There are few villains throughout the Star Trek franchise that make an impact as profound as Khan Noonien Singh. His augmented strength and intellect made him a challenging adversary for Kirk in The Original Series Season 1 episode, ‘Space Seed’. But it was his return in one of the best Star Trek films of all time that immortalised the character to stand the test of time.
And now, 43 years after The Wrath of Khan (TWOK) premiered, the augment leader returns. Based on a story by TWOK director Nicholas Meyer, Kirsten Beyer and David Mack have written a nine-episode audio series. Directed by Fred Greenhalgh, its purpose is to reveal what happened to Khan and his followers during their exile on Ceti Alpha V. However, Star Trek: Khan achieves so much more than telling a story of survival. It completely reframes our understanding of Star Trek‘s most infamous villain. I promise, you will never watch The Wrath of Khan the same way again…
WARNING– spoilers ahead for the audio series Star Trek: Khan!
Time To Talk About Time
Before we delve into the key events and themes of Star Trek: Khan, it’s essential to understand its place in the timeline. After all, we can’t talk Star Trek without talking time, right?
We begin in 2270, when the Enterprise encounters the Botany Bay adrift in space. Khan (Ricardo Montalban) tries and fails to steal the flagship and is exiled by James Kirk (William Shatner) on Ceti Alpha V. Khan spends the next 15 years on Ceti Alpha V, much of which we experience during the new Star Trek: Khan audio series.
Then, in 2285, the unthinkable happens. Khan escapes his exile on Ceti Alpha V and launches a vengeful hunt, leading to a final confrontation with Kirk. The augment leader loses again and dies aboard the Reliant when the Genesis device explodes. Decades later, Doctor Rosalind Lear (Sonya Cassidy) is attempting to piece together the truth of what happened to Khan and his followers on Ceti Alpha V. She’s aided by Ensign Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Captain Sulu (George Takei) aboard the Excelsior.
Series Overview
Now that we’ve established where this audio series sits within the prime timeline, let’s set the scene. To date, Khan’s legend has been defined by his vengeful confrontation with Kirk in The Wrath of Khan. This completely changes through the events of Star Trek: Khan.
The audio series is told from two time periods. Some time after the death of James Kirk, Rosalind Lear is trying to uncover the truth of Khan’s exile on Ceti Alpha V. Listening to logs left by Khan’s followers, including his wife Marla McGivers (Wrenn Schmidt), we experience the events that unfold during Khan’s exile. From their first days setting up camp in a lush paradise to their struggle for survival on a dying world. It’s a story filled with hope, love, betrayal, and tragedy.
But all is not as it appears. Alongside the deceptions and betrayals we hear during Khan’s exile, we begin to realise Lear has ulterior motives. It does not take long for Tuvok to realise this, as he obeys orders from Sulu to keep tabs on the historian. This, combined with the short time she has in orbit of Ceti Alpha V to complete her work, adds pressure that Lear begins to struggle under. As her time runs out, Lear is forced to reveal her true identity. And she learns through Tuvok what really created the mad, vengeful tyrant that escaped exile with one purpose: to kill James Kirk.
Who’s Who
Of course, the setting is but a small part of a much bigger picture, and you can’t have a story without characters. These are plentiful throughout the audio series, and the actors do a phenomenal job bringing them all to life. There is, of course, one of the series’ main protagonists, Khan himself (Naveen Andrews). Khan begins the series committed to building his new empire on Ceti Alpha V. What he doesn’t count on is falling in love with Starfleet Lieutenant and historian, Marla McGivers.
McGivers’ struggles during her initial time on Ceti Alpha V, with the augments not trusting her, and that feeling being mutual. She eventually gains the trust of the augment doctor, Ursula (Mercy Malick), shortly followed by the rest of the colonists. Ursula has a rocky time trusting in the leadership of Khan, as does Khan’s number two, Ivan (Maury Sterling). Ivan eventually betrays Khan and is exiled from the colony after murdering an ally, Elborean, in cold blood.
Five years later, Ivan returns to enact his revenge on Khan and steal the starship forged through his alliance with the Elboreans. But Khan has secured the freedom of his and McGivers’ daughter, Kali, as a passenger on the ship. He sends Elborean leader Delmonda (Olli Haaskivi) and Ursula’s former partner Madot (Zuri Washington) to protect her. A mission, unknown to Khan, Madot succeeds in. Decades later, after Madot dies, Kali dedicates her efforts to understanding what turned Khan from a loving father to a mad tyrant. That’s right, Kali is none other than Doctor Rosalind Lear.
From Survival to Vengeance
Through these characters and more, Star Trek: Khan explores the nature of good and evil and how experiences define a person. It also brings to the forefront a harsh truth. The history we are told is not necessarily the truth of what happened.
Ceti Alpha V was meant to be a paradise. A world not without its dangers, but one where Khan and his people could live their lives. And perhaps forge an empire of their own. And had the Elboreans’ ship not malfunctioned, destroying Ceti Alpha VI, it maybe could have been. But from that point onwards, survival became a struggle that tested every augment and Elborean on the planet. And that struggle most definitely shaped Khan.
But what influenced Khan more than anything else was his wife McGivers, and daughter Kali. For the first time in his life, he opened his heart and allowed himself to love, to be vulnerable. McGivers’ death wounded him terribly, but his love for her and Kali helped him grieve and heal. However, when he believes Kali has tragically died in a failed launch of the starship Venture, he has lost everything. Nothing is left to help him through his grief, and instead, it festers into an unyielding hatred for the man who put Khan on that barren rock. James T. Kirk is the villain in Khan’s tragic story of love and loss.
An Immersive World
It isn’t possible to write about Star Trek: Khan and not highlight the score and sound design that help bring the audio series to life.
The music is composed by Marcus and Sam Bagala, who took inspiration from James Horner’s The Wrath of Khan score for the series. The music is very clearly ‘Star Trek’ whilst adding a fresh take that complements the audio drama’s setting and story. It ensures emotion hits when it should, and immerses listeners in the events unfolding seamlessly.
Collaboration between score and sound design was critical for the series’ success. The sounds Dan Brunelle created work in tandem with the music, sharpening the focus of the listeners’ immersion even more. It actually feels like we’re on the Excelsior bridge with Sulu and Tuvok, or being attacked by Ceti Eels in the jungles of Ceti Alpha V. And when the score and sound effects come together, you can still clearly understand what’s happening in those crucial, often action-packed moments. More than that, it feels like you’re there experiencing it!
Redefining A Legend
Star Trek: Khan is a beautifully crafted audio drama that honours both ‘Space Seed’ and The Wrath of Khan, while bringing in new and established characters. It tells a fresh, compelling story with twists and turns that keep listeners wanting more. All the while, providing a fresh take on one of Star Trek‘s most notorious villains.
This audio series has completely transformed my understanding and appreciation of Khan Noonien Singh. He’s no longer just a genetically-engineered madman seeking vengeance for his exile. He’s a human being who’s loved, lost, and is consumed by grief. Grief fuelled by the loss of his wife and daughter. And for me, his behaviours and actions in The Wrath of Khan are now a lot more understandable. Perhaps James Kirk really is the villain after all…
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