Why no THOLIAN instructions for Scotty?

Because he's Below the Line.

 

I was never in the Navy, but I have to imagine that on anything bigger than a PT boat, Chief Engineer is a full time job. On the Enterprise? Forget about it. I can't see Scotty wearing two hats in a realistic storyline.

 

The orders seemed absurdly specific to their situation. It assumes Kirk has died, and Spock and McCoy survive him. It assumes they're a in a protracted situation where they have time to listen to the tape and do not yet have a new captain assigned. It seems more likely for the emergency to be resolved immediately after Kirk's death, e.g. a sneak attack from an enemy that the Enterprise repels but suffers casualties in the battle. When I first saw this I was confused. I wondered if Kirk left tapes for many situations or if he had foreknowledge of this particular situation. Now I just think it's convenient writing.

 

Maybe they did plan to do a scene like that with Kirk's instructions for Mr.Scott but Shatner vetoed it because he's the star!!!
JB

 

Or it must be Kirk cheating again, using time travel info from the future. How else does he beat thousands-to-one odds each week? Nah, he's just that good.

 

Well, it's not realistic for first/executive officer to be a part-time job, either, but evidently it can be. Scotty's assistants (like DeSalle) should be able to step up in the engine room, plus Scotty has a station on the bridge and can apparently run things from there. BTW, if we're talking realism, the captain and first officer's battle stations should not be in the same place, so they aren't both taken out at once. If I had my way Spock would go to auxiliary control for general quarters.

 

We should not forget that Spock is superhuman, though. The 1980s and beyond spinoffs leave XOs be XOs, and even TMP merely temporarily forces a double responsibility on the mere human Decker, as part of Kirk's hubris.

Possibly Spock, too, was "just" the XO in the pilot, and perhaps only the Chief Science Officer in a few eps afterwards, until settling on the double role where previously high-ranking folks like Mitchell had shared the responsibilities...

Timo Saloniemi

 

I like that - it's a good explanation of why he's wearing the command colour tunic in WNMHGB. It's a little surprising for him to "downgrade" to a science dept tunic whilst still holding all his XO responsibilities, but Vulcans will be Vulcans
And he says in Mirror Mirror "I much prefer my scientific duties"

 

Quirky Kirky perhaps?
JB

 

Kirk wasn't leaving behind goodbye messages for everyone, he was giving his friends - the alien/human hybrid and the doctor who constantly fought with him - a pep talk. Kirk was making sure the command structure was sound and giving the crew a solid center to focus on. He knows they'd bicker and he was telling them to grow up and work together. Nobody else ever gave Kirk the problems these guys did. Spock in conflict with himself and McCoy bitching about Spock.

He didn't trust his guys to focus on their own and he was right. They sucked without Kirk around. That's why the trio worked so well.

Anyways, Scotty wasn't his pal. Bones and Spock were. And as we know, Kirk didn't give a shit about the Gang of Four.

Oh wait, that was Shatner.

 

It's a holodeck simulation, so it need not be a simple stupid recording. Instead, Yar could have programmed her likeness to interact with all those who deign to attend, turning to face them, choosing her words to fit the audience, etc. It would only take a bit of programming time - perhaps Yar was into that stuff like some today are into 'tubing their thoughts to the world?

Kirk might have done the same, for all we know. Perhaps he was simply old-fashioned (or not into comms/entertainment gimmicks) and chose a non-interactive recording for that reason.

Or then it was more interactive than we first might have thought..

Timo Saloniemi

 

"...and if Mr. Leslie is unavailable, seek out security guard #7, you'll find that he...."

 

Iconic but given less worthy screen time than anyone else.

Making Chekov fodder for comic relief (TV Tropes rips the show big-time with Chekov's usage in the first two seasons especially. As had TV Sins' youtube channel) was not for the best, though in season 3 he's more cut and dry. The Davy Jones' stunt double wig did not help either.

In the movies, especially IV onward, he's just comedy fodder.

 

It’s a budgeting term. In movie/TV lingo the fixed costs (stars, writers, etc.) are the "above the line" and usually contractually identify the people who go in the opening titles and on posters. Shatner, Nimoy and Kelly were “above the line”. Everyone else is replaceable, e.g. Doohan, etc. thus “below the line”.

 

Is this confirmation Chekov was aboard during "Space Seed"?

 

But what is a Science Officer? It appears to be just the captain's science advisor, and possibly department head for the ship's blue shirts, but not necessarily. It might even be just an unofficial title that Kirk accords to Spock in recognition of Spock's often-seen expertise, and not a Starfleet thing at all.

 

Scotty doesn't understand Tholian....
****Reads first post****
Never mind.

 

In The Galileo Seven, Spock and McCoy carry on arguing heatedly about different philosophies, often veering into academic questions that don't have a clear actionable purpose in their current situation.
Scotty is in the background working figuring out solutions and executing them. It almost felt like Scotty could have crashed alone and been better off.

It actually rings true. Sometimes you have leaders skilled in soft people skills needing politics to be carefully managed to no one's toes are stepped on and no one feels like he's being thrown under the bus. The engineers are hardly aware and just work the problems.

 

More likely official, though, since the starbase computer uses "science officer" for Spock in "Court Martial" and the Constellation also has one.