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Production Order Group Viewing 2018

I dunno, I suppose it depends on their remit. The communications team monitors and triages incoming signals. The computer does most of the hard work with code cracking I would have thought. Generally the team is just monitoring and tweaking algorithms, plus other members of the communications team or Spock can be drafted in to help.
Not every ship has a Spock.
 
In Balance Of Terror, Uhura receives the coded signal from the BOP and declares that "Cryptography is working on it"
Her delivery of the lines makes it unclear if she ordered them to work on it. I think it was probably routed directly to cryptography by the comms bay and cryptography was then keeping the bridge informed that they'd received it.
 
If the signal was routed through to Cryptography it would have been Uhura who did it (since she was Manning the Comms desk) and she did it without additional orders from Kirk or Spock (maybe it's standard procedure for coded transmissions?)
 
If the signal was routed through to Cryptography it would have been Uhura who did it (since she was Manning the Comms desk) and she did it without additional orders from Kirk or Spock (maybe it's standard procedure for coded transmissions?)

I admit, I assume that Uhura doesn't do the hard graft. Space is full of signals, there's no way she could do her job and be at the beck and call of the ship and captain if it was her job to monitor every channel all the time. The opening scenes of STIV suggest how busy she'd be just monitoring Starfleet channels without a team below decks.
 
Looks like there is enough on screen evidence now to show that the communicators and even the intercoms operate on "voice dialing." One push of an intercom button, say the person's name, and your call is transferred to the appropriate comm panel, station, or communicator.
 
She may be able to set the computer to sort and prioritize signals from certain locations, types, and origins. Somebody down in the comm dept would note something the computer didn't pick up as important and route it to her to deal with.
 
She may be able to set the computer to sort and prioritize signals from certain locations, types, and origins. Somebody down in the comm dept would note something the computer didn't pick up as important and route it to her to deal with.
Yeah I think so too. Otherwise you end up with a clunky system like phaser control in Balance of Terror.
 
Galileo Seven

Watching this show as a kid, I loved the exciting episodes with monsters, aliens, battles. This was one of my favorites!

I've said this in other threads, but I totally blame Kirk for the dilemma he finds himself in. I'm sure he does have standing orders to check out quasars and quasar-like things, but this was not a normal situation. The medicine had to get to Markus III. If for no reason other than to shut up Commissioner Crankypants, he needed to make his delivery first. I'm sure Murasaki 312 would still be there when they got back. So as much as I hate the Commissioner, he's right. Take care of the emergency first.

Hey! What's that? A shuttlecraft??? Cool! Really could have used those in Enemy Within. ;) Are they new to the ship?

They were going out to look at the quasar thing. I wonder why they needed all those people. Like why is McCoy going? Or Scotty for that matter, though it's a damn good thing he was there.

Good to see Kirk using Spock's science station scanner. Kirk has a good all-around knowledge of his ship's systems.

They're all surprised by Murasaki 312's behavior. It must really be a new type of phenomenon.

I would seriously consider banning Commissioner Told-You-So from the bridge before I punched him in the head.

So the lesson of the story is that logic is a great basis for command, but your subordinates will hate you if you don't also employ people skills to build loyalty.

I like how professional and competent Scotty is throughout this episode.

I read how you don't see the shark through the first half of Jaws because your imagination is scarier. There's some of that at play in this episode. We do get glimpses of the creatures, but we don't see a lot of them leaving a lot to the imagination making them scarier. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with limited special effects budget. I mean we only ever see one creature at a time, but not seeing much of the creatures works to make the episode scarier.

This episode has MONSTERS!!!! Woo-hoo! Be still my boyish heart.

They're trying to sell that Spock is so logical and in his head that he is callous. But really, I just think he's trying to do the right things. Boma and the others' anger at him seems out of proportion sometimes.

Wonder what happens to Boma after they get back? Does Spock write him up? We never see him again.

Now that I think of it, Spock agreed that they needed to destroy the Romulans in BoT or the Romulans would think they were weak and come back harder. So that's the argument Boma is using here, but Spock rejects it in favor of trying not to take life.

Gotta love Scotty. "Oh, I'll just reconfigure the fuel lines stuff so that now the engines will take phaser fire as fuel."

These things are apelike, but they roar like dragons.

We only ever see one creature at a time, but it is cool seeing it smash a boulder on top of the shuttle.

Love Scotty's enthusiasm for Spock's idea. "That they will, Mr. Spock!" ZAP!!!!

Also, Boma is in Spock's face, and Scotty's all "That's enough!" This is a GREAT Scotty episode.

Hmmm, space normal speed. Impulse I presume.

I'm surprised the creatures would hold on to the shuttle while it was lifting off. I would think that would scare them into letting go.

The remastered effects of Spock's fuel burn are cool.

People criticize the humorous ending given that two men died, but I smiled.

So the planet was Taurus II. Is it orbiting a star in the constellation of Taurus?

Cheesy special effects at times, but good episode!

New aliens this week!

Talosians
That big ugly Rigellian guy Pike fought in illusion
Vina as an Orion girl in illusion
Glimpse of other aliens captured by Talosians
Ron Howard's brother
That dog from Enemy Within
Salt monster
That hand plant...Gertrude
Spock (duh)
Charlie's parents (Thasians)
Romulans!
(Ruk)
Miri's planet kids (bonk bonk)
Giant ape creatures of Taurus II
 
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There is a lot to like in the Galileo 7, although some parts do grate. Some of Spock's decisions are just plain sensible and the humans act very unprofessionally. Scotty is a real trooper as ever and only he, and Not-yeoman Rand seem to appreciate the chain of command.

I agree, it's unclear why the crew was made up as it was. Two physicists and a pilot make sense, plus an engineer to monitor how equipment performs. The others seem more than superfluous. Mears' only job is to switch on the tricorder. I suppose they might occasionally let her repeat the computer too.

It would have made more sense if each of them had some kind of experiment to perform. It would also have been cool if Mears had shown some technical skills to assist Scotty in a meaningful way. They almost wilfully make the yeomen useless.

Boma definitely needs a reprimand. I can't help feeling that Rand could have added some meat in the bones of the yeoman. Otherwise the supporting characters are pretty forgettable.

The variable warp speed issue gets fudged a lot in TOS but you can understand why Kirk wouldn't want to leave shuttles to carry out the search while the Enterprise hot footed if the the rendezvous at full speed. He only just got shuttles, he doesn't want to break them all.

Commissioners and Commodores seem like a pain in the backside. I sure we see some who a bit more reasonable in future.

I like the way the crew puzzles their way out of their situation and Spock's last ditch attempt to signal for help. A very fun episode over all.
 
Boma was a complete tool. I loved how Scotty told him to shut up. His behavior was not only insubordinate, it was racist, and you can make a strong argument that it jeopardized the crew.

Unfortunately, McCoy doesn't come off much better. I really dislike it when some of the episodes take what is supposed to be banter amongst two professionals with deep (though deliberately veiled) mutual respect and turn it into outright hostility on McCoy's part.
 
The Galileo Seven: This is a much more "action-adventure" type of episode. What fun! :beer:

That muraski effect is just HUGE. The ionisation effect covers FOUR ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEMS!!! Kirk is not kidding when he makes the comparison to a needle in a haystack. A 24' shuttle in something like 64 cubic light years!?!?!

In any case, it's good that the galaxy is such a large, dangerous place. Complete with deadly giants on an alien planet! And not one but TWO goldshirt deaths!

Speaking of whom, are the giants immune to stun? The way Spock talks, it seems that Phaser-kill is the only option! Perhaps they are unable to judge the necessary “stun” setting against such large targets?

I realise that emotions are high on the planet, but Mr Bowmer is damn near insubordinate at times!!!

Unfortunately, McCoy doesn't come off much better. I really dislike it when some of the episodes take what is supposed to be banter amongst two professionals with deep (though deliberately veiled) mutual respect and turn it into outright hostility on McCoy's part.
I think the main difference is that we've seen Spock & McCoy's relationship build up in previous episodes, so we understand that there is the underlying respect between them as professionals. In fact, the increasingly close McCoy-Spock relationship seems to have been building up to this week. Spock now puts his philosophical beliefs into effect and McCoy counsels him upon it. And while McCoy calls it his “first command” it's not really, as Spock’s been in command of the ship before. However, this though is a rare situation where Spock has total command of a situation...and learns a Valuable Lesson(TM).

The actress playing Yeoman Barrows is efficient in the role, but all I can see when she delivers her lines is Grace Lee Whitney, as I’m sure was the original intention. Her forceful line “we could use a little inspiration!” carries the whisper of Whitney, how much greater could it have been? :wah:
Of course, had Rand been retained we would have not just her but Spock and McCoy and Scotty as well in the shuttle, it’s veering dangerously near to the type of situations we saw in VOYAGER, where senior staff did all the missions themselves :eek:
 
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I read an article, maybe it was Starlog, maybe Best of Trek, that was about Spock's claim in TWOK that he never taken the Kobayashi Maru. The article cited many examples where Spock faced a faced a no win situation in the line of duty and Galileo Seven was one example. Here we see Spock facing an impossible situation more than once on this mission. He already resolved himself to leave two members behind (although he didn't say which two). Then at the end of the episode his last ditch "flare" knowing that, logically, the Enterprise should be long gone was just one more attempt to defy the odds. All in the face of open hostility from Boma and McCoy.

Boma returns as a disgruntled terrorist in Diane Carey's novel Dreadnought http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Samuel_Boma

The first appearance of the shuttle and its destroyed? Awesome. Last episode wet got our first hint of a shuttle with the tour along the observation level.

Why send the shuttle at all? What can the shuttle do that the Enterprise can't? Landing on a planet wasn't the mission, was it?

Galactic High Commissioner. Our first Earth /Federation politician. In this case it seems commissioner might be "A High Commissioner is equivalent to an ambassador, originally between the United Kingdom and the Dominions and now between all Commonwealth states"

Wearing a good shirt must be the most dangerous position. To date 6 goldshirts died, 4 blueshirts and only 2 redshirts. Red must be the safest color.

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/november-art-challenge-b-j-s-entry.193579/ one fine tribute to this episode.

On Stardate 2821.5 the Galileo went missing. Kirk has 2 days to find them. Those 2 days were over on Stardate 2823.1

Type M planet. Can't remember if this type or class has been mentioned yet.

Star Wars blasters are powered by tibanna gas. Farscape pistols are powered by chakan oil. Phasers must likewise be powered by some chemicals if the power could be transferred to fuel the shuttle.

Space normal speed. Must be faster to get out and walk. Warp one must be tons faster. Or maybe the Murasaki effect requires a reduced speed. On the other hand, it seems common the Enterprise leaves orbit at warp one.

I liked the test objects used to test the transporter. Reminded me of the TNG test objects.

Space plague on a colony world despite the medical marvels of the future.


How did they dig that last grave without phasers?
 
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Now that I think of it, Spock agreed that they needed to destroy the Romulans in BoT or the Romulans would think they were weak and come back harder. So that's the argument Boma is using here, but Spock rejects it in favor of trying not to take life.

I guess the difference being that it's reasonable to assume they'll see the Romulans again, as they're a warp capable species who also understands what just happened and knows who their "enemy" is. The anthropoids aren't expected to hyper-accelerate their societal development and come after the Federation. Different circumstances.

I can't help feeling that Rand could have added some meat in the bones of the yeoman

Rand is Kirk's yeoman, so is she also head of the yeoman dept?
 
So is this Earth alliance an alliance? Is it a commonwealth? Is it a federation? What have we seen so far of the geopolitical landscape?

There are Earth colonies. One presumes Earth exists.
Vulcan is a separate location and not an Earth colony.

There is a galactic high commissioner who can pull rank on Kirk when the time limit is up. The Enterprise had to get to Makus III on time. How it got there was up to Kirk.

The Enterprise is under the authority of UESPA. I've seen some claims this might refer to the United Earth Space Probe Agency, but that's not explicitly mentioned yet.

Earth outposts guarded the neutral zone from the Romulans.

Any other observations to date?
 
Rand is Kirk's yeoman, so is she also head of the yeoman dept?
I think yeomen report to and work for their department heads. In a crew of only 430 there do seem to be a ludicrous number of yeomen. It may be that they report to Rand so that she has full details available for the captain but it's unlikely that she was in direct control of them all. She was only a petty officer and there are commissioned officers like the records officer who is .more likely to have an official supervisory role.

There's no indication that Mears is the Captain's Yeoman. She could be Scotty's.
 
In Charlie X we saw that Yeomen existed in at least 3 classes. It's possible that only a very few of the Yeomen we saw in TOS held the rank of "first class" Yeoman
 
In Charlie X we saw that Yeomen existed in at least 3 classes. It's possible that only a very few of the Yeomen we saw in TOS held the rank of "first class" Yeoman

Crewmen and petty officers usually have first, second, and third class ratings in the navy. So technicians are crewmen, specialists and yeomen are petty officers, Tina being a lower rating than Janice. But what do they all do? Why does a computerised ship need twenty or so administration staff. Scientists do their own administration!
 
Tina was implied to be near Charlie's age. Maybe there really are lots of Yeomen (of different classes) on board the Enterprise?
 
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