YARN
Fleet Captain
NOTE: Don't be a blockhead and take this thread too seriously. We all love Scotty.
1. The Charge: Exaggerating repair estimates.
The Evidence: Star Trek III and Relics
In Star Trek III it's played as an apparent joke:
James T. Kirk: How much refit time before we can take her out again?
Montgomery Scott: Eight weeks, Sir, [Kirk opens his mouth] but ye don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for ye in two.
James T. Kirk: Mr.Scott. Have you always multiplied your repair estimates by a factor of four?
Montgomery Scott: Certainly, Sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?
In TNG Relics, however, we learn that this is no joke:
SCOTT: Do you mind a little advice? Starfleet captains are like children. They want everything right now and they want it their way, but the secret is to give them only what they need, not what they want.
LAFORGE: Yeah, well I told the Captain I'd have this analysis done in an hour.
SCOTT: How long will it really take?
LAFORGE: An hour.
SCOTT: You didn't tell him how long it would really take, did you?
LAFORGE: Of course I did.
SCOTT: Oh, laddie, you've got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker. Now listen
LAFORGE: Captain Scott. I've tried to be patient, I've tried to be polite. But I've got a job to do here, and quite frankly, you're in the way.
The Significance: When your Captain asks how long it will take to fix the warp drive while fighting off a Romulan Warbird, this is NOT the time to play head games so that you can look like a genius. Think about it, in all these crisis situations, how often was Kirk lied to about information upon which the lives of the entire crew depended?
2. The Charge: Sexual Harassment/Inappropriate Behavior
The Evidence: Who Mourns for Adonis, The Lights of Zetar
Scotty develops the occasional crush on junior officers.
In Who Mourns for Adonis, Scotty develops an infatuation with Carolynn. He puts her on the spot to get coffee on the bridge in front of the Captain and the ship's Doctor, she could hardly say no. McCoy sees this, and tells the Captain that he doesn't like it (he's into her, but she's not into him). Later on, Scotty jeopardizes the lives of the crew when he get jealous over Adonis cutting in.
In The Lights of Zetar, Scotty (the ship's second officer) crushes on another Lieutenant. After the alien contact, Scotty stops hanging out in the engine room and stays by her bedside, running for interference for Lt. Romaine when she resists Kirk's and McCoy's orders. Kirk calls engineering, but he's not at his post.
The Significance: Even Kirk knows better than to mess with the crew. There is a conflict of interest between his position of power, her duties, and his desires. And as one might expect, his infatuation interferes with his job duties in both instances.
3. The Charge: Misogyny
The Evidence: Wolf in the Fold
MCCOY: My work, Jim. This is prescription stuff. Don't forget, the explosion that threw Scotty against a bulkhead was caused by a woman.
KIRK: Physically he's all right. Am I right in assuming that?
MCCOY: Oh, yes, yes. As a matter of fact, considerable psychological damage could have been caused. For example, his total resentment toward women.
KIRK: He seems he's overcoming his resentment.
MCCOY: Of course, in my professional opinion, when he gets back to the ship, he's going to hate you for making him leave Argelius. But then he will have lost total resentment toward women.
Yep, one accidence in engineering and Scotty has total resentment toward women. And then what happens? Once again, Scott show an interest in a woman who appears to be half his age, and the next thing you know she winds up dead. How severe was that resentment? We don't know, but what we do know is that when women started winding up dead, this closest colleagues didn't really know themselves. His resentment was so great, apparently, that even they had their doubts about Mr. Scott.
The Significance: Scotty has always taken a paternalistic attitude toward women, patting them on the head (verbally) and calling them "lass" and explaining things to them like they were children. Now, if one bump on the head is enough to make Scotty TOTALLY RESENT women, then something was probably already wrong in the first place. Why not resent the person who did it? Why not resent the conditions which created the accident? No, this was proof for Scott, at some deep emotional level, that women were to blame for his problems. Imagine, for example, that Uhura accidentally bonked McCoy on the head and Bones suddenly developed a "total resentment toward all negroes." This episode reveals that Scotty has some real issues here.
4. The Charge: Alcoholism
The Evidence: Any episode where Scotty has more than 15 lines.
The Significance: He's the chief engineer on military/science research vessel which is constantly dealing with life and death engineering challenges.
1. The Charge: Exaggerating repair estimates.
The Evidence: Star Trek III and Relics
In Star Trek III it's played as an apparent joke:
James T. Kirk: How much refit time before we can take her out again?
Montgomery Scott: Eight weeks, Sir, [Kirk opens his mouth] but ye don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for ye in two.
James T. Kirk: Mr.Scott. Have you always multiplied your repair estimates by a factor of four?
Montgomery Scott: Certainly, Sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?
In TNG Relics, however, we learn that this is no joke:
SCOTT: Do you mind a little advice? Starfleet captains are like children. They want everything right now and they want it their way, but the secret is to give them only what they need, not what they want.
LAFORGE: Yeah, well I told the Captain I'd have this analysis done in an hour.
SCOTT: How long will it really take?
LAFORGE: An hour.
SCOTT: You didn't tell him how long it would really take, did you?
LAFORGE: Of course I did.
SCOTT: Oh, laddie, you've got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker. Now listen
LAFORGE: Captain Scott. I've tried to be patient, I've tried to be polite. But I've got a job to do here, and quite frankly, you're in the way.
The Significance: When your Captain asks how long it will take to fix the warp drive while fighting off a Romulan Warbird, this is NOT the time to play head games so that you can look like a genius. Think about it, in all these crisis situations, how often was Kirk lied to about information upon which the lives of the entire crew depended?
2. The Charge: Sexual Harassment/Inappropriate Behavior
The Evidence: Who Mourns for Adonis, The Lights of Zetar
Scotty develops the occasional crush on junior officers.
In Who Mourns for Adonis, Scotty develops an infatuation with Carolynn. He puts her on the spot to get coffee on the bridge in front of the Captain and the ship's Doctor, she could hardly say no. McCoy sees this, and tells the Captain that he doesn't like it (he's into her, but she's not into him). Later on, Scotty jeopardizes the lives of the crew when he get jealous over Adonis cutting in.
In The Lights of Zetar, Scotty (the ship's second officer) crushes on another Lieutenant. After the alien contact, Scotty stops hanging out in the engine room and stays by her bedside, running for interference for Lt. Romaine when she resists Kirk's and McCoy's orders. Kirk calls engineering, but he's not at his post.
The Significance: Even Kirk knows better than to mess with the crew. There is a conflict of interest between his position of power, her duties, and his desires. And as one might expect, his infatuation interferes with his job duties in both instances.
3. The Charge: Misogyny
The Evidence: Wolf in the Fold
MCCOY: My work, Jim. This is prescription stuff. Don't forget, the explosion that threw Scotty against a bulkhead was caused by a woman.
KIRK: Physically he's all right. Am I right in assuming that?
MCCOY: Oh, yes, yes. As a matter of fact, considerable psychological damage could have been caused. For example, his total resentment toward women.
KIRK: He seems he's overcoming his resentment.
MCCOY: Of course, in my professional opinion, when he gets back to the ship, he's going to hate you for making him leave Argelius. But then he will have lost total resentment toward women.
Yep, one accidence in engineering and Scotty has total resentment toward women. And then what happens? Once again, Scott show an interest in a woman who appears to be half his age, and the next thing you know she winds up dead. How severe was that resentment? We don't know, but what we do know is that when women started winding up dead, this closest colleagues didn't really know themselves. His resentment was so great, apparently, that even they had their doubts about Mr. Scott.
The Significance: Scotty has always taken a paternalistic attitude toward women, patting them on the head (verbally) and calling them "lass" and explaining things to them like they were children. Now, if one bump on the head is enough to make Scotty TOTALLY RESENT women, then something was probably already wrong in the first place. Why not resent the person who did it? Why not resent the conditions which created the accident? No, this was proof for Scott, at some deep emotional level, that women were to blame for his problems. Imagine, for example, that Uhura accidentally bonked McCoy on the head and Bones suddenly developed a "total resentment toward all negroes." This episode reveals that Scotty has some real issues here.
4. The Charge: Alcoholism
The Evidence: Any episode where Scotty has more than 15 lines.
The Significance: He's the chief engineer on military/science research vessel which is constantly dealing with life and death engineering challenges.
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