James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series and movies who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," died Wednesday. He was 85.

I will always remember him, not just for being the worlds most efficient engineer, but for a story he told on a Star TRrek special about helping a woman not comit suicide. He just kept inviting her to the next show, and the next, until she realized she wanted to live. He was not a therapist by any means, but there is one woman who is still here because of him...

So lets open up those pearly gates, because there is one to beam up.

You cannot change the laws of physics, and, sadly, we all face the Final Frontier at some time. But how nice to leave this world with the legacy of one of the great TV characters, in SF or any other genre.

Speaking as a Star Trek geek, he will be missed.

Also speaking as a Star Trek geek, I would like to point out that in none of the live-action series did Captain Kirk ever say, "Beam me up, Scotty". The closest he ever came was in Star Trek IV, when he said, "Scotty, beam me up." This phrase was actually used by Kirk on Star Trek: The Animated Series and by Captain Picard on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Favorite line "But they called the Enterprise a GARBAGE SCOW!!!" (from "The Trouble With Tribbles"

And McCoy isn't here to say "He's dead Jim".

God bless you, Mr. Doohan, and your alter ego, Mr. Scott. It was you who taught me all I ever needed to know about contracting: Declare the difficulty of the job at hand, emphasize the impossibility of attempting -- let alone completing -- it, inflate the time needed to perform it, and then deliver it before deadline.

Save me a pad in the transporter room, Scotty.