45. The Trouble with TribblesFORMULA: Errand of Mercy + I, Mudd + 1,771,561 tribbles
WHY WE LIKE IT: It's still pretty funny today.
WHY WE DON'T: Sorry, but Koloth is unconvincing, and I don't buy Shatner's comedy performance.
REVIEW: Let me start out by saying that I've always found The Trouble with Tribbles highly overrated, in large part because William Shatner is playing Kirk as constantly annoyed. He's annoyed at Baris, annoyed at the tribbles, annoyed as his own crew... And that's from where humor is supposed to be derived. To me, it just makes Kirk seem out-of-focus. He can't control his men, he doesn't understand the importance of Sherman's Planet and the quadrotriticale...
Not that Koloth makes a very good impression as the Klingon captain either. He's much too thin to play a Klingon, and his postures are those of a dandy. Korax is more believable, thankfully, but the scenes with the Klingons lack any kind of tension because of the miscasting and consistent light-hearted atmosphere. I mean, the Klingons don't just dislike tribbles, they are afraid of them! That's not good characterization.
Otherwise, the episode works however! The one-liners are fun without being over the top ("He simply couldn't believe his ears," for example, or "It's you I take lightly"); the tribbles are quite memorable; Cyrano Jones and the bartender have good scenes together; etc. It all hums along at a nice pace, with the actors probably having more fun than their characters much of the time. Not a lot of effects on the whole, but the station is interesting, and seeing the Enterprise orbiting out the window is nice too.
The DS9 episode Trials and Tribble-ations revisits this episode, giving us more incentive to rewatch it than ever, but there's a lot of fun matierial that couldn't be used in the DS9 visit (obviously), and it deserves its own rewatching. Everything surrounding the bar brawl is particularly good, as Scotty acts as the voice of reason until his beloved Enterprise is insulted. The final solution to the infestation is a fun, if a bit forced, moment as well (though Spock is uncharacteristically emotional in it).
LESSON: There's no money to be made in easily bred animals.
REWATCHABILITY - High: Even without the DS9 incentive, this remains a classic for good reason. I may not agree with the characterization of the two main characters, but I nonetheless enjoy this light-hearted adventure from start to finish.
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