7 Times Someone Caught The Idiot Ball In Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
6. Checkov Doesn't Beam Up The Moment He Notices Something Wrong
Chekov has always been the "scream queen" of the Original Series. He’s the guy who walks into the spooky room, sees the unspeakable abomination, and cries out in abject horror. And why not? Walter Koenig really knows how to play a guy wetting his pants.
Wrath of Khan uses the actor’s strength to great effect, sending the young XO into a fright when he realizes he’s on Khan’s old ship, the Botany Bay. In his rush he completely forgets he has a communicator that can tell someone on the Reliant to instantly beam him out of danger from right where he’s standing. Instead he puts on his helmet and rushes to the door, which he opens to find Khan and company waiting for him.
We’ve seen people beam on and off the Botany Bay in Space Seed. There’s nothing special about the hull. Even when Chekov and Terrell get outside either one of them could have hit the comm button and had themselves transported up. It’s not like they got immediately grabbed and incapacitated. Khan and company are like fifty feet away!