"Star Trek" The Trouble with Tribbles (TV Episode 1967) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error To protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, hungry little creatures as pets. Director: a list of 25 titles created 20 Apr 2011 a list of 26 titles created 19 Aug 2012 a list of 32 titles created 19 Mar 2013 a list of 30 titles created 27 May 2014 a list of 23 titles created 11 Apr 2015 Title: The Trouble with Tribbles (29 Dec 1967) 9/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Edit Storyline Having received a Priority One distress call from an outlying space station, the Enterprise arrives to find they have been summoned there by a Federation commissioner merely to protect a shipment of seeds meant to sow wheat on Sherman's planet. The planet is also coveted by the Klingons, who are taking shore leave at the station. The trouble arises with tribbles - small furry creatures that seem to multiply without end. However, their fortuitous presence reveals both a problem with the wheat and a traitor on the space station. Written by garykmcd 29 December 1967 (USA) See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia The storyline greatly resembles one subplot in The Rolling Stones, a 1952 novel by Robert A. Heinlein . Gene Roddenberry and Heinlein made an undisclosed copyright agreement before The Trouble With Tribbles aired. Heinlein conceded to David Gerrold that both he and Gerrold possibly "owed something to Ellis Parker Butler ", author of the short story "Pigs is Pigs". See also Star Trek: Charlie X (1966) and Star Trek: Operation - Annihilate! (1967), which have strong Heinlein similarities.

See more » Goofs Bones describes the Tribbles as bisexual when he means parthenogenic. However, he could have meant the Tribbles possess both male and female sex organs, as "bisexual" was once another term for hermaphroditism. See more » Quotes [Kirk is questioning Scotty about his reasons to start a bar fight with the Klingons] Scott : Well, Captain, er... the Klingons called you a... a tin-plated overbearing, swaggering dictator with delusions of godhood. Capt. Kirk : Is that all? Scott : No, sir. They also compared you with a Denebian slime devil. Scott : And then they said that you were a... Capt. Kirk : I get the picture, Scotty. Tribbles and Klingons - a Match Made in Trek Heaven 13 October 2006 | by Bogmeister (United States) – See all my reviews This is perhaps the most famous episode of the original Trek series and with good reason - it's also the most entertaining.

I consider this part of an elite triad of superlative Trek episodes, along with "The City on the Edge of Forever" and "Mirror,Mirror." The first, "City...," is the serious one, even grim, with the time travel angle which became such a staple in all the Trek series. "Mirror..." represents the fantastic journey to other dimensions, beyond merely space travel or time travel, an ultimate adventure. And "Tribbles" is the comedy. There weren't too many intentionally amusing episodes of the original series, less than a handful. This one knocked it out of the park. It's well known now for introducing Tribbles to our culture - that and their unexpected ability to bring out the worst in Klingons, the best-known alien species in Trek. The fuzzy things spawned a cottage industry within Trek: writer Gerrold published a book devoted just to this episode; there was a sequel in the animated series in '73; and, most impressively, a sly remake/follow-up "Trials and Tribble-ations" during the Deep Space Nine series, very clever and almost as entertaining (no surprise it's my favorite DS9 episode).

But, it's not the Tribbles which make this original episode so amusing. Rather, it's the canny take on some previously established lore involving future bureaucracy in the Federation and private missions of starship captains. We've all seen Kirk go off on his personal vendettas before and also being lectured by admirals to follow orders. Here, the mundane, the banal, is thrust upon him: instead of being allowed to explore the galaxy in the grandest tradition, he's forced to guard a bunch of wheat. It's a farce, Trek style. I could see Nimoy(Spock), usually standing slightly behind Kirk, struggling to contain himself in the face of Kirk's predicament throughout this episode. All of a sudden, these two are the Abbott & Costello of Starfleet and, boy, do I laugh a lot during those A&C movies. The tempo, the pacing and the timing in this episode is brilliant, just flawless, with the actors all rising to the occasion. When you think it can't get better, the script throws in a literal acknowledgment of Roddenberry's original concept - a 'Wagon Train to the stars' - the bar fight or the saloon brawl.

The scene of Scotty & Chekov enduring Klingon insults and finally reaching that breaking point is some kind of glorious epitome in striving for first class Trek entertainment. 31 of 33 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes The Trouble with Tribbles (episode) | Memory Alpha | Fandom powered by Wikia The Trouble with Tribbles (episode) 42,154pages on Remastered version aired: 4 November 2006 ← 43rd of 80 produced in TOS → 44th of 80 released in TOS → 9th of 80 released in TOS Remastered → 44th of 729 released in all → Arc : Cyrano Jones and Tribbles (1 of 2) → Arc : Arne Darvin (1 of 2) → A dispute over control of a planet brings the Enterprise to a space station, where they must deal with Klingons, edgy Federation officials, and a previously-unknown species of small, unbearably cute, voraciously hungry and rapidly-multiplying furry creatures.

Contents Edit The USS Enterprise is en route to Deep Space Station K-7 for assistance with an important assignment regarding a disputed planet . One parsec from the nearest Klingon outpost ("Close enough to smell them," as Chekov puts it), the post is near Sherman's Planet , which is claimed by both sides. In the Enterprise's briefing room , Captain James T. Kirk , Commander Spock , and Ensign Pavel Chekov review the area's history: Twenty-three years after the inconclusive Battle of Donatu V , the Organian Peace Treaty is set to grant control of Sherman's Planet to the party that can demonstrate it can develop the planet's resources most efficiently. Lieutenant Uhura reports from the bridge that K-7 has issued a Code One alert , which signals that it is under attack. Kirk orders a speed increase to warp factor 6, while Uhura initiates a red alert . Act One Edit The Enterprise arrives at maximum warp, ready for a fight, only to find no battle. Beaming over with Spock, Kirk demands an explanation from station manager Lurry , but is told he was ordered to do so by Nilz Baris , a Federation undersecretary in charge of the Sherman's Planet development project.

Baris and his aide, Arne Darvin , fear that the Klingons might try to sabotage the Federation's best hope to win control of the planet – a high-yield grain known as quadrotriticale , the only Earth grain that will grow on the planet. Tons of the grain are stored at the station, and Baris demands security and protection from Kirk. Kirk still believes they have misused the Priority One designation, but assigns only two guards to the station, and allows shore leave for the Enterprise crew. On leave, Uhura and Chekov meet a dealer named Cyrano Jones , who is trying to wholesale to the skeptical bartender various rare galactic items, among them, spican flame gems and furry little creatures that Jones calls tribbles . While they bicker over the price, Chekov notices a tribble has eaten a quadrotriticale sample left on the bar and Uhura is enchanted by it. Jones gives the tribble to Uhura, a move the bartender claims will ruin the market but Jones claims will help spur more sales. Back on the Enterprise, Kirk receives an order from Starfleet Admiral Fitzpatrick to render any and or all aid that Baris may require.

The admiral informs Kirk that the safety of the grain – as well as the project – is the captain's responsibility. Kirk is exasperated, and just then learns from Uhura that a Klingon battle cruiser has arrived within a hundred kilometers of K-7. Kirk orders the ship to go to red alert and for Lurry to be notified. Lurry, however, discounts a possible attack, as the Klingon ship 's captain , Koloth , and first officer, Korax , are sitting in his office. Kirk orders the red alert canceled. Act Two Edit Koloth's ship orbiting Deep Space K-7 Kirk beams over with Spock and the Klingons assert their rights to shore leave under the terms of the Organian treaty. Kirk reluctantly accedes, but sets limits of twelve at a time, with one guard from the Enterprise for each Klingon soldier. In the recreation room aboard the Enterprise, Uhura's tribble gives birth to a litter. The sounds the tribbles make seem to have a soothing effect on Humans . Dr. McCoy takes one of the offspring to study it. Meanwhile, Kirk argues with Baris about the adequacy of the security Kirk is providing, until Kirk claims he is getting a headache.

Going to sickbay for a treatment, Kirk sees that McCoy's tribble has also produced a litter. McCoy reports that almost 50% of their metabolism is geared towards reproduction. Kirk tells crewmembers beaming over to shore leave on K-7 to avoid trouble with the Klingons. Scotty declines shore leave, but Kirk, concerned for him getting too wrapped up in his technical journals, orders him over to keep an eye on the others and to enjoy himself. At the bar aboard K-7, Jones tries to sell more tribbles. The Enterprise crew aren't interested, and the tribbles and the Klingons react to one another with loud hostility. The bartender is uninterested in more tribbles either – the one he acquired earlier is already multiplying. Korax starts insulting the Enterprise crew, first by comparing the Humans to Regulan bloodworms . He then tries to provoke Chekov by repeatedly insulting Kirk, but Scotty restrains Chekov. Korax then turns his attention to Scotty by insulting the Enterprise itself, first calling it a garbage scow , then just garbage, provoking Scotty to punch Korax in the face and start a brawl between the two groups.

The barman retreats and Jones dispenses himself some drinks in his absence. Security officers from the Enterprise arrests the brawlers and restores order, and shore leave for both ships is canceled. Act Three Edit "This is my chicken sandwich and coffee." Kirk interrogates the crew involved in the brawl, but none are forthcoming about who started it. Kirk orders that they are all confined to quarters until he determines who started the brawl. After Kirk dismisses his officers, Scotty confesses to Kirk in private that he started the fight after Korax insulted them, recalling some of the more colorful examples. Kirk presses further and is perplexed to find that Scotty didn't start fighting until Korax insulted the Enterprise but realizes it was due to an engineer's sensitivities. Kirk restricts Scotty to quarters, to which Scotty happily complies, anticipating time off to catch up on his technical journals. In sickbay, Spock and McCoy have a characteristic debate on the aesthetics and utility of tribbles, Spock in particular, notes to McCoy their one redeeming characteristic – they do not talk too much. The question soon attracts Kirk's attention. There are tribbles all over the bridge, including one in his chair .

McCoy reports this is because they are "born pregnant" and are swamping the ship with their rampant reproduction. Kirk orders Uhura to call for Jones to be detained on K-7 – and to "get these tribbles off the bridge." On K-7, Spock berates Jones for removing tribbles from their natural predators and letting them over-breed. Jones counters with excuses and insists that, at six credits each, they're making him money. Then Baris confronts Kirk on the insufficient security detail for the quadrotriticale. Baris claims Jones is "quite probably a Klingon agent," but Kirk is unconvinced by the evidence and finds that Jones has done no worse than disrupt activities on K-7, which is not unprecedented. "Sometimes, all they need is a title, Mr. Baris", Kirk pointedly concludes, and he and Spock return to the Enterprise. Back on board, the tribble problem has worsened. Kirk can't even get a meal, as tribbles have gotten into the food synthesizers . Scott reports that the tribbles are circulating through the Enterprise's ventilation ducts , ending up in machinery all throughout the ship.

Spock points out that there are comparable ducts aboard K-7 that lead to the grain storage tanks. Realizing the implication, Kirk orders all the tribbles removed from the Enterprise and rushes to K-7, gaining access to one of the storage compartments, but when he opens the overhead door, an avalanche of tribbles buries him. Act Four Edit "First, find Cyrano Jones, and second... close that door." Kirk finally climbs out from the pile of tribbles – a population Spock estimates at 1,771,561 – and Spock discovers that they are gorged on the grain. Baris claims Kirk's orders have turned the project into a disaster and that he will call for a Starfleet board of inquiry against Kirk. Koloth and Korax But Spock and McCoy notice that many of the tribbles in the pile are dead or dying. Kirk orders McCoy to find out why they died, though McCoy protests that he doesn't yet know what keeps them alive. Kirk assembles all the principals in Lurry's office.

Koloth demands that Kirk issue an official apology to the Klingon High Command , though Baris says that would give the Klingons the wedge they need to claim Sherman's Planet. Koloth also asks that the tribbles be removed from the room. The guards do so, but they pass Darvin, at which point the tribbles shriek just as they did around Klingons. With his medical tricorder , McCoy reveals Darvin to be a Klingon. He poisoned the grain with a virus that prevents its victim from absorbing nutrients, which is how the tribbles died. "They starved to death. In a storage compartment full of grain, they starved to death!" Kirk summarizes. Darvin is arrested, the Klingons are ordered out of Federation territory within the next six hours and Kirk says he could learn to like tribbles. The Enterprise crew gets the last laugh when Scotty tells Kirk where he placed the tribbles In K-7's bar, Kirk and Spock then give Jones a choice: twenty years in a rehabilitation colony for transporting a harmful species, or to pick up every tribble on the station (which Spock calculates would take 17.9 years). Jones accepts the latter.

Back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk is happy to find the ship has been swept clean of tribbles, and asks Spock, McCoy, and Scotty how they did it. They all deflect Kirk's questions until Scott reluctantly replies that before the Klingons went into warp, he beamed all of them into their engine room, "where they'll be no tribble at all." The crew share a good, long laugh at this. Log entries Edit "Captain's log, stardate 4523.3. Deep Space Station K-7 has issued a Priority One call. More than an emergency, it signals near or total disaster. We can only assume the Klingons have attacked the station. We're going in armed for battle." "Captain's log, stardate 4524.2. A Klingon warship is hovering only 100 kilometers from Deep Space Station K-7 while its captain waits in the station manager's office. Their intentions are unknown." "Captain's log, stardate 4525.6. A small disturbance between the Klingon crew and members of the Enterprise crew has broken out aboard Space Station K-7.

I am forced to cancel shore leave for both ships." Memorable quotes "I was making a little joke, sir." "Extremely little, Ensign." - Chekov and Spock, as the Enterprise heads for Deep Space Station K-7 "Wheat. So what?" - Kirk upon first seeing the quadrotriticale "I have never questioned the orders or the intelligence of any representative of the Federation. Until now." - Kirk, to Baris on the matter of the protection of the grain. "Is that an offer or a joke?" "That's my offer." "That's a joke." - Cyrano Jones and the K-7 bartender, as the bartender offers him four credits per tribble "Its trilling seems to have a tranquilizing effect on the Human nervous system. Fortunately, of course ... I am immune ...

to its effect." - Spock, as he strokes a tribble (before becoming the subject of amused looks from Uhura and Freeman) "Kirk, this station is swarming with Klingons!" "I was not aware, Mister Baris, that twelve Klingons constitutes a swarm." - Baris and Kirk, as Baris lodges a complaint "Do you know what you get if you feed a tribble too much?" "A fat tribble." "No. You get a bunch of hungry little tribbles." - McCoy and Kirk, on a tribble's metabolism "When are you going to get off that milk diet, lad?" "This is vodka." "Where I come from, that's soda pop. Now this is a drink for a man." "Scotch?" "It was invented by a little old lady from Leningrad ." - Scott and Chekov, at the K-7 bar "Oh...I just remembered: There is one Earth man who doesn't remind me of a Regulan bloodworm . That's Kirk. A Regulan bloodworm is soft and shapeless. But Kirk isn't soft.

Kirk may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood, but he's not soft." - Korax, looking for trouble "Of course, I'd say that Captain Kirk deserves his ship. We like the Enterprise. We, we really do. That sagging old rust bucket is designed like a garbage scow. Half the quadrant knows it. That's why they're learning to speak Klingonese." "Mr. Scott!" "Laddie...don't you think you should...rephrase that?" (Mocking Scotty's accent) "You're right. I should." (Normal voice) "I didn't mean to say that the Enterprise should be hauling garbage. I meant to say that it should be hauled away as garbage." - Korax, Chekov, and Scott, just before the fight begins "What's the matter, Spock?" "There's something disquieting about these creatures." "Oh? Don't tell me you've got a feeling." "Don't be insulting, Doctor." - McCoy and Spock "I see no practical use for them." "Does everything have to have a practical use for you?

They're nice, they're soft, they're furry, and they make a pleasant sound." "So would an ermin violin, Doctor, yet I see no advantage to having one." - Spock and McCoy "They do indeed have one redeeming characteristic." "What's that?" "They do not talk too much." - Spock and McCoy, as Spock compares him to tribbles "Too much of anything, Lieutenant, even love, isn't necessarily a good thing." - Kirk to Uhura, on the love of a tribble "In my opinion, you have taken this important project far too lightly." "On the contrary, sir. I think of this project as very important. It is you I take lightly." - Baris and Kirk, on the security measures for the grain "My chicken sandwich and coffee. This is my chicken sandwich and coffee." "Fascinating." - Kirk and Spock, after Kirk is served tribbles by the food processor "I want these things off my ship! I don't care if it takes every man we've got—I want them off the ship!" - Kirk, determined to rid the ship of the Tribbles after discovering them in his food "And as captain, I want two things done.

First, find Cyrano Jones. And second ..." (A tribble lands on Kirk's head) "... close that door." - Kirk, after an avalanche of tribbles falls on him "They don't like Klingons. But they do like Vulcans. Well Mr Spock, I didn't know you had it in you." "Obviously tribbles are very perceptive creatures, Captain." "Obviously." (Carrying tribbles, Kirk walks over to Baris) "Mister Baris, they like you. Well, there's no accounting for taste." - Kirk and Spock, using tribbles to uncover a Klingon spy "I gave them to the Klingons, sir." "The Klingons?" "Aye, sir. Before they went into warp I transported the whole kit and kaboodle into their engine room, where they'll be no tribble at all." - Kirk and Scotty, discussing what happened to all the tribbles that were aboard the Enterprise Background information Edit This script, one of Star Trek's most popular, was David Gerrold 's first professional sale ever. His working title for the episode was "A Fuzzy Thing Happened to Me...". Writer/producer Gene L.

Coon did heavy rewrites on the final version of the script. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p 333) While the episode was in production, Gene Roddenberry noticed that the story was similar to Robert Heinlein 's novel, The Rolling Stones, which featured the "Martian Flat Cats". Too late, he called Heinlein to apologize and avoid a possible lawsuit. Heinlein was very understanding, and was satisfied with a simple "mea culpa" by Roddenberry. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , pp 333–334) According to Bjo Trimble , the story for this episode is based upon the short story, Pigs Is Pigs . ("To Boldly Go...": Season 2, TOS Season 2 DVD special features) The line in which Spock says that Kirk heard what Baris said, but could not believe his ears, was lifted directly from a Mad Magazine spoof of Star Trek (titled Star Blecch) that had just been published. Chekov quips that Scotch whisky "was invented by a little old lady from Leningrad." That Russian city, originally St.

Petersburg, had its name changed to honor Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Communist revolution in 1917. The name St. Petersburg was restored in 1991, after the breakup of the USSR. Cast and characters William Campbell ( Koloth ) and Charlie Brill ( Arne Darvin ) both reprised their roles in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine more than 25 years later: Campbell in " Blood Oath " and Brill in " Trials and Tribble-ations ". Production Edit Spock's estimate of how many tribbles there are in three days, dead or alive, starting with one tribble producing a litter of ten every twelve hours is exactly correct, assuming that every tribble always has a litter of ten. Tribble reproduction is exponential, starting when one tribble makes ten. In 12 hours the total number is 11. 12 hours later, each of the 11 tribbles produce ten, making the count 110 babies. Include the original eleven tribbles, and the total is 121. The formula for tribble reproduction is x=11n/12, where x is the total, and n is the number of hours.

Given three days (72 hours), the final result becomes 116, which equals exactly 1,771,561. During production of the "buried in tribbles" scene, it took up to eight takes (a considerable number) to get the avalanche of tribbles to fall just right. Gerrold wrote in The Trouble with Tribbles , "If Captain Kirk looks just a little harried in that shot, it's not accidental. Having...tribbles dropped on you, eight times in one day, is NOT a happy experience." DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " would later establish that the continuously falling tribbles hitting Kirk were in fact thrown by Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax , frantically searching for the bomb placed by the future Darvin. In reality, the tribbles kept falling out of the hatch because members of the production crew had no direct line of sight with William Shatner during the filming of the scene and could not tell when there were "enough" tribbles; a barrier in the set separated them from the storage compartment, which was filled with prop tribbles.

In order to set up the avalanche scene, crew members kept throwing tribbles over the wall to ensure that the bin remained as "full" as possible; when the compartment was empty, these tribbles then fell onto Shatner's head as the crew tossed them one by one. Near the end of the scene, a perplexed Shatner–already chest-deep in tribbles–can clearly be seen turning his head toward the wall behind him, wondering when the prop men will stop. ( The Trouble with Tribbles ; "To Boldly Go...": Season 2, TOS Season 2 DVD special features) Wah Chang designed the original tribbles. Hundreds were sewn together during production, using pieces of extra-long rolls of carpet. Some of them had mechanical toys placed in them so they could walk around. ("To Boldly Go...": Season 2, TOS Season 2 DVD special features) The original tribbles became sought-after collector's items, and quickly disappeared from the prop department. According to Gerrold, 500 tribbles were constructed for the episode and the tribble-maker, Jacqueline Cumere, was paid US$350.

According to David Gerrold 's The World of Star Trek , Tribbles would be around the set for some time afterward, allowing for occurrences such as what was mentioned earlier or popping up in various other places as well for some months after the production of the episode. Effects Footage of K-7 was recycled in " The Ultimate Computer ". According to Michael and Denise Okuda's text commentary on this episode for the second season DVD set, the last fresh footage of the Enterprise was done for this episode. In every episode to follow, the shots of the ship were all stock footage. It is possible that the last of the footage of the Enterprise was filmed during this production of this episode as it is true that they did not film any shots of the Enterprise after season two. But there will be five more episodes going by production order that have previously unseen shots of the Enterprise. " Journey to Babel ", " The Gamesters of Triskelion ", " The Immunity Syndrome ", " The Ultimate Computer ", and " That Which Survives " all have new shots of the Enterprise. [1] Sets The bar set, including the bartender's costume, is recycled from " Court Martial ", with slight modifications, mostly in decoration.

Continuity The Organian Peace Treaty mentioned by Chekov in the teaser is a reference back to the first season episode " Errand of Mercy ". Apocrypha Edit Although Kirk comments in the episode on the irony of tribbles in a grain storage bin dying of starvation, in James Blish 's novelization of the episode, Spock also remarks on the elegant symmetry of the respective misdeeds: The poisoning of the grain eliminated the tribble infestation before it exhausted the cargo, whereas the tribbles disclosed the poisoning with no loss of Human life. Reception Edit This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1968 as "Best Dramatic Presentation", but lost to the version of " The City on the Edge of Forever " that was actually shown on-air. In a 1985 interview, director Joseph Pevney named "The Trouble with Tribbles" as the best episode he directed. He added that they couldn't do an episode like that anymore, because the franchise has become "deadly serious" (interestingly enough, one year after the interview took place, the light-hearted, comedic Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home premiered in theatres).

[2] Pevney also commented that he "Fell in love with that show. I really enjoyed doing it, and I enjoyed working with Leonard and Shatner to make them think in terms of typically farce comedy. The show was successful and I was happy about that. I was proven right that you can do a comedy if you don't kid the script, and if you don't kid Star Trek. If you stay in character, you can have wonderful fun with Star Trek, and the kinds of things you can do with it are endless - if you don't lose the whole flavor of Enterprise discipline." ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two ) Despite the broad popularity of this episode among fans, series Co-Producer Bob Justman wrote in his book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story that he never liked this episode, as he felt the characters parodied themselves, and that the episode's over-the-top humor lacked believability. Third season producer Fred Freiberger also disliked the show.

David Gerrold recalled that when he pitched a sequel for the episode, Freiberger replied that he didn't like the original because "Star Trek is not a comedy." Gerrold's pitch later evolved into the Animated Series episode " More Tribbles, More Troubles ". ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 97) Writer Samuel A. Peeples was another individual who worked on the original series but found this episode to be problematic. "I thought that the one with the fuzzy little creatures wasn't my idea of what the show should be," he remarked. "It was awfully cute and awfully nice, but it covered an area that I felt was unnecessary for that particular type of series." ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 120) Gene Roddenberry also disliked "Tribbles" and the overall tendency for more comedy-oriented episodes, which became prominent under Gene Coon 's tenure as producer, feeling that it deviates from his image of the show, opting for the much more serious approach which dominated Star Trek during his time as Line Producer in the first half of season 1 .

As Pevney put it, "This was the first out-and-out comedy we had done on the series, and Roddenberry was not in favor of it too much. He didn't cotton the idea of making fun on this show." Eventually these disagreements between Roddenberry and Coon became one of the major reasons why the latter left the series mid-season 2. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two ) William Campbell ( Koloth ) recalled that, after this episode was aired, his neighbor's son consequently addressed his wife as "Mrs. Klingon". ( The World of Star Trek ) This was voted the best episode of Star Trek by viewers of Sci-Fi Channel's Star Trek 40th Anniversary Celebrations. It was also voted the best episode by "Empire" Magazine when they ranked the series #43 on their list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time." [3] The book Star Trek 101 , by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block , lists this episode as one of "Ten Essential Episodes" from the original Star Trek series.

Having been a big fan of the original Star Trek series during her youth, Diane Warren – the songwriter who wrote Star Trek: Enterprise 's theme tune, " Where My Heart Will Take Me " – cited this installment as her favorite episode of TOS, upon being interviewed shortly after the start of Enterprise. She went on to say, "That's one of the episodes that, even after all these years has stayed in my mind." ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 145 , p. 57) In the Star Trek: Myriad Universes story The Chimes at Midnight , which explores the timeline from TAS : " Yesteryear ", the Enterprise's first officer Thelin discovered Darvin's role in poisoning the quadrotriticale. Darvin remained a Federation prisoner for several months until a prisoner exchange was arranged with the Klingons.

Remastered information Amazon.com: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 42: The Trouble With Tribbles [VHS]: William Shatner, Stanley Adams, William Campbell, William Schallert, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan: Movies & TV Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 42: The Trouble With Tribbles [VHS] $5.98 Free Shipping for Prime Members | Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime Only 1 left in stock. Sold by IMOptical and Fulfilled by Amazon . Gift-wrap available. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and . If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Special Offers and Product Promotions Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,103 in Movies & TV ( See Top 100 in Movies & TV ) Editorial Reviews Product Description It's time to face one of the great questions of the television age: Is "The Trouble with Tribbles" really as good as everyone thinks it is? You bet. While the story might be a little slower than many of us remember, the episode is deservedly beloved for writer David Gerrold's witty, mildly acerbic script, and the way the cast took to heightened comic possibilities against network resistance. (Heavens! Comedy on a science fiction show?) Stanley Adams is delightful as the huckster Cyrano Jones, who gives a trilling furball called a tribble to Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who brings it aboard the Enterprise and watches it reproduce... and reproduce... and reproduce. Soon, hundreds of tribbles are in every part of the ship, making Captain Kirk (William Shatner), already grouchy about guarding a mere grain shipment from Klingons, even grouchier.

There's no question that Gerrold made a major contribution to Trek culture with this show, setting a tone that Star Trek has visited again and again, including the feature film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and sundry episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. Amazon.com It's time to face one of the great questions of the television age: Is "The Trouble with Tribbles" really as good as everyone thinks it is? You bet. While the story might be a little slower than many of us remember, the episode is deservedly beloved for writer David Gerrold's witty, mildly acerbic script, and the way the cast took to heightened comic possibilities against network resistance. (Heavens! Comedy on a science fiction show?) Stanley Adams is delightful as the huckster Cyrano Jones, who gives a trilling furball called a tribble to Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who brings it aboard the Enterprise and watches it reproduce... and reproduce... and reproduce. Soon, hundreds of tribbles are in every part of the ship, making Captain Kirk (William Shatner), already grouchy about guarding a mere grain shipment from Klingons, even grouchier.

There's no question that Gerrold made a major contribution to Trek culture with this show, setting a tone that Star Trek has visited again and again, including the feature film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and sundry episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. --Tom Keogh What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item? Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: “The Trouble with Tribbles” | Tor.com Star Trek: The Original Series Rewatch Keith DeCandido Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:00pm 36 comments Prior to this rewatch, I did rewatches of the first two TV spinoffs of The Original Series: both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine .

When the latter show reached its fifth season, which was also the 30th anniversary of Star Trek, I reviewed, not only DS9‘s anniversary episode “ Trials and Tribble-ations ,” but also “The Trouble with Tribbles” and DS9‘s sister show Voyager‘s 30th anniversary episode, “ Flashback .” I stand by the review of “The Trouble with Tribbles” that I wrote in 2014, so rather than repeat myself, we’re just gonna rerun that rewatch entry. I promise new material next week with “Bread and Circuses”… “The Trouble with Tribbles” Original air date: December 29, 1967 Stardate: 4523.3 Captain’s log: Kirk holds a briefing with Spock and Chekov. Since Chekov is all young and ensign-y, Kirk quizzes him on Deep Space Station K-7, to which they’re en route, and Sherman’s Planet, the closest Class-M world to the station. The planet is claimed by both the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty, whichever side can develop the planet most efficiently will be awarded the planet.

Uhura interrupts Chekov waxing rhapsodic about Russian history with a Code One Emergency—a disaster call—from K-7. However, they arrive at K-7 to find no Klingon ships, no evidence of a disaster. Kirk breaks radio silence to talk to Mr. Lurry, the manager of the station, who thumphers and says that maybe he should beam over. Kirk, livid, beams down with Spock. (Since neither Sulu nor Scotty are on the bridge, Kirk leaves no one in command in his and Spock’s absence, since we can’t have an ensign or a black woman in charge of a starship…) Kirk points out to Lurry upon beaming over that misuse of the Code One Emergency frequency is a Federation offense, but it was actually Nilz Baris—the Federation Undersecretary for Agricultural Affairs—who issued the distress call. He needs Enterprise security to guard the tons of quadrotriticale they have on the station that is bound for Sherman’s Planet. It’s the only Earth grain that will grow on that world, so it’s key to the Federation winning the claim to it.

Kirk therefore, very very very reluctantly, orders two security guards to report to Lurry, and also authorizes shore leave. Uhura and Chekov go to the station bar, where a prospector named Cyrano Jones is trying to sell stuff to the bartender. While the latter is not at all interested in Spican flame gems or Antarean glow water, he is interested in tribbles. A small fuzzy creature that trills and purrs (and also eats the quadrotriticale that Kirk gave to Chekov), Uhura thinks it’s adorable, which is enough to convince the bartender to take them at six credits apiece (after considerable haggling). In gratitude, Jones lets Uhura have the sample tribble, which Jones insists will lead to tons of sales. Back on the Enterprise, Admiral Fitzpatrick informs Kirk that the quadrotriticale is very important and he will render all aid necessary to Baris. Kirk isn’t exactly thrilled about that, and he’s even less thrilled when Uhura informs him that a Klingon ship has shown up.

However, the ship’s captain and first officer, Koloth and Korax, are already in Lurry’s office, and it turns out that they just want shore leave also, which they’re entitled to by the treaty. Kirk agrees to allow Koloth to beam over only twelve of his people at a time, and he’ll assign one security guard for each Klingon. Kirk and Spock hit the mess hall to find Uhura surrounded by people and tribbles. The one she got from Jones was apparently pregnant, as she now has a whole tableful of tribbles. McCoy takes one to check out and see what makes it tick, and various crew members take the others as well. Baris then contacts Kirk, livid at all the Klingons. Talking to Baris gives Kirk a headache so he goes to sickbay, where McCoy’s single tribble has become eleven tribbles. Apparently 50% of their metabolism is given to reproduction. You feed a tribble, you get, not a fat tribble, as Kirk guesses, but a whole buncha hungry little tribbles.

Kirk sends Scotty, Chekov, Freeman, and some others to K-7—Scotty doesn’t particularly want to go, but Kirk insists—and they head to the bar. Korax and a couple of other Klingons are sitting nearby. Jones comes in and tries to see if Scotty, Chekov, or Freeman wants a tribble—they really really don’t—and when he tries to hit up the Klingons, the tribble reacts violently. Jones has never seen them act like that before. He goes to the bartender, who, it turns out, is awash in tribbles. However, Korax decides to take pity on Jones and give him part of his own drink. Korax then interrupts Scotty and Chekov’s discussion of whose drink is more manly, the former’s Scotch or the latter’s vodka, to talk trash about the Federation in general and Kirk and the Enterprise in particular. Scotty is able to follow Kirk’s instructions regarding not causing trouble, right up to the part where Korax insults the Enterprise herself, at which point he starts a big-ass bar fight. The bartender runs to fetch security and Jones takes advantage of his absence to grab himself a few free drinks.

A half-dozen redshirts come in and break it up, leading to Kirk cancelling shore leave for both crews. He then lines up Scotty, Chekov, Freeman, and the rest to find out who threw the first punch. Nobody admits to it, but nobody admits who threw the first punch, showing very noble loyalty to Scotty. Kirk dismisses everyone except Scotty, who finally admits that he started the fight—but not after Kirk was insulted, but rather after the ship was insulted. Kirk is a little put out, but lets it go, confining Scotty to quarters—which makes him happy, as he can catch up on his technical journals. The tribbles are overrunning the Enterprise. Sickbay is filled with them—prompting Spock to complain about how they serve no purpose—as is the bridge. Kirk actually sits on one. According to McCoy, they seem to be born pregnant, and they’ll be hip-deep in them soon. Kirk orders Uhura to have Lurry take Jones into custody, and also to clear the bridge of all the tribbles. Jones, however, has done nothing wrong, and Kirk is forced to release him. Jones hands him a tribble on the way out.

Baris then enters and complains that Kirk is taking this project lightly. Kirk insists that he takes the project very seriously—it’s Baris that he takes lightly. Baris also accuses Jones of being a Klingon spy, based in part on evidence compiled by his assistant, Arne Darvin. However, Spock has already checked into Jones, and there’s no proof that he’s a Klingon agent. Baris points out that he’s disrupted the station, and Kirk says you don’t need to be a Klingon agent in order to disrupt a station—all you need is a title. Kirk and Spock head to the mess hall, which is now totally overrun by tribbles. Even the chicken sandwich and coffee he orders is all tribbles. Scotty confirms that they’ve gotten into the machinery, and Spock and Kirk realize that they may also get into the station’s machinery. They beam over and head to the storage compartments. Kirk orders the guard to open the compartment door, but it’s stuck. Eventually Kirk gets it open— —and hundreds of tribbles cascade down upon him until he is shoulders-deep in gorged tribbles. They’ve eaten all the grain—and some of them are dead.

McCoy confirms that, right after he announces that he’s figured out how to keep them from breeding: don’t feed them. McCoy takes a dead tribble for autopsy, while Kirk has Jones brought to Lurry’s office. Koloth and Korax are there also, insisting on an apology from Kirk to the Klingon High Command for the persecution of Klingon nationals. He also asks that the tribbles Jones is carrying be removed. The security guards do so, but as they pass Darvin, the tribbles go nuts in the same way they did around Korax in the bar. Kirk takes two tribbles. He holds them in front of Koloth and Korax, and they spit and wail. They’re fine in front of Spock and Baris—but they also squeal in front of Darvin. McCoy, who entered in the midst of this, performs a medical exam that reveals that Darvin is a Klingon. McCoy also reports that the quadrotriticale was poisoned, which Darvin admits to rather than be subjected to the tribbles.

Kirk and Spock get Jones to agree to remove all the tribbles from K-7—starting with the ones in the bar that has buried the poor bartender, complete with one on his head—and then depart. Kirk is pleased to see that there are no tribbles on the bridge, either, and Scott explains that he beamed them to Koloth’s ship. “Where they’ll be no tribble at all.” Fascinating: Spock claims to be immune to the trilling effects of the tribble, even as his speech slows down and he rhythmically pets the tribble. He also does his usual showing off, telling Baris that yeah, he does too know what quadrotriticale is, guessing the exact number of tribbles on the station (1,771,561), doing a full background check on Jones, and quoting the Bible at McCoy (“they toil not, neither do they spin”). I’m a doctor, not an escalator: McCoy takes a potshot at Spock, telling him that he likes the tribbles more than him. Spock returns the favor by saying that the great thing about tribbles is that they don’t talk.

Also McCoy pretty much saves the day by discovering that the quadrotriticale is poisoned and confirming Darvin’s Klingonicity. It’s a Russian invention: Chekov insists that the region they’re in was charted by a Russian astronomer named Ivan Burkhoff. Kirk and Spock correct him in that it was John Burke (the English form of Ivan Burkhoff) of the Royal Academy. The ensign also credits Scotch and quadrotriticale to the Russians. Hailing frequencies open: The entire episode is basically Uhura’s fault, since her finding the tribble to be cute is what leads to them proliferating. I cannot change the laws of physics! Scotty has to be put into a headlock to go on shore leave, as he’d much rather stay on the ship and read technical journals to relax. He then goes and starts a bar fight, which will probably keep Kirk from ever suggesting he go on shore leave ever again.

(Given what happened in “ Wolf in the Fold ,” it’s probably generally for the best that Scotty never ever, under any circumstance, leave the ship.) Channel open: “I was making a little joke, sir.” “Extremely little, Ensign.” Chekov trying to show that he has a sense of humor, and Spock reminding him that he has none. Welcome aboard: William Schallert plays Baris; he’ll be seen again in DS9’s “ Sanctuary ” as a Bajoran musician. Charlie Brill makes the first of two appearances as Darvin; he’ll reprise the role in “ Trials and Tribble-ations .” William Campbell returns as Koloth, having played Trelane in “ The Squire of Gothos ”; he’ll reprise the role of Koloth in DS9’s “ Blood Oath .” Ed Reimers, best known as a pitchman for Allstate Insurance, plays Fitzpatrick. Stanley Adams makes the first of two appearances as Jones; he’ll reprise the role in voice form in “ More Tribbles, More Troubles .” Michael Pataki plays Korax; he’ll return in TNG’s “ Too Short a Season ” as Karnas.

Whit Bissell plays Lurry and Guy Raymond plays the bartender, while David L. Ross and Paul Baxley appeared in the background in their usual roles as Galloway and Freeman (the latter actually named in the lineup interrogation scene in the briefing room). Trivial matters: The behind the scenes of this episode was provided by scripter David Gerrold in his two 1973 reference books The Trouble with Tribbles: The Birth, Sale, and Final Production of One Episode and The World of Star Trek . (The latter volume was revised and reprinted in 1984.) Gerrold co-wrote two more episodes of the original series (cowriting the story for “The Cloud Minders” and doing an uncredited rewrite of the script for “ I, Mudd ”), and wrote two episodes of the animated (“ More Tribbles, More Troubles ” and “BEM”). He was also heavily involved in the development of The Next Generation (and novelized the pilot episode “ Encounter at Farpoint ”), though he, along with several of his cohorts left the show due to disagreements with Gene Roddenberry in the first season.

This episode has the first reference to the Organian Peace Treaty, which was obviously signed after the Organians forced the Federation and the Klingons to end their nascent war in “ Errand of Mercy .” The Battle of Donatu V that Spock references as an early conflict between the Federation and the Klingons was fought 23 years earlier. It’s dramatized in the novel The Killing Blow by Kevin Ryan, part of the Errand of Vengeance trilogy. The tribbles will return in “ More Tribbles, More Troubles ” and “ Trials and Tribble-ations. ” The animated episode brings back the characters of Jones, Koloth, and Korax, though only Stanley Adams comes back to voice his character of Jones; Koloth and Korax were both voiced by James Doohan. Adams would go on to co-write “The Mark of Gideon.” Quadrotriticale is based on triticale , an actual hybrid grain. Quadrotriticale will be mentioned again in DS9’s “ Business as Usual .” Sherman’s Planet will be seen again—as a Federation planet—in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers eBook Oaths by Glenn Hauman, where they will suffer a horrible plague.

The infestation of tribbles in Koloth’s ship will lead to tribbles being declared an ecological menace in the Klingon Empire, as revealed by Worf to Odo in “ Trials and Tribble-ations .” That episode also names Koloth’s ship as the I.K.S. Gr’oth. Koloth’s removal of the tribbles was shown in the short story “A Bad Day for Koloth” by David DeLee in Strange New Worlds 9 , and he’ll look for vengeance on Jones in “ More Tribbles, More Troubles .” Federation: The First 150 Years by David A. Goodman establishes that Koloth lead the armada that wiped the tribbles out. Koloth and Kirk have obviously encountered each other before—one of those meetings was chronicled in the aforementioned Errand of Vengeance trilogy, and James Blish’s Spock Must Die! made reference to another conflict the pair had.

Koloth and Korax will go on to appear in a great deal of tie-in fiction, too numerous to list here, but a few of note besides those already listed include Dayton Ward’s In the Name of Honor ; the backup story in DC’s Star Trek: The Next Generation Special #3 , “Old Debts” by Kevin Ryan, Ken Save, & Shephard Hendrix (in which Koloth tries to get revenge against Scotty for beaming tribbles into his engine room); your humble rewatcher’s “The Unhappy Ones” in Seven Deadly Sins ; and Margaret Wander Bonanno’s Dwellers in the Crucible . Darvin’s backstory as to how he came to infiltrate the Federation government was chronicled in the second issue of the Blood Will Tell comic book miniseries written by Scott & David Tipton. That comic established that his real name was Gralmek. Nilz Baris is the subject of a Citizen Kane-like story in the short novel Honor in the Night by Scott Pearson in the collection Myriad Universes: Shattered Light, which takes place in an alternate timeline where Darvin’s sabotage was never discovered, and the poisoned grain nearly killed everyone on Sherman’s Planet.

Baris parlayed that defeat into an impressive career that included the Federation presidency. Tribbles also show up again in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , the Enterprise episode “The Breach,” the 2009 Star Trek , and Star Trek Into Darkness . George Takei did not appear in this or several other second-season episodes due to his filming schedule for The Green Berets , in which he played Captain Nim opposite John Wayne. To boldly go: “First, find Cyrano Jones, and second—close that door!” There’s almost no point in reviewing this episode, because it’s arguably Star Trek’s most popular hour, has many of its most quotable lines, has one of the franchise’s best visuals (Kirk being drowned in tribbles), and has never failed to be near the top of any best of Trek list. But I do want to single out a couple of bits in this episode that get lost in the shuffle. For starters, while it’s generally considered a funny episode for the tribbles falling on Kirk and Kirk’s abuse of Baris (which really is a delight) and the tribbles being just bloody everywhere, there’s a lot of more subtle and brilliant comedy work here.

The scenes between Stanley Adams and Guy Raymond are vaudeville gold. The business between Scotty and Chekov when the former hands the latter a Scotch without him realizing it, and Chekov gulps it before staring incredulously at the glass. Korax imitating Scotty’s drawl (“Yer right, I should”). But perhaps the best performance here is William Shatner. We’re all aware of how good Shatner is at broad comedy, from his performances in “A Piece of the Action” and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , not to mention in places like Third Rock from the Sun , Free Enterprise , and his historic role as Denny Crane in The Practice and Boston Legal . This episode, however, reminds us of his incredible skill as a straight man. His exasperation, his deadpan, his reacting to Spock, to Jones, to Baris, to Scotty—it’s a masterpiece of comic timing, and he’s never once over the top. Everything came together perfectly in this episode: the writing, the directing, the acting. It seems almost churlish to point out the flaws, but I must mention two issues. One is that William Campbell is the most un-Klingon-like Klingon ever.

It’s not surprising that when he reprised the role in “ Blood Oath ,” he pretty much had an entire personality makeover. Also the scene between McCoy and Spock in sickbay—which was written by Gene L. Coon to add running time to the episode—is just pointless. It’s got too much of the mean-spirited part of their relationship without any of the affection. But these are minor complaints—like getting the best steak ever and bitching because the parsley is slightly wilted. This is Star Trek at its finest. Warp factor rating: 10 Next week: “ Bread and Circuses ” Keith R.A. DeCandido is the author of, among many other things, the Marvel’s Tales of Asgard trilogy, including Thor: Dueling with Giants (available as an eBook, with the print book coming in March), Sif: Even Dragons Have Their Endings (coming this spring), and The Warriors Three: Godhood’s End (coming this summer). Trouble With Tribbles - ep. name | The Trek BBS Forums > Star Trek Series | 2151 - 2270 > Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series > Trouble With Tribbles - ep.

name Joined: Mar 23, 2002 In 1966 a family comedy called "The Trouble With Angels" was released, directed by the great Ida Lupino. Might this have been the source for the title of the Star Trek episode? Botany Bay Rear Admiral Rear Admiral Joined: Yeah it's possible I guess. I thought I read somewhere Gerrold wanted to call it "A Fuzzy Thing Happened" originally. If Roddenberry was an Angels fan, this could quite possibly be so. How 'bout them Angels. "A Fuzzy Thing Happened" Click to expand... Is this where the title "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" came from? M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator Joined: No. That opened on Broadway in 1962. OSF Headquarters A beaker full of death said: In 1966 a family comedy called "The Trouble With Angels" was released, directed by the great Ida Lupino. Might this have been the source for the title of the Star Trek episode? Click to expand... Depends. We're there thousands of self-replicating toupees in that one?

Mar 15, 2001 Okay, here's the beef from Gerrold's book about the making of the episode: His original outline was called "A Fuzzy Thing Happened to Me." This, like the title A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, is derived from a much older joke-telling formula (probably from vaudeville, which was a major influence on Forum) beginning with "A funny thing happened to me on the way to..." or words to that effect. The creatures in the outline were called fuzzies. But the legal department felt that was too close to H. Beam Piper's SF novel Little Fuzzy. Gerrold made a list of dozens of possible new names (including "shagbies," "gollawogs," "callahans," "goomies," and "brazzies"), and eventually decided that "tribbles" was the least objectionable choice. He had an inspiration for a new episode title: "You Think You've Got Tribbles--?" But TOS producer Gene Coon hated that title. So "The Trouble with Tribbles" was probably a compromise title, a less cutesy way of taking advantage of the tribble/trouble pun.

It's conceivable that it could've been influenced by 1966's The Trouble with Angels, but it could just as well have been influenced by the 1955 Hitchcock film The Trouble with Harry, or 1940's The Trouble with Husbands, or 1947's The Trouble with Women, or... Anyway, "The Trouble with..." is hardly a unique title formulation.

Question: What TV show had an episode entitled "The Trouble with Tribbles"?
Answer: Star Trek