Star Trek (TV Series)

Space Seed (1967)

William Shatner: Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk

Photos 

Quotes 

• Mr. Spock : I fail to understand why it always gives you pleasure to see me proven wrong.

  Captain James T. Kirk : An emotional Earth weakness of mine.

• Captain James T. Kirk : [about to beam aboard the Botany Bay]  You ready, Bones?

  Dr. McCoy : No. I signed aboard this ship to practice medicine, not to have my atoms scattered back and forth across space by this gadget.

  Captain James T. Kirk : You're an old-fashioned boy, McCoy.

• Captain James T. Kirk : [looking at a library picture of Khan on viewscreen]  Name: Khan Noonien Singh.

  Mr. Spock : From 1992 through 1996, absolute ruler of more than a quarter of your world, from Asia through the Middle East.

  Dr. McCoy : The last of the tyrants to be overthrown.

  Scott : I must confess, gentlemen. I've always held a sneaking admiration for this one.

  Captain James T. Kirk : He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous. They were supermen in a sense. Stronger, braver, certainly more ambitious, more daring.

  Mr. Spock : Gentlemen, this romanticism about a ruthless dictator is...

  Captain James T. Kirk : Mr. Spock, we humans have a streak of barbarism in us. Appalling, but there, nevertheless.

  Scott : There were no massacres under his rule.

  Mr. Spock : And as little freedom.

  Dr. McCoy : No wars until he was attacked.

  Mr. Spock : Gentlemen...

  [Everyone but Spock laugh] 

  Captain James T. Kirk : Mr. Spock, you misunderstand us. We can be against him and admire him all at the same time.

  Mr. Spock : Illogical.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Totally.

• Khan Noonien Singh : You are an excellent tactician, Captain. You let your second-in-command attack while you sit and watch for weakness.

  Captain James T. Kirk : You have a tendency to express ideas in military terms, Mr. Khan.

  [pauses] 

  Captain James T. Kirk : This is a social occasion.

  Khan Noonien Singh : [laughs]  It has been said that, uh, "social occasions" are only warfare concealed. Many prefer it more honest, more... open.

  Captain James T. Kirk : You fled. Why? Were you afraid?

  Khan Noonien Singh : I've never been afraid.

  Captain James T. Kirk : But you left at the very time mankind needed courage.

  Khan Noonien Singh : [angrily]  We offered the world *order*!

  Captain James T. Kirk : We?

  Khan Noonien Singh : [smiles admiringly, realizing he has revealed more than he would wish]  Excellent. Excellent.

• Captain James T. Kirk : What's your name?

  Khan Noonien Singh : Khan is my name.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Just Khan? Nothing else?

  Khan Noonien Singh : Khan.

• Captain James T. Kirk : Lieutenant, at any one time, the safety of this entire vessel might depend on the performance of a single crewman aboard, and the fact that you find a man strangely compelling to you personally...

  Lt. Marla McGivers : Not personally, Captain. Professionally. My profession is historian, and when I specimen from the past alive, I'm in the sheer delight of examining his mind.

  Captain James T. Kirk : And men were more adventuresome then. Bolder, more coloful.

  Lt. Marla McGivers : Yes, sir, I think they were.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Good. If I can have honesty, it's easier to overlook mistakes. That's all.

  Lt. Marla McGivers : Yes, sir.

  [She leaves sickbay] 

  Dr. McCoy : A pity you wasted your life on command, Jim. You'd made a fair psychologist.

  Captain James T. Kirk : [in mock arrogance]  Fair?

• [Khan is escorted out by Security] 

  Scott : It's a shame for a good Scotsman to admit it, but I'm not up on Milton

  Captain James T. Kirk : The statement Lucifer made when he fell into the pit: "It is better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven."

  Mr. Spock : It would be interesting, Captain, to return to that world in 100 years and learn what crop had sprung from the seed you planted today.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Yes, Mr. Spock. It would indeed.

• Captain James T. Kirk : Mr. Spock, I believe our heading takes us near the Ceti Alpha star system.

  Mr. Spock : Quite correct, Captain. Planet number five there is habitable, although a bit savage, somewhat inhospitable.

  Captain James T. Kirk : But no more than Australia's Botany Bay colony was at the beginning. Those men went on to tame a continent, Mr. Khan. Can you tame a world?

  Khan Noonien Singh : Have you ever read Milton, Captain?

  Captain James T. Kirk : Yes. I understand.

• Captain James T. Kirk : You suspect some danger?

  Mr. Spock : Insufficient facts always invites danger, Captain.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Well, I'd better get some facts.

• Captain James T. Kirk : [the landing party has beamed aboard the Botany Bay]  Scotty?

  Scott : Definitely Earth-type mechanism, sir. Twentieth century vessel. Old type atomic power. Bulky, solid. I think they used to call them transistor units. I'd love to tear this baby apart.

  Lt. Marla McGivers : Captain, it's a sleeper ship.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Suspended animation.

  Lt. Marla McGivers : I've seen old photographs of this. Necessary because of the time involved in space travel until about the year 2018. It took years just to travel from one planet to another.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Is it possible they're still alive after centuries of travel?

  Dr. McCoy : It's theoretically possible. I've never heard of it being tested for this long a period.

• Captain James T. Kirk : [narrating]  Stardate 3142.8. They have my ship, discarding their own worthless vessel. Only moments of air left on the bridge now. Commendations recommended for Lieutenant Uhura, Technicians First Class Thule and Harrison... Lieutenant Spinelli... and, of course, Mr. Spock. I take full responsibility... I take full...

  [passes out] 

• Captain James T. Kirk : The bridge is yours, Mr. Spock. Care to join the landing party, Doctor?

  Dr. McCoy : Well, if you're actually giving me a choice...

  Captain James T. Kirk : I'm not. Oh, I'll need somebody familiar with the late 20th Century Earth. Here's a chance for that historian to do something for a change. What's her name? McIvers?

  Mr. Spock : [corrects]  Lieutenant McGivers.

• Captain James T. Kirk : This Khan is not what I expected of a twentieth century man.

  Mr. Spock : I note he's making considerable use of our technical library.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Common courtesy, Mr. Spock. He'll spend the rest of his days in our time. It's only decent to help him catch up. Would you estimate him to be a product of selective breeding?

  Mr. Spock : There is that possibility, Captain. His age would be correct. In 1993, a group of these young supermen did seize power simultaneously in over 40 nations.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive, arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.

  Mr. Spock : Because the scientists overlooked one fact: superior ability breeds superior ambition.

  Captain James T. Kirk : Interesting, if true. They created a group of Alexanders, Napoleons.

  Mr. Spock : I have collected some names and made some counts. By my estimate, there were some 80 or 90 of these young supermen unaccounted for when they were finally defeated.

  Captain James T. Kirk : That fact isn't in the history texts.

  Mr. Spock : Would you reveal to war-weary populations that some 80 Napoleans might still be alive?