Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 7, Episodes 14 & 15: The Galileo Seven/ Court-Martial

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 7, Episodes 14 & 15: The Galileo Seven/ Court-Martial


Starring:Star Trek Original Series
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Volume 7 in this excellent DVD series of original Star Trek programs includes "The Galileo Seven," which teleplay writer Oliver Crawford says was inspired by his viewing of a 1939 film called Five Came Back. (A catty footnote: David Gerrold, scribe of the famous "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode, called "The Galileo Seven" a rip-off of the Jimmy Stewart film The Flight of the Phoenix. Meow.) Five Came Back concerned a plane crash in the Andes and the survivors who faced the constant threat of surrounding headhunters. Crawford toyed with the idea and came up with a story line in which Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and a couple of other crew members crash on the surface of a hostile planet during a shuttle mission. With communication between the small craft and the Enterprise disrupted by quasar activity, Spock and the others must defend themselves against a formidable threat with only primitive, handmade weapons. That's the scenario, but the real drama is in the rising conflict between the half-Vulcan Spock's coldly logical approach to survival and the passions of his human crew, who soon come to regard him as a hateful, unfeeling monster. This is an interesting episode, both as a taut action piece and, somewhat indirectly, as a portrait of intolerance (specifically, an intolerance of individual differences) developing under stress.

Also on this disc is "Court Martial," a courtroom drama in which Captain Kirk (William Shatner) stands trial for negligence in the death of an Enterprise crewman. As the proceedings rumble on, Spock investigates some hidden truths about the dead man and the apparent computer malfunction that led to the tragedy. While "Court Martial" is a lesser episode from the Star Trek canon (the action is a bit mired in trial proceedings), it's still a lot of fun and features a supporting role from veteran Hollywood character actor Elisha Cook Jr. --Tom Keogh
Description
"The Galileo Seven," Ep. 14 - Spock learns the trials of command when Kirk sends him, along with Scotty, McCoy and a shuttlecraft crew, to investigate a quasar-like phenomenon. "Court Martial," Ep. 15 - Kirk's reputation and career are at stake when he faces a court-martial for negligence that resulted in the death of a crew member.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 7, Episodes 14 & 15: The Galileo Seven/ Court-Martial
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • The burdens of command
  • Two of the Better Episodes From Season One!
  • Galileo 7-Does Man Need his Emotions?
  • Below average, by season one's standards
  • "Books young man, books!"
 Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 7, Episodes 14 & 15: The Galileo Seven/ Court-Martial
Starring: Star Trek Original Series
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
Classic Sci-FiClassic Sci-Fi | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
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GeneralGeneral | 1960s | By Decade | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
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( S )( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 6, Episodes 12 & 13: Miri/ The Conscience of the King
  2. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 9, Episodes 17 & 18: Shore Leave/ The Squire of Gothos
  3. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 4, Episodes 8 & 9: Charlie X/ Balance of Terror
  4. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 5, Episodes 10 & 11: What Are Little Girls Made Of?/ Dagger of the Mind
  5. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 8, Episode 16: The Menagerie, Parts I and II

ASIN: 6305744858
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Amazon.com

Volume 7 in this excellent DVD series of original Star Trek programs includes "The Galileo Seven," which teleplay writer Oliver Crawford says was inspired by his viewing of a 1939 film called Five Came Back. (A catty footnote: David Gerrold, scribe of the famous "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode, called "The Galileo Seven" a rip-off of the Jimmy Stewart film The Flight of the Phoenix. Meow.) Five Came Back concerned a plane crash in the Andes and the survivors who faced the constant threat of surrounding headhunters. Crawford toyed with the idea and came up with a story line in which Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and a couple of other crew members crash on the surface of a hostile planet during a shuttle mission. With communication between the small craft and the Enterprise disrupted by quasar activity, Spock and the others must defend themselves against a formidable threat with only primitive, handmade weapons. That's the scenario, but the real drama is in the rising conflict between the half-Vulcan Spock's coldly logical approach to survival and the passions of his human crew, who soon come to regard him as a hateful, unfeeling monster. This is an interesting episode, both as a taut action piece and, somewhat indirectly, as a portrait of intolerance (specifically, an intolerance of individual differences) developing under stress.

Also on this disc is "Court Martial," a courtroom drama in which Captain Kirk (William Shatner) stands trial for negligence in the death of an Enterprise crewman. As the proceedings rumble on, Spock investigates some hidden truths about the dead man and the apparent computer malfunction that led to the tragedy. While "Court Martial" is a lesser episode from the Star Trek canon (the action is a bit mired in trial proceedings), it's still a lot of fun and features a supporting role from veteran Hollywood character actor Elisha Cook Jr. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars The burdens of command.......2006-10-08

These two episodes deal with the responsibilities of being in command.

In "The Galileo Seven," Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is in command of a shuttlecraft that crash lands on a planet inhabited by hostile, primitive giants. His logical approach clashes with the emotional reactions of McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and other crewmembers and handicaps his ability to predict the actions of beings that possess no logic. The emotion vs. logic dynamic may be a bit heavy-handed here (I felt that the humans were pretty hard on poor Spock, not that he would care), but it cetainly sets up some powerful character conflicts. Spock must trust his command decisions in the face of nearly unanimous disapproval. Interestingly, Scotty seems to have no problem with Spock's "cold" methods, maybe because he's too busy trying to repair the shuttlecraft.

In "Court-Martial," Kirk (William Shatner) is accused of murdering a crewmember with whom he had a strained relationship. Veteran character actor Elisha Cook, Jr. gives a strong performance as defending attorney Samuel Cogley. Presented with damning evidence, Kirk, too, must preserve confidence in his command abilities. By the way, this episode features one of my favorite technobabble glitches, when Spock says that the Enterprise computer is capable of amplifying sound to the magnitude of "one to the fourth power." Since 1x1x1x1=1, wouldn't that mean that the sound was not amplified at all?

Two fun episodes.

5 out of 5 stars Two of the Better Episodes From Season One!.......2006-07-03

These are two of the better and my favourite episodes from the first season. In the first episode, we get to see Spock in his first command of the doomed shuttlecraft which lands on a planet populated by giant cavemen! Having lost 2 crewman to these creatures, the rest of the crew grow impatient at Spock's lack of sympathy and emotion and rebel at his incessant logic. Still, the good finale shows Spock surprising us with his actions and still winning the day in what eventually becomes a very successful first stint in charge.

In the second episode, Kirk gets courtmartialed in what can be described as Perry Mason in space! I won't spoil the ending for you but I can tell you that this story is a great piece of detective storytelling and is a must-see episode.

If you are picking and choosing the volumes to keep, this is a keeper as they rank among the best episodes of the first season. Recommended.

5 out of 5 stars Galileo 7-Does Man Need his Emotions?.......2005-06-07

The original Star Trek series came out in the 1960's at a time when the worst horrors of the 20th century were still fresh in everyone's minds-two world wars, the Holocaust, the millions who perished in the Gulag's of the USSR, China and other Communist countries culminating in the omnipresent threat of the total annihilation of humanity by nuclear weapons. The writers of the series decided to make a statement of how possibly to cope with these things by creating the character of Mr Spock who comes from a race which decided to eliminate all emotion and to live only by "logic" and "reason". However, the question is always hovering over Spock as to whether this is really possible, i.e. can man really change his nature. Spock's friendly adversary, Dr McCoy does not believe this is possible and in the "Galileo 7" both men are put in a crisis situation where Spock is finally given command and he can now put his theories on human perfection to use. This show has all the elements of Star Trek at its finest: life or death drama, fear of the unknown, military command decisions, loyalty of friends to each other, interference from superior authorities and others. The script and acting are splendid and the first-time viewer will be riveted to his TV screen. This proves that a good story and fine actors can make a great production even with low-budget sets (something the later versions of ST forget).
I would also recomment "Journer to Babel" an another excellent epidsode that deals with the Vulcun/Human encounter.

3 out of 5 stars Below average, by season one's standards.......2003-09-09

The Galileo Seven-This episode, in which a shuttlecraft is forced to land on a planet with giant bear/ape-like creatures, was an average offering by first season standards. The episode has sufficient action, and explores the circumstances under which even otherwise well-behaved crews may be led to (?) mutiny. As others have noted, this episode, one of the few in which Kirk has a secondary role, was seminal to Spock's development. Unfortunately, the logic vs. emotion arguments are overdone, to the extent that they-and the participants-become somewhat tedious. The creatures also looked pretty silly, but as I've said before I try not to hold Star Trek to a high standard when it comes to such things; the effects weren't bad enough to totally compromise the `primal fear' element so central to this (and few other) episodes. (3 stars)

Court Martial-This courtroom whodunit, featuring Kirk in the hot seat, is a slightly below average episode. As in virtually every courtroom drama ever put to screen, the trial scenes drag. But this whole episode, quite frankly, is dull. Shatner definitely gets up for his "request it?..I demand it!" line, but somehow this episode just feels flat, despite the strong performance by Elisha Cook Jr. as an eccentric lawyer. It doesn't help that the finale's bombshell, pulled somewhat out of left field, just isn't explosive. Themes explored here, including the importance of 1) presumption of innocence, and 2) recognizing the fallibility of machines, would be better explored in other episodes. (2.5 stars)

5 out of 5 stars "Books young man, books!".......2003-08-02

Despite what is a goofy, techno-babble ending for "The Court Martial", this episode is one of my favorites for that most wonderful of Star Trek quotes, applicable in 1966 and applicable even moreso in 2003:

(Elisha Cook Jr speaking to Shatner, refering to a computer terminal's sterility over the stacks of books apparent in the scene)

"Books, young man, books. Thousands of them. If time wasn't so important, I'd show you something-- my library. Thousands of books. ... This is where the law is, not in that homogenized, pasteurized, synthesized--Do you want to know the law,
the ancient concepts in their own language, Learn the intent of the men who wrote them, from Moses to the tribunal of Alpha 3?
Books."

By golly if this line isn't worth every deus ex machina and boring, ignorant techno-babble, I do not know what is. It is one of the great lines ever made by Hollywood. More than that, it inspired "My own library. Books. Thousands of them!" And I can't think of a greater gift from Star Trek to my life.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 7, Episodes 14 & 15: The Galileo Seven/ Court-Martial
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • The burdens of command
  • Two of the Better Episodes From Season One!
  • Galileo 7-Does Man Need his Emotions?
  • Below average, by season one's standards
  • "Books young man, books!"
 Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 7, Episodes 14 & 15: The Galileo Seven/ Court-Martial
Starring: Star Trek Original Series
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Star Trek | Series & Sequels | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original Series | S | TV Series, A-Z | TV Series | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | 1960s | By Decade | Television | Genres | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( S )( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
All ParamountAll Paramount | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 6, Episodes 12 & 13: Miri/ The Conscience of the King
  2. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 9, Episodes 17 & 18: Shore Leave/ The Squire of Gothos
  3. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 4, Episodes 8 & 9: Charlie X/ Balance of Terror
  4. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 5, Episodes 10 & 11: What Are Little Girls Made Of?/ Dagger of the Mind
  5. Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 8, Episode 16: The Menagerie, Parts I and II

ASIN: 630574484X
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Amazon.com

Volume 7 in this excellent DVD series of original Star Trek programs includes "The Galileo Seven," which teleplay writer Oliver Crawford says was inspired by his viewing of a 1939 film called Five Came Back. (A catty footnote: David Gerrold, scribe of the famous "The Trouble with Tribbles" episode, called "The Galileo Seven" a rip-off of the Jimmy Stewart film The Flight of the Phoenix. Meow.) Five Came Back concerned a plane crash in the Andes and the survivors who faced the constant threat of surrounding headhunters. Crawford toyed with the idea and came up with a story line in which Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and a couple of other crew members crash on the surface of a hostile planet during a shuttle mission. With communication between the small craft and the Enterprise disrupted by quasar activity, Spock and the others must defend themselves against a formidable threat with only primitive, handmade weapons. That's the scenario, but the real drama is in the rising conflict between the half-Vulcan Spock's coldly logical approach to survival and the passions of his human crew, who soon come to regard him as a hateful, unfeeling monster. This is an interesting episode, both as a taut action piece and, somewhat indirectly, as a portrait of intolerance (specifically, an intolerance of individual differences) developing under stress.

Also on this disc is "Court Martial," a courtroom drama in which Captain Kirk (William Shatner) stands trial for negligence in the death of an Enterprise crewman. As the proceedings rumble on, Spock investigates some hidden truths about the dead man and the apparent computer malfunction that led to the tragedy. While "Court Martial" is a lesser episode from the Star Trek canon (the action is a bit mired in trial proceedings), it's still a lot of fun and features a supporting role from veteran Hollywood character actor Elisha Cook Jr. --Tom Keogh

Description

"The Galileo Seven," Ep. 14 - Spock learns the trials of command when Kirk sends him, along with Scotty, McCoy and a shuttlecraft crew, to investigate a quasar-like phenomenon. "Court Martial," Ep. 15 - Kirk's reputation and career are at stake when he faces a court-martial for negligence that resulted in the death of a crew member.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars The burdens of command.......2006-10-08

These two episodes deal with the responsibilities of being in command.

In "The Galileo Seven," Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is in command of a shuttlecraft that crash lands on a planet inhabited by hostile, primitive giants. His logical approach clashes with the emotional reactions of McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and other crewmembers and handicaps his ability to predict the actions of beings that possess no logic. The emotion vs. logic dynamic may be a bit heavy-handed here (I felt that the humans were pretty hard on poor Spock, not that he would care), but it cetainly sets up some powerful character conflicts. Spock must trust his command decisions in the face of nearly unanimous disapproval. Interestingly, Scotty seems to have no problem with Spock's "cold" methods, maybe because he's too busy trying to repair the shuttlecraft.

In "Court-Martial," Kirk (William Shatner) is accused of murdering a crewmember with whom he had a strained relationship. Veteran character actor Elisha Cook, Jr. gives a strong performance as defending attorney Samuel Cogley. Presented with damning evidence, Kirk, too, must preserve confidence in his command abilities. By the way, this episode features one of my favorite technobabble glitches, when Spock says that the Enterprise computer is capable of amplifying sound to the magnitude of "one to the fourth power." Since 1x1x1x1=1, wouldn't that mean that the sound was not amplified at all?

Two fun episodes.

5 out of 5 stars Two of the Better Episodes From Season One!.......2006-07-03

These are two of the better and my favourite episodes from the first season. In the first episode, we get to see Spock in his first command of the doomed shuttlecraft which lands on a planet populated by giant cavemen! Having lost 2 crewman to these creatures, the rest of the crew grow impatient at Spock's lack of sympathy and emotion and rebel at his incessant logic. Still, the good finale shows Spock surprising us with his actions and still winning the day in what eventually becomes a very successful first stint in charge.

In the second episode, Kirk gets courtmartialed in what can be described as Perry Mason in space! I won't spoil the ending for you but I can tell you that this story is a great piece of detective storytelling and is a must-see episode.

If you are picking and choosing the volumes to keep, this is a keeper as they rank among the best episodes of the first season. Recommended.

5 out of 5 stars Galileo 7-Does Man Need his Emotions?.......2005-06-07

The original Star Trek series came out in the 1960's at a time when the worst horrors of the 20th century were still fresh in everyone's minds-two world wars, the Holocaust, the millions who perished in the Gulag's of the USSR, China and other Communist countries culminating in the omnipresent threat of the total annihilation of humanity by nuclear weapons. The writers of the series decided to make a statement of how possibly to cope with these things by creating the character of Mr Spock who comes from a race which decided to eliminate all emotion and to live only by "logic" and "reason". However, the question is always hovering over Spock as to whether this is really possible, i.e. can man really change his nature. Spock's friendly adversary, Dr McCoy does not believe this is possible and in the "Galileo 7" both men are put in a crisis situation where Spock is finally given command and he can now put his theories on human perfection to use. This show has all the elements of Star Trek at its finest: life or death drama, fear of the unknown, military command decisions, loyalty of friends to each other, interference from superior authorities and others. The script and acting are splendid and the first-time viewer will be riveted to his TV screen. This proves that a good story and fine actors can make a great production even with low-budget sets (something the later versions of ST forget).
I would also recomment "Journer to Babel" an another excellent epidsode that deals with the Vulcun/Human encounter.

3 out of 5 stars Below average, by season one's standards.......2003-09-09

The Galileo Seven-This episode, in which a shuttlecraft is forced to land on a planet with giant bear/ape-like creatures, was an average offering by first season standards. The episode has sufficient action, and explores the circumstances under which even otherwise well-behaved crews may be led to (?) mutiny. As others have noted, this episode, one of the few in which Kirk has a secondary role, was seminal to Spock's development. Unfortunately, the logic vs. emotion arguments are overdone, to the extent that they-and the participants-become somewhat tedious. The creatures also looked pretty silly, but as I've said before I try not to hold Star Trek to a high standard when it comes to such things; the effects weren't bad enough to totally compromise the `primal fear' element so central to this (and few other) episodes. (3 stars)

Court Martial-This courtroom whodunit, featuring Kirk in the hot seat, is a slightly below average episode. As in virtually every courtroom drama ever put to screen, the trial scenes drag. But this whole episode, quite frankly, is dull. Shatner definitely gets up for his "request it?..I demand it!" line, but somehow this episode just feels flat, despite the strong performance by Elisha Cook Jr. as an eccentric lawyer. It doesn't help that the finale's bombshell, pulled somewhat out of left field, just isn't explosive. Themes explored here, including the importance of 1) presumption of innocence, and 2) recognizing the fallibility of machines, would be better explored in other episodes. (2.5 stars)

5 out of 5 stars "Books young man, books!".......2003-08-02

Despite what is a goofy, techno-babble ending for "The Court Martial", this episode is one of my favorites for that most wonderful of Star Trek quotes, applicable in 1966 and applicable even moreso in 2003:

(Elisha Cook Jr speaking to Shatner, refering to a computer terminal's sterility over the stacks of books apparent in the scene)

"Books, young man, books. Thousands of them. If time wasn't so important, I'd show you something-- my library. Thousands of books. ... This is where the law is, not in that homogenized, pasteurized, synthesized--Do you want to know the law,
the ancient concepts in their own language, Learn the intent of the men who wrote them, from Moses to the tribunal of Alpha 3?
Books."

By golly if this line isn't worth every deus ex machina and boring, ignorant techno-babble, I do not know what is. It is one of the great lines ever made by Hollywood. More than that, it inspired "My own library. Books. Thousands of them!" And I can't think of a greater gift from Star Trek to my life.

DVD:

  1. UFO and Paranormal Phenomena: Message from Another Dimension
  2. Darkest Knight
  3. English Sacred Sites: Atlantis Connection
  4. Teenage Monster
  5. UFO and Paranormal Phenomena: Encounters of the Fifth Kind, Part 2
  6. Journey to the Center of Time
  7. Future Sight Collection
  8. The Beast Must Die
  9. Andromeda - Season 2 Volume 2.1 (Episode 204-205)
  10. The Gorilla

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