TWITrek Character Insight No. 89: Galloway

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.
--------------------
Welcome back to Character Insight!  This week, we profile Galloway, the first true redshirt from TOS to be profiled on this segment.
 
 

Although we profiled a time agent who was able to warp time and space to escape death last week, Galloway has stronger resurrection powers apparently. He is one of a handful of characters who dies and then reappears later without explanation. But then again, as a redshirt, he's probably just destined to die once again on an away mission.

Galloway serves as a Lieutenant assigned to the operations division as a security officer on board the Enterprise. In addition to guarding the leadership of the crew on away missions, he frequently appears in the transporter room to operate the transporter. At least in those episodes he's not subject to the usual abuse a redshirt takes. That also helps him survive longer than most other redshirts who appear on the show and regularly go on away missions.

That abuse includes contracting a viral infection that drives the crew crazy on one mission, being absorbed into the body of an alien, and eventual death on Omega IV from another captain. Apparently vaporization by phaser beam is not permanent, though, as he appears again in two more episodes after passing away in The Omega Glory episode.

In one of these episodes, he was credited as a different character Johnson, but he clearly plays Galloway in Turnabout Intruder. In fact, he receives more speaking lines in that latter episode than he did before his death. Our quote of the week comes from this episode:

Galloway: "You're asking me to violate the captain's orders."

Spock: "He is not the captain."

Galloway: "You're as mad as she is. You're to leave here at once. I follow orders."

Spock: "Certainly, Lieutenant. We all must do our duty."

The James Blish adaptations explain away the death and resurrection issue by having a different redshirt get vaporized, but this is a fun oversight for watchers of the entire series to catch and chuckle at. After all, there's only so many extras around for a 1960's television show.

David L. Ross played Lieutenant Galloway. He only has six credits as an actor, but he does appear in a memorable role as a reporter in Rocky II in 1979. He has since enjoyed married life outside Hollywood over the past three decades while raising four children.

Speaking of movies, don't forget to help vote for the upcoming list of best Trek movie villains over at strawpoll.me/1175936. You can help craft Character Insight!