The Galileo Seven

I will always have a soft spot for the admittedly uneven "Galileo Seven" episode where the still under-developed character of Lt. Commander Spock gets his big chance at command while leading an ill-fated shuttlecraft mission lost in an ion storm. This installment came fairly early in the series before Leonard Nimoy had truly grown into the role and was a misfired response to the breakout popularity of his Vulcan science officer sex symbol. Interestingly, what the cast & producers discovered while making the episode was almost exactly what the scriptwriter had concluded: That Spock on his own would rely upon dry, functional logic to the point of boredom. Spock's cool intellect without an ego to foil was less than half a loaf. But it's still a beloved favorite and one of the great "Essence Of Star Trek" episodes that sums up what made us love the show even if the end result is somewhat stale.

First, this episode scared the dickens out of and thereby impressed us greatly during what became a routine after school "Star Trek" hour when the show was being syndicated during the early 1970s. Our local affiliate showed it in a 4pm slot squarely targeted at rambunctious kids home from school who would actually shut up and do something other than raise hell for an hour while "Star Trek" was on. Our parents made sure we never missed an afternoon! the result of which was a group of now 40+ year old guys who still love the show. This was one of the first episodes that made a big enough impression on our minds to remember specifically and we'd make believe our own "Galileo Seven" adventures using anything from a living room sofa to a tool shed as our Galileo shuttlecraft. Which delighted me to no end because I always got to be Scotty and he had a lot to do in this one.

I also have an attachment to it that is purely coincidental but still made a huge impression on my mind when I learned of it: This one premiered the day after I was born, and has forever since been my Birthday Episode that I make an excuse to watch every year around the same time. That makes me a nerd but I can live with it and fortunately its still a pretty satisfying episode even if the weak spots kind of glare out when compared to more successful efforts that I rank up there higher on my Favorite Episode lists ("Arena", "The Omega Glory", "The Doomsday Machine"). And no, updating the graphics won't make it better. Who's bright idea was that anyway?

But there are several appealing aspects to the episode on a structural level which overcome the rather wooden results of its execution. Kirk is more or less relegated to a secondary role on the ship looking concerned while Spock, Bones, and Scotty get some of their most extensive uninterrupted screen time of the whole series. There is a high quotient of guest star faces as well -- Don Marshall's foul tempered Lt. Boma and foxy Phyllis Douglas as Yeoman Mears with her fantastic space thighs being a welcome change of pace from the standard issue Bottle Episode crew. And while the studio bound Taurus II planetoid set is paper mache kitsch at it's closest to the absurd boundary as possible without being laughable, it lends a readymade "make believe" quality to the proceedings that are quite conducive towards inspiring the imaginations of 7 year olds for generations. What is there not to love about it?

But let me get this straight ... Captain James T. Kirk decides to pedantically toe the line of regulation to the point of creating a crisis where one doesn't exist by insisting on sending out a flimsy, malfunction prone shuttlecraft loaded with his most valuable staff contingent into a dangerous ion storm generated by an unknown quasar like phenomenon while in the middle of delivering perishable drugs needed to avert a planet wide plague (!!), with no less than a Galactic High Commissioner on board, who is absolutely correct in openly wondering what the hell Kirk may have been *thinking* by taking such a chance. Here's a suggestion: Mark the location with a space buoy and come back AFTER the plague has been averted, the Galactic High Commissioner has been removed from your face, and you have the time to search for your best officers & closest personal friends if something goes wrong. It's a five year misson, Bro! What's the rush?

Either the writer was inhaling whipped cream can fumes or Kirk's legendary status at that precious Academy of his should be re-examined. All along I've been annoyed at the wrong guy for being a bit dense. Sorry, Commissioner Ferris.

8/10; Look for a sort of unofficial sequel to this in the Animated Series episode "The Slaver Weapon" where Spock's command of another shuttlecraft mission comes to somewhat more successful ends.

I have mixed feelings about this episode. While its plot is a little absurd and thin, it doesn't defy scientific credibility as much as many episodes of the later series in the franchise do.

Spock's relationship with the crew and his command abilities are challenged and nicely established as he commands a shuttlecraft on what should have been a routine exploratory mission (why bring along the chief engineer and chief medical officer, we will never know). The shuttle crash-lands on a class m planet in a quasar system with all communication and sensor use completely inhibited. Giant prehistoric people in a band-level society inhabit this planet and they are not pleased by the arrival of the Galileo 7. And Kirk has an annoyed bureaucrat who is late for an appointment on board the Enterprise. There is some interesting an surprisingly well-informed anthropological discourse in this episode but unfortunately the most interesting character introduced, Crewman Boma(Don Marshall) - apparently a social scientist- is inconsistently characterized.

The plot is really a vehicle for character development in this case. It's about Spock, Spock's relationship with the crew, Spock's relationship with Kirk, and with McCoy. In some ways, a defining moment for the series. And the entire cast is up to the challenge. For me, this is the main appeal of the episode.

Still a great episode but really they should have focused on getting the medicine to help with the plague, not a scientific side trip instead. Hard to be mad at the commissioner for that. That said the ending where Spock makes an illogical decision that saves the whole shuttle crew has always stuck in my head. Better to take a one in a thousand shot than no shot at all.

Leonard Nimoy gets command of an away team to explore a really desolated planet named Markus II which is always ravaged by ion storms. Because of that no one dares use the transporter on the Enterprise and so he gets a shuttlecraft for his mission.

Once down Spock and the six crew members are stranded because those same ion storms make it difficult to return. The crew is also under attack by some savage ape like creatures which are the predominant life form. No appealing to their logic.

Spock's ever calm logical manner does grate on the nerves of Dr. McCoy more than usual as well as crewman Don Marshall. DeForest Kelley's scenes with Nimoy have even more bite than usual, not to mention an almost mutinous Marshall.

While all this is going William Shatner has to deal with a Federation commissioner who is ready to takeover the Enterprise as they are on a mission to take him to an outpost in distress.

Of course with all these series regulars on the mission you know that they're coming back, at least most of them. Enterprise crew members that are not regulars don't have that same protection. Still the writing and directing keep up the necessary suspense to make this a thoroughly enjoyable episode.

Intense episode about a shuttle craft mission lead by Spock that crash lands on a most unpleasant world. Indeed, the dangers posed by it's hostile environment leads to a near equally hostile landing party as Spock finds his leadership abilities called into question. It's been well explored how the Vulcan's logical approach to the crisis proves ineffective in dealing with the stressed-out humans under his command. The only thing to add might be that,at times, Spock does display an almost human surliness that seems very un-Vulcan. But, since this was a first season episode, it may have been filmed before Leonard Nimoy had fully come to understand his character and the proper way to play him, (for example, he was still speaking with that put-on British accent like when he pronounces command as "cuh-mawnd"). Clearly, this is not the more controlled Mr. Spock we would see in later episodes like "The Doomsday Machine", but it's still a good performance and the script provides an interesting set of problems to watch the usually unflappable character struggle to deal with.

As if crash landing wasn't bad enough, the primates that live on the planet are a neat addition to further complicate Spock's bad day. Not so much seen as glimpsed (and a wise move, too as the only one shown up close looks like it's wearing a fur dress), these hairy monsters prowl about in the fog making hissing noises and bellowing roars. They attack with huge spears, and in one scene a comparatively tiny human is mauled to death. Thoroughly nasty, their presence in the story leads to a neat scene on the Enterprise bridge as Kirk hears the report of a returning search party leader: appearing on a viewer screen all bruised up in a torn-up uniform, Lt. Commander Kelowitz tells Kirk how his team was attacked by "creatures similar to ones discovered on Hanson's Planet, only much, much bigger. Ten- maybe twelve feet in height." Clearly exhausted and maybe a touch traumatized, Kelowitz cautions Kirk that if the missing shuttle craft crew are on that planet, but doesn't have to finish the sentence for Kirk to get his meaning. It's an effective little touch that casts a shadow of dread on the possible fate of Kirk's missing crew members. In fact, they should have used this seldom seen character of Kelowitz more often as he would have made a great running bit. Like Scotty's dire warnings about the condition of the ship's engines, or those red shirted security men who were always first to bite the dust, you'd know the situation was dire if Kelowitz showed up with another alarming report for Kirk.