Dr. Leonard Horatio McCoy (DeForest Kelley)

[jastius]

In a couple of the original episodes, McCoy is on the bridge flirting with the yeoman. On that recreational planet where there are all those weird characters attacking the shore leave party, McCoy is injured he comes walkig back to Kirk with his arms around two playboy bunnies. And in one episode, kirk makes mention about going girlhunting with McCoy. ( I know a little bar...)
so maybe Dr. McCoy was up on the Bridge for 'the view' as it were.

 

[The Ace]

Interesting point, but in the film (where both are still at the 'Vulcan b*st*rd,' stage) Kirk and McCoy board the shuttle taking them to the academy and McCoy tells Kirk;

"Damned ex-wife, left me nothin' but my bones."

Maybe they decided to pick up on the old story-line and create the nickname at the same time.

 

[JoanDrake]

While definitely armed, the Enterprise was primarily an exploration ship. People are also disgustingly healthy in the Federation so they use the sickbay much less. McCoy is noted as being an expert on xenobiology and it's logical to suppose that might even be his specialty. He would be required on the bridge to monitor whether new planets are biologically safe for away missions which are the ship's main purpose.

It's also possible he doubles as what would later become the ship's counselor and one of his main duties there would be to monitor Kirk's mental state as the Captain is the main diplomat for the Federation in all the first contact situations, again, the ship's main purpose.

 

[jastius]

I agree with you that of course he acted as counselor but he was also a very social person. Between you and I, I don't think that just because he was divorced that he gave up on having a personal life. I got the impression there was a sort of thing between him and yeoman rand...( but then yeoman rand was .. ummm...a little popular....)
As for him being on the bridge? Maybe he was doing his own version of grand rounds where he went about once a shift and did an informal survey of the ship crew's general mood. We just saw him on the bridge part of his little walkabouts.
I agree that there were MANY references to the original series in the movie remake.
It makes sense when you think the idea is that the universe after Nero's tampering is reverting to its intended form. I liked the movie generally. The only complaints I have are, 1 why did they kill off the orion girl by putting her onto the Farragut?
2. Where was gary mitchell in this universe?
3. Why didn't they show that the admiral's beagal beamed onto the enterprise at the last like in the book, instead of having the tv censors edit out the part about scotty's great mistake?
4. why wouldn't spock grab his mum? I've hung onto my mum when she was about to potter off the edge of the stairs backwards, and my mum is three times heavier then Amanda grayson any day, he could have easily held her in place with his vulcan eight times as strong as a regular man strength... don't try to tell me I'm stronger then spock or I'm faster in thinking then spock....
( but maybe this spock had too much blunt force trauma from all his kiddie fighting days...? )
and 5. didn't vulcan have their own orbital vehicles to escape in... there seems a dearth of space going vessels there for a supposed space going civilization.
oh, and back to McCoy, I think in the movie he liked the pretty girls too.