“Trials and Tribblelations,” DS9’s celebration of Trek’s 30th anniversary, is the biggest geekasm the show managed. If you have been around for my early reviews, you will note I am not a fan of “The Trouble with Tribbles.” I thought the episode was trying to be too cute with the actors hamming it up far worse than normal. Nevertheless, the addition of the DS9 element makes “Trials and Tribulations’ a vast improvement. (I realize saying so adds to my reputation as one of those elitist Trekkies who likes DS9 to the exclusion of the other series because it so often skewered the utopian philosophy. So be it. Deep Space Nine is my favorite trek series and the hokey socialist utopianism of the other series is often embarrassing than the grown men who wear pointy ears to conventions.)
The geeky references do not end with trek, either. The story is told by bookends of an interview between Sisko and two temporal investigators, Dulmer and Lucsly, are anagrams of Mulder and Scully, the two FBI agents from another favorite of mine, The X-Files.. A nice touch there and a reminder science fiction in general was a lot richer in 1996 than it is today. Flashforward, V, and Fringe just cannot compete with Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, and Babylon 6, et al.
The only part of “Trials and Tribblelations” I find weak is the set up. The Cardassians locate another Bajoran orb, this one with the property of time, and offer it back to the Bajorans. Our heroes are escorting the orb on the Defiant, along with Darvin, a merchant who was trapped on Carddassia during the Klingon invasion. This is the same Darvin who was the Klingon genetically altered to be a human in the original “Trouble with Tribbles.” After Kirk exposed him, he was disgraced by the Empire and has had to eke out a living as a merchant. When he heard about the orb, he decided to use it to travel back in time ad kill Kirk to keep him for exposing his identity in the first place.
Our heroes have to pose as 23rd century Starfleet officers and traders I order to find Darvin. Much of the episode involves the ooh and aahs of seeing the old costumes and sets as well as the Forest Gump tricks of today’s actors iteractig with their thirty year passed costars. The scenes still hold up well, particularly the brawl between the Enterprise crew and the Klingons on K-7. One bit in particular is forced. Sisko’s encounter with Kirk is actually taken from “Mirror, Mirror.” I assume it is the best the creators could come up with, but Kirk’s reaction to Sisko’s admiration is awkward. Presumably, the emotional impact helps many fans overlook the strange fit.
Darvin’s plan is eventually revealed. He placed a bomb inside a tribble. Although there is over one million of them on K-7, Sisko manages to find the right one and beams it into space just in the nick of time. What can I say? Kirk must have been born with a golden horseshoe up his butt.
There is still no explanation why tribbles fall on Kirk when he opens the grain silo, but grain never does. Or why Sisko and Dax, who are inside hunting tribbles, do not tumble out, either. Probably the same magic that hides Terry Farrell’s underwear from being exposed in that short skirt she was wearing:
I imagine I am in the minority for thinking “Trials and Tribblelations” is a much better episode than “The Trouble with Tribbles” originally, but I am prepared toface the accusations of blasphemy. I will ever bear the brunt of calls of hypocrisy for thinking the conclusion, in which Odo brigs a tribble back to the 24th century with predictable results, was a nice touch when I generally dislike the over the top humor of the original episode. I cannot help it. I do. “Trials and Tribblelations” reminds me why I thought TNG should have done some direct sequels to TOS episodes. But then I am remided how poorly ENT connected with TOS when it tried things along similar lines and I go back to being depressed over the general state of today’s science fiction.
Rating: **** (out of 5)
