Instead of "Trials and Tribbleations"

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Suppose DS9 had chosen to use "A Piece of the Action" or "Charlie X" for its TOS crossover. (For that matter, any other TOS episode, really.)

What would the DS9 characters do in these episodes? Why would an episode not be a good crossover choice?

 

[DonIago]

I could see the DS9 writers doing something fun, though perhaps not as fun, with "A Piece of the Action". The chance encounter with Charlie Brill prior to "Trials..." and his subsequent reuse in the episode was brilliant; were any of the actors in "Piece" likely to return in some manner?

I'm not really sure what potential there is for revisiting "Charlie X"? Maybe to see what an adult Charlie is like, but it sounds like it could end up being a tiresome retread of the original episode.

The writers of "Flashback" really should have been paying more attention to what the DS9 writers were doing, because despite bringing back Takei and Whitney it was a pretty deeply disappointing episode.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I think one reason why Tribbles works is because it takes place on a station and the Enterprise. More room to move around and an excuse for unusual characters to be there. A couple of stray Human(oid) crewmen might go unnoticed for a few moments, but the more alien you look, the more you draw scrutiny.

 

[Farscape One]

Actually, "FLASHBACK" was produced at the tail end of season 2, which would have been the tail end DS9's season 4. The VOYAGER staff knew 4 episodes would be held over for use in season 3, so I'm guessing they decided to just produce it at that time. (Maybe it was better, schedule-wise, for Takei and Whitney.)

"TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS" was filmed in season 5, and the 5th produced. (They aired "ASSIGNMENT" before "TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS", despite it being produced after. This was because there was a lot of post-production needed, for obvious reasons.)

Braga, the sole credited writer for it, had it done before DS9 had even begun filming season 5.

 

[Trekker09]

Suppose DS9 had chosen to use "A Piece of the Action" or "Charlie X" for its TOS crossover. (For that matter, any other TOS episode, really.)

I would like to have seen another TOS crossover episode, so many intriguing planets they went to.....but not as a substitute for "Trials & Tribble-ations" - ! As you say, it worked so well partly because it took place on the ship.
Why would "Piece of Action" or "Charlie X" be good choices?

 

[Farscape One]

I think the writers didn't go with the "A PIECE OF THE ACTION" story they had in mind because they were afraid it might be misconstrued as a dig on fans. GALAXY QUEST, though, later showed it likely would have been well received.

I don't know if "CHARLIE X" was ever a possibility.

 

[Trekker09]

I think the writers didn't go with the "A PIECE OF THE ACTION" story they had in mind because they were afraid it might be misconstrued as a dig on fans.

Ah, I see now...DS9 really had considered a sequel. Glad it didn't happen... one of my least favorite TOS plots!
https://heavy.com/entertainment/star-trek/ds9-piece-of-the-action-sequel/

 

[kkt]

Charlie X - I dunno, they go back in time to the end of TOS episode and give Charlie a better option than being raised by noncorporeal beings? I'm not sure what that could look like. DS9 wouldn't be any better prepared to raise a late adolescent with no good parenting figure than Kirk was, and DS9 wouldn't be any more able to control his lashing out than Kirk was either.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Why would "Piece of Action" or "Charlie X" be good choices?

I don't know. That's the two they were considering. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations_(episode)#Conceiving_the_episode

 

[Farscape One]

DS9 wouldn't be any better prepared to raise a late adolescent with no good parenting figure than Kirk was, and DS9 wouldn't be any more able to control his lashing out than Kirk was either.

No good parenting figures in DS9? Ben Sisko and Miles O'Brien would like to have a word with you. (And Rom, too.)

I do agree about the control of Charlie's lashing out, though.

 

[kkt]

No good parenting figures in DS9? Ben Sisko and Miles O'Brien would like to have a word with you. (And Rom, too.)

I do agree about the control of Charlie's lashing out, though.

I mean Charlie had no good parenting figures. You can't give a kid no parents for 16 years and then expect him to have an acceptable relationship with an authority figure right away.

 

[fireproof78]

I mean Charlie had no good parenting figures. You can't give a kid no parents for 16 years and then expect him to have an acceptable relationship with an authority figure right away.

We know that now. But, back then, well Star Trek figured that if you just through in a positive dad figure life is dandy, i.e. Picard and Jono, or Kirk and Charlie.

More on topic, I think a Piece of the Action as a sequel would be a lot of fun. I would be genuinely curious to see a follow up to that planet and what happened to the them, if they found the communicator, how much money was Kirk's cut, etc. Potential Prime Directive questions for the DS9 crew to question and maybe try to go back and time and stop the Enterprise, only to find some good that was done by that contact.

 

[Jellico]

Is there anyway that they could have worked in Spock’s Brain? I mean, not Spock, but Quark? I’m just being a smart Alec. How about The Corbomite Maneuver? Maybe Kirk’s plan doesn’t work and the crew of DS9 get on Balok’s ship to make peace. Wasn’t Tronya served at Quarks?

 

[Jellico]

Okay. ‘The City on the Edge of Forever’. That could be complicated, but Sisco and Odo and Bashir dive into the guardian to bring The guys home while making sure that Eidith Keeler gets hit by the truck.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Actually, "FLASHBACK" was produced at the tail end of season 2, which would have been the tail end DS9's season 4. The VOYAGER staff knew 4 episodes would be held over for use in season 3, so I'm guessing they decided to just produce it at that time. (Maybe it was better, schedule-wise, for Takei and Whitney.)

"TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS" was filmed in season 5, and the 5th produced. (They aired "ASSIGNMENT" before "TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS", despite it being produced after. This was because there was a lot of post-production needed, for obvious reasons.)

Braga, the sole credited writer for it, had it done before DS9 had even begun filming season 5.

I believe that Braga, in his typical style, pulled out an already prepared story and placed Sulu and Rand in it. It didn't go through any of thr developmental hurdles as Trials. However, I think that the "order" to do an anniversary episode came in at the same time. There was a stream from the past two years with Behr, probably from 7th Rule, where he talks about telling the writing staff that Voyager was working on a story, they had been asked to produce a story, but Behr intended to ignore it. It was the other writers who got the ball rolling. And it took a while for the story elements to come into place. It was sort of piecemeal.

 

[kkt]

Is there anyway that they could have worked in Spock’s Brain? I mean, not Spock, but Quark? I’m just being a smart Alec. How about The Corbomite Maneuver? Maybe Kirk’s plan doesn’t work and the crew of DS9 get on Balok’s ship to make peace. Wasn’t Tronya served at Quarks?

I'd rather just forget that Spock's Brain ever existed. What if they find another Doomsday Machine? Could they give the episode enough twists to be interesting? And maybe make it look like a ship instead of an ice cream cone with the ice cream fallen out?

 

[Poltargyst]

I think they picked the right episode to revisit. I think Trials and Tribble-ations is a lot of fun.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I think they picked the right episode to revisit. I think Trials and Tribble-ations is a lot of fun.

Well, they could have gone back to Mirror, Mirror to make sure Spock gets the changes right, thus negating thr need for so many Mirror universe episodes.

 

[Farscape One]

Well, the final TOS shot with Sisko was from "MIRROR, MIRROR". Specifically, the end when the real Lt. Marlena Moreau was on the bridge.

 

[Jellico]

Yes, I almost forgot about Spock’s Brain. There could be a lot of Doomsday machines. DS9 Staff and Defiant could easily destroy it, I think. There was a fan made TOS episode that featured the Doomsday machine, more than one. I can’t remember what it was callled.