I didn't know there's a third installment featuring Tribbles. I like the corresponding DS9 and TOS episodes very much. Not so much because of the Tribbles per se but because of the charm and playfulness of those two episodes. The moment Cyrano Jones and his promiscious space hamsters appear the story becomes quite funny. Funny dialogues. Funny practical jokes. Even Spock is hilarious. The serious sub-plot of this episode is also quite good but probably only an afterthought.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-07-16T22:25:31Z
[7.7/10] Alright, it’s time for the powers to be to revoke my Star Trek fan card, because I think this episode balances drama and comedy better than the original TOS tribbles episode. (Though not quite as well as DS9’s tribbles episode.)
Don’t get me wrong, the comedy here is hokey as all heck. While it made me chuckle, Kirk again being hit with a waterfall of tribbles, saying “someday I’ll learn” and mugging for the camera is the cheesiest cheese to ever cheese. But still, it’s a nice variation to have the trouble be not that the tribbles are reproducing in exponential numbers, but rather to have Cyrano “fix them” so that they just grow bigger and bigger. Again, it’s the silliest sort of running gag, but having Kirk continually having to roll ever-larger tribbles out of the captain’s chair made me laugh.
(There’s some extra silliness from the fact that the tribbles are pink this time which, come to find out is because the colorist for The Animated Series was pink-gray colorblind. It also explains the Klingons’ uncharacteristically pink tunics. There’s some serendipity to that which adds to the humorous atmosphere of the episode.)
Apart from the tribble though, there’s actually a nice classic Trek-y problem. The notion of the Klingons having a “stasis” weapon, which freezes opposing ships and prevents them from being able to use warp or weapons poses a legitimate obstacle for our heroes. The episode benefits from throwing them right into the skirmish, and having Kirk use the clever move of siccing the automated grain ships on the Klingon warship to wriggle their way out of it. Even outside a silly tribble episode, the first act is just a great bit of Trek adventure.
Of course we get a return engagement from Cyrano Jones (whose Harry Mudd-lite routine I enjoyed better in this installment) and a similarly ironic defeat of the Klingons at the hands of the tribbles. There was an almost Dennis the Menace vs. Mr. Wilson quality to Kirk’s efforts against Koloth with the tribbles, and while that gets corny, it’s amusing enough.
The best thing about the episode is how it balances that amusing quality, and the inherent goofiness of the tribbles’ presence, with a legitimate threat from the Klingons and a tough go in the form of figuring out how to defeat their new weapon. The end of the episode loses that balance a bit, but it’s still an enjoyable half hour of Trek.