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This article is about the fictional furry creature of Star Trek. For other meanings, see Tribble (disambiguation).
Tribble
Polygeminus grex

Captain Kirk in a pile of tribbles
Homeworld Iota Geminorum IV
Affiliation None

Tribbles are fictional animals in the Star Trek universe. They are depicted as small, soft, and gentle, and as producing a soothing purring sound. A purr is a Sound made by all species of felids and is a part of Cat communication. These traits are said to endear them to most sentient races which encounter them, with the notable exception of Klingons. Klingons ( Klingon: tlhIngan; Pronunciation /ˈt͡ɬɪŋɑn/ are a warrior race in the fictional Star Trek universe While only appearing in two episodes, they are one of the most popular and well-known species featured in the Star Trek universe.

Contents

Physiology

According to Star Trek canon, tribbles are native to the planet Iota Geminorum IV. The Star Trek canon is usually defined as comprising the television series ''Star Trek'', Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space They are essentially small bundles of fur with no visible external features. The fur of live-action and animated tribbles ranges from solid white to grey, speckled light to dark brown, yellow to reddish orange, and black. According to Leonard McCoy's dialog their only two purposes in life appear to be to eat and to reproduce, and they perform both of these functions well. Leonard H "Bones" McCoy, played by DeForest Kelley, is the Doctor character in the original Star Trek series and the first six McCoy concludes that tribbles use over fifty percent of their metabolism for reproduction and that they are born pregnant. A creature that keeps the tribble population under control on their homeworld is introduced in the animated episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

Inspiration

David Gerrold, in The Trouble With Tribbles: the Birth, Sale, and Final Production of One Episode [1] mentions that after the episode was aired, people asked him if tribbles were inspired by the Flatcats of Robert A. Heinlein's novel, The Rolling Stones, which are a similar small, fuzzy creature. David Gerrold, born Jerrold David Friedman ( January 24, 1944) in Chicago Illinois, is a Science fiction author who started his career In Robert A Heinlein 's Science fiction novel The Rolling Stones, flat cats are a species of emotional symbiotes native to Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. The Rolling Stones (also published under the name Space Family Stone in the United Kingdom is a 1952 Science fiction novel

Look — I thought I was telling the “rabbits in Australia” story. In Australia, Rabbits are the most serious Mammalian pests, an Invasive species whose destruction of habitats is responsible for When rabbits were first introduced to Australia, they multiplied at an incredible rate because there were no predators or natural enemies to keep them in control. It was an ecology story — and a spaceship is the perfect setting for it because a spaceship must be a balanced ecology.
When it came to designing the creatures though, I had to be simple — they had to be easy to build; they had to be cheap, and they had to be believable. We wouldn’t want to use rabbits for the story — we wanted something … well, gimmicky. We needed a science fiction animal. . . .
I had to think — what would be easy?
Holly . . . Sherman had a key ring attached to a ball of pink fuzz. The more I looked at it, the more obvious it became. . . . The ease with which a fluff ball could be manufactured made it a natural candidate.

The concept is an old one that predates even the Heinlein novel, since it is central to the story "Pigs is Pigs", which was very popular from its first publication in 1905 and beyond. Pigs is Pigs is a noted story written by Ellis Parker Butler.

The name for the creatures was originally "fuzzies", but in order to avoid confusion with the H. Beam Piper novel, Little Fuzzy, Gerrold brainstormed some nonsense words, arriving at "tribble" almost at random. Henry Beam Piper ( March 23, 1904 – c November 6, 1964) was an American Science fiction author

History

Tribbles have appeared in several instances of Star Trek series and movies, arranged here in their order of production:

Original Series

Viewers first saw tribbles in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series television episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Star Trek is a Science fiction Television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 through Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic " The Trouble With Tribbles " is a second-season episode of Star Trek The Original Series, first broadcast on December 29, 1967 and The episode was written by David Gerrold, and the original tribble props were designed by Wah Chang. David Gerrold, born Jerrold David Friedman ( January 24, 1944) in Chicago Illinois, is a Science fiction author who started his career Wah Ming Chang ( August 2, 1917 &ndash December 22, 2003) was a Chinese This episode was not, however, a depiction of first contact since it was a human named Cyrano Jones (Stanley Adams), a small-time merchant, who introduced the tribbles to Captain Kirk's crew. Stanley Adams ( April 7, 1915 – April 27, 1977) was an American Actor and Screenwriter.

In the same episode, Spock, a half-Vulcan himself, explains that Vulcans see no useful purpose for tribbles, so the species is not endearing to them, but it's not mutual for the ever-adoring species. Spock (sometimes referred to as Mr Spock) is a main character in the original Star Trek TV series Vulcans are a Humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who hail from the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt However, he is caught petting one while claiming, "Fortunately, I am . . . immune to its effects".

Animated Series

Tribbles returned in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles". Star Trek The Animated Series (also known as The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry 's Star Trek) is an Emmy Award winning "More Tribbles More Troubles" is an episode of Star Trek The Animated Series. This time, the tribbles Cyrano Jones brings have been genetically altered to not reproduce when they are fed, but instead they just grow larger. The tribbles are eventually taken care of by the use of the tribbles' natural enemy.

Movies

Tribbles make brief reappearances in the bar scene of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and the evacuation scene of Star Trek Generations. Star Trek III The Search for Spock ( Paramount Pictures, 1984) is the third feature Film based on the Star Trek Star Trek Generations is a 1994 Science fiction film and the seventh feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television Before that time, tribbles had been described as having been considered a dangerous menace to other planets' environments, so much so that transporting them off their native home could incur a lengthy prison sentence.

Deep Space Nine

In the episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" the crew of the USS Defiant encounter the tribbles once more when they accidentally travel back in time and participate in the events of "The Trouble with Tribbles". "Trials and Tribble-ations" is a fifth season episode of the television series Star Trek Deep Space Nine. The USS Defiant (NX-74205 is a fictional Starship in the television series Star Trek Deep Space Nine (DS9 and the Feature film " The Trouble With Tribbles " is a second-season episode of Star Trek The Original Series, first broadcast on December 29, 1967 and The Deep Space Nine characters are edited into scenes with the original series cast, although a few of the scenes are from different episodes. Each of the featured characters are seen in this episode, including Cyrano Jones and Arne Darvin. This article lists characters in the various canonical incarnations of Star Trek.

In this episode, Worf reveals that the tribbles were hunted down and exterminated by the Klingon Empire; specially-trained warriors were sent to kill every tribble in existence, and an armada of Klingon vessels obliterated the tribble homeworld. Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a Main character in both Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Deep Space Nine Klingons ( Klingon: tlhIngan; Pronunciation /ˈt͡ɬɪŋɑn/ are a warrior race in the fictional Star Trek universe Klingons ( Klingon: tlhIngan; Pronunciation /ˈt͡ɬɪŋɑn/ are a warrior race in the fictional Star Trek universe Klingons are unique among Star Trek's races in their extreme hatred of these cute little creatures (the feeling was apparently mutual). Klingons ( Klingon: tlhIngan; Pronunciation /ˈt͡ɬɪŋɑn/ are a warrior race in the fictional Star Trek universe This is because they were "an ecological menace", and emitted a loud shrieking noise instead of their normal soothing purr in the presence of Klingons. Deep Space Nine Security Officer Odo dryly remarks, "Another glorious chapter in Klingon history. The Space station Deep Space Nine ( DS9) is the main setting of the Science fiction Television series Star Trek Deep Space Nine Odo, played by René Auberjonois, is a main character on the science fiction television series Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt?" A number of tribbles were brought back to Deep Space Nine from the past and the species was re-established.

Enterprise

The date of first contact with tribbles has never been established in canon. The Star Trek canon is usually defined as comprising the television series ''Star Trek'', Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Chronologically speaking, the earliest known appearance of tribbles was in the 2003 Star Trek: Enterprise episode "The Breach" (which takes place in 2152) in which Doctor Phlox uses them as food for his medicinal pets in Sick Bay. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Star Trek Enterprise (simply titled Enterprise prior to season three is a Science fiction Television program created by Brannon " The Breach " is the 21st season-two episode of Star Trek Enterprise. Dr Phlox is a Fictional character in the Television series Star Trek Enterprise, played by John Billingsley. Hoshi Sato, a human, sees a tribble being utilized by Phlox. Hoshi Sato, played by Korean-American actress Linda Park, is a Fictional character in the Science fiction Television series

Star Trek: Armada 2

While not making an actual visual appearance, tribbles are used as a form of trade in the Star Trek computer game Star Trek Armada 2.

References in popular culture

See also

External links

Wah Ming Chang ( August 2, 1917 &ndash December 22, 2003) was a Chinese Crystal Caves is a video game written and published by Apogee Software. In Robert A Heinlein 's Science fiction novel The Rolling Stones, flat cats are a species of emotional symbiotes native to A shmoo (plural shmoon, also shmoos) is a fictional Cartoon creature Released in 2000 by Decipher Inc, Tribbles is a Customizable card game designed around the fictional Tribble creatures of the Star Trek Memory Alpha (often abbreviated to MA) is a Wiki that is an encyclopedic reference for topics related to the Star Trek fictional universe A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content using a simplified Markup language.
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