Pavel Chekov

Pavel Andreivich Chekov, a character from the fictional Star Trek universe, was the Navigator and Weapons Officer on the Starship Enterprise under Captain Kirk. His rank was ensign in ', but was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in ' and commander in subsequent movies. Chekov was Russian, but was played by the Lithuanian-American actor Walter Koenig.

Related Topics:
Star Trek - Starship Enterprise - Captain Kirk - Ensign - Lieutenant - Commander - Russian - American - Walter Koenig

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry added Chekov's character in the show's second season, in response to being told about a Pravda article, which noted that although the Soviet Union was a leader in space exploration, the international crew of the Enterprise lacked Soviets. Including someone from Russia, the long-time cold war adversary of the U.S., matched well with Roddenberry's vision of an ideal future in which the people of the Earth were united. In truth, the evidence suggests that no such article was ever actually published in Pravda. http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/chekov.htm

Related Topics:
Star Trek - Gene Roddenberry - Pravda - Soviet Union - Enterprise - Cold war

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Koenig himself says the character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees' Davy Jones, and the character's hairstyle and appearance is a direct reference to this.

Related Topics:
The Monkees - Davy Jones

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A running joke involving Chekov's character was his tendency to credit everything to Mother Russia; for example, his claim that Scotch whisky was invented by "A little old lady in Leningrad." (This joke was later thrown back at Chekov in ' in which a Klingon claims Shakespeare's Hamlet for his own people.)

Related Topics:
Scotch whisky - Leningrad - Klingon - Shakespeare - Hamlet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of Chekov's most memorable scenes and storylines comes in the second Star Trek film, ', in which his character is put under the control of Khan through the use of a worm that crawls in Chekov's ear.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~