.gif)
The Trouble With Tribbles (TOS episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Trouble With Tribbles" is a second-season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series
, first broadcast on December 29, 1967 and repeated June 21, 1968. It was written by David Gerrold
and directed by Joseph Pevney
and is episode #44, production #42.
Overview: Kirk and crew find themselves overwhelmed by fuzzy creatures called tribble
s.
4523.3, Captain James T. Kirk
and his crew are called to Deep Space Station K7 by a priority-one distress call. The station is near Sherman's Planet, a world in a sector of space disputed between the Federation
and the Klingon Empire
. Under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty
, Sherman's Planet would be awarded to whichever side demonstrates that it can manage it more efficiently.
Kirk is furious when he later realizes the distress call was unwarranted, and the undersecretary in charge of agriculture
in the sector, Nilz Baris, simply wants someone to guard the shipments of quadrotriticale
, a four-lobed wheat-rye hybrid grain, bound for Sherman's Planet. To Baris's annoyance, Kirk assigns two token guards to the task shortly before learning that Starfleet Command
endorses Baris's concerns. A Klingon
ship soon arrives at the space station and requests that its crew be granted shore leave, as entitled under the treaty. Kirk tells the Klingon captain Koloth that he may only bring members of his crew down 12 at a time, and that he will provide one security guard for each Klingon who beams down.
Meanwhile, an independent trader, Cyrano Jones, brings some little furry animals called tribble
s onto the station to sell; he gives one to Uhura
as a marketing ploy. She brings it on board the Enterprise, where it and its offspring are treated as adorable pets. The animals purr a relaxing trill that the crew (even the stoic Mr. Spock) find soothing. Klingons, however, find tribbles very annoying, and the feeling is mutual: tribbles emit an ear-piercing shriek of aggression, and jump, whenever they are near Klingons.
The "trouble" with the tribbles is that they reproduce far too quickly and are capable of eating a planet barren if their breeding is not controlled; in the words of Dr. McCoy
, "they are born pregnant" and threaten to consume all the onboard supplies. The problem is aggravated when it is discovered that the creatures are entering essential ship systems, interfering with their functions and consuming any edible contents present. Kirk realizes that if the tribbles are getting into the Enterprise's stores, then they are a direct threat to the grain stores aboard the station. However, upon examining the holds, Kirk learns that it is already too late; the tribbles have indeed eaten the grain—a fact he learns the hard way, by being buried to more than half his own height in tribbles when he opens a hold with an overhead hatch. It appears the mission has ended in a fiasco. On top of that, Koloth wants a formal apology from Kirk, since some of the Enterprise crew members have started, though not without provocation, a western-style brawl with the Klingon crew in the station's bar.
Spock
and McCoy, however, soon discover that around half the tribbles in the hold are dead and many of the rest are dying, alerting the Federation that the grain has been poisoned. Furthermore, the tribbles also give away the identity of a surgically altered Klingon agent responsible. The saboteur is the only "human" the tribbles do not like: Arne Darvin, Baris's own assistant. He had infected the grain with a virus that becomes an inert material in an organism's bloodstream; the more that is eaten, the more inert matter builds up, till the organism cannot take in enough nourishment to survive and essentially starves to death. Upon a medical scan by Dr. McCoy, it is revealed that Darvin is indeed a Klingon in disguise. Thus the tribbles redeem themselves and enable the Federation to score a diplomatic victory against the Klingons. As for Cyrano Jones, who introduced the species to the station, he is ordered to remove the tribbles from the station (a clean-up task that Spock estimates will take 17.9 years) or be imprisoned for 20 years for transporting a dangerous life form off its native planet.
Just before the Klingon departure, all tribbles that were on the Enterprise are somehow beamed onto the Klingon ship by Scotty
as a retaliation for the troubles the Klingons have caused, where, in his words, "they'll be no tribble at all."
states that he had been a science fiction fan since childhood, and was a film student in college when the series was aired. Gerrold submitted five story premises to Producer Gene L. Coon
. One of the five premises, "The Fuzzies", interested Coon, and Gerrold was commissioned to write the story outline (retitled A Fuzzy Thing Happened To Me. . .).
"Tribbles" was originally intended to be a serious take on the introduction of alien species to predator-free environments, as had happened with rabbits in Australia
. In the book, Gerrold stated that his goal was to show how a species that seemed harmless could be quite dangerous.
After Gerrold's outline was accepted, he was commissioned to write the first draft of the script, subject to approval. During production, the production company noted strong similarities to the flat cats included in a segment of the Robert A. Heinlein
novel The Rolling Stones
.
Documents excerpted in Gerrold's memoir show that producers contacted Heinlein, asking him to approve the script, willing to offer story credit or payment if necessary. Heinlein waived any claim, stating that he had borrowed the idea from the 1905 Ellis Parker Butler short story Pigs Is Pigs
and asking only for an autographed copy of the script.
or Saturn V
rocket, it was designed to deploy like an inflatable balloon. This space station was also available as a model from Aluminium Metal Toys.
adaptation of the episode was included in the Star Trek 3 collection published in April 1969. It is based on a version of the script which incorporated Sulu rather than Chekov. The episode was the basis of the third Star Trek Fotonovel
.
A sequel episode appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series
titled "More Tribbles, More Troubles
", for which Gerrold also wrote the script. He is writing another sequel for the Star Trek: New Voyages
fan film series.
Tribbles are handled by Starfleet personnel in the bar scene in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
while Dr. McCoy seeks illegal passage to the Genesis Planet.
The original episode was later edited and spliced into the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". In this retelling, the crew of Deep Space Nine
witness the original events through time travel
in an effort to stop Darvin from returning to change the course of history. This time, Gerrold made a cameo
as a gray-haired, red-shirted ensign in a corridor of the Enterprise
. During the episode, Worf reveals that Klingons considered tribbles to be an ecological menace and so destroyed their homeworld.
Charlie Brill reprised his role as Darvin in this episode of Deep Space Nine after coincidentally meeting several of the producers. According to a text commentary written by Mike Okuda on the DVD version of the episode, the producers were ambivalent on whether to do a return to "The Trouble With Tribbles" or "A Piece of the Action" when they happened to chance upon Brill sitting in the same restaurant that they were discussing the planned tribute.
Tribbles are also seen in the 2003 Star Trek: Enterprise
episode "The Breach" (which takes place in 2152) in which Doctor Phlox uses them as food for his medicinal pets in Sick Bay.
A tribble can be seen in the 2009 Star Trek film, sitting on Montgomery Scott's desk when Scott is first met on Delta Vega by Kirk and Spock Prime.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, first broadcast on December 29, 1967 and repeated June 21, 1968. It was written by David Gerrold
David Gerrold
Jerrold David Friedman , better known by his pen name David Gerrold, is an American science fiction author who started his career in 1966 while a college student by submitting an unsolicited story outline for the television series Star Trek. He was invited to submit several premises, and the one...
and directed by Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney was an American film and television director.-Biography:Pevney was born on September 15, 1911 in New York City, New York.He made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924...
and is episode #44, production #42.
Overview: Kirk and crew find themselves overwhelmed by fuzzy creatures called tribble
Tribble
Tribbles are fictional asexual animals in the Star Trek universe who first appeared in the episode titled "The Trouble With Tribbles". They are depicted as small, soft, and gentle, and as producing a soothing purring sound...
s.
Plot
On stardateStardate
A stardate is a date in the fictional system of time measurement developed for Star Trek, commonly heard at the beginning of a voiceover log entry such as "Captain's log, stardate 41153.7...
4523.3, Captain James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
and his crew are called to Deep Space Station K7 by a priority-one distress call. The station is near Sherman's Planet, a world in a sector of space disputed between the Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
and the Klingon Empire
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
. Under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty
Organian Peace Treaty
This is a list of treaties in the Star Trek fictional universe. These treaties are plot elements in multiple Star Trek series and films.- Treaty of Algeron :...
, Sherman's Planet would be awarded to whichever side demonstrates that it can manage it more efficiently.
Kirk is furious when he later realizes the distress call was unwarranted, and the undersecretary in charge of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
in the sector, Nilz Baris, simply wants someone to guard the shipments of quadrotriticale
Triticale
Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye first bred in laboratories during the late 19th century. The grain was originally bred in Scotland and Sweden. Commercially available triticale is almost always a second generation hybrid, i.e., a cross between two kinds of primary triticales...
, a four-lobed wheat-rye hybrid grain, bound for Sherman's Planet. To Baris's annoyance, Kirk assigns two token guards to the task shortly before learning that Starfleet Command
Starfleet Command
Starfleet Command may refer to:*Starfleet Command, headquarters/command center of Starfleet in Star Trek.*Star Trek: Starfleet Command, a space battle simulation game set in the Star Trek universe....
endorses Baris's concerns. A Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
ship soon arrives at the space station and requests that its crew be granted shore leave, as entitled under the treaty. Kirk tells the Klingon captain Koloth that he may only bring members of his crew down 12 at a time, and that he will provide one security guard for each Klingon who beams down.
Meanwhile, an independent trader, Cyrano Jones, brings some little furry animals called tribble
Tribble
Tribbles are fictional asexual animals in the Star Trek universe who first appeared in the episode titled "The Trouble With Tribbles". They are depicted as small, soft, and gentle, and as producing a soothing purring sound...
s onto the station to sell; he gives one to Uhura
Uhura
Nyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and the 2009 film Star Trek...
as a marketing ploy. She brings it on board the Enterprise, where it and its offspring are treated as adorable pets. The animals purr a relaxing trill that the crew (even the stoic Mr. Spock) find soothing. Klingons, however, find tribbles very annoying, and the feeling is mutual: tribbles emit an ear-piercing shriek of aggression, and jump, whenever they are near Klingons.
The "trouble" with the tribbles is that they reproduce far too quickly and are capable of eating a planet barren if their breeding is not controlled; in the words of Dr. McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
, "they are born pregnant" and threaten to consume all the onboard supplies. The problem is aggravated when it is discovered that the creatures are entering essential ship systems, interfering with their functions and consuming any edible contents present. Kirk realizes that if the tribbles are getting into the Enterprise's stores, then they are a direct threat to the grain stores aboard the station. However, upon examining the holds, Kirk learns that it is already too late; the tribbles have indeed eaten the grain—a fact he learns the hard way, by being buried to more than half his own height in tribbles when he opens a hold with an overhead hatch. It appears the mission has ended in a fiasco. On top of that, Koloth wants a formal apology from Kirk, since some of the Enterprise crew members have started, though not without provocation, a western-style brawl with the Klingon crew in the station's bar.
Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
and McCoy, however, soon discover that around half the tribbles in the hold are dead and many of the rest are dying, alerting the Federation that the grain has been poisoned. Furthermore, the tribbles also give away the identity of a surgically altered Klingon agent responsible. The saboteur is the only "human" the tribbles do not like: Arne Darvin, Baris's own assistant. He had infected the grain with a virus that becomes an inert material in an organism's bloodstream; the more that is eaten, the more inert matter builds up, till the organism cannot take in enough nourishment to survive and essentially starves to death. Upon a medical scan by Dr. McCoy, it is revealed that Darvin is indeed a Klingon in disguise. Thus the tribbles redeem themselves and enable the Federation to score a diplomatic victory against the Klingons. As for Cyrano Jones, who introduced the species to the station, he is ordered to remove the tribbles from the station (a clean-up task that Spock estimates will take 17.9 years) or be imprisoned for 20 years for transporting a dangerous life form off its native planet.
Just before the Klingon departure, all tribbles that were on the Enterprise are somehow beamed onto the Klingon ship by Scotty
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
as a retaliation for the troubles the Klingons have caused, where, in his words, "they'll be no tribble at all."
40th anniversary remastering
"The Trouble With Tribbles" was remastered in 2006 and first aired on November 4, 2006 as part of the remastered original series. It was preceded a week earlier by "Catspaw", and followed a week later by "Mirror, Mirror". Video and audio have been digitally restored, and the episode features the all-CGI USS Enterprise that is standard among the revisions. Other changes to this episode include:- Space station K7 is rendered as a CGI effect with more surface detail added.
- A Klingon ship has been added in orbit around the station that was never seen in the original episode, but was seen in the Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
tribute episode, "Trials and Tribble-ations". None of the effects from "Trials and Tribble-ations" were used in the remastered episode, although the more detailed appearance of station K7 (including a prominent K7 logo on the dome of its central module) is clearly influenced by that episode.
Background
In his 1973 memoir The Trouble With Tribbles: The Complete Story of One of Star Trek's Most Popular Episodes author David GerroldDavid Gerrold
Jerrold David Friedman , better known by his pen name David Gerrold, is an American science fiction author who started his career in 1966 while a college student by submitting an unsolicited story outline for the television series Star Trek. He was invited to submit several premises, and the one...
states that he had been a science fiction fan since childhood, and was a film student in college when the series was aired. Gerrold submitted five story premises to Producer Gene L. Coon
Gene L. Coon
Gene L. Coon was an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best remembered for his work on the original Star Trek series.-Life and career:...
. One of the five premises, "The Fuzzies", interested Coon, and Gerrold was commissioned to write the story outline (retitled A Fuzzy Thing Happened To Me. . .).
"Tribbles" was originally intended to be a serious take on the introduction of alien species to predator-free environments, as had happened with rabbits in Australia
Rabbits in Australia
In Australia, rabbits are a serious mammalian pest and are an invasive species. Annually, European rabbits cause millions of dollars of damage to crops.-Effects on Australia's ecology:...
. In the book, Gerrold stated that his goal was to show how a species that seemed harmless could be quite dangerous.
After Gerrold's outline was accepted, he was commissioned to write the first draft of the script, subject to approval. During production, the production company noted strong similarities to the flat cats included in a segment of the Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
novel The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones (novel)
The Rolling Stones is a 1952 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein....
.
Documents excerpted in Gerrold's memoir show that producers contacted Heinlein, asking him to approve the script, willing to offer story credit or payment if necessary. Heinlein waived any claim, stating that he had borrowed the idea from the 1905 Ellis Parker Butler short story Pigs Is Pigs
Pigs Is Pigs
Pigs Is Pigs is a story by American writer Elis Parker Butler, first published in 1905.Pigs Is Pigs may also refer to:*Pigs Is Pigs , a 1937 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon...
and asking only for an autographed copy of the script.
Setting
Deep Space Station K7 was based on a model for a real-life space station/moon base proposed by Douglas Aircraft as early as 1960. Intended to be housed in the top stage of the Saturn IBSaturn IB
The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program...
or Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
rocket, it was designed to deploy like an inflatable balloon. This space station was also available as a model from Aluminium Metal Toys.
Tribbles revisited
The James BlishJames Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
adaptation of the episode was included in the Star Trek 3 collection published in April 1969. It is based on a version of the script which incorporated Sulu rather than Chekov. The episode was the basis of the third Star Trek Fotonovel
Photonovel
A photonovel is a type of comic book, adapting a film or television episode and using film stills instead of artwork along with the narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. The photonovel concept was most popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before the widespread advent of home...
.
A sequel episode appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
titled "More Tribbles, More Troubles
More Tribbles, More Troubles
-Plot outline:While the USS Enterprise escorts two robot cargo ships carrying quintotriticale, a new seed grain, to famine stricken Sherman's Planet, it encounters a Klingon battlecruiser pursuing a Federation scout ship...
", for which Gerrold also wrote the script. He is writing another sequel for the Star Trek: New Voyages
Star Trek: New Voyages
Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II is a fan-created science fiction series set in the Star Trek universe. The series was created by James Cawley and Jack Marshall in April 2003...
fan film series.
Tribbles are handled by Starfleet personnel in the bar scene in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...
while Dr. McCoy seeks illegal passage to the Genesis Planet.
The original episode was later edited and spliced into the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". In this retelling, the crew of Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
witness the original events through time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
in an effort to stop Darvin from returning to change the course of history. This time, Gerrold made a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as a gray-haired, red-shirted ensign in a corridor of the Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
. During the episode, Worf reveals that Klingons considered tribbles to be an ecological menace and so destroyed their homeworld.
Charlie Brill reprised his role as Darvin in this episode of Deep Space Nine after coincidentally meeting several of the producers. According to a text commentary written by Mike Okuda on the DVD version of the episode, the producers were ambivalent on whether to do a return to "The Trouble With Tribbles" or "A Piece of the Action" when they happened to chance upon Brill sitting in the same restaurant that they were discussing the planned tribute.
Tribbles are also seen in the 2003 Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
episode "The Breach" (which takes place in 2152) in which Doctor Phlox uses them as food for his medicinal pets in Sick Bay.
A tribble can be seen in the 2009 Star Trek film, sitting on Montgomery Scott's desk when Scott is first met on Delta Vega by Kirk and Spock Prime.
Gerrold's relationship with Star Trek
This episode marked the beginning of a long association between author David Gerrold and Star Trek. Despite some unpleasant experiences during the start-up of The Next Generation series, he still remains enthusiastic about the ideals of the original series.See also
- The Problem with PopplersThe Problem with Popplers"The Problem with Popplers" is the 15th episode in the second production season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 7, 2000.The title is a reference to the Star Trek: The Original Series Episode "Trouble with Tribbles", in which "tribbles" infest the USS Enterprise.-Plot:When...
- episode of FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. - Swarm of the Century - episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is MagicMy Little Pony: Friendship is MagicMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated television series that premiered on October 10, 2010 on the United States cable network The Hub, and is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works. The series is produced by Hasbro Studios and DHX Media Vancouver...
.
External links
- The Trouble With Tribbles 2006 remastered side-by-side comparisons
- The Fuzzies a report & analysis of David Gerrold's precursor to "The Trouble with Tribbles"