What illness did Scotty have that was treated by Dr. McCoy?
Admiral Kirk arrives aboard the Enterprise for an inspection of the training crew. While inspecting the crew as they stand in line. He comes to Scotty and says the following.
From The Script
KIRK
(continuing to Scotty)
Mr. Scott, you old space dog. You're
well?
SCOTTY
I had me a wee bout -- but Dr. McCoy
pulled me through.
KIRK
Oh? A wee bout of what, Mr. Scott?
Uncomfortable, Scotty exchanges a glance with Bones --
BONES
Shore leave, Admiral.
KIRK
Ah.
I've have seen this film a number of times, and always wondered. What was wrong with Scotty. It's clear that he went to Dr. McCoy for treatment of something, but that it was a personal thing so McCoy says "Shore leave" to the Admiral.
I don't remember anything happening to Scotty in the first Star Trek film that could be related.
Best Answer
As pointed out, there doesn't appear to be an official explanation for this. However, due to several television episodes that show Scotty's penchant for drink (alcohol), plus the habit sailors have for getting very drunk on shore leave, it is quite possible that Scotty was simply talking about a hangover that Bones assisted him in shortening.
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What happened Scotty?
After serving aboard 11 starships in a career spanning 52 years and retiring at the age of 72 with the rank of Captain, Scotty was aboard a transport shuttle en route to a retirement colony when it crashed into a Dyson sphere; stranded, he set the transporter to cycle indefinitely and "stored" himself in the buffer for ...What did Scotty do after he left the Enterprise D?
After tendering his resignation, Scotty was hired by the government of Risa to rebuild that planet's weather modification net. Once that job was completed, he was offered and accepted a position as a greeter at the El Dorado Hotel.Is Scotty dead?
Cmdr. Montgomery \u201cScotty\u201d Scott, the chief engineer of the starship Enterprise on the sci-fi series Star Trek, died on Wednesday, July 20. Doohan, who was 85, passed at his home in Redmond, Washington, due to complications from pneumonia and Alzheimer's Disease.Why are doctors called bones?
"Bones" was a nickname for Doctor Leonard McCoy in multiple realities. The use of "Bones" originates with the term "sawbones" in 19th century American medicine where military doctors, especially surgeons, were called "sawbones" because of all the amputations they had to perform during the Civil War.Meeting Admiral McCoy | Star Trek: The Next Generation - Encounter at Farpoint
More answers regarding what illness did Scotty have that was treated by Dr. McCoy?
Answer 2
I always thought it was just a joke in reference to the fact that Scotty had been persuaded to take vacation time. Maybe it seems more that way in British English but definitely to me the exchange like this made sense:
"You're well?" - just means "how are you doing", seems like Kirk hasn't seen him in a while, which would make sense if Kirk is an admiral now and Scotty is still active on board a ship.
"Wee bout" - Scotty lining up his joke
"Oh? A wee bout of what, Mr. Scott?" - Kirk seems surprised Scotty is saying he had some illness
"shore leave" - ahh he wasn't ill, but taking time off is like an illness to Scotty.
Answer 3
I agree with the other posters on here that suggest it alludes to an STD.
The phrase "a wee bout" suggests an infection, not anything drink related, plus the use of the words 'sea dog' and 'shore leave' are usually connected with the old tales of sailors having a girl in every port (and a port in every girl).
Answer 4
Being a Navy engineering vet myself (MM2), "wee bout" and "shore leave" put together suggests a wild night of partying followed by a bad hangover. The STD thing has never jived with me for several reasons:
- His age.
- His character.
- He's an engineer. We engineer types are reclusive in nature and like to hang out with other engineers (even at the bars), and we have a harder time with the ladies. You see a perfect example of this in Star Trek (2009).
- STD's, diseases, cancer, aids, etc etc are all wiped out in the Star Trek world.
Answer 5
Scotty was hungover. It's simple. In the original series we see Mr Scott enjoy a drink or make references to one. While on shore leave, he drank too much.
Answer 6
Star Trek: The Motion Picture took place almost a decade earlier than Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, despite there being only three years between their production; so this is definitely not a reference to anything in ST:TMP.
@TylerShads answer in comments above is one strong possibility -- that this is an oblique reference to Scotty having acquired an STI. It could be something more innocent, like a significant stomach bug brought on by too much drink and rich food.
There is, however, no canonical answer to the question. Even the novelizations do not provide details.
Answer 7
Given that Kirk is the only one apparently having sex in the Star Trek universe, it seems more likely that Scotty had some malaise actually from shore leave, like a hangover, dysentery, a broken limb, etc.
In that world, each impairment would be cause for not being on duty, but also trivially and nearly instantly cured by medicine.
Answer 8
In the book version of the movie, written by Vonda McIntyre, it's explained the Scotty had suffered a heart attack.
Answer 9
I thought it too was a reference to Scotty being a workaholic because of this scene from "The Trouble With Tribbles".
Capt. Kirk: Another technical journal, Scotty? Scott: Aye. Capt. Kirk: Don't you ever relax? Scott: I am relaxing.
In other words, Scotty loves him some Enterprise and can't stand to be away from it. Having to take shore leave is not something he wants to do.
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