The Galileo Seven

[Gojira]

Any one else feel this episode hasn't aged well? Don't get me wrong I still enjoy it but the entire premise seems off. The episode seems to be an early anti-technology/computer message with Spock standing in as the symbolic cold logical computer and technology while the humans are the ones who symbolize the superior humans who haven't lost their heart.

The problem is that today what Spock was doing sounds rational and sensible but the humans, with thier supposedly superior heart and emotions, actually start sounding irrational and unreasonable in thier demands and actions. In an episode where the lesson seems to be that we need more than logic and reason and that our heart and emotions are better than cold logic, it seems today that the humans actually come across as sounding almost crazy and irrational in this episode.

 

[Timo]

It's difficult to pull off a watertight piece of lifeboat drama when the boat isn't in familiar water at all, but in a scifi environment full of assumptions, show-internal precedent and things the writers just didn't have the patience to think through. What might look eminently logical to the writer might actually be pretty stupid in terms of the premise and vice versa.

Say, the writer never comes to grips with why there should be a hurry there. Kirk has all the time in the world to rescue his friends, even if (and especially if) he first takes the time to deliver the medicine to the rendezvous spot. The heroes lack nothing: they have food, water, shelter and weapons. There is no intensifying threat there, from the Murasaki effect, from the natives, from wounds or strife among the castaways. The effort to make the situation look grim means the heroes have to act stupidly at best, idiotically at times.

Then there's the techno-heavy fuel crisis that the audience cannot readily associate with their own outboard motor mishaps or the latest NASA news; it's sort of in between, but not recognizable for anything much. Turning bullets into propulsion comes out of the left field; the viewers aren't able to judge whether that's smart or stupid, whether the heroes missed a trick or two, or made good use of their resources.

So the audience really has to ignore the plot, whatever little there is of that, and concentrate solely on the characters and their interactions, being forced to trust the writer's insistence that they make sense. Which is perfectly doable, but does create problems when one looks at the situation from, well, any angle other than the "they must know what they are doing" one.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[UnknownSample]

No, this holds up beautifully. This story never came down on the side of Spock, or the humans under him. We see both sides. It can look a t first as if the point of view of the script is going to be that of the supposed noble , feeling humans, but even early on , we can tell their case against Spock is overblown and not quite fair.

Spock and the humans go back and forth, both get their chance to be momentary heroes or villains. The moment I love is when things are turned around 180 degrees, and Spock is being the human one going out of his way to have respect for life, and the humans are the ones for being "practical" about life and death.

I have to say, though, that I was always on Spock's side.

 

[Galileo7]

"Galileo Seven" is one of my favorite TAS episodes. TOS shuttlecraft had twin nacelles like the 1701, then why didn't it have warp drive too.

 

[Gojira]

No, this holds up beautifully. This story never came down on the side of Spock, or the humans under him. We see both sides. It can look a t first as if the point of view of the script is going to be that of the supposed noble , feeling humans, but even early on , we can tell their case against Spock is overblown and not quite fair.

Spock and the humans go back and forth, both get their chance to be momentary heroes or villains. The moment I love is when things are turned around 180 degrees, and Spock is being the human one going out of his way to have respect for life, and the humans are the ones for being "practical" about life and death.

I have to say, though, that I was always on Spock's side.

That's a a good perspective. But do you think the intent back in the 60s was to show them equally? I too was always on Spock's side.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Yeah, when I go back to this one, it's an episode I enjoy more in concept than execution. Right off the bat we're asked to swallow that Spock -- first officer and second in command on the Enterprise -- is commanding his very first landing party. Really? He's been in Starfleet for how long? And then Boma and several of the officers cross the line from critical to downright insubordinate.

I find that a lot of the episodes produced under Steven W. Carabatsos' tenure ("The Alternative Factor", "Operation: Annihilate!", "Court Martial", "Tomorrow Is Yesterday", "The Conscience of the King") are like that -- Provocative premises, with scripts that don't hang together very well. I'm not too surprised that his contract was not renewed. Thank heavens for Gene Coon!

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

No, this holds up beautifully. This story never came down on the side of Spock, or the humans under him. We see both sides. It can look a t first as if the point of view of the script is going to be that of the supposed noble , feeling humans, but even early on , we can tell their case against Spock is overblown and not quite fair.

Spock and the humans go back and forth, both get their chance to be momentary heroes or villains. The moment I love is when things are turned around 180 degrees, and Spock is being the human one going out of his way to have respect for life, and the humans are the ones for being "practical" about life and death.

Your assessment of "The Galileo Seven" is correct; the episode was not truly about the Murasaki effect, or the creatures on the planet. This was a classic "trial by fire" story for the main shuttle players--all--at the time of its airing--were still fairly new to audiences. Up to this time, there were small windows into Spock's worldview ("Where No Man Has Gone Before") and personal issues ("The Naked Time"), but as lone commander, it had not been "his" show without Kirk ultimately nearby to relieve, guide or influence him.

The same applies to McCoy; obviously he had been part of landing parties before, but this time, there was no subconscious knowledge (a comfort) that the 1701 was nearby as back up--he (like the rest) knew they were not going to be easily detected (if at all), so his life was forced into the pressure cooker of the shuttle, and its dispassionate commander--that (in McCoy's mind) is not the best chemical mix for success in life threatening situations.

The episode remains a great chapter of ST because it effectively examined the who, what and why of its principals, and in the face of the wealth of raw tensions--hatred in one case--the audience did not leave the story soured, but wanted to see/learn more about the survivors in episodes to come. Without "The Galileo Seven" as an important stepping stone for all relationships involved--the series would not be the same without it, and probably would not have fueled the interest that (in part) kept the show attracting / building the first run fanbase.

 

[Xotika]

Right off the bat we're asked to swallow that Spock -- first officer and second in command on the Enterprise -- is commanding his very first landing party. Really? He's been in Starfleet for how long?

Actually makes sense. Spock was Science Officer under Pike, he never was on command track (at least he never took Cobayashi Maru test), obviously has problems with understanding emotional dynamics in human groups. I can believe that Pike let him rule in Science department but never let him command landing parties and there were people (at least Number One but maybe someone else) in line to assume command on the bridge before him. Then Kirk promoted him to XO and he gets to command a landing party.
Probably needed some amount command experience to be promoted to Commander too as he is still LtCmdr by Court Martial.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Actually makes sense. Spock was Science Officer under Pike, he never was on command track (at least he never took Cobayashi Maru test), obviously has problems with understanding emotional dynamics in human groups. I can believe that Pike let him rule in Science department but never let him command landing parties and there were people (at least Number One but maybe someone else) in line to assume command on the bridge before him.

Really? A science officer who rose to the rank of Lt. Commander and became head of the science department, yet he somehow never commanded a planetary survey in the entire eleven years he served under Pike? I find that a bit hard to swallow.

 

[Xotika]

Really? A science officer who rose to the rank of Lt. Commander and became head of the science department, yet he somehow never commanded a planetary survey in the entire eleven years he served under Pike? I find that a bit hard to swallow.

Well, Spock obviously leads a survey in the beginning of The Naked Time but seems like it's not enough to count as command experience (more like writers messed up with continuity again, what a surprise ). And I'm trying to remember any planetside mission in TOS that wasn't led by Captain or First Officer and so far I have no luck. Suppose it was this way under Pike too?
As for becoming department head and LtCmdr without command experience it is possible in TOS - McCoy is both. Scotty too, though it is unknown if he ever commanded the ship under Pike I doubt he ever got to lead a landing party.

 

[Maurice]

I think the "Command" referred to commanding the shuttle, like the Captain of an airliner.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

^ What he said.

 

[feek61]

Many (or most) Trek episodes have flaws and this one is no exception. That being said; this is one of my favorites!!!

 

[JonnyQuest037]

As for becoming department head and LtCmdr without command experience it is possible in TOS - McCoy is both.

McCoy is not really a good example to use, as he was a medical professional and was likely granted a commission without attending Starfleet Academy. That's pretty typical for doctors in the military.

McCoy not attending Starfleet Academy is my own supposition, but one that I think is implied at several times throughout TOS. He's not familiar with the Academy slang term "Dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer," and he seems unfamiliar with the proper procedure for punishing Spock in Part One of "The Menagerie." Plus, there's his general non-military bearing and disdain for military traditions (hatred of his dress uniform, etc.). Kind of reminds you of the drafted-into-service Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H, no?

Don't forget that most of TOS's writers and creators had seen military service of some sort and knew how these sorts of things worked, unlike many of the folks who followed them on the subsequent Trek shows.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I think the "Command" referred to commanding the shuttle, like the Captain of an airliner.

That's about the only way I can rationalize it in my head - McCoy's being sarcastic with Spock at the end of the episode when he says that the Galileo was Spock's "first command." I just try to ignore that Kirk says the same thing in his initial log entry.

 

[UnknownSample]

Beaming down for awhile in charge of a few scientists, then beaming back up, isn't "a command". It's being "in command", but Spock's also in command in any room Kirk isn't standing in. Someone's "first command" means more than just any situation where one is in charge.

Being in charge of life and death decisions for a separate vessel is "a command", especially if it's cut off and on its own. I'll add that it hadn't yet been established that Spock had been in Starfleet at least 11 years yet, because The Menagerie hadn't even inserted The Cage into canon yet, and hadn't named that number of years yet either. At this point, The Cage was just an aborted first attempt at ST, superceded by what we were now seeing onscreen. Unless this obviously early episode was aired later in the season. In which case, we must acknowledge the reality of production order...

I do always want to see McCoy's first command remark as sarcastic, though , because it's such a tiny ship to think of that way. Could a one person escape pod be someone's first command too? No, I get it, Spock's responsible for lives.

Nagging at me is the thought that my memory of McCoy remarking on Spock's "first command", standing by the shuttle, is actually from "Metamorphosis", obviously much later. Did he say it then, too?

 

[TrickyDickie]

Whether the episode represents a realistic scenario or not is a tough call.

Academy training, very early on, would have presented that you can be faced with absolute life-or-death situations at any moment, especially out on the frontier where no one has gone before. Even if McCoy did not go to the academy, he was obviously aware of the dangers. Starfleet regs about no 'conduct unbecoming' also would enter into it.

On the other hand, they are humans and not Vulcans like Spock. Reserve can and does slip sometimes in critical situations.

On the other hand, there was the desire to make a dramatic, engaging episode.

Oh, wait.....that's three hands!

4:06-4:16 :

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[RAMA]

Any one else feel this episode hasn't aged well? Don't get me wrong I still enjoy it but the entire premise seems off. The episode seems to be an early anti-technology/computer message with Spock standing in as the symbolic cold logical computer and technology while the humans are the ones who symbolize the superior humans who haven't lost their heart.

The problem is that today what Spock was doing sounds rational and sensible but the humans, with thier supposedly superior heart and emotions, actually start sounding irrational and unreasonable in thier demands and actions. In an episode where the lesson seems to be that we need more than logic and reason and that our heart and emotions are better than cold logic, it seems today that the humans actually come across as sounding almost crazy and irrational in this episode.

I really love this episode. Aside from my name being in the titles, it's an opportunity not to have Shatner stealing all the lines and seeing Spock learn to command humans and secondary crew members with speaking parts.

I sympathize with your opinion, and my own instinct is to say Spock did mostly everything right. I thought that way even when I was younger and first saw it. Over the years, I realized that no matter how logical, you have to adapt to your surroundings, and eventually Spock learns that.

Another thing..I see this as a stepping stone for Spock, much in the same way he goes back to Vulcan, rejects Kolinhar and then learns to joke in the later movies.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

As far as the story concerning "logic vs. emotion," I think it pretty neatly said that BOTH are important. Emotion wanted to have a funeral ceremony. Logic said it would be dangerous. Logic proven right and they were attacked. Logic said lift off with out Spock. Emotion disobeyed and saved him anyway. Logic dictated that the only option left was to ignite the fuel as a distress signal. Emotion protested this. Crew saved. If the emotional humans hadn't disobeyed and saved the logical Spock, his logic would never has prevailed to use the distress signal which saved them in the ends. Both extremes need to be tempered by the other.

As far as the "first command" thing, it was a sloppy writing mistake. Yeah, it was Spock's first command in the tv series and not just "watching the helm" like the opening of "Corbomite Maneuver" or a landing party leader like in "Naked Time." He was show in the center chair in "The Cage" when Pike and Number One were both on Talos IV. But I think a lot of Spock's "command experience" has been romantically built up in fans' minds over the years. Spock has clearly stated that he does not seek command ("The Galileo Seven," "The Enterprise Incident," "The Wrath of Khan"). I believe that he was only second officer during "Where No Man Has Goner Before" under both Kirk and Mitchell because of Spock stating in a log entry during "The Enemy Within" that he is "second officer." I believe that Kirk found his brutal logic extremely useful during his confrontation with Gary Mitchell and that he really pushed with Starfleet to promote Spock to be his first officer. I believe he got the field commission to wear the 2 stripes of Commander while he was still being identified as a Lieutenant Commander ("Court Martial," "The Menagerie," "Tomorrow Is Yesterday") because of Starfleet's hesitancy about promoting a pacifist Vulcan to a first officer. "The Galileo Seven" could have been Spock's "first command" under Kirk and an important stepping stone to securing being promoted to a full Commander. Why would McCoy and Scotty be on a shuttle mission that was doing routine research on a quasar? Maybe Spock was being evaluated for his command abilities by the "neutral observers" (someone other than Kirk) of McCoy and Scott for recommendations to Starfleet. Maybe the insubordinate acts were intentional obstacles put to Spock as a dry run in order to see how he would react to the same reactions in the field by aliens from another planet. A lot of "retconning" for sure but Data as a science officer was with Starfleet for many years before dealing with a similar situation in "Ensigns of Command." I can see a science officer not being in command of a mission for a long time in his career. Captain Pike has "Number One" as a first officer and not Spock. Captain Picard had Riker as first officer and not Data. I believe that Spock was unique in that a science officer was the first officer.

 

[Poltargyst]

There's no way the acts of insubordination were a test of Spock by Star Fleet. Officers have died, the survivors are in danger. Those were very real reactions.