Goodbye, Scotty

Final Space voyage for Scotty's ashes

Actor James Doohan, 85, died of pneumonia and Alzheimer's at his home. And as fitting tribute, there's a plan to blast some of his ashes into space. I won't type the expected pun, but of all the characters on Star Trek, his was the most personable, the one you wanted to be a favourite uncle who would come into to town with some bootlegged Romulan Ale. Although I know good actors can play very different characters, James Doohan always seemed to infuse some of his own personality into Scott.

When I was growing up, I had a terrible crush on Chekov, my favourite, but I liked most of all in terms of personality McCoy and Scotty. It's a shame that these two would be the first to pass. Like most anything to do with Star Trek, they became a sort of icon of our times, someone virtually anyone who had been exposed to a television recognises, even if not a die-hard Trekkie. That's a kind of immortality most people dream of, you know.

Anyway, I'm sorry to see him go, and wish his family and friends well.