You know the story of Khan Noonien Singh if you know the basics of Star Trek. Khan was a warlord of some time back in the Star Trek’s 20th century, but wound up on a sleeper ship headed to the stars, two and a half centuries later, Kirk and the Enterprise find the ship. After an attempt at a takeover, Khan and his followers are put on a planet (Ceti Alpha V) with no sentient life, to make a life for themselves. A space seed, if you will.
Twenty years later, the Reliant, with Chekov of the Enterprise now a first officer, stumbles across Ceti Alpha V believing it to be Ceti Alpha VI. Khan and the remnant of his followers are very much alive and the plot of Star Trek II tells of Khan’s attempt at revenge on Kirk for exiling him to a world that Khan is convinced was meant to be a death trap. While there are nods here and there to the original series episode, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and its events, the audio drama does rely solidly on you knowing these basics. I think this is a reasonable ask, I think it unlikely someone cold to Star Trek or to Khan is a person to start this audio drama.
Star Trek: Khan explains more of the story between TOS and WOK. The framing story takes place about 5 years after the movie Wrath of Khan, and features Captain Sulu (voiced by George Takei) of the Excelsior. It also features Tim Russ as Ensign Tuvok, decades before his adventures on Voyager (Star Trek enthusiasts know of the Voyager episode that establishes all this as canon). A historian, Dr. Rosalind Lear, successfully puts forth a mission to Ceti Alpha V and recovers information on Khan’s time there. She finds a trove of tapes and recordings of Khan’s early days on the planet.
The bulk of Khan bounces between events in the framing device, as Lear’s true motives are slowly revealed, and the actual events recorded in the tapes, as we learn about the gap in what we know in Khan’s history. We get to know the mind of a tyrant... and someone who is more than that. We also get some points of view from other members of Khan’s people as well.
The framing device is enhanced in the use of Sulu and Tuvok. Sulu’s role is a cameo, Tuvok has a little more to work with and gets some characterization and development we’ve not seen before. Jokes about Tuvix aside¹, Tuvok has gotten some interesting development as a character with a rich history before his time on Voyager, and putting him on the Excelsior with Sulu was an innovative stroke, back in the day. Star Trek: Khan further uses that connection, and, especially in the denouement, gives some more insight into Tuvok’s rich character history².
But the real meat of the story is in the tapes and the story of Khan and his people. If you remember what Khan says in Wrath of Khan, Ceti Alpha VI blew up six months after they landed on V. The first portion of the audio drama is a story of colonization of a seemingly virgin planet, with the problems, challenges and delights of such an endeavor. It also sets up conflicts, lines, and factions among Khan’s small band of people.
Things kick into higher gear when two near simultaneous events happen, one of which is the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI. The other... would be telling.
Moving from plot to other considerations, ultimately, the story is a story about leadership and the making of an obsession. Just how Khan goes from his attitudes in Space Seed to his obsession with Kirk in Wrath of Khan is the heart of Wrath of Khan, but the audio drama shows that it is more than just a simple being left to die (or so Khan thinks) by a Captain Kirk. It’s a story that is almost too facile and simple, and part of the story of Star Trek: Khan is to give more meat to those bones³.
But what is Khan like as a leader, both in good times and under pressure? We get very little of that in Wrath of Khan, but Star Trek: Khan does provide that fleshing out. We get to see what Khan is like as a leader and a person. The throwaway line about Lt. McGivers and her relationship with Khan gets full explication, here. We get to see the story of their too-brief relationship in full. It is part of what makes Khan a tragic figure, and his story a tragic story, one haunted as well as obsessed⁴. I do think that the audio drama mostly successfully converts Khan from the Space Seed Khan to the Wrath of Khan version.⁵ There is a beat, an aspect to Khan and his methodology in Wrath of Khan that doesn’t quite work, is not quite completely accounted for, here.
As far as the production values, Khan’s audio production is very good and of a quality equal to other Realm productions. Naveen Andrews makes a very compelling Khan. The rest of the cast, including Takei and Russ, do excellent jobs. The audio drama is written quite well, and it was easy to follow the action and lean into the audio drama format. The nine episodes range around 35-40 minutes long, each.
If you are in the overlapping circle of people who like audio dramas, Star Trek, and are interested in learning more about Khan Noonien Singh, you will find Star Trek Khan a rewarding listen. I’ve read previous work by David Mack and his skills, knowledge and love of Star Trek are on full display here for your ears.
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Highlights:
- Excellent Production Values
- Illuminates a missing chapter in a compelling character
- Not for newbies to Star Trek or to Khan
¹ Tuvix, one of the decisive points in Voyager, Star Trek fandom. Was the combined Tuvok-Neelix entity done wrong by Janeway? That debate seems to still be going on, today.
² Tuvok is the only major Star Trek character to have joined Starfleet, quit Starfleet for an extended period of time, and then come back (it does help explain his moderate rank, given that he DID serve with Sulu way back when). It also gives his character a gravitas that I like. Younger Tuvok is still growing into himself in the events of Khan, and I like it.
³ One thing Star Trek: Khan reminded me of was Star Trek Into Darkness and how it steals from the Khan story like a parasite.
⁴ Is Khan a Romantic Hero (in the sense of the Romantic poets?) Discussion of romantic poetry and literature is a subplot in the drama, so the authors definitely are tapping into that vein,
⁵ I should mention Steven Brust’s To Reign in Hell, here. In some ways, Star Trek Khan does for KHan what that book does for Satan.
POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I'm just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.
