Was Valeris supposed to be Saavik?

Why does Kirk say Mr Saavik?

In the episode "The Changeling", Spock and Saavik are stranded on the planet Ceti Alpha V after escaping the Enterprise from an explosion.

McCoy tries to help them but they are caught in a trap set by the Klingons.

McCoy: "Are you all right?"Saavik: "Thank you, doctor. You did save my life."Kirk: "Mr Saavik. Kirk."

What does Saavik mean when she says "thank you, doctor"? It's not a "thank you" in the modern sense. In fact, it's really not meant to be English at all. It's a Klingon idiom, which is kind of a shortened version of:

Sie'Hr'a'mn! Which can roughly translated to: "I am grateful". If you want the full meaning, you'll have to search for a transcript, because it's been used in many different episodes and films.

How many actresses played Saavik?

The number of actresses who have played Saavik in Star Trek: The Motion Picture has been debated ever since the first release of a trailer for the film.

When I heard it was over 7, I immediately became dubious. I'm a bit of a Trekkie myself, but when one thinks about it, this is actually a pretty big number, even by Star Trek standards.

7 actresses playing Saavik in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In order to answer this question, let's look at how many roles each of the seven actresses who played Saavik have had in TV and movies. In the following I only consider roles as Saavik. Since her main role is the role of the Enterprise's communications officer, other characters are just side-kicks or extras on screen.

Actress. On Screen Credits. Film Roles. Number of Films. Beth Hutton. 5

1

11

Hedwig Heidler. 1

1

2

Ruth Langer. 6

2

8

Rene Russo. 4

1

7

Nancy Malone. 5

3

7

Rita Richardson. 3

1

5

Carol Alt. 1

1

2

Hilda Braid. 2

2

4

Judith Light. 2

2

4

Dee Wallace. 4

1

5

The average number of films per role in a career is 6.67, so 7 actresses for this role alone would be over the average. However, this is a bit misleading. While it's true that the average is 4.27, more than half (63%) of actresses who played this role in the 1950s ended their careers with a role for only 1 movie.

Another thing to consider is the number of films that those actresses were in, although this is another area where we need some perspective. In the 1950s, for example, most film actresses were making one film per year.

How Many Films did an Actress Make in the 1950s? In fact, the overwhelming majority of film actresses from the 1950s make only one or two films in their careers.