Consider yourself the recipient of a chest-bump, bro-hug, slap on the back, hi-five or handshake - whichever you feel most comfortable with. I'm English - don't feel you have to be all over-demonstrative.
I'm another Curtis fan. I saw The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home long before I first saw The Wrath of Kahn, so when I think Saavik Curtis pretty much automatically comes to mind. Whose likeness did they use in the post The Final Frontier comics?
Whereas I saw The Wrath of Khan on opening day (twice), so Kirstie Alley will always be Saavik to me.
For exactly that reason, Kirstie Alley will always be Saavik to me too. I couldn't get used to Curtis. I still see the character as Alley in the novels. But thin Alley...
Due to Robin Curtis' contract, DC Comics and Pocket Books had to use her image when depicting Saavik after ST V, despite Kirstie Alley seemingly being the more popular Saavik. Prior to ST III, it had been Kirstie Alley's image, of course - but the artist used the two-parter Saavik storyline (in which Saavik undergoes pon farr) leading into the ST III comic adaptation to subtly alter the slant of her eyebrows. As Christopher mentioned, the Saavik who appeared in the DC Comics issues between ST III and ST IV maintained a hybrid look, and a hairstyle usually more reminiscent of Alley's Saavik. Years later, Playmates was able to release a 5" action figure of the Kirstie Alley Saavik by promoting it "as seen in ST II", and DST also did this with their figure. (The only Curtis figure I've seen was an unlicensed ST III "garage kit" resin model.) Of course, when IDW did their retro ST comic adaptation, they used Alley's Saavik.
I always have, and ever shall be, in the Kirstie Alley camp for Saavik. It's the very fact that she seems less stoicly-Vulcan that appeals to me, and makes her a more interesting character in TWOK than she was in the next two films. Though I've long since come to accept that the majority of the novels will use the Curtis portrayal as their basis. Two appearances to one, Curtis unfortunately has more canonical "weight" than Alley... which, is perhaps a bit too ironic of a pun...
On the Saavik issue - usually I go with Alley (e.g. when I read The Sorrows of Empire and Rise Like Lions) but I actually don't find any Saavik personification better than the other. Concerning the 5YM of TOS, I usullay skipped them until Allegiance in Exile came along. It tied into the 24th century continuity and hooked me for other 5YM stuff - which surprised me by referencing ENT (The Shocks of Adversity). I don't get every TOS book (yet), but I'm certainly looking forward to any release now. I'm a total sucker for continuity, like "Hey, we saw that alien species before in that book/episode!"
To get back on topic of the 2014 schedule, two of the announced ebooks are listed on Amazon now with release dates: Titan: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller for February 24th TOS: Shadow of the Machine by Scott Harrison for October 7th
Here's an interesting sounding book Star Trek: Light-Up Starship Enterprise by Running Press, with cover, set for a March 2014 release date: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books...oks&gcs_requestid=0CMC5iKf21bkCFYJ85wodqgoAAA
So we got official word from Una in her TrekCore interview, and it is real, although the title could change:
I didn't mind Robin Curtis as Saavik but I always preferred Kirstie Alley's take on the character. Curtis wasn't bad, but she was a little drier and more straightforwardly Vulcan, which was less interesting to me. Of course, it also helps that TWOK is my favorite movie of all time. When they introduced Saavik in TWOK it seemed like they intended her to be a core member of the cast. (Which happened in the DC comics.) I wish it would have ended up that way - she played a major role in the next one (though recast), but just had a brief cameo after that. I always imagined that, had Kirstie Alley been available, Saavik would have played a more major role in subsequent movies. The TOS movie era is my favorite era of Trek - I would love to see you try your hand at one of those, Greg. (And, bonus points if you can work in Saavik, double-bonus if you can channel Kirstie Alley's performance!)
Yes. The idea, at least tentatively, was to gradually phase out the original, aging cast and phase in a "next generation," so to speak, of younger leads. But instead nostalgia won out, every change the movies tried to make was undone within two movies, and the TOS cast was stuck in a rut for the rest of their careers rather than having any kind of plausible career or personal advancement.
Yeah. The DC comics assumption that she would take over Spock's old position was actually a pretty good one, I thought.
I haven't read the comics in question, but her taking over the science office position doesn't make much sense to me. She has command school training, and was at navigation during TWoK; what qualifies her to serve as science officer?
I've always wondered what might have been had the Enterprise been manned by Decker, Saavik, Xon, and others. I could see Kirk sticking around as a recurring character. Maybe he makes an appearance or two in the films. But I'd have liked seeing a younger group of officers undertaking their own missions. The TOS films are great, but as you said, everything more or less resets every few films, as if none of the crew ever advance or take on new assignments. --Sran
Does seem kinda like Vulcan stereotyping, doesn't it? Then again, she was Spock's protegee, so it's not implausible that she would've taken an interest in sciences even if it wasn't her ultimate choice of focus at the Academy.
^And don't forget Kirk's own biases. Remember what he told Decker after Sonak died: "I'd still like a Vulcan there if possible." As Academy superintendent, he had the authority to make crew assignments to Enterprise when using the vessel as his flagship. For all we know, Saavik at the science station was his idea, not Spock's. --Sran