The Galileo Seven
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| Star Trek: TOS episode | |
| "The Galileo Seven" | |
 The Galileo prepares for launch, The Galileo Seven. |
|
| Episode no. | 16 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 014 |
| Airdate | January 5, 1967 |
| Writer(s) | Oliver Crawford S. Bar-David story by Oliver Crawford |
| Director | Robert Gist |
| Guest star(s) | Don Marshall John Crawford (actor) Peter Marko Phyllis Douglas Reese Vaughn Grant Woods Buck Maffei David L. Ross |
| Year | 2267 |
| Stardate | 2821.5 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Shore Leave" |
| Next | "The Squire of Gothos" |
"The Galileo Seven" is an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is a first season episode #16, production #14, written by Oliver Crawford and directed by Robert Gist. It was broadcast by NBC on January 5, 1967.
Overview: Mr. Spock leads a scientific team aboard the Enterprise shuttlecraft Galileo on an ill-fated mission.
[edit] Plot
On stardate 2821.5, the starship USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, is en route to Makus III, delivering much needed medical supplies to be distributed at the New Paris Colony - a plague-ridden world. The ship passes close to a quasarlike system called Murasaki 312, which Kirk's standing orders compel him to study. Since the ship needs to run the supplies, Kirk decides to send Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Mr. Scott, and four other specialist crewmembers out in the #7 shuttlecraft, Galileo, to investigate.
Soon after launch, the shuttle is pulled off course and out of the Enterprise's sensor range. Spock makes an emergency landing on the planet Taurus II, a rocky, fog-shrouded world in the middle of the Murasaki phenomenon. Crewmembers Latimer and Gaetano scout the area, eventually encountering Taurus II's inhabitants; giant furry bipeds armed with enormous spears.
Latimer is killed when he is impaled by one of creatures' giant weapons. The others soon come running to investigate, chasing off the creature with phaser fire. When Spock shows more interest in the archaic weapon than Latimer's death, Lieutenant Boma begins to criticize Mr. Spock's methods of command. The crew retreat to the Galileo only to discover that the creatures seem to be preparing for an organized attack. Despite objections from the others, Spock insists that it should only be necessary to frighten the creatures, not kill them.
Meanwhile, Kirk turns the Enterprise around and flies back to search for the shuttle, despite concerns from Commissioner Ferris, who strongly reminds Kirk of his obligation to deliver the supplies to Makus III as soon as possible. The shuttlecraft Columbus is dispatched to search the planet from orbit. A landing party, sent to search the planet surface, returns to the Enterprise with casualties and reports being attacked by the large, furry creatures. Lieutenant Kelowicz, leader of the landing party, explains that the creatures are similar to creatures on Hansen's planet, but are much larger.
Between boulder-throwing attacks by the primitive giants and quarrels amongst themselves, the crew attempt to make repairs on the shuttle. Mr. Scott concludes that he will need to siphon the energy from all the phaser power packs in order to restart the ship's engines. Being told to give up their only way to defend themselves is something the frightened crew do not want to hear, but they reluctantly hand over the powerpacks.
Scott's repair to the engine is successful and Spock barely manages to get the Galileo off the ground and back into orbit, however by this time the Enterprise has given up the search and is heading back on course to Makus III. The shuttle is too low on power to escape the planet's gravity or even to achieve a stable orbit. With communicators scrambled by the ionization from the phenomenon, the Galileo has no way to call the Enterprise for help before it falls back into the atmosphere and burns up.
Spock gets an idea and decides to dump and ignite all the remaining fuel from the shuttle's engines. This produces a giant flare that is easily spotted by the Enterprise sensors. Once again, Kirk turns the ship around and transports the survivors out just moments before the shuttle is destroyed on re-entry.
Later on the starship Enterprise, Kirk ask Spock a few questions then says that Spock is 'a stubborn man' and Spock agrees, after which everybody laughs.
[edit] Trivia
- Yeoman Janice Rand was supposed to be in this episode. After Grace Lee Whitney was let go from the show, Rand's character became Yeoman Mears.
- Writer Oliver Crawford has admitted in interviews that he lifted the basic plot of this episode from the film Five Came Back.
- Although the title is obviously from another famous Star Trek episode, the second season South Park episode 'City on the Edge of Forever' (a.k.a. 'Flashbacks') (1998) is very much based upon this episode, with the school children stranded in the school bus, and afraid to go outside in fear of being attacked by a creature that is stalking them.
[edit] External links
- The Galileo Seven article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
| Last produced: "The Conscience of the King" |
Star Trek: TOS episodes Season 1 |
Next produced: "Court Martial" |
| Last transmitted: "Shore Leave" |
Next transmitted: "The Squire of Gothos" |
