Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Nicholas Meyer and based on the television series Star Trek. It is the second film in the Star Trek film series following Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and is a sequel to the original series episode "Space Seed" (1967). The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). When Khan escapes from a 15-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk, the crew of the Enterprise must stop him from acquiring a powerful terraforming device named Genesis. The film is the beginning of a three-film story arc that continues with the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and concludes with the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).

After the lackluster critical response to the first film, series creator Gene Roddenberry was forced out of the sequel's production. Executive producer Harve Bennett wrote the film's original outline, which Jack B. Sowards developed into a full script. Meyer completed its final script in twelve days, without accepting a writing credit. Meyer's approach evoked the swashbuckling atmosphere of the original series, a theme reinforced by James Horner's musical score. Leonard Nimoy had not intended to have a role in the sequel, but was enticed back on the promise that his character would be given a dramatic death scene. Negative test audience reaction to Spock's death led to significant revisions of the ending over Meyer's objections. The production team used various cost-cutting techniques to keep within budget, including utilizing miniature models from past projects and reusing sets, effects footage, and costumes from the first film. The film was the first feature film to contain a sequence created entirely with computer graphics.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released in North America on June 4, 1982, by Paramount Pictures. It was a box office success, earning US\$97million worldwide and setting a world record for its first-day box office gross. Critical reaction to the film was positive; reviewers highlighted Khan's character, Meyer's direction, improved performances, the film's pacing, and the character interactions as strong elements. Negative reactions focused on weak special effects and some of the acting. The Wrath of Khan is considered by many to be the best film in the Star Trek series, and is often credited with renewing substantial interest in the franchise.

## Plot

In 2285, Admiral James T. Kirk oversees a simulator session of Captain Spock's trainees. In the simulation, Lieutenant Saavik commands the starship USS Enterprise on a rescue mission to save the crew of the damaged ship Kobayashi Maru, but is attacked by Klingon cruisers and critically damaged. The simulation is a no-win scenario designed to test the character of Starfleet officers. Later, Dr. McCoy visits Kirk on his birthday; seeing Kirk in low spirits due to his age, the doctor advises Kirk to get a new command instead of growing old behind a desk.

Meanwhile, the starship Reliant is on a mission to search for a lifeless planet to test the Genesis Device, a technology designed to reorganize dead matter into habitable worlds. Reliant'''s Captain Clark Terrell and first officer Commander Pavel Chekov beam down to evaluate a planet they believe to be Ceti Alpha VI; once there, they are captured by the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh explaining that they are on Ceti Alpha V. Fifteen years prior, Kirk exiled Khan and his fellow supermen to Ceti Alpha V after they attempted to take over Enterprise. The neighboring planet exploded, devastating the surface of Ceti Alpha V. Khan implants Chekov and Terrell with indigenous eel larvae (which killed several of his followers, including his wife) that render them susceptible to mind control, and uses them to capture Reliant. Learning of the Genesis Device, Khan attacks space station Regula I where the device is being developed by Kirk's former lover, Dr. Carol Marcus, and their son, David.

Kirk assumes command of Enterprise after the ship, deployed on a training cruise, receives a distress call from Regula I. En route, Enterprise is ambushed and crippled by Reliant. Khan offers to spare Kirk's crew if they relinquish all material related to Genesis; Kirk instead stalls for time and, taking advantage of Khan's unfamiliarity with starship controls, remotely lowers Reliant's shields, enabling a counter-attack. Khan is forced to retreat and effect repairs, while Enterprise limps to Regula I. Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik beam to the station and find Terrell and Chekov alive, along with the slaughtered members of Marcus' team. They soon find Carol and David hiding Genesis deep inside the nearby planetoid. Khan, having used Terrell and Chekov as spies, orders them to kill Kirk; Terrell resists the eel's influence and kills himself, while Chekov collapses as the eel leaves his body. Khan transports Genesis aboard the Reliant, intending to maroon Kirk on the lifeless planetoid, but is tricked by Kirk and Spock's coded arrangements for a rendezvous. Kirk directs Enterprise into the nearby Mutara Nebula; conditions inside the nebula render shields useless and compromise targeting systems, making Enterprise and Reliant evenly matched. Spock notes that Khan's tactics indicate inexperience in three-dimensional combat, which Kirk exploits to disable Reliant.

Mortally wounded, Khan activates Genesis, quoting Captain Ahab from the novel Moby Dick as he dies. Though Kirk's crew detects the activation and attempts to move out of range, they will not be able to escape the nebula in time without the ship's inoperable warp drive. To restore warp power, Spock goes to the engine room, which is flooded with radiation. When McCoy tries to prevent Spock's entry, Spock incapacitates him with a Vulcan nerve pinch and performs a mind meld, telling him to "remember". Spock repairs the warp drive, and Enterprise jumps to warp, escaping the explosion, which forms a new planet. Before dying of radiation poisoning, Spock urges Kirk not to grieve, as his decision to sacrifice himself to save the Enterprise was a logical one. Kirk and the ship's crew host a space burial for Spock, whose photon torpedo casket lands on the new Genesis planet.

## Cast

The Wrath of Khan's cast includes all the major characters from the original television series, as well as new actors and characters.

- William Shatner as James T. Kirk, a Starfleet admiral and former commander of the Enterprise. Kirk and Khan never confront each other face-to-face during the film; all of their interactions are over a viewscreen or through communicators, and their scenes were filmed four months apart. Meyer described Shatner as an actor who was naturally protective of his character and himself, and who performed better over multiple takes.
- Ricardo Montalbán as Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically enhanced superhuman who had used his strength and intellect to briefly rule much of Earth in the 1990s. Montalbán said that he believed all good villains do villainous things, but think that they are acting for the "right" reasons; in this way, Khan uses his anger at the death of his wife to justify his pursuit of Kirk. Contrary to speculation that Montalbán used a prosthetic chest, no artificial devices were added to Montalbán's muscular physique. Montalbán enjoyed making the film, so much so that he played the role for much less than was offered him, and counted the role as a career highlight. His major complaint was that he was never face-to-face with Shatner for a scene. "I had to do my lines with the script girl, who, as you might imagine, sounded nothing like Bill [Shatner]," he explained. Bennett noted that the film was close to getting the green light when it occurred to the producers that no one had asked Montalbán if he could take a break from filming the television series Fantasy Island to take part.
- Leonard Nimoy as Spock, the captain of the Enterprise who relinquishes command to Kirk after Starfleet sends the ship to Regula I. Nimoy had not intended to have a role in The Motion Picture's sequel, but was enticed back on the promise that his character would be given a dramatic death scene. Nimoy reasoned that since The Wrath of Khan would be the final Star Trek film, having Spock "go out in a blaze of glory" seemed like a good way to end the character.
- DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy, the Enterprise's chief medical officer and a close friend of Kirk and Spock. Kelley was dissatisfied with an early version of the script to the point that he considered not taking part. Kelley noted his character spoke many of the film's lighter lines, and felt that this role was essential in bringing a lighter side to the onscreen drama.
- James Doohan as Montgomery Scott, the Enterprise's chief engineer. Kelley felt that McCoy's speaking his catchphrase "He's dead, Jim" during Spock's death scene would ruin the moment's seriousness, so Doohan instead says the line "He's dead already" to Kirk. Scott loses his young nephew following Khan's attacks on the Enterprise. The cadet, played by Ike Eisenmann, had many of his lines cut from the original theatrical release, including a scene where it is explained he is Scott's relative. These scenes were reintroduced when ABC aired The Wrath of Khan on television in 1985, and in the director's edition, making Scott's grief at the crewman's death more understandable.
- George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, the helm officer of the Enterprise. Takei had not wanted to reprise his role for The Wrath of Khan, but Shatner persuaded him to return.
- Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, the Reliant's first officer and former Enterprise crewmember. During filming, Kelley noted that Chekov never met Khan in "Space Seed" (Koenig had not yet joined the cast), and thus Khan's recognizing Chekov on Ceti Alpha did not make sense. Non-canon Star Trek books have attempted to rationalize this discrepancy; in the film's novelization by Vonda N. McIntyre, Chekov is "an ensign assigned to the night watch" during "Space Seed" and met Khan in an off-screen scene. The novel To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh fixes the error by having Chekov escort Khan to the surface of Ceti Alpha after the events of the television episode. The real cause of the error was a simple oversight by the filmmakers. Meyer defended the mistake by noting that Arthur Conan Doyle made similar oversights in his Sherlock Holmes stories. Although they did not appear in the episode together, the Star Trek timeline indicates that Chekov was a member of the crew at that time. Chekov's screaming while being infested by the Ceti eel caused Koenig to jokingly dub the film Star Trek II: Chekov Screams Again, in reference to a similar screaming scene in The Motion Picture.
- Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, the Enterprise's communications officer. Nichols helped convince Meyer and Bennet to marginally cut back their vision of a more militaristic depiction of Starfleet, which Gene Roddenberry also took issue with.
- Bibi Besch as Carol Marcus, the lead scientist working on Project Genesis, and the mother of Kirk's son. Meyer was looking for an actress who looked beautiful enough that it was plausible a womanizer such as Kirk would fall for her, yet who could also project a sense of intelligence.
- Merritt Butrick as David Marcus, a Project Genesis scientist and Kirk's son. Meyer liked that Butrick's hair was blond like Besch's and curly like Shatner's, making him a plausible son of the two.
- Paul Winfield as Clark Terrell, the captain of the Reliant. Meyer had seen Winfield's work in films such as Sounder and thought highly of him; there was no reason for casting him as the Reliant's captain other than Meyer's desire to direct him. Meyer thought in retrospect that the Ceti eel scenes might have been corny, but felt that Winfield's performance helped add gravity.
- Kirstie Alley as Saavik, Spock's protege and a Starfleet commander-in-training aboard the Enterprise. Serving on board as the navigator in Chekov's absence, she has a strong habit of questioning Kirk's eccentric heroic methods, preferring a more by-the-book approach. Constantly quoting rules and regulations to Kirk, she is actually vindicated during the battle with Khan, and her manner provides Spock with the idea for how to talk in code to Kirk down at the science lab. When Kirk and McCoy intend to beam down to the science lab, she insists on going with them on the pretext of protecting Kirk. The movie was Alley's first feature film role. Saavik cries during Spock's funeral. Meyer said that during filming someone asked him, "'Are you going to let her do that?' And I said, 'Yeah', and they said, 'But Vulcans don't cry,' and I said, 'Well, that's what makes this such an interesting Vulcan.'" The character's emotional outbursts can be partly explained by the fact that Saavik was described as of mixed Vulcan-Romulan heritage in the script, though no indication is given on film. Alley was so fond of her Vulcan ears that she would take them home with her at the end of each day.
- Judson Scott as Joachim, Khan's chief henchman. Scott took the role believing that it would be more prominent and requested top billing. When Paramount refused, Scott waived billing, believing that he would still appear in the end credits. Instead his performance went uncredited.

## Production

### Development

After the release of The Motion Picture, executive producer Gene Roddenberry wrote his own sequel. In his plot, the crew of the Enterprise travel back in time to set right a corrupted time line after Klingons use the Guardian of Forever to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This was rejected by Paramount executives, who blamed the tepid reception and costs of the first film on its plodding pace and the constant rewrites Roddenberry demanded. As a consequence, Roddenberry was removed from the production and, according to Shatner, "kicked upstairs" to the ceremonial position of executive consultant.

Harve Bennett, a new Paramount television producer, was made producer for the next Star Trek film. According to Bennett, he was called in front of a group including Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner and asked if he thought he could make a better film than The Motion Picture, which Bennett confessed he found "really boring". When Bennett replied in the affirmative, Charles Bluhdorn asked, "Can you make it for less than forty-five-fucking-million-dollars?" Bennett replied that "Where I come from, I can make five movies for that." Bennett realized he faced a serious challenge in developing the new Star Trek film, partly due to his never having seen the television series. Watching episodes of the show convinced Bennett that what the first picture lacked was a real villain; after seeing the episode "Space Seed", he decided that the character of Khan Noonien Singh was the perfect enemy for the new film. Bennett selected Robert Sallin, a director of television commercials and a college friend, to produce the film. Sallin's job would be to produce Star Trek II quickly and cheaply. Bennett hired Michael Minor as art director to shape the direction of the film.

Bennett wrote his first film treatment in November 1980. In his version, titled The War of the Generations, Kirk investigates a rebellion on a distant world and discovers that his son is the leader of the rebels. Khan is the mastermind behind the plot, and Kirk and son join forces to defeat the tyrant. Bennett then hired Jack B. Sowards, an avid Star Trek fan, to turn his outline into a film-able script. Sowards wrote an initial script before a writer's strike in 1981. Sowards' draft, The Omega Syndrome, involved the theft of the Federation's ultimate weapon, the "Omega system". Sowards was concerned that his weapon was too negative, and Bennett wanted something more uplifting "and as fundamental in the 23rd century as recombinant DNA is in our time", Minor recalled. Minor suggested to Bennett that the device be turned into a terraforming tool instead. At the story conference the next day, Bennett hugged Minor and declared that he had saved Star Trek. In recognition of the Biblical power of the weapon, Sowards renamed the "Omega system" to the "Genesis Device".

By April 1981, Sowards had produced a draft that moved Spock's death to later in the story, because of fan dissatisfaction of the event after the script was leaked. Spock had originally died in the first act, in a shocking demise that Bennett compared to Janet Leigh's early death in Psycho. This draft had a twelve-page face-to-face confrontation between Kirk and Khan. Sowards' draft introduced a male character named Saavik. As pre-production began, Samuel A. Peeples, writer of the Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", was invited to offer his own script. Peeples' draft replaced Khan with two new villains named Sojin and Moray; the alien beings are so powerful they almost destroy Earth by mistake. This script was considered inadequate; the aliens resembled too closely the villains on a typical TOS (Star Trek: The Original Series) episode. Deadlines loomed for special effects production to begin (which required detailed storyboards based on a finished script), which did not exist.

Karen Moore, a Paramount executive, suggested that Nicholas Meyer, writer of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and director of Time After Time, could help resolve the screenplay issues. Meyer had also never seen an episode of Star Trek. He had the idea of making a list consisting of everything that the creative team had liked from the preceding drafts—"it could be a character, it could be a scene, it could be a plot, it could be a subplot, [...] it could be a line of dialogue"—so that he could use that list as the basis of a new screenplay made from all the best aspects of the previous ones. To offset fan expectation that Spock would die, Meyer had the character "killed" in the Kobayashi Maru simulator in the opening scene. The effects company required a completed script in just 12 days. Meyer wrote the screenplay uncredited and for no pay before the deadline, surprising the actors and producers, and rapidly produced subsequent rewrites as necessary. One draft, for example, had a baby in Khan's group, who is killed with the others in the Genesis detonation. Meyer later said:

> The chief contribution I brought to Star Trek II was a healthy disrespect ... Star Trek was human allegory in a space format. That was both its strength and, ultimately, its weakness. I tried through irreverence to make them more human and a little less wooden. I didn't insist that Captain Kirk go to the bathroom, but did Star Trek have to be so sanctified?

Meyer described his script as "'Hornblower' in outer space", utilizing nautical references and a swashbuckling atmosphere. (Hornblower was an inspiration to Roddenberry and Shatner when making the show, although Meyer was unaware of this.) Sallin was impressed with Meyer's vision for the film: "His ideas brought dimension that broadened the scope of the material as we were working on it." Gene Roddenberry disagreed with the script's naval texture and Khan's Captain Ahab undertones, but was mostly ignored by the creative team.

As a gesture of good faith, Paramount changed the film's title from its original working title, The Vengeance of Khan, as it was too close to the working title for Lucasfilm's upcoming Star Wars film. After the name change was made, Lucasfilm changed their title from Revenge of the Jedi to Return of the Jedi. An even earlier working title for the Trek film was The Undiscovered Country, a title which would eventually be used for the sixth film of the franchise.

### Design

Meyer attempted to change the look of Star Trek to match the nautical atmosphere he envisioned while staying within budget. The Enterprise, for example, was given a ship's bell, boatswain's call, and more blinking lights and signage. Meyer had a "No Smoking" sign added to the Enterprise's bridge, which he recalled "Everyone had a fit over [...] I said, 'Why, have they stopped smoking in the future? They've been smoking for four hundred years, you think it's going to stop in the next two?'" The sign appeared in the first shot of the film, but was removed for all others appearing in the final cut.

To save money on set design, production designer Joseph Jennings used existing elements from The Motion Picture that had been left standing after filming was completed. Sixty-five percent of the film was shot on the same set; the bridge of the Reliant and the "bridge simulator" from the opening scene were redresses of the Enterprise's bridge. The Klingon bridge from The Motion Picture was redressed as the Regula I transporter room and the Enterprise's torpedo bay. The filmmakers stretched The Wrath of Khan's budget by reusing models and footage from the first film, including footage of Enterprise in spacedock. The original ship miniatures were used where possible, or modified to stand in as new constructions. The orbital office complex from The Motion Picture was inverted and retouched to become the Regula I space station. Elements of the cancelled Star Trek: Phase II television show, such as bulkheads, railings, and sets, were cannibalized and reused. A major concern for the designers was that Reliant should be easily distinguishable from Enterprise. The ship's design was flipped after Bennett accidentally opened and approved the preliminary Reliant designs upside-down.

Designer Robert Fletcher was brought in to redesign existing costumes and create new ones. Fletcher decided on a scheme of "corrupt colors", using materials with colors slightly off from the pure color. "They're not colors you see today, so in a subtle way [they] indicate another time." Meyer did not like the Starfleet uniforms from either the television series or The Motion Picture and wanted them changed, but could not be discarded entirely because of the budget. Dye tests of the fabric showed that the old uniforms took three colors well: blue-gray, gold, and dark red. Fletcher decided to use the dark red due to the strong contrast it provided with the background. The resulting naval-inspired designs would be used in Star Trek films until First Contact (1996). The first versions of the uniforms had stiff black collars, but Sallin suggested changing it to a turtleneck, using a form of vertical quilting called trapunto. The method creates a bas-relief effect to the material by stuffing the outlined areas with soft thread shot via air pressure through a hollow needle. By the time of The Wrath of Khan's production, the machines and needles needed to produce trapunto were rare, and Fletcher was only able to find one needle for the wardrobe department. The crew was so worried about losing or breaking the needle that one of the department's workers took it home with him as a security measure, leading Fletcher to think it had been stolen.

For Khan and his followers, Fletcher created a strong contrast with the highly organized Starfleet uniforms; his idea was that the exiles' costumes were made out of whatever they could find. Fletcher said, "My intention with Khan was to express the fact that they had been marooned on that planet with no technical infrastructure, so they had to cannibalize from the spaceship whatever they used or wore. Therefore, I tried to make it look as if they had dressed themselves out of pieces of upholstery and electrical equipment that composed the ship." Khan's costume was designed with an open chest to show Ricardo Montalbán's physique. Fletcher also designed smocks for the Regula I scientists, and civilian clothes for Kirk and McCoy that were designed to look practical and comfortable.

### Filming

Principal photography began on November 9, 1981, and ended on January 29, 1982. The Wrath of Khan was more action-oriented than its predecessor, but less costly to make. The project was supervised by Paramount's television unit rather than its theatrical division. Bennett, a respected television veteran, made The Wrath of Khan on a budget of \$12 million. The budget was initially lower at \$8.5 million, but it rose when the producers were impressed by the first two weeks of footage. Meyer used camera and set tricks to spare the construction of large and expensive sets. For a scene taking place at Starfleet Academy, a forced perspective was created by placing scenery close to the camera to give the sense the set was larger than it really was. To present the illusion that the Enterprise's elevators moved between decks, corridor pieces were wheeled out of sight to change the hall configuration while the turbolift doors were closed. Background equipment such as computer terminals were rented when possible instead of purchased outright. Some designed props, such as a redesigned phaser and communicator, were vetoed by Paramount executives in favor of existing materials from The Motion Picture. Additional communicator props were built by John Zabrucky of Modern Props.

The Enterprise was refurbished for its space shots, with its shiny exterior dulled down and extra detail added to the frame. Compared to the newly built Reliant, the Enterprise was hated by the effects artists and cameramen; it took eight people to mount the model, and a forklift truck to move it. The Reliant, meanwhile, was lighter and had less complex internal wiring. The spaceship miniatures were photographed against a blue screen, which in post production allowed them to be composited with background scenery which had itself been photographed independently of the foreground miniatures. Any reflection of blue on the ship's hull would appear as a hole on the film; the gaps had to be patched frame by frame for the final film. The Dykstraflex motion control system was utilized for filming the miniature photography shots of the Enterprise and other ship exteriors.

The barren desert surface of Ceti Alpha V was simulated on stage 8, the largest sound stage at Paramount's studio. The set was elevated 25 feet off the ground and covered in wooden mats, over which tons of colored sand and powder were dumped. A cyclorama was painted and wrapped around the set, while massive industrial fans created a sandstorm. The filming was uncomfortable for actors and crew alike. The spandex environmental suits Koenig and Winfield wore were unventilated, and the actors had to signal by microphone when they needed air. Filming equipment was wrapped in plastic to prevent mechanical troubles and everyone on set wore boots, masks, and coveralls as protection from flying sand.

Spock's death was shot over three days, during which no visitors were allowed on set. Spock's death was to be irrevocable, but Nimoy had such a positive experience during filming that he asked if he could add a way for Spock to return in a later film. The mind meld sequence was initially filmed without Kelley's prior knowledge of what was going on. Shatner disagreed with having a clear glass separation between Spock and Kirk during the death scene; he instead wanted a translucent divider allowing viewers to see only Spock's silhouette, but his objection was overruled. During Spock's funeral sequence Meyer wanted the camera to track the torpedo that served as Spock's coffin as it was placed in a long trough and slid into the launcher. The camera crew thought the entire set would have to be rebuilt to accommodate the shot, but Sallin suggested putting a dolly into the trough and controlling it from above with an offset arm. Scott's rendition of "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes was James Doohan's idea.

Spock's death in the film was widely reported during production. "Trekkies" wrote letters to protest, one paid for trade press advertisements urging Paramount to change the plot, and Nimoy even received death threats. Test audiences reacted badly to Spock's death and the film's ending's dark tone, so it was made more uplifting by Bennett. The scene of Spock's casket on the planet and Nimoy's closing monologue were added; Meyer objected, but did not stand in the way of the modifications. Nimoy did not know about the scene until he saw the film, but before it opened, the media reassured fans that "Spock will live" again. Due to time constraints, the casket scene was filmed in an overgrown corner of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, using smoke machines to add a primal atmosphere. The shoot lasted from midday to evening, as the team was well aware there would be no time for reshoots.

Special consideration was given during filming to allow for integration of the planned special effects. Television monitors standing in for computer displays were specially calibrated so that their refresh rate did not result in banding on film. Due to a loss of resolution and quality resulting from rephotographing an element in an optical printer, live action sequences for effects were shot in 65mm or VistaVision formats to compensate. When the larger prints were reduced through an anamorphic lens on the printer, the result was a Panavision composite.

### Effects

With a short timeframe to complete The Wrath of Khan's special effects sequences, effects supervisor Jim Veilleux, Meyer, Jennings, Sallin and Minor worked to transform the written ideas for the script into concrete storyboards and visuals. The detailed sequences were essential to keep the film's effects from spiraling out of control and driving up costs, as had occurred with The Motion Picture. Each special and optical effect, and the duration of the sequences, was listed. By the end of six weeks, the producers determined the basic look and construction of nearly all the effects; the resulting shots were combined with film footage five months later. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) produced many of the effects, and created the new models; the Reliant was the first non-Constitution-class Federation starship seen in the series. Originally, the Reliant was conceived as a Constitution-class starship identical to the Enterprise, but it was felt audiences would have difficulty distinguishing between two alike ships. As the script called for the Reliant and Enterprise to inflict significant damage on each other, ILM developed techniques to illustrate the damage without physically harming the models. Rather than move the models on a bluescreen during shooting, the VistaVision camera was panned and tracked to give the illusion of movement. Damage to the Enterprise was cosmetic, and simulated with pieces of aluminum that were colored or peeled off. Phaser damage was created using stop motion. The script called for large-scale damage to the Reliant, so larger versions of the ship's model were created to be blown up.

The battle in the nebula was a difficult sequence to accomplish without the aid of computer-generated models. The swirling nebula was created by injecting a latex rubber and ammonia mixture into a cloud tank filled with fresh and salt water. All the footage was shot at two frames per second to give the illusion of faster movement. The vibrant abstract colors of the nebula were simulated by lighting the tank using colored gels. Additional light effects such as auroras were created by the ILM animation department. The ships were combined with the nebula background plates via bluescreen mattes to complete the shot. The destruction of the Reliant's engine nacelle was created by superimposing shots of the engine blowing apart and explosions over the model.

The scene in which Terrell kills Jedda, a Regula scientist, by vaporizing him with a phaser was filmed in two takes. Winfield and the related actors first played out the scene; this footage became the background plate. A blue screen was wheeled onto the set and actor John Vargas, the recipient of the phaser blast, acted out his response to being hit with the energy weapon. A phaser beam element was placed on top of the background plate, and Vargas' shots were optically dissolved into an airbrushed disintegration effect which matched Vargas' position in every frame.

The Ceti eel shots used several models, overseen by visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, who had just finished creature design for Return of the Jedi. He tied a string to the eels to inch the models across the actors' faces before they entered the ear canal. The scene of a more mature eel leaving Chekov's ear was simulated by threading a microfilament through the floor of the set up to Koenig's ear. The scene was filmed with three variations, which Ralston described as "a dry shot, one with some blood, and the Fangoria shot, with a lot of gore." Footage of a giant model of Koenig's ear was discarded from the theatrical release due to the visceral reaction it elicited in test audiences.

Additional optical effects were provided by Visual Concept Engineering (VCE), a small effects company headed by Peter Kuran; Kuran had previously worked at ILM and left after finishing The Empire Strikes Back. VCE provided effects including phaser beams, the Enterprise reactor, additional sand on Ceti Alpha V, and an updated transporter effect. Meyer and the production staff were adamant about not using freeze frames for the transporter, as had been done in the original television series. Scenes were shot so that conversations would continue while characters were in mid-transport, although much of the matte work VCE created was discarded when the production decided not to have as much action during transports. Computer graphics company Evans & Sutherland used the computer graphics-based Digistar planetarium system to generate the fields of stars, based on a database of real stars. The models of the ships were composited atop the star fields. The Evans & Sutherland team also produced the vector graphics tactical displays seen on the Enterprise and the simulator bridge.

The Wrath of Khan was one of the first films to extensively use computer graphics to improve the visual quality and production speed of special effects shots. Among the film's technical achievements was cinema's first entirely computer-generated sequence, ILM's animation for the demonstration of the effects of the Genesis Device on a barren planet. The first concept for the shot took the form of a laboratory demonstration, where a rock would be placed in a chamber and turned into a flower. Veilleux suggested the sequence's scope be expanded to show the Genesis effect taking over a planet. While Paramount appreciated the more dramatic presentation, they wanted the simulation to be more impressive than traditional animation. Having seen research done by Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics group, Veilleux offered them the task. Introducing the novel technique of particle systems for the sixty-second sequence, the graphics team paid attention to detail such as ensuring that the stars visible in the background matched those visible from a real star light-years from Earth. The animators hoped it would serve as a "commercial" for the studio's talents. The studio would later branch off from Lucasfilm to form Pixar, now a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, one of Paramount Pictures and Paramount Global's rivals. The sequence would be reused in two sequels, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, as well as in the unrelated LaserDisc-based stand-up video arcade game Astron Belt.

### Music

Jerry Goldsmith had composed the music for The Motion Picture, but was not an option for The Wrath of Khan given the reduced budget; Meyer's composer for Time After Time, Miklós Rózsa, was likewise prohibitively expensive. Bennett and Meyer wanted the music for the film to go in a different direction, but had not decided on a composer by the time filming began. Meyer initially hoped to hire an associate named John Morgan, but Morgan lacked film experience, which would have troubled the studio.

Paramount's vice-president of music Joel Sill took a liking to a 28-year-old composer named James Horner, feeling that his demo tapes stood out from generic film music. Horner was introduced to Bennett, Meyer and Sallin. Horner said that "[The producers] did not want the kind of score they had gotten before. They did not want a John Williams score, per se. They wanted something different, more modern." When asked about how he landed the assignment, the composer replied that "the producers loved my work for Wolfen, and had heard my music for several other projects, and I think, so far as I've been told, they liked my versatility very much. I wanted the assignment, and I met with them, we all got along well, they were impressed with my music, and that's how it happened." Horner agreed with the producers' expectations and agreed to begin work in mid-January 1982.

In keeping with the nautical tone, Meyer wanted music evocative of seafaring and swashbuckling, and the director and composer worked together closely, becoming friends in the process. As a classical music fan, Meyer was able to describe the effects and sounds he wanted in the music. While Horner's style was described as "echoing both the bombastic and elegiac elements of John Williams' Star Wars and Goldsmith's original Star Trek (The Motion Picture) scores," Horner was expressly told to not use any of Goldsmith's score. Instead Horner adapted the opening fanfare of Alexander Courage's Star Trek television theme. "The fanfare draws you in immediately — you know you're going to get a good movie," Horner said.

In comparison to the flowing main theme, Khan's leitmotif was designed as a percussive texture that could be overlaid with other music and emphasized the character's insanity. The seven-note brass theme was echoplexed to emphasize the character's ruminations about the past while on Ceti Alpha V, but does not play fully until Reliant's attack on the Enterprise. Many elements drew from Horner's previous work (a rhythm that accompanies Khan's theme during the surprise attack borrows from an attack theme from Wolfen, in turn influenced by Goldsmith's score for Alien). Musical moments from the original television series are also heard during investigation of the Regula space station and elsewhere.

To Horner, the "stuff underneath" the main story was what needed to be addressed by the score; in The Wrath of Khan, this was the relationship between Kirk and Spock. The main theme serves as Kirk's theme, with a mellower section following that is the theme for the Starship Enterprise. Horner also wrote a motif for Spock, to emphasize the character's depth: "By putting a theme over Spock, it warms him and he becomes three-dimensional rather than a collection of schticks." The difference in the short, French horn-based cues for the villain and longer melodies for the heroes helped to differentiate characters and ships during the battle sequences.

The soundtrack was Horner's first major film score, and was written in four and a half weeks. The resulting 72 minutes of music was then performed by a 91-piece orchestra. Recording sessions for the score began on April 12, 1982, at the Warner Bros. lot, The Burbank Studios and continued until April 15. A pickup session was held on April 30 to record music for the Mutara nebula battle, while another session held on May 3 was used to cover the recently changed epilogue. Horner used synthesizers for ancillary effects; at the time, science fiction films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Thing were eschewing the synthesizer in favor of more traditional orchestras. Craig Huxley performed his invented instrument—the Blaster Beam—during recording, as well as composing and performing electronic music for the Genesis Project video. While most of the film was "locked in" by the time Horner had begun composing music, he had to change musical cue orchestration after the integration of special effects caused changes in scene durations.

## Themes

The Wrath of Khan features several recurring themes, including death, resurrection, and growing old. Upon writing his script, Meyer hit upon a link between Spock's death and the age of the characters. "This was going to be a story in which Spock died, so it was going to be a story about death, and it was only a short hop, skip, and a jump to realize that it was going to be about old age and friendship," Meyer said. "I don't think that any of [the other preliminary] scripts were about old age, friendship, and death." In keeping with the theme of death and rebirth symbolized by Spock's sacrifice and the Genesis Device, Meyer wanted to call the film The Undiscovered Country, in reference to Prince Hamlet's description of death in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, but the title was changed during editing without his knowledge. Meyer disliked Wrath of Khan, but it was chosen because the preferred Vengeance of Khan conflicted with Lucasfilm's forthcoming Revenge of the Jedi (renamed Return of the Jedi late in production).

Meyer added elements to reinforce the aging of the characters. Kirk's unhappiness about his birthday is compounded by McCoy's gift of reading glasses. The script stated that Kirk was 49, but Shatner was unsure about being specific about Kirk's age. Bennett remembers that Shatner was hesitant about portraying a middle-aged version of himself, and believed that with proper makeup he could continue playing a younger Kirk. Bennett convinced Shatner that he could age gracefully like Spencer Tracy; the producer did not know that Shatner had worked with Tracy on Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and was fond of the actor. Meyer made sure to emphasize Kirk's parallel to Sherlock Holmes in that both characters waste away in the absence of their stimuli; new cases, in Holmes' case, and starship adventures in Kirk's.

Khan's pursuit of Kirk is central to the film's theme of vengeance, and The Wrath of Khan deliberately borrows heavily from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. To make the parallels clear to viewers, Meyer added a visible copy of Moby-Dick to Khan's dwelling. Khan liberally paraphrases Ahab, with "I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before I give him up!". Khan quotes Ahab's tirade at the end of the novel verbatim with his final lines: "To the last I grapple with thee; from Hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

## Release

The film's novelization, written by Vonda N. McIntyre, stayed on the New York Times paperback bestsellers list for more than three weeks. Unlike the previous film, Wrath of Khan was not promoted with a toy line, although Playmates Toys created Khan and Saavik figures in the 1990s, and in 2007 Art Asylum crafted a full series of action figures to mark the film's 25th anniversary. In 2009, IDW Publishing released a comic adaptation of the film, and Film Score Monthly released an expanded score.

The Wrath of Khan opened on June 4, 1982, in 1,621 theaters in the United States. It made \$14,347,221 in its opening weekend, at the time the largest opening weekend gross in history. It went on to earn \$78,912,963 in the US, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 1982. It made \$97,000,000 worldwide. Although the total gross of The Wrath of Khan was less than that of The Motion Picture, it was more profitable due to its much lower production cost.

## Reception

Critical response was positive. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of 73 critics have given the film a positive review, recording an average score of 8.1/10. After the lukewarm reaction to the first film, fan response to The Wrath of Khan was highly positive. The film's success was credited with renewing interest in the franchise. Mark Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly went further, calling The Wrath of Khan "the film that, by most accounts, saved Star Trek as we know it"; it is now considered one of the best films in the series. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker called the film "wonderful dumb fun." Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "a flat-out winner, full of appealing characters in engaging relationships in a futuristic film that has a delightfully old-fashioned sense of majesty about its characters and the predicaments they get into."

The film's pacing was praised by reviewers in The New York Times and The Washington Post as being much swifter than its predecessor and closer to that of the television series. Janet Maslin of The New York Times credited the film with a stronger story than The Motion Picture and stated the sequel was everything the first film should have been. Variety agreed that The Wrath of Khan was closer to the original spirit of Star Trek than its predecessor. Strong character interaction was cited as a strong feature of the film, as was Montalbán's portrayal of Khan. In 2016, Playboy ranked the film number four on its list of 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals. Popular Mechanics would later rate Spock's death the tenth greatest scene in science fiction.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Derek Adams of Time Out complained about what were seen as tepid battle sequences and perceived melodrama. While Ebert and TV Guide felt that Spock's death was dramatic and well-handled, The Washington Post's Gary Arnold stated Spock's death "feels like an unnecessary twist, and the filmmakers are obviously well-prepared to fudge in case the public demands another sequel". Negative reviews of the film focused on some of the acting, and Empire singled out the "dodgy coiffures" and "Santa Claus tunics" as elements of the film that had not aged well.

Christopher John reviewed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in Ares Magazine \#13 and commented that "By not taking itself so seriously – that is, realizing the film should be an action adventure with elements of pathos and philosophy gently added – The Wrath of Khan succeeded brilliantly. For those who loved the series, it was a dream come true (to such an extent that many refuse to acknowledge the existence of the first film as part of the Star Trek epos)."

The Wrath of Khan won two Saturn Awards in 1982, for best actor (Shatner) and best direction (Meyer). The film was also nominated in the "best dramatic presentation" category for the 1983 Hugo Awards, but lost to Blade Runner. The Wrath of Khan has influenced later movies: Meyer's rejected title for the film, The Undiscovered Country, was finally put to use when Meyer directed the sixth film, which retained the nautical influences. Director Bryan Singer cited the film as an influence on X2 and his abandoned sequel to Superman Returns. The film is also a favorite of director J. J. Abrams, producer Damon Lindelof, and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the creative team behind the franchise relaunch film Star Trek. Abrams' second entry in the relaunched film series, Star Trek Into Darkness, drew significantly from Wrath of Khan.

## Home media

Paramount released The Wrath of Khan on RCA CED Videodisc in 1982 and on VHS and Betamax in 1983. The studio sold the VHS for \$39.95, \$40 below contemporary movie cassette prices and it sold a record 120,000 copies. The successful experiment was credited with instigating more competitive VHS pricing, an increase in the adoption of increasingly cheaper VHS players, and an industry-wide move away from rentals to sales as the bulk of videotape revenue.

Paramount released The Wrath of Khan on DVD in 2000; no special features were included on the disc. Montalbán drew hundreds of fans of the film to Universal City, California where he signed copies of the DVD to commemorate its release. In August 2002, the film was re-released in a highly anticipated two-disc "Director's Edition" format. In addition to remastered picture quality and 5.1 Dolby surround sound, the DVD set included director commentary, cast interviews, storyboards and the theatrical trailer. The expanded cut of the film was given a Hollywood premiere before the release of the DVD. Meyer stated that he didn't believe directors' cuts of films were necessarily better than the original but that the re-release gave him a chance to add elements that had been removed from the theatrical release by Paramount. The four hours of bonus content and expanded director's cut were favorably received.

The film's original theatrical cut was released on Blu-ray Disc in May 2009 to coincide with the new Star Trek feature, along with the other five films featuring the original crew in Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection. Of all six original films, Wrath of Khan was the only one to be remastered in 1080p high-definition from the original negative. Nicholas Meyer stated that the Wrath of Khan negative "was in terrible shape," which is why it needed extensive restoration. All six films in the set have new 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio. The disc also features a new commentary track by director Nicholas Meyer and Star Trek: Enterprise showrunner Manny Coto. On April 24, 2016, Paramount Pictures announced the Director's Edition of the film would be released for Blu-ray Disc on June 7, 2016. On July 7, 2021, it was announced that the first four films in the Star Trek franchise (including both the theatrical cut and the Director's Edition of The Wrath of Khan) would be released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 7 of that year to commemorate the franchise's 55th anniversary, alongside individual remastered Blu-rays of the same films.

## See also

- Star Trek'' film series
- List of films featuring extraterrestrials
- List of films featuring space stations

1982 US science fiction film by Nicholas Meyer

American science fiction adventure films

Films based on Star Trek: The Original Series

Films with screenplays by Jack B. Sowards

Films with screenplays by Nicholas Meyer


Bleacher Creatures

The Bleacher Creatures are a group of fans of the New York Yankees who are known for their strict allegiance to the team and their fierce attitude towards opposing fans and teams. The group's nickname was coined for the first time by New York Daily News columnist Filip "Flip" Bondy during the 1990s, and then he spent the 2004 season sitting with the Creatures for research on his book about the group, Bleeding Pinstripes: A Season with the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee Stadium, which was published in 2005.

A prominent aspect of the Bleacher Creatures is their use of chants and songs. The most distinguished of these is the "roll call", which is done at the beginning of every home game. Often, the opposing team's right fielder, who stands right in front of the Creatures, is a victim of their jeers and insults. For the last two decades of the original Yankee Stadium, the Creatures occupied sections 37 and 39 of the right field bleachers. In 2009, when the Yankees' new stadium was built, they were relocated and currently sit in section 203 of the right-field bleachers. Over the years, the Creatures have attracted controversy regarding their use of inappropriate chants along with their rowdiness.

## History

In 1996, New York Daily News columnist Filip "Flip" Bondy was asked to write a story from the fans' perspective. In that regular column, he took on the persona of "the Bleacher Creature," coining the nickname in relation to the Yankee Stadium inhabitants. The term "bleacher creature" has been used in reference to dedicated fans and supporters since the early 1980s. The founding of the Yankees Bleacher Creatures is often credited to Ali Ramirez. Ramirez rang a cowbell to inspire the fans to cheer, much like Freddy Sez's efforts in the Stadium's main grandstand, during the team's limited success in the early 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, a New York Daily News article stated that Ramirez went to almost every home Yankees game for more than 20 years. Ramirez died on May 8, 1996, and was given a tribute by the Yankees front office before the May 14 game against the Seattle Mariners, a game in which Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden threw a no-hitter. There was a plaque where he sat, in section 39, row A, seat 29 which read "This seat is taken. In memory of Ali Ramirez, 'The Original Bleacher Creature.'" A similar plaque was added to the new stadium.

Because of the rowdiness of the fans, and the fact that many families began sitting in the more affordable bleachers, alcoholic beverages were banned from the bleachers in 2000. Yankees Stadium vendor Ted Banks commented that "There wasn't any special reason for that, it just got out of hand. Those people used to get wild when Jose Canseco played for the A's. A few people threw things at Ken Griffey Jr." Canseco asked Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa to move him from right field due to the continued chants and jeers from the Creatures. The Yankees have instituted rules for the bleacher sections to help control potential disruption. In 2000, alcohol sales were banned throughout the bleacher sections. In addition, anti-profanity rules have been in place for fans throughout the stadium. Lonn Trost, the Yankees chief operating officer, stated the team want to foster a "fan-friendly environment".

On April 5, 2002, pitcher David Cone spent the season's home opener with the Bleacher Creatures in section 39, and even participated in their chants. After the final game played at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008, Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez revealed that he had sat with the Creatures during the game the day before. Martinez said he wore a Yankees jacket, glasses and a hat, and that no one recognized him. In addition to former players, numerous celebrities and public figures have sat with the Creatures, including Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

In 2004, Bondy spent the season among the Creatures and wrote a book about his experience, entitling it Bleeding Pinstripes: A Season with the Bleacher Creatures of Yankee Stadium, which was published in 2005. In the blurb, Bondy called it "a unique, anthropological view of this most dedicated tribe of rooters—their rituals, their personal tribulations, their uncanny commitment to the Bronx ball club and to each other." The foreword was written by David Cone.

In 2009, the Yankees lifted the nine-year alcohol ban in the bleachers in the new Yankee Stadium, where the Bleacher Creatures were relocated to section 203. While no beer vendors come through to the bleachers, fans are permitted to purchase beer in the stadium and take them back to their seats. A few Creatures have admittedly stated they can now desist in their beer smuggling efforts, which they were able to do for years with the help of local delis who used to wrap up sandwiches with beer cans. Other sources of previous alcohol smuggling included "a guy who would sell those airline-size liquor bottles out of a bathroom stall, like a drug dealer" according to the New York Post. An April 2009 segment on ABC World News Tonight revealed that the end of the beer ban is a temporary experiment, and if things get out of hand in the section, the Yankees' management might reinstate it. As of the 2022 season, alcohol is still permitted in the bleacher sections.

## Chants and songs

A prominent aspect of the Bleacher Creatures atmosphere is their use of a variety of chants and songs used during the game that are unique to their section.

### Roll call

The Creatures' most famous and long-standing chant is known as the roll call. During one game in 1998, the fans, led by Ramirez, started chanting the name of Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez. Martinez responded to the chanting fans with a wave, shocking the cheering fans; this started the tradition of roll call where the Bleacher Creatures chant the name of each starting fielder (except the pitcher and catcher). The roll call starts in the first inning after the pitcher throws the first pitch of the game, with the Creatures chanting the names of Yankees players in the field until the players acknowledge them. Roll call has become one of the trademarks of Yankee Stadium according to sports journalists and publications. Former Yankee third baseman Scott Brosius was notorious for not responding immediately to the roll call, as other players on the diamond would. Sometimes he would even wait as long as a minute to respond, getting a kick out of the persistence of the Creatures. In Hideki Matsui's first game at the Stadium in 2003, the chant of "MAT-SU-I!" went on for approximately twenty minutes, because he did not know what was going on or how to react. In a 2009 press conference, former Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi said that "The biggest thing I miss is (the Bleacher Creatures') roll call. There's no doubt about it, it's the best thing in baseball."

#### Notable exceptions

Former or deceased members of the Yankees have been included in chants as well. In 1999, when David Wells made his first appearance at Yankee Stadium after having been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, his name was chanted. In his tenure with the Yankees, he was the only Yankee pitcher to be included in the roll call every time he pitched. In 2001, some Creatures, led by Japanese Creature, Hiro, learned Japanese so that they could yell obscenities at former Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. Japanese curses were chanted whenever Ichiro came to town. Ichiro was traded to the Yankees in July 2012. During his first game as a Yankee he was unaware of the roll call and did not respond to the calls. Alfonso Soriano's name was chanted when he made his first appearance after being traded to the Texas Rangers. In the 2006 home opener against the Kansas City Royals, the Bleacher Creatures chanted the name of long-time Yankee outfielder Bernie Williams, who was the designated hitter that day, right after the rest of the defensive lineup. Williams, whose future in baseball was uncertain in the offseason, was in the clubhouse at the time and did not hear the Creatures. The chants continued for around 5 minutes until Williams came out and waved. At the beginning of the 2007 season opener, the Creatures started a chant of "We want Bernie!", a reference to the fact that Williams was no longer with the team.

On May 15, 2011, the Bleacher Creatures chanted Jorge Posada's name after his recent feud with Yankee management, despite Posada not playing in the game. Posada acknowledged them from the dugout. On June 25, 2012, former Yankee center fielder Johnny Damon was greeted by a roll call chant when he returned to Yankee Stadium as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Damon, who played for the Yankees from 2006–09, acknowledged that he may have been the first Yankee player to answer the Bleacher Creature roll call with a signature pose, a tradition continued by other Yankee players, including Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Brett Gardner. On September 22, 2013, both Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera were included in the roll call, despite Pettitte being the starting pitcher and Rivera being a relief pitcher. When Vinny "Bald Vinny" Milano was repeatedly asked, via Twitter, whether the Creatures would still include Alex Rodriguez in the roll call around the time of his struggles and suspension in 2013, Milano insisted that A-Rod would still be part of the roll call and that no Yankee would ever be intentionally skipped.

On July 16, 2010, the Bleacher Creatures elected to not do the roll call out of respect for the recent passing of both public address announcer Bob Sheppard and principal team owner George Steinbrenner. Michael Kay of the YES Network acknowledged this during the top of the first inning during his play-by-play details of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Creatures have done the call in memoriam for former players Phil Rizzuto on August 14, 2007, and Bobby Murcer at the 2008 MLB All Star Game. On June 2, 2021, the Creatures featured Lou Gehrig in the roll call for Lou Gehrig Day, which helped raise funds for the treatment and cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

### The Cowbell Man

After the death of Ali Ramirez, the original Cowbell Man, the bell was given to Milton Ousland in 1996. As the official "Cowbell Man", nobody else is authorized to use it, although it was agreed upon by the group that other Creatures could take over the duties when he couldn't attend. This agreement was reached due to the many fans who were disappointed that the tradition was not carried out at every game. The cowbell is primarily used to initiate a chant during a Yankees rally. The cowbell can be heard throughout the stadium and often on television broadcasts. Ousland stated that the cowbell is a good luck charm, with the team winning their first World Series in almost 20 years after Ousland inherited the cowbell.

### Other chants and jeers

The Creatures also have an assortment of other chants which they use at most games. Anti-obscenity laws were exercised in 2007, but are not always strictly enforced; if they are able, the Creatures will turn to the right field box seats at the completion of the roll call and chant "Box seats suck!" During the days of the bleachers' no-alcohol-sales policy; fans in the right-field box seats occasionally replied with a chant of "We've got beer!" If the Yankees are playing the Red Sox, the intensity of the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry takes hold; the Creatures then cut the 'box seats' chant short and instead chant "Boston sucks!" until that dissipates. Also, until the Red Sox won the World Series in , the Creatures would chant "1918!" and hold up signs saying "CURSE OF THE BAMBINO!" and pictures of Babe Ruth to remind the Red Sox of the last time they won a championship.

## The move to section 203

In the new stadium, the Creatures occupy section 203 of the stadium's right field bleachers. Before the start of the 2008 MLB season, several creatures publicly expressed their anger with the move out of the old stadium. Creature Vinny Milano was one of them in particular:

> As far as 39 goes next year, there is a right-field bleachers now, there will be a right-field bleachers in the new stadium. When it comes time to pay for our seats, I believe they will offer us something 'comparable' to what we have now and we're pretty much gonna be at their mercy. I have zero faith that anyone that works with or is involved with the Yankees actually cares one way or another if any of us go to the new stadium. Personally, I'm not even sure that I will make the move.

The Yankees organization did work closely with the Creatures to ensure that they sat together again, and designated a total of 136 season-ticket packages for them in section 203. The move was monitored by long-time Creature Teena Lewis, known as the "Queen of the Bleachers", and Marc Chalpin, who organized a list of about 50 Creatures to ensure they would all be sitting together again in the new stadium. Despite the Creatures' concerns over how the Yankees management would handle the move, Lewis said that, "The Yankees helped us because I calmed everybody down over the years. We behaved ourselves, took away some of the chants, and they pretty much paid us back."

Unlike section 39 in the old stadium, section 203 and the rest of the bleachers have access to the entire park. In reference to this new lack of seclusion, and the fact that beer sales are now legal in the section, New York Daily News sports columnist Filip Bondy summed up the new situation by saying, "At this new-fangled stadium, the golden liquid flows like soda and the walls are down that once protected the aristocracy from the bleacher proletariat. This is bound to create some class warfare down the road, some storming of the Legends suites." Bondy also praised the Creatures for "handling the transition with commendable grace and flexibility."

## Controversy and reception

Since the inception of the Bleacher Creatures, many people have held a negative viewpoint towards the section for their notorious attitude towards opposing fans and players, and their raucous nature in general. As a result of their rowdiness, the Creatures have been compared to soccer hooligans in Europe. Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Dan Raley called the Creatures "oblivious to the outside world. Demanding, relentless and venomous" in a 2001 article. He also claimed that "They have thrown batteries, coins and a knife at opposing players" and that "They throw punches at one another." Longtime stadium usher Michael Swann, who used to work in section 39 of the old stadium, also had a negative recollection of them:

> Some are real obnoxious people, some are real foul-mouthed people. Yankee management says if you say certain words and get out of hand, you have to go. But when we try to throw them out, management won't back us. These people won't show us their tickets. They intimidate out-of-towners with tickets into moving to seats somewhere else. They're obnoxious.

On occasion, one or more Creatures have been asked to leave the stadium by police. The bleacher beer ban in 2000 was blamed on the Creatures, which they regard as a false accusation. However, undercover New York City Police Department officers have issued tickets to different Creatures for public intoxication, both in and outside of the stadium. They have also been accused of heckling rattled musicians in high school bands, which they do not deny. In 2022, the Bleacher Creatures were blamed for garbage being thrown at Cleveland Guardians outfielder Oscar Mercado following a Yankees walk-off victory. Earlier in the game Mercado’s teammate Myles Straw had a verbal altercation with fans in the left field section As a result, the Yankees increased security around the bleachers section.

During the seventh-inning stretch, "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People is played at the stadium. For many years the Bleacher Creatures would pick a fan of the opposite team and during the singing and instead chant "Why are you gay?" instead of the original song chorus "It's fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.". After complaints from both fans and the Yankees, several key Bleacher Creatures agreed to discontinue the chant in 2010. Despite the agreement to end the chant, some fans stated some Creatures have continued with the song with no intervention from Yankees personnel.

Comparisons have been made between the Creatures and other fan groups, including The 7 Line Army of the New York Mets, their crosstown rivals. The Creatures have been praised for their loyalty and dedication in numerous articles and features from Filip Bondy, and in his book as well. Bryan Hoch, writing for MLB.com, stated that the Bleacher Creatures, especially roll call, "would remain part of the Stadium experience for years to come". In a 2009 segment, ABC World News Tonight called the Creatures "the most loyal fans any team could want."

## See also

- Bleacher Bums
- The 7 Line Army
- Dawg Pound

Group of fans of the New York Yankees


1921–22 Cardiff City F.C. season

The 1921–22 season was the 21st season of competitive football played by Cardiff City F.C. and the team's first in the First Division of The Football League. Cardiff had won promotion the previous season by finishing as runners-up in the Second Division, becoming the first Welsh team to reach the top tier of English football.

Cardiff had a difficult start to the season, losing the first six matches of the campaign. They eventually saw results improve and finished in fourth place. The club entered the FA Cup in the first round and progressed to the fourth, before being defeated by Tottenham Hotspur after a replay. Cardiff went on to win the Welsh Cup for the third time in the club's history after defeating Ton Pentre 2–0 in the final, having scored seventeen goals and conceded only one during their cup run.

During the season, 31 players made at least one appearance for the club. Billy Grimshaw played in more games than any other player, featuring in 47 matches in all competitions. Len Davies finished the season as the side's highest goalscorer with 30 in all competitions, a new club record. His tally of seventeen in the First Division was three short of Jimmy Gill's total, but his fourteen in cup matches, including eight in four appearances in the Welsh Cup, saw him outscore his teammate. The highest attendance recorded at Ninian Park was 51,000 for the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Tottenham. The league fixture against Tottenham recorded an attendance of 50,000 although an extra 6,000–10,000 were estimated to have broken into the ground after turnstiles were closed. The average league attendance during the season was 27,500.

## Background and preseason

During the 1920–21 season, Cardiff City were elected into the Second Division of The Football League having spent the previous decade playing in the Southern Football League. In the side's first season in the Second Division, they finished as runners-up behind Birmingham on goal average, a tiebreak formula whereby a team's goals scored is divided by the number of goals conceded, after the two teams accumulated the same number of points. As a result, Cardiff won promotion to the First Division, becoming the first Welsh side to play in the top tier of English football. They also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup.

Manager Fred Stewart remained in charge of the first team for the tenth year. He made several additions to the squad, signing full-back Tommy Brown from New Brighton and forward Willie Page, the brother of Cardiff defender Jack Page, from Port Vale. Cardiff were investigated by The Football Association (FA) and the Football Association of Wales (FAW) over an illegal approach for Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Dickie Baugh Jr. The club was found guilty with Baugh having signed an agreement with an agent acting on behalf of Cardiff despite still being contracted to Wolves. Cardiff were fined £50 and Baugh £20. The agent involved was subsequently banned from all football grounds under the jurisdictions of either the FA or FAW. John Pritchard was elected chairman of the club ahead of the new season but left the role in November and was replaced by Walter Empsall.

Cardiff also made significant investments in the club's ground Ninian Park. A new pitch was laid using sea-washed turf which officials at the club labelled as "now being equal to the best in the country". The earthen embankments that enclosed the pitch were also built up to improve viewing for spectators. The latter work nearly resulted in disaster when the refuse being tipped by Cardiff Corporation caught alight and spread across the Grangetown side of the ground. The fire was doused, with the aid of hundreds of local supporters who had raced to the ground to offer help, and little damage was sustained. Having won promotion and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup, The Times expected Cardiff to adapt well to the higher tier.

## First Division

### August–November

In Cardiff's first match in the First Division, they met FA Cup holders Tottenham Hotspur at Ninian Park. The game therefore became the first top-tier match in English football to be played in Wales and was described in The Times as "the most important event in their (Cardiff's) history". The fixture attracted a large crowd, and when 50,000 supporters had paid and been allowed into the ground officials attempted to close the gates. With thousands still queuing to gain entry, supporters broke through the gates and forced their way into the ground. Club officials estimated that between 6,000 and 10,000 people broke into the ground after the gates were initially closed. Cardiff started the season without influential defender Jimmy Blair who was recovering from a bout of pneumonia; Jack Page started the opening match in his place. Tottenham suffered a setback early in the game as Jimmy Seed picked up an injury, but proved too strong for Cardiff and scored the only goal of the game through Jimmy Banks from outside the penalty area. The excessive crowd numbers produced several unsavoury incidents which included fans taking over the scoreboard to use it a vantage point. This experience prompted the club to seek advice from local police on crowd control at future matches.

Defeat to Tottenham was the start of a difficult beginning in the First Division for the club. Defender Bert Smith became the first player to score for Cardiff in the division in the side's following match with a consolation goal during a 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa on 29 August. Cardiff met Tottenham in the reverse fixture five days later at their opposition's home ground but, having proven stubborn opposition for the more experienced side in the first meeting, they were soundly beaten after conceding three goals in the opening 30 minutes of the match. The game finished 4–1 to Tottenham with The Times describing victory for the London-based side as "a very easy matter". A 4–0 defeat in the reverse fixture against Aston Villa followed, prompting Stewart to make changes to his side ahead of back-to-back fixtures against Oldham Athletic. Blair returned to action having missed the first four matches and goalkeeper Herbert Kneeshaw was dropped in favour of Ben Davies. Billy Hardy, who had been ever present the previous season, was also left out due to injury along with forward George West. The changes yielded little reward as Cardiff lost both fixtures against Oldham, 1–0 at home, 2–1 away, starting the campaign with six consecutive defeats which left them bottom of the table.

Cardiff's next fixture was against unbeaten league leaders Middlesbrough in a match that was described in The Times as "the most noteworthy example of disparity of strength between contesting clubs". In a surprising turn of form given the club's league form, Cardiff recorded their first victory in the First Division after causing an upset to win 3–1 and secure two points. Jimmy Gill, who had been the club's top scorer the previous season, scored his first goals of the campaign with a brace and Harry Nash added a third. The victory prompted an upturn in fortune for the team as they lost only one of their five matches in October, a 2–1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers. Gill enjoyed a fine run of form during this time, scoring six goals in the five matches including braces during victories over West Bromwich Albion and Bolton in the reverse fixture. With the club struggling for goals, October also saw the arrival of Joe Clennell from Everton for £1,500 (approximately £75,000 in 2020). In an attempt to recoup some of the transfer fee, two forwards who had played an integral role in promotion in the 1920–21 season, Arthur Cashmore and Fred Pagnam, were sold having failed to score in a combined 17 appearances. The club also signed Jimmy Nelson from Irish side Crusaders for £500 (approximately £25,000 in 2020). On 31 October, club captain Fred Keenor was granted a benefit match against Bristol City.

### November–May

Back-to-back fixtures against Manchester City at the start of November yielded only a point for Cardiff, who lost 2–0 at home and drew 1–1 away. Two victories against Everton later in the month proved a turning point in the season for Cardiff. The departure of Pagnam allowed Len Davies to make his first appearances of the season, scoring all three of Cardiff's goals in 2–1 and 1–0 victories. The second fixture also saw Hardy and Smith return after injury layoffs. A much improved run of form ensued with Cardiff losing only one of their following thirteen league matches led by the goals of Davies, Gill and Clennell. Davies also scored the first hat-trick in The Football League by a Cardiff player during a 6–3 victory over Bradford City on 21 January 1922. As well as Bradford, the team's run included wins over Birmingham (twice), Arsenal, Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea. The Times described the team during this time as appearing "almost invincible" as their improved form lifted them to sixth in the table. The team's victory over Blackburn during this spell saw an unusual Football League debutant when club trainer George Latham was forced into action. Hours before the game was due to start, Gill and Evans both went down with sickness and only one player, Nash, had travelled in reserve. Latham, who had played professionally previously, stepped in and became the oldest player in the club's history at 41 years old.

On 25 February, Cardiff suffered their first defeat since early December, losing 1–0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the opposition defence proved impregnable. The team recovered to beat Sheffield United 2–0 in their following match with goals from Clennell and Ken MacDonald but suffered a further blow after losing 1–0 to struggling Bradford who were 21st in the table. Two matches against reigning First Division champions Burnley produced positive results as the teams drew 1–1 at Turf Moor before Cardiff won the reverse fixture 4–2 at Ninian Park. Len Davies scored a brace with Gill and Jack Evans scoring one each. Cardiff repeated the pattern in their following two matches against Newcastle United, drawing away before Len Davies scored the only goal in a home victory. Despite taking the lead early in the match, Cardiff suffered a 5–1 defeat to league leaders Liverpool on 15 April. Two days later, they lost heavily again in a 3–1 defeat to Blackburn. They met Liverpool in the reverse fixture on 22 April, their opponents already having secured the First Division title. Cardiff went on to win the match 2–0. They finished the season with consecutive draws against Sheffield United and Manchester United before beating the already-relegated Manchester United again in the final game. The side finished their inaugural season in the First Division in fourth place.

### Match results

Key

- In result column, Cardiff City's score shown first
- H = Home match
- A = Away match

- pen. = Penalty kick
- o.g. = Own goal

Results

### Partial league table

Source:

## Cup matches

### FA Cup

Cardiff entered the competition in the first round, where they drawn against fellow First Division side Manchester United. Cardiff won the match 4–1, following a brace from Len Davies and one each from Nash and Clennell, and were praised by The Times for a "very brilliant performance". In the second round, the team were drawn away against Third Division side Southampton, whom they had defeated in the third round the previous year. The lower ranked side held Cardiff to a 1–1 draw at The Dell but goals from Gill and Clennell in the replay sent Cardiff through in a 2–0 victory.

The side met Second Division leaders Nottingham Forest in the third round. Len Davies scored his second brace in the competition to lead the side to a 4–1 victory in front of over 50,000 spectators at Ninian Park. Their win led to a fourth-round meeting with cup holders Tottenham Hotspur. The match was hotly anticipated, being described by The Times as "the greatest of the day". Over 50,000 fans again attended Ninian Park for the tie and despite Cardiff having the better of the first half, Tottenham took the lead through Jimmy Seed after the forward dribbled through the defence to strike the ball past Ben Davies with a powerful shot. Cardiff pressed for the remainder of the match with Billy Grimshaw, Gill and Clennell all going close to scoring. As the match entered the final minute, Len Davies was able to turn the ball into the net to salvage a replay for Cardiff.

The replay was held at Tottenham's ground White Hart Lane and, such was the demand for tickets, match officials agreed for spectators to be allowed to sit or kneel to the very edge of the pitch. Tottenham enjoyed the brighter start to the match but Cardiff took the lead when Jack Evans beat his man on the wing and crossed for Gill to score. In the second half, Tottenham continued to attack and were rewarded with an equaliser when Jimmy Dimmock headed in from a corner kick. Tottenham went on to score a second when Ben Davies failed to clear a cross and the ball fell to Charlie Wilson who scored the winning goal. Wilson's effort was controversial as Cardiff players complained that goalkeeper Davies had been deliberately impeded as he attempted to deal with the cross but the referee ignored their complaints and the goal stood. Tottenham advanced to the semifinal where they lost 2–1 to Preston North End.

### Match results

Key

- In result column, Cardiff City's score shown first
- H = Home match
- A = Away match

- pen. = Penalty kick
- o.g. = Own goal

Results

### Welsh Cup

Cardiff entered the Welsh Cup in the third round, being drawn against Football League Third Division South side Newport County. Cardiff's side ultimately proved too strong for Newport as the match ended 7–0 with Len Davies scoring four, Grimshaw two and Keenor one. The side continued their free-scoring form in the following round where they defeated Merthyr Town, also of the Third Division South, with Len Davies scoring a hat-trick during a 5–0 win. In the semifinal, they were drawn against Welsh league side Pontypridd who had eliminated them from the competition the previous year. Keenor, Gill and Jack Evans each scored once to secure a 3–0 victory and send Cardiff through to the final. Ton Pentre were their opponents as Cardiff secured their third Welsh Cup title after winning 2–0 at Taff Vale Park. Gill and Len Davies each scored once; Davies' goal was his eighth in the competition.

### Match results

Key

- In result column, Cardiff City's score shown first
- H = Home match
- A = Away match

- pen. = Penalty kick
- o.g. = Own goal

Results

## Players

Billy Grimshaw made the most appearances of any Cardiff player during the season, featuring in 47 matches in all competitions. He also made the most league appearances with 38. Jack Evans was the next highest with 44 appearances and a further five players made 40 or more appearances. Goalkeeper Tom Farquharson made a single appearance in the final match of the season. He would go on to set a club record with 445 appearances in The Football League that stood until 1985 when it was surpassed by Phil Dwyer. Farquharson was one of six players who featured in just one match for the club during the campaign. The others included Albert Barnett, who was recovering from a broken leg suffered the previous season, and George Latham, the club's trainer who played one match during an injury crisis. At the age of 41, Latham remains the oldest player ever to feature in a competitive fixture for Cardiff. Two of the players, Ernie Anderson and James Melville, never played another match for Cardiff before moving on.

Len Davies was the club's top goalscorer with 30 goals across all competitions. Although he scored three fewer than Jimmy Gill in league competition, his prolific scoring in cup competitions saw him outscore his teammate. His 30 goals was also a new club single-season record, surpassing Gill's tally of 20 the previous year and standing until the 1926–27 season when Hughie Ferguson scored 32 times. Gill's 21 league goals was also a new club record, surpassing his own tally from the previous year. The record stood for two seasons, until Len Davies scored 23 during the 1923–24 campaign. Davies and Gill were two of the three players to score ten or more goals for Cardiff during the season, the third being Joe Clennell. Eleven players scored at least one goal during the course of the season and one opposition player scored an own goal.

Sources:

## Aftermath

Brown and Willie Page, the two signings made at the start of the 1921–22 campaign, would both depart after a single season with only Brown having played for the first team. Such was Stewart's confidence in his side that the club made no major signings before the start of the following season and only a poor run of form toward the end of 1922 prompted the arrival of a few players. As a result of the team's performance, they were regarded as an established side for the 1922–23 season with The Times describing the side as possessing "undeniable all-round ability" in its preseason report.

The club recorded an annual income of £63,000 (approximately £3.2 million in 2020) for the campaign, £12,000 (approximately £600,000 in 2020) of which was profit. The difficulties in crowd control during the opening match against Tottenham had led the club to possessing what was described as "the heaviest police bill in the country". The construction of a concrete wall around the ground to counteract any further instances was approved in the hope of lowering the bill.

21st season of competitive football