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Trials and Tribble-ations Airdate: Week of
November 4th, 1996
Written by: Ronald
D. Moore & Rene Echevarria (teleplay); Ira Steven Behr &
Hans Beimler & Robert Hewitt Wolfe (story)
Directed by:
Jonathan West
Brief Summary:
While recovering the Bajoran Orb of Time from Cardassia, the
Defiant is sent back in time to the 23rd Century to the space
station K-7. The passenger, Darvin, used the Orb to seek
vengeance upon Captain James T. Kirk, who ruined his life during
this mission. Only the crew of the Defiant can stop Darvin from
activating his plan of destruction: an explosive Tribble...
As I mentioned in
my Voyager review this week, I love time travel stories on Star
Trek. But this is something much more than a simple Star Trek
time travel story. This is a television event.
Okay, so maybe I
fell for the hype. Previews started several weeks ago,
proclaiming that this is *the* episode you will want to see. You
could hear the wheels turning in the heads of the publicity
department. By taking an episode from the original series which
is a fan favorite, The Trouble With Tribbles, and
having the crew of DS9 interact with the crew of the original
series would get everyone talking. The promotion for the episode
was heavy, from previews playing every half-hour to the handing
out of Tribbles in the subways of major cities. In fact, the
rumor is that this one episode has cost the studio three million
dollars. Was the final product worth the hype? You betcha.
The reason that
The Trouble With Tribbles is such a fan favorite is
no mystery. It is one of the most entertaining and fun episodes
of the original series. The fun element is something that the
newer series seem to forget at times. It was filled with great
comedy, with a bar fight and plenty of Tribbles tossed in for
good measure. Without a doubt, one of the top five episodes of
TOS.
To prepare myself
for the review, I pulled out my tape and rewatched it about an
hour before the DS9 episode was going to air. I did it mainly for
three reasons: One, to reacquint myself with the story (even
though the truth is that I've seen it so many times that I know
every bit of dialogue by heart); Two, to pay close attention for
the minor details, such as scenes where the DS9 crew might be
edited into; And three, to get a real good look at the quality of
the 1960s footage and see how it is going to match up to its
1990s counterpart.
Let me first get
the visual aspect of the new episode out of the way. I can
describe my thoughts on this in a single word: Incredible! But
really, I should say more than one word on it. It is amazing how
great a job the technicians who worked on the episode did to
improve the overall visual quality of the 1960s footage. From the
scenes in the bar to the original discovery that Darvin was a
Klingon, it all looked absolutely fabulous. Add to this the
outstanding new special effects of the original Enterprise and
the K-7 space station and you have something that is definitely a
treat for the fans.
But what about the
actual DS9 story? I think it was creative, if not entirely
original. Returning to the past to avenge an old grudge has been
done several times before in science fiction, but I don't think
it really hurt the show at all. The important thing is that the
story captured the *spirit* of the original show, which is far
more important in my eyes. From the dialogue to the interaction
between the DS9 crew, I felt, at least for a brief hour, that
*we* were able to go back in time and recapture a little of the
magic. That is what I wanted out of the episode and that is what
I got out of the episode.
Setting the story
in Sisko's office as he was interviewed by two agents of Temporal
Investigations was a nice touch to start the show off. Putting
aside the fact that this was more original than just showing the
event as they occurred, it gave the audience a little more
insight into Starfleet. For years now, Star Trek crews have been
travelling through time, some time correcting things and
sometimes causing problems. Until this episode, no consequences
from Starfleet has ever really been addressed. For once, we see
that Starfleet actually does investigate these occurances. On a
simpler note, the Dragnet attitude of the two agents
were a perfect match against Avery Brooks' mellow persona of
Sisko. Just the line about Kirk's time travel experiences alone
(James Kirk... that man was menace!) was worth the
price of admission.
What can I say,
the whole episode was terrific. Almost everybody in the cast got
to have fun in this episode (with the exception of Kira and
Quark, who had very little to do). It is one of those episodes
that you can sit and talk about with friends, exchanging quotes
and wasn't it cool when they... type comments. I pray
that there is some way that a similiar type episode is done again
in the future, but I know better than to expect it. We can always
hope...
Some other notes:
- Voyager has a
special two-part episode involving time travel to Earth, 1996.
Star Trek: First Contact involves time travel to the 21st Century
to fight the Borg. Deep Space Nine has a time travel episode to
meet Kirk & Co. in the 23rd Century. Maybe the next Star Trek
series should center around time travel, since the writers' most
important stories seem to involve it. I would definitely like to
see it happen.
- I know that
David Gerrold, the writer of The Trouble With
Tribbles, appeared in the episode, but I have no idea what
he looks like. Does anyone know where he was?
- With the
upgraded special effects and the high visual quality of the
footage from thee original series, maybe Paramount could do a
special edition of the Star Trek episodes. George Lucas is
currently doing it with the Star Wars Trilogy. I'm sure that if
the studio could make money off of it, it will be forthcoming.
- Sisko mentions
Kirk's battle against the Gorn on Cestus III. Either last season
or in the third season, Kassidy Yates mentioned that her brother
played in a baseball league on Cestus III, causing a little
speculation on the net about the whereabout of the Gorn. Is there
a chance that they may finally make some sort of return?
- The explanation
for the differences between the old and new versions of Klingons
was great! It was handled in a way that was funny, but still
acknowledged that there is a difference. (My own theory was that
they were genetically altered to look more human in order to make
their missions a little easier. Well... it's better than the
evolution theory!)
- There were so
many great scenes in this episode that I can't list them all.
From Bashir trying to guess whether or not he was his own great
grandfather to Dax's former host having met Dr. McCoy who she
remember had the hands of surgeon. :)
To sum it all up:
Writing: Well, at
least the writing of *this* episode. Clever from beginning to
end. A good story that makes a great episode.
Acting: No
problems here. Even Charles Brill (Darvin - both young & old)
was fun to watch. And, as always, the original crew was
excellent. :)
Directing: Amazing
job in fusing the two crews. The creativity in which some of the
shots were done deserves recognition.
Conclusion: Get
ready, because it is only a matter of time before they place this
episode for sale (Paramount is always quick to make money from
ST). I'll be there, waiting in line to pick up my copy.
Definitely destined to be a fan favorite.
Rating: 9.8
Next Week: Is Risa
a lovers' paradise or a timebomb waiting to go off?
Copyright 1996,
Bill Synnamon. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced,
edited, or used for any commericial reason without my permission.
Temporal
Investigator #1: So you're not contending it was a
predestination paradox? A time loop -- that you were *meant* to
go back into the past?
Sisko:
No.
Temporal
Investigator #2: Good. We hate those.
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