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Star Trek : Inside “The Trouble with Tribbles,” 50 Years Later

By Thomas Vinciguerra

When America tuned in to Star Trek on December 29, 1967, it got its first glimpse of tribbles. These small, plush alien beings, which swamped the U.S.S. Enterprise and its brave crew, were merely sewn-up pouches of synthetic fur stuffed with foam rubber. But in the fictional Trek universe, tribbles were cute, purring, alive and—because they bred so rapidly—hilarious.

Fifty years after its small-screen debut, “The Trouble with Tribbles” may be the most famous episode of any iteration of Star Trek . It was an unintentional comedy that has delighted generations of fans. Surprisingly, it irritated some of those who helped put it on screen—including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, once dismissed it as “frivolous.”

“The Trouble with Tribbles” was the first professional sale for David Gerrold , a 23-year-old California college student. An unknown budding writer in September 1966 when he saw Star Trek ’s first episode, he almost immediately began thinking of story premises. One of them drew on his teenage experiences of raising frogs, mice, rats, and fish. “I loved animals,” recalled Gerrold, now an award-winning author of many science-fiction novels and stories, in a recent interview. “But all of those critters died on me.”

So in February 1967, he drew up a proposal for an episode he called “The Fuzzies.”

“My original conception was, ‘Aliens are always scary. What if they’re cute but we don’t realize they’re dangerous? What if you had white mice or gerbils that got onto the Enterprise and got out of control?’ ”

Gerrold envisioned a real ecological disaster. “My attitude was that it would be whimsical but that we would have a serious threat,” he said. Nowhere in his work was there to be found now-classic slapstick moments, like William Shatner’s Captain Kirk getting buried in a mountain of tribbles. Gerrold also imagined the buffoonish and chortling Cyrano Jones, the interstellar trader who introduces the beasties to the Enterprise , as a Boris Karloff type. (“You can just see him stroking it and saying, ‘Can I interest you in a harmless little tribble? . . .’ ”)

Gerrold was trying to stay true to what he called the “gravitas” of Star Trek ’s first season. One person who would probably have rather seen that gravitas stay intact was Gene Roddenberry. For all his celebrated humanism and we’re-all-alike-under-the-skin tolerance, he wanted Star Trek to be a straightforward, square-jawed action-adventure. “Gene Roddenberry had no sense of humor,” Gerrold said, “and working with him was a joyless exercise.”

Roddenberry was balanced, and sometimes thwarted, by producer Gene L. Coon, who joined Star Trek on August 8, 1966—exactly one month before the show premiered, and at a time when Roddenberry was already burning out from innumerable rewrites and production headaches. Described by associate producer Robert H. Justman as “a romantic with an obvious sense of humor,” Coon brought a welcome wink and nod to the production.

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“He knew you had to balance gravitas with lightheartedness—that you can’t save the galaxy every week,” said Gerrold. “Roddenberry never understood that.”

With Coon’s encouragement, Gerrold fleshed out “The Fuzzies” into a full story outline called “A Fuzzy Thing Happened to Me.” (He eventually dubbed his title creatures “tribbles” to avoid legal conflicts with H. Beam Piper’s science-fiction novel Little Fuzzy .) Star Trek story consultant Dorothy Fontana compared the outline favorably to a recent episode with distinctly bright overtones. “This story is one we should purchase,” she wrote. “[It has] the elements of fun grounded in serious problems for our principals that made ‘Shore Leave’ so well received.”

“Roddenberry did allow us to take off in lighter directions sometimes,” Fontana told Vanity Fair recently. “He just didn’t want to do an outright comedy.”

It was on the set of the otherwise grim episode “The Apple” that Gerrold realized the potential for more laughs. At one point, he saw Leonard Nimoy casually toss aside an unstable mineral sample that explodes upon hitting the ground. Gerrold picked up on Shatner’s reply: “Would you mind being careful where you throw your rocks, Mr. Spock?”

Gerrold never lost sight of his episode’s underlying drama. From the first, he had his tribbles devouring a highly important experimental grain. And he hit upon using the villainous Klingons (introduced in “Errand of Mercy,” a first-season episode written by Coon) as a central menace.

But with Coon’s encouragement, the jokes ballooned. “I never intended the episode to get that funny until we got into the development,” Gerrold said. “I realized there was the possibility of a lot more humor.”

Many jests were scripted, e.g., Kirk suggesting to Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) that he “open up a maternity ward” as the tribbles began to multiply. But many bits were improvised. When Kirk sees the Russian navigator, Mr. Chekov ( Walter Koenig ), absentmindedly stroking a tribble at his console, he peevishly snatches it away. In that same scene, the communications officer, Lieutenant Uhura ( Nichelle Nichols ), appears with a tribble peeking out of her uniform’s décolletage. At episode’s end, Kirk makes peace with the problematic pests by billing and cooing at them . . . and they respond in kind.

None of this is in Gerrold’s final-draft shooting script. Other shticks, only casually mentioned in print, were played up. In the third act, Gerrold writes that Kirk must “scoop three or four tribbles” from his command chair before he can sit down. On film, the good captain accidentally sits on one of them (it emits an indignant squeak). Gerrold also wrote that even after the tribbles in the storage compartment inundate Kirk, “more and more keep tumbling out.” In the end, the unseen property master Irving Feinberg deliberately and playfully bopped Shatner with a stray tribble or two every few seconds following the initial tumult.

Some of this nonsense, Gerrold said, was because “Tribbles” was shot immediately before a two-week Labor Day break. “I think it was just a case of ‘Let’s just party out on this one.’ ” He also credits the director, Joseph Pevney: “Dorothy Fontana said, ‘Let’s hope Joe directs, because he knows comedy.' ” (Ironically, Star Trek ’s other main director at the time was Marc Daniels, who had steered many episodes of I Love Lucy .)

Eddie Paskey , who was William Shatner’s stand-in, said that it was the star’s antic spirit that carried the day. “Bill was the one. He got into it. He realized, ‘You know what? This is fun and we’re having fun.’ ”

“Tribbles” was developed and shot during the summer of 1967, when Roddenberry was out of town on vacation (or writing a pilot for an aborted Robin Hood series, depending on whom you speak to). As Gerrold put it, “You could say that when Roddenberry was away, the cast could play.”

But when the so-called “Great Bird of the Galaxy” returned to the Desilu soundstages, he was appalled. “Roddenberry entered Stage 10,” said Marc Cushman , author of These Are the Voyages , a three-volume set about the making of the series, “and saw them filming the scene in which Kirk is buried in tribbles. Shatner was having a ball, and people were laughing to the point of tears. But Roddenberry wasn't laughing.” Shortly afterward, Coon—credited as the godfather of this turn toward comedy—left the show. (Coon became a producer of It Takes a Thief and, under the pseudonym Lee Cronin, wrote several third-season Star Trek episodes. He died of cancer in 1973 at the age of 49.)

Robert Justman, the associate producer, took Roddenberry’s side on “Tribbles.” “Although the concept was amusing, the story was just too cute,” he wrote in 1996. “Kirk, Spock, and the others were real people, and real people just did not behave that way; [I felt] our finely drawn characters should never parody themselves.”

And so Justman tried to shunt the show off into what he thought was a dead zone. “Tribbles” ran at 8:30 P.M. on the Friday between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, 1967.

“Justman told me how he was responsible for selecting the order in which the episodes would air on NBC,” said Cushman. “Since he wasn't fond of 'Tribbles' when it was first made, he scheduled it to air when most of the networks were showing repeats.”

On the other hand, “Tribbles” may have been the Star Trek equivalent of “a Christmas show,” as director of photography Gerald Finnerman suggested in a 2002 interview. If that was the idea, Dorothy Fontana believes it worked. “I don’t think it was dead zone time at all,” she said. “A lot of viewers were home on vacation and watching television.”

Gerrold never had any doubts. He hosted around 30 friends to watch the episode on his first color television set; one guest was his college buddy Robert Englund , later Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. “He said, ‘I had no idea you were such a good writer,’ ” Gerrold recalled. “And I said, ‘No one will remember this in 20 years.’ ”

He was wrong, of course. “The ratings were good, the fan letters poured in, and [Justman] and Roddenberry had to reconsider their stance on whether Star Trek should make all-out comedies,” Cushman said. “As a result, 'Tribbles' was given a network repeat.”

Five decades later, Gerrold has only a few complaints—mostly about the “whiny” tribble theme composed by Jerry Fielding, and the dappled white-and-brown fur from which most of the 500 tribbles were built. “It was godawful,” Gerrold said. “It was ugly as hell.”

“But,” he added, “it photographed well.”

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The Trouble with Tribbles (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Story and script
• 4.2 Cast and characters
• 4.3 Production
• 4.4 Effects
• 4.6 Continuity
• 4.7 Apocrypha
• 4.8 Reception
• 4.9 Remastered information
• 4.10 Production timeline
• 4.11 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Co-starring
• 5.4 Featuring
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.6 Stunt doubles
• 5.7 References
• 5.8 External links

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise is en route to Deep Space Station K-7 for assistance with an important assignment regarding a disputed planet . One parsec from the nearest Klingon outpost (" Close enough to smell them ," as Chekov puts it), the post is near Sherman's Planet , which is claimed by both sides.

In the Enterprise 's briefing room , Captain James T. Kirk , Commander Spock , and Ensign Pavel Chekov review the area's history: twenty-three years after the inconclusive Battle of Donatu V , the Organian Peace Treaty is set to grant control of Sherman's Planet to the party that can demonstrate it can develop the planet's resources most efficiently.

Lieutenant Uhura reports from the bridge that K-7 has issued a Code One alert , which signals that it is under attack. Kirk orders a speed increase to warp factor 6, while Uhura initiates a red alert .

Act One [ ]

The Enterprise arrives at maximum warp, ready for a fight, only to find no battle. Beaming over with Spock, Kirk demands an explanation from station manager Lurry , but is told he was ordered to do so by Nilz Baris , a Federation undersecretary in charge of the Sherman's Planet development project.

Baris and his aide, Arne Darvin , fear that the Klingons might try to sabotage the Federation's best hope to win control of the planet – a high-yield grain known as quadrotriticale , the only Earth grain that will grow on the planet. Tons of the grain are stored at the station, and Baris demands from Kirk security and protection. Kirk still believes they have misused the Priority One designation, but assigns only two guards to the station, and allows shore leave for the Enterprise crew.

On leave, Uhura and Chekov meet a dealer named Cyrano Jones , who is trying to wholesale to the skeptical bartender various rare galactic items, among them, spican flame gems and furry little creatures that Jones calls tribbles . While they bicker over the price, Chekov notices a tribble has eaten a quadrotriticale sample left on the bar and Uhura is enchanted by it. Jones gives the tribble to Uhura, a move the bartender claims will ruin the market but Jones claims will help spur more sales.

Back on the Enterprise , Kirk receives an order from Starfleet Admiral Fitzpatrick to render any and or all aid that Baris may require. The admiral informs Kirk that the safety of the grain – as well as the project – is the captain's responsibility. Kirk is exasperated, and just then learns from Uhura that a Klingon battle cruiser has arrived within a hundred kilometers of K-7. Kirk orders the ship to go to red alert and for Lurry to be notified. Lurry, however, discounts a possible attack, as the Klingon ship 's captain , Koloth , and first officer, Korax , are sitting in his office. Kirk orders the red alert canceled.

Act Two [ ]

Koloth's ship orbiting Deep Space K-7

Kirk beams over with Spock and the Klingons assert their rights to shore leave under the terms of the Organian treaty. Kirk reluctantly accedes, but sets limits of twelve at a time, with one guard from the Enterprise for each Klingon soldier.

In the recreation room aboard the Enterprise , Uhura's tribble gives birth to a litter. The sounds the tribbles make seem to have a soothing effect on Humans . Dr. McCoy takes one of the offspring to study it. Meanwhile, Kirk argues with Baris about the adequacy of the security Kirk is providing, until Kirk claims he is getting a headache . Going to sickbay for treatment, Kirk sees that McCoy's tribble has also produced a litter. McCoy reports that almost 50% of their metabolism is geared towards reproduction.

Kirk tells crewmembers beaming over to shore leave on K-7 to avoid trouble with the Klingons. Montgomery Scott declines shore leave, but Kirk, concerned for him getting too wrapped up in his technical journals , orders him over to keep an eye on the others and to enjoy himself.

At the bar aboard K-7, Jones tries to sell more tribbles. The Enterprise crew aren't interested, and the tribbles and the Klingons react to one another with loud hostility. The bartender is uninterested in more tribbles either – the one he acquired earlier is already multiplying. Korax starts insulting the Enterprise crew, first by comparing the Humans to Regulan bloodworms . He then tries to provoke Chekov by repeatedly insulting Kirk, but Scott restrains Chekov. Korax then turns his attention to Scott by insulting the Enterprise itself, first calling it a garbage scow , then just garbage, provoking Scott to punch Korax in the face and start a brawl between the two groups. The barman retreats and Jones dispenses himself some drinks in his absence. Security officers from the Enterprise arrest the brawlers and restore order, and shore leave for both ships is canceled.

Act Three [ ]

Kirk interrogates his men on who started the fight

Kirk interrogates the crew involved in the brawl, but none are forthcoming about who started it. Kirk orders that they are all confined to quarters until he determines who started the brawl. After Kirk dismisses his officers, Scott confesses to Kirk in private that he started the fight after Korax insulted them, recalling some of the more colorful examples. Kirk presses further and is perplexed to find that Scott didn't start fighting until Korax insulted the Enterprise but realizes it was due to an engineer's sensitivities. Kirk restricts Scott to quarters, to which Scott happily complies, anticipating time off to catch up on his journals.

In sickbay, Spock and McCoy have a characteristic debate on the aesthetics and utility of tribbles, Spock in particular, notes to McCoy their one redeeming characteristic – they do not talk too much. The question soon attracts Kirk's attention. There are tribbles all over the bridge, including one in his chair . McCoy reports this is because they are "born pregnant" and are swamping the ship with their rampant reproduction. Kirk orders Uhura to call for Jones to be detained on K-7 – and to " get these tribbles off the bridge. "

On K-7, Spock berates Jones for removing tribbles from their natural predators and letting them over-breed. Jones counters with excuses and insists that, at six credits each, they're making him money. Then Baris confronts Kirk on the insufficient security detail for the quadrotriticale. Baris claims Jones is " quite probably a Klingon agent ," but Kirk is unconvinced by the evidence and finds that Jones has done no worse than disrupt activities on K-7, which is not unprecedented. " Sometimes, all they need is a title, Mr. Baris ", Kirk pointedly concludes, and he and Spock return to the Enterprise .

" This is my chicken sandwich and coffee. "

Back on board, the tribble problem has worsened. Kirk can't even get a meal, as tribbles have gotten into the food synthesizers . Scott reports that the tribbles are circulating through the Enterprise 's ventilation ducts , ending up in machinery all throughout the ship. Spock points out that there are comparable ducts aboard K-7 that lead to the grain storage tanks. Realizing the implication, Kirk orders all the tribbles removed from the Enterprise and rushes to K-7, gaining access to one of the storage compartments, but when he opens the overhead door, an avalanche of tribbles buries him.

Act Four [ ]

" First, find Cyrano Jones, and second… close that door. "

Kirk finally climbs out from the pile of tribbles – a population Spock estimates at 1,771,561 – and Spock discovers that they are gorged on the grain. Baris claims Kirk's orders have turned the project into a disaster and that he will call for a Starfleet board of inquiry against Kirk.

Koloth and Korax

But Spock and McCoy notice that many of the tribbles in the pile are dead or dying. Kirk orders McCoy to find out why they died, though McCoy protests that he doesn't yet know what keeps them alive.

Kirk assembles all the principals in Lurry's office. Koloth demands that Kirk issue an official apology to the Klingon High Command , though Baris says that would give the Klingons the wedge they need to claim Sherman's Planet. Koloth also asks that the tribbles be removed from the room. The guards do so, but they pass Darvin, at which point the tribbles shriek just as they did around the Klingons. With his medical tricorder , McCoy reveals Darvin to be a Klingon. He poisoned the grain with a virus that prevents its victim from absorbing nutrients, which is how the tribbles died. " They starved to death. In a storage compartment full of grain, they starved to death! " Kirk summarizes. Darvin is arrested, the Klingons are ordered out of Federation territory within the next six hours, and Kirk says he could learn to like tribbles.

The Enterprise crew gets the last laugh when Scott tells Kirk where he placed the tribbles

In K-7's bar, Kirk and Spock then give Jones a choice: twenty years in a rehabilitation colony for transporting a harmful species, or pick up every tribble on the station (which Spock calculates would take 17.9 years). Jones accepts the latter. Back aboard the Enterprise , Kirk is happy to find the ship has been swept clean of tribbles, and asks Spock, McCoy, and Scott how they did it. They all deflect Kirk's questions until Scott reluctantly replies that before the Klingons went into warp, he beamed all of them into their engine room, " where they'll be no tribble at all. " The crew share a good, long laugh at this.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2268

Memorable quotes [ ]

" One parsec, sir. Close enough to smell them. " " That is illogical, Ensign. Odors cannot travel through the vacuum of space. " " I was making a little joke, sir. " " Extremely little, ensign. "

" Wheat. So what? "

" I have never questioned the orders or the intelligence of any representative of the Federation. Until now. "

" Is that an offer or a joke? " " That's my offer. " " That's a joke. "

" Once this lovely little lady starts to show this precious little darling around, you won't be able to keep up with them. "

" Its trilling seems to have a tranquilizing effect on the Human nervous system. Fortunately, of course … I am immune … to its effect. "

" Kirk, this station is swarming with Klingons! " " I was not aware, Mr. Baris, that twelve Klingons constitutes a swarm. "

" Do you know what you get if you feed a tribble too much? " " A fat tribble. " " No. You get a bunch of hungry little tribbles. "

" When are you going to get off that milk diet, lad? " " This is vodka. " " Where I come from, that's soda pop. Now this is a drink for a man. " " Scotch? " " Aye. " " It was invented by a little old lady from Leningrad . "

" Oh…I just remembered: There is one Earth man who doesn't remind me of a Regulan bloodworm . That's Kirk. A Regulan bloodworm is soft and shapeless. But Kirk isn't soft. Kirk may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood, but he's not soft. "

" Of course, I'd say that Captain Kirk deserves his ship. We like the Enterprise . We, we really do. That sagging old rust bucket is designed like a garbage scow. Half the quadrant knows it. That's why they're learning to speak Klingonese . " " Mr. Scott! " " Laddie… don't you think you should… rephrase that? " (Mocking Scott's accent) " You're right. I should. " (Normal voice) " I didn't mean to say that the Enterprise should be hauling garbage. I meant to say that it should be hauled away as garbage. "

" What's the matter, Spock? " " There's something disquieting about these creatures. " " Oh? Don't tell me you've got a feeling. " " Don't be insulting, Doctor. "

"I see no practical use for them." "Does everything have to have a practical use for you? They're nice, they're soft, they're furry, and they make a pleasant sound." "So would an ermine violin , Doctor, yet I see no advantage to having one."

" They do indeed have one redeeming characteristic. " " What's that? " " They do not talk too much. "

" Too much of anything, Lieutenant, even love, isn't necessarily a good thing. "

" In my opinion, you have taken this important project far too lightly. " " On the contrary, sir. I think of this project as very important. It is you I take lightly. "

" My chicken sandwich and coffee . This is my chicken sandwich and coffee. " " Fascinating. "

" I want these things off my ship! I don't care if it takes every man we've got – I want them off the ship! "

" Well, until that board of inquiry, I'm still the captain. And as captain, I want two things done. First, find Cyrano Jones. And second … " (A tribble lands on Kirk's head) " … close that door. "

" They don't like Klingons. But they do like Vulcans. Well, Mr. Spock, I didn't know you had it in you. " " Obviously tribbles are very perceptive creatures, Captain. " " Obviously. " (Carrying tribbles, Kirk walks over to Baris) " Mister Baris, they like you. Well, there's no accounting for taste. "

" I gave them to the Klingons, sir. " " You gave them to the Klingons? " "Aye, sir. Before they went into warp I transported the whole kit and kaboodle into their engine room, where they'll be no tribble at all. "

Background information [ ]

Story and script [ ].

• This script, one of Star Trek 's most popular, was David Gerrold 's first professional sale ever. His working title for the episode was "A Fuzzy Thing Happened to Me…". Writer/producer Gene L. Coon did heavy rewrites on the final version of the script. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p 333)
• The tribbles were originally to have been called 'fuzzies', but the name was felt to be too close to a book called Little Fuzzy . Other names considered by David Gerrold were 'shaggies', 'goonies' and 'pufflies' as well a dozen other unknown names. ( Star Trek - A Celebration , page 215)
• While the episode was in production, Gene Roddenberry noticed that the story was similar to Robert Heinlein 's novel, The Rolling Stones , which featured the "Martian Flat Cats". Too late, he called Heinlein to apologize and avoid a possible lawsuit. Heinlein was very understanding, and was satisfied with a simple "mea culpa" by Roddenberry. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , pp 333–334)
• According to Bjo Trimble , the story for this episode is based upon the short story, Pigs Is Pigs . ( "To Boldly Go…": Season 2 , TOS Season 2 DVD special features)
• There is a popular story about a line Spock delivers in this episode, "he heard you, he simply could not believe his ears," being placed in the episode as a tribute to Mad Magazine's then-recent Star Trek parody. The December 1967 issue of Mad Magazine (released around October 1967) featured the magazine's first spoof of Star Trek (titled Star Blecch ). It featured a similar line as a joke about Spock's ears (Spock: "…I don't believe my ears!" Kirk: "I don't believe your ears either, Mr. Spook"). As this episode was filmed in August 1967, it was likely just a coincidence since the magazine had not been published yet at the time of filming. The cast did see and appreciate the Mad Magazine spoof when it came out, but a [[StarTrek.com] article stated they likely saw it during the filming of "A Private Little War," in October. [1] There is no record of the cast or writers seeing the spoof before the magazine was released.
• Chekov quips that Scotch whisky "was invented by a little old lady from Leningrad ." That Russian city, originally St. Petersburg, had its name changed to honor Vladimir Lenin , leader of the Communist revolution in 1917. The name St. Petersburg was restored in 1991, after the breakup of the USSR. Some versions that summarize this episode claim Chekov drinks whisky; in fact after Chekov drinks his Vodka, Scott then gives Chekov the full glass of their companion Freeman while Scott drinks his whiskey.
• When Scott is confined to quarters after fighting the Klingons he remarks that he'll be able to study technical manuels; in Star Trek:The Next Generation Relics (episode) Picard offers the 147 year old Montgomery Scott a change to study technical manuels; Scott declines because as he put it "Im not 18 anymore and I cant start out like a raw cadet."

Cast and characters [ ]

• George Takei ( Hikaru Sulu ) does not appear in this episode. For much of the second season, he was filming The Green Berets . Many scenes written for Takei were switched over to Walter Koenig. ( "To Boldly Go…": Season 2 , TOS Season 2 DVD special features)
• William Shatner recalled the great enjoyment all the cast had filming this episode. He noted, " The trouble we had with 'Tribbles' was [to] keep your straight face. It was just a lot of fun. " ( "To Boldly Go…": Season 2 , TOS Season 2 DVD special features)
• Guy Raymond (the bartender ) also played a bartender in beer commercials during the '60s, in which he commented on the strange occurrences in his bar.
• Michael Pataki is another actor who guested in two series of Star Trek , appearing as Karnas in TNG : " Too Short A Season ".
• Some of the extras in the bar are wearing turtleneck uniforms from " The Cage " and " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", another couple of extras are wearing colonist jumpsuits from " The Devil in the Dark ". The gentleman who seems to be enjoying watching the fight and another man are wearing Finnegan 's and his stunt double's uniforms from " Shore Leave ", another one is wearing a uniform of the Antares worn by Ramart or Tom Nellis in " Charlie X ". A woman is wearing Aurelan Kirk 's costume from " Operation -- Annihilate! ".
• Ed Reimers, who plays Admiral Fitzpatrick , was the TV spokesman for Allstate Insurance in the 1960s. In a funny sequence from the blooper reel, he catches a tribble thrown at him from offstage and, proffering it to the camera, says, " Oh, and Captain: you're in good hands with tribbles " (a play on the Allstate motto, "You're in good hands with Allstate.")
• William Schallert later guest starred as Varani in DS9 : " Sanctuary ".
• James Doohan insisted on doing his own stunts in the barroom brawl. Jay Jones only doubled for him in a few brief fight sequences.
• This is one of the few episodes in which Doohan's missing right middle finger (lost due to injuries sustained during the invasion of Normandy in World War Two) is apparent. It can also be noticed as he carries a large bundle of tribbles to Captain Kirk, complaining that they've infested Engineering.
• This is one of the few times in the series that Scott and Chekov have a conversation with one another. (However, in " Friday's Child ", when Scott remarks, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me," Chekov quips that the saying was invented in Russia.) Along with Kirk , they would be featured together in Star Trek Generations .
• Paul Baxley is credited as "Ensign Freeman," but is wearing lieutenant's stripes, as pointed out in DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " when Miles O'Brien mistakes Freeman for Captain Kirk and Julian Bashir questions his rank insignia.
• William Campbell ( Koloth ) and Charlie Brill ( Arne Darvin ) both reprised their roles in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine more than 25 years later: Campbell in " Blood Oath " and Brill in " Trials and Tribble-ations ".

Production [ ]

• Wah Chang designed the original tribbles. Hundreds were sewn together during production, using pieces of extra-long rolls of carpet. Some of them had mechanical toys placed in them so they could walk around. ( "To Boldly Go…": Season 2 , TOS Season 2 DVD special features) The original tribbles became sought-after collector's items, and quickly disappeared from the prop department. According to Gerrold, 500 tribbles were constructed for the episode and the tribble-maker, Jacqueline Cumere, was paid US$350.
• In a 2016 interview, Christopher Doohan recalls being on set during the production of this episode: " My father would often bring my brother and I along with him to the set when the show was shooting, " Chris recalled. […] " He would park us in the shuttle craft and tell us to stay put." " Of course "staying put" is a difficult assignment for seven year-old twin boys… and one day they couldn't resist leaving the confines of the shuttle… and going where no child had gone before. As it happened, the day they chose coincided with the shooting of "The Trouble With Tribbles", one of the series' stranger – and enduringly popular – episodes… Chris and his brother, Montgomery, crept around the set, keeping away from the active shooting, until they came to three tall cabinets with doors just out of reach. " " We were curious to know what was INSIDE, " Chris recalls. " So my brother got on my shoulders and slid the cabinet open. Instantly, more than 200 tribbles came tumbling out, nearly burying us. Not only did it scare us, but we knew we would be in big trouble if Dad – or anyone else – found out. So we rushed back to the shuttle. Five minutes later Dad appeared… and praised us for being so well-behaved! " Thirty years later Chris mustered up the courage to tell his dad the real story. " And he got mad at me, " Chris said with a bemused shake of the head. " It was like it had just happened yesterday! " [2]
• During production of the "buried in tribbles" scene, it took up to eight takes (a considerable number) to get the avalanche of tribbles to fall just right. Gerrold wrote in The Trouble with Tribbles , " If Captain Kirk looks just a little harried in that shot, it's not accidental. Having… tribbles dropped on you, eight times in one day, is NOT a happy experience. " DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " later established that the continuously falling tribbles hitting Kirk were in fact thrown by Benjamin Sisko and Jadzia Dax , frantically searching for the bomb placed by the future Darvin. In reality, the tribbles kept falling out of the hatch because members of the production crew had no direct line of sight with William Shatner during the filming of the scene and could not tell when there were "enough" tribbles; a barrier in the set separated them from the storage compartment, which was filled with prop tribbles. In order to set up the avalanche scene, crew members kept throwing tribbles over the wall to ensure that the bin remained as "full" as possible; when the compartment was empty, these tribbles then fell onto Shatner's head as the crew tossed them one by one. Near the end of the scene, a perplexed Shatner – already chest-deep in tribbles – can clearly be seen turning his head toward the wall behind him, wondering when the prop men will stop. ( The Trouble with Tribbles ; "To Boldly Go…": Season 2 , TOS Season 2 DVD special features)
• Spock's estimate of how many tribbles there are in three days, dead or alive, starting with one tribble producing a litter of ten every twelve hours is exactly correct, assuming that every tribble always has a litter of ten. Tribble reproduction is exponential, starting when one tribble makes ten. In twelve hours the total number is eleven. twelve hours later, each of the eleven tribbles produce ten, making the count 110 babies. Include the original eleven tribbles, and the total is 121. The formula for tribble reproduction is x=11 n/12 , where x is the total, and n is the number of hours. Given three days (72 hours), the final result becomes 11 6 , which equals exactly 1,771,561.
• According to David Gerrold 's The World of Star Trek , tribble props were misplaced about the set and were being found for several months after the production of the episode.
• William Campbell ( Koloth ) took some of the 500 tribbles home, throwing about 40 of them into a plastic bag and giving them away to neighborhood kids. ( Star Trek - A Celebration , page 215)

Effects [ ]

• Sound effects editor Douglas Grindstaff combined altered dove coos, screech owl cries, and emptying balloons to create the tribble sounds.
• The Enterprise miniature seen out of Lurry's window doesn't move, but if it was orbiting at the same speed the station was rotating, this would make sense.
• The miniature is actually one of the plastic model kits that AMT was selling at the time. In the 1970s, AMT produced a model of the K-7 space station itself, complete with a tiny Enterprise . SCTV blew up a Klingon ship with phaser blasts from some of these K-7 model kits in a low-budget effects spoof of The Empire Strikes Back in 1981.
• Footage of K-7 was recycled in " The Ultimate Computer ".
• According to Michael and Denise Okuda's text commentary on this episode for the second season DVD set, the last fresh footage of the Enterprise was done for this episode. In every episode to follow, the shots of the ship were all stock footage. It is possible that the last of the footage of the Enterprise was filmed during this production of this episode as it is true that they did not film any shots of the Enterprise after season two. But there will be five more episodes going by production order that have previously unseen shots of the Enterprise . " Journey to Babel ", " The Gamesters of Triskelion ", " The Immunity Syndrome ", " The Ultimate Computer ", and " That Which Survives " all have new shots of the Enterprise . [3]
• The bar set, including the bartender's costume, is recycled from " Court Martial ", with slight modifications, mostly in decoration.

Continuity [ ]

• Star Trek returned to the events of this episode in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Trials and Tribble-ations " to celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary .
• " More Tribbles, More Troubles " is the TAS sequel to this episode.
• Tribbles were seen in the bar scene (wherein McCoy is apprehended by "Federation security") being petted by a couple patronizing the establishment, on an adjacent table in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .
• Mr. Scott is glad to be confined to quarters-it would give him time to catch up on enginerring technical manuals; later in " Relics " Scott admits that he can't catch up with current technology.
• Bantam Books published a series of novelizations called "foto-novels," in which took photographic stills from actual episodes and arranged word balloons and text over them, to create a comic book formatted story. The third installment was an adaptation of this episode.
• The Organian Peace Treaty mentioned by Chekov in the teaser is a reference back to the first season episode " Errand of Mercy ".
• Despite McCoy and the Enterprise crew being ignorant of tribbles, later productions indicated that they were already known to Starfleet by this time, having been used as a food source for lab animals, as pets, and even at one point being considered as a possible food source for an entire colony (" The Breach ", " The Trouble with Edward ", and Capt. Gabriel Lorca kept a tribble in his ready room aboard USS Discovery ).

Apocrypha [ ]

• Although Kirk comments in the episode on the irony of tribbles in a grain storage bin dying of starvation, in James Blish 's novelization of the episode, Spock also remarks on the elegant symmetry of the respective misdeeds: the poisoning of the grain eliminated the tribble infestation before it exhausted the cargo, whereas the tribbles disclosed the poisoning with no loss of Human life.
• In the Star Trek: Myriad Universes story The Chimes at Midnight , which explores the timeline from TAS : " Yesteryear ", the Enterprise 's first officer Thelin discovered Darvin's role in poisoning the quadrotriticale. Darvin remained a Federation prisoner for several months until a prisoner exchange was arranged with the Klingons.
• In the Star Trek: Myriad Universes story " Honor in the Night ", Cyrano Jones and his tribbles were all killed by an explosion on board his vessel while it was docked at K-7 in 2267. The explosion was caused by an accidental overload in the ship's impulse drive . Consequently, Arne Darvin's sabotage of the quadrotriticale was never discovered (since there were no tribbles left alive to expose him), and the poisoned grain was shipped to Sherman's Planet, where it cost the lives of thousands of colonists. Baris assumed leadership of the remnants of the Human colonies there. He used his considerable expertise in dealing with Klingons (including Darvin, who revealed his true identity to Baris, whom Darvin had grown to respect) to deal with the situation, and eventually became President of the United Federation of Planets . While he had a long and distinguished presidential career and was fondly remembered by the citizens of the Federation (including Leonard McCoy , a lifelong friend), Baris never got over his long-standing feud with Darvin.
• A cat version of "The Trouble with Tribbles" was featured in Jenny Parks ' 2017 book Star Trek Cats .

Reception [ ]

• This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1968 as "Best Dramatic Presentation", but lost to the version of " The City on the Edge of Forever " that was actually shown on-air.
• In a 1985 interview, director Joseph Pevney named "The Trouble with Tribbles" as the best episode he directed. He added that they couldn't do an episode like that anymore, because the franchise has become "deadly serious" (interestingly enough, one year after the interview took place, the light-hearted, comedic Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home premiered in theaters, and in 2019 the tribbles would be featured in the comedic mini-episode " The Trouble with Edward "). [4]
• Pevney also commented that he " Fell in love with that show. I really enjoyed doing it, and I enjoyed working with Leonard and Shatner to make them think in terms of typically farce comedy. The show was successful and I was happy about that. I was proven right that you can do a comedy if you don't kid the script, and if you don't kid Star Trek . If you stay in character, you can have wonderful fun with Star Trek , and the kinds of things you can do with it are endless – if you don't lose the whole flavor of Enterprise discipline. " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )
• Despite the broad popularity of this episode among fans, series Co-Producer Robert H. Justman wrote in his book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story that he never liked this episode, as he felt the characters parodied themselves, and that the episode's over-the-top humor lacked believability.
• Third season producer Fred Freiberger also disliked the show. David Gerrold recalled that when he pitched a sequel for the episode, Freiberger replied that he didn't like the original because "Star Trek is not a comedy. " Gerrold's pitch later evolved into the Animated Series episode " More Tribbles, More Troubles ". ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 97)
• Writer Samuel A. Peeples was another individual who worked on the original series but found this episode to be problematic. " I thought that the one with the fuzzy little creatures wasn't my idea of what the show should be, " he remarked. " It was awfully cute and awfully nice, but it covered an area that I felt was unnecessary for that particular type of series. " ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 120)
• Gene Roddenberry also disliked "Tribbles" and the overall tendency for more comedy-oriented episodes, which became prominent under Gene Coon 's tenure as producer, feeling that it deviated from his image of the show, opting for the much more serious approach which dominated Star Trek during his time as line producer in the first half of season 1 . As Pevney put it, " This was the first out-and-out comedy we had done on the series, and Roddenberry was not in favor of it too much. He didn't cotton the idea of making fun on this show. " Eventually these disagreements between Roddenberry and Coon became one of the major reasons why the latter left the series mid-season 2. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )
• Roddenberry's opinion of the episode seemed to have changed over the years as he later picked it as one of his ten favorite episodes for the franchise's 25th anniversary. ( TV Guide August 31, 1991)
• William Campbell ( Koloth ) recalled that, after this episode was aired, his neighbor's son consequently addressed his wife as "Mrs. Klingon". ( The World of Star Trek )
• This was voted the best episode of Star Trek by viewers of Sci-Fi Channel's Star Trek 40th Anniversary Celebrations.
• It was also voted the best episode by Empire magazine when they ranked the series #43 on their list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time." [5]
• The book Star Trek 101 (p. 18), by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block , lists this episode as one of "Ten Essential Episodes" from the original Star Trek series.
• Having been a big fan of the original Star Trek series during her youth, Diane Warren – the songwriter who wrote Star Trek: Enterprise 's theme tune, " Where My Heart Will Take Me " – cited this installment as her favorite episode of TOS, upon being interviewed shortly after the start of Enterprise . She went on to say, " That's one of the episodes that, even after all these years has stayed in my mind. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 145 , p. 57)
• Doug Jones , who avidly watched Star Trek: The Original Series as a child along with his family, also selected this as one of his favorite Star Trek episodes. " As a youngster, that was a fun episode […] I like happy endings, I like low-stakes stories myself, and so that was kinda like, 'Oh, there's the fun episode.' " [6]

Remastered information [ ]

• "The Trouble with Tribbles" was the ninth episode of the remastered version of The Original Series to air. It premiered in syndication on the weekend of 4 November 2006 and featured significantly enhanced shots of the K-7 space station, now including the orbiting D7-class IKS Gr'oth . The Enterprise can now be seen more often from Lurry's office, moving toward the left side of the window as it orbits K-7. The remastered episode is marked by the introduction of a revised digital model of the Enterprise , allowing for more detailed and accurate shots of the ship to be created.
• None of the special shots from the DS9 tribute episode was included in the remastered version. Furthermore, the Gr'oth 's design is different from the Greg Jein model seen in the Deep Space Nine episode. That ship is greener, with an avian pattern on it, where this version of the Klingon ship is grey and does not bear that pattern, bringing it more in line with TOS counterparts.
• Coincidentally, the episode that aired after this was " Mirror, Mirror ". Scenes from both episodes were used in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's " Trials and Tribble-ations ".

Production timeline [ ]

• Treatment "The Fuzzies" by David Gerrold : February 1967
• Story outline "A Fuzzy Thing Happened to Me": 13 June 1967
• Revised story outline: 23 June 1967
• Second revised story outline: 26 June 1967
• First draft teleplay "The Trouble with Tribbles": 30 June 1967
• Second draft teleplay: 19 July 1967
• Revised draft by Gene L. Coon : 21 July 1967
• Final draft teleplay by Coon: 25 July 1967
• Revised final draft: 1 August 1967
• Additional page revisions: 15 August 1967 , 16 August 1967 , 18 August 1967 , 21 August 1967
• Day 1 – 22 August 1967 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge , Sickbay
• Day 2 – 23 August 1967 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Briefing room , Transporter room , Admiral Fitzpatrick's office (redress of a wall in Transporter room)
• Day 3 – 24 August 1967 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Recreation room (redress of Briefing room); Desilu Stage 10 : Lurry's office
• Day 4 – 25 August 1967 , Friday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Lurry's office , Storage corridor
• Day 5 – 28 August 1967 , Monday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. Storage corridor , K-7 Bar
• Day 6 – 29 August 1967 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 10 : Int. K-7 Bar
• Score recorded: 5 October 1967
• Original airdate: 29 December 1967
• Rerun airdate: 21 June 1968
• First UK airdate: 1 June 1970
• Star Trek Fotonovel #3: 1973 - ISBN 055312689X
• The Trouble with Tribbles : The Birth, Sale and Final Production of One Episode paperback: 1973
• The Trouble with Tribbles: The Birth, Sale and Final Production of One Episode paperback: 1976
• The Trouble with Tribbles: The Birth, Sale and Final Production of One Episode paperback reissue: 12 April 1987 - ISBN 0345347889
• " Trials and Tribble-ations ", incorporating "Trouble" footage: 4 November 1996
• Remastered airdate: 4 November 2006

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• US RCA CED Videodisc release: 1 April 1982
• Original US Betamax release: 1986
• US LaserDisc release: 11 October 1986
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 22 , catalog number VHR 2357, 2 April 1990
• Japan LaserDisc release: 25 March 1993
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• As part of the UK VHS Star Trek: The Original Series - Tricorder Pack collection: catalog number VHR 4373, 3 June 1996
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.5, 5 May 1997
• UK LaserDisc release: 11 August 1997
• As part of the US VHS Star Trek - Tribbles Gift Set : 6 October 1998
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 21, 24 April 2001
• As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Klingon DVD collection
• As part of the TOS-R Season 2 DVD collection
• As part of The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: The Original Series - Origins Blu-ray collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Co-starring [ ]

• William Schallert as Nilz Baris
• William Campbell as Koloth
• Stanley Adams as Cyrano Jones
• Whit Bissell as Lurry

Featuring [ ]

• James Doohan as Scott
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Michael Pataki as Korax
• Ed Reimers as Admiral Fitzpatrick
• Walter Koenig as Chekov
• Charlie Brill as Arne Darvin
• Paul Baxley as Ensign Freeman
• David L. Ross as Guard
• Guy Raymond as Trader

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Dick Crockett as Klingon brawler 1
• Frank da Vinci as Vinci
• Steve Hershon as security officer
• Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli
• William Knight as Moody
• Starfleet officer 1
• Bob Miles as Klingon brawler 2
• Bob Orrison as Klingon brawler 3
• Eddie Paskey as Leslie
• Gary Wright as DSK-7 officer
• Human civilian
• Human colonist
• Human waitresses 1 and 2
• Human workers 1 and 2
• Starfleet cadets 1 and 2
• Human DSK-7 officer 3 and 4
• Command lieutenant 1
• Command lieutenant 2
• Command crew woman
• Crew woman 1
• Crew woman 2
• Crew woman 3
• Operations crewman
• Sciences crew woman
• Sciences lieutenant
• Sciences lieutenant 1
• Sciences lieutenant 2
• Security guard 1
• Security guard 3

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Phil Adams as stunt double for Michael Pataki
• Richard Antoni as Klingon (stunts; unconfirmed )
• Jay Jones as stunt double for James Doohan
• Jerry Summers as stunt double for Walter Koenig

References [ ]

20th century ; 2067 ; 2245 ; 2261 ; 2285 ; agent ; agriculture ; air vent ; all hands ; amount ; analysis ; ancestry ; animal ; Antarean glow water ; apology ; area ; assistant ; assumption ; asteroid ; asteroid locator ; astronomer ; attraction ; authority ; average ; baby ; background check ; bar ; bargain ; battle ; battle stations ; Bible ; bisexual ; bloodstream ; board of inquiry ; body ; body temperature ; " Bones "; bottle ; breeding ; bucket ; Burke, John ; Burkoff, Ivan ; Canada ; chance ; Channel E ; charge : chicken sandwich ; code 1 emergency ; coffee ; commander ; communication channel ; computation ; computer analysis ; confined to quarters ; contact ; cork ; Cossack ; course ; creature ; credit ; criminal ; D7 class (aka Klingon battle cruiser , Klingon warship ); day ; deal (aka transaction ); death ; declaration of hostilities ; Deep Space Station K-7 ; defense alert ; delusion ; Denebian slime devil ; development project ; dictator ; diet ; diplomatic incident ; disaster ; disaster call ; dissection ; Donatu V ; door ; ear ; Earth ; effect ; emergency ; engineering ; environment ; ermine violin ; evidence ; experience ; Federation ; Federation law ; Federation territory ; feeling ; field ; figure ; French language ; friend ; food processor ; garbage ; garbage scow ; genie ; general quarters ; generation ; government ; grain ; Gr'oth , IKS ; habitat ; hair ; harassment ; headache ; heartbeat ; hip ; history ; home ; honesty ; hour ; Human (aka Earther , Earthman ); Human characteristic ; hybrid ; inert material ; initial contact ; instruction manual ; insult ; intelligence ; intention ; invention ; irons ; job security ; joke ; Jones' spaceship ; kilometer ; Klingon ; Klingon Empire ; Klingonese ; Klingon High Command ; Klingon agent ; Klingon outpost ; knowledge ; lab ; Leningrad ; lily ; litter ; " little old lady from Leningrad "; lobe ; logic ; love ; machinery ; maintenance crew ; maintenance manual ; market ; markup ; maternity ward ; metabolism ; milk ; Milky Way Galaxy ; million ; minute ; money ; month ; morning ; mutual admiration society ; mutual understanding ; national ; nature ; nervous system ; nourishment ; nursery ; observation ; odor ; offense ; offer ; " off the record "; Old Britain ; opinion ; order ; Organian Peace Treaty ; organism ; parasite ; parsec ; penalty ; Peter the Great ; percent ; perennial ; persecution ; plan ; planet ; poison ; polishing ; pouch ; practicality ; predator ; pregnancy ; price ; pride ; priority 1 distress call ; priority A-1 channel ; profit ; proof ; prospector ; pun ; punch ; purr ; quadrant ; quadrotriticale ; question ; rate of reproduction ; recreation ; red alert ; Regulan blood worm ; rehabilitation colony ; relationship ; representative ; reproduction ; result ; robber ; Royal Academy ; Russian ; rust bucket ; rye ; sabotage ; sample ; Scotch whisky ; Scots language ; scout ; search ; security guard ; sensor ; shape ( shapeless ); Sherman's Planet ; Sherman's Planet freighter ; shipment ; shopping ; shore leave ; sitting ; soda pop ; solar year ; soldier ; space ; Spacematic ; space station ; sphere of influence ; Spican flame gem ; spy ; Starfleet Command ; starship ; starvation ; station manager ( manager ); station manager's office ; stock ; stone ; storage compartment ; subspace distress call ; subspace silence ; surveillance ; technical journal ; teeth ; thief ; thing ; thousand ; tin ; title ; ton ; tone of voice ; transporter room ; treatment ; tribble ; tribble homeworld ; triticale ; Undersecretary in Charge of Agricultural Affairs ; vacuum ; virus ; vodka ; volume ; Vulcan ; week ; wheat ; " whole kit and caboodle, the "; year

External links [ ]

• "The Trouble with Tribbles" at StarTrek.com
• " The Trouble with Tribbles " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " The Trouble with Tribbles " at Wikipedia
• " The Trouble with Tribbles " at the Internet Movie Database
• " The Trouble with Tribbles " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

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The trouble with Tribbles , Tribbles - March 4, 2022

WHAT ARE TRIBBLES? - A STAR TREK SPECIES OVERVIEW.

WHAT ARE TRIBBLES? -  A STAR TREK SPECIES OVERVIEW.

by Eleanor Olayinka Murphy

“They do nothing but consume food and reproduce. If you feed that thing more than the smallest morsel, in a few hours you'll have ten tribbles, then a hundred – then a thousand!”

Tribbles are fictitious species in the Star Trek Universe. They first appeared in a 1967 episode on Star Trek: The Original Series, The Trouble with Tribbles which was written by screenwriter David Gerrald. Also, they also appeared in four Star Trek films and video games like Star Trek: Armada II

Tribbles, characterized by their gentle and slow movements are a small, round, furry, and striking species. Although they are quite slow, they are able to scale, clamber and club onto vertical veneers.

They are also known as Polygeminus grex, Tribleustes ventricous, and are very lovable.

Their homeworld is the Iota Geminorum IV.

They elicit cooing, squealing, and squeaking sounds. The cooing sounds which they elicit while caressed have a tranquilizing effect on the human nervous system. Their colors vary from grey to black, speckled brown, yellow, and orange.

Tribbles are born pregnant and they use over 50% of their metabolism for reproduction.

An individual tribble which has had a substantial and sufficient meal can instantly expand and intensify its abundance exponentially through asexual reproduction, bearing an average litter of ten and producing a new family or generation every twelve hours.

A pile of of tribbles

After a duration of three days, that individual tribble will be able to account for about one million seven hundred and seventy-one, five hundred and sixty-one offspring.

They are also known to be large consumers of foods. It is as though their only purpose is to eat and reproduce and to be frank, they do both remarkably well.

They have a terrific sense of smell and can differentiate between individuals by fragrance. They also find their food by scent.

Tribbles are inefficient and cannot bring harm upon any being, they do not even have teeth. However, their tendency of multiplying rapidly can ravage or destroy an entire ecosystem on a planetary scale.

On their homeworld, Geminorum IV, tribbles were constrained and kept in check by a large number of reptilian predators.

Tribbles first met face to face with Humans in the early 2150s when the Denobulan doctor Phlox carried a small amount on board the Enterprise NX-01 as an easily tolerable food source for his pets. Also, on board the USS Discovery, Captain Gabriel Lorca had a pet tribble which he always kept in his room. But that tribble was later dissected for research.

During the mid-twenty-third century, Edward Larkin of the USS Cabot was working with the specimens of the species, with the intention of utilizing them as a food source for a planet that was at the brink of starvation. Edward Larkin, who at the board of inquiry was described, characterized, and portrayed as a nincompoop and dumbhead , had acknowledged that tribbles would have given rise to a terrific food source and solve the problem of the planetary food shortage but that they spawned very slowly.

Edward Larkin

Opposing the orders from a higher category, he decided to alter and enhance the tribbles' rate of reproduction by combining his DNA with that of the tribbles. This resulted in the uncontrolled multiplication of the tribbles. They expanded so much and so quickly that they could not be contained. His ship was demolished, causing his death.

The current hybrid/ crossbred tribbles then made it to the Pragine 63 which was the planet he was working on, forcing the whole civilization had to be evacuated and left abandoned. It was located on the edge of the Klingon space and was occupied by the intelligent Calations.

  Later, it was reported that the tribbles had carved their way into the Klingon homeworld.

They are a tremendous menace to the Klingons.

Tribbles are known to respond with hostility and animosity when close to or even sense a Klingon nearby. The Klingons developed a glommer. The glommer is an artificial creature which was designed and masterminded by Klingons as a buzzard just for the purpose of hunting, killing, and even eating the tribbles.

But the glommer was used just once. It was stolen by Cyrano Jones in 2269, who had claimed it under the space liberation laws.

  An animated picture of a glommer

In 2269 Captain James T. Kirk rescued Cyrano Jones from the Klingons. Onboard the USS Enterprise when tribbles had overrun the vessel, Cyrano Jones tried to use the Glommer to get rid of them. But it was incapable of handling the vast volume of tribbles on board.

Before that incident occurred, in 2268 Cyrano Jones had taken a small number of tribbles to the Deep Space Station K-7 to sell.

He had given a tribble as a gift to Federation officer Nyota Uhura, with the hopes that a beautiful woman's ownership of the species would strengthen and heighten its popularity.

Nyota Uhura took the tribble on board the Starship USS Enterprise, where it quickly reproduced and multiplied.

Captain Kirk in an avalanche of tribbles

 Because of the enormous amount of the tribbles on the ship, the Klingons agenda to contaminate a load of quadrotriticale which was for Sherman's Planet was foiled when the tribbles which had fed on the grain were discovered dead.

Even though the tribbles had been known by Starfleet personnel for at least a century, the knowledge of the tribbles' reproductive velocity was not known by them.

Dr. Leonard McCoy later discovered that information in his research about the ways, and the reason for the large growth on board the K-7 and the Enterprise.

Various other Enterprise personnel like Nyota Uhura, also implied having never heard of them before.

Cyrano Jones once attempted to genetically contrive and alter the tribbles system so that they would cease to propagate.

After his ‘experiment’, he believed them to be safe and stable, regarding them as so.

The main reason he attempted to annul their rate of propagation was so that they would be compatible with humans and also make great pets which would be profitable for him too.

Unfamiliar to him, and as was later found out by Doctor Leonard McCoy, Cyrano Jones's congenital engineering was depicted as being ‘very slipshod’, it wasn't thought through carefully.

As a consequence, the tribbles seemed to grow in massive size, rather than their rapid breeding.

Doctor Leonard McCoy later realized that the tribbles which had grown in size were not really as they appeared, rather they were colonies of tribbles in one.

 He was later able to make amends to the situation by giving them a simple shot of neo ethylene. That caused the tribbles colony to topple and break down into their single units with a slower metabolic velocity, this eventually made the tribbles become ‘safe tribbles’.

The Klingons' remedy to the tribble threat was to completely wipe out the species.

A number of Klingon warriors were ordered to track them down throughout the galaxy, and the tribble homeworld was ‘successfully’ eradicated in the late 23rd century.

When Odo, a changeling who served as chief of security, heard of this his response was, “Another glorious chapter in Klingon history. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt?”

Despite the decimation of the tribble homeworld, many Humans continued to have them as pets from the late 23rd century up until the late 24th century.

The reason for this was because a youngster who was on board the USS Enterprise-D happened to own one as a pet in 2371.

Tribbles were later reintroduced into the 24th century when Captain Benjamin Sisko and his team took one of the species back to 2373 when a time-traveling visit to the tribble-infested space station K-7 of 2268 occurred.

In an alternate reality, Montgomery Scott had a tribble at his station on the Delta Vega outpost in 2258. Here, it was discovered that the tribbles could not reproduce in cold temperatures,

Sean Mahannah September 15, 2021

Great catch! We’ve updated to article. Thanks for letting us know!

James Michael Allen Begole September 15, 2021

That image of a glommer is from something different (a game or something). The glommer of Star Trek The Animated Series is orange with four long legs and two long antenna stalks. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Glommer

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The Tribbles

Appearances of fur balls with and without trouble, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider

Appearances of Tribbles

Tos: the trouble with tribbles.

The Tribbles appear for the first time and still most famously in TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles" , set in 2268. At this time the species is fairly unknown in the Federation. At least Uhura has never seen one before when trader Cyrano Jones offers a Tribble for sale. No one of the Enterprise crew knows how to deal with their fast asexual reproduction that soon floods the ship with fur balls. Actually, the single original Tribble brought to the station Deep Space K-7 multiplies to 1,771,561 according to Spock's math. The figure is based on the assumption that each Tribble creates 10 offsprings every 12 hours. Including the already existing Tribbles the total count at any time translates to powers of 11. After 72 hours of reproduction we have six generations and hence 11^6 = 1,771,561 Tribbles.

It is the Tribbles that foil the plan of Arne Darvin, a Klingon agent in human disguise who has poisoned the shipment of quadrotritricale on Deep Space K-7, a grain intended for the colonization of Sherman's Planet. The Tribbles die in large numbers after consuming the poisoned grain, and it is also the Tribbles who blow the whistle on Arne Darvin's true identity, because while they purr pleasantly in the presence of other humanoid species, they react with hostile squeaking to Klingons. In the end, Scotty beams the Tribbles on the Enterprise over to the Klingon ship as a special "courtesy".

TAS: More Troubles, More Tribbles

On a special note, the Tribbles in the TAS episode are all pink. It was unknown at the time that director Hal Sutherland was color-blind, and so he didn't notice their odd color.

Star Trek III

Tribbles appear in the bar in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" in 2285, when Dr. McCoy, under the influence of Spock's katra, attempts to hire a transport to the Genesis planet. It remains unknown how these Tribbles, if they are really Tribbles, can be kept from reproducing rapidly. Since the people in the bar are delighted to stroke them exactly like in the classic TOS episode, they are definitely meant to be Tribbles.

TNG: When the Bough Breaks

It is not entirely certain if the animal in this first-season TNG episode in 2364 really is a Tribble. Anyway, Alexandra, one of the children later kidnapped by the Aldeans, takes a furry ball from a cage and kisses and strokes it at the beginning of the episode, which may be a sign that it is alive, rather than a stuffed animal. Her supposed Tribble has a braided strand of hair and something that looks like an eye. Later in the episode it gets stuck on Picard's uniform in the same fashion as the Tribbles in "The Trouble with Tribbles" whose adhesion even works on smooth walls.

DS9: A Man Alone / The Nagus

Tribbles can be seen on a display of "Comparative Xenobiology" in Keiko O'Brien's class room on Deep Space 9 in DS9: "A Man Alone" and once again in "The Nagus" (both in 2369). The graphic shows an exterior view and a cross-section that reveals some inner organs of the species. Also on this display, we learn that the scientific name of Tribbles is "Polygeminus grex" and that their home planet is Iota Geminorum IV. See also Visual TOS References in Modern Star Trek .

Side note The panel in Keiko's class room shows three other known alien species. The creature on the upper left is the true appearance of Korob and Sylvia as seen at the end of TOS: "Catspaw". The middle-left images in the bottom row depict a Regulan bloodworm, the ones on the right in the bottom row a Denebian slime devil. Both depictions are originally from the non-canon Starfleet Medical Reference Manual .

Star Trek Generations

The next appearance of the furry creatures is in "Star Trek Generations" (2371). Here, a child is carrying one of the adorable creatures when the stardrive section has to be evacuated. It seems their fast reproduction is under control by this time and they are permissible as pets, otherwise the battle against trigger-happy Klingons and a mad scientist wouldn't remain the only problem in the movie...

Also in "Generations", a Tribble graphic can be seen in a lab on the Enterprise-D during the crash sequence. It is a part of the display that already appeared in Keiko's class room.

DS9: Trials and Tribble-ations

The events of TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles" naturally repeat in a very similar fashion in this DS9 episode. Using the Orb of Time that is being transported on the Defiant, Arne Darvin returns to K-7 in the 23rd century to take revenge on James Kirk, who exposed him as a Klingon spy with the help of the Tribbles. He puts a bomb into the storage compartment that Kirk would open. But Sisko and Dax find the bomb that is tied to a Tribble and have it beamed it into space. In spite of everything, the time travel does have consequences in the 24th century. After the return of the Defiant, Deep Space 9 is flooded with Tribbles much like K-7 in the 23rd century. It remains unknown how this infestation with fast-breeding 23rd century Tribbles can be removed until the following episode (2373).

In addition, we learn that, by the end of the 23rd century, the Klingons had eradicated the Tribbles on their homeworld. The squeaking furry creatures were regarded by his people as an "ecological menace" , as Worf puts it. Bashir and O'Brien witness how the Tribbles take over the Enterprise in 2268, something that they would recall in DS9: "What You Leave Behind".

ENT: The Breach

The appearance of Tribbles that predates anything else on the timeline is in ENT: "The Breach", set in 2153. Here Dr. Phlox has brought some Tribbles aboard as food for his pets. He says "They're outlawed on most worlds." and "The problem is they breed quite prodigiously."

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Into Darkness

Discovery season 1

SHO: The Trouble with Edward

Also in "The Trouble with Edward", the scientific name is given as "Tribleustes ventricosus", as visible on a display.

SHO: Ephraim and Dot

LOW: No Small Parts

Dis: kobayashi maru.

DIS: All In

Pic: the bounty.

A genetically modified Tribble is kept on Daystrom Station, which seems to scare Worf. Riker: "A mighty Klingon taken aback by the even mightier attack Tribble."

Some information about the Tribbles comes from Memory Alpha , some of the screen caps from TrekCore and Trek Caps .

https://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/database/tribbles.htm

Last modified: 20 Apr 2024

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The Trouble with Tribbles

• To protect a space station with a vital grain shipment, Kirk must deal with Federation bureaucrats, a Klingon battle cruiser and a peddler who sells furry, purring, hungry little creatures as pets.
• Having received a Priority One distress call from an outlying space station, the Enterprise arrives to find they have been summoned there by a Federation commissioner merely to protect a shipment of seeds meant to sow wheat on Sherman's planet. The planet is also coveted by the Klingons, who are taking shore leave at the station. The trouble arises with tribbles - small furry creatures that seem to multiply without end. However, their fortuitous presence reveals both a problem with the wheat and a traitor on the space station. — garykmcd
• The Enterprise is called by urgent distress signal to a space station where a Federation official insists they take charge of security over a supply of a special grain destined for Sherman's planet, which is also claimed by the Klingons, who arrive soon for shore leave (managing to have a brawl with Enterprise crew after insulting Kirk and - what even gets to Scotty, the highest ranking officer present - the ship), a line of work Kirk has a hard time taking seriously but is ordered by an admiral. While some crewmen go on shore leave, they pick up a pet put on the market by space peddler Cyrano Jones: the tribble, a furball which eases human nerves and proves excessively fertile, causing Kirk even more stress, which only grows worse. — KGF Vissers
• The Enterprise is called by urgent distress signal to a space station K-7, where a Federation official Lurry (Whit Bissell) insists they take charge of security over a supply of a special grain (Quadrotriticale) destined for Sherman's planet, which is also claimed by the Klingons. Under terms of the Organian peace treaty, the dispute is settled in favor of the party who can prove they can develop the planet most efficiently. Klingons, unfortunately, are efficient and are hence claiming ownership of the planet. Nilz Baris (William Schallert) oversees development of the Sherman's planet, and he forced Lurry to make the distress call to the Enterprise. Darvin (Charlie Brill) is Nilz's assistant. Quadrotriticale is the only grain that grows on Sherman's planet and Nilz fears that Klingon will attack if the Federation tries to transport it to the planet. Hence Nilz asked Lurry to arrange a military escort for the grain. Kirk is angry that he has been summoned with a fake distress call to protect a few tonnes of grain. He reaches space station K-7 and assigns security men for the mission of taking possession of the grain. He assigns shore leave for all off duty personnel. While some crewmen go on shore leave, Uhura picks up a pet on the market by space peddler Cyrano Jones (Stanley Adams): the Tribble, a fur-ball which eases human nerves and proves excessively fertile. Admiral Fitzpatrick (Ed Reimers) orders Kirk to protect the Quadrotriticale and see to it that it gets delivered to Sherman's planet. A Klingon war-bird duly appears at K-7, but before Kirk can prepare his star-ship, the Klingon captain Koloth (William Campbell) is sitting with Lurry in his cabin. Kirk and Spock go to the meeting. Koloth reveals that he under terms of the Organian peace treaty, Klingons can use star-bases for their shore leave. Lurry doesn't have the authority to refuse. Kirk says Koloth can bring his crew, but only 12 at a time. Meanwhile the Tribbles start multiplying on board the Enterprise. Kirk sends Scott to the base to keep an eye on his men. Scott ends up getting into a fight with a Klingon, when he calls the Enterprise a rust bucket which should be hauled away like garbage. Kirk is forced to cancel all shore leaves and meanwhile the Tribbles continue to multiply at an alarming rate. Nilz tells Kirk that perhaps Cyrano is a Klingon spy as his ship was seen in Klingon space just 4 months ago. Turns out that the Tribbles got into the Quadrotriticale storage compartments through the air vents and ate the entire grain. 1.7 million Tribbles are found in the storage compartments, but more than half are dead. Kirk asks McCoy to figure out what killed the Tribbles. Kirk constitutes an investigation and summons Koloth and his crew to it. McCoy figures that Tribbles don't like Klingons. Through that they figure out that one of their crew members Darvin is a Klingon and the grain was poisoned with a virus. The grain was poisoned by the Klingon to sabotage the mission to deliver the grain to Sherman's planet, but it ended up killing the Tribbles instead. Kirk then demands that Cyrano to remove every single Tribble from the space station. Meanwhile before Klingon move out of K-7, Scott transports each Tribble on the Enterprise onto their spaceship.

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Star Trek: How Tribbles Became An Icon Of The Franchise

It's time to dive into the history, origins, and legacy of science fiction's most beloved furball.

One of the things Star Trek is known most for is its ever-expanding universe, fleshed out through the various additions to the franchise over the years. The franchise has created and portrayed a multitude of different planets and alien races, from the mighty, ever-changing Klingon empire to the galaxy-dominating, ever nefarious Borg . Alongside these returning species, there is a whole host of "throw-away" species, those which appear for a single episode or plot and then are never seen again. Voyager did this a lot as the crew traveled from the Delta quadrant back home ( one of the multiple reasons fans criticize the series ), but there have been some wonderfully memorable throw-away alien races. The most notable of all are perhaps the Tribbles.

The Tribbles are essentially a race of furballs, first appearing in the second season of the Original Series in the episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," and notably not humanoid . They are canonically from the planet Iota Geminorum IV, and are essentially cute little furballs that coo and purr. Despite their adorable appearance and the enamoring effect they had on the crew of the Enterprise, Tribbles are considered by Starfleet to be dangerous entities, and their transportation or exposure to Federation ships or home worlds is forbidden

RELATED: Star Trek: Solving World Hunger One Replicator At A Time

The Origin Of Tribbles

It might be easy to assume they are similar to Goose the Cat, the Flerken from Captain Marvel, a suspiciously cute creature that hides a dark secret, many teeth, and bloodlust. The Tribbles, however, are more like rabbits, specifically Australian rabbits, which, at the time of production, were breeding and running rampant in Australia. Tribbles are born pregnant, and their entire existence is dedicated to eating and reproducing. The presence of them onboard the Enterprise in The Original Series then turns from a cute abundance of furry creatures into a mosh pit of fuzzballs, as the Tribbles slowly take over every inch of space aboard the ship. They start causing unintentional nuisances, getting forced into various nooks and crannies aboard the ship, and breaking things.

Kirk and the crew eventually managed to get rid of them by transporting them aboard an enemy Klingon vessel. The Klingons and the Tribbles develop a somewhat comical relationship, each considering one another as mortal enemies. This is later discussed in Deep Space 9 , with the Tribble emitting a terrible shriek when near a Klingon. Apparently, due to both having incredible smelling abilities, they despise the scent of one another.

The Furballs' Legacy

The reason the Tribbles became such an icon for the show was pretty simple: they were just so dang adorable. The image of Kirk basically swimming in a sea of little purring fur balls not only filled the "aww" quota for many audiences, but it also became something of a meme , highlighting the wonderful silliness and camp of the Original Series. If the episode itself wasn’t enough to portray this, just imagine how much fun the cast would have had behind the scenes, especially for the one crewmember whose job it was to throw these little fuzzy basketballs at William Shatner. It kept a place in the hearts of audiences ever since, and become somewhat of a nostalgia marker for the good old days of tight-budget space faring television.

Speaking of tight budget, it’s also important to note that one other reason the Tribbles are so well-known and loved was that they were incredibly easy to not only recognize, but also to manufacture. People wanting to produce Star Trek merchandise would have no problem at all recreating a Tribble, especially when compared to producing any other alien race from the show. As a result, Tribble toys and models were, and still are, available in abundance from multiple stores across the globe, letting fans take home their own piece of the sci-fi universe.

Finally, the episode is genuinely hilarious even when watching it today. It’s easy sometimes for Star Trek to take itself too seriously, especially with the new additions such as Discovery and the current season 2 of Picard , where characters are off on imperative missions of great importance. At its heart, the original Star Trek was a deeply varied sci-fi sitcom, ranging from depressing to comedic, philosophical to crime fiction.

Star Trek's Greatest Crossover

The iconography of these creatures only increased with the production of what was potentially one of the most technically impressive episodes of Star Trek to date, "Trials and Tribble-ations" from Deep Space 9. In the episode, the crew of the space station are transported back in time and placed aboard Kirk's enterprise at the time of "The Trouble with Tribbles." They must locate a booby-trapped Tribble that was planted by a Klingon to assassinate Kirk, all while remaining undetected by the original crew.

What makes this episode so good was not only did they return to one of the most beloved episodes of Star Trek history, but they told an adjacent story that wonderfully blended into the original. It’s amazing that this was made over 20 years ago. At first, it seems like the creators just did a miraculous job at detailing the set to look like the Original Series, but it's quickly apparent that they used original footage from the episode interlaced with new DS9 footage. The two seamlessly blend together to the point where Kirk and fan-favorite war criminal Sisko even have a conversation.

The Tribble is undoubtedly an icon of the old days of Star Trek , but it’s fair to say this has a lot to do with audience nostalgia. With the Klingons and Vulcans, even Ferengi and Borg, cropping up time and time again in the newer iterations of the franchise, the Tribble is slowly losing their grip on the pedestal of Star Trek iconography. They sum up a lot of what fans used to love about the show, the sometimes ridiculous farce that showed a better future, but was still light and full of laughter. The new shows are veering away from this, slipping into the stereotype science fiction has fallen into in recent years, a darker and gloomier vision of the future . Perhaps this is why the Tribbles remain such a strong symbol for fans holding onto what the show has potentially lost: the lighthearted nature of early science fiction.

MORE: Star Trek: What Is The Prime Directive?

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‘Star Trek’ Tribbles, explained

Despite their soothing purr and natural fluffiness, Tribbles are one of the most dangerous alien lifeforms in the Star Trek universe. At first glance, they are adorable little creatures that seem to have a naturally soothing effect on the human nervous system. A single Tribble is a lovable pet, but bringing one aboard a ship can quickly result in a catastrophic full-scale infestation.

The Tribbles were first introduced in the classic Original Series episode “The Trouble With Tribbles,” in which a single Tribble was brought aboard the Enterprise and, within hours, had multiplied by a factor of hundreds. The resulting horde of Tribbles got into just about every system on the ship. The episode proved one of the most enduringly popular of the original series, and the Tribbles became pop cultural icons, remembered for their cuteness – even though the episode itself culminated with Kirk stood chest-deep in a pile of Tribble corpses.

The reason for their remarkable rate of reproduction is simple – each Tribble is born pregnant. Through asexual reproduction, Tribbles can reproduce with litters of ten every 12 hours… all of whom will then go on to do the same. A single Tribble could therefore have over 1.7 million descendants over the course of three days.

Tribbles are also known for their instinctual dislike of Klingons – and the feeling is very much mutual. As Worf said in Deep Space Nine : “they do nothing but consume food and breed… in a few hours you’ll have ten tribbles, then a hundred – then a thousand!”

Tribbles have popped up now and then after their debut – in Enterprise , Doctor Phlox brings one aboard (albeit in a more controlled manner than the Original Series crew did). In Deep Space Nine ’s much-loved “Trials and Tribble-ations,” Sisko and his crew are transported back through time into the events of “The Trouble With Tribbles.” They have even shown up in several recent Star Trek productions, including a cameo by a genetically-modified “attack Tribble” in Star Trek: Picard .

• VisualEditor
• View history
• 2.1 Klingon Empire characters
• 3 Availability
• 5.1 Self Heal (common)
• 5.3 Health Regen
• 5.4 Damage Resistance
• 5.5 Damage + Damage Resistance
• 5.6 Damage + Health Regen
• 5.7 Damage + Damage Resistance + Health Regen
• 5.8 Special
• 5.9 Cannibal Tribbles
• 7 External Links

Tribbles are small, round, furry creatures that players can find as loot or breed in Star Trek Online .

There are currently 7 Common , 11 Uncommon , 9 Rare , 10 Very Rare , and 8 Epic tribbles.

Breeding [ | ]

Tribbles breed when placed in the same location with any type of food or drink . Any location works, with the exception of your shared Account Bank or the Fleet bank . It can take up to an hour each time for a Tribble to reproduce, at which point the new Tribble offspring replaces the food item the parent consumed. This occurs repeatedly until all of the food is depleted.

Tribble breeding is not a random process, but is related to the food Tribbles consume. Higher level foods (common, uncommon, rare, etc.) that provide a larger health boost like [ Romulan Ale ] will typically yield a higher level Tribble. Right-clicking on the Tribble will reveal the proper genus of the creature (which typically incorporates the names of developers). To prevent a Tribble from breeding, it should be equipped in one of the player's equipment slots with no food present.

Benefits [ | ]

Tribble petting offers passive buffs for your character or team

Tribbles are available as an equippable item for your character as well as your Bridge Officers to temporarily boost Hit Points or provide various 60-minute non-stacking buffs — Damage, Damage Resistance, Health Regeneration, or a combination of Damage and one of the other two. If your captain character or one of your bridge officers dies during ground combat , they lose the tribble buff.

Klingon Empire characters [ | ]

Availability [ | ]

• Common Tier 1 Tribbles are obtainable via drops during ground missions.

Tiers [ | ]

There are 8 Tiers of Tribbles, ranging from Tier 1 (common Tribbles found as loot) to Tier 8 (rare Tribbles that provide a high-level boost in one of the three buff categories). They are described in more detail in our Tribble Breeding Guide .

Types of Tribbles [ | ]

All Tribbles can only be used out of combat. All categories except the first one provide 60-minute buffs to the eligible character or bridge officer that pets the tribble.

Self Heal (common) [ | ]

Damage [ | ], health regen [ | ], damage resistance [ | ], damage + damage resistance [ | ], damage + health regen [ | ], damage + damage resistance + health regen [ | ].

Special [ | ]

Cannibal tribbles [ | ].

Tribble foods can be made through Klingon duty officer missions. When fed to tribbles, it produces a cannibal tribble which will eat other tribbles in your inventory. These can then be turned in at Klingon security officers as part of a Tribble Bounty.

Notes [ | ]

• Many of the subspecies were named after Cryptic Studios employees:
• Mike Cavallaro
• Stephen (DeAngelo) D'Angelo
• Dan Griffis
• Joseph Harrington
• Michael Henry
• Matt Highison
• Travis Howe
• Tracy Jasperson
• Jeremy Mattson
• Mikey McCarry
• Andrew Nielson
• Stephen Ricossa, Jr.
• Zeke Sparkes
• Daniel Stahl
• Imario Susilo
• Christine Thompson
• Geoff Tuffli
• Andy Velasquez
• Steven Vitales
• Craig (Zinc) Zinkievich

External Links [ | ]

• Tribble at Memory Alpha , the Star Trek Wiki.
• Tribble Guide, part of Ifniluck's Google Docs collection
• 2 Playable starship
• 3 List of canon starships

Screen Rant

Picard never appeared in star trek’s mirror universe but his doppelganger was just as evil.

TNG never visited the Mirror Universe, but Star Trek: Picard revealed that the Confederation of Earth's Jean-Luc was just as evil as any Terran.

• General Picard's reign of terror in the Confederate Earth was just as brutal as the Mirror Universe's Terran Empire.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation never visited the Mirror Universe due to a cooler, scientific approach by the producers.
• Fans had to wait until Star Trek: Picard to meet General Picard's evil alternate, as TNG rejected the idea.

Audiences never met the Mirror Universe version of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), but Star Trek: Picard revealed that he had an evil doppelgänger who was just as evil as anyone in the Terran Empire. In Picard season 2, the machinations of Q (John de Lancie) created an alternate timeline in which the United Federation of Planets becomes the Confederation of Earth. This brutal regime was the antithesis of Star Trek's Federation, drawing comparisons between the Confederation and the Terran Empire .

Both the Confederation and the Terran Empire placed humanity above all other species in the galaxy, leading to a bloody and brutal subjugation of other alien races. As Star Trek: TNG didn't visit the Mirror Universe , General Picard was the closest that fans got to seeing his evil counterpart. Just like the Mirror Universe version of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), the Confederation's General Picard was a cruel despot who had conquered countless worlds and killed scores of enemies .

Worf Ruled The Mirror Universe In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (No, Really)

General picard of confederation of earth was as evil as mirror universe.

Of the many reveals about Star Trek: Picard 's Confederation , the information about General Picard and his reign of terror was the most chilling. General Picard annihilated the Klingon home world Qo'noS, much like the Mirror Universe's Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) did in Star Trek: Discovery . Rather than command the USS Enterprise-D, Picard was in command of the CSS World Razer, a fearsome looking starship of which an oil painting was hung in the General's study . General Picard's study was also decorated with the skulls of some notable Star Trek figures, including:

• Borg Sentinel One of Two
• Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn)
• Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo)
• General Martok (J.G. Hertzler)
• Director Sarek (Mark Lenard)

Like his Prime Universe counterpart, General Picard also had a synthetic body, which he had acquired following a battle with Gul Dukat . The General's chateau was staffed by both Romulan and synthetic slaves, who maintained his home while he was on important business for the Confederation Corps. When Prime Picard arrives in the Confederation reality in Star Trek: Picard season 2, it's on the eve of Eradication Day, in which the General is scheduled to publicly execute the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching). The Borg Queen's skull would have joined the others in Picard's trophy room if Jean-Luc and the La Ceritos crew hadn't saved her.

Why Star Trek: The Next Generation Never Went To The Mirror Universe

The notion of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode set in the Mirror Universe existed from as early as 1987, when David Gerrold joked about a sequel to "Mirror, Mirror" in Starlog magazine which would have featured Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) and dangerous, carniverous Tribbles . Jerome Bixby, who wrote the original Mirror Universe episode of Star Trek: The Original Series pitched a sequel for TNG that would have featured older versions of the TOS characters . However, this idea was rejected by Paramount, who didn't want to feature them so heavily in TNG .

Of the many Mirror Universe episodes pitched to Star Trek: The Next Generation , hardly any of the failed pitches have become public knowledge.

A.J. Black's book Lost Federations: The Unofficial Unmade History of Star Trek suggests that the pulpy idea of a darkest timeline didn't sit well with " The Next Generation's cooler, scientific approach to Star Trek, particularly in the Piller era. " Black's assumption is largely correct, backed up by Michael Piller himself. Piller explained that he " wasn't interested " in revisiting the Mirror Universe during TNG , despite the multiple "Mirror, Mirror" sequels that were pitched to him . While Piller would eventually acquiesce and produce a "Mirror, Mirror" sequel on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , fans would have to wait until Star Trek: Picard to meet Jean-Luc's evil alternate.

All episodes of Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: The Next Generation are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Picard

*Availability in US

Not available

After starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons and various other Star Trek projects, Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard. Star Trek: Picard focuses on a retired Picard who is living on his family vineyard as he struggles to cope with the death of Data and the destruction of Romulus. But before too long, Picard is pulled back into the action. The series also brings back fan-favorite characters from the Star Trek franchise, such as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), and William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

Giant Freakin Robot

Star Trek: Discovery Proves Deep Space Nine Hero Endangered the Galaxy

Posted: April 30, 2024 | Last updated: April 30, 2024

Tribbles have always been the cutest creatures in all of Star Trek, but they’re a lot more dangerous than they look. In fact, the Short Treks episode “The Trouble With Edward” revealed it was a hapless Starfleet scientist who modified tribble DNA and caused them to rapidly multiply, a reproductive ability that ended up destroying his ship. A recent Star Trek: Discovery episode revealed tribbles are still menacing the galaxy in the 32nd century, and in a bizarre twist, these creatures wouldn’t be able to do so if Captain Sisko hadn’t violated the Temporal Prime Directive.

Trouble With Tribbles

To show how tangled all of this tribble mythology is, we’re going to have to go back to the beginning. The Star Trek: The Original Series episode “The Trouble With Tribbles” had Captain Kirk and crew encountering the cute creatures that won’t stop multiplying. The episode mostly plays it for laughs, but we see how the tribbles’ ability to quickly reproduce puts Deep Space Station K7 in danger.

Trials And Tribble-actions

In most of the decades afterward, Star Trek didn’t expand on much of the tribble mythology outside of The Animated Series, but that changed in a big way with the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-actions.” In that episode, Captain Sisko must travel back in time to keep a time-traveling villain from blowing Captain Kirk up by putting a bomb in a tribble (no, really). Worf reveals that the Klingons hated the tribbles so much they hunted the creatures to near-extinction, an event Odo sarcastically dubbed “The Great Tribble Hunt.”

Discovery Shows Tribbles Are Still A Danger

What does all of this have to do with Star Trek: Discovery and its portrayal of tribbles? Following his successful mission to the past in “Trials and Tribble-ations,” we learn that Sisko omitted one key detail in his report to Temporal Investigations. Odo brought a tribble back with him, and its ability to quickly reproduce brought these creatures back from near extinction and caused Deep Space Nine to start getting overrun with tribbles, just like K7.

Set After Edward Larkin’s Modifications

That episode, like most tribble episodes, played these cutesy creatures up for laughs, but the Short Treks episode “The Trouble With Edward” revealed just how dangerous they could be. After Starfleet officer Edward Larkin modifies tribble DNA so they are “born pregnant,” they end up multiplying so quickly that it causes the destruction of his ship. All of the crew except Larkin escaped, with the mad scientist staying behind with the galactic menace he had unleashed.

An Offhand Comment

The Star Trek: Discovery episode “Mirrors” casually confirms that tribbles are still around and still just as much of a menace when the courier Moll sarcastically asks a Breen if he wants to check her ship again to “make sure that I didn’t smuggle any tribbles onboard?” Her sarcasm aside, it actually makes perfect sense that galactic empires like the Breen would scan for tribbles at the same time they scan for more conventional threats like phasers. All it takes is a single tribble to overrun an entire ship or space station, meaning these creatures effectively endanger everyone in the galaxy.

Odo Doomed The Future

I truly love his character, but the simple truth is that Star Trek: Discovery characters wouldn’t be dealing with tribbles in the 32nd century if Sisko hadn’t let Odo bring one of the creatures with him to the 24th century. Sisko is a character who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, and if a fan mentions “Sisko’s war crimes” in a conversation, you’d have to ask which ones he’s even talking about. Ironically enough, though, his biggest crime might have been an act of kindness…violating the Temporal Prime Directive in a way that brought the tribbles back from extinction and let them once more pose a threat to everyone in the galaxy. 

Sorry, space dad. You really dropped the ball on this one, and the galaxy has been paying for it for nearly a millennia. 

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Den of Geek

Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 Easter Eggs Reveal the Fate of a Classic Star Trek Ship

From the Mirror Universe and the ISS Enterprise to a big reveal about the Breen, Discovery season 5 just referenced a a huge swath of the Star Trek timeline.

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers.

As both a prequel and sequel to various versions of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Discovery often includes unexpected easter eggs and references to the entire saga. The latest episode, “Mirrors,” is no exception, as it brings back a famous Star Trek ship, as well as answers questions about a mysterious alien species, which has been around since the 1990s.

From references to the goatee version of Spock, to some deep-cuts from Deep Space Nine , and even a tribble joke, Discovery ’s easter eggs in season 5, episode 5 aren’t messing around. Here are the best references and how these shout-outs solve a few mysteries, while suggesting a possible future development for the next Star Trek show.

“Classic Work on Kellerun”

Early in the episode, Rayner and Burnham talk about which stories are considered classics on the planet Kellerun. Rayner is a member of the Kellerun species, which were established in the DS9 episode “Armageddon Game.” We actually know very little about the Kellerun species, so Discovery is inventing new canon here, rather than referencing anything from previous Trek shows.

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Wormhole and the Burn

The wormhole that Book and Burnham have to enter is unstable, which describes most wormholes featured in Star Trek . But, in this case, it’s suggested that the matter/anti-matter reactions in this wormhole were caused by the Burn.

The Burn was that galaxy-changing event in the backstory of Discovery season 3, when, in 3069, every warp core in the galaxy detonated. Warp cores use matter/antimatter reactions to do their thing.

ISS Enterprise 

Inside the wormhole, Book and Burnham encounter the ISS Enterprise , and Book says right away “ISS, that’s Mirror Universe.” When he says this we hear the Mirror Universe music from Discovery season 1.

The existence of the ISS Enterprise in this episode is a massive easter egg, which contains various other smaller easter eggs. These include the following:

• The ISS Enterprise was last seen, in-canon, in the TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror.” So, chronologically, in both our world, and the Trek timeline, this is its second appearance. 
• The bridge and sickbay of the ISS Enterprise are just the sets from the Strange New Worlds version of the Enterprise . Discovery season 5 filmed in between SNW seasons.
• Several versions of the Terran Empire logo are seen throughout the ship. These match with the Terran Empire logo from Discovery season 1 and season 3, and differ from the logo from The Original Series . 
• Does the redesign make sense in terms of the timeline? Well, Akiva Goldsman has suggested that on some level, the visual canon of Strange New Worlds relative to The Original Series isn’t the true canon. In 2023, he said that the aesthetic choices of the more modern Strange New Worlds don’t change the story as seen on TOS , but it doesn’t mean modern Star Trek will ever reveal a rubber-suited Gorn. “You will never see the Gorn like that…This is the Gorn as we perceive them,” Goldsman said. So, analogously, Discovery didn’t need to make the TOS Mirror Enterprise like the retro 1960s version. Plus, who knows what the Terran Empire did in between “Mirror, Mirror” and the moment this crew escaped? 

Mirror Spock 

Burnham mentions that the science station on the Enterprise was “my brother’s station.” This, of course, refers to Spock, who, in this universe, did, briefly, work at this exact station. Burnham says, “I’m sure he was just as ruthless as the rest though,” which, as we know, is not true. Mirror Spock spared Prime Kirk in “Mirror, Mirror,” and then became the leader of the entire empire.

In fact, when Book reads the story of this version of the Enterprise , he says, “The Terran High Chancellor was killed for trying to make reforms.” In the Deep Space Nine episode “Crossover,” we learned that the leader of the Terran Empire was Spock. And that Spock trying to reform the Terran Empire led to Earth being taken over in the 24th Century by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. 

So, the episode references Spock, twice, without actually naming him, and the second time, neither Book nor Burnham even knows that Mirror Spock was a low-key hero.

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Saru and the Mirror Universe From Discovery Season 3

Book mentions that the crew of the ISS Enterprise escaped with the help of a “Kelpien slave turned rebel leader.” This seems to reference the events of “Terra Firma Part 2,” from Discovery season 3. In that episode, Georgiou went back into the Mirror Universe and created a kind of pocket timeline in which she died at a different time, and Saru was freed to become a rebel leader. At the time, it wasn’t clear if this changed the timeline of the Mirror Universe — or the timeline of Discovery season 1 — but the mention of a Mirror Saru who is a rebel suggests that some version of that timeline might have occurred after all.

The Breen Revealed!

First mentioned in The Next Generation , the Breen eventually appeared in person in the 1995 Deep Space Nine episode “Indiscretion.” But, from that point, until now, they’ve only appeared inside their suits, and under those helmets. There’s been a ton of speculation for decades about what the Breen look like under their helmets, and now, we’ve finally seen the answer. 

In “Mirrors” — during the flashbacks that explains Moll and L’ak’s relationship — we finally see that the Breen have not one face, but two . Apparently, one face exists under their helmet, while another, more stable face can emerge when they have their helmets off. This seems to suggest that the Breen hiding their faces has more to do with a cultural tradition than any environmental requirement. Moll has been running around without a helmet this entire season, and apparently, that’s what a Breen can look like, too.

Smuggling Tribbles

In one of the flashbacks, Moll jokes about making sure she “didn’t smuggle any tribbles on board.” This seems to suggest that yes, even in the 32nd Century , tribbles are still possibly hazardous, because they breed so quickly, and overrun spaceships and space stations. Famously, the tribbles first appeared in the TOS classic, “The Trouble With Tribbles.” Though, in Picard season 3, we did see a genetically engineered “attack tribble” with vicious teeth, stored away in a Section 31 black ops lab. It’s possible this “attack tribble” was created during the Dominion War, which means, it might have been designed to fight the Breen, who were Dominion allies back then.

As Book is navigating the ISS Enterprise out of the wormhole, he says, “Should we hit it?” Book has no idea that “hit it” was Pike’s catchphrase to send a ship into warp. Burnham smiles sheepishly and responds, “Feels weird. Let’s just fly.” She feels weird because she doesn’t want to steal Pike’s catchphrase, and so she uses her own catchphrase, “let’s fly,” instead.

The ISS Enterprise in the Prime Universe 

The episode ends with the ISS Enterprise being fully intact in the Prime Universe. We’re told that Detmer and Owo are flying the ship back to Federation HQ on their own. Scotty was able to fly the classic Enterprise with just himself and Sulu in The Search for Spock , so we have to assume that Detmer and Owo have done something similar. We don’t know if a new, 32nd Century Enterprise exists in this era of Star Trek , but as of now, Discovery just brought a classic version of the ship into the future. 

Because the upcoming Starfleet Academy series is set in the 32nd Century, it feels possible that Discovery just created a way for the students of future Starfleet to hang out on the bridge of the classic Enterprise — again!

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

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Published Apr 26, 2024

RECAP | Star Trek: Discovery 505 - 'Mirrors'

No matter how bad things get, the one thing you always have is a choice.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery.

StarTrek.com

Previously, in " Face the Strange ," Moll and L'ak unleash a time bug aboard the U.S.S. Discovery, designed to paralyze them and keep them stuck as they're randomly cycled through time. Once they're ahead of Discovery and on to the next clue, they can escape the bounty on their heads and finally be free.

In one time loop, Zora informs Burnham and Rayner one of the outcomes they feared had come to pass — the Breen gained control of the Progenitors' tech and destroyed everything, leading the Kellerun to believe the Breen must be the ex-courier's highest bidder. Thankfully for the crew, they're back in the mix and only lost six hours. Plus, they discovered a warp signature matching Moll and L'ak.

In Episode 5 of Star Trek: Discovery , " Mirrors ," Captain Burnham and Book journey into extra-dimensional space in search of the next clue to the location of the Progenitors' power. Meanwhile, Rayner navigates his first mission in command of the U.S.S. Discovery , and Culber opens up to Tilly.

• Cleveland "Book" Booker
• Michael Burnham
• Paul Stamets
• Sylvia Tilly
• William Christopher
• Dr. Hugh Culber
• Moll (Malinne Ravel)
• Breen Primarch

• U.S.S. Discovery -A
• Discovery shuttle
• I.S.S. Enterprise
• Breen warship

In his quarters aboard the U.S.S. Discovery -A, Cleveland "Book" Booker contemplates advice given to him by his mentor and namesake, "No matter how bad things get, the one thing you always have is a choice." Book gazes at a holo of Moll — real name Malinne Ravel, the daughter of his predecessor — certain that she is capable of turning things around just as he had. Aware that Cleveland Booker IV saved his life, Book believes he owes it to him to do the same for his daughter.

With Discovery at Moll and La'k’s last known coordinates, Book makes his way to the Bridge, where Captain Michael Burnham gives the stage to Commander Paul Stamets and Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly. Though it appeared as if the couriers' ship left a warp trail which disappeared into empty space, adjusting the viewscreen to compensate for the Lorentzian coefficient in high-energy spectra reveals the presence of a fluctuating wormhole. Stamets states that it leads to a pocket of interdimensional space and is collapsing and expanding due to matter-antimatter chain reactions, likely caused by the Burn.

Captain Burnham surmises that the next clue resides within the wormhole, and Tilly notes that Moll and L'ak are probably in there, as well. Lieutenant Gallo, Commander Rayner, and Lieutenant Christopher brief the captain — sensors can’t penetrate the aperture, the opening isn’t large enough to fit Discovery’s saucer, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to maintain comms contact. Burnham nods, ordering Lieutenant Linus to prepare a shuttle with boosted comms and fortified shields before requesting that Lt. Commander Gen Rhys place a security team on standby.

"Mirrors"

The captain's declaration that she will accompany Book on the away team draws Rayner's interest, and the two senior officers convene in the Ready Room. The Kellerun first officer expresses his view that he should be the one risking his life to lead the mission. She assures Rayner that she needs him on the ship and refuses to bring additional security with her, citing that the implied threat of armed guards would undermine Book's personal connection to Moll. Recalling the devastating future they had witnessed during the time bug ordeal, Rayner observes that it was only one possible outcome.

Captain Burnham senses there is more to Rayner’s unease and quotes the Ballad of Krul , " Serve it without a grum of osikod ." Though impressed by his captain's reference to Kellerun culture, Rayner still holds back. Burnham theorizes that his concern is related to taking the conn while she's away, and he begrudgingly admits it has been some time since he took the chair from another captain. The first officer makes eye contact, confessing that he doesn’t want his tenuous rapport with the crew to jeopardize the mission. Burnham reassures Rayner that she believes in him, leaving the demoted captain to swallow his protest.

Book joins Burnham to embark on their journey and pilots their shuttle away from Discovery . Relaxation floods the former courier's expression as he notes the craft is "purring like Grudge when she’s killed something." Hoping to emphasize his connection to Moll's father in the event they locate her, Book playfully shifts the conversation to the captain's temporal escapades when the time bug overtook the ship. Burnham makes a "my lips are sealed" gesture, only willing to disclose that she encountered some surprises.

The shuttle approaches the aperture, and Book plans to charge the impulse capacitance cells and release them into the drive coils to give the vessel a boost. Book offers a saying from his own culture, Never return from a hunt without enough bait for the Carrion Reaver . Burnham laughs off the "catchy" phrase, and the shuttle launches toward the wormhole's pulsating light. Turbulence causes the ship to tremble, and a bright flash overwhelms the two occupants.

Commander Rayner observes from the Bridge and is initially greeted by static. Burnham's voice cuts through the interference, informing the first officer that they made it through. Rayner’s relief is short-lived, as Discovery loses the shuttle's comm signal. He orders Stamets to the Science Lab in a bid to boost comms and conveys confidence as he takes the ship to Yellow Alert.

Meanwhile, in the wormhole, exotic matter has rendered the shuttle's sensors and holopadds inoperative. Book and Burnham narrowly dodge debris — "debris is not a good sign" — and spot the smoldering wreckage of Moll and L'ak's ship, or at least half of it. The nebulous environment clouds their vision, and Book wonders if the couriers survived. Burnham stands as she spots another vessel through the murkiness, its I.S.S. markings indicating it originated in the Mirror Universe. Shock envelops the captain's face as she reads its full designation — I.S.S. Enterprise* — and postulates that how the vessel arrived in interdimensional space must be "one heck of a story."

Book sees the Constitution -class starship's battered hull as evidence that it became trapped during a battle, and Burnham declares that it must have been ages ago — crossing from the Mirror Universe has been impossible for centuries. A shipwreck in a hidden wormhole sounds like a secure place to hide the next clue, though the captain is only acquainted with her brother Spock's U.S.S. Enterprise . They glimpse the other half of Moll and L'ak's broken vessel and assume that, if the couriers are alive, they must be on the Terran ship.

Back on Discovery , Tilly tracks an EPS conduit to a panel in Sickbay — after having followed it across three decks, including through the quarters of a new ensign who keeps a Cardassian vole as a pet. Sensing that Dr. Hugh Culber feels troubled, Tilly lets him know that she's always available to talk — at least until Stamets chimes in over the comm system to check on the status of her work. Culber maintains that he is fine and promises to find Tilly later, though his demeanor leaves her unconvinced.

In the Science Lab, Stamets notices that Ensign Adira Tal is undergoing some uncertainty of their own while working on their graviton pulse idea. The ensign rechecks their calculations for a third time, prompting the astromycologist to tell them that the time bug was not their fault. Rayner strolls in with confidence and requests an update on attempts to boost the comm signal. Stamets begins to explain, but the commander interrupts and states that he does not need to know how the cake is boiled. Adira is taken aback by the Kellerun culinary insight — Rayner assures them not to knock it until they try it — but Stamets presses forward with a proposal to hold the interdimensional aperture open. Unfortunately, there's a 43.7% chance that a graviton pulse would cause the aperture to close with the captain and Book still inside. Visibly frustrated, the first officer urges them to get the comm signal back.

Phasers drawn, Captain Burnham and Book enter the I.S.S. Enterprise 's bridge, which is adorned with Terran insignia and dimly illuminated by flickering lights and control panels. Intent on using the ship's sensors to track quantum signatures from the Prime Universe in order to locate Moll, L'ak, and the clue, Burnham pauses when she realizes that Book is standing at the science station — her brother's station, at least on the U.S.S. Enterprise . Though she had never met Spock's Mirror counterpart, she assumes he was just as ruthless as the Terrans.

Using a hack Book had previously applied on an Andorian transport ship, the captain successfully accesses the Enterprise 's sensors, and — after the former courier elicits words of praise from her — they detect that the intermix chamber has been ejected from the warp drive, all shuttles and escape pods are gone, the captain's log was erased, and the crew had apparently abandoned ship. Evacuation is a last resort in Terran culture, but the starship's damage was not terminal. The situation leaves them puzzled, but they turn their attention to the three Prime quantum signatures located in Sickbay — Moll, L'ak, and the clue.

En route to their quarry, Burnham and Book spy bedding, blankets, clothes, and other objects one wouldn't expect to find on a warship strewn about in the transporter room. Book gets a glimpse of the I.S.S. Enterprise 's dedication plaque, which itself bears an unorthodox phrase for Terrans, " Light of hope shines through even the darkest of nights. " The inscription describes the starship’s story, and Book relays that the new Terran High Chancellor had been killed while trying to make reforms. The crew mutinied, escaped, and attempted to shuttle refugees from the Mirror Universe into the Prime Universe, and a Kelpien slave-turned-rebel leader helped them. As she listens to the tale, Burnham picks up a locket and places a piece of her uniform inside of it. The mention of the Kelpien — likely Mirror Saru — catches her attention, and she supposes the crew fled when the ship got stuck within the aperture.

The pair continue on and move through the Terran ship's sparking corridors, only to be confronted by a batch of Moll and L'ak holo-doubles whose phasers are pointed toward Sickbay's entrance. Unable to determine which Moll and L'ak figures are real or target the room's holo emitter from their location, Book and Burnham rush their opponents and dodge a storm of phaser fire. They take out several holographic doubles before striking Sickbay's emitter, and the two couriers' true forms are revealed. Everyone heads for cover, but Burnham's diplomatic appeals don’t sway Moll or L'ak.

Book steps out from his concealed position. The captain follows with her phaser up, but Book tries to relate to Moll via their shared connection with her father. Moll grimaces with pain and anger as she states that Cleveland Booker IV was garbage, and L'ak holds up their bargaining chip — a device containing the next clue. Moll pitches a compromise; if she and L'ak are given a ride out of interdimensional space, they’ll let Starfleet replicate the clue. Burnham counters, bluntly replying that the couriers don’t have the clue. Referring to the decoy stanzas on Lyrek, the captain displays the locket she had procured and notes it has a Prime quantum signature.

The standoff remains steadfast, and Book draws Moll's ire when he guesses the couriers would not risk each other's lives over latinum. The exchange intensifies, and Moll contests that not even the Federation could lift an Erigah . Burnham recognizes the term, stunned to learn that the mysterious L'ak is actually Breen. An Erigah is a Breen blood bounty, and Moll and L'ak clearly hope to exchange whatever is at the end of the clue trail for their freedom. Book questions Moll about what they did to receive such a sentence, and the courier reflects…

…back to one of her regular visits to a busy Breen space station some years ago, where two helmeted Breen investigated one of her deliveries. Moll is unafraid when a third Breen approaches, introducing herself by quipping that she enjoys latinum and long walks on the beach. The Breen responds through his helmet's metallic speech processor, but rather than using the Breen sounds deemed unintelligible by most species, he speaks to Moll in her own language and accuses her of cutting her dilithium shipments with impurities. The human denies the accusation levied by "Green Eye," and the two square off in hand-to-hand combat.

Moll's lighthearted conversation persists even as they fight, and she points out that the Breen's belt insignia indicates he is royalty. Rumors have swirled that the Primarch's nephew — an independent thinker named L'ak — has been demoted to shuttlebay duty. Moll suggests that she can help L'ak get payback and admits she does cut the dilithium, leading the Breen to place her in handcuffs. Moll never relents, pitching that having a partner on the inside would make her operation go smoother. She senses L'ak is intrigued and faces him — she knows what it's like to be on the outside and alone — before slipping out of the cuffs. L'ak ponders why Moll would make a deal with someone she didn't know anything about, and Moll resolves to change that unfamiliarity.

Back in the present, Moll refuses to disclose what she and L'ak did to receive their bounty. Captain Burnham cautions them to not let love lead them down the wrong road, but Moll and L'ak opt to open fire once again. An errant phaser blast strikes a control panel, raising a containment field that traps Burnham and L'ak in Sickbay while preventing Book and Moll from re-entering the room. Book intends to resolve the dilemma with the Bridge's security controls and requests Moll's assistance. She agrees to the temporary truce, but threatens to dust Book if he makes one wrong move. They depart, but L'ak and Burnham stay put and keep their weapons drawn.

In another memory from their time on the Breen space station, L'ak receives payment from Moll and declares that her dilithium is clean. She quietly asks if he’d like to inspect her ship again to make sure she didn’t smuggle any tribbles on board, but L'ak's needs to shine his boots in anticipation of his uncle's upcoming inspection. The Breen clarifies that this isn't a euphemism, as the Primarch really likes their boots to be shiny. Moll thinks his uncle sounds like an asshole and brings up the promise that "Green Eye" had made during her last visit. L'ak delays, but Moll is adamant that he show her what he looks like. Though she has seen his face, she wishes to view his other face. L'ak seems self-conscious, and Moll maintains that both faces are a part of him. L'ak concedes, holding his breath and retracting his helmet to reveal his translucent green features. Moll greets him with warmth…

...however, aboard the Enterprise , Moll's demeanor is icy. She walks defiantly through the ship's corridors and rejects Book's appeals about her father. Aware that Cleveland Booker IV left Moll and her mother, Book shares that his mentor made the difficult choice to stay away from them in order to keep them safe. Moll emits a strained laugh, believing that Book must have his own "daddy issues" to have believed her father's story. Even though her father had promised to get his family off of Callor V and take them to a safe-haven colony in the Gamma Quadrant, he eventually just stopped coming home. Her mother was forced to get a job in the rubindium mines, ultimately falling victim to the harsh conditions when Moll was 14. Left alone, Moll tearfully emphasizes that L'ak is now the only person who matters to her.

Down in Sickbay, L'ak and Burnham retain their suspicious stares. Seated, yet still aiming their phasers at each other, they discuss the "power beyond all comprehension" that the Romulan scientist's diary and the subsequent clues would guide them toward. The captain warns L'ak what could happen if they Breen acquired that technology, and her observation that the Federation is all about second chances seems to resonate with him. Though Burnham promises she'd advocate for Moll and L'ak to serve their time together, L'ak is emphatic — he'd rather die than be separated from Moll.

On the Enterprise 's Bridge, the security system's firewall prevents Moll and Book from accessing the containment field. Moll pounds the console in frustration, but Book takes the opportunity to compare Moll and L'ak’s bond with the one he had shared with Burnham. With the exception of Grudge, who bites him when he doesn't feed her, Michael was the first friend Book made after Cleveland Booker IV died. He apologizes for what Moll endured because of her father and explains his troubled relationship with his own father, though Moll's thoughts continue to drift to L'ak…

…and to their time on the Breen space station. Concealed by a force field among the cargo containers, Moll and L'ak kiss. The human pauses, hesitant to mention that she received a new contract in Emerald Chain territory. L'ak calls Osyraa a butcher, but Moll responds that the Breen Imperium's faction wars don't make this region much safer. Her pursuit of higher paydays is a byproduct of her desire to discover the peace and freedom of the Gamma Quadrant paradise that her father had described. L'ak confesses that he only stays in Breen space because he has nowhere else to go, prompting Moll to propose he leave with her. The sound of footsteps interrupts the tender moment, and the Breen Primarch marches in with two Breen soldiers by his side. He disables the privacy field, his visored face locking eyes with the human.

With the memory of that confrontation fresh in her mind, Moll comes to attention on the Enterprise 's Bridge and knocks open a panel underneath the con. She creates a power surge to burn through the security system and short out the containment field, but her actions cause violent explosions to rock the ship. The Sickbay force field drops, though Burnham’s attempt to block L'ak's exit results in another round of fisticuffs that shatters glass and takes its toll. Book reports that impulse engines are overloaded and nav systems are fried — they have no control over the ship. Discovery 's shuttle becomes dislodged, tumbling away from the Terran ship and leaving the Enterprise eight minutes from impacting the aperture.

Book tries to develop a plan, but Moll aims her phaser at him. Nevertheless, Book is still determined to not let anything happen to Burnham or Moll. As a Kwejian, he lost his planet — everything that he cared about is gone. Though Cleveland was a "shit dad" to Moll, he was a great mentor to Book. In a heartbreaking tone, Book informs Moll that she is the only family he has left. He carefully picks up his phaser but chooses to hand it to her. She reacts with suspicion and directs both weapons toward him. Moll wrestles with indecision but opts not to kill him, a choice which elicits a sigh of relief from Book.

Burnham and L'ak's physical confrontation rages in Sickbay, but the Breen's reliance on a bladed weapon proves to be a tactical error. The Starfleet officer subdues him and retrieves the clue — the locket was a decoy. However, L'ak was inadvertently stabbed with his own blade during the attack. Moll runs in at this unfortunate moment, filled with concern for her partner and rejecting Burnham's plea to get L'ak to Discovery for treatment. Now a mere five minutes from colliding with the aperture, Book and Burnham speed off to the Bridge, leaving Moll to assist L'ak in Sickbay…

…and remember the moment when the Breen Primarch caught them together. As a guard holds L'ak, a second Breen strikes Moll. The Primarch prevents his nephew from intervening, then airs his grievance — L'ak carries the genetic code of the Yod-Thot, they who rule . While the Primarch campaigns for the throne of the Imperium, L'ak has been consorting with "lesser beings." His uncle describes L'ak's use of his more humanoid face as an insult to his heritage. The Primarch retracts his own helmet, gesturing to his translucent visage and proclaiming, " This is Breen." L'ak argues that their ability to change is a sign that both faces are a part of them, but his uncle claims they have evolved past a need for that form — holding it makes L'ak unfocused, inflexible, and weak.

The Primarch reseals his helmet and hands L'ak a weapon. His nephew must kill Moll to gain redemption. Resigned to her death, Moll tells "Green Eye" that their relationship was fun while it lasted, but L'ak elects to shoot the Breen guards instead of her. His uncle allows L'ak to place the phaser at his chest. Swayed by the fact that the Primarch raised him, L'ak only wounds his uncle. Alarms blare through the cargo area, and L'ak urges Moll to flee so that he will know she's safe. The blood bounty that L'ak just earned does not dissuade Moll from wanting him to join her. Holding onto his face, she says they can be happy together. L'ak voices his love for Moll…

…which snaps her back to the present, where L'ak reiterates his love for Moll in the Enterprise 's chaotic Sickbay. However, she is unwilling to give up and vows to get them out of this predicament. Meanwhile, Burnham and Book burst onto the Bridge and intend to activate a tractor beam. Book brightens the Terran light panels — "can’t save the day if we can’t see" — and winks at the captain as he takes the helm.

On Discovery 's Bridge, Commander Rayner asks Christopher for an update on comms. Naya interjects, reporting that something is happening at the aperture. A tractor beam can be seen emanating from within the wormhole, and it is oscillating with a repeating pattern: 3-4-1-4. Rayner grins in understanding and calls Stamets, Adira, and Tilly to the Bridge. The first officer doesn’t just need them to hold the aperture open, he also wants them to make it bigger — large enough for a starship. Discovery isn't going in, but their captain is coming out.

Stamets and the senior staff are perplexed by Rayner's announcement, and the Kellerun's reference to the Ballad of Krul doesn't give them any additional insight. Returning to the task at hand, Tilly affirms that such a procedure would require more energy than the entire ship can safely produce. Rayner pushes them for ideas, promising a cask of Kellerun citrus mash for whoever lands this solution. The Bridge is abuzz with chatter — inverting the deflector array would take too long, discharging the spore reserve would leave them unable to make an emergency jump, and pulling power from gravitational systems would cause everyone to float around… but replacing the photon torpedo payloads with antimatter would add fuel to the reactions already present in the aperture! Adira confirms that hitting it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern should keep it open for approximately sixty seconds. Rayner questions why it must be hexagonal, but Stamets points to him in a mischievous manner and notes, "It doesn’t matter. It’ll work." Satisfied, the commander awards the citrus mash to the entire Bridge crew and trusts that they'll make their only chance to succeed count.

As Captain Burnham sits in the I.S.S. Enterprise 's center seat, the ship's computer pronounces that only 60 seconds remain until impact with the aperture. Driven by the perilous countdown, she confesses to Book that he was one of the surprises she encountered while ensnared in the time bug's grip. She reflects on how nice it felt and how happy they seemed. Book offers an appreciative nod, but the pull of the aperture shakes the Enterprise .

On Discovery , Rayner orders a volley of torpedoes to be launched at the wormhole, and their detonations cause the opening to expand and generate even more light. The Enterprise 's tractor beam rattles the ship as it makes contact with Discovery . Book awaits Burnham's order to act and asks if he should "hit it." Captain Christopher Pike's signature phrase draws a quizzical and bemused look from Burnham, who replies, "Feels weird. Let’s just fly." The Terran ship's saucer section begins to emerge from the aperture, and its secondary hull clears it just before it collapses and releases a radiant surge of energy.

A relief-filled Captain Burnham communicates her thanks to Rayner over the comm channel, but she and Book then notify Discovery about a Terran warp pod being fired by the Enterprise . Scans detect two lifesigns and sickbay equipment aboard — Moll and L'ak. The pod launches and jumps to warp before it can be captured, though Rayner hopes to follow their warp signature and put out an alert throughout the fleet.

As the I.S.S. Enterprise and U.S.S. Discovery station themselves opposite one another in deep space, Rayner accompanies Burnham on a stroll through Discovery 's halls and compliments her on her "3-4-1-4" signal. The captain's message had referred to Section 4, Verse 7 of the Ballad of Krul , in which Krul calls to his war brothers for rescue with a repeating drumbeat of three taps, followed by four, one, and four. Although impressed, Rayner has doubts about how the mission played out. Burnham encourages him to take the win and relays that she is ordering Commanders Owosekun and Detmer to head a team and fly the Enterprise back to Federation HQ storage.

Discovery 's crew takes some much-needed downtime in Red's, where Culber follows through on his promise to confide in Tilly. The doctor leans beside her at the bar, and Tilly remarks that the day has left her feeling as if she has been through a gormagander's digestive tract. Highlighting the unique experiences he's had — dying, being resurrected, and staying present in his own body while Jinaal Bix inhabited it during the zhian'tara — Culber can only classify these events as "weird." Coupled with their current quest to find the technology that created life, Culber has found these questions to be both impossible to grasp and exhilarating. Since Stamets hates the unknown, Culber isn't sure how to talk to his partner about these emotions. Tilly advises him that the intellectual and the spiritual are not that far apart in the sense that they each bring understanding and can take you to new places. Initially taken aback by Tilly's use of the word spiritual, the doctor lets his friend's words sink in.

Captain Burnham welcomes Book into her Ready Room as she finishes reading a file on the Progenitors. There's no news about Moll and L'ak's whereabouts, but every ship in the sector is on high alert. She extracts a vial of liquid from the device containing the clue and shares that Stamets is preparing to do a full chemical analysis on it. Burnham secures the third object alongside the other two clues, which Book observes always seem to be presented hand-in-hand with a lesson. The ordeal with the itronok on Trill demonstrated that they valued lifeforms different from their own and the necropolis planet evoked the importance of cultural context, so why did a scientist leave the third clue on a Terran warship? 

The query draws a smile from Burnham, who discloses that the scientist had been a Terran named Dr. Cho — the junior science officer aboard the I.S.S. Enterprise . The captain had Zora search for the names from the vessel's manifest, and most of them had turned up in various Federation databases. The crew did make it to the Prime Universe and started new lives, and Cho herself became a branch admiral in Starfleet. The Terrans had hope, found freedom, and overcame the odds. Burnham supposes that those qualities were the reasons Cho returned to the aperture and concealed the clue on the Enterprise . Perhaps the lesson is that they can shape their future in the same way the Terran refugees had.

Book catches sight of the Enterprise getting underway outside of the Ready Room's viewport, prompting the captain to turn and gaze at the vessel. She brings up the time bug secret she had shared with Book when death appeared imminent, but he grins and acknowledges that they had been happy. Stamets' voice rings out over the comm system to let the captain know he is ready for the vial. Burnham grabs the container and makes her way to the door, but Book wonders what happens when they finally put these clues together. Captain Burnham concedes that she doesn't know, but she can't wait to find out.

* " Mirror, Mirror " — The I.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in this Original Series classic when a transporter malfunction sends the U.S.S. Enterprise crew into a mirror universe.

• Written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco
• Directed by Jen McGowan

"Mirrors" features a dedication:

In loving memory of our friend, Allan "Red" Marceta

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.