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.[7] The character almost did not 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 through the intervention of Doohan's agent did the character remain.[7]
Doohan 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.[8] Doohan himself chose Scotty's first name, Montgomery (Doohan's own middle name), in honor of his maternal grandfather James Montgomery.[9] In a third-season production memo, Roddenberry said Doohan "is capable of handling anything we throw at him" and that the "dour Scot" works better when being protective of the ship's engines.[10]
Doohan depiction
Scotty (the fictional Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott) spent part of his life in Aberdeen, but was born in Linlithgow Scotland.[11] He wears Clan Scott's tartan as part of his dress uniform.[12] Doohan claimed to have based Scotty's accent on an Aberdeen accent he once heard.[8] 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,[3] commanding the ship and recording its log when both Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are not aboard.[13] Scotty's technical knowledge and skill allow him to devise unconventional and effective last-minute solutions to dire problems.[2] Scotty's identity is strongly connected to the Enterprise itself, and the character often takes a paternal attitude toward the ship.[2] He is frequently the liaison between Captain Kirk's ambitious tactical plans and what is technically feasible in the realm of the starship's capabilities. Scotty asserts in the TNG episode "Relics" that he "never wanted to be anything else but an engineer".[14] In addition to his engineering abilities, Scotty is often shown to be a fairly heavy drinker but is only shown drunk twice, in "By Any Other Name" and "Relics".
After serving aboard 11 starships in a career spanning 52 years and retiring at the age of 72 with the rank of Captain, Scotty 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 indefinitely and "stored" himself in the buffer for 75 years before being recovered by the USS Enterprise-D crew in "Relics".[3] Even though he is no longer able to serve effectively as an engineer and struggles to get used to 24th-century life, Scotty nevertheless helps save the Enterprise-D from being trapped within the sphere.[15] At the end, the 147-year-old Captain Montgomery Scott is given an Enterprise shuttlecraft and left to explore space.
Pegg depiction
Simon Pegg (pictured in 2008) portrayed Scotty from 2009 until 2016
In September 2007, Paul McGillion auditioned for the Scotty role in the 2009 Star Trek reboot and received James Doohan's son Chris's endorsement.[16] However, Simon Pegg's casting was announced on October 11, 2007.[17] Pegg's portrayal in the 2009 Star Trek reboot has Scotty stuck working at an isolated outpost as punishment for beaming Admiral Jonathan Archer's[18]prizedbeagle from one planet to the next — and having no idea where it ended up. With assistance from Spock Prime and James Kirk, he joins the Enterprise crew and becomes the ship's chief engineer. Slate.com called Pegg's performance of Scotty in the 2009 Star Trek reboot "juicily comic".[4] The character of Scotty has an expanded role in the film Star Trek Beyond (written by Pegg and Doug Jung), in which he meets an alien woman named Jaylah, who leads him to the crashed Federation starship, the USS Franklin. Working together, the two make the ship again flightworthy and Scotty helps Jaylah to see the value of working together with a crew.[19]
Early years
A young Scotty, played by Scottish actor Martin Quinn, appears in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode "Hegemony". In that episode, Scotty holds the rank of Lieutenant junior grade and is the only survivor of a Gorn attack on his ship, the USS Stardiver. After escaping from the wrecked Stardiver, Scotty took a shuttlecraft and managed to reach a Federation colony on Parnassus Beta. He was then rescued by the Enterprise.
Birthplace dispute
Following Doohan's death, several Scottish towns campaigned to be named Scotty's "official birthplace". Scripts, production materials and Doohan's family support
Aberdeen's claim to being Scotty's birthplace.[20] In "Wolf in the Fold" (1967), Scotty says that he is "an old Aberdeen pub crawler", as he grew up and spent some of his reprobate youth there. Notwithstanding that caveat, Aberdeen city leaders proposed[needs update] plans to erect a monument to the actor and character.[21]
In the song "Boat Drinks", singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett asks, "Could you beam me somewhere, Mister Scott? Any old place, here on Earth or in space, you pick the century and I'll pick the spot." Rap artists D4L have a song "Scotty" that uses his character and Star Trek, as do Relient K in their song "Beaming".
Reception
In 2009, IGN rated Scotty the 16th best character of the Star Trek franchise, including the spin-off shows produced up to that time.[23]
In 2016, Screen Rant rated Scotty as the 18th best character in Star Trek overall as presented in television and film up to that time, highlighting the character as someone who could get the Enterprise out of trouble, with phrases that added both tension and humor to the show.[24] In 2016, Scotty was ranked as the 19th most important character of Starfleet within the Star Trek science fiction universe by Wired magazine.[25]
In 2018, The Wrap placed Scotty as 12th out of 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of the Star Trek franchise prior to Star Trek: Discovery.[26] In 2018, CBR ranked Scotty the ninth best Starfleet character of Star Trek.[27]
In July 2019, Screen Rant ranked Scotty the 5th smartest character of all Star Trek (including later series).[28]
References
^Johnson, Mike. Star Trek Ongoing #19. IDW Publishing, 2013
^ abcAsherman, Alan (1993-05-01). The Star Trek Compendium. Pocket Books. ISBN978-0-671-79612-9.
^Mandel, Geoffrey (1980). USS Enterprise Officer's Manual. New York, NY: Interstellar Associates. p. 23. Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
