Two lovers are stranded on an uninhabited planet, which they have all to themselves for the rest of eternity. It doesn’t exactly sound like a Jackie Collins romance novel, and certainly Khan Noonien Singh (Naveen Andrews) and Marla McGivers aren’t living in paradise. There are Ceti eels everywhere just waiting to crawl in their ears, and what follows IS madness. Plus, their neighboring planet, Ceti Alpha VI is about to explode and decimate their new home world. How in the world then is the new audio drama Star Trek: Khan a love story?
Well, even actress Wrenn Schmidt, who portrays Marla, wasn’t sure at first. However, her Khan co-star, Andrews, helped her see what the science fiction podcast they are now a part of for what it truly is: a love story. In a new interview, Schmidt elaborated on Khan and Marla’s romance, which is shared by a former Starfleet lieutenant and an enhanced super being right out of The Eugenics Wars. Schmidt said (via Star Trek.com):
"It's such an unlikely love story. In so many ways, it feels like, 'Yeah, that would never happen, or never pan out, or there's no way.' And somehow, by the time they're actually together, it feels inevitable. I love how much the tables are turned in that way for the audience in such a short amount of time. It's like a crazy fast whirlwind romance of attraction that happened almost at light speed. They're very much strangers to each other [in the beginning], but there's an immediate attraction and immediate chemistry, an immediate fascination.”
Schmidt, who is best known for portraying Margo Madison in the science fiction television drama For All Mankind, continued her interview by saying:
“There are also all of these holes that they've not yet filled in. Because of circumstances, they end up taking this giant leap together and saying, 'We're going to build a new world. We're going to a new planet, let's go.' There's kind of this beautiful evolution between the two of them when they both start to realize that maybe they can change, maybe they can grow, maybe they can accept a different point of view. There's a beautiful evolution between the two of them.”
When they first meet in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Space Seed,” the lieutenant’s infatuation with Khan leads to her temporarily taking leave of her senses. Wanting to please Khan, she helps him incapacitate the crew of the USS Enterprise, so he can assume command of the vessel for him and his enhanced people (Augments).
Trekkies know all too well what comes next. Marla comes to her senses and saves the day, but she is still punished for having helped Khan in the first place. Rather than face a court martial, Marla is given the choice to join Khan and his people, who are all exiled to the fifth planet in the Ceti Alpha system. And that’s where The Notebook… oh, sorry… and that’s where the Star Trek: Khan podcast picks up.
Who would have thought Star Trek: Khan would turn out to be a love story? Well, that is the must-listen audio drama’s overarching theme with the window dressing of Ceti Alpha V and those deadly, indigenous eels to deal with — and Ceti Alpha VI goes BOOM!
What do you think of the intriguing podcast? Do you buy into the love story between Khan and Marla, or are you more swept up in the dangers the Augment’s so-called paradise keeps throwing their way? Share your thoughts and comments on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!