Well, this is certainly an interesting and educational thread. I had to Google "orichalcum."
"You watch yourself, Dodge. You are addressing a superior officer!"
"No, merely a higher ranking one."
The Galileo Seven
- Thread starter Mendon
- Start date
"You watch yourself, Dodge. You are addressing a superior officer!"
"No, merely a higher ranking one."
Given that the Enterprise's mission was to deliver urgent medical supplies to planet Makus III, why did they stop to investigate the green space-sneeze in the first place? By Kirk waiting to save Spock and the others, he may have saved the Galileo's surviving crew but how many thousands could have been saved on the planet Makus III if Kirk had got there earlier with the drugs and band-aids?
That's not really what their mission was. Their mission was to deliver the medical supplies to the next link in a relay chain, at Makus III. The final destination of the medication was the New Paris colonies. So quite possibly, they wouldn't have won anything by being at the rendezvous point early; the next stagecoach wouldn't have been there yet.
Clearly, if the matter wasn't so urgent that Starfleet would dedicate a starship entirely for delivering the medications from factory to final destination, then Kirk could take a breather and do other parts of his job.
The whole "phaser batteries are fuel" thing is technologically iffy. Fuel in this episode is something that leaks out when the shuttle gets holed. Would the contents of a phaser power cell really leak out of a hole? If not, how can they replace the lost fuel?
Timo Saloniemi
Clearly, if the matter wasn't so urgent that Starfleet would dedicate a starship entirely for delivering the medications from factory to final destination, then Kirk could take a breather and do other parts of his job.
The whole "phaser batteries are fuel" thing is technologically iffy. Fuel in this episode is something that leaks out when the shuttle gets holed. Would the contents of a phaser power cell really leak out of a hole? If not, how can they replace the lost fuel?
Timo Saloniemi
Well, in all fairness, the only one I remember pronouncing the Murasaki 312 probe mission to be "your first command" was McCoy, not Spock. We had obviously seen Spock left in command of the Enterprise before, as far back as "The Cage".
I took McCoy's derisive remark to be more indicative that Spock, who was still apparently a lieutenant-commander bucking for a promotion at the time of this mission, may have never taken a high-risk extra-vehicular probe like this one as a qualification for promotion. It may be a required exercise for either a star-cruiser's science officer and/or first officer, or for anyone in line for promotion to full commander.
"The Galileo Seven" has always been a favorite of mine. In a way, it was a guilty pleasure because here you have characters climbing around on fake rocks on faux "outdoor" sets. The whole thing as a soundstage "bottle show", but somehow they got away with it. And then there's the spear-chucking King Kong going after the Galileo. You can love it or laugh at it. I prefer both!
All that aside, it was still a great story. And yes, it made sense.
I only wish this kind of frontier romp had been re-made in subsequent TREK series. Sadly, none of them really did that. I would love to see a shuttlecraft expedition be forced to land on a planet-of-the-dinosaurs or something like that. (And no, I'm not talking about that one farce from VOYAGER, either.)
McCoy indeed said that. And the comment was loaded with bitterness: "So ends your first command"... In failure and death. Although it was not completely without sympathy, either.
Yet Spock immediately answers "Yes. My first command.", in a resigned voice.
Of course, that's quite possibly a sarcastic reply, in the same bittersweet vein as McCoy's original jab. "No, it's not my first command, and you know it well, Doctor, but you do have a point in that had anybody else commanded this mission, the results might have been quite different. My whole career of command has consisted of being blind to certain unwielding aspects of reality, and here it ends."
Timo Saloniemi
That was always my impression as well; other examples are Tormolen in "Naked Time" who casually removes the glove of his isolation suit to scratch his nose, and the fact that the notion was even conceivable for crewman Darnell to have eaten a Borgia plant (breaking the sort of common sense rule that even childrens' walking parties follow!)
The presence of such characters might be an echo of the unthinking alcoholic chef we saw among the crew in "Forbidden Planet" (which inspired Trek in more than one area).
Another possibility is that the vast majority of the crew were very much the "common man" of 1960s war movies; drafted to serve aboard a vessel with only the most basic of training. Where are all the highly qualified astronauts and years of starfleet education? Clearly, by the 23rd century space travel really has become that blasé!
Alcoholic? No way. Earl Holliman's “Cookie” was just a guy who appreciated a fine Kansas City bourbon!
Actually, we have no evidence that this would have been an "isolation suit".
When Spock and Tormolen beamed down, they did not yet know that there'd be biological or chemical agents down there threatening them. They had no reason to suspect such a thing. They did know it would be hellishly cold down there, though. So more probably, those were cold climate suits, designed solely to keep the wearer warm.
After all, note that the suits do not provide any isolation. The headpiece is separate, in no way sealed to the rest of the suit - air is freely flowing through the neck area. The gloves aren't sealed, either.
Perhaps this is a standard issue thermal regulation suit, used in both cold and hot climes, and in fighting shipboard fires? The ability to quickly don it would then be paramount.
Timo Saloniemi
Cmdr. Adams’ line is: “I'm in command of 18 competitively selected super-perfect physical specimens with an average age of 24.6 who have been locked up in hyperspace for 378 days!”
At the time, it was still Desilu.
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
I just finished watching this episode, and I took the forced glee at the end to be more on the order of a tension breaker. During the preceding scene, when Uhura announces they'd transported five persons "alive and well," I got choked up and teary eyed, even after 43 years and countless viewings. Kirk has got a lump in the throat, too, if one observes him before he's about to speak. I think they are all so freaking relieved that it accounts for the somewhat manic hilarity at the end.
...It does appear odd that Kirk doesn't bother to ask which five survived!
I mean, he could do it later, when the camera looks away. But it probably should be his first concern. Did he lose Spock? McCoy? Scotty? Or that goldshirted guy whose name he can't remember? Is he really so egalitarian a CO that he doesn't care?
Timo Saloniemi
I mean, he could do it later, when the camera looks away. But it probably should be his first concern. Did he lose Spock? McCoy? Scotty? Or that goldshirted guy whose name he can't remember? Is he really so egalitarian a CO that he doesn't care?
Timo Saloniemi
Oh, I think he was wondering pretty strongly all right; but it seemed better to wait and find out when everybody else did. I did actually think that at the time. Personally, I wouldn't want to show favoritism at that point. The two gold-shirts may have had good friends on the bridge, too.
Excellent point - I think I'm still stuck on the description of the suits offered by Phil Farrand which was when I started to get seriously into TOS. Your theory has a deal of merit - and being made of plastic (bubble wrap?) they would certainly be warm!
It still doesn't explain though why Tormolen went to the trouble of removing his tight fitting glove to scratch his nose - he could easily have done it with the glove on.
startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
Why in The Gaileo Seven Kirk didn't seem concerned on what 5 crew members he might have lost?
You mean which 5 of the 7 survived, and which 2 were lost.
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