“We could not have landed a better Scotty…”
In the long and storied history of Star Trek, the USS Enterprise never would have become the famed flagship of the Federation if it hadn’t been for a certain miracle worker holding down the fort in engineering. And many Trekkies and Trekkers regard the late James Doohan as the quintessential Mr. Scott. However, Strange New Worlds actress Melissa Navia disagrees.
“Martin [Quinn] was just wonderful. He is truly the best Scotty," Navia said via ScreenRant. "We could not have landed a better Scotty, and he can touch on everything. And so, seeing him play with those comedic elements and getting to bounce off of him was just very easy.”
Personally, I have loved Quinn’s portrayal of Mr. Scott ever since he joined Strange New Worlds during season 2’s dark and twisted finale, “Hegemony.” And I really enjoyed how Scotty and Lt. Erica Ortegas (Navia) went from having an engineer-versus-helmsman rivalry to becoming close friends by the end of SNW season 4.
Nonetheless — I think a large portion of the fandom will agree with me — Doohan is the best Mr. Scott… hands down. Much like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy’s legacies are locked into pop culture’s pantheon because of their unforgettable portrayals as Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock respectively on The Original Series, Doohan has achieved the same place in television and film history because of Scotty.
Let me put this another way: if given the choice between Star Trek’s most beloved miracle workers (Doohan, Quinn, Simon Pegg), who are you gonna call — thanks, Ghostbusters — when the chips are down in engineering and Kirk needs warp speed in three minutes?
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Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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