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Anonymous
is a catch phrase that made its way into pop culture from the science fiction television series Star Trek. It comes from the command Captain Kirk gives his transporter chief, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, when he needs to transport back to the ship.
Though it has become irrevocably associated with the series, the exact phrase was never actually spoken in any Star Trek television episode or film. Captain Kirk comes closest to saying the phrase in Star Trek IV, saying "Scotty, beam me up"; in Star Trek: Generations, saying "Beam them out of there, Scotty"; and in the animated episode "The Infinite Vulcan", saying "Beam us up, Scotty". The phrase was used on a bumper sticker with the tag line "Beam me up Scotty. There's no intelligent life down here."
"Beam me up, Scotty" is similar to the phrase, "Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts." attributed to Jack Webb's character of Joe Friday on Dragnet, as well as "It's elementary, my dear Watson", attributed to Sherlock Holmes. All three lines are the best known quotes from these works for many viewers, but not one is an actual, direct quotation.
James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty, later chose this phrase as the title of his autobiography.
U.S. congressman James Traficant, who was later expelled from Congress after being convicted of corruption, adapted the catch phrase "Beam me up" in his trademark one-minute rants on the floor of the House of Representatives.
The phrase has also been used in several films unrelated to Star Trek, as well as in the Dilbert comic strip.
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