SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 51:00 Min.
First airing on NBC-TV, on January 5, 1967, Robert Gist directed this mid-season episode off Oliver Crawford & Shimon Wincelberg’s (aka S. Bar David) script. During the U.S.S. Enterprise’s journey to Markus III to deliver much-needed supplies to its New Paris colony, a quasar-like phenomenon, Murasaki 312, necessitates scientific investigation. Aboard the shuttlecraft, Galileo, Spock commands an exploratory team consisting of Scotty, Dr. McCoy, and four others.
Yet, an emergency situation strands the Galileo on the primitive world known as Taurus II. Amidst makeshift repairs, the shuttle’s crew defends itself from multiple attacks by the planet’s barbaric and increasingly aggressive natives. Pressured by Commissioner Ferris, Captain Kirk is rapidly running out of allotted time to find his missing crew members. Essentially, the lost Galileo is a needle in a galactic haystack.
From the ship’s bridge, Kirk fears the worst once his search parties encounter the same lethal brutes that have previously attacked the Galileo. Pursuing one desperate shot at an escape and saving his team, Spock’s cool-headed logic and command abilities are increasingly doubted by his skeptical subordinates. Ultimately, it’s up to Spock and Scotty to devise a means of overcoming the team’s slim odds of rescue.
Captain James T. Kirk: William Shatner
Commander Spock: Leonard Nimoy
Dr. Leonard H. McCoy: DeForest Kelley
Lt. Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott: James Doohan
Lt. Uhura: Nichelle Nichols
Lt. Sulu: George Takei
Lt. Boma: Don Marshall
Lt. Gaetano: Peter Marko
Yeoman Mears: Phyllis Douglas
Commissioner Ferris: John Crawford
Lt. Kelowitz: Grant Woods
Lt. Latimer: Rees Vaughn
Transporter Technician: David Ross
Taurus II Brute: Buck Maffei
REVIEW:
Though its outcome is never really in doubt, Nimoy & Kelley’s reliable chemistry as Spock & McCoy ensures that “The Galileo Seven” is a dynamite Trek. In a welcome change, especially reciprocating against Kelley and guest Don Marshall, Nimoy overshadows Shatner as this episode’s true dramatic star.
No matter its familiar TV plot contrivances, “The Galileo Seven” is well-played (particularly, with the welcome insertion of modern F/X).
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
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