Star Trek’sLt. Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) made a long-awaited confession about his engineering prowess inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock. Throughout the three seasons ofStar Trek: The Original Series,Scotty gained a reputation as a"miracle worker"for his ability to fix almost any engineering-related problem. As Chief Engineer on the USS Enterprise of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner),Scotty maintained the ship’s engines, as well as the transporter.Scotty was more familiar with the Enterprise’s engines than anyone else, and he was responsible for saving the ship and its crew on numerous occasions.
As the second officer on the Enterprise, Scotty took command when both Captain Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) were on an away mission or otherwise incapacitated. Despite being more than capable of taking on a command role, Scotty never sought out a command position, preferring to remain an engineer.He took great pride in his work and took personal offense when others insulted the Enterprise.Scotty became known for completing his work faster than most, and it was not entirely by accident that he earned the title of"miracle worker,“as he revealed in a conversation with Admiral Kirk inStar Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Scotty’s Confession To Kirk In Star Trek III Explained
Scotty Confessed That He Padded The Estimates About How Long It Would Take Him To Fix Things
After the opening credits ofStar Trek III: The Search for Spock,the USS Enterprise prepares to return home to Earth. Admiral Kirk asks Scotty how long it will take to repair the ship after the damage it suffered in the battle against Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Scotty answers:“Eight weeks, sir.But you don’t have eight weeks, so I’ll do it for ya in two.“Kirk then asks Scotty if he"always multiplied [his] repair estimates by a factor of four,“to which Scotty replies:“Certainly, sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?”
Is Star Trek’s Scotty Really A Miracle Worker? How USS Enterprise’s Engineer Got His Famous Nickname
Montgomery “Scotty” Scott is known as Star Trek’s resident “miracle worker.” Here’s how the famous Scottish engineer got such an impressive title.
Kirk assures Scotty that his reputation remains intact, but it does raise the question of whether Scotty really is a"miracle worker.“Still, the Enterprise would have been lost many times over if not for Scotty’s quick thinking.Scotty proved himself yet again inStar Trek III:The Search for Spock,helpingKirk steal the Enterpriseby automating the ship so that a skeleton crew could pilot it. Scotty also sabotaged the experimental USS Excelsior to prevent it from following the Enterprise to the Genesis Planet. While Scott’s status as a"miracle worker"may be up for debate, no one can doubt that he’s an excellent engineer.
What Happened When Scotty Told Star Trek: TNG’s Geordi Why He’s A Miracle Worker
Geordi Was Not Particularly Impressed By Scotty’s Secret
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Relics” revealed that after his retirement from Starfleet, Scotty was traveling on the USS Jenolan when the ship crashed on a Dyson sphere, with Scotty and one other crewmate the only survivors. Knowing that they would not survive long enough to be rescued,Scotty rigged the transporter systemto hold on to their signatures indefinitely. Seventy-five years later, the USS Enterprise-D picked up the Jenolan’s distress signal andrescued Scotty from the transporter buffer.Scotty soon finds himself out of his depth on the new Enterprise, as most of his engineering knowledge is now outdated.
Doohan himself chose the name “Montgomery Scott” as a nod to his own Scottish heritage, as his mother was of Scottish descent.
When Scotty tries to help Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) in Engineering, he is surprised when La Forge gives Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) an accurate estimate of how long a task will take. Scotty tells Geordi thathe’s"got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker.“Unfortunately, Geordi does not have time to learn these secrets and asks Scotty to leave him to his work. In the end, Scotty’s knowledge of 23rd-century technology helps save the Enterprise-D, proving that he’s still one ofStar Trek’sbest engineers,“miracle worker"or not.
