After talking with a friend about drafts of The Wrath of Khan, I decided to watch it along side the one shooting script I have for it.
Still lots to mine in here, even if it's not an early draft. I'd forgotten Saavik was originally half Romulan, which is why she has flashes of emotion in the movie:
I forgot there was also a cut involving Chekov and Terrell finding a child on Khan's ship before they're ambushed. If you listen carefully in the movie, you can hear Terrell say "but the child..."
Glad they cut this. A little on the nose. And he mentions watching her die several more times after this to bring the point home.
Ah, the infamous cut of Sulu getting his own command because "Shatner somehow couldn't get the words out." I am surprised, though, to see the Excelsior mentioned in ST:2. I knew he was getting his own command, but didn't realize they were setting up the Excelsior so soon.
Man, if Roddenberry hated how military Nick Meyer portrayed Starfleet on screen, he must have really hated how military he made them in the script:
There's a bit more in the elevator with Kirk and Saavik. She thanks Kirk for her grade on the Kobayashi Maru test, but doesn't feel she deserves it. Kirk suggests she take it again.
The scripts sequence of events is a little scrambled here, but lost in the shuffle is a scene where Khan learns about Genesis. Afterwards we have the Regula 1/Chekov scene, followed by the Regula team talking about escaping, followed by Carol attempting to contact Kirk, then oddly Kirk taking command of the Enterprise THEN asking Spock for command.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one annoyed with Uhura demanding someone contact her WHEN SHE KNEW FULL WELL THE TEAM WAS DOWN THERE ON REGULA I.
Also, a throwaway line that McCoy served with Captain Terrell at one point leads to him asking if Terrell recognizes him.
The reveal of David as Kirk's son is again, kind of on the nose. I like how the movie implies that Jim "gets it" versus being told in a bit of melodrama.
Also, the "dumb bastard" line will come back in a very odd way at the end of the movie.
Also explains how Terrell got the phaser.
Bones with a cut smackdown. David comes across as really angry in this, which seems appropriate as he's seen a lot of death in the last few hours.
A through line that was removed was a smolder of romance between Saavik and David. The novels of ST2 and 3 kept it in, though.
When Khan fires a warning shot at the Enterprise, there's a quick cut to sickbay, then back to the bridge in the movie. There was actually a scene there where David leaves sickbay and Carol helps ready sickbay for wounded.
Most of the Mutara Battle is exactly the same in the script as in the movie. There is one cut concept though. The child we see at the beginning of the movie, is shown as the Genesis device starts up. Again, a little on the nose.
The "Remember" shot was a last minute (possibly on-the-set) addition to allow for the possibility of a sequel where Spock returns. It is not in the script.
Wonder if that sequel ever happened?
The "final" Kirk/Spock scene in Wrath of Khan is one of the finest in the entire series. Having Kirk sit there in silence as his friend dies in still heart wrenching.
The script has Saavik jump in with news to punch up the scene, but I'm glad it wasn't used - this is a solemn moment, and it needed to stay between Kirk and Spock.
During Spock's funeral, Saavik has quite a bit more to do. There are a few added lines here and there in the script that Spock is setting her up to be the Enterprises' First Officer. This is the first time Kirk addresses her with that same mindset.
Annnd Saavik ruins the moment by referencing a line from earlier during Kirk and David's fight to the death. For a joke.
So with the movie over and some of the changes annoted, there are a some things there that absolutely should hae been removed (the dumb bastard joke and some on-the-nose moments), but some things I'd like to have seen kept (Saavik being given a more "young leader in training" role).
Saavik in the movie comes across as just a new character, and in the script she seems to be set up as a replacement for Spock in future sequels. I also like that there is the BEGINNING of a David/Saavik relationship, and that it's not capped off at the end. Again, the feeling of setting something up for future movies.
This is the only draft of Wrath of Khan I was ever able to find, which is the Nick Meyer shooting script so sadly I can't do a comparison like I did with ST:TMP. If you have any of the early drafts, I'd love a copy/loan of them so I could do that comparison. Wrath of Khan also has an interesting (if much less volatile) history to its scripts. :)
There's more to Spock and Saavik's talk in Vulcan, which comes across more as a lesson. Cutting it off at "Nobody's Perfect" though makes it a nice little humour beat.