Star Trek (TV Series) The Galileo Seven (1967) User Reviews

I agree with Spock in this episode!

[shakawtwf · 8/10 · 22 February 2008]

This episode does have it's annoyances, the Galileo's mission seems poorly-timed (the Enterprise is delivering medical supplies to a planet that needs them and this side trip is questionable to me), it's something that just could have waited. The commissioner is a serious P.I.T.A. but what redeems him is that he IS right.

What bothers me most is how everyone is coming down on Spock, calling him a machine, calling him unfeeling. Some of Spock's decisions ARE questionable but HE'S TRYING TO SAVE EVERYONE'S LIFE AND THEY'RE BUSTING HIS CHOPS. The scene that REALLY irritates me is when Boma pops his head in and says that they're ready for services for Latimer (a crewman who was speared in the back). Spock responds that they're working against the clock. I was like "Really! Are funeral services REALLY the priority at the moment?". Let's take a week off and sit shiva for our fallen comrade. If you're in a burning house, this isn't the time to go around and hang sheets over all the mirrors.

Boma takes the same stance when they need to leave Gaetano's body behind. "Not without a burial...". If I were Spock, I would say "We're taking off Mr. Boma. You snooze, you lose".

I'm with Spock on This One

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 30 March 2018]

In "The Galileo Seven", the Enterprise is delivering medical supplies to a planet currently suffering from a deathly plague. For whatever reason (because they have time to kill before their rendezvous I guess), Kirk decides to stop for a quick investigation of a quasar they are passing by. The shuttlepod Galileo is sent out to get close to it but an ionic storm within the quasar scrambles the technologies of the Enterprise and Galileo. Spock and the others aboard the shuttle craft crash land onto an unexplored planet in the middle of the quasar. With no sensors to find their crewmen, the Enterprise must figure out a way to locate the Galileo before its duty to deliver the medical supplies forces it to leave the crewmen for dead. Spock and company must survive on the planet's surface, fending off the giant creatures that live there.

From a character development standpoint, I really like this episode. It highlights the personality of Spock and shows us how Spock thinks. I love the shots we get of the shuttlepod cruising around in space. These parts are good. That being said, I have a lot of issues with the plot of this one.

First off, why are we stopping to do this side mission? It's not worth jeopardizing the lives of the sick waiting for these supplies. Kirk needs to prioritize here.

Boma is a terrible and inconsistent character. The crew of the Galileo are acting like Spock is being a heartless robot when all he is doing is making good decisions. No sane person would be out there doing a funeral service, risking a spear to the head! People's self-preservation instincts would kick in in this situation. There would be no thought of any burial ritual. Spock is the only character that is relatable in this episode.

He doesn't always make good decisions though. I understand him not wanting to kill a cognizant life form but his decision to leave a crewman to "guard" against the creatures is stupid. 1) The creatures could attack the Galileo from any number of directions so having him stationed where he is doesn't do much good. 2) Why not just guard the ship from a close proximity? It looks like he's far away from the ship. Why? They don't even hear when he gets attacked; that's how far away he is. (Part of me wants to think Spock did this on purpose, using logic to understand only 5 could fly in the ship. This crewman is the sacrificial lamb. Vulcans are humanitarians though so this is unlikely.)

Despite these grievances, I still enjoyed this. It has fast pacing, good character development, and a satisfying conclusion.

Spock vs. Everyone Else vs. Caveman Planet

[Aylmer · 7/10 · 29 October 2020]

When I was 8 years old on a family road trip, we popped in at a museum in Clovis, New Mexico. I remember nothing of the museum aside from their two giant spear props from this episode near an exhibit emphasizing the importance of the Folsom Point, which was an important discovery placing the earlier population of North America. It added a lot of weight to the viewing experience of this particularly creepy episode while home sick from school one day.

Years later at a restaurant I remember accidentally making eye contact with an elderly gentleman across the room. We nodded at each other and that was that. Then the next day at a nearby Chiller Theater convention I saw the man again sitting at a table with displays of all the movies he was in. Lo and behold, he was Don Marshall, who here was the largest thorn in Spock's side. We had a 15 minute conversation about the episode and he was as friendly as could be, saying that he had a blast working on Star Trek with nothing but good things to say about it, despite the rushed 6 day shooting schedule.

The first season of Star Trek served up a wonderfully uneven mishmash of tonal shifts and crazy ideas. A lot of these early episodes (along with THE MAN TRAP, THE CORBOMITE MANEUVER, NAKED TIME, etc.) felt more like a horror-show than a sci fi show, and the bombastic music certainly added to the chill factor. With this episode, a few crewmembers of the Enterprise get marooned in their most hostile planet yet, populated by mist and spear-wielding giant furry primates as one of Star Trek's most well-realized one-time threats. The atmosphere serves this episode well and I really wish they'd made more like it seasons 2-3.

The downside of this episode for me has to be the tiresome infighting between Spock and the others. Some of his decisions, like leaving the lone crewman to guard a valley, make little sense. The other crew's actions don't either, such as their need to bury dead comrades when under direct threat, or Kirk's decision at the start to send his chief engineer and ship's doctor to chart some random nebula. All in all this episode stands as a classic and for anyone interested in seeing the props from it, be sure to pop in the museum in Clovis.

Good Character Development

[jpop59 · 8/10 · 10 November 2015]

Star Trek was hitting its stride by the time of the "Galileo Seven". The title might actually be a variation of "Twelve Angry Men" another story of several interesting characters forced into a situation where important choices need to be made. The characters of Spock, McCoy and Scott in particular are advanced here as we learn more about each of them. Spock's strictly logical thinking proves to be both an advantage and a detriment as he is the ranking officer and responsible for the ultimate choices being made here. McCoy on the other hand acts as Spock's "human" conscience, figuratively sitting on his shoulder and pushing him not to rely so much on his non-emotive Vulcan side. Scott merely does what he does best by tirelessly testing theories using the resources he's provided to do his part in solving the problem at hand. In this case, the shuttlecraft "Galileo" is stranded on a hostile planet with large alien creatures determined to prevent their escape. The conclusion will surprise you and ultimately gives some great insight into the character of Spock.

Loved it!!

[SusanJL · 10/10 · 21 February 2019]

This episode was great!!! Loved that Kirk wasn't the central focus for once. The constant tension between Spock and the rest of the shuttle crew was realistic. And I cracked up at the following exchange:

Scott: Mr. Spock, you said a while ago that there were always alternatives.

Spock: Did I? I may have been mistaken.

Dr. McCoy: Well, at least I lived long enough to hear that.

Did you notice that Uhura was also instrumental in saving the shuttle crew - by bringing to Kirk's notice the only planet that could sustain the shuttle crew's life and thus steering them to it? And was involved in transporting them back aboard safely?

The ending when Kirk realizes the crew has been saved is one of the most touching moments in the entire series. A fabulous, understated piece of acting by Shatner that speaks volumes without a single word uttered.

Bonnie Blue Butler, age 2

[richard.fuller1 · 7/10 · 2 July 2008]

Stand out to me in this episode was always Phyllis Douglas as Yeoman Mears.

Why was she on the shuttle? A quick check to see what else she had done, surprise, surprise, she is in Gone With the Wind as baby Bonnie Blue Butler.

Scarlett and Rhett's prized baby girl. It is to laugh.

Near 30 years on, she is tangling with a Vulcan.

This episode should also be noted as not following thru with the incorrect notion that all the guys in the red shirts are killed (both victims of the planet's monsters wore yellow shirts) and likewise the equally inexplicable idea that all the black guys were killed (the minority in this case survived).

In truth, this episode watches like a strange predecessor to the disaster movie; who will survive, who will die? The three cast members will survive, the woman should survive so there won't be any calls of unfairness to women and Don Marshall should survive, which he did.

Not a bad episode, actually.

Wish there had been more episodes with Phyllis Douglas in them tho.

Will Spock's logic save the crew of the Galileo?

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 19 September 2015]

While on a mercy mission to deliver medical supplies to Makus III the Enterprise passes by the Murasaki 312 quasar; with standing orders to investigate such phenomena, Kirk orders Spock and a team to take a shuttle to investigate. Interference from the quasar forces the shuttle to land on the planet Taurus II. It is out of sensor range and interference is blocking any communication with the Enterprise. A Federation commissioner aboard the Enterprise stresses to Kirk the need to get to Makus III and gives him limited time to find Spock and his team. Stress levels rise amongst the away team as Spock states that in order for them to take off again the shuttle will have to lose five hundred pounds… in other words they won't all be going home. If that wasn't bad enough it turns out the planet is inhabited by primitive, giant people who kill one crewman with a spear before attacking the others. Spock uses his logic, along with Scotty's engineering skills, to find a way that might give them a small chance of survival while the others, including McCoy, criticise Spock's logical and unemotional approach to the situation.

This was an enjoyable episode as it put somebody other than Kirk in the centre of the story. It was good to see how Spock's logical deductions save the day while the protestations of the others proved annoying at times… at one point a character demanded that they give a dead crewmate a proper burial even though there were dangerous creatures about and they are racing against time to fix the shuttle… sheer madness! Leonard Nimoy shows that he had the presence to lead the episode and the rest of the cast are solid enough. Strangely at the end we are lead to believe that Spock's final action was an act of emotion rather than logic… in fact it seemed the most logical act of the episode. Overall a decent enough episode.

Fee-fi-fo-fum...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 15 February 2022]

... I sense an unemotional Vulcan man, be he alive or be he dead, I'll take his logic to make my bread.

The shuttle of the Enterprise becomes cast adrift and comes to rest in a land of giant cavemen, where Mr. Spock's logical approach to leadership is questioned by those unfortunate enough to be along for the ride.

Planet Of The Apes

[a_l_i_e_n · 15 September 2006]

Intense episode about a shuttle craft mission lead by Spock that crash lands on a most unpleasant world. Indeed, the dangers posed by it's hostile environment leads to a near equally hostile landing party as Spock finds his leadership abilities called into question. It's been well explored how the Vulcan's logical approach to the crisis proves ineffective in dealing with the stressed-out humans under his command. The only thing to add might be that,at times, Spock does display an almost human surliness that seems very un-Vulcan. But, since this was a first season episode, it may have been filmed before Leonard Nimoy had fully come to understand his character and the proper way to play him, (for example, he was still speaking with that put-on British accent like when he pronounces command as "cuh-mawnd"). Clearly, this is not the more controlled Mr. Spock we would see in later episodes like "The Doomsday Machine", but it's still a good performance and the script provides an interesting set of problems to watch the usually unflappable character struggle to deal with.

As if crash landing wasn't bad enough, the primates that live on the planet are a neat addition to further complicate Spock's bad day. Not so much seen as glimpsed (and a wise move, too as the only one shown up close looks like it's wearing a fur dress), these hairy monsters prowl about in the fog making hissing noises and bellowing roars. They attack with huge spears, and in one scene a comparatively tiny human is mauled to death. Thoroughly nasty, their presence in the story leads to a neat scene on the Enterprise bridge as Kirk hears the report of a returning search party leader: appearing on a viewer screen all bruised up in a torn-up uniform, Lt. Commander Kelowitz tells Kirk how his team was attacked by "creatures similar to ones discovered on Hanson's Planet, only much, much bigger. Ten- maybe twelve feet in height." Clearly exhausted and maybe a touch traumatized, Kelowitz cautions Kirk that if the missing shuttle craft crew are on that planet, but doesn't have to finish the sentence for Kirk to get his meaning. It's an effective little touch that casts a shadow of dread on the possible fate of Kirk's missing crew members. In fact, they should have used this seldom seen character of Kelowitz more often as he would have made a great running bit. Like Scotty's dire warnings about the condition of the ship's engines, or those red shirted security men who were always first to bite the dust, you'd know the situation was dire if Kelowitz showed up with another alarming report for Kirk.

Classic Captain Quirk Chaos Manufacture Episode

[Steve_Nyland · 8/10 · 3 May 2010]

I will always have a soft spot for the admittedly uneven "Galileo Seven" episode where the still under-developed character of Lt. Commander Spock gets his big chance at command while leading an ill-fated shuttlecraft mission lost in an ion storm. This installment came fairly early in the series before Leonard Nimoy had truly grown into the role and was a misfired response to the breakout popularity of his Vulcan science officer sex symbol. Interestingly, what the cast & producers discovered while making the episode was almost exactly what the scriptwriter had concluded: That Spock on his own would rely upon dry, functional logic to the point of boredom. Spock's cool intellect without an ego to foil was less than half a loaf. But it's still a beloved favorite and one of the great "Essence Of Star Trek" episodes that sums up what made us love the show even if the end result is somewhat stale.

First, this episode scared the dickens out of and thereby impressed us greatly during what became a routine after school "Star Trek" hour when the show was being syndicated during the early 1970s. Our local affiliate showed it in a 4pm slot squarely targeted at rambunctious kids home from school who would actually shut up and do something other than raise hell for an hour while "Star Trek" was on. Our parents made sure we never missed an afternoon! the result of which was a group of now 40+ year old guys who still love the show. This was one of the first episodes that made a big enough impression on our minds to remember specifically and we'd make believe our own "Galileo Seven" adventures using anything from a living room sofa to a tool shed as our Galileo shuttlecraft. Which delighted me to no end because I always got to be Scotty and he had a lot to do in this one.

I also have an attachment to it that is purely coincidental but still made a huge impression on my mind when I learned of it: This one premiered the day after I was born, and has forever since been my Birthday Episode that I make an excuse to watch every year around the same time. That makes me a nerd but I can live with it and fortunately its still a pretty satisfying episode even if the weak spots kind of glare out when compared to more successful efforts that I rank up there higher on my Favorite Episode lists ("Arena", "The Omega Glory", "The Doomsday Machine"). And no, updating the graphics won't make it better. Who's bright idea was that anyway?

But there are several appealing aspects to the episode on a structural level which overcome the rather wooden results of its execution. Kirk is more or less relegated to a secondary role on the ship looking concerned while Spock, Bones, and Scotty get some of their most extensive uninterrupted screen time of the whole series. There is a high quotient of guest star faces as well -- Don Marshall's foul tempered Lt. Boma and foxy Phyllis Douglas as Yeoman Mears with her fantastic space thighs being a welcome change of pace from the standard issue Bottle Episode crew. And while the studio bound Taurus II planetoid set is paper mache kitsch at it's closest to the absurd boundary as possible without being laughable, it lends a readymade "make believe" quality to the proceedings that are quite conducive towards inspiring the imaginations of 7 year olds for generations. What is there not to love about it?

But let me get this straight ... Captain James T. Kirk decides to pedantically toe the line of regulation to the point of creating a crisis where one doesn't exist by insisting on sending out a flimsy, malfunction prone shuttlecraft loaded with his most valuable staff contingent into a dangerous ion storm generated by an unknown quasar like phenomenon while in the middle of delivering perishable drugs needed to avert a planet wide plague (!!), with no less than a Galactic High Commissioner on board, who is absolutely correct in openly wondering what the hell Kirk may have been *thinking* by taking such a chance. Here's a suggestion: Mark the location with a space buoy and come back AFTER the plague has been averted, the Galactic High Commissioner has been removed from your face, and you have the time to search for your best officers & closest personal friends if something goes wrong. It's a five year misson, Bro! What's the rush?

Either the writer was inhaling whipped cream can fumes or Kirk's legendary status at that precious Academy of his should be re-examined. All along I've been annoyed at the wrong guy for being a bit dense. Sorry, Commissioner Ferris.

8/10; Look for a sort of unofficial sequel to this in the Animated Series episode "The Slaver Weapon" where Spock's command of another shuttlecraft mission comes to somewhat more successful ends.

Not a bad episode but wow was the crew disloyal towards poor 'ol Spock!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 14 December 2019]

For the most part, all the episodes up until this one kept Spock in the background--allowing him no room to grow as a character or have all that much screen time. However, this is definitely his episode--as he is in command of a group aboard the shuttle craft (the Galileo). And I liked how the Vulcan logic, for once, was quite inadequate to handle a situation where logic was NOT the best approach to their dilemma. He tried using reason to predict the actions of a group of savage humanoids who were like giant cavemen--or so we think, as the folks at Paramount Studios/Desilu were too cheap to show them!! Instead, you saw bits and pieces and heard about them or saw shadows, but that was all!

The problem is that this episode, despite its emphasis on Spock, was incredibly confusing. It's supposed to be in a more enlightened future but the crew members on the shuttle sure don't behave that way. In particular, the crew members seemed awfully disloyal and were like a bunch of "armchair quarterbacks"--always second-guessing Spock. This tension seemed out of place and it just did nothing to help improve the overall image of the series.

Galileo in distress

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 3 January 2015]

Leonard Nimoy gets command of an away team to explore a really desolated planet named Markus II which is always ravaged by ion storms. Because of that no one dares use the transporter on the Enterprise and so he gets a shuttlecraft for his mission.

Once down Spock and the six crew members are stranded because those same ion storms make it difficult to return. The crew is also under attack by some savage ape like creatures which are the predominant life form. No appealing to their logic.

Spock's ever calm logical manner does grate on the nerves of Dr. McCoy more than usual as well as crewman Don Marshall. DeForest Kelley's scenes with Nimoy have even more bite than usual, not to mention an almost mutinous Marshall.

While all this is going William Shatner has to deal with a Federation commissioner who is ready to takeover the Enterprise as they are on a mission to take him to an outpost in distress.

Of course with all these series regulars on the mission you know that they're coming back, at least most of them. Enterprise crew members that are not regulars don't have that same protection. Still the writing and directing keep up the necessary suspense to make this a thoroughly enjoyable episode.

Mixed review

[mstomaso · 6/10 · 11 February 2007]

I have mixed feelings about this episode. While its plot is a little absurd and thin, it doesn't defy scientific credibility as much as many episodes of the later series in the franchise do.

Spock's relationship with the crew and his command abilities are challenged and nicely established as he commands a shuttlecraft on what should have been a routine exploratory mission (why bring along the chief engineer and chief medical officer, we will never know). The shuttle crash-lands on a class m planet in a quasar system with all communication and sensor use completely inhibited. Giant prehistoric people in a band-level society inhabit this planet and they are not pleased by the arrival of the Galileo 7. And Kirk has an annoyed bureaucrat who is late for an appointment on board the Enterprise. There is some interesting an surprisingly well-informed anthropological discourse in this episode but unfortunately the most interesting character introduced, Crewman Boma(Don Marshall) - apparently a social scientist- is inconsistently characterized.

The plot is really a vehicle for character development in this case. It's about Spock, Spock's relationship with the crew, Spock's relationship with Kirk, and with McCoy. In some ways, a defining moment for the series. And the entire cast is up to the challenge. For me, this is the main appeal of the episode.

Accurate assessment of leadership qualities, but misleading indictment of 'logic'

[intp · 5/10 · 1 June 2014]

This episode wasn't too bad overall. Basically, Spock leads a mission of six other officers in a shuttlecraft (hence the "Galileo Seven") that ends up stranded on a planet with hostile ape-like creatures. Kirk has a time limit to find them. Spock's complete lack of compassion infuriates his comrades and makes him an ineffective leader.

The main point of this episode appears to be the following: logic sometimes leads to bad decision making, so emotionality must be factored in. I don't really buy it. I do agree that showing compassion and concern would have made the rest of the crew more likely to follow Spock-- so, for these reasons alone, Spock is rather ineffective as a leader due to his dispassionate element. If for no other reason, emotionality would have led to greater loyalty and hence greater group cohesion and so would have helped.

However, I disagree that "emotionality" would have led to better decisions. Spock wasn't acting in the "most" logical fashion, not by a long shot. This was a classic situation involving decision making under uncertainty-- they just didn't have all the facts. They had minimal information about the creatures and so could not hope to accurately predict their future behavior. Under such circumstances, the "correct" decision depends on the decision maker's risk attitudes and valuation assessments, and so has an inherently "subjective" element. That's not the same at all as meaning that pure emotionality should act as a guide.

Spock's "error" here was in arbitrarily placing a large amount of value on the lives of ape-like creatures relative to the lives of his crew, and in being willing to take very large risks with safety of the crew as a result-- by using very minor, ineffectual force against the creatures, which ultimately failed, very badly, as a deterrent. Most human commanders would likely have made the opposite valuation assessment.

There was nothing more "logical" about Spock's valuation and risk assessment attitudes. Under such circumstances, there really should have been some sort of Starfleet regulation requiring a field commander to err on the side of safety of the crew. In the absence of any such regulation, I agree that Spock is a poor choice of leader because his values do not closely match those of most humans. He is much more effective in a pure support role, where he can provide information, without making the ultimate decisions.

The part where Spock sends out an emergency "distress" call at the end was actually a fairly rational one. The odds of their being found without it were probably infinitesimal, even if the Enterprise was still in the region looking for them. On the other hand, on the slight chance that the Enterprise was still around, it gave them a decent shot of being detected. So I would argue that the difference was a small chance of survival (maybe 0.2%) with Spock's actions, vs. almost none at all (maybe 1 x 10^-10) without it. So, curiously, his supposedly "human" decision was probably the most rational one he made in the entire episode.

Entertaining but slightly misleading

[vid8 · 8/10 · 27 August 2014]

In this episode, Spock, along with six other crew-members, crash lands onto a seemingly barren and desolate planet in a shuttle, while the Enterprise cannot find them due to interference from a quasar.

There were many enjoyable aspects of this episode: it was good to see Spock have a larger role, and the episode allows the audience to study how he reacts under pressure, and how his crew-members respond to his decisions. While Spock's half-human side did show on one occasion when he seemed to display signs of anger, he maintained a coolly rational perspective for most of the episode, a consistency which makes Spock one of the greatest TV characters of all time.

Of course, most of the crew-members (including Bones, as always), got angry with Spock due to his logical - and indeed correct - utilitarian view that, if necessary, three people should be left behind on the planet so that the shuttle can achieve escape velocity from the planet. They were also angry that Spock believed, again correctly, that there was no time to hold burials for the two crew-members who ultimately perished. While the writers may have been trying to portray the humans as being correct, I still enjoyed these parts of the episode - the dialogue between McCoy and Spock is always humorous.

My problems with the episode came when the writers used the 'Straw Vulcan' trope. Indeed, they presented Spock's logic as dictating that the hostile aliens on the planet should not have been fired upon, even though this is probably not the logical decision to make. Furthermore, when they managed to get off the planet's surface and into orbit, they presented Spock's decision to jettison the fuel to produce a distress signal as an 'emotional' decision, even though it was clearly a logical decision: they only had 45 minutes to live anyway before orbit failed.

As a result, at the end, the crew-members on the Enterprise were taunting Spock for having made an emotional decision, even though it was a logical one, which does highlight Hollywood's bias against 'logic' and 'rationality' in favour of more human decisions, even though the human decisions, in reality, are often wrong, as psychology has shown us.

"You are a very stubborn man, Mr. Spock"

[MaxBorg89 · 9/10 · 29 May 2009]

In dire need of a more serious tone after the humorous but somewhat inconsistent Shore Leave, Star Trek returns to its tradition of tackling deeper themes from a sci-fi point of view, focusing in particular on Spock's interactions with the rest of the Enterprise crew.

This time, Kirk's mission is to bring medical supplies to the inhabitants of Markus III as quickly as possible, and his superiors keep reminding him of that priority. However, his priorities change when the smaller vessel Galileo, containing Spock and six other men (hence the episode's title), lands on a hostile planet and requires immediate assistance. With Kirk torn between duties, it's up to Spock to come up with a solution, but his adherence to logic doesn't sit well with some, most notably Boma (Don Marshall), whose behavior comes close to bigotry.

Racism and the implications of being in charge: those are the two key topics of this suspenseful Trek tale, and both are handled admirably thanks to the writers' focus on the tense relationship between the half-alien Spock and the entirely "human" crew under his command, while William Shatner is elegantly sidelined as far as the drama is concerned. Then again, Spock has always been the more interesting of the two leads, and Nimoy relishes every opportunity he gets to show a little of the Vulcan scientist's complex, enthralling (and, a rarity for science-fiction shows, Emmy-nominated) personality. In addition, no need to worry about excessive darkness: the deft humor returns in the final scene, which contains one of the absolute best exchanges between Kirk and Spock. Sci-fi doesn't get much more fun than this.

Watching this 50 years later

[mcc315 · 7/10 · 9 October 2020]

Still a great episode but really they should have focused on getting the medicine to help with the plague, not a scientific side trip instead. Hard to be mad at the commissioner for that. That said the ending where Spock makes an illogical decision that saves the whole shuttle crew has always stuck in my head. Better to take a one in a thousand shot than no shot at all.

Like a Needle in some Space Haystack

[Bogmeister · 8/10 · 7 July 2006]

This one will always be known as spotlighting one of the shuttlecrafts that the starship has at its disposal. The downside of exploration is showcased in this episode, a case study of survival techniques and examining the group dynamics among several crew members stuck on a hostile planet. Rare for a first season episode, this focuses on Spock rather than Kirk, who remained on the Enterprise this time around. Spock's in command of the 7-member landing party of the shuttlecraft, though this landing was unplanned. Besides needing to figure out a way to lift off without fuel, they're besieged by some 10-foot-tall natives who like to throw huge spears at starfleet officers. Some of these scenes were actually pretty scary to me as an 8-year-old viewer; all that planetary fog or mist and those lumbering beast-men made me re-think my plans to become an astronaut. Kirk, meanwhile, fends off an annoying bureaucrat, a 'high commissioner,' on his bridge while attempting to locate his missing crew members without the usual instrumentation (ion storms, you know).

Spock takes logic to faulty extremes during this crisis - all problems are addressed like a simple mathematical equation and this doesn't work with huge, hairy, unpredictable savages. Nor does his robotic attitude sit well with human beings who sometimes need words of encouragement and re-assurance in such times of great stress. He comes across as downright callous in some scenes - you'd think he'd know by now that you should at least give the appearance of giving a damn about a fallen comrade. I believe he overcompensates during this mission; despite his usual statements of not using emotion, he obviously feels the pressures of this command and his way of dealing with it is to go out of his way in alienating the rest of the party. Mostly, he sends the message that he's the smartest and half of them are expendable - not the best way to provide a positive spin on a mission gone wrong. McCoy & Scotty, along for this joyride, will back up Spock in the end even as they disagree with his methods, but a couple of the other crew members are pretty much insubordinate here. I'd be surprised if Spock didn't bring up charges back on the Enterprise - after he explained his lapse into illogic towards the end of the mission (cue: bridge crew laughing away all the built-up tension during this episode; above all, Starfleet needs happy bridge crews). McCoy does seem to win this round in his and Spock's ever-growing debate on the emotion over pure logic question.

A good episode could have been a great one, with some rewrites.

[aaustin-10 · 7/10 · 8 January 2010]

A shuttle craft crew gets stranded on a hostile planet, and they must find a way to lift off again while dangerous creatures lay siege. Meanwhile, Kirk races desperately against the clock to find them before he is forced to abandon the search to pursue a priority mission.

On the plus side, "The Galileo Seven" is a superbly tense, suspenseful episode, including excellent character development of coolly logical, emotionally remote Mr. Spock. His conflict with his human shipmates is solid, thought-provoking drama. The secondary guest characters of Boma, Gaetano, and Farris all work very well: they are good examples of efficient characterization with little screen time. The creatures are genuinely menacing and scary, all the more so because the filmmakers wisely keep the viewer from seeing too much of them. And the death of Mr. Latimer is an excellent stakes-raising jolt.

On the downside, the exposition and denouement just stink. The exposition is plain awkward: there is a plague to go deal with on some planet but coincidentally they stop to send a shuttle craft to look at a space anomaly, and the shuttle crew just happens to include the doctor, engineer, and some expendable secondary characters? Too contrived. But the denouement is even worse: after a tension-filled, engrossing near-hour of drama, they wrap it up with a lame humor scene where the ship's captain publicly embarrasses the guy who just pulled his comrades through a horrible experience. A quiet, introspective scene where Spock acknowledges to his friends that command is harder than he thought would have been so much more satisfying. And why was there no wrap-up of the development of the interesting Boma character? So the episode was worthwhile and I liked it, but somebody should have spent more time polishing the script.

The Galileo Seven

[Scarecrow-88 · 10/10 · 3 June 2012]

One of many masterpieces during the Classic Star Trek series has Spock dealing with plenty of hardships in what is his first command, leading a small accompaniment on a mission, on board Shuttlecraft Galileo Seven, to explore a quasar of unusual formation. You see, The Federation considers it a duty for the Enterprise to explore all quasar-like formations/phenomena, for scientific study. But the Enterprise is duty-bound to carry medical supplies to Machis III, for use to cure a ravaging plague on the New Paris colonies. When ionic radiation causes technological disruptions to the Galileo, it crashlands on the only planet right at the heart of the quasar, with the also-effected Enterprise trying to find the missing crew, sensors and transporter unable to pick up their location. That isn't all Spock encounters during his first command. While grasping to logic to command, Spock will perhaps have to embrace his human side to come up with answers to save himself and his crew from unforeseen dangers, such as Neanderthal lifeforms of great height, tossing giant spears at them, short fuel supply left for the shuttlecraft, and a possibility of leaving three crew members behind on the planet due to issues in lifting off. Most of all, his officers are losing faith in his abilities to command, become fed up with his dependency solely on logic to determine the important factors towards their survival and lifting off, and his inability to acknowledge the loss of certain crew members killed by the planet's menacing inhabitants in a humane way. One crew member, Boma (a passionate, always-speaking-his-mind character played with conviction by Don Marshall) even labels Spock a machine after a fiery exchange regarding the burial of a dead officer. The crew consists of Spock, Bones, Boma, Scotty, Yeoman Mears (Phyllis Douglas), Latimer (Rees Vaughn), and Kelowitz (Grant Woods). While Scotty spends all of his time making repairs to the shuttlecraft, Spock surveys the situation and orders the others to follow certain commands, leaving poor Latimer alone at one point to keep an eye out for the creatures believing their phaser fire in directions near the lifeforms would scare them—the result is the death of Latimer and the furious retaliation of the creatures. Meanwhile, Kirk has to contend with an annoying commissioner on board the Enterprise to make sure he delivers the supplies to Machis III on time, and Ferris (John Crawford) is always there to remind the Captain of how much time remains for him to search for the Galileo crew. What you always get with great episodes like this is emotional fireworks and tightening tension as Spock resorts to an act of sheer desperation (although he says logic required the decision) to try to send out a "distress signal" to the Enterprise, and the constant questioning of his judgment and lack of emotion by the likes of Boman and Bones adds extra sizzle to the steak. The episode really wrings plenty of suspense out of the plot, that's for sure, even having Kirk setting a course for the next destination despite no contact and reports from the Galileo crew. That agonizing decision is quite visible as Kirk hangs on to a slender thread of hope until no more time presents itself. Good fun.

Leadership.

[Blueghost · 14 April 2012]

I can't add too many things to what others have already said regarding this installment of Trek. The primary theme here is what do men respond to? Are mere decisions based on the right evidence at the time all that it takes to lead? Can you merely delegate authority and expect men to obey you? What does it take to make men operate and bow to your commands?

The episode is pretty melodramatic in the theme department, but is otherwise spot on with the exaggerations of character portrayed in this episode. Spock uses the best (and I'll add humane) reasoning, as he possibly can for what should (by all convention) provide the most promising outcome. But things don't go as planned. The outcomes gravely effect the crew, and Spock's ability to lead comes into question.

Technical notes; I've seen makeup tests for the creatures inhabiting the world that is part of the setting, and I think Roddenberry and crew were right to not give us the full frontal view of said creatures. My only real critique of this episode is that it was shot on a stage, and we have egg crate lights hanging above trying to act as a faux sun for the actors. The result is like many an exterior location that was shot in doors; it looks fake. Adding to that are the cliffs and rock formations, which look twice as fake on a stage as they otherwise might have on the back lot. In addition we have some spear throwing by the natives that just looks pathetic at best. For all of the work that went into revamping the space-shots for the new release of the episodes, I'm pretty disappointed that no one tackled the issue of revamping some of the live SFX. Just me.

As noted in other reviews, Nimoy is still feeling his character out, and therefore we're not presented with the utterly cool in all conditions Mister Spock, but one that still has traces of emotion running in his veins. I think what other reviewers fail to realize is that this is essentially a heightened scenario examining how even the best decisions can be seen as wrong by those who must carry out the orders unless some effort is made to inject belief and passion into the leader's instruction. As such the actors (and I'll even add the writer) are giving us an exaggeration of a leadership crisis. But Nimoy, Kelley and the rest deliver their lines and give us drama that we can sink our teeth into.

There's a little more science in this episode than in others. Not much, but it's there. Take it for what it is, a first season episode with a visually mediocre setting, a relatively good story and acting, but some minor technical difficulties.

Enjoy.

hatin' on Mr. Spock

[HelloTexas11 · 7/10 · 2 March 2009]

'The Galileo Seven', like most in the first season, is an above-average episode that shows Star Trek's creators coming up with imaginative and clever twists in the show's format almost every week. And, like most episodes, the budgetary restraints of the series prevent some ideas from being fully realized. But there are some problems with the script as well, particularly in the crew's interaction with one another. This is the first episode to 'star' one of the shuttlecraft (though one figured prominently in ''The Menagerie'). These smaller craft are nifty little show elements that came in handy from time to time. 'The Galileo Seven' amounts to an early starring role as well for Mr. Spock, as commander of the shuttlecraft. The Enterprise is in route to deliver emergency medical supplies to a plague-decimated planet and passes near a quasar-like planetary system. Since the starship cannot stop to investigate, Kirk sends Spock and six others in the shuttlecraft Galileo to do so. Soon after, the small ship is pulled off course and forced to land on a rocky, barren world inhabited by giant, aggressive humanoids. The rest of the episode concerns the shuttle crew's attempts to survive and repair the ship's ability to lift off, and the Enterprise's search for them. 'Interference,' as always, prevents sensors and communicators from functioning. Mr. Spock is given merciless hell by the others any time he makes a decision, particularly from Dr. McCoy and a specialist, Lt. Boma. A certain degree of tension is understandable, given their situation, but 'The Galileo Seven' really goes overboard with it, to the point where a de facto mutiny takes place and Spock is forced to reverse a decision. At another point, it appears they might leave Spock behind on the planet. Nearly all of this stems from Spock's lack of emotions, which one would think the rest of the crew would have accepted and gotten used to by now. In the end, the Galileo is able to lift off, just barely, but the Enterprise has been ordered to give up the search. As one last (desperate?) attempt at attracting the starship's attention, Spock ignites and dumps what remaining fuel they have, the effect being, as Scotty says, of sending up a flare. It seems pointless, and hopeless, but the Enterprise does indeed detect it and beams the Galileo's crew safely aboard.

A Misunderstood First Officer

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 26 April 2014]

This is as much about the dynamics of the crew as it is routine plot. The Galileo 7, a shuttlecraft, lands with quite a large crew on an M4 planet (that is like Earth). The crew becomes trapped by giant, ape-like aliens. Survival becomes and issue as crewmen are killed. Strangely, some of the most important members of the crew are along for the ride. Of course, like most television, you have to have your principle actors performing, so send them on their way. Kirk probably didn't deal with the networks at the Academy. Anyway, Spock is forced to assert his cold-hearted being among a group of people who can't look at the practical side of their predicament. For instance, with their lives in imminent danger, the issue of burying the dead is pushed by the others. Spock risks his life to retrieve a body, but he is right in that such an act could lead to greater consequences. The crew becomes almost racist and impatient with the famous Vulcan. There is also the issue of a directive from a Starfleet official who wants to leave the whole bunch behind. That situation was reprised more than once in future episodes. This is really quite a good episode with many twists and turns and I feel Spock is quite admirable under pressure.

"Mr. Scott, there are always alternatives".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 18 October 2010]

This was the first Star Trek episode to give Leonard Nimoy's character the spotlight, with Captain Kirk relegated to a position aboard the Enterprise in a secondary backup role. The episode further developed Spock's character as a creature of pure logic, but that doesn't mean it didn't get a little tiresome along the way. Granted, the situation the members of the Galileo shuttle-craft found themselves in didn't leave a lot of discretionary time to deal with their situation, but I think Spock could have reasoned with his crew a bit more diplomatically. But then again, crewman Boma (Don Marshall) wasn't making things any easier insisting on proper burials for the men who were killed. I mean, they were going to be dead a long time, and the objective, correct me if I'm wrong, was to get the heck off of Taurus II. Fortunately, Spock's resolve wins out, with finely timed reasoning as the basis for having an emotional outburst that saves the crew. Not that he would see it exactly that way, but it was good enough to close the story on a light note, even if it was at Spock's expense.

I was disappointed

[houndeye · 5/10 · 26 November 2008]

At first I was looking forward to see "The Galileo Seven" because Spock had more important role than usually. I was hoping for some interesting character development, however my enthusiasm didn't last very long.

PLOT: A scientific team led by Spock crash-lands on a planet inhabited by primitive but very dangerous creatures.

MY OBJECTIONS: The members of the team questioned every Spock's order (they were very unprofessional). Most of their objections were about Spock's excessive use of logic but to me he didn't seem very logical in this episode.

For example, Spock refused to use deadly force against obviously hostile creatures. He also ordered a crew-member to stay outside the shuttle alone (unsurprisingly the crew-member was killed). After that Spock risked his own life to bring the dead body back to the shuttle even though he knew they couldn't take him on board because the shuttle would be too heavy to take off.

Finally the one logical decision he made (to ignite jettisoned fuel to draw Enterprise's attention) was regarded by everyone as illogical. I would certainly prefer to increase the chances to be found and saved than to pointlessly circle around the planet for few more minutes and die anyway.