Episode no. Season 1
Episode 5 Written by David Gerrold | Directed by Hal Sutherland Production code 22001 | |
Original air date October 6, 1973 (1973-10-06) | ||
"More Tribbles, More Troubles" is the fifth episode of the first season of the animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on October 6, 1973, and was written by David Gerrold as a sequel to his Original Series episode "The Trouble With Tribbles". It featured the return of actor Stanley Adams reprising his role of trader Cyrano Jones.
Contents
In this episode, Kirk must figure out why the Klingons are trying to get ahold of Cyrano Jones while simultaneously protecting two automated grain carriers.
Plot
On stardate 5392.4, while the Federation starship 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. When the Enterprise rescues the pilot, the Klingons attack with a new energy weapon capable of incapacitating a starship and demand that the pilot be handed over to them.
The pilot turns out to be Cyrano Jones, an intergalactic trader well known to Captain Kirk and crew (Kirk refers to Jones as a "nuisance"). The Klingons desperately want Jones for introducing the tribble to Klingon planets where it has become a major pest, and for stealing a glommer, an animal the Klingons created via genetic engineering to prey on tribbles. Jones had stolen the only glommer prototype in existence.
Kirk expresses sympathy for the Klingons' plight but reluctantly refuses to hand over Jones as he is a Federation citizen and entitled to the Enterprise's protection.
Jones is now selling "safe" tribbles genetically engineered to omit their ordinarily unrestrained multiplicative proclivities. Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy discovers that although Jones' "new" tribbles don't reproduce, they still have ravenous appetites. Instead of reproducing, they now grow hugely fat. McCoy also discovers that the new large tribbles actually house many more tribbles inside of them.
Kirk and First Officer Spock manage to counter the Klingon weapon. Now at a disadvantage, the Klingons offer to settle for just the glommer. Kirk agrees and returns it—along with several well-fed (and huge) tribbles that scare it away. The Klingons also discover the larger tribble houses a colony of smaller ones when the Klingon captain orders his first officer to shoot the large tribble, only to inadvertently free the smaller ones inside. McCoy injects the remaining tribbles on the Enterprise with a serum to slow down their metabolic rate. They are finally "safe".
Writing
Originally pitched as a third season follow up to "The Trouble with Tribbles" for Star Trek, the idea was scrapped under the tenure of producer Fred Frieberger, who was not a fan of the original episode and did not want to produce comedy episodes.
By 1973, Gerrold had become friends with D. C. Fontana from their time spent on the Star Trek convention circuit together. He had heard about Star Trek: The Animated Series, and offered to do an episode. Fontana responded that she wanted the tribble sequel episode.
As with his other Animated Series episode "Bem", Gerrold later claimed that almost nothing was cut from the original pitches for The Original Series as animation played out quicker and so everything still fit into the episode despite the reduced running time.
Both of Gerrold's Animated Series episodes were novelised by Alan Dean Foster, and Gerrold later said that he thought that he did "a fine job".