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Scotty (Star Trek)

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Scotty
Portrayed byJames Doohan
Simon Pegg (2009)

Montgomery Scott, or "Scotty", is a character in the Star Trek media franchise.[1] First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous books, comics, and video games.[2][3] Simon Pegg assumed the character for the 2009 film Star Trek.[3]

Development and portrayals

Doohan was cast as the Enterprise engineer for the second Star Trek pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966) on the recommendation of that episode's director, James Goldstone, who had worked with him before.[4] The character almost didn't make it to the show after series creator Gene Roddenberry sent Doohan a letter informing him, "We don't think we need an engineer in the series"; only the intervention of Doohan's agent meant that the character could remain.[4] He tried a variety of accents for the part, and decided to use a Scottish accent on the basis that he thought Scottish people make the best engineers.[5] Doohan himself chose Scotty's first name of Montgomery in honor of his maternal grandfather, James Montgomery.[6]

Paul McGillion auditioned for the Scotty role for the 2009 Star Trek movie, and received James Doohan's son's endorsement.[7] However, Simon Pegg's casting was announced on October 12, 2007.[8]

Depiction

Montgomery Scott was born in Linlithgow, Scotland in 2222[2] and speaks with an Aberdeen accent.[5] During the events of Star Trek, Scotty holds the rank of lieutenant commander and serves as the Enterprise's second officer and "miracle worker" chief engineer.[2] Scotty's technical knowledge and skill allow him to devise unconventional and effective last-minute solutions to dire problems.[1] Scott's identity is strongly connected to the Enterprise itself, and the character often takes a paternal attitude toward the ship.[1] Although he sometimes commands the ship when both Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and first officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are off the ship, Scotty asserts in the TNG episode "Relics" that he "never wanted to be anything else but an engineer".[9]

Scott oversaw the Enterprise's refit prior to the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and is part of the crew when the Enterprise confronts Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).[2] Promoted to captain and assigned as chief engineer of the USS Excelsior in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Scott sabotages his new ship and helps Kirk steal the Enterprise to rescue Spock.[2] Scott joins Kirk's crew aboard the USS Enterprise-A at the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1984). In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, he helps Kirk, Spock and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) escape the brig and retake the hijacked Enterprise.[2] Scotty kills Colonel West (René Auberjonois) before the latter can assassinate the Federation president (Kurtwood Smith) in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).[2] Scotty joins Kirk and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) for the USS Enterprise-B's maiden voyage in Star Trek Generations (1994), saving the ship through technical wizardry.[10]

Scott was aboard a transport shuttle en route to a retirement colony when it crashed into a Dyson sphere; stranded, he set the transporter to cycle infinitely and "stored" himself in the buffer for decades before being recovered by the USS Enterprise-D crew in "Relics".[2] A "relic" no longer able to serve effectively as an engineer and struggling to acclimate to 24th-century life, Scott nevertheless manages to help save the Enterprise-D through technical know-how and chicanery.[10]

Alternate timeline

Simon Pegg's portrayal in the 2009 Star Trek film has him stuck working at a Federation outpost on the ice planet on which Kirk is marooned, Delta Vega. He blames his former instructor for this assignment, as Scotty had experimented with the theoretical range of transporters by beaming Admiral Jonathan Archer's[11] prized beagle from one planet to the next - and having no idea where it ended up. Scotty jumps at the chance of leaving the outpost and working on a Federation starship. Spock Prime shows Scotty the equation allowing someone to transport to or from ships moving at warp, which Scotty's older self had made. Later, he manages to transport three people (Kirk, Spock, and Christopher Pike) from two different places (Kirk and Pike on the Romulan villain's ship, and Spock in his own vessel outside) onto one pad at the same time, a feat rarely seen or even done before.

Reception and critical reaction

Slate.com called Pegg's performance of Scotty in the 2009 Star Trek film "juicily comic".[3]

Birthplace dispute

Following Doohan's death, several Scottish towns campaigned to be named Scotty's "official birthplace". Scripts and production materials support Linlithgow's claim to being Scott's birthplace.[12] However, Scott says in "Wolf in the Fold" (1967) that he is "an old Aberdeen pub crawler", and Aberdeen city leaders proposed plans to erect a monument to the actor and character.[13]

Scotty's operation of the Enterprise transporter system inspired the catch phrase "Beam me up, Scotty", which gained currency in pop culture beyond Star Trek fans, even though the exact phrase is never spoken in any live action episode or film. (It does, however, feature frequently in the animated series.)

Parodies of Scotty or his accent appear in such media as World of Warcraft (2004), Spaceballs (1987), the "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" episode of Futurama, Goof Troop, Beavis and Butt-head, and All That. Rap artists D4L have a song "Scotty" that uses his character and Star Trek in a description of otherworldly activity in Atlanta, Georgia.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Star Trek: The Original Series.

References

  1. ^ a b c Asherman, Alan (1993-05-01). The Star Trek Compendium. ISBN 978-0671796129.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Okuda, Mike and Denise Okuda, with Debbie Mirek (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c Stevens, Dana (2009-05-06). "Go See Star Trek". Slate.com. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  4. ^ a b Solow, Herbert (1997). Inside Star Trek The Real Story. Simon & Schuster. p. 152. ISBN 0-671-00974-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (2005-07-22). "Obituary: James Doohan". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  6. ^ "James Doohan (Obituary)". TimesOnline. 2005-07-21. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  7. ^ Read, David (2007-10-01). "McGillion up for 'Star Trek' role". GateWorld. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  8. ^ "Cho is Sulu, Pegg is Scotty in Star Trek!". ComingSoon.net. 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  9. ^ Alexander Singer (director). Relics (Television production). Paramount Pictures. Oh, I may be captain by rank... but I never wanted to be anything else but an engineer. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |dates= ignored (help)
  10. ^ a b Nemeck, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
  11. ^ "Orci and Kurtzman Reveal Star Trek Details In TrekMovie Fan Q&A". TrekMovie.com. 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-06-18. 'Admiral Archer' is a reference to the Archer we all know and love
  12. ^ "'Scotty' beamed back to Scotland". BBC. 2005-07-21. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  13. ^ "Richard Arnold: Scotty Will Be Born In Aberdeen". TrekToday. 2005-08-08.
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