# Who Beat Spock? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733 "2013-01-29T19:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/41 "2013-01-31T14:48:58Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Or–horrors!–maybe Spock ran with scissors. 🙂 He got caught with a Horta in the boy’s room. “The PAIN!” ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/42 "2013-01-31T16:10:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I choose to believe that Galileo 7 never happened. The premise is simply stupid. Spock wasn’t some random officer; he was the ship’s first officer. Even given Kirk’s propensity for leading landing parties himself, I just can’t believe that Spock had never once been in charge of such a mission. For Athena’s sake, SULU was in charge of the landing party in that episode when Kirk got split in two and Wolf!Kirk tried to rape Janice Rand. Regarding Spock as first officer, I thought the yellow/blue/red shirts indicated different career/promotion tracks. Yellow were those groomed for ship’s operations (including command), blue for sciences, red for engineering/security. Promotion is based on your abilities within your career track (at least until you get to captain), and the position of command officers is based only on comparing rank rather than skillsets (a flawed system I know, but it explains why Scotty was always in command when both Kirk and Spock were away, when it seems more natural that Sulu should be running the bridge). In “The Enemy Within”, Kirk was initially in command of the landing party, not Sulu. Sulu was forced to take charge only because of the transporter accident. ---
**Author:** ![irritant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@irritant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irritant)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/43 "2013-01-31T19:53:36Z")
Gary Mitchell was the first officer in “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” I presume that his death bumped the next most senior officer, Spock (I suppose it could have been Scotty, but he clearly has no interest in or aptitude for the job) up into the XO position. Possibly this was only supposed to be temporary, but because of the Enterprise’s distance from Starfleet command they never got around to installing a permanent replacement. And since Spock is more than capable of performing both the duties of first officer and of science officer, Kirk never even considered switching him out. Uniform designs notwithstanding, “The Galileo Seven” is very early in the series’ run, happening mere months or even weeks after “WNMHGB,” so I don’t think it’s inconceivable that Spock had never commanded in the field before. Whoever came in ahead of Spock at the Academy probably has his or her or its own ship already. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/44 "2013-01-31T20:23:22Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > In Star Trek novels, Saavik (from TWoK) is half Romulan, not Valeris. Valeris was supposed to BE Saavik, but they changed their minds because Roddenberry didn’t want Saavik to turn traitor and they didn’t want to hire yet a third actress to play her. If you watch the movie knowing this, you can tell they barely changed her dialogue and it might as well be Saavik. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/45 "2013-01-31T20:51:22Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > Yellow were those groomed for ship’s operations (including command), blue for sciences, red for engineering/security. Gold is command. Blue is science/medical. Red is ops (engineering, security, communications, yeomen, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/46 "2013-02-01T12:27:16Z")
Didn’t [this guy](http://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/598/The-Most-Interesting-Man-in-the-World.jpg) play some random redshirt on TOS? Had to be him. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/47 "2013-02-01T17:56:14Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > In “The Enemy Within”, Kirk was initially in command of the landing party, not Sulu. Sulu was forced to take charge only because of the transporter accident. What have I told you about bothering me with facts? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/48 "2013-02-01T20:57:09Z")
There’s nothing particularly odd about Sulu commanding a mission, either. He might only have been rated a Lt, but he was command division - and he did end up commanding a starship of his own. He’d have never have gotten there without field experience. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/49 "2013-02-01T21:25:40Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I agree with the Walt Kelly principle: characters mentioned in passing may actually have far more interesting and adventurous lives than those on the show. Maybe other ships had far more interesting adventures than _the Enterprise._ That’s what I loved about the much-lamented Firefly. You could easily imagine series based around every guest character. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/50 "2013-02-01T21:53:02Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > What have I told you about bothering me with facts? You enjoy it and wish people would do it more often? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/51 "2013-02-01T21:57:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You enjoy it and wish people would do it more often? :: picks up evil hat, considers putting it on so I can unleash the tigers :: :: tosses it aside :: I’ll deal with you when you’re not expecting it. Funnier that way. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733/52 "2013-02-02T00:49:25Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Or–horrors!–maybe Spock ran with scissors. 🙂 that… is not logical. from what i remember from various st books. science officer and first officer were 2 separate jobs. science officer could have the chair if ness. like when uhura, scotty, or sulu would take over. spock ended up with both jobs when mitchell was not able/available to be first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-beat-spock/648733.md?page=2)