Space Seed Turns 53 Today

The reality is this: Star Trek might not be what it is today and might not have ever celebrated its 50th anniversary as a living, breathing franchise, were it not for "Space Seed," the Star Trek: The Original Series episode that debuted on this day in 1967. It was "Space Seed" that inspired Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and it was The Wrath of Khan that "saved" Star Trek and paved the way for all that's come since. To mark the occasion, we thought we'd indulge in some facts, figures and anecdotes about "Space Seed."

1. According to StarTrek.com guest bloggers Maria Jose and John Tenuto, who wrote a six-part series about the making of the episode, there were a total of 120 scenes, and it took the crew and actors about 66 hours to film the entire 51-minute episode.

2. Marc Daniels directed "Space Seed." He'd collaborated with Gene Roddenberry on the show, The Lieutenant. One of his episodes of The Lieutenant, “In the Highest Tradition,” featured three future Star Trek actors, Leonard Nimoy, Majel Barrett, and Gary Lockwood. Daniels directed a total of 14TOS episodes and penned the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode “Once Upon a Planet.” Daniels passed away in 1989 at the age of 77.

3. Khan's original name was supposed to be Harold Ericcson. 'Ericcson' was spelled several different ways on documents throughout pre-production, until the name became Khan.

4. The budget for "Space Seed" was $192,654. Per the Tenutos, it actually cost less than that, thanks to the efficient work of producer Robert Justman.

5. Did you know that Ricardo Montalban, who played Khan, and Madlyn Rhue, who played Marla McGivers had once before played husband and wife? It's true, and they did so in a 1960 episode of Bonanza titled "Day of Reckoning," an hour with echoes of The Wrath of Khan's revenge storyline.

6. "William Ware Theiss’ costume design work on 'Space Seed' is remarkable for its iconic nature and its interesting symbolism," the Tenutos wrote on in a StarTrek.com guest blog. "Even with limited time, the costumes of 'Space Seed' say something symbolic. Khan, for example, changes his outfit five times. Two are reuses of previously designed costumes (Gary Mitchell’s blue medical costume and an engineering costume). As an interesting aside, Khan does seem to like wearing Starfleet regalia: he does so in "Space Seed," in The Wrath of Khan (wearing both the broken Starfleet insignia and Starfleet jacket) and in Star Trek Into Darkness (as John Harrison in the black Starfleet shirt).

7. Khan, when he makes his move against the Enterprise, first beams to the Botany Bay with Marla’s help to pick up his crew. In the episode as edited and aired, the Tenutos note, "Khan greets his people on the Botany Bay, and the next sequence occurs on the bridge as the episode shows the effects of Khan taking over ship systems. In the filmed episode, we would have seen Khan and his people actually returning to the Enterprise in the transporter room. We never do see that, but luckily there is a photograph of this moment preserved on a Lincoln Enterprise slide fans could purchase during the 1970s."

8. It was during the production of "Space Seed" that Roddenberry learned that NBC had decided to keep Star Trek on the air for the full season. Dated October 5, 1996, the letter came from Lucille Ball, the boss at Desilu Studios, and it read: "Dear Gene and the rest of you hardworking people. Just heard the good news, and want you to know how proud and happy I am. Looks like you have a real hit on your hands, and we appreciate your efforts."

9. Walter Koenig and George Takei were MIA in "Space Seed." Of course, in The Wrath of Khan, the vengeful Khan somehow remembered Chekov.

What are some of your favorite moments from "Space Seed?" Tell us @StarTrek on all things social!