Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the "Best Of" series for The Original Series characters with a look at Pavel Chekov. Previous "Best of" segments for the Voyager crew as well as Janice Rand and Spock can be found on Archive.org and previous episodes of this show. Here are some of Chekov's best quotes and appearances.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp183
Chekov joined the crew in Season 2, and it did not take long for him to express his pride at his Russian heritage. In the episode The Trouble with Tribbles, he makes one of many grand claims to what his country has done:
Capt. Kirk: [handing Chekov a container] Mr. Chekov, what do you make of this?
Chekov: Oh, quadrotriticale. I've read about this, but, er, I've never seen any before.
Capt. Kirk: Does everybody know about this wheat but me?
Chekov: Oh, not everyone, Captain. It's a Russian invention.
Chekov serves many different roles on board the Enterprise, including regular bridge shifts at navigation and tactical. In the Season 3 episode Spock's Brain, he implicitly references his motherland when evaluating the climate on a planet he is scanning:
Captain James T. Kirk: Readout, Mr. Chekov.
Chekov: No structures, Captain. No mechanized objects that I can read, no surface consumption, no generation of energy. Atmosphere is perfectly all right, of course. Temperature, a high maximum of 40 - livable.
Captain James T. Kirk: [regarding Chekov] You have a thick skin.
Although Chekov did not play a large role in many episodes during his two seasons on the Enterprise, one particular episode where his character receives some development is in Season 3's Day of the Dove. During an away mission, Chekov attacks a Klingon captain for allegedly killing his brother, which shows his dedication to family even though it later turns out to be just an illusion from an entity which feeds on conflict between others.
Chekov: Filthy Klingon murderers! You killed my brother, Pyotr. The Archanis IV research outpost. A hundred peaceful people massacred! Just like you did here. My brother - you killed my brother!
Kang: And you volunteer to join him. That is loyalty.
Chekov really comes into his own in the movies, even though these appearances are often more lighthearted instead of serious. Although his most famous movie lines probably come opposite Khan on Ceti Alpha V in The Wrath of Khan, my personal preference for memorable Chekov lines is this scene from The Voyage Home:
Chekov: [to a policeman] Excuse me, sir! Can you direct us to the naval base in Alameda? It's where they keep the nuclear wessels.
[He pauses, looks at Uhura, and tries again]
Chekov: *Nuclear wessels*.
Though Chekov was brought on the show mostly for further diversity in the 1960's Cold War era and to be a Davy Jones look-alike from the band The Monkees, he quickly turns into one of the cherished members of this original crew. Despite character development being a bit thin for him, Chekov was an overall positive addition to the cast, and of course, actor Walter Koenig remains involved in Trek projects and a great ambassador to the show to this day.
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