The Galileo Seven : TOS Episode 16 Production 14 Original Air Date 1/5/1967 Stardate 2821.5

The Galileo Seven - Star Trek TV Episode [ Synopsis | Editorial Reviews ]
Production # 14 Episode # 16
Air Date: 1/5/1967
Stardate: 2821.5

On its way to deliver medical supplies to plague-ridden Makus III, the U.S.S. Enterprise passes Murasaki 312. Since they are under Starfleet orders to inspect galactic phenomena such as this quasar-like 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 Makus III. 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.

Volume 9 of Paramount's DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes "The Galileo Seven," written by a literary giant in science fiction, Theodore Sturgeon. The story concerns a break in the action for the Enterprise crew, nearly all of whom beam down to the surface of an Eden-like planet for The Galileo Seven, where they find that everyone's wish comes true. Individuals from crew members' pasts turn up, fantasies of romance or heroism are instantly realized--and if it all seems too good to be true, it is. In time, the dark side of this dream shows itself when people start getting killed. This episode emerges from the trippier side of Star Trek's personality, and very cleverly sheds light on the personalities of the show's major characters by making their dreams manifest.

Also on this disc is a real treat for long-haul Trekkers: "The Squire of Gothos," an entertaining program in its own right and the obvious blueprint for "Encounter at Farpoint," Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guest star William Campbell plays Trelane, a bratty, impulsive alien given to wearing costumes appropriate for an 18th-century French aristocrat. Equipped with godlike powers that allow him to alter and manipulate the world around him, Trelane is the prototype of The Next Generation's beloved quasi villain, Q (John de Lancie). Like Q, Trelane regards the crew of the Enterprise as playthings, and when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) disrupts his games, the omniscient boy-man puts humanity itself on trial. Great stuff. --Tom Keogh