Original artwork, not a still
Disputed attribution: Scotty
I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!
— Star Trek: The Original Series · 1966
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Scotty's strained engine-room report is the template for every ship-in-trouble scene that followed, and fans have long remembered it in a fuller, more Scottish form than the series ever gave it. The popular wording is a polished paraphrase of what the show actually says, but the idea is exact: a loyal engineer pushing his machine past what it was built for. Parodies, impressions and later Trek all borrow it.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Star Trek: The Original SeriesShow the scene
In "The Changeling" (Star Trek, season 2, first aired 29 September 1967), the Enterprise is investigating a silent star system whose people, the Malurians, appear to have been wiped out. Then an unseen attacker starts hurling energy bolts at the ship. Kirk orders full power to the shields and Scotty answers from engineering that he is giving them all they have. Spock warns that the shields can survive only three more hits, and Scotty soon reports the engines are near their critical limit. By the fourth strike the shields are down, and Kirk's only move is to hail the unseen vessel and try to talk. The popular "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!" never appears in that form in the original series.
Sources (2)
- Star Trek transcript, "The Changeling" (chakoteya.net)Bridge scene after the Malurian distress call: Kirk calls for full power to the shields and Scott repliesReference checked
- Wikiquote, Star Trek: The Original Series (Misattributed section)Misattributed, 'She can't take much more of this, Captain'Reference checked
Context reviewed
