******PLANET-SIZED SPOILERS!******

“Star Trek: Khan” was conceived as a live-action Paramount+ miniseries that would be written by writer/producer/director Nicholas Meyer (“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country”) which would chronicle the exile of Star Trek antagonist Khan Noonian Singh and his genetically-engineered ‘augment’ loyalists on the doomed planet of Ceti Alpha V (following the events of the Star Trek TOS episode “Space Seed” from 1967). Meyer wrote three script treatments before the project was ultimately cancelled. However, longtime Star Trek writer/producer Kirsten Beyer (“Star Trek: Voyager” “Star Trek: Discovery”) and Trek novelist David Mack took Meyer’s treatments and expanded them into a cheaper-to-produce audio drama podcast for curious fans. The podcast series would also be available for free via YouTube, Apple Podcasts and other venues.

Actors Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009) and Madlyn Rhue (1935-2003) have long since passed away, so it was always assumed their roles of Khan and his wife Marla McGivers would be recast. Following the Benedict Cumberbatch Khan-casting mishap (great actor, wrong role) from “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013), extra care seems to have been taken into account with regard to casting, when it was later announced that actors Naveen Andrews (“Lost”) and Wrenn Schmidt (“For All Mankind”) would be taking over those roles for the podcast. Both actors could have easily have played those roles in live-action, given their strong physical resemblances to the characters. It was also gratifying to finally have an actor of genuine Indian heritage playing a North Indian Sikh, even if he wouldn’t be seen on camera.

In addition to the newly-recast Khan and Marla, the audio drama would also see Star Trek actors George Takei and Tim Russ reprising their roles of Captain Hikaru Sulu and his former junior officer, Ensign Tuvok. Despite some audible aging in their voices (particularly Takei, who’s in his late 80s), the actors slipped right back into their characters for the podcast’s framing story set in the late 23rd century aboard the starship USS Excelsior. That framing story sees the Excelsior transporting an eager, if enigmatic young historian named Dr. Rosalind Lear (Sonya Cassidy) to Ceti Alpha V, where she’s been granted permission to beam down to the remains of Khan’s failed colony and retrieve recorded logs from Khan’s wife; the late Marla McGivers.

Both Tuvok and Sulu express skepticism regarding Dr. Lear’s motives for recovering those logs. Dr. Lear also seems to bear a bit of a grudge against Captain Kirk; the USS Enterprise captain who originally exiled Khan and his followers to the planet decades earlier. And therein lies the crux of the story, which is greatly expanded from Meyer’s original three part miniseries into a nine-part podcast; with each episode averaging a half-hour runtime. For this overview, I’m going to use synopses for each episode with my own spoiler-filled notes, followed by an overall summary of the series.

The short synopses for each episode are quoted directly from Apple Podcasts.

Episode 1: “Paradise.”

Marooned by Captain James T. Kirk on Ceti Alpha V, Khan Noonien Singh and his followers begin building a new civilization, but this strange new world harbors a number of secrets.

Note: The audio drama opens strongly, establishing both the Excelsior framing device, as well as life in the Ceti Alpha V colony, where Khan remains foolhardily optimistic regarding his people’s chances of taming this ‘strange new world.’ We meet several of Khan’s followers, though I was a bit surprised that writers Beyer and Mack never bothered to use any spoken names of Khan’s known lieutenants from “Space Seed” (“Rodriguez, Lynn, MacPherson…”). A minor nit to an otherwise strong beginning.

Episode 2: “Scheherazade.”

As they acclimate to the beauty and promise of their new home, Khan and his people also encounter deadly dangers waiting to catch them unawares.

Note: A nagging issue with this audio drama is that some of Khan’s followers aren’t always well delineated in the writing, and a few of the voice actors even sound alike. As a fan of old radio programs such as Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre and 1970s CBS Radio Mystery Theater, I’ve gotten a bit spoiled hearing very distinct voices for different characters. All the same, one of the standouts in this cast is actor Maury Sterling as future malcontent Ivan.

Episode 3: “Do Your Worst.”

Khan’s nascent colony celebrates its first pregnancy, but they’ve also suffered several losses to their number while a new threat to the entire planet reveals itself.

Note: In the podcast, we learn ex-Starfleet officer Marla wasn’t fully trusted by Khan’s augments, and was largely protected by her status as Khan’s lover–and a Starfleet phaser she keeps in secret. Some trust is fostered when she helps Khan’s followers operate a piece of Starfleet technology left to them by Capt. Kirk (a dynascanner; a device mentioned in “The Wrath of Khan”). Khan, who’s given a more regal bearing by actor Naveen Andrews, openly defies the hardships of this untamed planet, clearly tempting the fates…

Episode 4: “Magical Thinking.”

Marla McGivers identifies an urgent threat to the colony. Khan grapples with leading his followers through increasingly difficult times, and a startling revelation from Marla.

Note: One of the most interesting episodes of this series sees Khan’s colony facing two significant losses, as well as the discovery of the Ceti eels–which become horrifically weaponized in “The Wrath of Khan.” Marla uses her Starfleet gear to examine the parasitic eels, and their apparent effects on the human psyche, which makes victims extremely susceptible “to…uh, suggestion.” This is the kind of episode I wish we had more of; exploring Ceti Alpha V in-depth before the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI, and the calamity that follows.

Episode 5: “Imagination’s Limits.”

Khan and his people prepare for inescapable global calamity, and learn they are no longer alone on this world. Are these mysterious new arrivals enemies, or possible allies?

Note: This episode delves deeper into the framing story, as Dr. Rosalind Lear seems highly motivated to retrieve Marla’s logs, even butting heads with Captain Sulu in the process. Sadly, her character’s raison d’être is an all-too predictable ‘twist’ that is confirmed four episodes later. The episode also examines the psychological limitations of 20th century native Khan after an unidentified alien ship crash lands on Ceti Alpha V–prompting Khan and his followers to react with xenophobia, and not the open-mindedness of Marla, who was trained for first contacts by Starfleet. The aliens’ arrival comes in the wake of Ceti Alpha VI’s destruction, which will rain devastating meteor showers upon Khan’s colony within six months…

Episode 6: “The Good of All.”

Khan struggles to understand the Elboreans and their leader, Delmonda, while his own people’s distrust of the newcomers increases in the face of impending catastrophe.

Note: Please tell me I’m not the only one who was confused by the telepathic aliens who crash-land on Ceti Alpha V…? They identify as “Elboreans,” which sounds like a slight mispronunciation of “El-Aurians,” the same species as Whoopi Goldberg’s “Guinan,” and Malcolm McDowell’s “Soran” in “Star Trek: Generations.” This confusion isn’t helped by the fact that both species have telepathic abilities and limited mind control (see Soran working on Picard in “Generations”). The Elborean subplot feels like the jumping-off point for writer Nicholas Meyer’s involvement, as it’s awkwardly shoehorned into the exile story. Khan himself never mentioned any other souls ever landing on Ceti Alpha V in “The Wrath of Khan.”

Episode 7: “I Am Marla.”

Forging a tenuous alliance, Khan’s followers and the Elboreans work toward possible mutual survival. As Khan weighs hard choices affecting both peoples, tragedy strikes.

Note: A standout episode, as Marla meets her fate after being infected by a Ceti eel while exploring a cave. Before her death, she and Khan exchange some tearful dialogue about their unborn daughter, whom they vow to name Kali, after the powerful, maternal Hindu goddess. A standout episode for Wrenn Schmidt, who gives Marla a hell of an exit, eliciting a heartbreaking response from Naveen Andrews. We also see more shading among Khan’s followers; specifically Ursa (Mercy Malick) and her spouse, Madot (Zuri Washington), as a few curious augments decide to make contact with the telepathic Elboreans, whom we learn have sufficient mental power to defend themselves; similar to the Talosians from TOS’ pilot episode “The Cage.”

Episode 8: “Original Sin.”

Five years after disaster sweeps the planet, Khan’s people and the Elboreans prepare their joint, single venture toward salvation. Khan learns the truth behind their predicament.

Note: Time-jumping five years into the future, Khan’s daughter Kali is now a bright young toddler, while exiled malcontent Ivan poses a challenge to Khan’s faltering leadership of his failed colony. The Elboreans are collaborating with several of the augments to build a new spacecraft (“Venture”) from their crashed wreck, in order to seek a habitable planet for relocation. Meanwhile, a frustrated Khan confronts the Elborean leader, Delmonda (Olli Haaskivi), who reluctantly admits it was his powerful starship which somehow created the gravitational imbalance with Ceti Alpha VI, causing the planet to explode and seal the colony’s fate.

Episode 9: “Eternity’s Face.”

Dissent among Khan’s followers threatens Venture’s launch. Khan faces one last threat to his rule, and a final decision that seals his fate.

Note: The conclusion of the series sees Khan slaying Ivan after mortal combat, thus reestablishing his fragile rule. The Venture is ready for launch, and Khan’s young daughter Kali is sealed aboard with her caregiver. Soon after liftoff, Khan mistakenly believes the Venture to be destroyed after witnessing an exploding fuel pod. Khan becomes lost in grief, which soon turns to madness (as we see in “The Wrath of Khan”). Flash-forward to the ‘present’, where it’s revealed that highly-motivated Dr. Lear is, in fact, the adult Kali, who changed her name, and forged a new identity in the Federation. The current Star Trek series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” further rewrites Khan’s legacy by introducing a new direct descendent, with the character of Lt. La’an Noonian Singh (Christina Chong).

Despite the so-called ‘twist’ of Dr. Lear’s origin (which was practically telegraphed from the first episode), the idea of Khan having a child was first implied in deleted scenes from “The Wrath of Khan,” when a scruffily-dressed, diapered baby was seen in the USS Reliant’s transporter room, just before the Genesis device–set by the baby’s presumed dad–explodes, creating the Genesis Planet. I also remember Vonda McIntyre’s novelization of “Wrath of Khan” mentioning a baby seen in the window of the cargo carrier explored by Commander Chekov and Captain Terrell. This would’ve put Marla’s death a bit closer to when the starship Reliant mistakes Ceti Alpha V for its obliterated neighbor.

The End.

Note: “Star Trek: Khan” also makes the same retcon as Greg Cox’s “To Reign in Hell” novel regarding the Joaquin/Joaquin character(s), who were clearly intended to be one and the same; from “Space Seed” to “The Wrath of Khan.” It’s likely the latter movie’s screenwriters simply misheard the character’s name from the 1967 episode. Now Joachim has become the son of Joaquin–which would make the clearly adult Joachim a mere 14 years-old at the time of “The Wrath of Khan” (!?).

Summing It Up

“Star Trek: Khan” could’ve been a tight survival story set on an alien planet, exploring characters who were little more than extras in “Space Seed” and “The Wrath of Khan.” To paraphrase Milton, Paradise is indeed lost, as this very promising idea lapses into some of the same missteps of previous novelizations of Khan’s exile story, with a few new missteps of its own…

As I mentioned in a prior column from last March, I was really looking forward to “Star Trek: Khan,” especially after learning of Nicholas Meyer’s involvement (he was heavily name-dropped during the podcast’s publicity), as well as actors George Takei, Tim Russ, Naveen Andrews and actress Wrenn Schmidt (who is simply amazing in Ronald D. Moore’s “For All Mankind”). Meyer’s original story was heavily expanded upon by David Mack and Kirsten Beyer, under producer Alex Kurtzman, and it’s in this expansion where the concept stumbles a bit. Granted, a story about a group of people marooned on a disaster-stricken planet for 15 years is admittedly thin. This is a problem we also saw with Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” miniseries, which sent Kenobi all over the galaxy instead of focusing on his self-exile to Tatooine.

“Star Trek: Khan” doesn’t seem to have much faith in its legacy story of Khan and his people facing a lonely exile on Ceti Alpha V. Instead, we have never-before-or-since mentioned aliens (confusingly-named Elboreans) who crash land on the planet, too. We learn these Elboreans were directly responsible for the collapse of Ceti Alpha V’s ecosystem, which undermines Khan’s thirst for vengeance against Admiral Kirk in “The Wrath of Khan.” The Elborean subplot also takes significant character development away from Khan’s fellow exiles, and we only get to know a handful of them. Personally, I didn’t want a first-contact story; I wanted a survival story. This could’ve been Star Trek’s version of Tom Hanks’ “Cast Away” or Ridley Scott’s “The Martian.” One of the most nagging issues with modern Star Trek (this podcast included) is its tendency to stuff the bag too full with extraneous elements.

In the pluses column, I very much enjoyed the vocal performances of Naveen Andrews, Wrenn Schmidt, Maury Sterling and Sonya Cassidy, who plays the admittedly predictable, yet well-played character of Dr. Rosalind Lear. While I guessed Lear’s backstory well before the final episode, her framing story was nevertheless one of the more successful elements of this audio-drama, as it offers a valid excuse to bring back George Takei’s Captain Sulu and Tim Russ’s Tuvok aboard the USS Excelsior as well. Another plus is that “Star Trek: Khan” is available free of charge. No streaming service, digital rental, or other subscription required. That really brought me back to my childhood, when all we needed to enjoy Star Trek was a TV and an antenna. Ah, those simpler days…

Live long and prosper, folks!

Where to Listen

All nine episodes of the “Star Trek: Khan” podcast can be listened to for free on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream your podcasts.