1.5 — “More Tribbles, More Troubles”
Plot: The Enterprise encounters a Klingon ship firing on an unregistered Federation trading vessel. They beam the pilot aboard just before the ship’s destruction, and find none other than Cyrano Jones, accompanied by armloads of tribbles! These tribbles have been genetically modified. Why are the Klingons hunting him? What is the secret of their new beam weapon? How will the Enterprise get out of this one, without being overrun by [one of] the most dangerous creature[s] in the universe?
Thoughts: David Gerrold, writer of “The Trouble With Tribbles,” originally developed a plan for a sequel episode about tribbles for the third season of TOS, but Fred Freiberger, Star Trek‘s new producer, disliked “Tribbles,” and the script outline was shelved. D.C. Fontana asked Gerrold to revive it for TAS. His task: service the original episode while taking the material onto new ground, and make a comedy episode that works in the animated format.
Fairly successful, I’d say! I laughed out loud once, when Kirk says to Spock, “I think I”ll stand” (after a giant tribble has commandeered his chair). Then there is this line from Mr. Scott: “Aye, sir, but we’ve got tribbles on the ship, quintrotriticale in the corridors, Klingons in the quadrant. It can ruin your whole day, sir.”
This time, the thing they can show us that they couldn’t have easily afforded to shoot on TOS was a whole platoon of Klingons, ready to board the Enterprise. Cool! Strangely, the ship to ship battles with the Klingon ship come off flat to me. The camera angles, dramatic lighting, and score that comes with a live action production and budget seems to make a difference here.
My favorite thing in this episode is in the resolution: it’s how the hostilities between the Enterprise and Klingon ship dissolve once the X factor of the tribbles gets mixed in, after the giant tribbles are transported over to the Klingon ship. The situation immediately throws Kirk and Koloth, the Klingon commander, off their accustomed roles and usual scripts. Once that happens, the urge to fire weapons at each other disappears. It quickly devolves to, why don’t we all just forget all about this and go home. Moral: scripts are dangerous.
Koloth, by the way, is the same Klingon leader from “The Trouble With Tribbles,” although here he is voiced by James Doohan (and not well), instead of William Campbell. The role of Cyrano Jones was reprised by Stanley Adams.
4 out of 5 secret energy weapons.
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