Star Trek's Tribbles may seem like innocuous balls of fluff, but they actually prove that the United Federation of Planets can be hypocritical. Introduced in the iconic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "The Trouble with Tribbles," Tribbles are small non-intelligent life forms known for their astonishing reproductive rate. As seen in "The Trouble with Tribbles," one of the little creatures could quickly turn into hundreds and then thousands, overrunning even a massive starship or space station. Since their introduction, other Star Trek projects have revisited the Tribbles, revealing more about their troubling history with Starfleet.
The Tribbles have an equally tumultuous history with the Klingon Empire. Although Tribbles emitted a quiet cooing sound when handled by most humanoid species, they reacted negatively toward Klingons. The Klingons saw the Tribbles as a menace to their society and sought to wipe them out entirely. As revealed in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Klingon warriors were sent out into the galaxy to hunt Tribbles and eventually succeeded in destroying the Tribble homeworld sometime in the late 23rd century. Despite this, the Tribbles were never fully eliminated and remained around even in Star Trek: Discovery's 32nd century.
Star Trek’s Federation Ban On Genetic Engineering Doesn’t Include Tribbles - But That Isn’t Right
Why Do Star Trek Scientists Keep Experimenting With Tribbles?
After the Eugenics Wars, the Federation banned all genetic engineering to prevent the rise of another tyrant like Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). Starfleet, however, has not always been consistent in upholding this ban. For example, the ban does not extend to Tribbles, which seems like an oversight on the part of the Federation. In Star Trek: Short Treks, season 2, episode 2, "The Trouble with Edward," for example, Lt. Edward Larkin (H. Jon Benjamin), experimented on Tribbles as a potential food source. As the Tribbles Larkin encountered breed too slowly to be a viable food source, he set about trying to change that.
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Star Trek's Classic 1960s Tribbles Episode Was Made Possible By A Star Trek: Discovery Story
A Klingon plot point in the classic TOS episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" was retroactively set up by Star Trek: Discovery's Klingon War subplot.
Despite being ordered to suspend his project, Larkin kept gene splicing Tribbles, eventually creating a version that was born pregnant. Unfortunately, Larkin's Tribbles overran the USS Cabot, forcing the crew to abandon ship and ultimately resulting in the Cabot's destruction and Larkin's death. Star Trek: Picard season 3 offered a glimpse of an "Attack Tribble" that Section 31 kept hidden at Daystorm Station. Although Tribbles are not Federation citizens and do not appear to be intelligent, it seems wrong that they would be exempt from the Federation's ban on genetic engineering.
Genetically Engineering Tribbles Always Makes Them Worse
From Giant Tribbles To Attack Tribbles, Genetic Engineering Makes Tribbles Scary
In Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui) was also studying Tribbles and had figured out a way to keep them from multiplying so quickly. But aside from Rok-Tahk's potential solution to the Tribbles' rapid breeding, every other attempted manipulation of Tribbles has made the creatures worse. Lt. Larkin's experiments resulted in disaster and ultimately made the Tribbles a menace for years afterward. Section 31's "Attack Tribble" also seems like a recipe for disaster. Even the Klingons' attempts to handle their Tribble problems caused even more headaches.
It seems as though Star Trek's Tribble problems have mostly been solved by the 32nd century.
Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, episode 13, "A Tribble Called Quest" revealed that a Klingon scientist named Dr. K'ruvang (Jorge Gutiérrez) had attempted to genetically manipulate Tribbles to make them less of a threat to the Klingon Empire. Unfortunately, something went wrong with K'ruvang's experiments, and he inadvertently made the Tribbles larger and stronger. Rok-Tahk helped K'ruvang make the Tribbles smaller again, allowing him to restore his honor so that he could return home to Qo'noS. Whatever the case, it seems as though Star Trek's Tribble problems have mostly been solved by the 32nd century, so hopefully, future scientists will leave the fuzzy little creatures alone.
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Release Date September 8, 1966
Cast William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Deforest Kelley , James Doohan , George Takei , Nichelle Nichols , Walter Koenig , Frank da Vinci , Eddie Paskey , Roger Holloway , Ron VetoSeasons 3
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Release Date October 28, 2021
Seasons 2
English (US) ·