I was an airline captain preparing for a flight from San Francisco to Seattle. The cockpit door was open as the passengers were boarding. The fueler handed me the fuel sheet and as I cross checked it to make sure we had the appropriate load, I was feeling a little silly and announced to the co-pilot our supply of "dylithium crystals". At that EXACT moment James Doohan came on and took his seat in first class. I hope he was impressed. .
Scotty lived East of Seattle, I would occasionally see him driving around in his dark green "shuttlecraft" (Chrysler minivan). Unfortunately, I never was able to thank him for his work on Star Trek. It was always a good episode when Scotty had command of the bridge.
@@olsonspeed There was only one time he performed poorly on the bridge, that was in TAS. He was unfit for command and that might have been the first time Uhura had the conn. She also got to rescue Kirk and Spock. It was an all female crew for a few hours.
Writing and performing so good that even the minor characters came across like actual human beings. Not like the two-dimensional cardboard cutouts in every other series.
Actually the deciision was logical. He traded unrescued longevity for a greater chance of rescue, sine unrescued longevity was not valuable to the longterm survival of the crew. The only chance for the survival of the crew was the Enterprise being there and seeing Galileo, so taking everything possible to maximize the chance of the enterprise spotting Galileo, in other words assuming Enterprise IS there, is a logical course of action. Because in the end, no alternative course had any practical chance of working, and this had a small one, it was therefore the logical course. Logical decision making pursues your best chance of success even if the odds themselves are low.
I always liked that line by Scotty about Spock making a good gamble. That vote of confidence is a once-in-a-lifetime treasure, from one person who rarely lets his guard down to another.
@@haitolawrence5986 No - actually it was spot on. He WAS INDEED there on D-Day and did lose that finger. But he ALSO volunteered to fly FIGHTERS. And this was AFTER he was wounded and recovered! And Doohan was one of the most "crazy successful" pilots of his age. I don't think he got to shoot down any other planes (By that point the Luftwaffe had been well and truly broken) but he was a damn fine ground attack pilot. Jimmy Doohan led almost as interesting a life before Star Trek as Christopher Lee did! And Lee - it could be argued - may have been at least part of the inspiration for his cousin Ian Fleming's James Bond series!
What I really appreciated was that Scotty stayed professional and focused on solving their dilemma from start to finish. He never showed any opposition to Spock at any point. No wonder everybody in the crew liked him so much!😊
There was a Star Trek novel written that dealt with life on the Enterprise after the Galileo 7 episode. It talked about how Dr. Bowman was demoted and reprimanded for being so disrespectful to Mr. Spock!
Here is that reference I was talking about! In the novel "Dreadnought!", it is stated that Scott demanded (and got) a court-martial against Boma due to his insubordination toward Spock. (Spock had not mentioned anything about Boma's attitude in his own report.) As a result, Boma was discharged from the fleet.
That scene made an impression on me, and I never forgot it. Haven't seen it in probably over 40 years but watching it just now actually made me choke up and my eyes water just a bit. I've loved this show since 1966 when I was 9, it was my favorite then and remains so after all these years.
Well said, my thoughts exactly. Maybe because so many of them have passed on, but I get a little emotional when I watch this too. The characters are just so real to me.
Perhaps my favorite Spock moment. I love how after he considers an illogical act of desperation, it is reflected in his uncomfortable body movement. Great acting bit by Nimoy.
At worst, Mr. Spock's gamble would have meant that they would have died an hour quicker. Once they made orbit and nobody else was there, it was just a countdown anyway. Might as well take the chance and if it doesn't work, all you lose is an hour of brooding before death.
@@ShatnerMethod HA!! If the situation weren't so dire and if - underneath it all, he liked and respected McCoy (and we know he does) - then I could almost buy a bit of dry, desiccated Vulcan snark like that from him. But he does respect the man, and a quip like that before death would be unfair. Nevertheless, that HAD to have crossed his mind, even if subconsciously. 😆
From a purely logical perspective, surrender offers a zero-percent chance of success. Even the most unlikely of attempts to change the situation is better than doing nothing at all.
I met Nichelle Nichols at the airport a few years before she died. I was sitting up at the gates, Im a baggage handler, load flights. I went up to her and she was so nice. A wonderful lady. I told her how much the show meant to me. I was actually late to my assinged flight. I walked up to my coworkers and I said" I know I'm late, but you never guess who I met". I showed them the picture I took. The were fans too and said, they would have done the same thing. 😅😅
Never got to meet her, but glad MLK convinced her to stay on the show. When i grew up watching this show, i did so thinking all the diversity i was seeing was normal and not a big deal (which i think was GR's intent, at least partly). It was only later i learned how big of a gamble that was at the time and how much Nichelle, and the rest of the cast, made such leaps.
I like the small glimpse of Kirk’s relief at the end. Well acted, not too much, just enough to see it, while maintaining his captain’s unphased persona
And note that he doesn't ask who those five were, even though there were seven that went down to the surface. No playing favorites for our favorite Starship Captain.
I knew Oliver Crawford who wrote this episode, and the episode Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. He and his family were all super nice. I know for a fact he never was invited to or attended a single Star Trek convention, which I to this day consider an incredible shame. He never got the recognition he deserved.
I always had hopes for seeing more writers at the conventions I attended. As it was, I got to meet Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison and David Gerrold.
When you pause to think that these crew members were plummeting to certain death and knew it, and they all were just sitting bravely in their chairs waiting to die, this scene takes on much more significance. And then Kirk’s expression once he realizes what happened, just great acting and direction in this episode.
Hey, In 1966 l was an 18 yr. old newlywed in college, my fiancé hadn’t been focused on his classes and so he had gotten drafted- l married him before he left for Viet Nam so he would have a reason to live. I immediately felt so absolutely alone. While he was in training at Fort Ord, California, we rented a lovely little apartment in Seaside, and l worked and took classes at Monterey Peninsula College while he completed Basic Training and then Advanced Training. I spent a lot of time alone in that sweet little apartment. Nights when he had watch duty were difficult because l had never been alone during the night before in my life. We didn’t have a tv the first couple of months we were married but then one weekend my parents traveled 200 miles to visit us and bring us a surprise gift of love- a black and white portable tv. OH MY GOSH, IT MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE! That first night l stumbled upon what was the third (I think) episode of Star Trek and l became a solid gold, anchored in concrete devote of each and every increment and incarnation ever of all the Star Trek’s Incarnations. I don’t make a public presentation of being such a one, but l learned and emulated and hoped and prayed and have faith that the future of people from earth can be more than we have ever been and what, perhaps, we might have once been- l relate. How many tv shows can inspire our NOW for so many years and by doing so lead us into such a beautiful Future Now!? All these years later l STILL do so love and derive fullness from every episode of every tiny scrape that began with Gene Roddenberry’s thoughts and imagination. Isn’t it just so hopeful and grand?! Still! Like an anchor combined with a dream and a whole lot of hope from the citizens of not only the Earth, but of the Universe! Just from one creative, intelligent and hopeful man’s heart to the heart of a once 18 year old girl and so many others…
I think Spock's action of jettisoning the fuel and igniting it, was a direct answer to Scotty's inquiry about there 'always being alternatives'. It was like Scotty's remark and the experience he had on the planet helped Spock open his mind to relying on his human half when the possibilities were null. Knowing that their only true chance of survival was the Enterprise seeing them, Spock took that gamble and it resulted in their lives being saved. For an otherwise dreary episode, this is what makes it shine.
I was born in 65 and remember watching this because my Dad liked the show..all these years later I didn't expect to get emotional at the end..I miss my Dad more than I can say
I had forgotten about this one. Thank you. Spock is endlessly amazing. But so is Scotty for recognizing what Spock did, and its value, and so is McCoy for seeing that it came from Spock's human side.
If memory serves me, Scotty was the only one (or the few) who didn't give Spock grief during this episode ...even before he's the first to recognise the "logic" of Spock's seemingly irrational gamble ....
@@johntabler349 Boma's insolence was over the line for a court martial. A suitable punishment for him would be extradition to the Harry Mudd planet and assignment as a desk jockey for 300 android replicas of Mr Spock.
@@AlunThomas-mp5qo Upon the team's return to the Enterprise, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott personally conducted the court martial of Boma, and he was dismissed from Starfleet service.
Not only didn't give Spock any grief but he also enforced the chain of command when Boma and others became insubordinate and disrespectful to Spock. I love all the characters, but Scotty always brings a smile to my face.
Yes! But I wish they would have left the original footage alone. I hate the new graphics stuff they substituted, such as the outside view of the shuttlecraft.
They took what they did seriously. Only the audience was allowed to roll their eyes. Now it's a sin to take anything seriously: Writers, directors, actors, all roll their eyes and have their tongues in their cheeks. So nothing in their fictive worlds matters.
Very memorable scene. I grew up watching the original series, and now that im older and rewatching some of the episodes i realize how good this series really was. It was the best!
I love the newer "remastered" editions where you can see Spock's makeshift flare more easily against the planet! This episode is one of my Faves from Season One of STAR TREK: TOS!
the only thing I don't like about the remastered version is the size of the shuttles shown to the size of the shuttlecraft bay. On the new version, the shuttles seem to be far oversized in comparison to the Enterprise. The rest of the upgrades were pretty good! The Doomsday Machine wasi n particularly good.
Interesting, I find the remastered special effects to look pretty old now and more distracting than the originals. I'd like to see them remastered again with 2024 quality special effects.
@@solracer66 I agree and disagree. I'm all for letting well enough alone in this respect. George Lucas kept tweaking the Star Wars Original Trilogy and they still look clunky compared to the Prequels! Story telling wise, I just rationalize it by saying The Emperor was more concerned with developing weaponry to keep his power than using advanced technology to help the various planets develop (which explains why Tatooine is such a backward place!) As for Star Trek, it's relaatively more linear(IMO) and it's established that The Enterprise was the first ship to venture beyond our galaxy and if producers stick with it, then any prequel shows should strive to restrain Federation tech yet still have fun with other Special Effects!
Spock sitting in judgement of himself is hilarious! I happen to think it was highly logical. A minute later they're on the back side and all hope is gone. It was THE only play.
The more I watch the original series, the more I realize it was better than The Next Generation. The next generation was still a good show, in fact it was a great show. But nothing compares to the original series.
@@joncooper2295 Well said, my biggest complaint with the Next Gen. was an overload of techno babble at times,sub suming the human element. I can always watch an episode of the original and never be bored, especially with eps. such as "The Doomsday Machine" or "The Devil in the Dark."
The Original of anything is hard to duplicate, let alone exceed. But there are bad episodes from TOS and good episodes from TNG. The original, however, lit the fire of imagination.
TNG is ruined by all the techno-babble gobbledygook and overly dramatic pseudo-acting. Voyager is even worse. TOS will always be the best -- all the campy episodes aside.
A beautifully directed scene. After Uhuru relays "...all alive and well", notice how the camera slowly trucks in toward Kirk's reaction. Many thanks to the unsung hero camera grips who worked on Star Trek TOS who hepled impart gravitas to these stories.
it's been more than 50 --- FIFTY YEARS! and dang! I still love and WATCH these clips over and over and over!.... Can any of us reply with any other TV series of the 1950s or 1960s or 1970s or even the 1980s ... that you are personally re-watching? write below
I once got to see the Galileo 7 shuttlecraft. It was on display at Space Center Houston. It's also used briefly in the Star Trek Continues episode "Fairest of Them All".
@@hagamapama "7 man crew !" I'm an "old" fan of the original series. I was 9 the first time it was on the air and I NEVER knew that that's what the "7" meant. I thought it was the seventh shuttle craft.
I can hear the suits right now. "But it doesn't have one cowboy and Indian battle!. Where's the horses? Nobody is smoking! How can we get sponsers if they are smoking?" Bless Lucy for taking the chance.
How curious. I just earlier today countered how this episode was my favorite transporter room scene. I remember once my 65 bug was stalled on freeway. Pre cellphone days. No emergency flashers, fast moving traffic, no shoulder on road, just below apex of hill, 50yds from off ramp. Too dangerous to exit car, let alone try to push. I remembered this episode and asked myself, what would Spock do? I placed car in 1st gear, waited for traffic lull and cranked starter. It propeled car to top of hill and I coasted down hill on off ramp to safety. Maybe not exact scenario but my inspiration.
No matter how good or bad the TOS episodes, they outshone this ST Discovery woke rubbish by miles. I cannot even accept STD as being Star Trek. Thank god Gene Roddenberry is not around to see what Franchise killer abrams and Star Trek destroyer klutzman did to his wonderful creation.
I loved how Kirk was so choked up after he reailized 5 people were alive any well that he could barely get Sulu's name out to proceed on course (that is the best part and it's cut off).
Star Trek is important because it portrayed our best instincts and potentials as human beings, and portrayed a universe where the Golden Rule is a universal truth. Like many others, I grew up watching this special show, and am very emotionally moved when I see these classis scenes!
I'm with you but I will add that the original series was the strongest because it showed mankind at his best but also confronted mankind's worst, it made these characters real and relatable in ways none of the spin-off series did
Contrary to the vicious and persistent rumors, the Enterprise is NOT involved in an ongoing project to exterminate red shirt wearing crew members. Repeat: it is not the mission of, nor is it mandated that red shirts suffer fatalities with every situation encounter. It's just a tragic coincidence they're dropping like flies all the time.
My parents knew about Star Trek but never seen an episode until it was syndicated on Saturdays at around 1:00 on our local station in the 70’s. That was my routine. Morning Cartoons followed by an episode of STTOS. My Dad would watch it with me before we’d head outside and do our chores. He became a bigger Trek fan than me. He rarely went to the theater unless there was a Star Trek movie playing then we were all going. It was one of the few things we could both share growing up. Rock n Roll and Star Trek. Miss him very much.
Every now and then, I rewatch this again. So much going on in this whole episode really. Even just, think of how the crew must respect the Captain and their other crewmembers, seeing how much they were willing to do to rescue some others. It's right up there with Sulu's "Fly her apart, then!" in "Undiscovered Country."
"That would seem to me to be an act of desperation." "Quite correct, Captain." ... "Desperation is a highly emotional state of mind...." ... "Logic informed me that under the circumstances the only possible action would have to be one of desperation...." "You mean you reasoned it was time for an emotional outburst?" "Well I wouldn't put it in exactly those terms, but those are essentially the facts."
This clip has two of my favorite Star Trek lines: "We need that fuel to maintain orbit." "Whatever it was, captain, it just burned up in the atmosphere."
Not necessarily… the orbit Galileo achieved might not have been high enough to escape atmospheric drag meaning that they would have needed more fuel to achieve a stable orbit.
As a diligent EE, I always design switches that doom the pilot & crew 0:27 into the middle of frequently used controls, and with a long, easily actuated lever. Other handy hints include placing ejector seat buttons on the armrest, and self-destruct buttons right next to the ignition key.
One of my favorite episodes. Bones finally came around to accepting Spock. The writing, directing, acting and special effects were perfect even for today. Thank you guys for the joy of watching a great performance all around.
Its 2023 and after more than 50 years, Im still watching and enjoying Star Trek TOS! I built an Enterprise out of cardboard when I was 5 years old because I loved the series. Now Im 53, and I'd bought yesterday a very old 1974 AMT Galileo 7 and USS Enterprise plastic models (Aug. 10,2023).
That’s “The Doomsday Machine,” my personal favorite. Check out the revised “Amok Time” if you haven’t. One amazing addition was made to Vulcan, which also referenced the animated episode, “Yesteryear.”
My compliments on the graphics with the shuttle. It’s quite a lot better when I saw this in the 60s. This has been a powerful scene in TOS. Jettisoning fuel and igniting it guaranteeing certain death by burning up 🔥 during re-entry.
Great episode. Funny that there is a "Fuel Jettison" switch, so big and unprotected, basically a "Destroy Vehicle" switch, that could so easily be toggled by accident. The names on the other indicators are also amusing, like "Q4 to the 8th power" and "kg3" with only indicator lamps. I've never run into anything to the 8th power. Be careful when you change the value of Q4.
What a great series! I remember watching it back in the 1960s and for the next few years in reruns. Not too many people liked it back then. When I started getting tired of the reruns later in the 1970s suddenly everyone else got interested in it. I am so happy it survived and love seeing the episodes again. One of my all-time favorite scenes on film is when Commander Decker explains to Kirk about losing his ship to the Doomsday machine.
I remember when i first saw Star Trek I was 10 years old and living in Spain, I turned around and asked my sister "what in the world is this show about?" I felt like science fiction could never top this show, it was an experience of a little boy that I will never forget and what great era that was.
