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TOS episode #14 - The Galileo Seven
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 5:30 pm    Post subject: TOS episode #14 - The Galileo Seven Reply with quote

____________
__________ Classic Star Trek: The Galileo Seven


__________


THE GALILEO SEVEN (1st season; episode #14) Air Date:1/5/67
Directed by Robert Gist / writers: Oliver Crawford, S Bar-David




There were seven crewmen. Not a lucky number here, and not a very magnificent group.

One of the Enterprise's shuttlecrafts is showcased in this episode, which spotlights the downside of exploration. It's a case study of survival techniques and examining the group dynamics among several crew members stuck on a hostile planet. It focuses on Spock (rare for a 1st season episode), not Kirk, who remained on board the ship this time. Spock's in command of the 7-member party on the Galileo shuttlecraft, which makes an unplanned landing on a planet called Taurus II, which resembles Earth's prehistoric days, perhaps circa 10,000 B.C..




Spock has a lot on his hands. Besides needing to figure out a way to lift off without fuel, the landing party is besieged by the 10-foot- tall natives who like to throw large spears at Starfleet officers.

This episode couldn't help but be popular with young viewers. When I was a kid, I was pretty spooked by some of the scenes. All that mist and those lumbering beast-men, with their deep, throaty growling. This sort of made me re-think my plans to become an astronaut. As private Hudson said in Aliens, "You can count me out!"


meanwhile, Kirk is up against a deadline and has to fend off an annoying Federation bureaucrat (these types appeared in several TOS episodes; this one is played by John Crawford — very annoying). Other guest cast: Don Marshall as Lt. Boma, Peter Marko as Lt. Gaetano.



The fascinating aspect to this is Spock's approach.

He takes logic to faulty extremes, addressing all problems like an equation. This doesn't work very well against huge, angry savages. Spock's robotic attitude also doesn't sit well with most of the other officers. They're emotional people, of course, and need words of encouragement in times of great stress.

Nor do they appreciate Spock's seeming callousness when one of them falls in the line of duty. You'd think Spock would realize by this time that he should at least give the impression of giving a damn in certain scenarios. But mostly, he sends the message that he's the smartest, and half of them are expendable — not the most positive message to send on a mission gone wrong.



Kirk himself loses patience with a high-ranking 'galactic commisioner' here — he starts out as respectful of the high rank, but eventually orders him off the bridge as his mood darkens. This exemplified Kirk's borderline disrespect for certain officials.

But I believe Spock over-compensated during this episode. Despite his statements about only using logic, he obviously feels the pressures of this chaotic command. He goes out of his way to alienate the rest of the group.



McCoy and Scotty, who came along on this joyride, will back up Spock even as they disagree with his methods. But a couple of other officers are downright insubordinate here. The attitudes in some scenes border on mutiny and some deep-rooted prejudices. Perhaps part of the "attitude problem" could also be the top-heavy ranking among the group: the 3 male guest stars all play lieutenants, not just ensigns, along with a female yeoman.





Extra Trek Trivia: This was the first appearance of an Enterprise shuttlecraft. The first draft of the script featured Yeoman Rand, but she left the series at this point, so it was re-written as 'Yeoman Mears.


__ Original Star Trek Galileo Spacecraft - Where Is It Today?


__________



BoG
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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 10:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Based upon the 1939 movie "Five Came Back."

Don Marshall who portrayed Lt.Boma would go on to co~star in Irwin Allen's sci~fi TV series "Land of the Giants."

John Crawford (High Commissioner Ferris) said he had a miserable time with William Shatner & came to dislike him (WS) very much.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Overall I enjoyed this episode very much.

However, it is always hard for me to get past the terrible looking planet set used here. One of the phoniest sets ever done on the show.


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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John Crawford had recently lost a child and Shatner was on his back I've read! Hopefully Shatner didn't know about Crawford's loss or that would paint him very badly indeed!
JB
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How sad, I never knew that John had lost a child.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes it is a horrible thing for anyone to endure! John Crawford's real name was Cleve Allen Richardson. I would have thought that a good enough name for television and films myself!
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some Trivia for "The Galileo Seven" } Title works okay but not the cleverest one created for an episode for the show. Homage to "The Magnificent Seven" perhaps?

Gene Roddenberry knew that the script for this episode required a shuttle craft for the Enterprise but he had no money in the budget to construct one.

Work on the script was halted and remained so for a few months.

The model kit company AMT wanted the contract to produce the model kit of the Enterprise. Desilu made a deal with AMT.

AMT received the rights for the model kits for the big "E." In turn, AMT built the shuttle for the series for free.

AMT constructed two full-sized shuttle crafts: One was for exterior filming while the other was for interior scenes.
Also, a miniature was made for the special FX shots.

The G7 was built in Phoenix, AZ. The cost was $24,000.
It's a wonder that AMT was allowed to do this considering the strict union rules in Hollywood.

Don Marshall who played Lt.Boma had been blacklisted by the industry when he refused to sign a contract to become a regular on the TV show "Daktari." By getting a job on "Mission: Impossible'' he was able to get job offers once again including ST: TOS.

Attractive Phyllis Douglas would play Yeoman Mears on board the Galileo. Originally Yeoman Janice Rand was intended to be one of the G7 but had been forced out of the series at that point.

Two year old Douglas appeared as little Bonnie Blue Butler in the film classic "Gone With the Wind."

She would return to ST: TOS as a space hippie in the episode "The Way to Eden.''

Robert Maffei who was 7' & 1" tall played the giant hostile alien on the planet. He had played the fearsome gigantic Cyclops on "Lost In Space."

This is a well written episode that really allows Mr.Spock to be in the spotlight.

While I'm fond of this episode, as I've posted earlier here I wish the production had done a much better job with the set for the planet of Taurus II that the Galileo crashed upon. It is brightly lit & that's the problem. Viewers clearly know they are watching an artificial set on a studio sound stage.

Solutions would have been to shoot this episode outdoors.
If that was an issue then how about it's nighttime on the planet? That fact coupled with the fog special effect would have made this episode even more suspenseful. This would also have obscured the fake looking planetary set.

It was great that the show finally established having shuttles on board the Enterprise.

I'm assuming that the miniature for the hanger deck was built for this episode.

In scenes where we would see the life-size hanger deck & shuttlecraft in such episodes as "Journey to Babel," and "The Immunity Syndrome" the engineering set was revamped to appear as the hanger bay.

The remastered effect for the quasar is terrific for TG7 and far superior to the original effect done back when the show was first produced.

It has always bothered me that the "tag" for this episode has everyone laughing hilariously as we fade out. Scotty is laughing so hard he has to lean against a bulkhead!

Meanwhile two crew members lay dead on the planet & this has only happened recently. We have seen how hard Kirk takes it when a crewman of his is killed even if its in the line of duty & no one's fault.

Now we get a laugh fest. Unbelievable! Poor writing to boot.
I guess that in space no one can hear you giggle?


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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
The model kit company AMT wanted the contract to produce the model kit of the Enterprise. Desilu made a deal with AMT.

AMT received the rights for the model kits for the big "E." In turn,AMT built the shuttle for the series for free.

AMT constructed two full-sized shuttlecrafts:One was for exterior filming while the other was for interior scenes.
Also,a miniature was made for the special FX shots.

The G7 was built in Phoenix,AZ. The cost was $24,000.
It's a wonder that AMT was allowed to do this considering the strict union rules in Hollywood.

Matt Jefferies designed the shuttle to be a small vehicle, and AMT buillt it that way. Notice how the actors have to stoop to enter and exit the shuttle.

During the construction of the shuttle, someone decided that the shuttle should be large enough for people to standup in. The shuttle exterior was too far along in construction to alter the size. So the interior set was built to a larger scale, so the actors could standup in the set and not be hunched over.

David.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John Crawford and Don Marshall sadly don't appear together here in this episode but did do a few scenes with each other in The Incredible Hulk episode, The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas in 1978!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Originally the story had Captain Kirk commanding the Galileo shuttlecraft and Mr.Spock in command of the Enterprise.

Series creator Gene Roddenberry felt that there would be more opportunity for conflict with the Galileo crew if Spock was in charge instead of Kirk.

Good call, Gene.

Both Dr.McCoy & Scotty were also not on board the Galileo until scriptwriter Oliver Crawford did a rewrite.

High Commissioner Ferris was not a part of the story at this point.

Early drafts of the script did not show the giant humanoid creatures on Taurus 2. Their gigantic spears were the only indication of their size.

Auto designer Thomas Kellogg had the job of making Matt Jefferies plans for the Galileo become a reality.
Gene Winfield of AMT's Speed & Custom Division, would lead the crew in construction of the shuttlecraft.

Winfield & his team built the futuristic Piranha car for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." TV series.

Richard Datin, who built the Enterprise models would also construct miniature for the Enterprise's hanger deck.

The model was over ten feet long, more than six feet wide and six feet tall.

The cost was $2,100.

When Don Marshall (Lt. Boma) became aware of his being blacklisted in the industry due to his refusal to sign on as a regular on the TV show "Daktari" (he appeared in three episodes), he turned to Gene Roddenberry for help.

Don had been the guest star on Gene's prior TV show "The Lieutenant."

Gene confirmed to Don that Don was indeed blacklisted.

Gene advised Don to do a one-time guest spot on "Mission: Impossible" (Star Trek's sister series at Desilu). That would get Don's name in the trade papers showing that Don was working.

Gene then called Don to do an episode of Star Trek which would be The Galileo Seven. Don said that then he started receiving job offers.
Gene had saved my career according to Don.

Phyllis Douglas who played Yeoman Mears on this episode would return later to ST as Hippie Girl #2 on the episode "The Way to Eden."

The quasar-like formation visual effect was stunningly redone for the remastered version of this episode.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

But not bettered in my humble opinion! Laughing
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2021 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the Nitpicker's Guide.

The Nitpicker found that including Dr. McCoy and Scotty as part of the Galileo's crew to be 'a bit dubvious,' even though they were 'needed in the end.'

I found their inclusion perfectly logical. If there are any medical emergencies on such a potentially dangerous mission as this one; a physician would be a must. Perhaps not the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise but one of the junior doctors.

Of course they had to work in DeForest Kelly since he was one of the show's co-stars.

And having an engineer also makes since because who better understands the mechanical operation of a shuttle craft? If anything causes it to malfunction or be damaged you'll want an engineer on board.

Realistically it might not be the Chief Engineer of the Enterprise but a junior engineer.

Mr. Spock orders Lt. Boma and Lt. Gaetano to fire their phasers to frighten away the giant inhabitants.

Why not stun 'em? Spock doesn't want to kill the giant humanoids and that's fine. However, what use is a stun setting if you won't use it?

Spock leaves Lt. Gaetano behind in the rocks to watch out for the giants. How is this a logical choice? Lt. Latimer was killed when traveling as part of the team.

Seems likely that one lone guard would be very vulnerable.

Uhura reports that the Enterprise transporter has recovered five survivors from the now incinerated Galileo.

Captain Kirk smiles on hearing this and orders the star ship to head for Makus III.

Hold on: How does he know that the other two crew members of the Galileo still aren't on Taurus II?

Does Kirk automatically assume that Spock, Bones, and Scotty are among the five saved crewmen from the Galileo?
Why assume such a thing?

Since the Enterprise was delayed due to searching for the missing Galileo until the last possible minute; once the five crewmen were rescued shouldn't he now get to Makus III as soon as possible?

Nope. Kirk orders the Enterprise to proceed to Makus III at warp one.

I'd have ordered warp 100 just to get that annoying High
Commissioner Ferris the frak off my ship.

And then there are those valuable medical supplies that Makus III needs.
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2021 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
Matt Jefferies designed the shuttle to be a small vehicle, and AMT built it that way. Notice how the actors have to stoop to enter and exit the shuttle.

Matt Jefferies' shuttle concept was quite different from the boxy design that we're familiar with. Jefferies originally conceived a streamlined, aircraft-like design that would have been too complicated and expensive to build.



The final look of the shuttlecraft was mainly the work of automotive designer Thomas Kellogg, who was also largely responsible for designing the Studebaker Avanti. Matt Jefferies added the engine nacelles and designed the interior.

Krel wrote:
During the construction of the shuttle, someone decided that the shuttle should be large enough for people to standup in. The shuttle exterior was too far along in construction to alter the size. So the interior set was built to a larger scale, so the actors could standup in the set and not be hunched over.

That's understandable, since it's difficult enough shooting on a cramped set with a ceiling -- let alone with a ceiling so low the actors can't stand upright!
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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2022 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Came across some good nitpicks from a reviewer of this episode today on Youtube.

High Commissioner Ferris says that the emergency medical supplies being ferried by the Enterprise are due at the planet Makus III where they will then be taken to the New Paris colonies where a deadly plague is out of control.

So how come the Enterprise is unable to warp directly to the New Paris colonies?

It is three days to Makus III and then a rendezvous is in five days. That infers that another starship is traveling to Makus III, will pick up the desperately needed medical supplies, and then warp away to the New Paris colonies that are suffering this pandemic.

Since the Enterprise (for no good reason given) isn't going to take the medicine to the colonies, wouldn't it be reasonable to have the Federation starship zip pass Makus III and continue on to meet the other starship, at least part ways?

We're never informed as to why exactly Makus III is part of all this plan in the first place? Why are they the crucial middleman in all this effort?

One solution to this sloppy scripting could have been not to have the Enterprise carrying the medicine in the first place. Instead, the story has the Enterprise going to Makus III where the vital medicine is being created. Once there the Enterprise could pick it up when it is all properly processed and ready, and then ferry it to the New Paris colonies.

Captain Kirk informs Commissioner Ferris that he (Kirk) has standing orders to investigate any kind of quasar or quasar-like phenomena whenever one is sighted.

Does such an order truly seem reasonable or humane? If a starship is engaged on a mission of mercy to save lives shouldn't it continue its mission?

I understand that part of the mission statement for the Enterprise is to explore and gather intelligence on spatial phenomena. But at the cost of lives? This quasar isn't going anywhere. Can't the Enterprise return to investigate it after their life saving mission is over? They could send out probes to get some kind of readings even if it was incomplete.

The Galileo Shuttlecraft is sent to gather sensor readings of this quasar. Why send out a shuttle in the first place?

The Enterprise scanners and sensors are vastly more powerful than any shuttlecraft, and the starship is having
great difficulty with any readings.

Seems as if the Galileo isn't going to do any better even if they are in closer proximity.

Were seven crew members required for this mission in the Galileo? What exactly are their respective functions?

Sidebar: I always thought that was odd too. We see the crew sitting in the shuttlecraft. How exactly were they studying the quasar? None of 'em had any kind of instrument consoles of any kind at their stations.

I always thought that a good idea was that the shuttlecrafts should have their seats designed so that there were arm rests that they could pull across their torsos. Within this arm rest would be a sophisticated console for each individual. That crew person would operate the console in order to take any kind of sensor readings required.
This arm rest could also act as a safety belt. The Seeker spacecraft on Space Academy had just a setup.

How did the out-of-control Galileo get drawn to the planet? Were they that close to it before losing control? If so, why were they? If the shuttle was out-of-control just how did they manage such an effective landing?

Mr. Spock orders his crew to fire their phasers to scare of the primitive gigantic cavemen on this unknow world. Why would such brutal savages be frightened by a beam of light? They fire their phasers in a dense fog, did the aliens even see these beams of light?

Mr. Spock fires his phaser at a shield that one of the aliens is holding in front of him. The shield may be large but it has to be made of primitive material from the planet. And yet it absorbed the phaser beam just fine.

When the story tells us that in order for the Galileo to liftoff they will have to dump 400 or more lbs., Mr. Spock says that would be the equivalent weight of three men.

Why did no one think to remove all the chairs in the shuttlecraft? They may not equal a lot of weight but every little bit helps.

The phenomena has played havoc with the transporter system.
Kirk is informed that some boxes beamed down to and back from the planet came back safely as part of a test and the transporters are now able to beam humans safely.

First off, the guy who tell this to Kirk doesn't appear to be a medical specialist of any kind. So who the hell is he to say the transporters are completely safe for human transport?

Secondly, humans are a lot more complex than simple boxes. Just because the boxes were reintegrated just fine and dandy hardly means it'd automatically work perfectly with a human being.

Now that the transporters are (supposedly) safe, Kirk beams a landing party down to the planet to look for the Galileo crew. Um, he has no clue as to where the Galileo seven are and this is a large planet. What are the odds the landing parties are going to be beamed precisely to the exact continent and location of the Galileo crew members?

Kirk sends out the Columbus shuttlecraft to aid in the search. Uhura has informed Kirk that she cannot receive or transmit radio signals.

So Kirk has a shuttle he cannot communicate with nor they to him. And the Enterprise cannot contact the rescue landing parties, or hear from them?

So how does he know any more what is going on without any communication? How would he know if a landing party did discover the Galileo crew? How would the landing party call the Enterprise in order to be beamed back aboard when they needed to?

Won't sending out another shuttle just endanger that crew due to the quasar just as the Galileo were placed in jeopardy? Now Kirk could have two shuttlecraft crews missing?

Spock posts crewman Gaetano far away from the Galileo as a security precaution. Why so far? The planet has thick fog, they don't know the planet's terrain, and their tricorders aren't fully operable so as to be able to detect the savages.
That's a lot of negatives for posting someone out that far.

Gaetano dies at the hands of the cavemen. Big surprise there.

Spock goes to look for Gaetano but hands his phaser over so that it can be drained for fuel for the Galileo.

It takes Scotty a long time to drain a phaser for this purpose. So can't Spock take his phaser with him while Scotty is working on draining the others?

One can make a case that everyone's phaser is critical. However, Spock going off alone without any weapon is foolish.

Oddity, when Spock sees Gaetano's body laying on a rock, he very casually strolls up to it and stands there with his hands on his hips staring at the body. Shouldn't he rush up to it in order to determine if Gaetano is dead or alive? If he was alive, then minutes count and Spock has to get him back to the shuttlecraft for Dr. McCoy to treat Gaetano.

Later on we see two graves for the bodies of Latimer & Gaetano. Wonder how they dug those graves? Couldn't be with phasers. Did the Galileo have shovels we didn't see?

Scotty tells Spock and the others that with the phaser fuel that the Galileo now has that the craft has the capability of orbiting the planet for a few hours.

Once in orbit he says they have 45-minutes. What happened to the few hours?

One of the humongous aliens manages to hold down the Galileo as it is attempting liftoff. Really? I know these dudes are big and strong but can they actually prevent a shuttlecraft from lifting off?

Spock gets into a philosophical debate with his crew regarding his use of logic as commander while the alien creature is pounding the Galileo.

Is this really the time for that?

Spock says that the shuttlecraft can orbit the planet for just so long and then it will lose its orbit and burn up in the planet's atmosphere.

Well, you could leave orbit a bit earlier before the fuel is entirely spent and make a safely controlled landing onto the planet.
Yes, you'd be in the same pickle but you'd be alive and have a fighting chance. Sure beats roasting to death.

Uhura announces that she has partial communications now. Spock in the Galileo in orbit of the planet that they've just lifted off from is hailing the Enterprise at that moment.
But Uhura never hears him.

In a desperate attempt to send up a flare, Spock ignites the fuel of the Galileo. Exactly how did that work? Remember, the Galileo's original fuel supply was exhausted and they used the phaser energy to be a substitute for the Galileo's fuel.

So phaser power can ignite?

Sidebar: In spite of these many plot holes, the YT reviewer enjoyed this episode. He liked the dramatic interaction between Spock and the Galileo crew.

He felt that the scripting was poor on plot points and technology points though and it should have been stronger regarding those issues.

I agree.


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PostPosted: Fri May 06, 2022 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

An awesome post, Mike! Thanks. Very Happy

Scot, please forgive this belated thanks for the great post about the shuttlecraft. Those sketches are gorgeous, and the design is terrific!

Too bad they didn't have CGI back in 1966. Cool.

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