Im sure this has been asked before...but why did Scotty take the younglads corpse to the bridge instead of sickbay in STII?
Why Did Scotty do that? (ST II)
- Thread starter PhoenixIreland
- Start date
Think he was in shock. The young trainee was supposed to be his nephew, Peter Preston. -- RR
Scotty? Never!
This question comes up once every month or so. :Sigh:
Joke answer: the lifts screwed up.
"Real" Answer: Scotty knew Preston was too far gone to be worth saving and he brought him to the bridge to prove a point to Kirk.
"Real World"/Meta Answer: It's more dramatic this way.
That's always been my interpretation as well, although some people don't like the idea that Scotty would be blaming Kirk for anything, least of all recklessness amounting to manslaughter.
OTOH, Scotty would probably know from experience that the likeliest place to find the Chief Surgeon would be on the bridge.
Timo Saloniemi
I think Scotty was in emotional shock at the time.
He wouldn't. Besides, it doesn't fit in with the later scene in sickbay.
Again: no way. Not Scotty.
Than what's your explanation for the scene?
Also, why not Scotty? Out of the regular TOS team, he was the character least impressed with young Kirk and his gung-ho ways, the one most likely to consider himself more knowledgeable in matters technical or tactical (even when acquiescing in face of Kirk's superior rank) - and definitely prone to histrionics whenever issues of social or personal nature touched him. If any of the TOS characters were to fall apart, the socially awkward and troubled Scott would be my very first bet.
Not to mention that the ship simply must have been full of people hating Kirk's guts at the time. A superior vessel reduced to a wreck by the carelessness of a has-been who had no business being aboard that ship to begin with, least of all in command, when the contingent of youngsters aboard would have warranted extra caution in all circumstances... It's a wonder Kirk's career didn't end there and then.
Timo Saloniemi
Not to mention that the ship simply must have been full of people hating Kirk's guts at the time. A superior vessel reduced to a wreck by the carelessness of a has-been who had no business being aboard that ship to begin with, least of all in command, when the contingent of youngsters aboard would have warranted extra caution in all circumstances... It's a wonder Kirk's career didn't end there and then.
Timo Saloniemi
The dramatic reason was obvious. Story reason? Let's say the port turbolift shaft was blocked and he had to go up to go down a different lift.
Socially awkward??? You sound like Vonda McIntyre. Doohan never, not once, portrayed Scotty as harborimng any resentment for or dislike of Kirk. Not one iota. What he did depict was an old salt, a military man through and through. One who had been through a hundred battles. One who simply would not lose his shit under fire. He might (indeed, would) get good and shitfaced after the fact, but was constitutionally incapable of losing it in the trenches.
First of all, most of the crew wouldn't have known what was going on at the time, only that they were engaged in battle. Secondly, there's no way they thought of Kirk as a has-been. Cadets like Preston damn near wet themselves when Kirk looked at them.
Anyway...it was Starfleet's fault. They sent the ship out to investigate a situation with a boatload of children.
Which wasn't as bad when they sent the Enterprise-A on a rescue mission with less than a skeleton crew and ship-wide systems failures. It makes one wonder about the Admiralty's judgment...
Prove what point to Kirk????????????
Folks:
Frankly, I prefer the "he was in shock" answer, no matter how that might grate on the sensibilities of TOS worshippers. It makes Scotty more human that his nephew was at death's door and he felt shock and guilt for unwittingly exposing him to such danger at a tender young age.
However, I can buy the additional answer that since Enterprise was damaged in Khan's attack, the turbolift went the wrong way. Not beyond the realm of possibility.
So I say that it was both shock and a damaged turbolift.
And, of course, it was more dramatic and allowed us to see a rare flash of emotion from Spock when he sees Scotty holding Preston.
A good scene, no matter how you rationalize it.
Red Ranger
Frankly, I prefer the "he was in shock" answer, no matter how that might grate on the sensibilities of TOS worshippers. It makes Scotty more human that his nephew was at death's door and he felt shock and guilt for unwittingly exposing him to such danger at a tender young age.
However, I can buy the additional answer that since Enterprise was damaged in Khan's attack, the turbolift went the wrong way. Not beyond the realm of possibility.
So I say that it was both shock and a damaged turbolift.
And, of course, it was more dramatic and allowed us to see a rare flash of emotion from Spock when he sees Scotty holding Preston.
A good scene, no matter how you rationalize it.
Red Ranger
Agreed: Scotty had to have been out of his mind.
Agreed. Made little sense that the training ship USS Enterprise was the only ship available, but it's a good way to get Kirk back in the Captain's chair.
That's always been my interpretation as well, although some people don't like the idea that Scotty would be blaming Kirk for anything, least of all recklessness amounting to manslaughter.
OTOH, Scotty would probably know from experience that the likeliest place to find the Chief Surgeon would be on the bridge.
Timo Saloniemi
I agree with the latter. There was no indication that Scotty blamed Kirk for his nephew's death. The most likely explanation is he either went to Sickbay first and didn't find McCoy, or couldn't get to Sickbay. Remember, the next scene is McCoy working on Preston in Sickbay. Scotty was just trying to save his nephew.
I hope you're not serious! If you are, well, all I can say is that I'm not seeing what you're seeing at all.
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