Pavel Chekov
Pavel Chekov | |
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Star Trek: Generations (1994) | |
Created by | Gene Roddenberry |
Portrayed by | Walter Koenig (1967–1994) Anton Yelchin (2009–2016) |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Pavel Andreievich Chekov |
Species | Human |
Gender | Male |
Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
Planet | Earth |
Posting |
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Rank |
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Pavel Andreievich Chekov (Russian: Павел Андреевич Чехов) is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe.
Walter Koenig portrayed Chekov in the second and third seasons of the original Star Trek series and the first seven Star Trek films. Anton Yelchin portrayed the character in the 2009 Star Trek reboot film and two sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. Both Koenig and Yelchin were born to Russian parents, but grew up in the United States, and both affected Russian accents for their roles.
Origin
Star Trek creator
Koenig's modest height, eyes, thick eyebrows, boyish face, and smile were all strikingly evocative of the lone British "Monkee" who captivated millions of pre-teen girls. Early attempts were made to style Koenig's brown hair similar to that of Jones too. Wigs were used in a couple of early episodes but not in others, which reveals a stage of experimentation to attentive viewers. Eventually, a final look for Koenig's hair length and fullness was reached and used consistently thereafter.
After Paramount Television signed Koenig to a contract because of the number of fan letters he received as Chekov, Roddenberry wrote in another memo "Kirk and Spock and the others actually seem rather 'middle aged' to the large youthful segment of our audience. We badly need a young man aboard the Enterprise—we need youthful attitudes and perspectives. Chekov can be used potently here".[6] In actuality, Koenig is only five years younger than co-stars Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner.
The episode "Amok Time", which was the first episode broadcast during the second season, was Chekov's first television appearance ("Catspaw", the first episode shot with the Chekov character, would be broadcast a month later to roughly coincide with Halloween). Because of budgetary constraints, the character did not appear in the animated Star Trek.[1]: 422
Character biography
Pavel Andreievich Chekov was born in 2245 and is a young and naïve ensign who first appears on-screen in the original series’ second season as the Enterprise's navigator. According to Roddenberry, he is "an extraordinarily capable young man—almost Spock's equal in some areas. An honor graduate of the Space Academy."[6] 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. During his tour of Duty on the Enterprise, Chekov lost his mind on three occasions: in "Day of the Dove" Chekov was implanted with false memories and driven to violence by a non-corporeal alien entity; in "And the Children Shall Lead", Chekov was exposed to mind control by a group of children who had been given powers by a non-corporeal being; and in "The Tholian Web" Chekov became violently insane following exposure to interspace. Furthermore, in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Chekov was subject to mind control after being implanted with a juvenile Ceti eel. A running gag on Star Trek is that whenever Chekov gets into personal combat with opponents stronger than him, he loses the fight: "The Trouble with Tribbles" with Klingons or "The Gamesters of Triskelion" with the gladiator-like slaves/thralls. In "Spectre of the Gun" he is shot and killed in the fantasy but survives only because he was thinking of a beautiful fantasy woman. He also likes the beautiful female androids in "I, Mudd".
By the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Chekov is 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.
A common myth about Star Trek is that Khan recognizing Chekov in the film is a continuity error because "
Chekov is an accomplice in Kirk's theft of the Enterprise to rescue
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.
Reboot films
The 2009 Star Trek film creates an alternate timeline in the franchise.[10] In this timeline, Anton Yelchin's portrayal presents Chekov 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 the sequel,
The third film, Star Trek Beyond, was Yelchin's final appearance as Chekov, the film seeing Chekov accompanying Kirk after the entire crew are marooned on an uncharted planet following the destruction of the Enterprise, forcing them to destroy the last of the Enterprise to escape a trap and later work with the rest of the senior staff to restart a long-lost Starfleet ship to escape the planet and defeat a plan to attack the Federation.
Anton Yelchin's death
Yelchin was crushed to death by his 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee on June 19, 2016, little more than a month before the scheduled release of Star Trek Beyond on July 22, 2016. All filming had been completed and post-production had started. A dedication to Yelchin's memory was inserted into the credits. J. J. Abrams, producer of the reboot trilogy and director of its first two films, has stated that the role will not be recast for future sequels, implying the character of Chekov will be written out in future films.
Fan productions
Walter Koenig reprised his role as Chekov 12 years after Star Trek Generations in the fan-created series
In scientific illustrator
Reception
In 2018,
In 2018, Comic Book Resources ranked Chekov the 22nd best member of Starfleet.[16]
References
- ^ ISBN 0-671-00974-5.
- Urban Legends Reference Pages.
- 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
- ^ TV Guide, September 4–10, 1993 p 20
- ^ a b Roddenberry, Gene (April 18, 1968), Kirk, Spock and Other Continuing STAR TREK Characters (memo), pp. 4–5
- ^ a b Steele, Brian (February 20, 2017). "False facts about Star Trek you always thought were true". Grunge. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ 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 and Oops!: Movie Mistakes That Made the Cut by Matteo Molinari, Jim Kamm p. 196
- ^ "Las Vegas 2004: Thursday's Highlights". www.startrek.com. July 30, 2009. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
- ^ Burr, Ty (May 5, 2009). "Star Trek". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
- ^ Sue (April 27, 2017). "Interview: Star Trek Cats' Jenny Parks". Women at Warp. womenatwarp.com. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- OregonLive.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Olson, Laurie Kay (December 16, 2017). "Jenny Parks Cat Art Is Feline Nerdvana!". Petslady.com. Halcyon Solutions Inc. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ Fuster, Jeremy (March 21, 2018). "All 39 'Star Trek' Main Characters Ranked". TheWrap. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
Several members of the original Enterprise crew were not fleshed out on paper, but became beloved thanks to brilliant acting and natural chemistry between the cast.
- ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ "Star Trek: The 25 Best Members Of Starfleet, Ranked". CBR. October 27, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
External links
- Pavel Chekov at Memory Alpha
- "Pavel Chekov" at STARTREK.COM Archived September 23, 2004, at the Wayback Machine