MovieChat Forums > Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) Discussion > Had The Traitor Been (spoilers and specu...

Had The Traitor Been (spoilers and speculation)

posted 10 years ago by stebsmeister
8 replies | jump to latest

Well, not so much of the former, given that the film is nearly a quarter of a century old!

I remember seeing, and enjoying, ST:VI when it was first released; and, to my mind, it still stands up as one of the best of the ST film series.

However, I can't help but feel that the film would have had a stronger emotional punch, and been even better, if the traitor had not been Valeris, but Saavik. If memory serves, this was Meyer's original intention, but that he was over-ruled by Roddenberry who considered that Saavik had become a fan favourite, making it impossible that she then become a traitor.

But isn't the latter point oddly - well, the point? Sticking to the original plan gives Saavik the narrative trajectory from the young officer over-awed by Spock; the slightly more seasoned officer appalled at learning of David's behaviour with regards to the Genesis project; horrified at his brutal killing; becoming disillusioned with the Federation's attempts to make peace with the Klingons; and contemptuous of Spock for being a driving force in the diplomatic accords.

This isn't meant as a slight to Cattrall's performance - and, given that Saavik had already been played by two actresses, she could just as easily re-created a character as performed a new one. It just feels like a little bit of a missed opportunity, and something that could have given such a decent finale an even more rousing send-off.

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[–] dragonstephen-1 10 years ago

its only 23 years old

"when the pirates of the Carribean brake down the pirates don't eat the tourists " Jurassic Park

[–] stebsmeister 10 years ago

And a quarter of a century is 25 - so being 23 years old would, as I stated in my original post, make ST:VI nearly a quarter of a century old.

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[–] kurthowe 10 years ago

Just watch it that way. It was a stupid idea to introduce a new character in place of the existing one just so feathers wouldn't get ruffled when revealed to be a traitor. All the little problems with the character are cleared up. The fact that she and Spock share a connection (deep enough that he feels she's the only one who could take his place...cemented by a common ground that they are both of mixed blood - hers being part Romulan), the fact that she hates the Klingons as much as Kirk after David's death (he became her lover when they met in II). Spock's anger with her when he smacks the phaser away.

"Valeris" is Saaviks Romulan name. Problem solved :-)

[–] stebsmeister 10 years ago

@kurthowe:

You've cracked it! Yes, Valeris is Saavik - how could I not have realise this before!

Your other points are good too, and really reinforce just how much stronger not only ST:VI but the ST:TOS films as a series would have been if Saavik has been the traitor, showing her progress from promising cadet to disillusioned officer. If we'd had this - and if ST:I and ST:V had never existed, we'd have had a pretty tight quartet of films.

Ah well - no point crying over spilt milk!

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[–] feenix219 10 years ago

In this alternate universe, maybe I and V were TV movies / failed pilots. :D

[–] onioncreek 10 years ago

Meyer's commentary on the DVD tells all I believe. It blew my mind a little when I found that out.
Meyer did want it to be Saavik. Gene Roddenberry protested, and Meyer couldn't get Kirstie Alley back. He doesn't mention Robin Curtis, but obviously he wasn't happy with her portrayal. And Cattrall protested being the third actress cast in the role. So Valeris popped into existence. But the story does all make more sense with Valeris being Saavik. And that's quite a shocking end for Saavik.

[–] bjlevine 10 years ago

First of all, Gene protested about nearly everything Harve Bennett and Nick Meyer did. Secondly, Gene didn't create the Saavik character, but very likely didn't want to see anyone in Starfleet (least of all the logical Vulcans) involved in a conspiracy. He hamstrung TNG with views like that.

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[–] TMC-4 8 years ago

What if it had been Rand? We saw her as the transporter chief in TMP so she had cross trained away from yeoman, so place her at the nav panel. The betrayal of Kirk would have been huge, and the mind meld scene even more horrific.

I'm sure Grace Lee Whitney would have jumped at such a role.