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Star Trek - The Trouble with Tribbles
episode 2.15
Raumschiff Enterprise - Kennen Sie Tribbles?
USA 1967
produced by Gene L. Coon, Gene Roddenberry (executive) for Desilu, Norway Corporation/NBC
directed by Joseph Pevney
starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, William Schallert, William Campbell, Stanley Adams, Whit Bissell, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Michael Pataki, Edwin Reimers, Walter Koenig, Charlie Brill, Paul Baxley, David L. Ross, Guy Raymond
written by David Gerrold, created by Gene Roddenberry, music by Jerry Fielding
TV series Star Trek, Classic Star Trek, Star Trek (original crew), Tribbles
review by Mike Haberfelner
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The Enterprise receives a distress call from an outlying space station,
and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is more than a little puzzled when upon
arrival he learns that the distress call was actually sent by Federation
Under-Secretary Nilz Baris (William Schallert) who needs the Enterprise's
crew for nothing better than to protect a certain kind of grain for
Sherman's Planet, a planet of only strategic importance in the Cold War
against the Klingons. Of course, the situation intensifies some when a
Klingon ship commandeered by Captain Koloth (William Campbell) arrives at
the station as well, but apart from the occasional barroom brawl, Kirk has
the situation under control, despite Baris' constant complaints. Enter
inter-galactic trader Cyrano Jones (Stanley Adams), who has the latest
novelty in his repertoir: Tribbles - pretty much living fur balls one
likes to pet and who make soothing noises. And being the businessman that
he is, Jones gives one Tribble to Lt Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) for free, to
start a trend - and starting it he does, as the Tribbles multibly by the
hundreds, and soon are everywhere on the ship, and on the space station.
And they eat all of Baris's grain - and die, because the grain was
poisoned. But not due to Kirk's negligence but by Baris's right hand man
(Whit Bissell), who with the help of Tribbles (who hate Klingons) can be
identified as a Klingon spy. And the Tribbles? Scotty beams them aboard
the Klingon ship that's presently leaving the station, just before she
goes into warp speed. Ok, the Tribbles probably define alien
creation at its laziest - they're just fur balls, nothing more, and yet
they have become some of the most beloved (non-humanoid) Star Trek
creatures, and almost a bit of a cultural phenomenon. Now this seems
slightly odd of course, but upon watching this episode it's easy to see
why: Basically, this is Classic Star Trek at its best, a
light-footed sci-fi romp with all the regulars at their best, some
eccentric guest characters, witty dialogue and a bit of tongue-in-cheek
humour, action in all the right places (even if it's nothing more
extravagant than a barroom brawl), and tension immanent in the framing
situation. It's really hard not to love this one!
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