Aberdeen plans Star Trek drinks

Doohan (left) starred with William Shatner in Star Trek

Pubs and clubs in Aberdeen may be invited to beam up drink ideas to commemorate Star Trek character Scotty's apparent link with the city.

Aberdeen is one of the places to have laid claim to being the birthplace of the late James Doohan's character.

There are plans for talks with bars about developing a range of Star Trek-related drinks to boost tourism.

The plan goes before the city council's economic development sub-committee on Thursday 18 May.

In her report, head of economic development Rita Stephen urges councillors to support further research with a view to submitting a range of initiatives to mark the Starship Enterprise chief engineer's possible city links.

Copyright issues

Mrs Stephen said that several towns in Scotland have claimed to be Scotty's official birthplace, but pointed to an episode in which the character described himself as "an old Aberdeen pub crawler".

"This reference to Aberdeen may provide the opportunity to work with local clubs and bars to develop a range of space-related drinks, including alcohol-free drinks," she said.

"Such an initiative could be implemented at relatively little cost to the council, provided local premises are supportive."

However Mrs Stephen warned that copyright and design issues must also be considered.

Linlithgow claim

Doohan died of Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia in July last year, aged 85.

The Canadian-born actor had been a successful character actor on radio and TV before landing the role in the pilot Star Trek episode.

Last year, West Lothian Council said it planned to erect a plaque in his memory in Linlithgow.

Scripts of the sci-fi series were said to show that his character was born in Linlithgow in 2222 and that his parents still lived there.