Saavik: From Star Trek’s Most Promising -- to Its Most Botched -- Character
Poor decisionmaking behind-the-scenes led to her storytelling betrayal
The character of Lt Saavik, introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, began as one of the most unique and compelling ever introduced in the franchise.
But in the end, sadly, she’ll be remembered as a confusing muddle, and more like a footnote in Star Trek lore.
It’s not fair to blame the actors who took the role; rather the failure of the Saavik character is the fault of behind-the-scenes fumbling and mismanagement — including one legend who one actor who played the role called “King Vulcan.”
From the moment we met her in the early moments of Wrath of Khan, as portrayed by an incredibly young Kirstie Alley, young Lt Saavik commanded not only the bridge of the starship Enterprise — but our full attention.
We immediately recognized her as Vulcan, but were quickly stunned by the quiet “Damn,” she utters as news of a neutronic fuel carrier called Kobayashi Maru was in distress inside the Klingon Neutral Zone with hundreds of passengers and crew aboard.
Saavik’s clearly an accomplished officer, and someone who could be destined for great things in Starfleet — which, of course, is a great way to start off a new character.
And that flash of profanity we heard?
It alludes to something more in her character.
In her novelization of the movie, Vonda N McIntyre explains that Saavik — like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) — is a Vulcan hybrid. But unlike Spock, Saavik’s non-Vulcan parentage is not human. Rather, it’s Romulan.
However, because it was included only in McIntyre’s novel, Saavik’s Romulan heritage wasn’t canon.
However, it could easily have been brought into canon in subsequent movies. That that tantalizing bit of her background was never followed up on was the first mistake Star Trek’s writers, directors and producers made with the character.
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Although she clearly had done such a superb job inhabiting the role and making it her own, we would never see Kirstie Alley as Saavik again.
Not that this was to be the end of the character.
But despite Wrath of Khan having been her first big job in Hollywood — she had been listed in the opening credits with “introducing Kirstie Alley” — the actress reportedly just asked for too much money to be rehired for Star Trek III.
Which meant that the part would have to be recast.
Robin Curtis was invited to step into the role.
And this is where things really went off the rails with the character.
When we meet Saavik again in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, not only does she look different, her entire personality has changed as well.
Gone are all the flashes of brilliance — and any signs of an intriguing Romulan background — that we saw in the last movie.
The Saavik we meet this time seems like nothing more than “standard-issue” Vulcan, albeit with the compassion and understanding to help a young, regenerating Spock (Joe W. Davis) deal with his first pon farr while stranded on the Genesis Planet.
Curtis, herself, was another young actress finding her way in Hollywood and carried herself entirely professionally with the role.
Just recently, she explained what happened in an interview on The SciFi Diner podcast:
Here’s what she said:
“I admit it was very much direction. But it was my preference to be that actor who just put herself in the hands of the King Vulcan. Who was I to go into the franchise and go, ‘Well, you know, this is what I think a Vulcan woman would do and say.’ I shook Mr. Nimoy’s hand the first day of work, and said, ‘You seem to think I know what I’m doing, but I really don't.’ And he said, ‘Robin, I'll take you every step of the way.’”
And while Nimoy’s direction imbued so many magical and memorable moments and qualities to the Star Trek films he helmed, that guidance he gave a young Robin Curtis stands out even today as, perhaps, his biggest failure.
As Curtis further explained in that interview:
“When people comment on the subtle differences or perhaps some of the more obvious differences between the two portrayals, I have to remind them I think it's very much a collaboration between the artist and the director, for sure. Obviously, [Wrath of Khan director] Nicholas Meyer and Kirstie kind of went to the edges of the emotion and the flirtation, and they brought some nuances to the character that Leonard Nimoy would have no part of. He didn't want me to breathe in the wrong place, as much as I tried to inject that little layer of emotion. It wasn't happening. He wasn’t having it.”
Saavik’s appearance in the sequel, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, was little more than a glorified cameo.
Originally, though, there had been a well, fascinating, reason for her to stay behind on Vulcan: she had become pregnant during the pon farr she had shared with Spock, and was preparing to have his baby.
But even that storyline died, as well — although blame there is more murky.
In the audio commentary for the Star Trek IV: Directors Cut DVD, director Nimoy explained that it seemed “more interesting to leave her behind with the potential information that she was expecting Spock's child.”
But producer Harve Bennett reportedly said that Nimoy “was always very uncomfortable” with a Saavik pregnancy, and that’s why any hints of that were left on the cutting room floor.
And that brief moment in The Voyage Home would be the last time we would ever see Saavik again, at least in canon.
But fast-forward two more movies, and we meet another young Vulcan lieutenant close to Spock — this time named Valeris, played by yet another young actress who would go on to bigger roles: Kim Cattrall.
And if you guessed that maybe Valeris originally was supposed to have been a return of Saavik, you would be right.
Nicholas Meyer was back in the director’s chair for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and he wanted Saavik.
But not just any Saavik. He also wanted Kirstie Alley back, too.
According to Memory Alpha, Meyer had not been a fan of Robin Curtis’s version of the character.
But once again, the almighty dollar got in the way, as Alley — by this time — was starring in the extremely popular sitcom, Cheers, and once again her desired fee was just too high.
Not only was it reportedly agreed among the film’s producers, including Nimoy, that it didn’t make sense to recast Saavik a third time, but franchise creator Gene Roddenberry — who at that time deathly ill — felt that Saavik was a “beloved character,” and fans would object to her betraying Kirk and Spock as the story called for.
Enter Valeris and Cattrall, and the rest of course was franchise history.
One can’t help but think things perhaps worked out as they did — at least in one very important and sensitive respect.
If it had been Saavik all the way through The Undiscovered Country, it would have made that scene in which Spock forces the mind meld — already so problematic and questionable in hindsight — all the more so if he had violated a one-time mate in this mental and emotional way.
But that aside, however, if one looks at these consecutive appearances of young female Vulcan Starfleet lieutenants through the successive TOS films as a whole, they would not be blamed for feeling at least a bit confused and disjointed.
Certainly Nimoy and the other creatives working behind-the-scenes can’t be faulted for having lost Kirstie Alley due to financial constraints.
That aside, it’s clear that these same men simply never developed, or followed through with, all of the compelling storytelling possibilities that this character originally presented.
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