The Trouble with Tribbles
- Episode aired Dec 29, 1967
- TV-PG
- 50m
To protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk and the crew must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, voracious li... Read allTo protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk and the crew must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, voracious little creatures as pets.To protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk and the crew must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, voracious little creatures as pets.
- Admiral Fitzpatrick
- (as Ed Reimers)
- Guard
- (as David Ross)
- Klingon Brawler
- (uncredited)
- Guard
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene in which Kirk is buried in an avalanche of tribbles took eight takes to get right. The tribbles were thrown into the hatch by members of the production crew. The crew members were not sure when to stop because they were unable to see the scene. This is why additional tribbles keep falling on Kirk one by one. William Shatner can be seen looking perplexed as to why more tribbles keep falling on him.
- GoofsBones 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.
- Quotes
Spock: [while holding a tribble] Most curious creature, Captain. Its trilling seems to have a tranquilizing effect on the human nervous system.
Spock: [beginning to pet it gently] Fortunately, of course, I am... immune to its effect...
[realizing what he is doing, he quickly puts the tribble down and excuses himself]
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsEdited from TrekCulture: 10 Greatest Final Lines In Star Trek Episodes (2022)
I rarely review specific episodes of TV series but for Star Trek I thought I would locate this specific episode and watch it with a critical eye because this tends to be the one that most casual Trek viewers quote as their favourite. Watching it again I can understand why because it is a fine example of the gentle humour that makes the majority of casual viewers enjoy the series. So while we may not always like the clunking moral messages and so on, the humour is what makes it an enduring piece of entertainment. With "Tribbles" the whole story has been written with his humour running deep throughout it and everyone has their tongues in their cheeks throughout with a narrative that is wonderfully silly and fun.
The cast mostly react really well to this lack of action and drama. Shatner wears a great air of weary disbelief about everything and he has plenty of great lines particularly when mocking Schallert's Baris. He is not a great actor but he shows a real comic touch here and I was rolling with laughter as he stands up to his chest in Tribbles being pelted from above by them while delivering his lines. Nimoy enjoys himself too with lots of "raised eyebrow" moments while Kelley, Nichols, Doohan and Koenig all get good material. Adams hams it up but within the context of this episode it works really well.
A fantastic episode then. It does depend on how you view Star Trek as a franchise because I'm sure many will see this silly episode as a low point but for me personally it is tremendous fun, had me regularly laughing out loud and left me feeling like I had been really entertained.
- bob the moo
- May 5, 2007
- Permalink
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