Kirsten Beyer is no stranger to the beloved franchise created by the late Gene Roddenberry. The accomplished writer has worked on a number of Trek projects, including Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Picard, which made her the perfect scribe to take on the new podcast, Star Trek: Khan. However, when it came to her needing to do homework before she began penning the audio drama, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was irrevocably etched in her heart — and her heart as it turns out. Beyer said in an interview via TrekMovie.com:
“I went back and rewatched ‘Space Seed’ a couple of times. I actually didn’t have to rewatch Wrath of Khan, that one I know by heart. It’s crazy how much of that lives in my brain. But I have had this wonderful experience recently of going back and watching a specific scene in Wrath of Khan after having written and created this whole story. It’s that moment when Khan is sitting on the bridge talking to Kirk, who’s below the surface, and he’s like, ‘I don’t think I need to kill you… I just need to hurt you.’”
Beyer, who teams with fellow Star Trek scribe David Mack (Star Trek: Harm’s Way, Star Trek: Destiny, Star Trek: Mirror Universe — Glass Empires), continued her interview by saying:
“And imagining that all of the things that [Ricardo] Montalban was thinking are actually the things that I now know happened to him and how it just gives me chills now. Because now I know exactly what he’s talking about, only he didn’t know that when they filmed it. It’s this weird time travel, cosmic linkage thing that I’m just like, ‘Oh my god.’ It hits so different now, knowing what I know.”
The scene Beyer refers to is certainly memorable, but one of the most chilling and visceral moments in The Wrath of Khan comes when Khan (Montalban) introduces Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) to the deadly Ceti eels. Those disgusting creatures wreak even more havoc in the new podcast as Khan's people begin to fall prey to the mind-controlling parasites. It's heartbreaking to witness how the eels infect the Augments, and that alone will probably leave Trekkies with memories of the Star Trek: Khan podcast for years to come.
Have you had the chance to listen to Star Trek: Khan yet? The audio drama is one of the most well-written pieces of Trek content released in quite a while. In fact, it’s a shame that the material wasn’t fashioned into either a streaming series or a film. Yes, it's that good! Share your thoughts on writers Kirsten Beyer and David Mack’s exceptional podcast on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!