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

[neoworx]

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

As with all things Trek, to each their own. But I think TTWT is definitely an excellent episode – well written, well acted and just down-right fun.

Kirk: "There's no accounting for taste"

Great stuff!

D

 

[Push The Button]

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

In my opinion, the second-best of the comedy episodes, behind "A Piece of the Action". I really enjoyed David Gerrold's book about the making of the episode, it has lots of good behind-the-scenes stuff, and I highly recommend it.

 

[Kinokima]

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

I know David Gerrold and Harlan Ellison have an agreement: Ellison wrote the "best" episode while Gerrold wrote the "most popular" episode.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" is probably the most popular episode with people who don't identify themselves as Star Trek fans. Since there are more of "them" than there are of "us", then by those standards it's the most popular TOS episode.

It's very accessible by the casual viewer, you don't need to know much about "Star Trek" to enjoy it. It's not my favorite by any means, but it's still enjoyable to me.

Both Tribbles and City are popular and well known to the general public & casual fan of the series. And both are considered among the best of Trek.

If I had to pick one episode to represent the series I would give the edge to City over Tribbles since it much more a feat of Science Fiction writing.

But Tribbles is still great fun and I think the idea how the cute furry creatures are actually a menace (although not in a typical way) is actually very clever. I think that is why it is my favorite of the comedy episodes as it actually has the best premise & originality. Piece of the Action & I-Mudd have their moments but they are also rehashes of what the series did before and I-Mudd is a bit sexist in my opinion.

And the scene between Scotty and Kirk when he is trying to find out who started the fight is just classic.

 

[Metryq]

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

If I had to pick one episode to represent the series I would give the edge to City over Tribbles since it much more a feat of Science Fiction writing.

Fiction perhaps, but not science. Time travel stories—especially those invoking paradoxes—are fantasy. "Tribbles" on the other hand is highly "realistic." There have been uncounted instances where Mankind has had to deal with the explosive and unexpected results of tampering with the balance of an ecosystem.

 

[Cinema Geekly]

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

If I had to pick one episode to represent the series I would give the edge to City over Tribbles since it much more a feat of Science Fiction writing.

Fiction perhaps, but not science. Time travel stories—especially those invoking paradoxes—are fantasy. "Tribbles" on the other hand is highly "realistic." There have been uncounted instances where Mankind has had to deal with the explosive and unexpected results of tampering with the balance of an ecosystem.

We could probably argue about this to no end but....to me...

Fiction = Fake therefore Science Fiction is either a fake story about science or a story about fake science, I can take either.

 

[Dale Sams]

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

I'd say "The Menagerie" is probably the most overrated episode. Seeing the first pilot adds a nice bit of back story, and Spock's decision to violate regulations in Part I is a strong, dramatic hook, but Part II is a dud where the characters spend most of the episode watching TV punctuated by contrived cliffhangers at the act breaks which are all too easily resolved.

And yet, it's a Hugo winner. Season one had a number of episodes which were much, much stronger.

Oh, we're gonna get offtrack...

I find the ending from the point Mendez disappears to be utterly fantastic. And a perfect illustration of how early Shatner wasn't just good, he was fantastic at times.

 

[Kinokima]

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

Fiction perhaps, but not science. Time travel stories—especially those invoking paradoxes—are fantasy. "Tribbles" on the other hand is highly "realistic." There have been uncounted instances where Mankind has had to deal with the explosive and unexpected results of tampering with the balance of an ecosystem.

I said science fiction not science. No where does it say science fiction has to be realistically scientific. If that was the case than Star Trek is most decidedly not a science fiction show.

 

[scotpens]

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

I've always found "A Piece of the Action" more silly than funny. A planet whose people are so imitative that they'd choose to base their entire culture on a book about Chicago gangsters in the 1920s? Even in a comedy context, the premise is just too far-fetched for me to suspend disbelief.

Of course, not long after that episode aired, we got the Nazi Planet, the American Flag and Constitution Planet, the Roman Empire Planet . . .

Piece of the Action & I-Mudd have their moments but they are also rehashes of what the series did before and I-Mudd is a bit sexist in my opinion.

"I, Mudd" sexist? How so?

 

[Metryq]

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

Even in a comedy context, the premise is just too far-fetched for me to suspend disbelief.

Chicago-style mobsters in charge is too far-fetched to believe? Really?

 

[Mysterion]

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

I've always found "A Piece of the Action" more silly than funny. A planet whose people are so imitative that they'd choose to base their entire culture on a book about Chicago gangsters in the 1920s? Even in a comedy context, the premise is just too far-fetched for me to suspend disbelief.

Of course, not long after that episode aired, we got the Nazi Planet, the American Flag and Constitution Planet, the Roman Empire Planet . . .

This.

TTWT, while a comedy, is much more respectful of the characters and setting of Star Trek, and believable as science fiction and Star Trek, IMO. Gerrold figured out who these characters were, and put them in situations where they were funny because of who they were, not because they were wearing funny gangster clothes and trying to drive a car.

 

[M'Sharak]

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

I know David Gerrold and Harlan Ellison have an agreement: Ellison wrote the "best" episode while Gerrold wrote the "most popular" episode.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" is probably the most popular episode with people who don't identify themselves as Star Trek fans. Since there are more of "them" than there are of "us", then by those standards it's the most popular TOS episode.

It's very accessible by the casual viewer, you don't need to know much about "Star Trek" to enjoy it. It's not my favorite by any means, but it's still enjoyable to me.

I think this covers it pretty well. An additional comment; I find William Campbell woefully inadequate as a Klingon. I like William Campbell a lot, and he was perfect as Trelane, (as another poster has already pointed out above), but his performance detracted from this story.

That's hardly his fault, is it? Campbell was more than capable of playing threatening or intimidating when called-for, but the part of Koloth wasn't written that way and his scenes weren't played that way. Campbell was a pro and did the job he was hired to do.

 

[The Old Mixer]

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

Koloth doesn't look so bad next to Bob the Discount Klingon from "Friday's Child"....

 

[Dale Sams]

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

I call him The Mod Squad Klingon.

 

[Gov Kodos]

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

I know David Gerrold and Harlan Ellison have an agreement: Ellison wrote the "best" episode while Gerrold wrote the "most popular" episode.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" is probably the most popular episode with people who don't identify themselves as Star Trek fans. Since there are more of "them" than there are of "us", then by those standards it's the most popular TOS episode.

It's very accessible by the casual viewer, you don't need to know much about "Star Trek" to enjoy it. It's not my favorite by any means, but it's still enjoyable to me.

I think this covers it pretty well. An additional comment; I find William Campbell woefully inadequate as a Klingon. I like William Campbell a lot, and he was perfect as Trelane, (as another poster has already pointed out above), but his performance detracted from this story.

That's hardly his fault, is it? Campbell was more than capable of playing threatening or intimidating when called-for, but the part of Koloth wasn't written that way and his scenes weren't played that way. Campbell was a pro and did the job he was hired to do.

Cambell is fine, and smarmy. Cambell only seems odd in light of the Biker Barbarian Klingons of the movies and TNG onwards, but in TOS he doesn't seem that far off from Kor. In the episode, one might wonder if he is aiding Darvin, perhaps delivering the poison to be added to the grain. That seems like a job you'd send a smarmy diplomat on more than the less ingratiating Kor, or someone like Kang who seems more like he would just argue for sending in troops rather than play spies.

 

[EnsignHarper]

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?"

 

[Lance]

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.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

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

Fiction perhaps, but not science. Time travel stories—especially those invoking paradoxes—are fantasy. "Tribbles" on the other hand is highly "realistic." There have been uncounted instances where Mankind has had to deal with the explosive and unexpected results of tampering with the balance of an ecosystem.

I said science fiction not science. No where does it say science fiction has to be realistically scientific. If that was the case than Star Trek is most decidedly not a science fiction show.

Science Fiction is fiction based on science. True Science Fiction should be based on true science (or as it is understood at the time of writing). Laser beams, robots and spaceships do not make a story science fiction.

And no, Trek is not science fiction, it is fantasy.

 

[Kinokima]

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

Science Fiction is fiction based on science. True Science Fiction should be based on true science (or as it is understood at the time of writing). Laser beams, robots and spaceships do not make a story science fiction.

And no, Trek is not science fiction, it is fantasy.

I really hate this argument , I don't agree with you but I will just use the broader term speculative fiction.

editing: my initial argument because it's pointless

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

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

... and maybe the most overrated of any Trek episode.

I agree, to the extent that it's often rated as one of the two or three best (and sometimes the very best). I'd put it in the top twenty.

 

[trevanian]

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?"

He's awfully funny in the aftermath scene with Kirk too, but I prefer the Scotty of 1st season's ARMAGEDDON (his squaring off w/ Ambassador Fox) and his scene with McCoy in the hall outside the briefing room in TURNABOUT INTRUDER. There's a genuine character in there with his own sense of right and wrong, way beyond just an accent, that is unfortunately all too rarely tapped.