The Enterprise stumbles across the S. S. Botany Bay, a more than 200-year-old spacecraft carrying passengers: 72 life units, suspended in cryogenic sleep. While investigating the ship, one of the units begins to revive its passenger. The process goes wrong, and they are forced to transfer the man to the Enterprise sick bay to save his life.
The mysterious man, Khan (Ricardo Montalban), shows amazing recuperative powers and, in encounters with Kirk and McCoy, a very sharp mind. Spock digs into the archives, and develops a suspicion that this man is Khan Noonian Singh, the leader of the most influential group of genetically-engineered "superhumans," who nearly ruled the Earth at the end of the 20th century. As Kirk probes Khan's motives, he comes to suspect that Spock is right.
Before Enterprise can reach the nearest Starbase, Khan acts. Using his seductive pull over the ship's historian, Lt. McGivers (Madlyn Rhue), he revives his men and takes over the ship. He demands cooperation of the Enterprise crew, stating that if he does not get it, he will kill crewmen until he does... beginning with James Kirk!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: Khan praises Kirk as an excellent tactician, and he is substantially correct. Kirk has his officers investigating Botany Bay and the name "Khan" almost immediately. He recognizes McGivers' fascination with Khan, and expresses concern. He isn't quite concerned enough - Khan needed more security watching him more closely, and McGivers' poor performance aboard the Botany Bay and her fascination with Khan should have had Kirk assigning someone else to work with the man. Still, one can only blame him so much for treating Khan the way he might a potentially dangerous regular human. Once Khan has revealed his true colors, Kirk uses all his cunning and his knowledge of the ship to turn the tables. He demonstrates an intelligent and measured degree of compassion toward his prisoners... Though in about 15 years' time, he'll end up discovering that no good deed goes unpunished.
Mr. Spock: Utterly loyal to Kirk, but not to the point where he would agree to cooperate with Khan to save Kirk's life. Part of being loyal is knowing that even Kirk's life cannot be placed above the ship's welfare. Acts as Kirk's "attack dog" at the dinner party, probing Khan with clinical precision while Kirk watches with full attention. He is confused when the Enterprise officers express admiration for Khan. Apparently, to Vulcans, it is unusual (if not unheard of) for modern-day people to admire strengths of resourceful/wily tyrants from the past.
McCoy: Instinctively responds in the exact right way to Khan putting a knife to his throat, calmly instructing him on the most efficient way to cut if he's going to insist on going through with his threat, while not backing down or showing even the smallest glimmer of fear. Had he responded by fighting, he would undoubtedly have been killed. Had he responded with fear, Khan would likely have spared him - but he would have regarded McCoy with disgust from that point on. McCoy's reaction both saves his life and earns Khan's respect. After re-watching this encounter, I consider it a pity that Khan and McCoy had no screen-time together in the 1982 movie. They bring out interesting sides of each other.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: Madlyn Rhue is Lt. McGivers, a name difficult not to giggle at in the wake of a certain 1980's action show. She is a historian with a somewhat unhealthy fascination for tyrannical male authority figures from the past. We see her sketching these figures in her quarters, which gives some hint of why she's so magnetically drawn to Khan. She realizes who Khan is almost immediately, but does not tell Kirk. Her interactions with Khan recall Battered Women's Syndrome (not that such was acknowledged to exist in the late 1960's), as Khan bullies her emotionally and even physically, and she responds by apologizing to him and promising to do anything he says. In the wake of this disturbing scene, I find myself doubtful that McGivers' marriage to Khan would have been a healthy one even if conditions on Ceti Alpha had proved to be less hellish.
Villain of the Week: Saving the best for last... Khan! A perfectly-cast Ricardo Montalban shows screen presence that eclipses the regulars, making it convincing that he could sway McGiver's loyalty, or indeed that he could really be a "superhuman" from another era. However, he's not an egotistical "star player" who determines that this hour of television is all about him. He genuinely interacts with the other regulars, listening as they speak and not upstaging their stronger moments. It's easy to see why in 1982, when the production team of the second Trek film were combing through old episodes for a strong baddie, they settled on him. Though far more subdued here than in the 1982 movie (among other things, Khan in the episode is... well, sane), he dominates, and does so in a way that brings out the best in the regular cast - Shatner in particular. A very strong performance, in a great villainous role.
THOUGHTS
The first season of Star Trek has been consistently excellent. Many very good to great episodes, only one or two particularly bad ones, and only one I'd actually cringe at the thought of re-watching. Critically, they're very different types and styles of story. There are parables on the nature of war, monster stories, fantasy stories, tactical battle stories, and base-under-siege stories. It's refreshing, in a Trek show, to tune in with no idea beyond hazy memories of what kind of story I'm going to get this time.
Space Seed is one of the more action-driven stories, but not to the extent I had remembered. The first half is actually very talky. Which is not to say slow, because these dialogue-driven scenes are anything but. There's a wealth of memorable moments: Khan leveling the knife at McCoy's throat, Spock interrogating Khan over dinner while Kirk looks on, Khan's harsh behavior toward McGivers until she agrees to do whatever he says. I might also point to Kirk's dressing-down of McGivers following her poor performance on Botany Bay, showing how well Kirk handles his crew - but also contrasting his compassion against Khan's harsher treatment, and demonstrating that some personalities (like McGivers) actually respond better to harshness than to compassion. It's good, intelligent writing, and the action-heavy second half would be far less interesting without the strength of the preceding material.
McGivers does strike me as a bit of shallow, simpering character. Beyond her obvious attractions, I'm not at all convinced that Khan would be as drawn to her as he evidently is. She seems like someone Khan would very quickly tire of. But that's a minor enough point, and complaining that an episode of a late 1960's show has trouble creating a strong enough one-shot female guest star is probably an unreasonable grumble.
Ultimately, the episode just misses full marks, partly for McGivers, partly just because it lacks that extra "oomph!" that something like Balance of Terror did have. But it's an excellent episode just the same.
Rating: 9/10.
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