"The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS...

[EnsignHarper]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

Putting aside the fact that it's funny, a lot of reason why I like The Trouble With Tribbles comes down to it being so well plotted. David Gerrold crafted a really beautiful script where everything that happens in Reel 3 gets set-up in Reel 1, so there's a nice watertight feeling to it, there aren't any plot holes. Just about the only thing which feels almost like an ass-pull is Darvin being a Klingon, but even then it's neat because we already know the Klingons want to sabotage Sherman's Planet, so it makes sense that they'd have an operative on the space station.

What really makes it sneaky great, is how things literally start piling on Kirk in this episode - First the grain with the attached bureaucrat, then the Klingons, the bar fight, Cyrano Jones, and the slow and steady tribble explosion. It seems to be spiraling out of control until, at the end of Act III, Kirk (in the finest tradition of Laurel and Hardy) opens the UPPER hatch door, and he gets buried in tribbles.

Also, outside of the bar fight, and Kirk getting a Tribble shower, almost all of the 'comedy' is character driven - almost everybody gets their shots in -even Spock! "He simply could not believe his ears!"

And Shatner is at his comic best here - all the little touches, nothing hammy at all - Jones, after questioning, leaves saying 'I have a ship to tend to - au revoir', Kirk does the same after having it out with Baris again - even using the same gesture - not in the script! And the range of his reactions during his little talk with Scott is perfect. That little scene is still one of my top 4 or 5 Trek scenes of all time.

 

[Push The Button]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

One thing that IS indisputable, is that TTWT is Scotty/Jimmy Doohan's Finest Hour on TOS - he even gets to deliver the final punchline!


"Lad...don't you think you should.....rephrase that?"

Scotty has always been my favorite TOS character, and he really steals the show in this episode.

"They called the Enterprise a garbage scow! ... it was a matter of pride!"

 

[The Old Mixer]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

My favorite dramatic Scotty moment is when he threatens to destroy the ship rather than surrender to the Romulans in "The Enterprise Incident". Kirk is acting like a madman, but one gets the sense that his beaming with pride is genuine....He could count on Scotty to play his part, even though Scotty wasn't in on the mission.

 

[Commishsleer]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

I liked almost all the humour.
I like it better and better every time I see it.
Shatner is great charging around everywhere with Kirk in a bad mood. Having Spock following him around as the ultimate straight man.

And Tribbles - who wouldn't want one. Not two - just one.

 

[Warped9]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

...I've seen this before. Many times I've sat in a room with a group, watching a "comedy" movie, and everyone is rolling on the floor laughing, and I'm just sitting there wondering what they think is so funny. And go through the whole film and not even grin once.

This is exactly how I feel about Big Bang Theory.

 

[T'Bonz]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

^ Me too!

 

[Kinokima]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

Shatner is great charging around everywhere with Kirk in a bad mood.

I think Shatner is at his best when Kirk is in a bad or authoritative mood. Not only in this episode but also in Immunity Syndrome when no one can explain what is happening such as the following:

"No speculation, no information, nothing? I've asked you three times for information on that thing and you've been unable to supply it. Insufficient data is not sufficient, Mr. Spock! You're the science officer. You're supposed to have sufficient data all the time. "

But back to Tribbles as I already said I do love that Kirk/Scotty scene.

 

[BennieGamali]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

I just love this episode. But I do so enjoy STO goofiness.

 

[Richard Baker]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

One of my favorite episodes and when DS-9 revisited it I saw it in a new way. I do like having the Enterprise do something more normal than saving the Federation every episode, the running of a space station and dealing with bureaucracy was refreshing.
The humor was character driven, as mentioned before David Gerrold knew these people.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

Not only do I consider TTWT to be overrated, but place it in my bottom three TOS episodes:

78. The Trouble With Tribbles
79. I, Mudd
80. The Way To Eden

I'm not a major fan of lighthearted/comedy Trek, but I do enjoy "A Piece Of The Action" immensely.

 

[Melakon]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

I've never been a big fan of science fiction comedy (Woody Allen's Sleeper is an exception), so "Tribbles" doesn't rate on my "best of" lists. Thinking back over the last 50 years, this episode may actually be the beginning of my dislike for sci-fi comedy.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

Putting aside the fact that it's funny, a lot of reason why I like The Trouble With Tribbles comes down to it being so well plotted. David Gerrold crafted a really beautiful script where everything that happens in Reel 3 gets set-up in Reel 1, so there's a nice watertight feeling to it, there aren't any plot holes. Just about the only thing which feels almost like an ass-pull is Darvin being a Klingon, but even then it's neat because we already know the Klingons want to sabotage Sherman's Planet, so it makes sense that they'd have an operative on the space station.

What really makes it sneaky great, is how things literally start piling on Kirk in this episode - First the grain with the attached bureaucrat, then the Klingons, the bar fight, Cyrano Jones, and the slow and steady tribble explosion. It seems to be spiraling out of control until, at the end of Act III, Kirk (in the finest tradition of Laurel and Hardy) opens the UPPER hatch door, and he gets buried in tribbles.

Also, outside of the bar fight, and Kirk getting a Tribble shower, almost all of the 'comedy' is character driven - almost everybody gets their shots in -even Spock! "He simply could not believe his ears!"

And Shatner is at his comic best here - all the little touches, nothing hammy at all - Jones, after questioning, leaves saying 'I have a ship to tend to - au revoir', Kirk does the same after having it out with Baris again - even using the same gesture - not in the script! And the range of his reactions during his little talk with Scott is perfect. That little scene is still one of my top 4 or 5 Trek scenes of all time.

Exactly this, you've spelled out my feelings about this episode perfectly.

I've run into a lot of people who know of Trek, are aware of it, but almost never watched it. But when prompted, the comment was the same: "Oh yeah, I loved the Tribble episode!" They actually know the name of the creatures. If it got non-fans to watch and enjoy an episode, then it well deserves its popularity. Maybe a bunch of fans don't like it, but to a lot of non-fans, it's accessible like The Voyage Home was accessible.

 

[BennieGamali]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

It seems it basically comes down to taste then! I am not a great fan of sci-fi where there isn't any space travel or space stations involved (except SG1), or where they are trying too hard to be quirky (not gonna mention which show hat is.. but some might gues...). To me the sense of humour in STO was perfect, especially in TwT.

Lokai: And "A Piece of the Action" is one of my favorites! So good choice.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

or where they are trying too hard to be quirky (not gonna mention which show hat is.. but some might gues...).

Interesting.

Let me take a guess...Firefly?

 

[BennieGamali]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

Ahah. No.. I actually love Firefly. Though I can see why you would think so. I am afraid I would wake the rage of the Whoodians if I said which show I was refering to... WINKWINK

 

[TOSalltheway]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

TRIBBLES SUCKS !!

I am a die hard Trek fan and have been for 40 years but this episode is just embarassing. Some episodes have grand intentions but flop ( Alternative factor, etc. ) but Tribbles just sucks.

People who like this episode likely feel that "Three's Company" is the epitome of the comedic art. Its BAD, poorly written, schlocky, bad. Yes cut pieces of fabric are adorable but it is BAD.

William Campbell was brilliant as Trelane but does anyone for a moment take him seriously as a fierce warrior Klingon ?

This episode tries too hard to be cute and it is BAD.

Hey, lets end the episode with a pun, brilliant......."no tribble at all" makes me cringe.

BAD BAD BAD

Too subtle ?

 

[BennieGamali]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

TRIBBLES SUCKS !!

I am a die hard Trek fan and have been for 40 years but this episode is just embarassing. Some episodes have grand intentions but flop ( Alternative factor, etc. ) but Tribbles just sucks.

People who like this episode likely feel that "Three's Company" is the epitome of the comedic art. Its BAD, poorly written, schlocky, bad. Yes cut pieces of fabric are adorable but it is BAD.

William Campbell was brilliant as Trelane but does anyone for a moment take him seriously as a fierce warrior Klingon ?

This episode tries too hard to be cute and it is BAD.

Hey, lets end the episode with a pun, brilliant......."no tribble at all" makes me cringe.

BAD BAD BAD

Too subtle ?

Why is it embarrassing, where is it cute and why is it bad? I'll never understand why people find a tv show embarrasing unless it's like what happens in "Plato's Stepchildren".

And why is it badly written? That's not the case at all. There is a plot that fits, there are a lot of funny scenes, you actually get to hear Uhura talk, you get to see Kirk's nerves build up in a funny way.

Typing out BAD BAD BAD doesn't really make me understand why this episode is anything but great.

The pun was terrible though.

 

[Melakon]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

"No tribble at all" should have been followed by a pie in the face from Kirk.

 

[scotpens]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

. . . This episode tries too hard to be cute and it is BAD.

Funny, that's how I feel about "A Piece of the Action." Not bad in the sense of unwatchable, but just too contrived and cutesy. It's my least favorite of the three Trek TOS episodes that were out-and-out comedy. (Four if you count "Spock's Brain.")

 

[Warped9]

Re: "The Trouble With Tribbles" is the most overrated episode of TOS..

I can see why TTWT is popular even if I don't share in the view. I don't think it's horrible, but neither do I think it's stellar. it's just okay. There are certainly TOS episodes I like a lot less. Funny, but even thpse few I find truly disappointing still manage to have something moderately redeeming even if just.