The Trouble with Tribbles 

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:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), David Gerrold

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Capt. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
William Schallert	...	Nilz Baris
William Campbell	...	Koloth
Stanley Adams	...	Cyrano Jones
Whit Bissell	...	Lurry
James Doohan	...	Scott
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Michael Pataki	...	Korax
Edwin Reimers	...	Admiral Fitzpatrick (as Ed Reimers)
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Charlie Brill	...	Arne Darvin
Paul Baxley	...	Ensign Freeman
David L. Ross	...	Guard (as David Ross)

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

furry creature | year 2268 | 2260s | 23rd century | koloth character | 

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 December 1967 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions, Norway Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Doohan insisted on doing his own stunts in the barroom brawl.

---

Goofs

When Spock and Kirk beam down to the station, there are 3 tribbles on Spock's transporter pad while on the Enterprise. When they re-materialized on the station, only 2 tribbles made the trip.

---

Quotes

Nilz Baris: There must be thousands of them.
Capt. Kirk: [buried up to his neck in tribbles] Hundreds of thousands.
Spock: 1,771,561. That's assuming one tribble, multiplying with an average litter of 10, producing a new generation every 12 hours over a period of three days.
Capt. Kirk: And that's assuming that they got here three days ago.
Spock: And allowing for the amount of grain consumed and the volume of the storage compartment.

---

Alternate Versions

Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Star Trek: The Original Series Episodes (2014)

User Reviews

Worth a look for one line alone...

I had to wonder what the other actors were thinking when the Klingon insulted Kirk by calling him "a tin-plated, overbearing, swaggering dictator with delusions of godhood." So funny, because from what I've read, many in the cast felt pretty much the same way about Shatner in real life! It's an OK episode but I wasn't wowed.