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Although Star Trek: The Motion Picture had been a box-office hit, it was by no means a unanimous success with Star Trek fans, who responded much more favorably to the "classic Trek" scenario of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Inspired by the "Space Seed" episode of the original TV series, the film reunites newly promoted Admiral Kirk with his nemesis from the earlier episode--the genetically superior Khan (Ricardo Montalban)--who is now seeking revenge upon Kirk for having been imprisoned on a desolated planet. Their battle ensues over control of the Genesis device, a top-secret Starfleet project enabling entire planets to be transformed into life-supporting worlds, pioneered by the mother (Bibi Besch) of Kirk's estranged and now-adult son. While Mr. Spock mentors the young Vulcan Lt. Saavik (then-newcomer Kirstie Alley), Kirk must battle Khan to the bitter end, through a climactic starship chase and an unexpected crisis that will cost the life of Kirk's closest friend. This was the kind of character-based Trek that fans were waiting for, boosted by spectacular special effects, a great villain (thanks to Montalban's splendidly melodramatic performance), and a deft combination of humor, excitement, and wondrous imagination. Director Nicholas Meyer (who would play a substantial role in the success of future Trek features) handles the film as a combination of Moby Dick, Shakespearean tragedy, World War II submarine thriller, and dazzling science fiction, setting the successful tone for the Trek films that followed. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

DVD features
On the DVD commentary track, Nicholas Meyer discusses his directing philosophy, how he scrimped to stay under budget (Wrath of Khan was the cheapest Star Trek film), and his nautical approach to Trek, but he doesn't dissect all the various bits of footage (only a few minutes total, with the most substantial change explaining Midshipman 1st Class Peter Preston's connection to Commander Scott) that went into the director's cut DVD. For those kinds of technical details and trivia, switch on the subtitled commentary track by Michael Okuda (who cowrote The Star Trek Encyclopedia and did the same honors on the Star Trek: The Motion Picture DVD). Disc 2 offers substantial featurettes on how the story developed and how the costumes, ships, and sets were designed, highlighted by new interviews of Meyer, producer-writer Harve Bennett, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban. There are also 8 minutes of 1982 interviews, 13 storyboard archives, and a feature that might seem like a 27-minute commercial for Star Trek books, but is actually an interesting and lighthearted look at how novelists create the back story for such topics as the Kobayashi Maru test and the Eugenics Wars, which feature prominently in Khan. --David Horiuchi