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange" also set up "Calypso" but in an alternate timeline where the Breen destroyed the Federation with the Progenitors' technology.

Star Trek: Discovery Doesn’t Close The Door On Season 6 Or A Movie

There could still be more discovery someday..

Star Trek: Discovery 's ending and epilogue conclude Captain Michael Burnham's story , but despite showing the future of Admiral Burnham and the USS Discovery, the finale's coda still doesn't preclude season 6 or a Star Trek: Discovery streaming movie . After all, Captain Burnham and Discovery launch a new mission in season 5's ending before the flash forward. While Admiral Saru has a new role in Starfleet and Lt. Sylvia Tilly is back at Starfleet Academy, the rest of the USS Discovery's crew presumably flew back into action. And Discovery has many more years of adventures to come that audiences won't see.

Fingers are crossed that Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery will return someday.

For now, Star Trek: Discovery is over and there are no known plans for Star Trek: Discovery season 6 or a reunion movie , but this doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future after some time has passed. Star Trek on Paramount+ still has Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 3 and 4, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , and Star Trek: Section 31 coming in the next two years. But given that all three of those projects spun off from Star Trek: Discovery , Michael Burnham's show remains crucial to the Star Trek on Paramount+ franchise. Fingers are crossed that Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery will return someday.

All 5 seasons of Star Trek: Discovery are streaming on Paramount+

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‘Star Trek III’ at 40: The Story of How (and Why) Leonard Nimoy Brought Spock Back After Being Killed Off In ‘The Wrath of Khan’

Where to stream:.

• Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed For Season 4 At Paramount+

Bill maher applauds william shatner for controversial ‘star trek’ interracial kiss, patrick stewart was asked to wear a wig at his ‘star trek’ audition — a wig that flew by itself from heathrow to lax, tom hardy “never said ‘good morning'” or “good night” while filming ‘star trek: nemesis,’ says patrick stewart.

Star Trek is an enormous and expanding universe, but if there is one specific thing, one icon that projects the essence of this franchise with the power of a starship at warp, it’s Mr. Spock and his pointy ears. Like John Wayne on a horse or Charlie Chaplin falling down, Leonard Nimoy’s stern visage is one of the key texts of the moving image. And after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , the geniuses in charge had killed the character. Illogical.

Now 40 years old, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock course-corrected the franchise, and brought the best first officer in the galaxy back to life. The movie is certainly the weakest of the arc that connects the second, third, and fourth films, but it is by no means anything other than a blast. If you remember it as mostly being the glue between The Wrath of Khan (the awesome showdown with Ricardo Mantalbán) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the one with the whales) you owe yourself a second ride with the crew of the USS Enterprise, motivated to break all the rules to save one of their own. 

The New 4K “Director’s Edition” of ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ on Paramount+ Boldly Goes Where No Other Cuts Have Gone Before

How the movie came to be is a little amusing. Though Leonard Nimoy is remembered now as a warm, older representative of interstellar kindness who, toward the end, signed off his tweets as “Grampa,” there was a period where the Boston-born actor, director, photographer and philanthropist had a reputation as being a bit of a grump. In 1975, the Star Trek star published a memoir called I Am Not Spock , that many interpreted to mean “hey, don’t confuse me with that dorky TV show.” (It wasn’t really the case: the book’s title was inspired by an encounter with a confused child who met him at an airport, and contains imagined dialogues between Nimoy and his famous screen character.) Prior to production on Star Trek: The Motion Picture , a puzzling movie that can now be recognized for its greatness , Nimoy and Paramount were in a bit of a legal war over the studio’s licensing of Spock’s image for a series of Heineken ads . (The corporation got paid, Nimoy did not.) After a drawn-out case, Nimoy agreed to appear in Star Trek II conditional on the character getting a big death scene. His wish was granted, and that sacrificial moment is—with Spock announcing that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one—without question the most touching and memorable moment in the entire 58-year-old history of Trek . 

The legend goes that Nimoy’s attitude toward wearing the ears again thawed during the making of the movie. The producers were able to convince him to shoot a little insurance: an insert of Spock gripping Dr. McCoy’s face and uttering the word “remember.” A final shot of Spock’s coffin (a refitted photon torpedo tube) on the new planet Genesis, then-roiling with regenerative molecules, was just enough ammunition for fans to argue that Spock would definitely be coming back. When Leonard Nimoy was given the chance to direct the next movie (his first feature film, though he had experience on television) the phasers were officially charged. 

The resultant work, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock , is the dorkiest look at Cartesian dualism put to film. The mission is this: get the mind of Spock, temporarily dumped in his old Frenemy’s noodle, and the body of Spock, luckily regrowing on the weird (and unstable) man-made planet, and bring them both to the sacred Mount Seleya on Vulcan so an old Priestess could mumble some hocus pocus and make everything right again.

To make the movie more interesting, of course, there has to be some complications. First up, Starfleet has cordoned off Genesis, but that just means Captain Kirk and his buddies have to steal their old ship. Second, there are some pesky Klingons (led by Christopher Lloyd and including…John Larroquette?) who want the secrets of Genesis, and are ready to kill anything in their path. Then there’s the planet itself, a scientific failure about to blow up, and on it are Lt. Saavik and Kirk’s son David, trapped there doing recon work. Also: a rapidly aging Spockling who, even though I first saw this when I was a very young boy, I somehow intuited that he got it on with Saavik to survive the throes of his pon faar , a fearsome time in which normally logical Vulcans turn to absolute brutes if they can not find a mate. (Don’t look for court-ready evidence of this in the movie, but follow-up Trek novels offer more hints that this is what happened.) 

It’s a fairly simple story, but there’s a lot to treasure. It’s well-known that throughout the masterpiece of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Kirk and Khan are never “on stage” together, they only communicate through screens. Well, in this one, Kirk never knows his enemy’s name. He calls Christopher Lloyd’s Commander Kruge “Klingon Commander” right up to the end. 

And what an end! It’s William Shatner pounding Doc Brown in the face with his boot shouting “I have had ENOUGH of YOU!!!!!!” Hardly the classic dialogue from Spock’s death scene, but somehow perfect. There’s also a hilarious scene in a space station bar where it is implied that Dr. McCoy has an ongoing flirtation with a kitschy Jetsons -like waitress . It’s one of the few moments of high camp in the entire franchise, and it’s wonderful. Also, Star Trek III has some terrific sartorial choices, like Sulu’s not-quite-jacket/not-quite-cape that he wears during a scene in which they break McCoy out of the brig. 

The big finish, featuring the Vulcan ritual of Fal-Tor-Pan, is shot in a surreal, stage-like manner. The background actors include more beefy guys and willowy women than you typically think of as residents of the science-forward desert planet. Though it is somewhat dependent on the measure of your emotional investment in these characters, the concluding resurrection is surprisingly cathartic. It’s just plain nice to see the gang back together again. 

It is amusing, though, that the film’s stated message is that, no, the needs of the few or the one actually outweigh the needs of the many. When Kirk and Spock have this exchange, I always wait for one of them to add a “sometimes.” It never comes. I guess they just got swept up in the emotion of the moment, because this sentiment is hard to defend!

Anyway, Nimoy came back to direct Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , and stuck around for two more movies, made a memorable appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation , then was the connective tissue for J.J. Abrams’s 2009 Star Trek reboot and sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness . Clearly he turned his opinion around a bit. Indeed, in later years he wrote a second memoir, with a very funny title: I Am Spock . The choice was logical. 

Jordan Hoffman is a writer and critic in New York City. His work also appears in Vanity Fair, The Guardian, and the Times of Israel. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, and tweets at @JHoffman about Phish and Star Trek.

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‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Costume Designer Breaks Down Wedding Outfits, Progenitors Looks and New Starfleet Uniforms

By Scott Mantz

Scott Mantz

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After 65 episodes, “ Star Trek: Discovery ” boldly wrapped up its ambitious five-season run with “Life, Itself,” in which Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green) finally found the technology of the Progenitors that she and her crew had searched for, only to let it stay hidden after deeming that it too powerful to be in the hands of one civilization.

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After they were first introduced in a 1993 episode of “The Next Generation,” the Progenitors were finally revealed in “Life, Itself,” though with updated attire. As Tran explains, “I think costumes from the older shows look like they’re from the time from when the show originated, so our Progenitor had to feel a bit more ethereal. It became a lot about the materials we used, which had some metallic flax in it. That made it feel kind of amorphous, and the way it was cut was meant to be modern with a little cape, which also made it feel a little angelic. But the overall goal was just to make it feel as timeless as possible.”

As for the royal 32nd Century wedding between Saru and T’Rina, Tran found inspiration from another royal wedding, this one from the 20th Century. “My main reference point was Grace Kelly’s wedding to Prince Rainier. He was wearing his traditional thing, and then she came from Hollywood wearing her traditional thing.”

When it came to T’Rina’s wedding gown, which weighed 27 pounds, Tran went much further back into “Star Trek’s” past. “We looked at Vulcan weddings from ‘Star Trek’ canon. We looked at T’Pring times two. There’s T’Pring from ‘The Original Series’ [from the 1967 episode ‘Amok Time’] and there’s T’Pring from ‘Strange New Worlds’ [from the 2023 episode ‘Charades’]. In the ’60s show, there was a metallic trim that ran down her dress, and then a similar idea that was updated for “Strange New Worlds.”

Tran further explains, “We also looked at ‘Enterprise,’ where the character T’Pol also had a Vulcan wedding [in the 2004 episode ‘Home’]. She had a veil perched on her head, but our version is much more dramatic and sculptural, and we used tent wire to make it as big as possible. Otherwise, the dress was very much inspired by Grace Kelly’s wedding dress. It’s just the 32nd Century version of that mixed with Vulcan.”

Soon after filming wrapped on the fifth season in November of 2022, Tran got a call from “Discovery” showrunner Michelle Paradise. “She said that this is going to be our final season, but we’re coming back, and we’re shooting this coda that will flash forward to the future. I’m going to send you the script pages, and then you’ll get to work. I had a little over a month to prep for that.”

About a third of Tran’s 65-person wardrobe department returned for the coda, which was filmed over just three days in the spring of 2023. A new time frame meant new Starfleet uniforms for now-Admiral Michael Burnham and her son, Captain Leto. “You can’t alter the look of the uniforms too much, and you can’t really change the color,” says Tran. “You also can’t do much with the silhouette. The shape is what it is, so it became more about putting it together in a way that felt interesting.”

Tran did just that by drawing inspiration from the look of two classic “Star Trek” eras. “We really wanted to honor ‘Discovery,’ but we also wanted to pay tribute to the ‘Star Trek’ legacy as a whole, so I looked at other uniforms. One was from ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,’ those red uniforms. That was definitely the reference for Burnham, and we wanted it to be as bold as possible. We did two shades in our version. One is a darker shade, and there’s a lighter shade, just to give it some contrast, especially with the way we were sewing it.”

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