Trials and Tribble-ations

"Trials and Tribble-ations" was the 103rd episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 6th episode of the show's fifth season, first aired during the week of 4 November 1996. The episode was written by Ira Steven Behr, Hans Beimler^MA, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Ronald D. Moore and René Echevarria^MA and directed by Jonathan West^MA. The episode was adapted as a novelization for Pocket Books by author Diane Carey. "Trials and Tribble-ations" was based on (and used footage from) the TOS episode: "The Trouble with Tribbles" written by David Gerrold and directed by Joseph Pevney^MA.

When the Defiant is sent back in time, Sisko and his crew must stop a vengeful Klingon spy, Darvin, from killing Starfleet's most famous officer—James T. Kirk.

Description[]

Almost a century ago, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise first encountered the irresistible (and astonishingly prolific) lifeform known as the tribbles, resulting in one of the most unusual adventures in the annals of Starfleet. Now Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the Defiant are transported back in time to that historic occasion, where Darvin, a devious Klingon spy, plots revenge against Captain Kirk. Using the seemingly harmless tribbles, Darvin attempts to destroy Kirk—but for the misplaced residents of Deep Space 9, saving the original Enterprise will be nothing but "tribble".

Summary[]

Temporal Investigations agents Dulmer and Lucsly arrive on Deep Space 9 to talk to Captain Sisko. The agents investigate instances of time travel, but when Jadzia Dax makes a joke, the pair are unamused. Sisko starts to tell the story of the Defiant’s recent journey into the past.

Two weeks previously, Sisko took the Defiant to Cardassia, where an Orb of the Prophets is handed over by the Cardassians. Sisko and his crew are unaware that this particular orb is the Orb of Time. The crew also take on a passenger, a Human man named Barry Waddle. On the way home, the ship is transported back in time to the 23rd century and the crew are astonished to see the original Enterprise on the viewscreen.

The Defiant crew learn that Waddle is responsible for their journey back in time and that he is really a Klingon whose younger self, known previously as Arne Darvin, is aboard the space station, K7, that the Enterprise is currently orbiting. Darvin has fled the Defiant and the crew are unsure if he has transported to either the Enterprise or K-7, so Sisko, Dax, Bashir and O’Brien transport to the Enterprise, garbed in the Starfleet uniforms of the period, while Odo and Worf transport to K-7 to search for him.

References[]

Characters[]

Referenced only: Cardassian • Gorn

Starships[]

Danube-class runabout (in opening credits) • USS Defiant (Defiant-class escort) • Class F shuttlecraft • USS Defiant (Defiant-class escort) • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • IKS Gr'oth (D7-class battlecruiser) • Janitza-class (in opening credits) • USS Leeds (Nebula-class explorer, in opening credits) • USS Nash (Sydney-class transport) • Danube-class runabout • Spacematic

Referenced only: USS Hood • USS Lexington • moon shuttle • RMS Titanic

States and organizations[]

Bajoran Militia • Federation Department of Temporal Investigations • Klingon Defense Force • Klingon Empire • Starfleet • United Federation of Planets

Referenced only: Earth Navy • Klingon High Command • Imperial Intelligence • Starfleet Academy • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Medical • University of Cambridge • University of Mississippi

Other references[]

aircraft carrier • alternate timeline • Antarean glow water • antimatter • antimatter pod • autograph • Bajoran prophecy • biotechnology • Blarney Stone • chicken sandwich • chroniton • cloaking device • coffee • command division • communicator • deep space station • Denebian slime devil • duotronic • Elementary Temporal Mechanics • fish juice • food synthesizer • garbage scow • gemstone • genetic engineering • gymnastics • "Earther" • Halloween • internal sensor • keva • Klingonese • medical tricorder • milliwat • navigational computer • Occupation of Bajor • operations division • orb • Orb of Prophecy and Change • Orb of Time • Orb of Wisdom • PADD • predestination paradox • priority one • q'apla • quadrotriticale • raktajino • Regulan bloodworm • sciences division • shore leave • space station • Spican flame gem • stardate • Starfleet rules, regulations and exams • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • Starfleet uniform (2366-2373) • subspace silence • Tarkalean tea • technical journal • temporal investigator • temporal mechanics • temporal violation • three-dimensional chess • transporter • transtator • tribble • tricobalt • tricobalt device • tricorder • trillium • triticale • turbolift • Undersecretary for Agriculture • viewscreen • warp nacelle • wheat • yeoman

Chronology[]

23rd century

2260s decade
- 2268:

24th century

2370s decade:
- 2373:

Appendices[]

Related media[]

The Trouble with Tribbles (TOS episode and novelization): This episode is a sequel to and takes place in within the events of The Trouble with Tribbles.
"Blood Oath": Established Jadzia and Curzon's relationship with Koloth.
"Old Souls" (DS9 short story - The Lives of Dax): Depicts Emony Dax meeting Leonard McCoy as referenced in this episode.
Tribbles on Deep Space 9: The consequences of tribble infestation of DS9 are depicted in the comic Nobody Knows the Tribbles I've Seen and the New Worlds, New Civilizations short story Second Chances.
Dulmur and Lucsly: The Temporal Investigations personnel have appeared in a number of stories, including: Trapped in Time, "Gods, Fate, and Fractals", "Almost... But Not Quite", "The Road to Edos" and the Star Trek Online novel The Needs of the Many. They are also mentioned in the Star Trek: Section 31 novel Rogue as having interviewed Jean-Luc Picard about the events of Star Trek: First Contact. DTI: Watching the Clock, and further novels about the Department of Temporal Investigations include Dulmur and Lucsly.
Tribbles: Tribbles have appeared in many other stories, see the Tribble article for a more complete listing. Following "Trials and Tribble-ations", "The Tribbles' Pagh" shows them arriving on Bajor. Quark mentions the tribbles in "Ferengi Love Songs".
Imbalance (TNG novel): Further information on the O'Brien family in Dublin is revealed in this novel.
The Star Trek Encyclopedia: Information about this episode is presented consistently in the third and fourth volumes.

Adaptations[]

Video releases[]

Background[]

The writer of the TOS episode The Trouble with Tribbles, David Gerrold, had a cameo in the episode as an Enterprise crewman. Gerrold also wrote the introduction for the novelization. Ronald D. Moore wrote the afterword.
The eBook The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of Trials and Tribble-ations focuses on the making of the episode.

Notable cast and crew[]

Co-written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe (after David Gerrold)
Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko
William Shatner as James T. Kirk
Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys
Leonard Nimoy as Spock
Rene Auberjonois as Odo
James Doohan as Scotty
Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy
Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax
Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura
Armin Shimerman as Quark
Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov
Michael Dorn as Worf
Jim Jansen as Lucsly
Charles Chun as the Enterprise engineer

Images[]

Episode images[]

Adaptation images[]

Connections[]

Timeline[]

published order
Previous novelization: The Way of the Warrior	DS9 novelizations	Next novelization: Call to Arms...
Previous episode: The Assignment	DS9 episode produced	Next episode: Let He Who Is Without Sin...
Previous episode: The Assignment	DS9 episode aired	Next episode: Let He Who Is Without Sin...
chronological order
Previous Adventure: Sacred Ground	Pocket	Next Adventure: Future's End
Previous Adventure: Honor Bound	Deep Space Nine Adventures	Next Adventure: Let He Who Is Without Sin...
Previous Adventure: Beneath the Skin	Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (2264 to 2270)	Next Adventure: The Trouble with Tribals
The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2373. The Pocket Books Timeline places events from this story in one other timeframe:
Previous Adventure: The Trouble with Tribbles concurrently with Trials and Tribble-ations	2267	Next Adventure: The Trouble with Tribals

Translations[]

1999: German : Neuer Ärger mit den Tribbles, translated by Uwe Anton. (Heyne)

2000: Japanese : トリブルでトラブル, translated by Masayuki Niwa. (Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko)

External links[]

Trials and Tribble-ations (novel) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
"Trials and Tribble-ations" article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
Trials and Tribble-ations article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki