Time finally ran out today for James Doohan, aka Mr. Scott from Star Trek. This is sad news for me since I’ve been a fan of the show since way back when we were called Trekkies not Trekkers .
I always thought of the crew of the Starship Enterprise more as symbols than as people: Captain Kirk stood for leadership; Spock intellect; McCoy emotionality; Chekov ethnic pride. Uhura stood for femininity (as opposed to beauty–Yeoman Rand, or (a distorted depiction of female) love and dedication–Nurse Chapel). To me, Scotty stood for pride in one’s profession and dedication to craft. Every week, Scotty could be seen tending to his bairns, the engines that powered the ship.
One of my favorite episodes, The Trouble with Tribbles, showed Scotty backing off from a fight with Klingons–until they insult the Enterprise. Then all bets were off.
While I never took to attending conventions or learning to speak Klingonese (I might have if Michael Dorn from TNG came to visit), I remember the show fondly–believe it or not from the time it first aired not reruns (I told you I was old). Ah well, I guess it was finally Scotty’s turn to get beamed up. So long, old friend.
Anyone else have any Star Trek memories?
The Trouble with Tribbles was also one of my favorites.
He will definitely be missed.
I watched Star Trek since I was a wee tot of about 8 years old (which was back in 1975). And to this day, I’m still a Trekkie, having watched every movie, and nearly every television series.
Some of my most valuable life lessons were learned watching Star Trek. They have been known to tackle a host of life issues, from race to sexuality and politics to war. And everything in between.
Deep space nine gave me a huge lesson in love and sexual orientation when Jadzia Dax (a woman) came in contact with a past life lover, a woman! Watching that episode helped me to see sexuality and love from a very different stand point.
For those not up on Jadzia Dax, she is a joined Trill. Jadzia is the host and receiver of the Dax simbiont. Trills are basically a race of symbiotic lifeforms requiring human hosts to continue living. All memories (and emotions) from previous hosts are maintained and passed on to the new host. However, the new hosts personality and memories up to the point of joining, are not altered.
So I’m sure you can see the problem in that episode.
I’m a trekkie for life! Thanks for sharing your thoughts Dee, you brought me back.
Pittershawn out!
Thanks for posting Pittershawn. I agree with you about the life lessons learned. You don’t see many shows these days that tackle tough issues. I had forgotten about Jadzia and her former lover. Memories, memories.