The first six Trek movies are among my favourite film series of all time, but one of the slight blunders for me is the recasting of Saavik.
Kirstie Alley made a tremendous impression in ST II.
Right from the offset, she gave a thoroughly engaging, compelling and charming performance (yes, it’s not often Vulcans get to be charming, and few actors playing Vulcans have ever succeeded, but Alley and Nimoy do). It’s abundantly clear that Alley was a star in the making and she had tremendous screen presence. She was, in fact, something of a scene stealer.
It’s still unclear exactly what happened when it came to casting ST III. Alley claims they offered her less money to do the part, while the producers and maybe Nimoy claimed she was offered a huge amount more but turned it down.
I like Robin Curtis and i don’t actually blame her at all for what I’m about to say, as I feel she was misdirected by Nimoy, who wanted to retcon the character from feisty half-Romulan (albeit a fact that wasn’t established on screen) to a straight up by-the-book Vulcan (“byyy the book!”).
Admittedly Saavik has a much reduced role in the third film, but she’s just not the same character to me. I’m of the opinion that if you recast a character, you shouldn’t give the actor carte blanche to create an entirely new interpretation. The audience needs to feel that they’re watching the same character, or it creates something of a disconnect and potentially pulls them out of the fictional world.
In contrast to Alley’s version, Curtis’ Saavik is not particularly compelling, dynamic and she doesn’t really come to life on screen. She’s just kind of…there. Until she’s hastily written out at the start of the next film. Interestingly, I actually find Curtis’ performance more effective in ST VI even though she’s only on screen for about 20 seconds. You can tell she’s holding something back when it comes to Spock (as was intended in the script but never made explicit). This gives her more depth than the very flat portrayal in III.
But nothing beats the original Saavik in my view. I actually wonder what it’d have been like if she’d remained part of the crew for the rest of the TOS features.
It’s an age old question but I haven’t seen it discussed in any recent threads. But what are your thoughts on the two Saavik’s? Is the recast a misfire or do you actually prefer Curtis’ Vulcanised Vulcan?
Kirstie Alley made a tremendous impression in ST II.
Right from the offset, she gave a thoroughly engaging, compelling and charming performance (yes, it’s not often Vulcans get to be charming, and few actors playing Vulcans have ever succeeded, but Alley and Nimoy do). It’s abundantly clear that Alley was a star in the making and she had tremendous screen presence. She was, in fact, something of a scene stealer.
It’s still unclear exactly what happened when it came to casting ST III. Alley claims they offered her less money to do the part, while the producers and maybe Nimoy claimed she was offered a huge amount more but turned it down.
I like Robin Curtis and i don’t actually blame her at all for what I’m about to say, as I feel she was misdirected by Nimoy, who wanted to retcon the character from feisty half-Romulan (albeit a fact that wasn’t established on screen) to a straight up by-the-book Vulcan (“byyy the book!”).
Admittedly Saavik has a much reduced role in the third film, but she’s just not the same character to me. I’m of the opinion that if you recast a character, you shouldn’t give the actor carte blanche to create an entirely new interpretation. The audience needs to feel that they’re watching the same character, or it creates something of a disconnect and potentially pulls them out of the fictional world.
In contrast to Alley’s version, Curtis’ Saavik is not particularly compelling, dynamic and she doesn’t really come to life on screen. She’s just kind of…there. Until she’s hastily written out at the start of the next film. Interestingly, I actually find Curtis’ performance more effective in ST VI even though she’s only on screen for about 20 seconds. You can tell she’s holding something back when it comes to Spock (as was intended in the script but never made explicit). This gives her more depth than the very flat portrayal in III.
But nothing beats the original Saavik in my view. I actually wonder what it’d have been like if she’d remained part of the crew for the rest of the TOS features.
It’s an age old question but I haven’t seen it discussed in any recent threads. But what are your thoughts on the two Saavik’s? Is the recast a misfire or do you actually prefer Curtis’ Vulcanised Vulcan?
