Star Trek: The Kobayashi Maru Exists Because of a Neighbor and a Leak (2024)

One great thing about Star Trek's longevity is that themes and concepts can reoccur in stories and be studied from multiple angles. One of the franchise's most important philosophical examinations is its study of the "no-win scenario." However, the famous Star Trek captains' test, called the Kobayashi Maru crew, only exists as it does because of a screenwriter's neighbor and a plot leak for the second movie.

Perhaps the best example of the Kobayashi Maru test can't actually be found at the moment. Star Trek: Prodigy was recently pulled from Paramount+, but the series' sixth episode was titled "Kobayashi." The premise of the canceled Prodigy is that a group of non-Starfleet refugees end up possessing an experimental Federation ship. Dal, who names himself captain, tried to pass the test in which a captain is required to rescue the USS Kobayashi Maru vessel from three Klingon warships. The test is designed to fail, but Dal doesn't know this. Thanks to the show being animated, he is able to use holographic representations of past Star Trek legends like Spock, Dr. Beverly Crusher and Uhura as his crew. Eventually, Dal learns the purpose is to test the character of a captain, not present a problem that only the "smartest" can solve. This theme has run through many Star Trek series, but the scenario's existence is a fluke.

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The Kobayashi Maru Was Invented by the Man Who Killed Spock

After Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a financial success, Paramount did not want to repeat the fraught making of the film. They tapped producer Harve Bennett who wrote a short outline for the story. He passed it off to a colleague, acclaimed television writer Jack B. Sowards. The simulation was reportedly in the first draft, along with the character of Spock. Leonard Nimoy was not keen to return for Star Trek II, but Sowards wrote a death scene for him in the film's first act. Bennett approached Nimoy with this information, who couldn't resist playing a death scene for his most famous character.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, was cut out of the making of this picture, billed only as an "executive consultant." Even though he objected to Spock's death, he had no power in the studio to prevent it. Outside the studio was a different story. He reportedly leaked to fan magazines that Spock would die in Star TrekII's first act. Fans were apoplectic. Paramount closed down the set during filming to prevent further leaks. But Nicholas Meyer, who ultimately cobbled together The Wrath of Khan from scripts by Sowards and four other writers into one. So, he decided to open the film with the simulation.

The Kobayashi Maru is both the name of the test and the ship in need of rescue, which Sowards named after his neighbor, according to Star Trek Magazine. The majority of the USS Enterprise crew is "killed," while the new Vulcan character Saavik serves as captain. When William Shatner's Kirk first appears, he says to Spock, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" They hoped this would lull those who knew of the leak into a false sense of security.

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The Kobayashi Maru Is Important to All Eras of Star Trek

Of the elements taken from that first script, Spock's death and the Kobayashi Maru test are the two most important thematic elements. The "needs of the many" outweighing "the needs of the few" often recurs in Star Trek lore. Star Trek: Prodigy wasn't the only series to dedicate an entire episode to the concept. The Season 4 premiere of Star Trek: Discovery was titled "Kobayashi Maru" and presented the newly promoted Captain Michael Burnham with a "real-world" version of the test. Towards the end of the episode, the skeptical president of the Federation mentioned the test itself while explaining to Burnham her reason for observing her on the episode's mission.

In the 2009 film Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams, Kirk and Spock only meet because Kirk "cheats" on the test by reprogramming it. In the Prime Universe, he was given a commendation for "original thinking," but in the film, he gets in big trouble. Interestingly, the late Carnegie Mellon Universe professor and The Last Lecture author Randy Pausch appeared in the film. Shortly after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, William Shatner sent him an autographed photo quoting his line from The Wrath of Khan: "I don't believe in no-win scenarios." The Kobayashi Maru test is one of the few Star Trek concepts even non-fans might know about. The idea of cheating in a "no-win scenario" makes for great science fiction. Yet, the questions it asks are as relevant to humans on present-day Earth as to Starship captains from any number of alien races.