- See also Space Seeds, a TNG comic.
"Space Seed" was the 24th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the 24th episode of the show's first season, first aired on 16 February 1967. The episode was written by Carey WilberMA and Gene L. CoonMA, directed by Marc DanielsMA and novelized in Star Trek 2 by James Blish.
Summary
On stardate 3141.9, the USS Enterprise comes across a ship floating in space. It is found that it is the SS Botany Bay, a ship lost during the end of the Eugenics Wars in the late 1990s decade. When the crew discover this vessel, historian Marla McGivers, Captain Kirk, Scotty, and Doctor McCoy all beam aboard to see who is still alive.
References
Characters
Episode characters
- Robert Abrams • Clifford Brent (?) • Bill Hadley • Harrison • Kati • James T. Kirk • John Kyle • Ryan Leslie • Leonard McCoy • Marla McGivers • Otto • Montgomery Scott • Khan Noonien Singh • Spinelli • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • Joaquin Weiss • unnamed Augments • unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel (USS Enterprise NCC-1701 personnel)
- Referenced only
- Alexander the Great • Napoléon Bonaparte • Leif Ericson • Flavius • Lucifer • John Milton • King Richard the Lion Heart • Liam MacPherson • Suzette Ling • Armando Rodriguez • Thule
Novelization characters
- Robert Abrams • Paul Austin • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Marla McGivers • Sibahl Khan Noonien • Montgomery Scott • Spinelli • Spock • Nyota Uhura • Joaquin Weiss
- Referenced only
- Adamski • Augustus • Napoléon Bonaparte • Lucifer • John Milton • William of Occam • Hikaru Sulu
Starships and vehicles
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • SS Botany Bay (DY-100 class/CZ-100 class sleeper ship)
- Referenced only
- DY-500 class
Locations
- in or near Mutara sector, the galaxy's Beta Quadrant
- Referenced only
- Earth (Sol system, sector 001, Alpha Quadrant): Australia (Botany Bay), Rome, Asia (India), Middle East
- Referenced only
- Tau Ceti system (Alpha Quadrant) • Starbase 12 (Gamma 400 star system, Beta Quadrant) • Alpha Centauri (Alpha Centauri sector, Quadrant 0, Beta Quadrant) • Ceti Alpha (Mutara sector, Gamma Orionis sector block, Beta Quadrant)
Shipboard areas
- USS Enterprise
- bridge • briefing room • corridor • engineering • quarters (Khan's, Marla's) • sickbay • transporter room
Races and cultures
Technology and weapons
- communicator • intercom • sensors • starship • viewscreen • transporter
Materials and substances
- atmosphere • blood • gas • oxygen • tantalum
States and organizations
Ranks and titles
- captain • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commander • commanding officer • communications officer • engineer • Federation Starfleet ranks • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • first officer • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • helmsman • medical practitioner • navigator • officer • scientist • science officer • second officer
Other references
- anesthesia • Morse code • Eugenics Wars • English • World War III • Sikh • European • Latin • Oriental • Dark Ages • ox • Botany Bay Colonizing Expedition • Alpha Centauri Expedition • tantalum • sheep • phaser • Scotsman • anatomy • beaming • Bones • boot • captain's log • captain's log, USS Enterprise, 2267 • clothing • five-year mission • government • homeworld • hour • humanoid • jumpsuit • language • life span • lifeform • log entry • logic • matter • memory • nation-state • pants • paradise • planet • quadrant • races and cultures • rank • regulation • ship's log • ship's log, USS Enterprise • space • star • star system • stardate • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2260s) • technology • title • tunic • uniform • universe • weapon
Chronology
- years prior to 2267
- Botany Bay floats in space. (prior to episode/novelization)
- stardate 3141.9, 2267 (2260s chronology, 2264–2270 Enterprise voyages)
- Enterprise travels to Starbase 12.
- 2285
- Kirk recalls the encounter with Khan. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Wrath of Khan)
Appendices
Related media
- ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation
- Depicts the coordinates and maps of the Ceti Alpha system.
| Media featuring Khan Noonien Singh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes/Movies | Space Seed • The Wrath of Khan • Into Darkness | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Novels | Space Seed • The Wrath of Khan • The Eugenics Wars (The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1 • Volume 2 • To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh) • Seeds of Dissent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comics | The Wrath of Khan (1 • 2 • 3) • Khan: Ruling in Hell (The First Six Months • 2 • 3 • 4) • Khan (1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5) • Stranger Worlds (2 • 3 • 4 • 5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Novel adaptations
Novelized in Star Trek 2.
Novelization in Star Trek 2 reprinted.
Novelization in Star Trek 2 reprinted.
Novelization in Star Trek 2 reprinted overseas.
Novelization in Star Trek 2 reprinted overseas.
German language translation of novelization in Strafplanet Tantalus.
Reprinted German language translation of novelization in Strafplanet Tantalus.
Novelization collected in The Star Trek Reader II.
German language novelization translation collected in Der große Sammelband.
Novelization collected in The Classic Episodes 1.
Novelization collected The Classic Episodes.
Video releases
Collector's edition VHS release with "The Return of the Archons".
Background
Novelization
- In the novelization, Khan's full name is Sibahl Khan Noonien.
- Also, the last CZ-100 class vessel was produced in 1994, and used for travel within the Sol system.
- Human warp drive was invented in 2018.
- Khan fought the Eugenics Wars from 1992 to 1996.
- The Alpha Centauri Expedition was the first to leave the Sol system and took place in 2018.
- Lieutenant Marla McGivers is listed as a Systems officer.
- While it is implied that Khan killed Lieutenant Adamski in the novelization, the conclusion of the episode where Kirk drops all charges against Khan makes it highly unlikely, in the canon truth of the matter, that Khan permanently dispatched any crewman. In fact, by the time of The Wrath of Khan, it seems Kirk failed to log any record of the incident, which would be hard to explain if any personnel had been lost under such unexplained circumstances.
Images
The SS Botany Bay.
Khan and Marla.
Spinelli, unconscious.
Marla's Leif Ericson.
Enterprise.
Enterprise.
The USS Enterprise.
Enterprise personnel
Crewwoman.
Crewwoman.
Crewwoman.
Crewwoman.
Security.
Security.
Technician.
Technicians.
Nurse.
Kirk.
Spock.
The crew.
The crew.
The crew.
The crew.
Khan's "supermen"
Connections
Timeline
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous episode: A Taste of Armageddon |
TOS episode produced | Next episode: This Side of Paradise |
| Previous episode: The Return of the Archons |
TOS episode aired | Next episode: A Taste of Armageddon |
| Previous story: The City on the Edge of Forever |
Star Trek 2
|
Next story: last story until Star Trek 3 |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: A Taste of Armageddon |
Next Adventure: To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh Chapters 3-6 | |
| Previous Adventure: A Taste of Armageddon |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (2264 to 2270) |
Next Adventure: This Side of Paradise |
External links
- "Space Seed" article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Space Seed article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.