Missed opportunities in the (TOS) movies?

[Commander Kielbasa]

The biggest qualm I have with the films is - while I love the films - there's not much exploring of "the great unknown" in a sense akin to the TV series. I would've loved to have seen more first contact type of things. The TV series touched on the idea of God as did 5 but I feel it was never done the right way, A god-like race akin to the Q or the Squire would've been interesting as the (misunderstood) big bad. One of the early TMP scripts dealt with something like that IIRC and it was really interesting.

Also, there was too much of an emphasis on Federation bureaucracy and Earth....One thing I love about TOS is that the crew kind of has a free hand out in space to a degree. Yes, the Federation is mentioned and sometimes seen but Kirk seems to have more freedom. The leash is kept rather tight on the crew in the films, and I feel showing the Federation to be another bureaucracy full of redundancy, secrecy and politics goes against the Utopian ideals that Roddenberry seemed to have in mind in TOS. That the Terran government was as flawed and annoying in the 23rd century as it is in the 21st was kind of disappointing and while it certainly reflected post-Watergate views of government and such, I feel a series like Trek should've transcended that cynicism. The Federation feel kind of like an albatross around Kirk's neck throughout the films - always in the background somewhere, whether keeping Kirk from command of a ship or not allowing him to got to Vulcan, or decommissioning the crew or having Kirk act as an ambassador....I would've preferred less of the Federation and instead they seemed to play a larger role with each film.

 

[Nyotarules]

Showing more of life on Earth or other parts of the Federation.

 

[Khan 2.0]

regenerated Khan

 

[Smellmet]

regenerated Khan

Killed in the explosion I fear. And was gonna die anyway.

 

[shatastrophic]

We could have at least seen one bathroom...

 

[Kor]

The Wrath of Cyrano Jones. A couple of decades of counting tribbles have changed him from a jovial merchant into a bitter and grizzled space pirate, mad with vengeance.

He will leave Kirk buried aliiiiiiiive... in tribbles.

Kor

 

[arch101]

The traitor in TUC SHOULD have been Saavik. I don't care what Gene said, having a beloved character be the conspirator would have provided dramatic oomph that Trek often lacks. Nimoy plays the aftermath of the "mind rape" scene so well- Spock's practically in tears after forcibly extracting the info from Valeris. Imagine how much harder the scene would have been if it had been Saavik.

 

[Khan 2.0]

The traitor in TUC SHOULD have been Saavik. I don't care what Gene said, having a beloved character be the conspirator would have provided dramatic oomph that Trek often lacks. Nimoy plays the aftermath of the "mind rape" scene so well- Spock's practically in tears after forcibly extracting the info from Valeris. Imagine how much harder the scene would have been if it had been Saavik.

Alley or Curtis?

 

[Phoenix219]

Not expanding the cast and giving us the originally-planned "Next Generation" led by David Marcus and Saavik.

You mean Will Decker, Ilia and Xon?

 

[Green]

Alley wasn't coming back and Curtis was a bore. Just pretend Valeris is Saavik played by a third actress.
There are only two lines of dialogue that would need to be changed if it was Saavik -- when Spock introduces her to the crew.

 

[Phoenix219]

Alley wasn't coming back and Curtis was a bore. Just pretend Valeris is Saavik played by a third actress.
There are only two lines of dialogue that would need to be changed if it was Saavik -- when Spock introduces her to the crew.

In that case, a fan edit could accomplish that quite easily, although she barely looks the same. Shrug.

 

[F. King Daniel]

You mean Will Decker, Ilia and Xon?

Saavik and David were the second attempt to expand the ageing cast. And they actually made it past their first movie.

 

[Khan 2.0]

Alley wasn't coming back and Curtis was a bore. Just pretend Valeris is Saavik played by a third actress.
There are only two lines of dialogue that would need to be changed if it was Saavik -- when Spock introduces her to the crew.

recall reading in Cinefantastique at the time of VI that Meyer wanted Alley back as Savvik but she wouldn't or couldn't (Cheers?) but he wasn't interested in having Curtis back.. (which is strange as surely it would have more sense as she was the recast actress and had been in two movies so wouldn't audiences been confused had Alley come back?, plus it was her version of Savvik that had actually witnessed the stuff that would make her turn against the Klingons!) so he went with original pre Alley Savvik choice Cattrall . I guess Alley in VI would've made it feel more like a follow up to WOK?

 

[Smellmet]

recall reading in Cinefantastique at the time of VI that Meyer wanted Alley back as Savvik but she wouldn't or couldn't (Cheers?) but he wasn't interested in having Curtis back.. (which is strange as surely it would have more sense as she was the recast actress and had been in two movies so wouldn't audiences been confused had Alley come back?, plus it was her version of Savvik that had actually witnessed the stuff that would make her turn against the Klingons!) so he went with original pre Alley Savvik choice Cattrall . I guess Alley in VI would've made it feel more like a follow up to WOK?

I suppose it would have to have been a suspension of disbelief by the viewer for it, much like the reboot movies. It's definitely a missed opportunity for TUC though. It would have added weight to the story.

 

[Korusan]

I really lament that we'll never get another high concept spacey film with either the old cast or new. Something like TMP maybe with a modern twist, akin to Black Mirror. If this were twenty years ago too it would have been neat to see the old cast meet the new, the but that would be hard to do with a good story.

 

[Therin of Andor]

recall reading in Cinefantastique at the time of VI that Meyer wanted Alley back as Savvik but she wouldn't or couldn't (Cheers?) but he wasn't interested in having Curtis back.. (which is strange...)

Definitely true. Curtis was interviewed a few years later and expressed her utter disappointment that Nick Meyer had not even tried to contact her about reprising Saavik. She even walked away from acting for some time. (She was even more surprised, then, to get invited to play a Vulcan/Romulan character in a TNG episode because she was convinced no one liked her performances!)

BTW, I have tried to track down a pic of the now-demolished Paramount Theatre, Sydney, with its ST:TMP marquee, for years now without success, so last week I drew it!


Week 13 Cinema by Ian McLean, on Flickr[/QUOTE]

 

[Green]

If Alley had returned for VI they could have had Kirk say, "Have you changed your..., hair, again?

 

[Therin of Andor]

If Alley had returned for VI they could have had Kirk say, "Have you changed your -- hair again?

"Saavik, you changed your face!"

"It's still regulation, Admiral".

EDIT: Oh, look what I found in my old files!

1983 cartoon for the ASTREX newsletter, "Data", lampooning the rumour that Kirstie Alley had been recast as Saavik for "Star Trek III". The rumour was so fresh, we hadn't seen Robin's name in print yet, hence my guess at the spelling, nor whether she'd resemble Kirstie Alley at all.


Saavik cartoon by Ian McLean, on Flickr

I think I lifted my cartoon Kirk face from a "MAD" magazine?

 

[Khan 2.0]

im trying to think of any other film series where the original actor/ess has come back to a role that had been recast with someone else for a movie or two.. I cant think of any! ..oh wait - Bond (Connery coming back for Diamonds Are Forever)

 

[Therin of Andor]

im trying to think of any other film series where the original actor/ess has come back to a role that had been recast with someone else for a movie or two.. I cant think of any! ..oh wait - Bond (Connery coming back for Diamonds Are Forever)

David Hedison as Felix Leiter, as well.