The Untold Fate of Star Trek's Original Series Crew

Scotty's Encounter in Star Trek: The Next Generation

Scotty (James Doohan) guest starred in a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and writer Ronald D. Moore explains a cut scene that would have referenced the fates of the crew of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series.

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Star Trek: TNG season 6, episode 4, 'Relics,' brought Montgomery Scott, the famed Chief Engineer of Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) Starship Enterprise to the 24th century. Scotty meeting Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D was a well-received union of two generations of Star Trek that came a year after Ambassador Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) own TNG season 5 appearance.

Doctor McCoy and Data walk down the hall in Star Trek TNG

In the Star Trek oral history 'The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years,' the writer of Star Trek: The Next Generation's 'Relics,' Ronald D. Moore, says that a scene between Scotty and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) was left out of the episode. Troi and Scotty's moment would have addressed what happened to Scotty's Enterprise crew.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. The command crew steal the Enterprise. Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, James Doohan as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott, DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk.

Scotty's Unanswered Questions

Ronald D. Moore reveals a cut scene that would have addressed the fate of Scotty's Enterprise crew, explaining that Scotty wouldn't want to know what became of Kirk, Spock, and their friends.

Captain Kirk Death Star Trek

Moore gives the reasons why the scene was cut, and that, had the moment been included, Scotty wouldn't want to know what happened to his colleagues aboard the Enterprise. Moore's thought was that it would clutter it up to make direct references to the fate of Scotty's crew, as it would lead to having to talk about everybody else, and they didn't want to lock themselves into it.

Star Trek (2009) Leonard Nimoy as Prime Ambassador Spock on Delta Vega.

James Doohan also spoke about his experience on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation, expressing how well he was treated by the cast and crew.

The Unresolved Fates of the Original Series Crew

At the time Scotty appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, only two other Star Trek: The Original Series characters were seen in the 24th century: Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy (DeForest Kelley), who cameoed in TNG's premiere, 'Encounter at Farpoint,' and Ambassador Spock in TNG season 5's 'Unification' two-parter.

Star Trek Generations, which included Scotty and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) in a 23rd-century-set prologue, killed off Captain Kirk. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 2009 then revealed Spock time traveled and crossed universes into the alternate 23rd century Kelvin Timeline. Sadly, Spock never returned from the parallel reality, and the Vulcan hero died in the Kelvin Timeline, as seen in 2016's Star Trek Beyond.

The fates of Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Chekov after the 23rd century remain a mystery. Star Trek: Picard season 3's ending featured a voice cameo by Walter Koenig as Federation President Anton Chekov, implying a 25th-century descendant. The fate of Scotty after he left the USS Enterprise-D in a shuttle at the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation's 'Relics' is also unknown.