Star Trek’s most iconic engineer was often labeled a “miracle worker,” but does Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan, Simon Pegg, Martin Quinn) actually deserve such a title? As far back asStar Trek: The Original Series, characters throughout the entireStar Trektimelinehave referred to Scotty as a miracle worker. He was an engineer capable of doing whatever his commanding officer asked, even when faced with the impossible. These miracles usually involved getting a badly damaged warp core up and running in record time or ensuring an incapacitated Enterprise had weapons at the ready in dire situations.
Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott was the Chief Engineer aboard severalversions of the Starship Enterprisecommanded by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner, Chris Pine, Paul Wesley). By the timeStar Trek: The Original Seriesended, Scotty was the standard to which every engineer inStar Trekwas held. Other Starfleet engineers, likeStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) andStar Trek: The Next Generation’s Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), are compared to Scotty because of the many “miracles” he performed. However, the real history behind Scotty’s “miracle worker” title is a little more complicated.
Is Star Trek’s Scotty Really A Miracle Worker?
Montgomery Scott is undoubtedly one of Starfleet’s most talented engineers
Every version of Scotty inStar Trekhas the same ability to somehow overcome extreme hardships and do the impossible. This trend continues in modern depictions and can be seen as recently as Martin Quinn’s portrayal of the Scotsman, who aids thecast ofStar Trek: Strange New Worldsduring a conflict with the Gorn. In many episodes ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesand its subsequent films, Scotty is depicted as saving the day with surprising solutions in difficult positions. Despite Scotty’s impressive engineering skills and commendable ability to work well under pressure, the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer isn’t perfect.
Scotty Has His Old Star Trek: TOS Job In Strange New Worlds Season 3
The first clip of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 shows that newly minted series regular Scotty has his old TOS job back on the Enterprise.
Despite earning the reputation as a miracle worker and never denying it, Scotty has a good reason his work is so acclaimed. Instead of giving Captain Kirk an accurate estimation of the time it would take to complete a task, Lt. Commander Scott would quadruple that timeframe. So, instead of taking the actual two days, Scotty would claim the repair would take a week or more. When he completed the task early, usually just in time to stop theUSS Enterprise from being destroyed, Scotty appeared to be a miracle worker to everyone on board, including the captain.
How & When Scotty Got His Miracle Worker Nickname
Scotty took creative liberties when it came to his stellar reputation
When working alongside Geordi La Forge inStar Trek: The Next Generation, Scotty reveals his overestimation trick to a surprised La Forge, who claims to have never known about it. The same technique is used inStar Trek: Lower Decks, where it’s referred to as “buffer time.” By the time the events ofStar Trek 3: The Search for Spocktake place, Captain Kirk is at least partially aware of his chief engineer’s trick. He asks if Scotty has “always multiplied your repair estimates by four,” and Scotty responds, “How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?”
Scotty was first referred to as the doer of miracles in theStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisode “The Doomsday Machine,” and he has continued to receive that compliment ever since. Each version of Scotty, including the 3-film portrayal by Simon Pegg, has added to the character’s impressive and innovative repertoire. While it may just be a deception, Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott solidified his place in both Starfleet andStar Trekhistory by ensuring he had ample time to make repairs that saved countless lives over the course of his service on the USS Enterprise.
