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Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan – The History of the Horrifying Ear Scene

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is beloved, but contains a truly horrifying moment.

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“You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion… Later, as they grow, follows madness and death…”

– Khan Noonien Singh

At school the next day, it was all we could talk about. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan had aired on TV the night before, and for many of us impressionable youngsters, it was the first time we’d seen laid eyes on the movie.

We were too young to have heard about the “Spock must not die!” fan backlash that erupted before the sequel’s release in 1982. We didn’t know about the film’s emotional ending, which was moving in a way that few of us could have expected. And we most certainly weren’t prepared for what we can only describe as That Ear Scene.

If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know the bit I’m referring to.

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Oh dear lord no make it stop

Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) lands on a seemingly deserted planet with Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield),and discovers that it’s the residence of Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). A genetically-manipulated genius with an alarming appetite for despotism, Khan was left in exile 15 years earlier, and he’s plotting to exact his revenge of Kirk for the inadvertent death of his wife and 20 of his men. As part of his plot, Khan introduces Chekov and Terrell to his household pet: a loathsome, slug-like called a Ceti eel – an example of the creatures that had killed those close to him years earlier.

Watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Amazon

Grasping a couple of the creature’s greasy young with a pair of tongs, Khan explains that the eels have a tendency to worm their way into their victims’ ears and attach themselves to their brains. Khan takes Chekov and Terrell’s space helmets and drops an eel into each one. Chekov and Terrell, held down by Khan’s minions, can only gawp in fear.

“Let me introduce you to Ceti Alpha V’s only remaining indigenous life form,” Khan says with a grim smile. “What do you think? They’ve killed twenty of my people, including my beloved wife…”

Now, if you happened to be (say) a nine-year-old kid growing up in the late ’80s, this was strong stuff already. We weren’t yet versed in the dark world of body horror. We hadn’t seen Alien , or The Exorcist , or any of those infamous movies of the ’70s, though we’d heard hushed stories about some of their more extreme moments. Okay, so we’d watched a bunch of Nazis’ faces alternately explode or melt at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark , but that was more a hide-behind-a-cushion scene – or, if you were feeling macabre, a cackling-with-glee moment.

This bit in The Wrath Of Khan , however, was something else. Even the suggestion of something from another planet burrowing into our ears wasn’t just shudder inducing, it was the out-and-out stuff of nightmares. Add to this the disgusting design of the creatures – all segmented bodies, leech-like movements and icky ooze – and the suggestion that Chekov, one of the sweetest characters in all of Star Trek , might succumb to one of these things, was terrifying.

Surely Kirk would sweep in at the last moment, brandishing a phaser and rescue Chekov and Terrell at the last moment. Wouldn’t he? Well, no. The space helmets are crammed onto the victims’ heads, and we’re forced to watch, in horrifying close-up, as the absolute worst happens: one by one, the eels slither across faces and burrow into ears. Chekov and Terrell scream.

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The slug and the newspaper

Early in S tar Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan ‘ s production, the Ceti eels weren’t really eels at all. As originally written, the creature would control its hosts’ minds by attaching themselves to their necks – a plot point which might have been inspired by Robert Heinlein’s 1951 novel, The Puppet Masters . Producer Robert Sallin didn’t think much of this idea, however – it sounded too familiar, he thought – and so he resolved to come up with a better concept for a mind-controlling parasite.

The inspiration came from an unexpected angle: a newspaper lying outside his house one morning.

“I went out to pick up my newspaper,” Sallin told Cnet in 2013, “and there was a slug on the pathway. I thought, what if that slimy thing was able to go into the ear?”

The design of the Ceti eel came courtesy of ILM’s Ken Ralston, a visual effects supervisor charged with making the most of Star Trek II ‘ s relatively meagre budget; after the so-so performance of the incredibly lavish Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, Paramount had decided to reign in its spending. Ralston came up with a range of concepts for the eel, some with legs, others with flowing tentacles.

The one Sallin ultimately chose was both the simplest design and the most abominable: a segmented, tough-looking creature which lay on its belly. In a masterfully brilliant touch, Ralston imagined that the eel’s larvae nested among the segments of its mother’s back, and had to be pulled free with a forceful yank from a pair of tongs.

The effects which brought the eels to life were simple and low-tech. The full-grown creature is simply a latex puppet, operated from below. The larvae which crawl across Chekov and Terrell’s faces are pulled along with a piece of monofilament. The close-ups of an eel crawling into the ear were created by fashioning an oversized portion of Chekov’s head from rubber. In a brilliantly nasty touch, the larval eels were slathered in a translucent substance to make them look more slimy and unpleasant. That substance was little more than raspberry jam.

It’s worth noting that Ralston and his designers were, whether they knew it or not, following in the footsteps of director David Cronenberg. Seven years earlier in 1975, he’d made his feature debut with Shivers , a low-budget horror in which a Canadian high-rise building is taken over by fleshy, slug-like parasites very like the ones in The Wrath Of Khan . Cronenberg had, like the makers of the Star Trek sequel, originally envisaged a more complex creature – something like a spider – but when he realized that would be too difficult, he came up with a more simple design instead.

Like Ralson, Cronenberg and his team fashioned the parasites out of latex and moved them around in front of the camera with thin, mostly invisible lengths of monofilament. The results, as creatures crawled into hosts through mouths (and other orifices), turning them into raving sex maniacs, was quite controversial at the time. One headline at the time read, “You should know how bad this movie is, you paid for it,” referring to the revelation that Shivers was funded at least in part by tax-payers’ money.

The obvious and major difference between Shivers and Star Trek II , though, was that the former was rated R while the latter was given a PG (at the time, PG-13 didn’t yet exist). When test audiences were shown an early cut of The Wrath Of Khan , they were left squirming in their seats; Sallin recalls that one audience member exclaimed, “That’s the grossest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Indeed, the original edit was reportedly considered slightly too gross, and was edited down slightly for Star Trek II ‘ s theatrical release. “I loved sitting in the theatres when everybody cringed,” Sallin admits.

No really, make it stop

Even in this form, the Wrath Of Khan ear scene is still a toe-curling moment. The joins in the special effects might be more glaring to modern eyes, but it hardly matters – what makes the sequence so effective is not only the sheer nastiness of the creature design, but the quality of the performances (look how coldly Khan stands there as Chekov and Terrell writhe in agony) and also the simple concept itself. There’s something about being powerless to stop a creature crawling in our ear that strikes at a primal, gut level.

Over 30 years later, the ear scene still works as an effective horror moment, and I’d argue that there’s an entire generation who’ve grown up with the after-image of the Ceti eel burned into their memories. The suffering that Khan meted out on two innocent space travellers – Terrell wound up obliterating himself with his phaser rather than kill Kirk; Chekov survived after the eel oozed out of his ear – set him up as one of cinema’s most imposing villains. The eels gave Star Trek II a horror edge which set it apart from the more stately Motion Picture .

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were certainly affected by the Ceti eel, since they wound up putting a remarkably similar parasite – a Centaurian slug – in their 2009 Star Trek reboot. For pure shock value, nothing can beat the first appearance of Khan’s hideous eels in The Wrath Of Khan .

The beasts prompted horrified discussions at our school in the late 80s, and even now, we remain vaguely fearful of things crawling about in the dark, waiting for us to sleep, hoping to find somewhere warm to hide in our ears…

This article originally appeared on Den of Geek UK .

Ryan Lambie

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WTF Moments: The Ceti eel scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Credit: Paramount

In 1982, E.T. found himself stranded on Earth, Flynn was transported to the world of Tron , and Dekkard discovered he, too, was a Replicant. But, nothing that happened in this pivotal year for genre movies was as wild as a moment from the highly anticipated second Star Trek  movie,  The Wrath of Khan . 

The movie, which famously marked the return of Ricardo Montalban as Captain Kirk's nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, eventually cemented itself as one of the standout installments to the franchise. It's also one of the most frightening  Trek  stories, thanks to Kahn's menace and a terrifying, squirm-worthy scene involving a brain-hungry ear bug, better known as a Ceti eel.  WTF , indeed. 

Credit: Paramount Pictures

Before the eel crawls into Pavel Checkov's head to turn him into a pod person, the Enterprise's  navigator joins Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) on a mission to Ceti Alpha V, a planet they believe to be completely deserted. Of course, it doesn't take long for them to realize the land they are traversing is actually the current home of Khan, who was exiled 15 years prior.

He's been plotting his revenge against Kirk in this barren wasteland, and Chekhov's arrival fits into his diabolical plan quite nicely. Kahn has Chekhov and Terrell taken captive. In their bindings, surrounded by henchmen, the pair look on as Khan introduces them to the most gruesome version of a domesticated pet we've ever seen.

"Let me introduce you to Ceti Alpha V's only remaining indigenous life form," Khan says, referencing the slithering, slimy, bony species — a formidable creature which was responsible for killing some of his own pals. "What do you think? They've killed 20 of my people, including my beloved wife."

In his own sort of twisted logic, it becomes clear that Khan blames Kirk, not these eels, for this loss. Because, if it weren't for the Captain of the USS Enterprise, he wouldn't even be on this planet in the first place. And so, realizing he's found his ticket off this dusty hellscape, we watch as Khan takes a pair of tongs and pokes at something slithering underneath a layer of sand. We gasp as this Satanic-looking Armadillo clings onto the tongs with its lethal-looking pincers. And after the brief introduction to this thing, Khan uses a secondary pair of tongs — because even in exile, kitchen utensils are quite prevalent — and plucks two eel babies from under the layers of scales on the mama eel's back.

Placing the two tiny slugs into a petri dish of sorts, Khan focuses his attention back onto Chekhov and Terrell, delivering a Bond villain-esque monologue explaining what is about to happen to them. "You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex," Khan tells the men. "This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion."

Like we said, pod person. Yet, while this moment feels inspired by the likes of Invasion of the Body Snatcher s — and even CBS' short-lived comedic alien-invasion series Brain Dead , a show where alien insects possess their human victims by entering their ear canals — this still is very much a Star Trek movie. A rather grim one, at that.

"Later, as they grow," Khan continues, "follows madness … and death."

With the tiniest of signals to his henchmen, his two prisoners are forced to their knees. And while Chekhov tries to talk some sense into the man, his words fall on deaf ears. Unfazed, Khan takes the greasy slug babies and drops them into each of the men's space helmets. Initially, it feels like an odd choice. Why wouldn't he just hold his victims down and drop the bugs straight into their ears? Simple: this cinematic choice builds the terror and tension in a quick and effective manner.

There's something quite horrifying about watching the facial expressions of both officers as their helmets drop back onto their heads, as they see and feel the eels slithering on their cheeks. And with the help of the movie's score, once the bugs find their way to the men's ears, and claw a path into the tight confines of the ear canals, the outcome is shocking, cringeworthy, and gross enough to spark a whole variety of inner ear phobias.

Visual effects have come a long way in the past 37 years, but there's something quite tactile in the terror presented here. In just moments, the Ceti eel burrowed its way into the annals of sci-fi history. And while we've not really seen them return to the franchise, Roberto Orci and Robert Kurtzman did give the tiny creature a creative nod when they introduced the Centaurian slug to the mix in 2009's retconned Star Trek reboot, leaving fans everywhere covering their ears — maybe just for a second — knowing full well that the most horrific things, at any moment, could crawl right in.

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Khan (Ricardo Montalban)

Character analysis, a whole new meaning to the phrase "earworm".

As villains go, it's hard to top Khan Noonian Singh for pure buttoned-up fury. He's an angry, angry man when we first meet him… and he looks even angrier than when we saw him in the original Star Trek episode "Space Seed."

But one of the great things about this movie is that you don't need to have seen the earlier episode to get where Khan is coming from. They get you up to speed quick and then let the man do his thing.

And by "do his thing," we mean, "be a psychopath armed with squicky space-worms."

Khan began life as a genetically engineered conqueror who controlled over one-quarter of the Earth in the dangerous future of the early 1990s. (We know, we know. This movie is so 80s it bleeds Aqua Net.) Eventually deposed, he and his followers escaped by boarding a spaceship in cryogenic storage, hoping for their lot to improve in the reaches of space.

It didn't. They got revived by the crew of the Enterprise, and Khan responded by trying to kill Kirk and take the ship. Kirk, never one to be outdone in the "take the law into your own hands" department, exiled Khan and his followers to a desert planet, where they could eke out a rough living.

You Say "Revenge-Crazed Megalomaniac" Like It's a Bad Thing

Now here's the thing: Khan's crew didn't go alone. One of the Enterprise crew—Lt. Marla McGivers—fell in love with Khan and helped him try to take over the ship. When the dust settled, she went with him to Ceti Alpha Five: giving up paradise in the Federation and a snazzy Starfleet career to fight dust storms and suck moisture out of the local plant life.

She gave up everything for him…and for that, she got to die sometime after they were exiled when one of those Ceti eels crawled into her ear.

KHAN: What do you think? It killed twenty of my people, including my beloved wife.

It was an ugly way to go, and Khan isn't the kind of guy to forget about something like that. When the planet shifted its orbit and nobody came to check on them, he basically had nothing to do but stare at the walls and plot all the various ways he could brutally murder the guy who put him there. Namely: one James Tiberius Kirk.

And when one turns an intellect as big as Khan's towards revenge, things get dangerous.

At Least He Loves His Wife?

That thirst for revenge comes across as a deep wellspring of passion, reflecting the passion he felt for his dead wife. (Ricardo Montalban goes into some detail on it during an interview for the film, which you can peep over in the " Best of the Web " section.)

His need to carve off a piece of the man supersedes everything else. He and his gang escape—by hijacking another Federation ship, more successfully this time—and basically can do whatever they want after that.

But Khan isn't interested in doing anything but putting Kirk in his place. None of the tempting possibilities of escape—building a new empire/blackmailing governments with the Genesis device/eating ice cream for the first time since the 1990s—appeal to him, because he makes Liam Neeson look like a mild-mannered forgiveness-happy bloke:

KHAN: He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before I give him up!

That last bit is a riff of Moby-Dick …a little book about a man who's too obsessed with vengeance to know what's good for him. And revenge-thirst is the most notable feature of Khan's personality.

Just take a look at how dogged his quest for vengeance is…even when the Enterprise has him basically cornered:

KIRK: This is Admiral Kirk. We tried it once your way, Khan. Are you game for a rematch? Khan? I'm laughing at the "superior intellect." KHAN: Full impulse power! JOACHIM: No sir! You have Genesis. ... You can have whatever you... KHAN: Full power! Damn you!

Sure, Khan's strength and intellect make him a scary bad guy, but his thirst for vengeance ultimately forces him to essentially sign his own death warrant. But this character trait is also the thing that makes him human, what turns him from a cartoonish supervillain to someone whose actions are made understandable.

He is, in short, a villain worthy of challenging Kirk to a duel to the death…and a character who turns this space opera from a good yarn into something really epic.

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"Wrath of Khan" Worm Found in Mussels

"That looks like the thing they put in Chekov's ear in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan! "

It's not often you hear that phrase in the wet lab of the E/V Nautilus when a scientist pulls a polychete specimen out of a mussel sample collected from the seafloor, but that's exactly what happened when we examined large mussels recovered from the Kick 'em Jenny volcano in 2013. 

See? Right?

We returned again this year for a better look, and the Corps of Exploration on the  Nautilus  spent the last several weeks exploring the area around the only active submarine volcano in the Caribbean. In the outer regions of this volcano, the team discovered cold methane seeps with large communities of chemosynthetic mussels and other organisms. A cold methane seep can occur where a compression event (like a landslide) pushes methane out of the earth without necessarily heat or active venting. This methane then becomes a food source for bacteria and organisms that thrive on the seep. They are hard to find, because they cannot be seen in seafloor mapping, and you have to drift over the top of them with a camera-armed submersible like the ROV Hercules that made these discoveries.

So, what about these alien-like worms? Well, they are found nested inside each of the mussels we've found on the cold methane seeps. Some mussels were found with more than one inside, but even the juveniles had a tiny polychaete living with them. One of our zoological experts on board, Dr. Judith Gobin, from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, is a self professed "worm lover" and could not contain her excitement over finding these particular polychaetes.

"They're wonderful!" she exclaimed, while the rest of us made a face and tried to turn away.

Well, I guess everyone needs someone to love them.

These particular polychaetes love the host mussels in which they live. Dr. Gobin and other scientists suspect they are  Branchipolynoe seepensis , and their host mussel is closest to  Bathymodiolus boomerang , but they have not yet confirmed the exact species of these organisms.

The mussels live on the methane and filter feed, like intertidal mussels, but consume unique microbes that live in their gills as symbionts. The microbes convert methane to energy that the mussels use as their food source. Their relationship with these microbes is so efficient; the mussels themselves have a reduced digestive tract.

The worms live with the mussels in what is thought to be a commensal relationship, or mutually beneficial, and they feed on the gills of the mussels, as well as other invertebrate organisms. 

So why are they blood red? They are full of hemoglobin, which at that depth gives them an increased ability to absorb oxygen efficiently, since dissolved oxygen is limited there. 

Khan may not be able to use these guys to control your mind, but they can certainly help us learn a lot about the amazing environment in which they live.

For more information on methane mussels we explored in the Gulf of Mexico, visit our blog post from July  and this overview article from the Houston Chronicle .

Kick 'em Jenny Submarine Volcano Project

This cruise to the southern Lesser Antilles volcanic arc is part of the INSPIRE project, funded by NSF with the purpose of studying and improving telepresence for ocean exploration. Scientists will implement several student-designed exploration projects led from shore. Kick’em Jenny is the most active submarine volcano in the Caribbean Sea, and during the past century it has shown a history of progressive growth with explosive eruptions.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Walter koenig: chekov.

• Photos (23)
• Quotes (12)

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Khan : Captain, Captain, Captain... save your strength. These people have sworn to live and die at my command two hundred years before you were born. Do you mean he never told you the tale? To amuse your Captain, no? Never told you how the Enterprise picked up the Botany Bay, lost in space from the year 1996 with myself and the ship's company in cryogenic freeze?

Capt. Terrell : I've never even met Admiral Kirk.

Khan : 'Admiral?' 'Admiral!' 'Admiral'... Never told you how 'Admiral' Kirk sent seventy of us into exile in this barren sandheap with only the contents of these cargo bays to sustain us?

Chekov : You lie! On Ceti Alpha Five there was life! A fair chance...

Khan : [shouts]  THIS IS CETI ALPHA FIVE! Ceti Alpha Six exploded six months after we were left here. The shock shifted the orbit of this planet and everything was laid waste. 'Admiral' Kirk never bothered to check on our progress. It was only the fact of my genetically-engineered intellect that allowed us to survive. On Earth, 200 years ago, I was a prince with power over millions.

Chekov : Captain Kirk was your host. You repaid his hospitality by trying to steal his ship and murder him!

Chekov : Botany Bay?

[recognizing the name] 

Chekov : Botany Bay! Oh, no! We've got to get out of here now. Damn!

Capt. Terrell : What about...

Chekov : Hurry!

Capt. Terrell : What about the...

Chekov : Never mind that. Hurry! Hurry!

Capt. Terrell : Chekov, what's the matter with you?

[Khan, about to put Ceti Eels in Terrell and Chekov's ears] 

Khan : You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later, as they grow, follows madness and death.

Chekov : Khan, listen to me...

Khan : These are pets, of course. Not quite domesticated.

Chekov : [to Khan]  Captain Kirk was your host. You repaid his hospitality by trying to steal his ship and murder him!

[Chekov has noticed an energy flux reading on the scanner, prompting Terrell to contact Dr. Carol Marcus] 

Captain Clark Terrell : Maybe it's something we can transplant, uhm?

Cmdr. Pavel Chekov : You *know* what she'll say.

Chekov : Oh, sir, it was Khan! We picked him up on Ceti Alpha Five... He put... creatures... in our bodies... to control our minds. He made us... say lies... do things. He thought he controlled us, but he did not. The Captain was strong.

Kirk : Time?

Saavik : Three minutes, thirty seconds.

Kirk : Distance from Reliant?

Chekov : 4000 kilometers.

Sulu : We're not going to make it, are we?

[Kirk turns to look at David, who slowly shakes his head] 

[Terrell and Chekov have beamed down into a sandstorm] 

Capt. Terrell : Chekov, are you *sure* these are the correct coordinates?

Chekov : Captain, this is the garden spot of Ceti Alpha Six!

Chekov : Khan.

Khan : [to Captain Terrell]  I don't know you.

[turning to Chekov] 

Khan : But you... I never forget a face. Mr... Chekov. Isn't it? I never thought to see your face again.

Capt. Terrell : Chekov, who is this man?

Chekov : A criminal, Captain. A product of late 20th-century genetic engineering.

Chekov : Ah, Dr. Marcus. Good. We're en route to you and should be there in three days.

Carol Marcus : En route? Why? We weren't expecting you for another three months. Has something happened?

Chekov : Nothing has happened. Ceti Alpha VI has checked out.

Carol Marcus : Then I-I... I don't understand why you're coming...

Chekov : We have received new orders. Upon our arrival at Regula-1, all materials of Project Genesis will be transferred to this ship for immediate testing on Ceti Alpha VI.

David Marcus : Who in the hell do they think they are?

Carol Marcus : [shushing him and the other scientists]  Will you please get quiet? Commander Chekov, this is completely irregular.

Chekov : I have my orders.

David Marcus : Pin him down, Mother. Who gave the order?

Chekov : The order comes from... Admiral James T. Kirk.

Chekov : Starship log, stardate 8130.4. Log entry by first officer Pavel Chekov. Starship Reliant on orbital approach to Ceti Alpha VI in connection with Project Genesis. We are continuing our search for a lifeless planet to satisfy the requirement of a test site for the Genesis experiment. So far, no success.

Carol Marcus : This is completely improper, Commander Chekov. I have no intention of allowing Reliant or any other unauthorized personnel access to our work or materials.

Chekov : I'm sorry that you feel that way, Doctor. Admiral Kirk's orders are confirmed. Please prepare to deliver Genesis to us upon our arrival. Reliant out.

Khan : Well done, Commander.

Chekov : You realize, sir, they will attempt to contact Admiral Kirk and confirm the order.

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The Trouble With Tribbles Stardate: 4523.3 Original Airdate: 29 Dec, 1967

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Screen Rant

Star trek almost teamed up chekov and worf (twice).

As a Klingon raised by Russian parents, the TNG writers believed Worf had an affinity with Chekov, but sadly, a team-up between them never happened.

Star Trek: The Next Generation twice attempted to feature the Star Trek: The Original Series character Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) alongside Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) due to the characters' shared Russian heritage. As an orphaned Klingon child, Worf was raised on the farming colony Gault by his adoptive Russian parents Sergey and Helena Rozhenko. 100 years earlier, Pavel Chekov was born in Russia, and he served on the legendary USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

As the adopted son of a Russian Starfleet officer, it's likely that Worf heard stories about Chekov's adventures on the Enterprise while growing up. This notion formed the basis of two potential storylines that would have brought Chekov into TNG and possibly even Star Trek: Deep Space Nine after Michael Dorn joined the cast as Worf in DS9 season 4 . If the plans had been successful, Chekov would have joined Scotty (James Doohan), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and McCoy (DeForest Kelly) in the ranks of TOS characters who reprised their roles for TNG . However, one potential Chekov story would have fundamentally changed the character.

RELATED: The Reason Star Trek Added Chekov In TOS Season 2

TNG's First Worf & Chekov Team Up Idea

In an interview with TV Zone magazine in 1998, Walter Koenig said that the TNG writers had approached him to discuss story ideas for a potential Chekov episode. Apparently, they were keen to avoid stories involving time travel or the family of TOS characters, something backed up by Scotty being preserved in a pattern buffer, and an aging Spock on a Romulan unification mission in TNG . Koenig eventually came up with an idea for an episode that would have paired up Chekov and Worf.

The basis of the episode would be that something had happened to Worf which caused him to see Chekov in hallucinations. Presumably, there would be a sci-fi reason for why Worf saw Chekov in particular, and both of them would work to rid him of his visions. Koenig had finally come up with this idea after TNG ended, so it could have been adapted for DS9. However a meeting between the actor and the writing team ended abruptly due to an undisclosed behind-the-scenes issue, and the idea was never developed further.

TNG Almost Did An Evil Chekov Episode

While Koenig was working on his hallucination idea, story editor Naren Shankar was working on another Chekov episode for TNG 's seventh and final season . This was a much darker story that would have given the TOS character a tragic backstory. In the unmade TNG episode, Chekov was a Federation ambassador who was helping to establish relations with a planet on which Chekov had previously been incarcerated as a prisoner of war. Over the course of the negotiations, it would become clear that Chekov was sabotaging them, and intended to use the Enterprise to destroy the planet's capital city in revenge for the horrors he endured.

Worf and Chekov would also have established a friendship based on their shared Russian upbringings and the stories Worf had heard of this legendary Starfleet Officer. The friendship between the two men would prove that, despite becoming a Starfleet traitor , Chekov was not irredeemable. Instead, he had lost his way, because his ordeal had made him bitter about being abandoned by Starfleet. If the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode had been made, it would have surely provided some redemption for Chekov by the end. Unfortunately, Shankar's fascinating insight into the beloved Star Trek: The Original Series character never went any further than an outline.

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• View history

The bore worm was a small lifeform native to the rogue planet Dakala . They were known to crawl into one's ear at night to lay their eggs .

In 2151 , before a mission to Dakala, Trip Tucker told Malcolm Reed and Hoshi Sato that he was relieved the planet's bugs were bioluminescent , as he was going to be sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag . Sato and Reed reminded him that not all of them were so visible, like the bore worms. Sato then mentioned the worms' habits, before wishing Tucker a "nice night". ( ENT : " Rogue Planet ")

In 3191 , Doctor Tracy Pollard told Commander Rayner that the worst thing she had ever seen in sickbay was a Bynar with a Dakalan bore worm eating its synaptic processor . ( DIS : " Jinaal ")

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• Centaurian slug