The Trouble with Tribbles by: David Gerrold and directed by: Joseph Pevney

 

“The Trouble with Tribbles” is written by David Gerrold and is directed by Joseph Pevney.  It was filmed under production code 42, was the 15^th episode of Star Trek Season 2, the 44^th episode of Star Trek, and was broadcast on December 29, 1967.

 

“The Trouble with Tribbles” is an episode about the dangers of excess.  Or perhaps it’s an episode about growing Cold War tensions.  Or perhaps it’s just an episode of rather camp science fiction.  Or maybe it’s really none of those things.  David Gerrold’s only script for Star Trek (he would contribute a story idea for the third season which would be scripted by a different writer) is one of those episodes of Star Trek that has become iconic through its imagery of incredibly fuzzy and adorable tribbles covering the Enterprise and Captain Kirk.  It’s an episode whose popularity only grew with age, starting out as an unremarkable episode before he wider public began to appreciate it.  This is perhaps due to on initial watch one may find David Gerrold’s script rather cluttered, but really it follows the A, B, and C plots incredibly well and Gerrold, despite being 22 when writing the script, has perfectly plotted these intersecting elements.  The plot threads are introduced in reverse order: the episode opens with the Enterprise receiving a distress signal from Deep Space Station K7 where a genetically modified grain needs to be  guarded under the orders of Under-Secretary Baris, played by William Schallert, whose increasing annoyance at Kirk’s annoyance at the misuse of Starfleet protocols becomes the C plot; a group of Klingons arriving on K7 for shore leave and agitating the Enterprise crew as the station is in a disputed portion of space as the B plot; and the A plot of space trader Cyrano Jones, played by the ever camp Stanley Adams, selling Lt. Uhura a tribble which begins to swiftly multiply and hypnotize the crew of the Enterprise.

 

The reason these three plots work so well is Gerrold’s sense of escalation.  The tribbles constantly multiply, the Klingons’ attempts to goad the crew into an interstellar incident start small and eventually insult Kirk and the Enterprise itself, and Baris slowly builds to the point of having Kirk booked for subordination (despite not really being able to do that, but Shallert and Shatner play it so well that that doesn’t really matter).  The scenes for each plot also are often blending into one another instead of doing hard cuts to new scenes so the momentum of the plot is never broken by Joseph Pevney’s superb direction.  Pevney is quickly becoming the strongest of Star Trek’s directors, at least for the original series, and “The Trouble with Tribbles” is honestly one of his simpler efforts.  There are several elaborate model shots, but the in studio filming which makes up the episode doesn’t require creative shots but Pevney never allows them to become boring.  There’s this central bar set on the Space Station that allows Pevney to use moving cameras to create interesting angles and shots, but never going to the complexity that would break the pace down.  The episode also employs a unique musical score from Jerry Fielding, the first of two scores he wrote that would enter the stock library of the show.  Fielding’s score contributes to the whimsical tone of the episode, being quite light and happy though while the lightness of the score never fades, it does turn sour and sad when the tribbles really begin to pile up.

 

There is also this fine line the episode has to straddle, something it does marvelously.  There aren’t any impressions that this is an episode that is completely serious, it’s an episode where the camp is heightened in several performances.  The Klingon Captain Koloth has actor William Campbell attempt to out William Shatner William Shatner as Kirk, in a way that is clearly meant to parallel both leaders, though not nearly as deeply as “Balance of Terror”.  The same goes for when Campbell insults Scotty and Chekov, a scene played straight, not ever fully committing to the implications.  Doohan and Koenig help this by playing the scene as straight as possible while Campbell is clearly having fun with the insults.  The Klingon threat is treated as real and developing, hinting at a further relationship between humanity and the Klingons for the future, a future that is still far off.  This does end with the tribbles being transported to the Klingons which is treated and comes across as a genuinely great ending gag, despite definitely starting an intergalactic incident that wouldn’t be reported because of the Klingon infiltrator of the Space Station being revealed.  Cyrano Jones, played by Stanley Adams, is essentially a discount Harry Mudd, though with far less sexism, but equal charm, essentially getting people under his spell and causing chaos because he’s greedy and wants money.  The tribbles themselves have an adorable look and purring sound throughout, serving an actual purpose for resolving all three plots, not just the A plot.  It’s the final piece of the puzzle that makes “The Trouble with Tribbles” work perfectly.

 

Overall, “The Trouble with Tribbles” doesn’t at all feel as if it is from a first time scriptwriter.  It follows the three plot structure perfectly and has been assigned the perfect director and composer.  It’s a time for the cast to genuinely let loose and have an excellent story with these little character building moments for side characters including Chekov and Uhura in the first few scenes.  The tribbles are adorable and honestly not trouble at all.  10/10.