Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is endlessly enjoyable, but upon rewatch, I’m taken aback by one particular insult hurled at Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig). Directed by Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek IV was a crowd-pleasing blockbuster that became a crossover hit enjoyed by mainstream audiences in 1986. In Star Trek IV, Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the former crew of the USS Enterprise time-travel to 20th-century San Francisco to bring two humpback whales back to the future.
When Admiral Kirk’s crew splits up on the streets of San Francisco, Chekov and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) team up to solve their stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey’s diminished power supply. Uhura and Chekov had to locate a nuclear power source, and they found it: the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier. The Starfleet heroes beamed aboard the 20th-century Enterprise and secured the nuclear power they needed. But while Uhura managed to escape, Chekov was captured by the US Navy, and interrogated by an FBI agent (Jeff Lester).
Chekov Was Called A Shocking Insult In Star Trek IV
It Wasn’t “Russkie”
Chekov’s interrogation in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is one of the many hilarious moments in Leonard Nimoy’s movie. Chekov cannot reveal his true idenтιтy as a Starfleet officer from 300 years in the future, and he stonewalls the FBI agent. Yet Chekov is also being amusingly obtuse in the face of the federal agent’s questioning. Frustrated, the FBI agent turns to his colleague, who calls Chekov a “Russkie.” The interrogator responds, “Of course, he’s a Russkie, but he’s a retard or something.”
Even though Star Trek IV was made in and largely set in the less politically correct 1986, I still get taken aback hearing Chekov called by that R-word. And I don’t mean “Russkie,” although that was also a derogatory term for Russians, specifically the Soviet Union, which was in its waning years. After all, we know Chekov as a highly intelligent Starfleet hero from the future, and would never think of him as mentally challenged in any way. The insult hurled at Chekov wasn’t uncommon in 1986, even in a mainstream movie like Star Trek IV, but it’s always especially surprising to hear it in a Star Trek movie.
The Voyage Home Is Still Walter Koenig’s Favorite Star Trek Movie
Chekov Had The Most Fun In Star Trek IV
The insult toward Chekov in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is one of numerous instances that hammer home that the spacebound 23rd century heroes of the Starship Enterprise are fish out of water in the more primitive era of 1986. Regardless, Walter Koenig never seemed bothered by Chekov’s mental facilities being questioned. In an interview with ScreenRant, Koenig happily named Star Trek IV as his favorite of the movies he played Chekov in. Check out Walter’s quote below:
Walter Koenig: It was my best film that I enjoyed the most. I thought it was also the best ensemble work. Nick Meyer made a concerted effort to involve everybody… It was an important story because we were getting back to what supposedly inspired Star Trek, to begin with. You know, humanitarian issues, civic issues, the environment. It was a message story but told so well that you never felt burdened by the message, you’re just receptive to it. And so, in my estimation, for what it’s worth, it’s probably worth nothing, I found that was the best of the Star Trek shows that we did.
Walter Koenig’s Commander Chekov was also spotlighted in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but poor Pavel was not acting like himself thanks to the torturous Ceti eel placed in his ear by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). In Star Trek IV, Koenig was able to enjoy himself playing broad comedy as Chekov, who ended up hospitalized and had to be rescued by Admiral Kirk. Chekov gets several fun moments in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and yes, even the jaw-dropping moment he’s insulted by an FBI agent is one of them.
