"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the episode, the Enterprise crew encounter a sleeper ship holding selectively bred superpeople from Earth's past. Their leader, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), attempts to take control of the Enterprise.
"Space Seed" has been named one of the best episodes of the series by Cinefantastique and IGN. The 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan serves as a sequel to this episode. References to "Space Seed" appear in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness.