Movies News Talk
Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is returning a familiar face— Montgomery "Scotty" Scott—as a regular. Although he is most known for his work as Chief Engineer in Star Trek: The Original Series, the next season will see him returning to his roots as the Enterprise's Transporter Chief. This choice honors Scotty's early TOS days, when he was frequently seen manning the transporter throughout the first episodes of the show.
Reflecting Scotty's early role in TOS, a brief glimpse from San Diego Comic-Con revealed Scotty running the transporter in season 3. In the original series, his mastery of the transporter was a defining quality; it even produced the famous line "Beam me up, Scotty." Although that particular sentence was never used on film, Scotty's responsibility in sending brilliant crew members to and from different planets came to define Star Trek.
Scotty's appointment as Transporter Chief by Strange New Worlds pays homage to his original position prior to serving as Chief Engineer for the Enterprise. The program seeks to show Scotty's path prior to assuming his legendary engineering duties as a prelude to TOS. In season three, Commander Pelia will remain the Chief Engineer, so shifting Scotty's emphasis to transportation. The show will probably look at what other roles Scotty might play alongside his transporter responsibilities, suggesting his future as the Engineer for the Enterprise.
Scotty's appointment as Transporter Chief begs problems regarding the former transporter chiefs in Strange New Worlds. In season 1, Mr. Kyle—a minor character in TOS—filled the part. A new transporter chief took over in Season 2, but Scotty's series regular performance points to his perhaps permanent hold.
This might eliminate Mr. Kyle and the former chief of season 2 translators from the picture. Kyle's TOS character status, however, would suggest a rotation of the transporter role. Still, Scotty's participation as Transporter Chief lets him be in many pivotal moments all through the season.
In addition to respecting James Doohan's performance of the character, Scotty's comeback gives Quinn's Scotty fresh chances to excel. He has the opportunity to leave his mark on the program as a series regular by displaying his skills in a familiar but new setting.
Although Scotty's transporter responsibilities could be only a stopgap, his presence in Strange New Worlds offers a different viewpoint on the journey of the beloved character. It lets supporters see Scotty grow before his legendary Chief Engineer role, so fostering a greater respect for his character arc and highlighting his abilities in an other light.