"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," Part 1 Quiz

Answer: Lieutenant Saavik (Kirstie Alley)

Saavik's voice opens the film -- oddly enough, with the word's "Captain's log." She is not a captain, of course; she is merely acting as captain during the KOBAYASHI MARU simulation.

Answer: Spock

We hear Saavik's voice first, but Spock is the first character to appear on camera. He is studying a tactical display of the ENTERPRISE as Saavik's voice-over is heard.

Answer: 8

Saavik designates the stardate as 8130.3.

Answer: Vance

Blink and you miss it, but the tactical display does name the "master" of the ship as Kojiro Vance.

Answer: 381

The KOBAYASHI MARU has a crew of 81, and it is carrying 300 passengers.

Answer: two minutes

Sulu: "Estimating two minutes to intercept."

Answer: 3

If the shots of the three Klingon battle cruisers look familiar, that's because they're actually recycled footage from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979).

Answer: Commander Montgomery Scott (James Doohan)

McCoy, Uhura, and Spock all "played dead" for the purposes of the simulation. Scotty, however, wasn't even on the bridge at the time.

Answer: vacuuming the floor

Director Nick Meyer states in his DVD commentary that he didn't want Kirk to notice the laborer at all, but William Shatner took a long, curious look at the man. Meyer didn't think it would be worth the time to re-shoot the scene, so that's the take we see in the film.

Answer: Charles Dickens

The book is "A Tale of Two Cities." Kirk recites both the first and last lines of the book before the film is over.

Answer: It's never said

Director Nick Meyer was insistent that Kirk's 49th birthday be stated overtly in dialogue, but William Shatner demanded that Kirk's exact age remain unrevealed. Shatner won: we're never told how old Kirk is.

Answer: Retinax

McCoy gives Kirk reading glasses for his birthday. He tells his friend and commanding officer that, for patients of Kirk's age, he usually administers (or "recommends," depending on which version of the film you see) Retinax 5 -- presumably medication that improves eyesight -- but Kirk immediately notes that he is allergic to Retinax, a fact that McCoy obviously knows already.

Answer: First Officer

Chekov's initial "Ship's log" entry makes it clear that he is the first officer of the USS RELIANT.

Answer: Kyle (John Winston)

Kyle -- whose first name has been lost to history, if it was ever known -- was the Transporter Chief in a number of original "Star Trek" episodes (including "Space Seed," the episode in which Khan Noonien Singh first appeared!) Since then, he has apparently been promoted to the rank of commander, and has moved from transporter operations to communications.

Answer: a microbe

Dr. Marcus is adamant about the test site for the Genesis Project being 100% lifeless.

Answer: Terrell

Paul Winfield played Captain Clark Terrell. Beach (Paul Kent) was the science officer.

Answer: Thermonics

As far as I know, there's no such word...but, hey, that's what it says. Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik later encounter the same door a few times during their search of the Regula station.

Answer: Zephram Cochrane

David invokes Newton (who revolutionized physics), Einstein (who, among other achievements, gave us E = Mc^2), and Surak (a Vulcan scientist and philosopher). He never mentions Cochrane, the man who invented warp drive in the mid-21st century.

Answer: bridge

David: "Teaming up with me for bridge after dinner?"

Answer: "The Count of Monte Cristo," by Alexander Dumas

"The Count of Monte Cristo" would definitely fit into Khan's obsession with revenge, but it is not one of the books seen on his shelf. Khan quotes from "Moby Dick" liberally throughout the film.

Answer: grant

Khan underscores the point that he and his people have only barely survived their years in exile on the desolate Ceti Alpha V.

Answer: 15 years

Surprisingly, this number actually fits the real-world facts. "Space Seed," the original TV series episode in which Kirk exiled Khan and his followers to Ceti Alpha V, premiered in February 1967. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" premiered in June 1982. That's fifteen years and four months.

Answer: 200

Khan: "These people were sworn to live and die by my command 200 years before you were born." It's a nice line, but it's problematic in terms of Trek history -- Khan and company are products of the 1990's, and "Space Seed" takes place in the late 2200's...as does this movie. That's THREE hundred years, not two. Oh, well. Somebody call for continuity!

Answer: 70

Khan also notes that 20 people were killed by the "Ceti Eels," so that leaves only 50 to take over the RELIANT. A question, though -- after 15 years, didn't anyone on Ceti Alpha V ever think that reproduction might be a good idea? There are no children among Khan's crew, so apparently, the answer is "No"...

Answer: six months

According to Khan's dialogue, Ceti Alpha VI exploded a mere six months after Kirk dumped Khan and company onto Ceti Alpha V. Part of Khan's fury toward Kirk lies in the fact that Kirk never came back to check up on Khan and his people, even though he expressed a desire to do so at the end of "Space Seed."

The quiz is just getting started! Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!