"Relics", in my opinion, should be considered a Trek treasure. It certainly is an absolute pleasure to watch and revisit over and over. It has so much to say and what a tribute to a beloved actor and character. The late, great James Doohan is such a delight to watch as his Scottish Engineer "Captain" Montgomery Scott is "discovered" in a wrecked ship's transporter "pattern buffer" (the ship landed on a "Dyson Sphere"
more about this in a moment) by Commander Riker, Geordi, and Worf, on board the Jenolan, heavily damaged, with little of the controls/computers still in operation (or are in disrepair). The Enterprise was answering a distress signal from an old ship, missing 75 years, and are caught in the gravitational pull of what Picard believes (and Data backs up) is a Dyson Sphere. The Jenolan was just a transport ship and Scotty was board her, heading for a "retirement colony". This sphere has escaped detection for so long because of the sensors inability to scan it due to "gravimetric interference". An "enormous, hollow sphere" that could be constructed around a star, as Picard informs us of Dyson's theory could be the best description of the mass not far in space from the Enterprise's present location. Data even mentions that if this is a Dyson Sphere, because of its size, it could house 250 Class M planets. It looks like a planetary outer shell, even has a "door" (or, perhaps "hatch" is more apt), and once the Enterprise uses a simple hailing frequency (hoping lifeforms are inside the sphere to communicate with), it triggers a tractor beam that pulls them inside the sphere and towards the central star within. Before this Picard requests (and is successful) Geordi beam down on the Jenolan with Scotty to try and secure records of the ship's survey of the sphere before their crash. While on the Jenolan, Scotty and Geordi have a chance to see what the Enterprise did wrong (understanding why the sphere pulled them in and how not to make the same mistake), and come up with an answer that will save them from disintegrating entering the star's photosphere.
I have to imagine LeVar Burton was having a grand ole time working with Doohan, together getting to come to the Enterprise's rescue. Seeing Scotty on board the Enterprise D, feeling like he doesn't belong and "in the way" (as Geordi irritatingly tells him in Engineering), walking onto the recreated NCC-1701 Enterprise in the Holodeck, interacting with Data in Ten Forward while reacting achingly at synthetic scotch (told to him by a "synthetic man") before receiving some "green liquor" Guinan kept hidden for special occasions, and contemplating his lack of worth in another century, "Relics" isn't just a show catered to the character but examines what it is to feel "outmoded", out of place, and a dinosaur past your prime. Through his rescue adventure with Geordi, getting the Jenolan active again and actually running, Scotty finds that he's still useful, worth something, and the gift of the shuttle, allowing him to travel and live by his own terms, we get quite a fitting farewell to a splendid character appreciated and loved by Trek fans the world over. Scotty's words of wisdom to Geordi make up some of the episode's most wonderful moments, identifying the thrill to be in charge of keeping a galaxy class starship going, knowing that it doesn't last forever. Also noteworthy is Scotty's chat with Picard, both reminiscing about their first ship and how it felt and still feels.
I have to imagine LeVar Burton was having a grand ole time working with Doohan, together getting to come to the Enterprise's rescue. Seeing Scotty on board the Enterprise D, feeling like he doesn't belong and "in the way" (as Geordi irritatingly tells him in Engineering), walking onto the recreated NCC-1701 Enterprise in the Holodeck, interacting with Data in Ten Forward while reacting achingly at synthetic scotch (told to him by a "synthetic man") before receiving some "green liquor" Guinan kept hidden for special occasions, and contemplating his lack of worth in another century, "Relics" isn't just a show catered to the character but examines what it is to feel "outmoded", out of place, and a dinosaur past your prime. Through his rescue adventure with Geordi, getting the Jenolan active again and actually running, Scotty finds that he's still useful, worth something, and the gift of the shuttle, allowing him to travel and live by his own terms, we get quite a fitting farewell to a splendid character appreciated and loved by Trek fans the world over. Scotty's words of wisdom to Geordi make up some of the episode's most wonderful moments, identifying the thrill to be in charge of keeping a galaxy class starship going, knowing that it doesn't last forever. Also noteworthy is Scotty's chat with Picard, both reminiscing about their first ship and how it felt and still feels.