Pavel Chekov
 Walter Koenig as Pavel Andreievich Chekov |
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| Species | Human |
|---|---|
| Home planet | Earth |
| Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
| Posting | USS Enterprise navigator, security/tactical officer USS Reliant first officer USS Enterprise-A navigator, Second Officer, Helm (in the absence of Valeris) |
| Rank | Ensign (Star Trek) Lieutenant (The Motion Picture) Commander (STII – Generations) Captain/Admiral (Of Gods and Men) |
| Portrayed by | Walter Koenig Anton Yelchin (2009) |
Pavel Andreievich Chekov (Russian: Павел Андреевич Чехов) is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Walter Koenig portrayed Chekov in the original Star Trek series and first seven Star Trek films; Anton Yelchin portrayed the character in both the 2009 film Star Trek, and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.
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Origin [edit]
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to include a younger cast member, to appeal to teenage audiences. With a second season of Star Trek to be produced, Roddenberry interviewed Koenig on the recommendation of director Joseph Pevney.[1] After casting Koenig, Roddenberry wrote a letter to Mikhail Zimyanin, editor of Pravda,[2] informing him of the introduction of a Russian character, and an NBC press release announcing the character at the time stated that it was in response to a Pravda article.[3][4] Koenig always denied the "Russian origin" story and said the character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees' Davy Jones, and the character's hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this.[5][6] Roddenberry had previously mentioned, in a memo to his casting director, a desire to have someone reminiscent of one of the Beatles or Monkees on the show.[7]
The episode "Amok Time", which was the first episode aired during the second season, was Chekov's first television appearance. ("Catspaw", the first episode shot with the Chekov character, would be aired a month later to roughly coincide with Halloween). Because of budgetary constraints the character did not appear in Star Trek: The Animated Series.[8]
Depiction [edit]
Pavel Andreievich Chekov, born on September 19, 2241 in Pushkino, Russia,[9] is a young and naïve ensign who first appeared on-screen in The Original Series’ second season as the Enterprise's navigator. However, The Wrath of Khan established that he had been assigned to the ship sometime before the first season episode "Space Seed", since Khan remembers him in the movie. Koenig joked that Khan remembered Chekov from the episode after he took too long in a restroom Khan wanted to use.[10] In the book Adaptations: From Text to Screen, Screen to Text by Deborah Cartmell, Imelda Whelehan calls Khan's recognition of Chekov, despite Chekov not yet having appeared when Khan is introduced, "the apparent gaffe notorious throughout Star Trek fandom".[11] It is also known that he joined after "Mudd's Women", since he does not recognize Mudd in the episode "I, Mudd".
Chekov also substitutes for Mr. Spock at the science officer station when necessary. His promotion to lieutenant for Star Trek: The Motion Picture brings with it his transfer as the ship's tactical officer and chief of security. By the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Chekov has been promoted to commander and executive officer aboard the USS Reliant. In that film, Khan Noonien Singh uses a creature that wraps itself around Chekov's cerebral cortex to control him and his captain. Chekov overcomes the creature's mind control and serves as Enterprise tactical officer in the film's climactic battle against Khan.
Chekov is an accomplice in Kirk's unsanctioned use of the Enterprise to rescue Spock (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) but is exonerated for his actions (Star Trek: The Voyage Home). He serves as navigator and second officer aboard the Enterprise-A during the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The character's final film appearance is as a guest aboard the Enterprise-B on its maiden voyage (Star Trek Generations).
Spinoff novels show a continued career path, but these are not considered canon in the Star Trek universe. Novels written by William Shatner detail that Chekov reaches the rank of Admiral, and even serves as Commander in Chief of Starfleet.
Mirror universe [edit]
In the mirror universe in the episode "Mirror, Mirror", Chekov recruits several crew members to help him assassinate Kirk and take over the Enterprise. However, he is in turn betrayed by one of his own men, and sentenced to torture in the "agony booth".
Fan productions [edit]
Walter Koenig would reprise his role as Chekov 12 years after Star Trek Generations in the fan-created series New Voyages, in the episode "To Serve All My Days". Andy Bray portrayed a younger Chekov in that episode. Koenig would return as Chekov one last time in the online mini-series Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, which debuted on December 22, 2007.
Star Trek (2009) [edit]
In the 2009 Star Trek film, Anton Yelchin's portrayal presents the character as a 17-year-old prodigy, whose mathematical ability proves instrumental in a few events within the film, and whose accent provides some of the film's comic relief. In an early scene, the computer has trouble understanding his mispronunciations of the letter V--his efforts to pronounce "Victor" coming out "Wicktor" and "Vulcan" as "Wulcan." This can also be seen, however, as a direct reference to the character having these same problems in the original series, as well as the movies (notably his requests for "nuclear wessels" in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) and, although technically incorrect [12] (the accent), has been left intact. Yelchin is Russian-born himself, but does not have a Russian accent.
References [edit]
- ^ Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. 1997. p. 345. ISBN 0-671-00974-5.
- ^ Inside Star Trek The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. 1997. p. 344. ISBN 0-671-00974-5.
- ^ Barbara and David P. Mikkelson (2005-04-11). "Russian Crewlette". Urban Legends Reference Pages.
- ^ Paul A. Cantor (2001). Gilligan Unbound: Popular Culture in the Age of Globalization. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 222. ISBN 0-7425-0779-3.
- ^ Source: The Making of Star Trek, by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, (c) 1968 Ballantine Books, pps 249-250
- ^ Source: TV Guide, September 4–10, 1993 p 20
- ^ Inside Star Trek The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. 1997. p. 345. ISBN 0-671-00974-5.
- ^ Inside Star Trek The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. 1997. p. 422. ISBN 0-671-00974-5.
- ^ Mandel, Geoffrey (1980). USS Enterprise Officer's Manual. 201W 18th St. Apt 20A, New York, NY. 10011: Interstellar Associates. p. 17.
- ^ "Las Vegas 2004: Thursday's Highlights". www.startrek.com. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ See p. 180. It is also noted as a typical continuity error in the sociological study of television Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participitory Culture by Henry Jenkins p. 104 as well as being flagged as major in the trivia-oriented book Oops!: Movie Mistakes That Made the Cut by Matteo Molinari, Jim Kamm p. 196
- ^ Thompson, Irene (1991), "Foreign Accents Revisited: The English Pronunciation of Russian Immigrants", Language Learning 41 (2): 177–204, doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1991.tb00683.x
External links [edit]
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