I rewatched "Devil in the Dark" this morning, and it made me wonder if Lt. Commander Giotto was intended to be the Enterprise's security chief in the episode. His rank in particular makes me think that he was. What's your opinion?
Do you think that Lt. Cmdr Giotto was security chief?
- Thread starter JonnyQuest037
- Start date
I've always assumed this, yes, but I may have also been influenced by some of the novels where they made the same assumption.
Indeed, although I'll put a personal "yes" in there nevertheless.
Giotto certainly fit the part in this episode, even if he was absent from others. Sensible use of resources to send mere underlings down with Kirk...
Then again, Garrovick filled the same dramatic role (and more) in "Obsession" despite his low rank; we'll have to argue in in-universe terms rather than in terms of drama when discussing the never-actually-mentioned Chief of Security, which means we'll be relying more on speculation than on aired material, and that's rather problematic.
Timo Saloniemi
Giotto certainly fit the part in this episode, even if he was absent from others. Sensible use of resources to send mere underlings down with Kirk...
Then again, Garrovick filled the same dramatic role (and more) in "Obsession" despite his low rank; we'll have to argue in in-universe terms rather than in terms of drama when discussing the never-actually-mentioned Chief of Security, which means we'll be relying more on speculation than on aired material, and that's rather problematic.
Timo Saloniemi
Anyone who rises to such a rank among security redshirts is the stuff of legend. [valley girl] So, yeah. Hellooo! [/valley girl] 
Well.....
I just thought of something. What if Enterprise stopped at a Star Fleet base on the way to Janus IV and picked up additional marines to combat the potential threat in the tunnels and Giotto was the commander of that detatchment? After all, Appel said you can't use your starship down here in the tunnels. The only problem with this is all the extras were guys we all recognize and their uniforms were no different, but those are budget issues. So those particular guys in a line in Vanderburg's office could have been a special unit assigned to Enterprise for this mission.
I really think this episode is one of the all time best.
And I've been playing with the idea that if someone were making a timeline (I know there have been others already commercially available) that I would list an entry that covers this as the Federation-Horta War. I think at least someone just laughed at me, but it's ok. But based on that thinking, the Federation and Star Fleet only knew there was a threat in the tunnels, it's logical to think they would need to increase the Enterprises land combat capablity. Thus, a detachment of Star Fleet "Marines" under command of Giotto. I think he was a much better comander than Lt. Gorman.
I just thought of something. What if Enterprise stopped at a Star Fleet base on the way to Janus IV and picked up additional marines to combat the potential threat in the tunnels and Giotto was the commander of that detatchment? After all, Appel said you can't use your starship down here in the tunnels. The only problem with this is all the extras were guys we all recognize and their uniforms were no different, but those are budget issues. So those particular guys in a line in Vanderburg's office could have been a special unit assigned to Enterprise for this mission.
I really think this episode is one of the all time best.
And I've been playing with the idea that if someone were making a timeline (I know there have been others already commercially available) that I would list an entry that covers this as the Federation-Horta War. I think at least someone just laughed at me, but it's ok. But based on that thinking, the Federation and Star Fleet only knew there was a threat in the tunnels, it's logical to think they would need to increase the Enterprises land combat capablity. Thus, a detachment of Star Fleet "Marines" under command of Giotto. I think he was a much better comander than Lt. Gorman.
It could also be that these starships always carry enough of a security force to amount to a ground combat unit, sufficiently potent to be commanded by a LCdr (that is, Major). This would be "company-sized", with about 100-200 soldiers today, but no doubt fewer in the future with more potent weapons, as has been the trend so far ITRW. It's just that the Major doesn't so visibly take charge of the entire force in person except on those rare occasions where the force does see ground combat action. And despite there only being just the usual eight'ish extras here, Giotto "in reality" had deployed all sixty or whatever.
It's not as if there would be strict limits on what the standard redshirt contingent of Kirk's ship is; we see but a fraction of the 430, and the fraction gives us no useful statistics. We can't e.g. say "we saw this many officers, hence there have to be this many more enlisteds working for them" because Starfleet doesn't work that way and most of the redshirts are actually Lieutenants... Quite possibly, Giotto could have hundreds of troopers, of whom some core force has extra training in ground combat and another core force in law enforcement while the rest are "conscripts" from the overall redshirt workforce and normally work for Scotty.
Timo Saloniemi
It's not as if there would be strict limits on what the standard redshirt contingent of Kirk's ship is; we see but a fraction of the 430, and the fraction gives us no useful statistics. We can't e.g. say "we saw this many officers, hence there have to be this many more enlisteds working for them" because Starfleet doesn't work that way and most of the redshirts are actually Lieutenants... Quite possibly, Giotto could have hundreds of troopers, of whom some core force has extra training in ground combat and another core force in law enforcement while the rest are "conscripts" from the overall redshirt workforce and normally work for Scotty.
Timo Saloniemi
This is a little off-topic, but I can't understand why Garrovick is even considered chief of security (aside from his spacious quarters), when Kirk specifically orders Uhura to "[h]ave the security duty officer report to [him] immediately."
Regarding Giotto, although he is referred to as "Lieutenant Commander," he is wearing commander's braid (as was Spock, but that's another discussion). There is an unnamed red shirt in the briefing room in "The Enterprise Incident" who was also in a commander's uniform. Given the nature of the briefing, it would make sense that the security chief would be in attendance, and it might be further evidence that Giotto, or one of his rank, would be the department head.
Regarding Giotto, although he is referred to as "Lieutenant Commander," he is wearing commander's braid (as was Spock, but that's another discussion). There is an unnamed red shirt in the briefing room in "The Enterprise Incident" who was also in a commander's uniform. Given the nature of the briefing, it would make sense that the security chief would be in attendance, and it might be further evidence that Giotto, or one of his rank, would be the department head.
And that would make sense if the ship's security force is similar to the traditional warship's marine detachment. If that were the case, they wouldn't necessarily have to be picked up to temporarily augment the ship's complement, though, they could be permanently assigned. Around the time TOS was being made, the US Navy's last "real" cruiser, USS Long Beach, would have had a detachment of 25 or so marines under a captain and a lieutenant (a battleship or fleet carrier would have about double that). The cruiser would have a full crew of over a thousand, of course, so it's not a perfect comparison, but starship landing parties seem to be a frequently dangerous business and might argue for devoting a larger proportion of the crew to security.
Organizationally, the commander of a US marine detachment was kind of anomalous: He was a department head responsible to the CO for the marines and their security and landing force functions, but on a cruiser or battleship they also served as gun crews so would technically be under the gunnery officer in that respect.
Not Chief of Security as such, but a person filling the same dramatic role as Giotto. That is, a go-to man who gets dialogue not just with Kirk but with his redshirt underlings is more than what Giotto gets onscreen, but we can equate it with what Giotto must be doing offscreen.
Naturally, in any realistic setup, there would be people like Garrovick working under people like Giotto and over the rank and file of the security force. But it seems that Kirk's ship is awfully egalitarian: a random young Lieutenant bosses over the others because he's the duty officer, while the CSO is nowhere to be seen, like, ever.
Agreed. It's too bad we never get a proper go-to man in the Security department outside these few episodes. But we can invent excuses for why he (or she) usually remains on the ship, pushing paper (indeed, the sensible thing to do, as opposed to what Kirk or Spock is doing!) when his/her men serve under Kirk's immediate command.
Shades of certain TNG setups there. But TOS never suggested a connection between Security and the ship's guns.
Timo Saloniemi
I always thought Giotto was head of security in the first season. got off the ship at the end of the series, and later on in Obsession Garrovick stayed on as chief until the end of the second season where he too either got off or was replaced! I mean in season three it's lieutenant Dickerson who's head of security as seen in The Savage Curtain!
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