Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

Thursday, July 21, 2005

One last beam up

James Doohan, "Scotty" of Star Trek fame, died yesterday at the age of 85 due to pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease.

Star Trek was the very first bit of science fiction that I ever fell in love with and Scotty was always my favorite character.

The thing I absolutely adored about the original Star Trek was how almost all the problems that plague us now as a species had been wiped away, allowing humanity to boldly go where no one had gone before. There was no racism or nationalism, no money or religion. People of all colors worked along side people from all countries and it was never an issue. I once heard a story that Nichelle Nichols, the beautiful actress who played Uhura, was fed up with being on Star Trek and had submitted her resignation. She withdrew it when Martin Luther King Jr. Himself asked her to stay on, saying that the role of a female black woman in a position of respect and power was too breakthrough to let go. This series was truly ahead of it's time.

If I had a dime for every time I have used the phrase "Beam me up Scotty" in my own life I'd be a very rich woman (I frequently feel the need to be "beamed up.") Whenever I feel stressed out or overworked I can hear Doohan's voice in the back of my mind saying in that Scottish burr "Captain, she's giving us all she can!" Thanks to a vivid imagination and many hours spent watching Star Trek, Scotty is one of the voices that live in my head. :)

So rest in peace Mr. Doohan and thank you so much for all the wonderful hours of entertainment.
posted by GodlessMom, 6:46 AM

10 Comments:

Blogger Saur♥Kraut said:

Ditto. I loved that show.
Posted at 8:57 AM  

Blogger Fred said:

I read his obituary; he had a child when he was 80! The other line I always remember him saying was "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!"

I'm not a Star Trek fanatic, but I always watched in amusement when a new character appeared in an episode. You always knew that somehow, they would die.

What a great series.
Posted at 10:43 AM  

Blogger dddragon said:

Yeah, he was great, and I loved the original series. Took a long time for me to warm up to TNG.
Posted at 11:48 AM  

Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said:

Not a treky, but my husband is.
Nevertheless, the message of rest in peace is sent as well.
Posted at 12:40 PM  

Blogger Tom & Icy said:

That's so sad to hear about him.
Now we can really say, "Beam me up Scotty!" The show wouldn't have been the same without him, nor would we.
Posted at 12:59 PM  

Blogger Zeppellina said:

When it came on the news last night, my first reaction was to call on my other half and say..It`s Scotty.... He`s been beamed up!
I love Star Trek, could watch the re-runs again and again!
Even though Scotty had the one of the worst Scottish accents...it was adorable!!
He will be missed.
Posted at 1:21 PM  

Blogger TLP said:

But he had a nice, long life. Also, he will be remembered for a very, very long time.
Posted at 3:46 PM  

Blogger Lila said:

Great entry. Yeah, Scotty was a great character, too.
Posted at 8:02 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I have sometimes felt ridiculous that my world view, and hence my (perhaps) irrational faith in the United Nations, is influenced by Star Trek (TNG in my case). Thanks for your thoughts.
Posted at 4:18 AM  

Blogger Kindurco said:

I remember watching the original Star Trek in the sixties when it was first aired here in Scotland - and hoping that we would get to the stars in my lifetime. - well we got men to the moon at least. Growing up in the sixties and attending an all girls school which put the emphasis on academic achievement, I was lucky enough to think that anything was possible for my future, and Star Trek reinforced this. I know that the thinking behind casting a scot as the engineer came about because most of the world's ship engineers were scottish, coming from the reputation for 'Clydebuilt' ships. Gene Rodenberry just carried it through to the future. There was still a pride in one's nationality but not the kind of which is destructive. I also remember that while the programme was on I was transported into other worlds - and apart from waiting each week for the next episode, I also started reading a variety of Science Fiction Books too - developing my reading skills and imagination at the same time! I think that my best memory of 'Scotty' was in one of the big budget movies where he was showing 'Admiral Kirk' around and boasting that he 'knew the ship like the back of his hand' then turned a corner and promptly knocked himself out on a low beam!!
I do not remember seeing James in many other roles after Star Trek, but he was an excellent actor and will be missed greatly by his family and friends. My thoughts go out to them at this sad time.
Posted at 11:22 AM  

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