Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Janice Rand
3. Leonard Nimoy Ensured That Rand Was In Star Trek III And Star Trek IV
Janice Rand does not appear in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, nor officially does she appear in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, although this one comes with a large asterisk after it - because Grace Lee Whitney does appear in the latter film.
Leonard Nimoy, directing Star Trek III, was keen to have Whitney appear once again in a Starfleet uniform. To that end, he included an unnamed officer who is in Spacedock, watching the Enterprise return to port, covered in the battle scars it received from the Reliant. Here, Whitney recalled being advised to look both warmly, and a little shocked, at her old ship.
For Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Rand not only appeared but, thanks to Nimoy, has lines. She is present in Starfleet Command, now serving as a counselor. This was confirmed by Whitney herself in an interview with an issue of Starlog in 1986, wherein she drew parallels between Rand and her own journey. She was recovering from addiction at the time, and the idea of Rand going from 'space geisha' to a counselor was one that she loved.
Initially, both Rand and Chapel had a full scene, with four pages of dialogue, though this was trimmed down to what finally appeared in the film.