TWITrek Character Insight No. 6: Montgomery Scott

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
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Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, our subject is Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott from TOS.





Scotty served as the chief engineer aboard the USS Enterprise for nearly 30 years and earned a reputation as a miracle worker during his service.  Scotty brings color and humor to many TOS episodes and movies as a result of his good-natured attitude and his Scottish tendencies.

Scotty was second officer on the Enterprise behind only Kirk and Spock, and that led him into many difficult command situations in which he excelled.  Despite this outstanding record whenever he took command, Scotty never pursued his own command because he always wanted to be just an engineer.

One of the benefits of being Scottish is a high tolerance to alcohol, and Scotty used this power to incapacitate a Kelvan agent attempting to take over the Enterprise.  Scotty prefers Scotch whiskey and refers to other drinks such as vodka as "sodapop" and "milk."

Keeping with the stereotypes of his nationality, Scotty is also an avid bagpipes player as evidenced by the heart-wrenching playing of Amazing Grace at Spock's funeral in The Wrath of Khan. 

Scotty also links the first two generations of Star Trek in two ways: he was on the Enterprise-B when Kirk was lost to the Nexus in the TNG movie Generations, and he was discovered by the Enterprise-D in the episode "Relics" after being lost for decades in transporter buffer at a Dyson sphere.



One Notable Quote comes from The Trouble With Tribbles in season 2 (episode 13):  
Before they went to warp, I transported the whole kit'n'kaboodle into their engine room...where they'll be no tribble at all.

Best Episodes Featuring Scotty:
Wolf In The Fold, season 2 episode 7
The Apple, season 2 episode 9
By Any Other Name, season 2 episode 21

Actor: James Doohan originally played Scotty and had a 50-year acting career before his death in 2005.  Doohan auditioned for the part with a Scottish accent that stuck on the character because he thought Scottish people made the best engineers.  Simon Pegg took over the role in the 2009 reboot and he is best known for comedic work in Hot Fuzz, Sean of the Dead, and Run Fatboy Run.