Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 14: The Galileo Seven [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Spock learns that there is more to commanding a ship than following the logical procedure.

This episode has lots action, suspense, and interpersonal tension both between Spock and his crew and between Kirk and his temporary commander. Thought provoking and exciting, this is definitely a vital part of any serious Star trek collection.

This episode is the first (and one of the few) episodes to use a shuttle craft.

On its way to deliver medical supplies to plague-ridden Hansen's Planet, the U.S.S. Enterprise passes Murasake 312. Since they are under Starfleet orders to inspect galactic phenomena such as this quasarlike star group, McCoy, Spock, Scott and four crewmen take a shuttlecraft, the Galileo, for a closer look. Without warning, the shuttlecraft is pulled off course and out of sensor range of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Spock manages to crash land the shuttle on a foggy, rocky area of Taurus II which is inhabited by giant, hostile humanoids. Between attacks by the war-like residents and quarrels among themselves, the crew attempts to repair the shuttle and get off the planet. Because of an ionization of its instruments, the U.S.S. Enterprise is unable to find the craft. On board, Commissioner Ferris demands that Kirk abandon the search and proceed to Hansen's Planet. Two of the crewmen from the Galileo are killed by the giant humanoids and Lt. Boma demands, irrationally, that Spock stop his repairs in order to bury the dead men. Spock's logic will not permit him to comply with the lieutenant's wishes in the face of their present situation. As the U.S.S. Enterprise prepares to leave the area without finding the missing shuttle, the Galileo manages an unsteady orbit around the planet, but is unable to pull away from its gravitational pull. Knowing it will send them crashing to the planet's surface if his plan fails, Spock ignites the remaining fuel. The U.S.S. Enterprise sees the meteor-like flare of the burning fuel and beams the crew aboard as the Galileo disintegrates in the planet's atmosphere. Later, Spock stubbornly insists that his desperate act was not a human instinct to gamble, but a logical Vulcan approach to their problem.

In Galileo Seven, Spock, Dr. McCoy, and a few other crew members go to a planet with the aid of a shuttle. Once they get there, they soon find out that the planet is inhabited with giant furry creatures that are just as hostile as they are huge. These creatures throw spears and rocks at the Enterprise crew. Led by Spock, the crew on the planet have to find a way to get back to the Enterprise if it's possible. Meanwhile, Captain Kirk keeps running the Enterprise like usual, but there is an annoying commander who is visiting the ship.

I really like the few episodes of Star Trek where there's a shuttle involved such as The Galileo Seven and The Immunity Syndrome. If you like Star Trek The Original Series, I definitely recommend getting The Galileo Seven.

Spock here. What a bunch of kooks I work with. They don't follow orders, we have no phasers becasue Scotty drained them to use for our damaged shuttle, and to top it off that damn doctor. We're being attacked by giant apes, and instead of working to get the ship ready, we have to have a funeral for one of our own. They had better start listening to me, or those giant apes will eat us all. Silly humans, why do I put up with this?

This Star Trek episode was written with a lot of action and this show had a lot of frightening times in it. This show is where the Enterprise is delivering medicine to a planet, but stop to investigate the Murasaki 312. Since it's off course, Spock and some crewman take a shuttle to investigate, but a shockwave hits the shuttle, and it impacts on a world with hostile ape-like creatures. Do they survive and escape? You'll have to find that answer on this exciting episode. Enjoy!

While there is some interesting action, I dislike this episode on a visceral level. Through the unforeseen actions of a quasar-like phenomenon, the Enterprise shuttlecraft Galileo is thrown wildly off course and crash-lands on a planet. Spock is in command and the other crewmembers are Scotty, McCoy, Lieutenant Boma, a female yeoman and two other expendable crewmen. The Galileo group begins to reconnoiter the surface and almost immediately come under attack from large, humanoid creatures. One of the expendables is quickly killed and almost immediately, Boma and McCoy start to criticize Spock for being more interested in the spear than the death of a fellow crewman.
This criticism continues, as Spock refuses to kill the humanoids, hoping to frighten them off with measured, rather than fatal phaser fire. The humanoids do not react as Spock had predicted and tensions aboard the Galileo reach the point of near mutiny when another of the expendables is killed. They finally manage to lift off the surface, and even as it appears that they will all die within minutes, McCoy cannot resist giving Spock one more verbal jab.
Meanwhile, there is a level of hostility aboard the Enterprise as well. It is carrying a supply of medicine that will avert a plague that must be delivered on time. A Federation high commissioner supervising the delivery objects to the Enterprise searching for the Galileo. He and Kirk go at it, and while the commissioner is right to insist that they make their rendezvous appointment, his manner is extremely annoying and counterproductive.
Once the Galileo achieves a temporary orbit, Spock releases the remaining fuel and ignites it, creating a flare-like signal that is seen by the Enterprise. At the very last second before the Galileo is destroyed by atmospheric friction, the remaining five-crew members are beamed aboard the Enterprise.
There are several reasons why I don't like this episode. The first is the amount of insubordination towards Spock exhibited by the remaining members of the crew. While they may not agree with his reasoning or even like the way Vulcans act, Spock is their commanding officer and their criticisms are unbecoming Star Fleet personnel. The only times in the series when crewmembers question their commanding officer is when Spock is in charge. McCoy disagrees with Kirk, but he never questions his command decisions. In the episode "The Doomsday Machine", when an obviously disturbed Commodore Decker takes command of the Enterprise, the crew follows his orders, which almost destroys the ship.
When the first expendable crewman is killed and the others start criticizing Spock, they are also not reacting as Star Fleet personnel would. Part of their training would be as soldiers, and a soldier would not react to the unexpected death of a comrade by criticizing their superior officer.
Finally, all of the other crewmembers, including McCoy, are in favor of simply killing the humanoid creatures. This violates the fundamental principle of non-interference, at the time; they have no idea how intelligent the creatures are. In such a situation, they can kill only when their lives are directly at risk. Therefore, Spock's statements and commands are more in line with Federation law than the urgings of his shipmates, which are quite barbaric. In "A Private Little War" Spock is severely shot, yet they still do not use their phasers to defend themselves. This is much more in keeping with the ethics of the Federation when dealing with other beings on their world.

This is defintely one of the better Star Trek shows, but what I find so striking about this particular episode is the incredible insubordination of the Mr. Boma character. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean. If I had been Spock, I would have begun court-martial proceedings against Boma immediately after returning to the Enterprise.

This episode intitled ( Galalieo Seven)was MR.Spocks first shot at command. Spock showed trek fans he maybe more human than they think,he choose to use blind luck instead of logic to save his crew.One of the best.

This episode had so much potential. The shuttle crew members do not act like Starfleet personnel. Why is it that people are always mean to Spock when he is in command? Also, why did they send a shuttlecraft to investigate Murasaki 312? I would rather have a Constitution-class starship investigate something rather than a shuttlecraft. That dude on the bridge was pretty annoying too.

Spock's first outing as commanding officer (this time of a shuttlecraft mission gone horribly wrong) is so painful that it nearly ends in mutiny. At least Scotty behaves as you'd expect a loyal officer to behave. TV's Don Marshall accuses Spock of being "a machine," and McCoy is on hand, as usual, to remind Spock that he's inhuman. In real life, Nimoy was more popular than Shatner, both with the cast (plays nice with others) and the fans. But when his character had to take over, humans often seemed to resent his Vulcan blood. (Compare: The Tholian Web, The Paradise Syndrome)

When the shuttlecraft is forced to land, Spock and crew encounter giant Neanderthals in costumes so cheap they make "The Outer Limits" and "Lost in Space" look good... and that's really saying something!! The creatures attack mindlessly, somewhat against the spirit of Trek, although it is possible that they were simply defending their territory. Predictably, some expendable crewmen in red shirts bite the dust, making some of Spock's decisions (who has to stay on the planet?) noticeably easier.

There are a couple of minor strong points: 1) Spock's utterance of the line, "There are always alternatives," which would resurface in the movie Star Trek II, and 2) the last scene. Shatner's delivery of the zinger "Mr. Spock, you're a stubborn man," is priceless. Although I always wonder if you're a "man" if you're not 100% homo sapien. Let's say he's a stubborn Vulcan. On second thought, no, it doesn't have the same ring to it.

For this episode, Kirk is stuck back on the Enterprise, giving Shatner, for a change, less to do than usual. But he has several scenes arguing with a Federation commissioner who wants Kirk to abandon the search for the shuttlecraft. The commissioner is so annoying, it's a wonder Kirk doesn't shove him out an airlock.