Enforced Method Acting: During the scene where Kirk tricks Khan by using the Prefix Code to lower Reliant's shields, William Shatner kept delivering the line "Here it comes" in a sing-songy, mocking manner. Meyer felt that Kirk would NOT do this, as that's pretty blatantly telegraphing your intentions to your enemy. In the end, Meyer hit on a plan — he had Shatner do several takes of the line. On the last take, Shatner, finally sick of the multiple attempts, thought to just phone it in and delivered a blank, emotionless reading of the line, hoping that Meyer would get the hint and move on. Meyer indeed moved on after that take -- the exact reading he wanted for the line, and the reading that was included in the finished cut. In fact, Meyer often used this tactic when dealing with Shatner.
Misaimed Fandom: In-universe. Moby Dick is part of Khan's private library and he quotes Captain Ahab throughout the movie. Either Khan missed the point of the novel or alternatively, he understood the point of the novel completely and recognised the parallels between himself and Ahab, but was so consumed by his rage that he didn't care, or just so arrogant that he believed that, unlike Ahab, he could slay his white whale without destroying himself and his crew. Also, it's possible that Khan knew he would die as a result of his actions, but he wanted to take Kirk with him. A "The Only One Allowed to Defeat You"-sort of thing.
No Budget: Not completely, but given the cost overruns on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, they definitely had to save money wherever they could. As a result, all of the Enterprise shots in drydock (and the "beauty shot" after its launch) were recycled from the first movie. Several uniforms were reused as well - the thruster suits, engineering suits, and McCoy's medical shirt were reused straight-up with only minor tweaks, and the one-piece jumpsuit uniforms were dyed and tweaked into the cadet/noncom jumpsuits. Even Spock's black robe is from the first movie.
Promoted Fangirl: Kirstie Alley was a big-time fan of the original series who was extremely excited to be able to play a role alongside Leonard Nimoy. Apparently, she was quite apt at the Vulcan characterization which helped to land her the role.
What Could Have Been: Spock'sHeroic Sacrifice was originally placed at the middle of the movie, in an attempt to mimic the Psycho gambit. When they wisely decided to make it the emotional climax of the film instead, Peter Preston's sacrifice was put in its place instead. Similarly, the whole ordeal was practically spoiled before the movie began filming because it was what lured him back to the franchise. The Kobayashi Maru sequence was intended as a way to throw off expectations.
Ricardo Montelban considered turning down reprising the role of Khan due to lack of screen time. When he realized how much of an impact Khan had (even when he's not on screen, Khan is affecting every action every character in the movie takes), he signed onto the film.
