“The Galileo Seven”—why those seven?

[Pauln6]

You make him sound like a public Shaft.



This only makes me want to see Yeoman Albert Einstein with pom poms. I think you're tarring Barrows unduly. Didn't she ask where Sulu was at one point?

Lol! Reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide where Arthur's brain was going to programmed to say, "What," and, "Where's the tea?"

Also, I saw a play called Kirk vs Ming, where the female character's lines were pre recorded and consisted of, "Yes, no, and I don't understand." Kirk even decided to dress up as the female crewman so he could be the one to seduce Ming instead of giving the woman any agency in the story.

 

[mb22]

Yes. I realise that Rand didn't get much dialogue in about half of her episodes but I can't help wondering if the yeoman had been one of the main characters she wouldn't have had something more to do, or at least been a bit more active in discussions, more like her role in Miri. I noticed that Uhura's role in City on the Edge of Forever was much reduced compared to Rand's original role.

Ellison seemed willing to write Rand as a technician, which would have been very useful in Galileo 7 but there did seem to be a stronger desire to keep them dumb and useless after Colt. Mears doesn't even have pom poms, Ross and Barrows really don't have enquiring minds, Zara is the only crewman who isn't armed. Tamura and Landon both get to show some self defence training but neither of them is Einstein.

Some have opined that the yeoman role was supposed to be like that of Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke. In any event the character was never really that well defined from the beginning, and neither pilot really did much with it (especially the second). Ellison wrote his "City" script early in pre-production, when Rand was supposed to be a more important character than she ultimately became once the episodes began filming, but I agree that had Rand been present instead of Mears in "Galileo Seven" she would likely have had more to do, or at least more lines.

 

[Henoch]

Looks like Spock is wearing Commander's stripes in the shuttle. Scotty has Lt. Cmdr. stripes.

Yes, Spock wears Commander stripes, but he is only a Lt. Commander at this point in the series, from Court Martial which is after The Galileo Seven in both production number and airdate:

COMPUTER: Spock, serial number S179-276SP. Service rank, Lieutenant Commander. Position, First officer, science officer. Current assignment, USS Enterprise. Commendations, Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honour. Awards of valour. Twice decorated by Starfleet command.​

There's probably some in-universe reason for this situation, probably a ship "position" indication as first officer rather than a rank indication if his duties are considered higher than his rank. For the same logic, I think all ship department heads (i.e. position) get Lt. Commander stripes even if they are only lieutenants. I think at the start of Season 2, Spock finally gets promotion to full Commander since we don't get reference to his rank anymore.

 

[Holopat]

Field promotion, probably in review by Fleet

 

[Henoch]

Field promotion, probably in review by Fleet

Maybe Pike gave him a field promotion before leaving the ship on Pike's promotion to Fleet Captain so Spock would be able to be the first officer, and then it took Starfleet only two or three years to approve...they really didn't trust Vulcanians at that time.

 

[Holopat]

Maybe Pike gave him a field promotion before leaving the ship on Pike's promotion to Fleet Captain so Spock would be able to be the first officer, and then it took Starfleet only two or three years to approve...they really didn't trust Vulcanians at that time.

Spock had been 11 years under Pike. Could be they wanted him to have some experience under a second captain before confirming it.

 

[Pauln6]

Were there any full commanders on the ship? Bearing in mind the naval inspiration behind the show, what does that say about the Enterprise? It certainly blows a hole in any notion that she was any kind of flagship, although after her refit with an Admiral in command, then maybe.

 

[Henoch]

Rank is confusing in early Star Trek.

During The Cage, it's Captain Pike or was he just a Commander or Lt. Commander in rank and called Captain because was in command of the ship? He had only one stripe on his sleeves. His number one at the time was only a Lieutenant. She had only one stripe on her sleeves, just like Lt. Spock and Lt. Tyler. Did he lose his real first officer during the fight on Rigel Seven? When both Pike and Number One got captured, Lt. Spock took command of the ship. Maybe they were using comparable Air Force ranks like on a WWII bomber and not Naval ranks. One stripe just indicated you are an officer of Lt. or higher.

During WNMHGB, it's Captain Kirk with two stripes on his sleeves. Lt. Commander Spock had one stripe. Lt. Commander Mitchell had one stripe. Lt. EveryoneElse also had one stripe (except the guy with a lacy one stripe - Lt.jg.). This seems like Naval ranks where two stripes indicates the ship's commander and one stripe indicates officers of Lt. or higher.

TOS series was better, but still has a few head-scratchers, like Spock and Charlene Masters.

 

[blssdwlf]

"The Cage" could've been emulating old sailing navy ranks where there is only "Captain" and "Lieutenant" officers. The order that the lieutenants took acting command of the Enterprise was probably from their seniority. "Number One" was probably the first lieutenant.

Thirteen years later and you have the TOS ranks that are more "modern" and with new stripes

EDIT: Spock's promotion to full Commander appears to occur around "Journey to Babel".

Rank is confusing in early Star Trek.

During The Cage, it's Captain Pike or was he just a Commander or Lt. Commander in rank and called Captain because was in command of the ship? He had only one stripe on his sleeves. His number one at the time was only a Lieutenant. She had only one stripe on her sleeves, just like Lt. Spock and Lt. Tyler. Did he lose his real first officer during the fight on Rigel Seven? When both Pike and Number One got captured, Lt. Spock took command of the ship. Maybe they were using comparable Air Force ranks like on a WWII bomber and not Naval ranks. One stripe just indicated you are an officer of Lt. or higher.

During WNMHGB, it's Captain Kirk with two stripes on his sleeves. Lt. Commander Spock had one stripe. Lt. Commander Mitchell had one stripe. Lt. EveryoneElse also had one stripe (except the guy with a lacy one stripe - Lt.jg.). This seems like Naval ranks where two stripes indicates the ship's commander and one stripe indicates officers of Lt. or higher.

TOS series was better, but still has a few head-scratchers, like Spock and Charlene Masters.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Were there any full commanders on the ship? Bearing in mind the naval inspiration behind the show, what does that say about the Enterprise? It certainly blows a hole in any notion that she was any kind of flagship, although after her refit with an Admiral in command, then maybe.

There's this guy

 

[Ragitsu]

Just think: in another reality, viewers watched The Copernicus Six.

 

[Tango]

I once read someone's theory (might have been on this board) that some starship personnel need to have X number of hours on landing party/away team duty to maintain status. Perhaps some duty requirement got McCoy and Scott aboard, nothing specific about them or this mission.

They were trying to collect points on their Space Miles (TM) cards?

 

[Pauln6]

There's this guy

Probably the new security chief.

 

[Henoch]

There's this guy

Probably the new security chief.

He took over from Commander Giotto. <Probably wearing the same uniform from wardrobe. >

Again, more Season 1 confusion. Twice, Kirk refers to Giotto as Lieutenant Commander, but he wears two solid stripes indicating Commander. Two possible explanations:

• This was a shore party, then the highest ranked Marine Officer, or in this case Chief Security Officer, would be second-in-command reporting directly to the Captain (i.e. Spock is not in line-of-command while on shore). So maybe, he has the Commander stripes to indicate his second-in-command position for shore operations, and not his actual rank. Just like Spock during Season 1.
• Or maybe, he's another example where he just got recently promoted to Commander and they are just waiting for Starfleet to approve it. Just like Spock during Season 1.

I prefer the first explanation. If so, there's a chance that the Chief Security Officer position (and second-in-command on shore) will always wear the Commander stripes, but he may be either a Commander or a Lieutenant Commander by rank. Same with the First Officer position (and second-in-command on ship), i.e. Spock. YMMV .

 

[Mister Spock]

Did Boma show up in any other episodes? Or did he "transfer off" after this episode to a Starship sans any Vulcans? I can't remember.

I know that Dreadnought! by Diane Carey reveals Scotty had Boma court martialed and discharged from Starfleet for slagging off Spock during the mission.

 

[J.T.B.]

Some have opined that the yeoman role was supposed to be like that of Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke.

If it was the idea, they didn't even get close. Kitty was pretty much equal to the other main characters except, as an independent business owner and community leader, she's by far the most financially well-off.

It certainly blows a hole in any notion that she was any kind of flagship, although after her refit with an Admiral in command, then maybe.

Being a flagship or not should have no bearing on the grade of officers assigned. One ship should have the same requirements for personnel as any ship of the same type/class. Where a flagship would be different would be in the flag staff, the people who were assigned to the admiral as opposed to the ship. But Trek has never been very good with that sort of thing.

During WNMHGB, it's Captain Kirk with two stripes on his sleeves. Lt. Commander Spock had one stripe. Lt. Commander Mitchell had one stripe. Lt. EveryoneElse also had one stripe (except the guy with a lacy one stripe - Lt.jg.).

That was Garrison in "The Cage," a CPO according to the script.

I have a hard time reconciling the two pilots' rank insignia with anything that came after. I just assume that the insignia on the old-syle shirts was a different system. For "The Cage," my best guess for original intent is that the stripes represented the broad uniform categories of the US Navy: One full stripe for officers, one "ladder" stripe for CPOs (USN: enlisted who dress like officers), and no stripe for other enlisted.

Again, more Season 1 confusion. Twice, Kirk refers to Giotto as Lieutenant Commander, but he wears two solid stripes indicating Commander. Two possible explanations:

Now you get to explain Ben Finney! That's the problem with season 1, you might be able to justify an exception for Spock, but it has to become more convoluted to account for Giotto and still more for Finney. To me, Spock is "really" always a commander, and Finney and Giotto "really" wore lieutenant commander stripes.

 

[Pauln6]

If it was the idea, they didn't even get close. Kitty was pretty much equal to the other main characters except, as an independent business owner and community leader, she's by far the most financially well-off.

The first three yeomen were all new to their posting so, quite apart from them being junior officers (or mid-ranking non-commissioned officers), the power differential was further enhanced by giving them the isolation of inexperience. I get that making the yeoman the newbie means she gets to ask dumb questions ("Phasers, Captain, but what are phasers?") to explain things to casual audience members with no background in sci fi but they flogged it to death. In rebooting the yeoman character in every episode after Conscience of the King, they got to keep her inexperienced, lacking in transferrable skills between episodes, and dumb as hell.

Rand shone when interacting with her contemporaries but was very deferential with her superiors. I think had she stayed, she might have been able to equalise the power a bit more. But then, on a shuttle full of officers, the yeoman was still the bottom of the pile, so maybe Mears being dead weight might have remained the same. Still, seeing Rand interact with Scotty in that environment could have been a lot of fun and, if building for future interaction between the characters, the writers might have worked a bit harder to give her something to do.

Taking a step back though, do the other members of the Galileo crew, apart from Spock and Scotty, actually do much more than patrol and argue?

 

[Holopat]

I know that Dreadnought! by Diane Carey reveals Scotty had Boma court martialed and discharged from Starfleet for slagging off Spock during the mission.

Interesting because McCoy has been just as bad if not worse during missions and he's never had any repercussions...

 

[Henoch]

Now you get to explain Ben Finney! That's the problem with season 1, you might be able to justify an exception for Spock, but it has to become more convoluted to account for Giotto and still more for Finney. To me, Spock is "really" always a commander, and Finney and Giotto "really" wore lieutenant commander stripes.

In the past, I proposed that each division head is a two stripe position. The First Officer is probably the only other two stripe position. There are three divisions on the ship: Red = Ship Services (includes Engineering and Security); Blue = Sciences (includes Physics and Life Sciences); and Gold = Operations (Command duties like Helm, Navigation, Weapons, Supply, Personnel, Records, etc.). Usually, the senior most officer in each division is its head. Two stripers for Season 1 (not including WNMHGB pilot):

• Lt. Cmd. Spock: First Officer
• Lt. Cmd. Finney: Operations Division Head plus Records Officer
• Lt. Cmd. Giotto: Ship Services Division Head plus Chief Security Officer
  
• Lt. Cmd. Spock: Sciences Division Head (hence the Blue shirt)

I image that most First Officers come up through the Operations side, so for them, they usually wear a Gold shirt. Sometimes they also take on the Operations Division Head job, too, still making them two stripe Gold shirts.

As an equivalence in WNMHGB:

• Lt. Cmd. Spock: First Officer
• Lt. Cmd. Spock: Operations Division Head (hence the Gold shirt)
• Lt. Cmd. Scott: Ship Services Division Head plus Chief Engineering Officer
  
• Lt. Cmd. Piper: Sciences Division Head plus Chief Life Sciences (Medical) Officer

As an equivalence in The Cage:

• Cmd. Pike: Captain
• Lt. Number One: First Officer
• Lt. Number One: Operations Head plus Helmsman
• Lt. Unknown/Casualty: Ship Services Head
• Lt. Boyce: Sciences Head plus Chief Medical Officer

 

[Pauln6]

In the past, I proposed that each division head is a two stripe position. The First Officer is probably the only other two stripe position. There are three divisions on the ship: Red = Ship Services (includes Engineering and Security); Blue = Sciences (includes Physics and Life Sciences); and Gold = Operations (Command duties like Helm, Navigation, Weapons, Supply, Personnel, Records, etc.). Usually, the senior most officer in each division is its head. Two stripers for Season 1 (not including WNMHGB pilot):

• Lt. Cmd. Spock: First Officer
• Lt. Cmd. Finney: Operations Division Head plus Records Officer
• Lt. Cmd. Giotto: Ship Services Division Head plus Chief Security Officer
  
• Lt. Cmd. Spock: Sciences Division Head (hence the Blue shirt)

I image that most First Officers come up through the Operations side, so for them, they usually wear a Gold shirt. Sometimes they also take on the Operations Division Head job, too, still making them two stripe Gold shirts.

As an equivalence in WNMHGB:

• Lt. Cmd. Spock: First Officer
• Lt. Cmd. Spock: Operations Division Head (hence the Gold shirt)
• Lt. Cmd. Scott: Ship Services Division Head plus Chief Engineering Officer
  
• Lt. Cmd. Piper: Sciences Division Head plus Chief Life Sciences (Medical) Officer

As an equivalence in The Cage:

• Cmd. Pike: Captain
• Lt. Number One: First Officer
• Lt. Number One: Operations Head plus Helmsman
• Lt. Unknown/Casualty: Ship Services Head
• Lt. Boyce: Sciences Head plus Chief Medical Officer

There is a lot of inconsistency because there are definitely sub-divisions. TOS had an engineering station rather than an Ops station and never expressly had a separate head of operations. One might argue that the first officer is the default head of operations but it seems unlikely that a single officer could do both head of ops and science on anything but a temporary basis.

We definitely have a Life Sciences sub-division and a chief medical officer but does the CMO have to head of Life Sciences? I don't imagine McCoy is an expert on zoology, or botany, biophysics, or even microbiology.

Some of Kirk's early briefings in season one had nameless department heads. What were they heads of?