Trials and Trbble-ations

[Neutral Zone]

I watched this on TV today and was surprised at the practicallly seemless joing of the excerpts from TOS to the DS9 When I've seen this sort of thing done before in other programmes or movies the joins are pretty crappy.

 

[StarryEyed]

I was amazed too and am still amazed every time I watch this episode. They really did one hell of a job with this.

 

[Unicron]

Agreed, they did do a very good job with melding the visual effects. The story could have been drastically improved though...

 

[Piper]

It's even more impressive when you consider they did it within the constraints of a TV schedule and budget - it really was a remarkable achievement.

 

[doctorfoto]

Watched it recently for the first time since it aired. Absolutely brilliant.

Much praise to the unsung heroes of the production crew - I mean naturally the set, prop and costume design departments did an amazing job - but the people who thought to match the film grain and the lighting of the original series - that's the type of detail that could have easily been overlooked and made the production look amateurish.

The fabric of the DS9 actors looks a bit 'fuzzier' than the original uniforms, particularly with O'Brien's - but overall it was great. This time around I noticed that Worf and Odo's outfits (which I originally thought were just 'made up' to look 60s-ish) actually match the style of Cyrano Jones .. with his big puffy sleeve pockets. The outfit worn by the waitress who serves Odo matches the style of the other waitresses who serve Scotty and Chekov. Simply amazing attention to detail!

Absolute favorite scene is when Kirk sits on the tribble and 'looks' at Dax. They seriously looked like they were acting together.

 

[urbandk]

This show was superior for me because it was a valentine to fans. It was Trek farce taken to the highest degree; the combination of aesthetics was brilliant. It threw in the kitchen sink of Trek mythology, sixties and nineties culture and mores. The end result was more effective than seeing Picard waltz onto the original Enterprise bridge with Scotty because Trials and Tribble-ations was comedy first and drama second. It was time travel from the nineties to the sixties.

 

[maxsideburn]

Yes, I loved how they managed to keep it light-hearted like the original episode was, all the while adding in more to the story. It always amazes me how they match up new and old footage like that.

Not only that, but seeing the DS9 crew in those olds uniforms really made me want to see a "re-imagined" TOS.

 

[Nick Ryder]

"And women wore less" that line was classic. I have to admit though, even watching the remastered TOS version of that episode, I kept expecting to see Sisko or Dax in some of those scenes, it was almost jarring to watch the original after watching T&T.

Re-imagined TOS would be fun for a fan film/smaller production but I don't know if current tv execs and even the viewers would be for a show that looks like it was made in the sixties with a few modern touches, without it turning into some kinda farce to the point where it almost becomes a parody of itself, too many wink wink nod nods.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

'T & T' is one of my favorite episodes...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I like how they explained why, after Kirk opens the door to the cargo hold and the tribbles all spill out, one tribble would occasionally fall out by itself afterward (it's Sisko and Dax scanning them and throwing them out the door).

My favorite line: "I can't wait to get back to Deep Space 9 and see your face when you find out that I never existed!"

 

[Ziz]

There's an edit that combines TWT and T&T into one continuous episode.

 

[Lt.Cmdr.LaForge]

Agreed, not only were the special effects fantastic but i also found the story to be really cleverly thought out and put together. The story slotted together perfectly so that the DS9 story thread and the TOS story could coincide believably.

A particularly good example of this is the part where Dax and (sisko?) were in that room filled with tribbles looking for the one with the bomb in it and kirk, standing beneath the hatch going about his own business in the story, is in the place he's supposed to be in order to be assassinated. Two entirely seperate events which were cleverly integrated in order to become one single, convincing, story line.

 

[The Fatman]

My only gripe with T&T is what is arguably the biggest laugh-getter in the whole episode... Worf's "We do not discuss it with outsiders" bit.

I just think that opened up a whole unnecessary can of worms. Hindsight being 20/20 I think it would have been far funnier to have Michael Dorn suddenly look like a 60's Klingon...and have no one comment. Would it have confused some casual viewers? I'm sure. But realistically, by that point in DS9 how many casual viewers even were there?

 

[Hober Mallow]

Simply amazing attention to detail!

It was that loving attention to detail that made the episode... and which wasn't there at all in the terrible Voyager anniversary episode. It's an interesting comparison. The DS9 episode embraces and plays with the continuity of TOS, the VOY episode tramples on it and proves it just doesn't give a crap.

My only gripe with T&T is what is arguably the biggest laugh-getter in the whole episode... Worf's "We do not discuss it with outsiders" bit.

I just think that opened up a whole unnecessary can of worms.

Just having Worf in the episode opened uyp a whole can of worms with the original Klingons. I thought they handled it the best way they could have.

Hindsight being 20/20 I think it would have been far funnier to have Michael Dorn suddenly look like a 60's Klingon...and have no one comment. Would it have confused some casual viewers? I'm sure.

Nah. That would have confused me as well and placed too much focus on the issue. The idea was to dismiss the issue as best as they could. You can't have viewers not paying attention to the story simply because they're waiting for someone to explain the Klingon issue. Better to just get it out of the way as quickly as possible and move on.

But realistically, by that point in DS9 how many casual viewers even were there?

I don't know, but the overnight nielson rating for "T&T" according to a quick google search was 7.6.

 

[Ziz]

But realistically, by that point in DS9 how many casual viewers even were there?

I don't know, but the overnight nielson rating for "T&T" according to a quick google search was 7.6.

And what does that translate to in the real world? Is that good or bad?

 

[The Fatman]

But realistically, by that point in DS9 how many casual viewers even were there?

I don't know, but the overnight nielson rating for "T&T" according to a quick google search was 7.6.

And what does that translate to in the real world? Is that good or bad?

Yeah, that's pretty good. Traditionally, each nielsen point is a million viewers (I know it's been changed and adjusted but 1 million per is a rough guideline).

I definitely stand corrected about the casual viewers.

That said, I still think that having Dorn in 60's makeup would have been a nod to the fact that the only reason Klingons changed was a better makeup budget for TMP. I do agree that it would have been better to just leave Worf on DS9 in the script.

 

[Hober Mallow]

But realistically, by that point in DS9 how many casual viewers even were there?

I don't know, but the overnight nielson rating for "T&T" according to a quick google search was 7.6.

And what does that translate to in the real world? Is that good or bad?

It was a decent number for the time. These days a number like that for a syndicated show would be astounding. Comparing it to a modern Trek show, Enterprise's highest rating, for "Broken Bow," was 7.0. The ratings for its final season averaged in the 2s.

Back in the day, though, TNG was regularly bringing in numbers over 10. Even TNG reruns were scoring that high.TV ratings across the board have been going down steadily since the time TNG was on the air. Back then, there was little SF TV competition, much fewer cable stations, and much fewer other media (internet, video games) vying for attention. A good rating these days would have been considered dismal during TNG's day.

 

[Unicron]

Agreed, not only were the special effects fantastic but i also found the story to be really cleverly thought out and put together. The story slotted together perfectly so that the DS9 story thread and the TOS story could coincide believably.

I'm kind of the opposite myself. * shrugs * I think the story itself was pretty weak, and was never intended to be more than a reason for the DS9 crew to have a chance to visit the TOS era. And I'm kind of disappointed that they didn't do more with it, cause I think they could have.

 

[Cyke101]

That said, I still think that having Dorn in 60's makeup would have been a nod to the fact that the only reason Klingons changed was a better makeup budget for TMP. I do agree that it would have been better to just leave Worf on DS9 in the script.

Then we wouldn't have that great contrast between semi-campy 60s fighting and modern Trek fighting!

(I love choreography, and I'm pretty sure Worf would have beaten everyone there senseless if he wanted!)

 

[FalTorPan]

My only gripe with T&T is what is arguably the biggest laugh-getter in the whole episode... Worf's "We do not discuss it with outsiders" bit.

I just think that opened up a whole unnecessary can of worms. Hindsight being 20/20 I think it would have been far funnier to have Michael Dorn suddenly look like a 60's Klingon...and have no one comment. Would it have confused some casual viewers? I'm sure. But realistically, by that point in DS9 how many casual viewers even were there?

I loved that bit.