Star Trek: The Original Series/Recap/S2/E15 The Trouble With Tribbles: Difference between revisions

m
no edit summary
No edit summary
mNo edit summary
 
(8 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{work|"wppage=The Trouble Withwith Tribbles"}}
{{work}}
{{Infobox episode
[[File:Star-trek-the-trouble-with-tribbles.jpg|300px|right]]
| title = "The Trouble With Tribbles"
{{sidemenu}}
[[File: | image = Star-trek-the-trouble-with-tribbles.jpg|300px|right]]
{|
| caption =
|Series:
| franchise = ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''
| preceded by = "[[Star Trek: The Original Series/Recap/S2/E14 Wolf in the Fold|Wolf Inin Thethe Fold]]"
|-
| followed by = "[[Star Trek: The Original Series/Recap/S2/E16 The Gamesters of Triskelion|The Gamesters of Triskelion]]"
|Episode:
| release date = December 29, 1967
|Season 2, Episode 9
| central theme =
|-
| elevator pitch =
|Title:
|}}
|"The Trouble With Tribbles"
Captain Kirk and Spock are quizzing Chekov about Deep Space Station K7 and the race to settle Sherman's Planet,. presumablyMidway becausethrough Kirkthe knowsquiz, nothinghowever, abouta the[[Red situation and SpockAlert]] is boredsounded. ofThe losing''Enterprise'' athas 3Dreceived chessa allPriority theOne time.distress Midwaycall throughfrom the quiz,Space however,Station a(meaning [[Redan Alert]]emergency isof soundedincredible proportions). Racing to the bridge, Kirk orders the Enterprise to rush to the station as fast as possible.
|-
|Previous:
|"[[Star Trek/Recap/S2/E14 Wolf in the Fold|Wolf In The Fold]]"
|-
|Next:
|"[[Star Trek/Recap/S2/E16 The Gamesters of Triskelion|The Gamesters of Triskelion]]"
|-
|Recapper:
|Hyrin
|}
{{sidemenuend}}
 
Upon arrival, Kirk demands to know what the emergency is, and is informed that the undersecretary of agriculture, Nils Baris, is on the station and is scared of sabotage. Since Baris has the authority to issue the emergency call, Kirk can do little, exceptdespite speakthe in double and ask questionsfact that shouldthe havegrain beenthey partwere ofsummoned histo missionprotect briefing,does likenot whatquite exactlyrate hea isPriority thereOne todistress protectcall. He authorizes two guards from the ''Enterprise'' to protect the grain, and begins shore leave for the rest of the crew. Shortly after, Captain Koloth, a Klingon, arrives demanding shore leave for his crew. Kirk acquieses, in part because he has no legal reason to say no and in part to piss off Baris.
Captain Kirk and Spock are quizzing Chekov about Deep Space Station K7 and the race to settle Sherman's Planet, presumably because Kirk knows nothing about the situation and Spock is bored of losing at 3D chess all the time. Midway through the quiz, however, a [[Red Alert]] is sounded. Racing to the bridge, Kirk orders the Enterprise to rush to the station as fast as possible.
 
Elsewhere on the station, Chekov and Uhura have been shopping and are taking a break in the station's bar when Cyrano Jones walks in, trying to sell useless crap to the bartender (who seems to be used to him). This being the 60's60s, Uhura is immediately captivated by a purring ball of fur and buys it despite never having heard of the species before and probably having a rule against pets on the ship. The tribble begins breeding like mad (one litter per tribble per about twelve hours, ten or so to a litter), and the crews' first instinct, which they follow, is to pet and coo at the creatures, pausing(Spock justdetermines longthat enoughthe topurr poo-poohas Dr.a McCoytranquilizing effect aton the thoughthuman ofnervous actuallysystem), figuringwhich outdoes whynot theimprove tribblework populationefficiency. isDr. increasingMcCoy likedetermines Scottythat one-half of the creature's waistlinemetabolism is geared to reproduction.
Upon arrival, Kirk demands to know what the emergency is, and is informed that the undersecretary of agriculture, Nils Baris, is on the station and is scared of sabotage. Since Baris has the authority to issue the emergency call, Kirk can do little except speak in double and ask questions that should have been part of his mission briefing, like what exactly he is there to protect. He authorizes two guards from the ''Enterprise'' to protect the grain, and begins shore leave for the rest of the crew. Shortly after, Captain Koloth arrives demanding shore leave for his crew. Kirk acquieses, in part because he has no legal reason to say no and in part to piss off Baris.
 
Back in the bar, Scotty, Chekov, and another guy are trying to have a quiet drink when a drunk Klingon starts mouthing off. Chekov immediately wants to assault the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] but Scotty, remembering their orders to avoid trouble, keeps Chekov in line. However, Scotty throws the first punch after the Klingon makes a remark about the ''Enterprise'', which leads to a brawl. Security restores the peace and the involved crew are dragged back to the ship. ScottyNobody will tell Kirk who started it, ratherso thanhe manningconfines upeveryone to quarters and admittingsends thethem truthoff, getskeeping theScotty entirebehind groupto ask him who started it. Scotty confinedtries to quartersevade the question, with amusing results.
Elsewhere on the station, Chekov and Uhura have been shopping and are taking a break in the station's bar when Cyrano Jones walks in, trying to sell useless crap to the bartender. This being the 60's, Uhura is immediately captivated by a purring ball of fur and buys it despite never having heard of the species before and probably having a rule against pets on the ship. The tribble begins breeding like mad, and the crews' first instinct is to pet and coo at the creatures, pausing just long enough to poo-poo Dr. McCoy at the thought of actually figuring out why the tribble population is increasing like Scotty's waistline.
 
Kirk, uponbegins recievingto hissee orderjust ofhow serious the tribble saladproblem withreally ais sidewhen orderhis ofchicken tribblesandwich and acoffee glasscome ofout tribblecovered in tribbles. Scotty explains that they're in more than just the food processors, deducesprobably through the vent system, which means that the tribbles have likely gotten into the grain supply on the station. Upon arrival, he standsattempts immediatelyto underopen a door to the grain bins, but as it's stuck, tries the overhead door thatinstead is(even theoreticallystarship holdingcaptains backdo severalstupid metricthings tonnessometimes. ofEven Canadianas wheatstupid andas opensthat.) theHe dooris deluged by tribbles. AIt floodis of deadcourse tribblesnow, buriesand himnot armpittill deepnow, promptingthat McCoy torealizes makethat if they hadn't fed the startlingthings, discoverythere thatwould reproductionhave isbeen tiedno tobreeding metabolismexplosion. The tribbles turn out to be dead, tribblesgiving alsothe Captain a indicatetip-off that the grain was poisoned. Back in the station commander's office, Koloth confronts Kirk about the bar brawl before demanding that the tribbles be removed, since aKlingons tribblecan'st purrstand soundstribbles like(the afeeling Paris Hilton karaoke to Klingonis earsmutual). As the guards go to leave, Baris's assistant, Arne Darvin, enters the office and has the same reaction to the tribbles that the Klingons have. Kirk arrests Darvin and tells Koloth to scamper off.
Back in the bar, Scotty, Chekov, and another guy are trying to have a quiet drink when a drunk Klingon starts mouthing off. Chekov immediately wants to assault the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] but Scotty, remembering their orders to avoid trouble, keeps Chekov in line. However, Scotty throws the first punch after the Klingon makes a remark about the ''Enterprise'', which leads to a brawl. Security restores the peace and the involved crew are dragged back to the ship. Scotty, rather than manning up and admitting the truth, gets the entire group confined to quarters.
 
Back on the ship, Kirk is surprised to find that all the tribbles are gone. After some runarounddifficulty getting his senior officers to answer the question, he is informedfinds that Scotty beamed the tribblesthem aboutinto the Klingon shipengine room "[[Pun|where they'll be no tribble at all]]." TheAll crewthe joinshumans inlaugh, aand heartyif laughyou aslook theyclosely mostat likelySpock suppressyou'll thesee thoughthim ofarching whathis theeyebrows Klingonsas arean doingoutlet tofor the defenselessfeelings furballshis atlogical thatVulcan status won't allow him to momentexpress.
Kirk, upon recieving his order of tribble salad with a side order of tribble and a glass of tribble, deduces that the tribbles have likely gotten into the grain supply on the station. Upon arrival, he stands immediately under the door that is theoretically holding back several metric tonnes of Canadian wheat and opens the door. A flood of dead tribbles buries him armpit deep, prompting McCoy to make the startling discovery that reproduction is tied to metabolism. The dead tribbles also indicate that the grain was poisoned. Back in the station commander's office, Koloth confronts Kirk about the bar brawl before demanding that the tribbles be removed, since a tribble's purr sounds like a Paris Hilton karaoke to Klingon ears. As the guards go to leave, Baris's assistant, Arne Darvin, enters the office and has the same reaction to the tribbles that the Klingons have. Kirk arrests Darvin and tells Koloth to scamper off.
 
{{tropelist|page=The Trouble With Tribbles}}
Back on the ship, Kirk is surprised to find that all the tribbles are gone. After some runaround, he is informed that Scotty beamed the tribbles about the Klingon ship "where they'll be no tribble at all." The crew joins in a hearty laugh as they most likely suppress the thought of what the Klingons are doing to the defenseless furballs at that moment.
 
* [[Breather Episode]]: This episode is almost entirely comedic and lighthearted.
{{reflist}}
* [[Explosive Breeder]]: Tribbles are born pregnant, are hermaphrodites, and have LOTS of children. It's their way of avoiding extinction since they are otherwise defenseless. Worse, they only need very little food to breed, but even a tiny amount will result in lots more tribbles.
[[Category:Recap]]
* [[Living Lie Detector]]: The Tribbles know exactly who Klingons are, even when disguised. It's how they flush out a Klingon agent toward the end.
[[Category:Star Trek]]
* [[Ridiculously Cute Critter]]: Tribbles are very adorable. Well, unless you happen to be Klingon.
[[Category:Star Trek: The Original Series/Recap]]
 
 
{{recapfooter}}