Summary
- Kirstie Alley's salary dispute resulted in her replacement as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III and IV, with conflicting stories about the basis of the dispute.
- Robin Curtis turned down the role of K'Ehleyr, Worf's lover in TNG, due to prior commitments, and Suzie Plakson was cast instead.
- Robin Curtis later played Vulcan villain Tallera in TNG's "Gambit," opposing alien influence on Vulcan culture. It is unclear what happened to the Isolationists after the episode.
K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson), the lover of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) was originally offered to Robin Curtis, who replaced Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. A dispute over pay meant that Kirstie Alley didn't reprise the role of Saavik for Star Trek 3, although there are conflicting stories about the basis of that dispute. Alley believed that she was offered a lower salary so that she wouldn't return, while Leonard Nimoy said that a "reasonable" offer was made, to which Kirstie Alley's agent sent an extravagant counteroffer.
Whatever the reason for the salary dispute, it meant that Robin Curtis replaced Kirstie Alley for both The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Nicholas Meyer wanted to bring Kirstie Alley back as Saavik in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, but once again, the fee would be too high, given her success in Cheers. However, Michael Dorn did appear in Star Trek 6, two years after Robin Curtis was offered a role in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
