Editing Pavel Chekov (section)

==Origin==
''Star Trek'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]] wanted to include a younger cast member to appeal to teenage audiences. With a second season of ''Star Trek'' to be produced, Roddenberry interviewed [[Walter Koenig]] on the recommendation of director [[Joseph Pevney]].<ref name="Inside Star Trek">{{cite book |last1=Solow |first1=Herbert |author-link1=Herbert Franklin Solow |last2=Justman |first2=Robert |author-link2=Robert H. Justman |title=Inside Star Trek: The Real Story |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1997 |isbn=0-671-00974-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780671896287}}</ref>{{Rp|345}} After casting Koenig, Roddenberry wrote a letter to [[Mikhail Zimyanin]], editor of ''[[Pravda]]'',<ref name="Inside Star Trek"/>{{Rp|344}} informing him of the introduction of a Russian character, and an [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] press release announcing the character at the time stated that it was in response to a ''Pravda'' article, condemning the show for having no Russian characters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/chekov.htm|title=Russian Crewlette |author=Barbara and David P. Mikkelson |date=April 11, 2005 |work=[[Urban Legends Reference Pages]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cantor |first=Paul A. |year= 2001 |title=Gilligan Unbound: Popular Culture in the Age of Globalization |url=https://archive.org/details/gilliganunboundp0000cant |url-access=registration |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gilliganunboundp0000cant/page/222 222] |isbn=0-7425-0779-3}}</ref> The existence of such a Pravda article is disputed. Roddenberry also acknowledged that the character was in response to the popularity of [[The Monkees]]' [[Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones]]. Koenig always denied the "Russian origin" story and affirmed that his character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees, and the character's hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this.<ref>Source: The Making of Star Trek, by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, (c) 1968 Ballantine Books, pps 249-250</ref><ref>''[[TV Guide]]'', September 4–10, 1993 p 20</ref> Roddenberry had previously mentioned, in a memo to his casting director, a desire to have someone reminiscent of one of [[The Beatles]] or Monkees on the show.<ref name="Inside Star Trek"/>{{Rp|345}}

Koenig's modest height, eyes, thick eyebrows, boyish face, and smile were all strikingly evocative of the lone British "Monkee" who captivated millions of pre-teen girls. Early attempts were made to style Koenig's brown hair similar to that of Jones too. Wigs were used in a couple of early episodes but not in others, which reveals a stage of experimentation to attentive viewers. Eventually, a final look for Koenig's hair length and fullness was reached and used consistently thereafter.

After [[Paramount Television]] signed Koenig to a contract because of the number of fan letters he received as Chekov, Roddenberry wrote in another memo "[[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and [[Spock]] and the others actually seem rather 'middle aged' to the large youthful segment of our audience. We badly need a young man aboard the ''Enterprise''{{em dash}}we need youthful attitudes and perspectives. Chekov can be used potently here".<ref name="memo">{{Citation |last=Roddenberry |first=Gene |author-link=Gene Roddenberry |date=April 18, 1968 |title=Kirk, Spock and Other Continuing STAR TREK Characters |type=memo |pages=4–5 |url=http://missionlogpodcast.com/discovereddocuments/040/}}</ref> In actuality, Koenig is only five years younger than co-stars [[Leonard Nimoy]] and [[William Shatner]].

The episode "[[Amok Time]]", which was the first episode broadcast during the second season, was Chekov's first television appearance ("[[Catspaw (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Catspaw]]", the first episode shot with the Chekov character, would be broadcast a month later to roughly coincide with [[Halloween]]). Because of budgetary constraints, the character did not appear in [[Star Trek: The Animated Series|the animated ''Star Trek'']].<ref name="Inside Star Trek"/>{{Rp|422}}