Hey, Joe. Hi.
So, this is an exciting one.
This is one of the most famous episodes of Original Trek, and
perhaps, definitely.
Yeah, perhaps one of the ones that has had the biggest effect on
the franchise in all sorts of ways.
It's huge.
I'd say in terms of pure enjoyment as well, this has been, I've
watched this twice this week in preparation and I've watched Oh
you better say what we're talking about first.
Well, I mean, they can see it on their podcatcher and the website
and stuff.
It's Trouble with Tribbles, which is about episode 15 of series
two.
I want to say episode 15.
Is episode 15 of series two?
Yeah.
And we've both done a little bit of a sort of extra work on this
because in the triple expanded universe of Star Trek.
It's quite a bit, isn't it?
I've watched trials and tribulations from DS9, which is one of the
best DS9 episodes, a fabulous love letter to original Trek.
And you've watched...
I watched the animated series episode, which is called More
Tribbles, More Troubles, I think.
Now, I say no.
Is that any good?
No.
No, it's the usual.
So we have seen the animated series.
So it's by David Gerald and it has tribbles in it.
It has Cyrano Jones in it as well who has, I don't know.
He's being chased by the Klingons there, they're hauling robot
ships full of grain and there's tribbles everywhere.
And the tribbles are all curiously pink.
Like they're not a variety of colours, like they are canonically
and they've been genetically modified.
So instead of breeding, they just get bigger. and so they just get
bigger and bigger No, it doesn't end up.
There's like a mutant, massive triple, does it?
No, but there's actually a scene here where like in trouble with
shribbles where Kirk picks, you know, like brushes tribbles off
the captain's chair and there's a similar scene where he picks one
just giant big arse tribble off the captain's chair.
But it's got the usual the animated series problems, which is, you
know, 2 or 3 seconds between every line that anyone delivers.
Like everyone's really static.
They all look like each other.
It's really terribly boring.
But they do try and recreate some of the really, really iconic
moments from this episode, which of course they do.
The trouble is, though, is this is such a fantastically weird
premise.
Or a Star Trek episode and such a funny one, but it can kind of
only work once per show.
Well, you know, you're just going to do the same gags and it's
going to lose its lustre.
Well, in fact, what DS9 does is actually a little bit cleverer
isn't it?
Because they go back in time and discover that all the while.
It's got a bit of a, I want to say back to the future 2 kind of
vibe.
So in the background of the scenes that we see in trouble with
Tribbles, you've got Cisco and Dax kind of sneaking around trying
to kind of find the bomb that's been hidden in the tribble that's
going to kill Kirk and stuff.
When those triples fall on his end, the single ones.
It's Dax.
It's down the aisle.
And it's really funny because it's clearly some stage hand, you
know, like up in the thing, just hurling individual tribbles that
Shatner.
And Shatner kind of gets the shits a little bit and you can kind
of see his response to it.
And so making us now think that that's Dax and Cisco all the time
is just delightful.
It's a stroke of genius I think.
Well, they do there is they they assemble because, like, there is
a mush of our plots and the trouble with tribbles.
Like, it's essentially, you know, the tribles eat a lot, replicate
and, you know, fasting shoes.
And I remember saying, because I watched this with my raft last
night and he goes, well, is there any kind of plot to this at
all?
I said, 0 yeah, it's all revealed at the end.
And then when they revealed, you know, Cyrano Joe's or whatever.
No, not Siri, no, Jones.
Darvin as the Klingon.
Well, it weren't much of a plot, was it?
I was like, no, no.
But the DS9 one is far more robustly.
And it's like a revenge plot, isn't it?
It's just a revenge plot with a bomb in a tribble, which ends up
being beamed into space in this moment with angelic music
everywhere.
It's really good But I mean, the original is fantastic.
And it's not, it's not just the tribbles that are funny, but
everyone is given funny dialogue and funny moments, and it is
they've just got David Gerald, and David Gerald's decided that
Star Trek can do a comedy.
And, you know, now, 50 years later or whatever, we know that Star
Trek is absolutely the perfect vehicle for comedy because we kind
of have seen lots and lots of that.
But they mustn't have known then.
The original series can do comedy extremely well, but it can do
comedy extremely badly as well.
So I, depending on who is involved in a particular story.
The farce of the original series can go over a cliff somewhere
absolutely agonising.
This was very finely tuned, I thought, and all the actors were on
board with this.
Yeah.
And they're playing their roles.
Absolutely how they always play their roles.
They're not sort of, you know, looking off to camera go.
You know, they are sort of committed performance, but you're
right.
There's a wonderful bit between like Spock and McCoy where they
have a fabulous pitch fight as he's studying.
Kirk and his, you know, vendetta against Mr. Barras, who's for him
to case K7 under lesson official circumstances.
Yep.
Oh man, it's just, it's so, so funny.
I thought the character work was the funniest part of it.
It's actually the troubles are funny, but it's how everyone's
reacting to this is what's the best.
And it's just so genius.
Like it's so brilliant.
Like, you know, aliens are so often rubber monsters on Star Trek
or a dog dressed up or whatever.
And just these little faceless things that are genuinely cute, like
they actually properly make them cute.
They really sell it.
Well, that just doesn't get old, does it?
A cute little fuzzy blob.
Yeah.
And they're all reacting to it going, you know, who was going, oh
it's so delightful. isn't it wonderful, you know?
So good.
Spox reaction is really properly funny.
That's one of the best things.
It seems to have a calming effect on the emotional system.
Fortunately, I'm immune to such things. stroking it.
It's adorable.
It's so great.
Well, actually, very quickly then, because you watched the short
treks.
Trouble episode, didn't you?
So it's called the Trouble with Edward, and it is this version of
Star Trek, the Kurtzman version of Star Trek doing a comedy.
And so it has John Benjamin from Archer and Bob's Burgers playing
a major game.
Only imagine that, because his voice is very sexy, that he is an
extremely sexy man.
Yeah, no, he's not.
He's really schlabian kind of bearded and odd looking.
And so he's a kind of lieutenant on a science ship, which is we
see Captain Pike at the very beginning of the thing, you know
getting a minor character and she's got her 1st captain thing and
she's on this ship.
And he is the one who genetically engineers the tribbles to breed
out of control and eventually things get out of control and the
entire ship fills with tribbles in a way that only kind of this
iteration of Star Trek could ever possibly realise.
And it is absolutely out and out comedy in a way that's sort of
more sophisticated than this and more fast paced and it's only
like sort of 7 minutes or something like that.
It's quite short.
But it's well worth watch.
It's really funny and John Benjamin is as funny in real life as he
is in a cartoon where he's always absolutely brilliant.
I think.
This is funny, but it isn't particularly sophisticated in the way
that it's funny, I think.
It's not belly laughs.
I just think this is massively charming.
Yeah, yeah, that's it.
And I think we have David Gerald to thank for the discovery that
Star Trek can work as comedy.
And people approach Star Trek in a way that's much more serious or
some people do than I want to approach it.
I want Star Trek to be silly and ridiculous because it is really
frequently even when it's not aiming for that.
And so to have it acknowledge that it's ridiculous and to sort of
play into it is really fun.
Would you like me to tell you what the original name for the
triples was before they changed into triples?
Was it a space name?
No, they wanted to call them the Fuzzies.
And the working title for this was a fuzzy thing happened to me.
Almost works.
Triple again is a brilliant word because it sounds like an English
word.
You know, like it actually sounds like an English word.
It's not a space name.
So their instinct to do not a space name.
Well, and it sounds just a little bit silly, but almost a bit
plausible as well.
It's really well chosen.
Wow, and it allowed them to do that fabulous pardon trials and
tribulations.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I mean, even the name of the title, Trouble with Tribbles
because you've got, there's a John Wyndham novel, which is a sort
of satirical novel called Trouble with Lichen.
And there is the trouble with Harry, which I think is, is that the
it's like Shirley McLean's 1st film.
I think it's an early Hitchcock, where there's a dead body that
they have to get rid of, and it's Harry, and it's called the
Trouble with Harry.
So it's a, it's a...
Trouble with X is already a kind of, you know, way of constructing
a title.
And so just calling them tribles, I think, just works well.
And it does give rise to the very, very shitty final line, the
final laugh line, that Scotty believes. all the way through.
I always find, you know, when Blake 7 and Star Trek or any show
Bugs used to do it in the 90s and these endings with a joke
right?
It's agonising, isn't it?
Like, and the camera sort of pulls away and everyone has
protracted laughter for about 15 minutes and you're like, when
does this happen in real life?
Yeah, yeah.
But this was the one time where I was like, oh, when's that joke
gonna land?
Come on, in that last scene, I was like, there's going to be a
dreadful triple gag at the end of this episode.
And of course there is.
And it did not disappoint.
The shell's absolutely fucking going for it in that final lap.
It's magnificent.
It's a glorious thing to watch.
We've seen her, too.
Well, we'll get near in a minute.
This is the most we've actually seen her do in any original series
episode.
I thought she was fabulous.
Yes, of course.
Yeah, magnificent.
Can I just say one more bizarre bit of trivia?
Well, maybe you can explain it to me.
Have you ever read the Robert Heinland novel, The Rolling Stones?
No.
Oh, okay.
Because Gene Roddenbury was particularly perturbed because this
story apparently is similar to that.
Oh, wow.
And he actually got in touch with the author to avoid a lawsuit
and said, look, I'm really sorry.
We've written this script and it's very similar to your novel.
I mean, what the hell was going on in that novel?
Yeah, yeah.
I thought Heinland was really humourless and kind of boring.
I don't know.
Apparently he was very understanding and he was extremely
satisfied with a little Mia Culpa by Rob Ray.
Yeah, so that's the trouble of doing Star Trek when all those
horrible golden age science fiction writers are still alive.
All right, what do you think?
Should we do it?
Well, I mean, we've already had a good giggle.
Well, we should probably giggle along with it.
Absolutely.
All right.
I will count as in in that case.
Five, four, three, two, one, and we're off.
There's one thing we love, Nation, is original series episodes.
Another thing we love is comedies.
Yeah, yeah, we're on a winner, yeah.
No, it's perfect.
It's really good.
You know, I am currently watching the original version as well.
So, to prepare.
I watched it on Netflix, but this version that I'm watching here
for the 1st time is the one with the original shitty effect.
Oh, see, I'm watching the new one, and honestly, the tension to
diesel they've lavished on these CGI effects is beautiful.
And so here's, I think this is supposed to be earlier in the
season because Chehov's getting his little education of like, right
you're on the crew now.
Like, you know, show us what you got.
Show us what you know.
It's a bit weird in the middle of the season.
But he's telling a joke, like, and it's kind of a crap joke, and
it's sort of a little bit unusual, and there are some comedy bits
around him identifying things as being Russian, which is actually
funny.
Um, but, you know, it was making a little joke and and he gets put
down by Spock, yes, a very little joke, which again is a kind of
nothing line.
It's not like a particularly funny line, but it's actually sort of
hilarious to have Spock do it to him, I think.
Do you know what?
I'm coming to the conclusion that Leonard Nimoy is the funniest
actor. in the original trick.
There's a bit later on in the episode where you're waiting for him
to interrupt somebody and say, oh, this is what the grain is.
Yeah, and he knows all about it because they say no one in the
world could possibly know about it, yeah.
You're waiting for Spock to jump in and the weight delivers that
line, so deadpan.
Oh, I was pissing myself.
Oh, here she is.
Michelle Nichols looking absolutely edible.
Yeah, just gorgeous.
So we're at Red Alert and there's rushing out of the Ready Room.
Are we going into the credits, are we?
Yeah.
Can I just say as well, after 2 DS9 episodes, I, yeah, I love the
look of DS9, but skipping back to 60s trek and the bold
Technicolour, beautiful nature of 60.
I love it.
It's like I just drink it in.
There's a lot of gels, aren't there?
I mean, I think the sets look a bit cheap, but they're a bit
sparse, but they're beautifully designed, you know.
I just feel like I'm in a gay disco in every room.
There's purple and pinks and yellows everywhere. bar with all of
the coloured gels and stuff is pretty impressive.
I love it.
Yeah, so good.
Do you know what made me laugh?
all the ladies in the bar, they've got these little fairy wings on
them.
And then when I watched Trouble Little Tripples, I was like, did
they add that little detail?
Yeah, yeah, that woman, the woman who comes and serves them.
We don't serve any any Klingon beverages here, sir.
That's right.
She doesn't know what Erectagino is, does she?
It's really funny watching.
It's funny watching this because I'm much more familiar with
trials and tribulations because it's one of my go-to DS9s.
And so I'm always sort of comparing it to uh, comparing it to the
DS9 episode.
There's a fantastic shot here.
Okay, you're not seeing this because you're watching the original
effects, where as they approach the station, The camera comes over
the saucer section of the Enterprise as the station approaches
stunningly good.
This shot is fairly similar.
Like we're shooting over the source.
The camera's not moving.
We're shooting over the saucer.
And like, I think that the model for K7 is actually pretty good
because it seems to be constructed out of the sources that, like
it looks like, you know, a collection of the sources on the
enterprise or the other sheep.
They do do that weird thing though, where it looks like someone's
just sort of stamped K7 over the windows.
Where it's positioned is very odd.
Now, look, I want to talk about Kurt, right?
Because you and I have said he can have quite a relaxed nature
amongst his crew and he can be quite chill.
He can also be quite officious and bureaucratic sometimes as well
you know, like he's appalled here that he's been pulled across the
sector to this, you know, red alert for no reason.
It has this running gag where he's now got the shits with the guy
with Barrett.
Who is a that guy?
Like he's absolutely super recognisable and he does come back.
He does come back in DS9 series 5. to play a different role.
I don't know that Kirk is always the likeable one in their
exchanges.
No, it's a bit of a prick, and it's really funny, and it just
reminds me of Shatner. like it's Kirk being just an asshole like
Shatner.
I want an office with this transporter pad in like a set into the
wall.
I just think that looks so fabulous with the sort of 60 stars.
Fumption in transporter or just for aesthetic.
Just both, I don't care.
Like, I'm just happy for it to look like that.
It's so great.
Like it just looks so awesome.
Just in some guys' office.
Like we've seen lots of scenes of people butting heads like this
in Star Trek.
There's a lot of talking in Star Trek, you know.
And it can be very tedious or a bit nasty, but it's just all
played so charmingly.
They seem that, like, and every time we go back to Coke and
Barrass, it's more funny. to the point where, you know, where he's
got the triples and he's like, Well, they like you, Mr. Barris.
I can't think why.
Yeah, so great.
It's so good.
So by the time of more trouble, more tribbles, it's Quinto
Triticale, rather than quad, quadro.
Okay, word.
So space.
I think it might be a real word or like the trio means third, I
think.
So quadratriticale is 4 third, you know, grain.
But it's, it's really...
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Shatner rolling his eyes, you know, because he's kind of being
made a fool of because it's not just no one has heard of this, but
this man standing next to me knows literally everything about it.
But no, he gets that line later, doesn't he?
where everyone and he goes, does everybody know about this grain
but me?
That's it.
Because he's an idiot.
But it's nice because Shatner, who obviously has a bit of an ego
and likes to present himself. well.
He's actually willing to take a piss out of himself as his
character, which is really nice.
Because the other thing that's really funny in more trouble, more
tribles, more tribles, more trouble, whatever, is that they give
Shatner, the word sabotage to say quite a lot.
So, Sarah Jones turns up in that episode and he's charged with
ecological sabotage.
And of course, there's that famous recording of Shatner saying
sabotage and being corrected by the floor manager or something.
And he says, don't know, you say sabotage.
I say sabotage.
And like, it's like, so it's like, I don't know whether David
Gerald is just doing that deliberately to shit.
How does he say in that episode?
He sort of says sabotage.
And he doesn't like...
Remember, we did determine that he is, you know, drinking a mint
julep on a date phoning in his lines, you know.
Oh, sorry, what?
What bit of the script do you want?
That's it.
Sabotage, darling.
He's just being spectacularly rude to Barrass and then stormed
off.
So great.
See, I love it whenever and even when 90s trek did this, whenever
they go off to these space bars.
I just, I just love, it feels a bit Star Wars-y.
You know, like when her solo's in the bar in the 1st Star Wars
movie, that sort of the universe is a bit bigger and there's stuff
going on and people hang out, but not just on our ships, you
know?
I really like it.
And look, this is gorgeous classic 60s furniture, the plastic
furniture in the background.
Oh, this fella, um...
I think his performance is sublime.
Yeah.
Like, he's playing up every single line.
Yeah, yeah.
And I guess he's a Star Trek type by now, isn't he?
Oh, look.
Well, you sort of idea Harry Muds, haven't you?
So you know you can have these big comic turns.
Actually, I don't think he ever goes madly over the top.
But if anyone in this is winking at the camera.
It's him.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, there's that bit during the bar fight where he goes up to
the food machine and just replicates himself a drink.
And like the comedy business because he's got these giant pockets
all over his thing, which are full of flame gems and glow water
and stuff that he's selling.
And here's our 1st trip.
We naturally just love.
In any science fiction franchise, when these sleazy merchants turn
up with all their baubles and, you know, yeah, yeah.
I think we just love these carrots. basically cork, isn't he?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
We'll get to Quark a bit later, I think.
Oh, and so this is us having the tribles explained to us and she
is so beautiful.
Like, it's just adorable.
How can you not love her hair?
I smile, you know?
It's wonderful.
And it's her and Chekhov and Chekhov's playing like her gay best
friend in this scene.
Like, it's just sort of because she's going to go shopping, isn't
she?
And he's going to go with her. right.
You think you're going to carry them back?
know?
And give her a box.
I don't know anything.
I do think there's something very cute about Wolves Canig.
Oh yeah, he's so little. terribly young.
It's that sort of, that sort of monkeys look, you know?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And he's got a beautiful smile as well.
He does.
And then these crazy old men by the bar.
I like it when later on, when he takes the 2 drinks out and he
somehow manages to lose them as he's going through the fracas and
then when he gets to the door, he just pulls one out of his
pocket.
Yeah, yeah.
No, the bomb and confiscates the drink off him because he knows
that he's been behind the bar pouring drinks for himself while the
bomb's been distracted.
But yes, he gets one of his pocket and leaves.
It's so good.
But this as well, you know, one thing I realised about this was
yeah, it's not particularly fast paces, is it?
It's a lot of talking and stuff.
I was never bored.
Sometimes with, um, one of the things that is said on random trek
all the time.
Most original series, episodes are about 10 minutes too long.
And I don't disagree with that.
They do have lots of scenes of people walking about corridors and
things like that.
But because everyone's having fun in this.
Like you just go for the ride, don't you?
It's really great.
Did you see that bit there when that triple went across the table
and started eating the grain?
Yeah, they're little puppet.
It's so great because sometimes they're just sort of super low
effort.
Like they're just sort of fluffy balls that cost nothing to
realise so that we can scatter them all over the set, but some of
them do move and they must be, it must be fishing wire or
something.
Oh my god.
Did you hear the story about James, how do you say?
his kids come into the studio.
And what happens?
Do they steal tribbles?
No, it was during this episode.
Well, they didn't really know what they were shooting.
They would just come in to see their dad in the studio and they
went snooping and they literally had a kirk at the end of this
episode moment where they started snooping about, opened up a
cupboard and 500 tribles fell out.
I don't know if that's apocryphal, but it's still a great story.
It's true.
Oh, yeah.
Have you got like a little CGI face inside that screen there on
yours?
No.
Oh, okay.
Just inset.
What?
There's a face in the screen, but it's like a...
Well, oh, my, I was really impressed watching that.
He goes, oh my god, look they're using CSO back in the 60s.
It's inlay.
They do that all the time for those little screens.
Oh, these are, this is my favourite part of Star Trek original
series, is what's going on in the...
I don't think this is the da, da, da, da music.
At the moment where they do it again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like, they just, they just quote it.
So good.
It's very important things happening.
The only thing that upholded me because I thought the score for
this was brilliant.
Especially that weird, that kind of...
Easy the gigs playing all the way through.
And I actually thought when I watched the DS9 episode that the
score wasn't half as...
You astounded me, really.
But one thing I really miss.
I thought this was a comedy episode and they didn't do the...
No, but there is sort of comedy scoring.
Like there is comedy scoring.
I love the fact.
So we've just had, um, we've had Admiral Fitzpatrick turn up and
tell Kirk that he has to do whatever Paris says, which I think is
fantastic and that kind of explains why he's got the shits with
Barris, like for the whole rest of the episode.
Don't you think the timing of that gag as well, where he's like, 0
my god, the Klingons are here.
So he's like, Mr. Paris, the Klingons, Captain Kirk, I don't think
the Klingons are going to be any trouble.
Why?
Because they're here in my office.
And then they go back.
What a great gang.
And is it John Colley, I'll see his performance as core.
No, this is what Campbell as Coloff.
Well, I'll tell you what, you don't you don't tone it down at
all.
When he comes back in blood oath.
It's annoying.
He's just as camp, I'm telling you.
Yeah, he's really camp, isn't he?
It's a really funny, like just seeing the Klingons look like
this.
Like that guy.
I think there's a that guy in trials and tribulations, who is like
an actor dressed up. as a Klingon who looks like that guy, like
the other Klingon, who's Korax or something, Michael Petaki is
Korax.
This one behind him. camp.
Yeah, the Klingon 8 who starts to fight in the bar.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, man.
He is Campus Christmas, isn't he?
It really is.
He's so good.
It should be hard away. garbage.
I love the way that everyone pronounces Klingon differently.
Yeah, like they all pronounce it wrong.
Including the Klingons.
Yeah, he says Klingon.
Klingon, doesn't he?
Robin.
And then the, and one of them goes, instead of saying, Klingon, he
goes, Klingon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's the language.
It's strange.
I just don't bring it...
No one had a meeting, you know?
No, no, look at chat.
They're just charming him back, like absolutely refusing to rise
to it and just smiling, just beautiful chat and a smile.
When he came in and he goes, oh, my dear, Cola.
Oh, my dear Captain Kirk.
I live for this stuff, you know?
Play it up to the camera.
Oh, Scotty, so boring, Leo.
I know, but look at Kirk's response to him and just Kirk's just
his whole demeanour here.
There's something sexy about him being chill and funny rather than
being an uptight creek. which he often is.
Well, Joe, this is what he's got in space.
I think Cisco has this as well when he's chill with his crew.
Very sexy because he's sort of so chill.
It's something that Archer doesn't have at all.
No, no, because he's just a pre.
He's just an asshole to everyone.
Pick up his butt all the time.
So this is Nemoy's great moment where he's talking about the
tranquilising effect it has on the human nervous system and how
he's immune to it, but he's just repeatedly striking it the whole
time.
It's shutness looking at him and then everyone looks at him and he
realises that it's affecting him and he puts...
And then he's just out now then.
It's so great.
And I love her line where she says, if you're gonna dissect it
just don't tell me.
I don't want to know.
She still gives them all away, doesn't she?
She like, go on in.
Well, so many of them.
I don't think they realise at this point just how many there's
gonna be.
No.
Have we learned yet that they're 50% reproduction, their biology?
No, because that's the funny line that, um, that, which, um
Deforest Kelly absolutely nails, that sort of wonderful thing, they
seem to be born pregnant, which is quite a time saver.
Like, it's...
I was not aware that 10 Klingons cast a student's form.
And so this is the bit, isn't it?
Where Dax 1st sees them?
Like, yeah, when they're walking along the corridor.
Yeah, they have this conversation. they're behind them.
Yeah, and obviously we don't cut to, um, we don't cut to barrass.
We just have this half of the conversation.
And she's saying how sexy he is and we think it's curved.
Because it's curves out as a spark.
Because she's a smart woman.
And Nemo's the thinking woman's crumpet, I think.
I think the idea of making, obviously, because Dax was alive in
this time, in a different host. making her like the ultimate Star
Trek fan.
I can't believe you don't want to meet Captain Kirk, you know?
And that's something that they've never done before, and it is
something that they obviously do all the time, like on lower
decks.
Like he's got the shits.
Kelly, um, um, the doctor recognises it immediately and goes
Barrass, the Klingons.
Do you know what line actually made me die when he goes, you know
what happens when you feed?
A treble.
And he wants him to say, you reproduce, he goes, no, you get a fat
dribble.
Well, that is what happens next in their next appearance.
But yes, he's just discovered that 50% of their biomass.
And there's a little bit of kind of coyness about saying
reproduction.
Do you know what I mean?
Like there's, like it's, I'm going to find out how they, you know
you know.
Do you see what De Ferris Kelly just did then?
Well, he literally turns on a camera and went, he did the comedy
like, you know, had a barbera shrug.
So good.
Oh, dear.
I want you to go on sure leave and stop everybody from fighting
Scotty.
Old Kirk.
Are you mad?
Are you serious?
He does for a while.
It does work.
And he's sort of disappointed about Shorely because he was
enjoying reading his technical journals, which will obviously come
up a little bit later in what I think is also a magnificently
comic scene.
You know, what's really confusing is that I keep seeing these sets
and I keep thinking, my word, the original series really did get
these DS9 sets, absolutely spot on, didn't they?
That's right.
Well, this, with the doors coming in and out, you know, that's the
moment where, you know, Julian and everyone sort of come in.
And it was really nice.
It's like both episodes as well.
I think it really does draw sort of like the best, most watchable
humour of all the characters, the DS9 episode and the TRS
episode.
So now we're establishing that Klingons and Tribbles don't like
each other.
And this is the very camp.
This is the camp Klingon.
I think that's funny in the DSI one, though.
Do they still sing songs or the great triple hunt?
Oh, Renee doing his like his silly comedy headshake.
This, a mortal enemy of the Empire.
Well, because they've been destroyed, haven't they?
By the 24th century, they've been wiped out by the Klingons.
He says the great Klingon Armada wiped out the triple home
planet.
See, like this whole sequence here where he's pulling out the
tribbles from under the bar.
The music is so good.
And it just goes on forever.
So he's trying to sell him a Klingon, a triple and he's just...
But did you, like, did you take note of the music during the bar
fight later on?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, that's really good.
And comedy.
And the great thing about the bar fight is that they're all really
shit.
Like they're, you know, it's not just Julian who is crappy in
trials and tribulations.
Like they're all kind of a bit crap in the bar fight and they're
all kind of losing.
Where Chekov goes into someone's chest and then he just gets
picked up and thrown over a table.
So we're having a discussion where, you know, he's drinking vodka
because, you know, Chekhov is a child and he's just drinking vodka
and it's like mother's milk and he's drinking scotch and Chekhov
who all all episode has been crediting things to the Russian says
that scotch was invented by a little old lady in Leningrad, which
I just think is just...
It's so funny.
So this is just so tremendous.
So this is the drunk Pleon who's mouthing off.
And he's insulting, he's insulting Kirk and humans, like
generally.
It should be hauled away as garbage.
Yeah, with that.
Mr. Stunk.
Don't you think you said briefly?
Oh, no, I can't get it out. rephrase that.
Oh, it's great.
Kurt gets called a tin-plated dictator in more trouble, more
tribles as well, more more tribble, more troubles, whatever.
Should be more trouble, more trouble.
And trials and tribulations, they say, his ship, James Kirk.
The man was a menace. 15 different temporal violation.
I love the fact they've gone back in time so many times.
There's a temporal investigation.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
And do you know what their names are?
Those 2 characters.
Yeah, yeah, they're like Scully and Mulder only anagrams.
Oh, Dolmer and Lustley or something.
Here we go.
Now the Klingons game insult the shube.
But it's weird as well.
I do think the production value on this episode is strong.
Like, I've seen original series Fires that are quite embarrassing
and amateurish.
And yeah, this is because it's funny.
I don't know, because it's played for laughs.
Yeah, yeah.
Don't really matter, does it?
No, I just think it's well directed and it's like a really kind of
prolonged set piece.
I mean there's no action in this.
It is just people talking.
And as we've said, like a bar fight or like a fight is kind of the
cheapest bit of action that you can realise in Star Trek.
And so that seems to be why they have so many of them.
But this one is funny because you see them all kind of losing and
being pathetic and stuff.
Just look at that look.
Look at that look on Jimmy's face.
You just know that he's going to get up and clock him.
It's so awesome.
That's the thunder as well.
The fellow playing the Klingon has to laugh for ages because he
knows the punch is coming. but he can't react until.
Oh here we go.
Chaos and shoes.
He learned how to fight like that in an Asdar car park, I think.
Did you see the barman swiping all the triples?
He doesn't want him to get hurt.
He was putting him under the bar.
Don't hurt the soft furry creatures.
And so what's he doing?
He's just trying to escape the bar fight.
And then 0 Jones, we cut between the shitty bar fight and him just
pouring himself more and more drinks from this sort of low effort
replicator.
Yeah, there's there's Chekhov punching the Klingon in the stomach
and they're just getting thrown across the room.
And that fella, Cyrano Jones.
Honestly, his pinky is out for this whole scene.
And you know what's delightful as well?
He's just going through it, loving every 2nd of this mad fire
isn't he?
He's just watching it and drinking and drinking.
Yeah.
So Scotty gets a crab beaten out of him as well.
They're just hurling themselves.
They really into it.
It's kind of like a, it might be my favourite Star Trek fist
fight.
It's definitely one of, well, think about it in stark contrast.
So the siege of AR 558 that we watched the other week.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
At least you can see this one.
That's right.
And can you see it?
Look at it.
Woo, whee, across the bar.
I just love the part.
There's so many people are going over tables and bowls.
Just having so much fun.
There's a woman at the back of the set.
She's like, pressing herself into the corner like, oh, but these
guys are really going for it.
Like, they're just hurling themselves across the shot.
You know, it's really fun.
And then this, he just arrives with the intact drink.
He's just about to get a sip and then the guy just swipes it off
him, but fortunately he's got another one in his pocket.
See, this is a sort of bar fight.
You say, I wouldn't mind getting involved in, you know, where
people just thrown across tables.
That's terrific.
Unfortunately, I live in England where bar flies end up with
people getting glasses smashed in their faces.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, dear.
So this scene is just magnificent and it's where O'Brien and
Bashir are inserted into the middle.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So the 1st punch.
Yeah, so and he's got the shits.
Like he's really properly got the shits and he's kind of, yep, so
that's, is that O'Brien that, that's okay.
Brian's in the middle.
Yeah, he's the one who says he's the one who says that too.
I don't know, sir.
He's being so hilariously, Cap. It's so great.
And props to check off are doing punched in the face acting, like
he's acting as if that bruise really hurt, so he doesn't want to
move his face too much, which people often forget to do this. his
whole sequence now. says.
I'm sorry.
I'm not going to fight him just because he insulted you. but he
assaulted the enterprise.
That's a matter of personal honour, sir.
Yeah, right?
Yeah, he's, he's, but Shatner is like, I mean, Kirk is genuinely
properly miffed that he's really got the shits.
And it's really, like, and because he actually says, you know, they
insulted you and he goes, oh, okay, well, yeah, you know, like, and
he's kind of ready to forgive it a little bit flattered, and then
he discovers that that wasn't it.
I held him back because like Chekhov wanted to fight the guy over
insulting you, but I had stopped him, you know?
Is this off the record?
No, this is not off the record.
Well, he called you a complete fuckwear.
Oh, did he?
Okay.
That is the...
And that's when the fight started.
No, I think that off the record line is unbelievably funny.
And he's like just Shatner's delivery of the response is just
unbelievably great.
Because you never get to see this.
Do you ever get to see this?
This is actors that, well, this is actors that are incredibly
relaxed around each other now.
They know they're performances and they're playing up to it.
I think, you know what?
The more I'm watching it, the more savvy.
I think it's Shatner is as an actor.
Really good.
He's properly good.
And look at him.
Look at him.
He's absolutely crushed.
But...
But the way he says it, it's like, surely you understand.
That is a better off.
It's garbage scowl.
So that's when you decided to hit the Klingons, is it?
And he's already kind of resolved not to punish him because...
We kind of know that throughout this whole scene.
Don't we?
Yeah.
But he's absolutely butt hurt.
Like he's super, super annoyed.
And so he dismisses him and sort of pretends to be cool with it
and then does the restricted quarters thing and then and then he
goes, oh, yeah, that's right.
I'll get to read my technical manuals.
But he's even got the shits even more because he hasn't even
actually managed to punish him.
Look at the look on his face.
Oh, Nathan, this whole scene between Spock and McCoy.
Like these 2 now, I've gone on about how these 2 can be a bit
toxic together sometimes, but this was hilarious.
It's all done in sort of double meaning dialogue, isn't it?
Good thing about triples is they do not talk too much.
But that strange quote from the Bible as well. like they're from
the sermon on the Mount.
Like he's disquieted by them because they toil not, neither do
they spin.
Like they don't seem to serve any purpose.
They just sort of eaten fuck and reproduce and that seems to be
all they do.
And the line about, the line about, they make, they're fluffy and
they make a beautiful noise and he says, so would an ermine
violin.
And he goes, what is that?
It's like, and that's that's Spock coming up with that line.
It's so good.
Oh, it's wonderful.
And you know what?
They pace out as well.
You know, because the triples, obviously, we're getting more and
more as we go.
So we've seen one.
Then we see a couple.
Then we see a plateful.
Then we see a whole room full and it just gets big.
It just gets more absurd as it goes.
Oh, yes.
I love this is funny as well.
Him sitting on the chair in the bridge with the tribble on it. is
funnier for having no dialogue whatsoever.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It is terrific, isn't it?
You know, here we goes.
All frottle at this point, don't you?
Or is that?
Music.
He's looking around at everyone and say, well, somebody, just
what's going on?
Well, because in animated series, the actors can't, the characters
can't sit down or do anything.
Shatner just, I mean, Kirk just decides to stand next to his chair
because there's a giant pink dribble in it.
And is he padding it?
No.
Oh, no.
Now we get to see how many they are.
I mean, that should have struck him earlier because obviously it
was in his line of sight, but now the camera moves to the front of
the bridge.
I want this going across the rail there.
It's sort of moving along.
Oh that's so gorgeous.
I really want one you know.
Spock looking at him because he's kind of like attracted to the
one that's moving along the railing.
Like, he's kind of interested in it.
Spock looks at him and he gets embarrassed.
Don't look at me, Nathan.
It's the trebles that are pregnant.
That's right.
Yeah.
Just the pregnant, it seems to be quite a time saver.
He's so funny.
It is more funny for Shatner playing this straight, you know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But McCoy is really, really like that delivery.
I love the use of the word bisexual here too.
Yes, I that really made me sound.
Yeah, so what they mean is hermaphroditic, but they must have
assumed that that wouldn't be as comprehensible as bisexual, which
doesn't actually mean having both male and female sex organs.
They do have a function.
They give us love.
You know what's really funny about this whole secret on the
bridge.
It's like, no one's just, you think so, we'll just go around and
clear them up, but they just left them all over the consoles all
over the floor.
So in trouble with Edward, there's a guy who just walks around in
the background with a giant vacuum cleaner, which has a big
transparent tank strapped to his back and this sort of vacuum
cleaner thing that goes over his head and he's just picking them
up off the floor, which is kind of adorable.
I know, you know, you you say about sort of hang time.
This is basically...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. with fluffy blobs, isn't it?
Okay, so what's occurring here?
So we're questioning him in Barris's office.
We are questioning Cyrano Jones and we're very cross... this is
where he has a light bulb moment, isn't it?
Ah, the storage compartments.
Yes.
Yeah, and in fact, the storage compartments line is something that
we hear.
He says storage compartments quite a number of times, including
earlier on in the 1st conversation with Barris, and then they
picked that up, I think, in, don't you?
There's 9 one.
They say right when they land, they say, oh, the station is mostly
storage compartments.
A few bars, you know?
And I think there's a realisation in the DS9 episode in trials and
tribulations, isn't there, where someone goes...
Yeah, yeah.
So he has the same discovery that Shatner has.
Like he's suddenly realised. that wonderful bit where they're
literally they're sitting on all of those triples in the storage
compartment and they're scanning each one and then throwing it
scanning it, throwing it.
So good.
Do you know, I was just reading, actually, you know, memory alpha
you know, we were saying earlier about Dax throwing the triple
through the hole and landing.
Apparently that's because the stage hands.
They weren't aiming for Shatner.
They were just supposed to throw him out, but because he wasn't in
their line of sight, they just kept catching him.
Him looking a bit peeved is actually real.
This just supposed to be dropping out of the out of the storage
container, but instead they just appear to be hurling themselves
directly at Shatner, that's so great.
Oh, that's even funnier, isn't it?
That's right.
Oh, and Spock and Dax both have the same line about...
About the multiplying.
Yeah, yeah, they do the same sum.
And I think she actually overhears Spock doing that some later and
then kind of smiles because it's, you know, they've both got it
right.
Yeah, can I drop a really, a really slight piece of trivia, which
I really like.
Doug Jones from Star Trek Discovery says this is one of his
favourite episodes because he prefers the low stakes Star Trek
episodes that are really fun.
Yeah, yeah.
They are sometimes the best.
Yeah, yeah. this is just making...
Look at it in the cars.
Yeah, one of my favourite Star Treks ever.
Yeah.
He's after my grain?
So the guy who plays on Darvin is obviously back for trials and
tribulations.
Is it the 25th anniversary?
I'm a little baffled because here he looks quite exotic.
Whereas in...
True or tribulations?
Is it because he's a Klingon?
Are they giving him a slightly darker hue?
Yeah, yeah.
I think the actor might be Jewish or something and there is kind
of an ugly history of making the Klingons look like, um, you know
racial minorities and stuff and they kind of read sometimes the
sort of Fu Manchu characters with those beards or whatever.
Um, here, they just seem like sort of cross white guys most of the
time.
So there's a bit less of that.
But I wonder whether they're just kind of, they've cast Brill
because he's a bit darker.
And he is still a little bit dark skinned in the thing, but he's
got gray hair and he looks a bit less.
Terribly handsome as well, you know.
Yeah, yeah, young, like both of them, but he's a little bit more
relaxed where he's very kind of stiff and kind of, um, you know
and young, ridiculously young.
He's brilliant.
He's Barry, isn't he?
Yeah, and he gets he gets to camp it up in that one because he's
just the villain.
Whereas he's not the villain in this, is it?
So he's like, I see myself holding Kirkham Kirk's head in one hand
and a triple in the oven.
Oh, he wants a monument, doesn't he?
Do you know, do you know something that actually, I learn about
Gene Roddenbury?
He really disliked this episode?
Oh wow.
He disliked this episode.
He disliked the Tribbles and he didn't want comedy episodes in
original Trek.
And apparently Gene Coon, who you and I have said, was as
responsible, was massively in favour of, you know, having some
fun.
Yeah.
But apparently he thought it deviated from what he thought Star
Trek should be.
Yeah, but I think, you know, Have you seen it?
bloody absurd.
He's been proved wrong.
Yes, and it is silly and when it acknowledges that it's silly.
Like sometimes it's worth just playing it straight and going with
it, if it's being ridiculous.
But, you know, sometimes it's worth acknowledging that it's silly
too.
Oh, here we go.
Yeah, he sort of, he's actually seems to be kind of pulling them
down out of the thing in order to keep them going.
Like he's certainly leaning into them.
The fact that this next shot starts with him emerging up from an
entire...
Army of brillles.
That one's moving.
I think he's redefined and perfected looking peeved in this
episode.
He's just slightly pissed off the entire way through this
episode.
Did you see that security officer behind spot there?
in the red shirt.
He is in the DS9 episode.
Obviously there's a much older man.
He's the one that arrests a Brian and Bashir after the bar fire.
Oh wow.
Wow.
He's put on about 15 stones since then.
So they squeeze him into a red shirt again, but he's massive.
That's brilliant.
That's awesome.
Oh, just the pained way, he says, and please close that door.
I mean, how can you...
Look at that image of Shadow that's surrounded by those tribles
ridiculous.
There we go.
They're throwing them at his head from off.
The image I really took away from this was the poor fellow at the
bar when he's comes around and he's got 2 on his head.
They redo that in the final scene of the DS9 episode, don't they?
where we pull back to see that Quark has one on his head.
Like, and he's the bartender.
Like, and he's just literally that shot.
And that is the...
Well, now, do you know?
Do you know, though, like you said about the short treks where
they had the budget, the two, you know, a 1000 CGI triples filling
up this ship.
And in the DSI one, it's clear they've only got about 50 and
they're trying to scatter them around the promenade very, they'll
make it look on those hundreds.
But they do a pretty good job of it, and that is absolutely a
stroke of genius to have, like, because the investigators have
come to investigate the temporal violation and the temporal
violation has caused the tribbles, which were extinct, to not be
extinct anymore.
And we don't know that until the very end.
And so they've ushered those guys out.
And then we reveal that the entire station is just plagued with
tribbles.
And we just leave it like that.
It's wonderful.
Do you remember the apologetic look on Odo's face?
He goes, did you tell them?
It's so good.
That is such a genius comic moment, I think, at the end.
Cisco goes.
Well, we could always build a new station.
Yeah, that's right.
Everyone's having fun.
That's great.
Honestly.
Oh, here we go.
This is that protracted sequence where the triple unmasks the real
villain.
Yeah, and it turns out it's little Charlie Brill, Barry, to his
most.
I feel like every Poirot reveal, you know, could be a tribble
there.
Yeah.
We haven't mentioned the other really prominent tremble in Star
Trek discovery.
Who's that?
Captain Locker has a tribble on his desk in...
Oh, is it dead?
In the ready room.
No, it's alive, but he does, I think, have a dissected one or
something in, you know, with a gone skeleton stuff in his
armoury.
It's a tribble there as well I think that's it's a declaration by
Kurtzman Trek that we're just doing the nonsense bits as well.
It'll be okay.
I just, I love the fact that in 90s trek, I think it's on trek.
They just cherry pick all of the wackiest, the maddest things from
original trek and just run with it.
It's great.
Well, in DS9, but not really in Star Trek, the Next Generation.
And in fact, Star Trek, the Next Generation very deliberately
seems to avoid, you know, after episode two, obviously, which is
just a remake of another one.
Well, you know, Ronald D. Moore and Ira Bear, and I think Renee
Chavaria as well, a massive original series fans.
So they would throw in references.
There's a bit in facets where Odo, who is in fact, um, 0 my god
that's his old host.
He goes up to the bar and he goes, 2 troniers, please. brilliant.
Well, I think, yeah, it's like the Pike City pioneers.
Like, if you look, there's loads of references.
Yeah, yeah.
Oh here we go.
So this is the unmasking.
He's got the, yeah, they don't like Klingon.
Okay, so McCoy just walks in because we need him for a plot point
in the minute.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
No, he needs to out of the line about his pullman.
Well, Mr. Spark.
I didn't know you had it in you.
This is a per name.
Oh, here we go. just embarrassed.
They like you.
Well, there's no accounting for taste.
Like, he's really quiet.
He's having fun now.
Shatner's really enjoying himself and he just gets the chance to
let off one last insult to Barris and here we go.
Yeah, he's really having fun.
Can you just imagine where they got their scripts?
They must have all just been like, oh, man, we can cut loose and
have a laugh.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Instead of trying to make something absurd, seem dramatic.
Yeah, we can make something absurd.
Actually, absolutely.
Yeah.
Although William Charlotte is playing Barris absolutely straight.
He deserves an award, I think of some kind.
So I do wonder then.
I do wonder if they should have done more comedy episodes.
Because it's clearly it works.
Yeah, I wonder whether it would have tried our patience, perhaps
if they, too often.
I think we think there are more comedy episodes of the original
series than there are because so many of the serious episodes are
so ridiculous.
Yeah.
That, you know, Abraham Lincoln floating in space.
Yeah, the giant green hand, you know, the massive Pooh monster.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But, but I mean, this is, you know, like deliberately comic.
Well, can you think of any other?
I think the one set in the Chicago planet.
That's supposed to be quite funny, isn't it?
Oh, the Alice in Wonderland one.
Do you remember?
Yeah, that's the one that I've been thinking of more than anything
else, and I don't really remember that at all, I have to say.
Is that Shore Leave?
Yeah, surely.
It's really funny Oh my god, look, he's wobbling those tribles in
his hand to try and make it a lot.
Yeah, yeah, he's getting them to act.
Yeah, yeah.
No, no, no.
I think I'm one of those.
The tal is attached to a fishing line, I think.
I don't think that's just all shot.
That short ought to go at the bar.
That is so great.
He's so muterable.
And I like this, I like the fact that the punishment for, um, oh
god, I'm, Mr., no, what's his name?
Tyrano Jones has to pick up all...
Tribbles and it's going to take him 17.5 years. 17 years.
Yeah.
And of course, we get comedy music as he starts picking them all
up at the end.
Instead of looking around.
Of course, it will take him less time than that because he
actually ends up getting off the station and being in the animated
series.
But this sort of heightened performance.
Oh, the sort of theatrical acting, yeah.
I mean, you know me, we're a big fan of vintage TV.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I mean, Star Trek does this still, you know, like at times
doesn't it?
Oh, yeah, that fabulous pirate woman in the serene squad.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's like a big comedy villain.
Not comedy, but a big camp villain kind of.
I about say she did everything, but put her hands on her hips, but
I think she might have done that. times.
So 17.9 years, so that's what, 2 years less on the prison
sentence.
So, right, here's a quote, I don't need your new questions, but
I'm going to ask you a question.
Is this the best comedy episode?
I think it's the most, it's the most remembered.
Yeah, but I mean, I think that, um, well, I mean, we've got lower
decks.
Do you know what I mean?
In lower decks, he's I'd like it.
Wishing that to a other side, which is a comedy show.
Yeah, I think, I think probably, I think probably there's a sort
of attempt to do a sort of strange weird camp comedy towards the
end of series one of Strange New Worlds, but it's not an out and
out comedy and it does have an actual kind of, you know, emotional
core.
Um, I think I think there's a few contenders for like most of them
are.
I think literal green men would rank. as a very funny one.
Our man Bashir as well, which is very funny.
Um, And I think there's a couple on TNG as well.
I think the one where Q loses his powers is hilariously funny.
Remember that one?
The guy that stabs him with a four.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, again, but that's just a big performance from John Delancey
and everyone else is playing it straight, whereas here everyone
gets the opportunity to be funny. like they get to deliver
something.
There's a massive high concept joke as well, isn't it?
The triples.
Like little green men, uh, cork, rum, and not, because they're
Roswell aliens, you know.
Yeah.
Yeah, that is pretty great.
Or the whole crew plays baseball.
Yeah, that's a sitcom episode, but it's not quite a comedy.
Like it's not an out comedy, but it is shaped like a sitcom
episode where, you know, Cisco learns available lesson and stuff
and it does end with a crap joke as well, which is super
disappointing.
I'll tell you when, I'll tell you when a comedy goes badly wrong
profit and lace.
Oh yeah, yuck.
That is supposed to be a comedy.
Super ill advised.
The, I mean, Star Trek, the Next Generation, everyone is generally
a bit too wooden for comedy to land.
Like they're not that good at it.
And towards the end, they get more relaxed.
Oh here we go.
Look, Michelle's giving a proper head laugh there.
Like she's throwing a head back.
It's the funniest thing that's ever happened.
Bless her.
That's so awesome.
You know, the funniest thing about watching this with my palner
was that at the end of the episode and you've got that picture of
the gall. in the credits and he went, what the hell was that?
But you know what?
I will I will forgive.
I'll forgive the joke at the end of this one though.
It's the whole thing full of moments like that.
The gone thing is another one of these ridiculous things where
it's a rubber lizard in a cocktail frock and then they make it the
most terrifying alien enemy that you could possibly imagine in
strange New World series one and gives, you know, one of the
characters a tragic backstory involving the gone.
Like, it's that thing where it just goes, yes, Star Trek's
ridiculous, and we're going to still do it, and we're going to do
it in a very Star Treky way and you watch us make something
incredible out of it.
Well, I think the rarest of things and say that actually
Enterprise had a gone appear in the mirror 2 passer in series 4
and did it in CJR, but in like the half dark, glowing eyes.
And it was really effective.
And I was like, Jesus, these monsters have got legs, you know?
They are fucking terrifying in episode 9 of Strange New Worlds.
Like they're really, really frightening.
It's a great episode, a really properly good episode.
Yeah.
Nathan, I kind of knew you and I were going to laugh throughout
the entire episode. so good.
It's so good.
And like we said before, it's not overt belly laughs. not, you
know, it's it's comedic.
Yeah, yeah.
Um, but I just think it's the character work.
It's the character work on the original series that has impressed
me the most.
Yeah, and the sort of...
Well we call it relaxed.
That sort of charming relationships that everybody has, that it's
just not there in most of 90s trick, you know?
where they're all, where they're all sort of like, you know, office
people in space.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And like the banter, any kind of comedy that they attempt to do in
Voyager is just horrifically bad, like really, seriously
physically painful to us.
Unless it involves Jerry Ryan and Robert Picardo.
I mean, that's pretty good.
Yeah, they're great.
Yeah, obviously.
Oh, actually, that was an episode, you know, with an over comedy
premise.
The one where the doctor and 7 of 9 do the body swap.
Have you watched it?
I watched it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It was funny, wasn't it?
it was properly good.
He's such a prick.
It's wonderful.
It's really good.
Yeah.
Well, I will say, uh, before we out, once again, like every single
time we dive back to the original series, I have a complete blast
and it's, but that's been a revelation to me because I've never
had time for the original series before.
The more I watch it, the more worth, I think, is there.
All right, it's the end of the episode, and it is time for us to
choose what we're going to do next, and it's my turn to hit the
button.
It is.
Ask me what we're doing.
What are we doing?
So it has been a while.
Look, so we just went and looked back over the last 20 episodes of
Untitled Star Trek Project, and it turns out we have done 2 Star
Trek, the Next Generation episodes in that time. and just to, you
know, the, the most popular, potentially the most popular star, is
the most underrepresented in the last 20.
Yeah, yeah.
I think we've done more discovery than Star Trek The Next
Generation.
And there's a lot more of the next generation. right.
So we're just going to choose from Star Trek the Next Generation
and I'm going to press the button now.
Go for it.
Okay, so this is a classic.
It's from series 4 and it's reunion.
So it's a wharf episode with special industry, K-Lar.
It is brilliant.
And I know that's brilliant because I've seen it recently.
But I really want to watch something quite shit.
Yeah, yeah, I'd like to watch something a little bit less kind of
overwrought than that.
It is really good and Susie Paxton is wonderful.
Can you please keep pressing until you get sorry from seasons one
and two, please?
Oh, okay.
Let's see.
The defector.
That's actually great as well.
That's fantastic.
Yeah.
I've watched that recently too.
Oh, that's good, isn't it?
So that's series three.
Yeah, this is when they're kind of getting good.
New ground.
Oh, that's terrible.
That's the one with the little Gilvos puppets.
Oh, Series 4 is.
It's an Alexander episode.
It's the one where Wolf learns how to be a good parent.
Is it the one where Loaxana takes him to the holodeck?
No, that's wonderful.
What's that called?
The higher, the fewer.
Yeah, that's pretty great.
Are you sure they can't remember?
No, okay.
No, new ground's got these dreadful sort of vol puppets in it.
It's not.
Oh, okay.
Yep, no.
Okay. let's try something else And it's very boring. as well.
Oh, the loss.
A loss.
Oh, that's a Troy, actually, isn't it?
She does get she becomes a pissed off.
Is she?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. which is quite good.
That is quite good, but... like, how can you know what it's like
to lose something that you never had?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's really...
But Riker calls her out on it and says, you know, you're being a
bit of a bitchy, you know.
It doesn't say quite like that, but.
Come on. one or two.
There must be something in there for seasons one or two.
Okay, this is series two.
This is pen pals.
Oh, like a good one.
Is it?
Is it that good?
I don't think it's terrible.
Penpal isn't a terrible episode.
Oh, it's kind of terrible.
Alright.
I'm going to be.
You could cut some of this out if we keep...
These is going to be the longest one ever.
So the best of both worlds, part two, which means we have to do
part one.
The Mantlepiece Society, really the Masterpiece Society.
It's the one where Diana has sex with the handsome leader of a
colony.
Yeah, it's super important.
We've got to choose one eventually.
It's going to be this next one.
Right.
Come on.
No, this is terrible.
This is transfigurations at the end of series three.
So it's just before best of both worlds and it's Beverly's
annual.
Georgie become this word.
No, it's no, that's called...
I can't remember what that's called.
Transfiguration.
Yeah, yeah, no, it's not that one.
It's the one where it's Beverly's annual fucking an alien episode
and this time it's John Doe, who then turns all glowy and goes
back to his home planet or something.
It's super boring.
Well, come on. one more time then.
Well, no.
Times arrow part two.
That's all right.
I mean, that's pretty terrible.
Mr. Pickett?
I need to be done. sort of hang time.
It is hang time and it does have Jerry Hardness.
It kind of fun.
It's pretty terrible.
Yeah.
New ground again.
God hates us.
There's something in the country.
Okay, I'm telling you.
Series 2, episode 19 Manhunt.
Oh, that's the one where Luax Olatore is after Picard's legs for
the whole episode.
Yeah.
I just, I know you're going to love this.
You're gonna love it.
I think I will.
It's got horny, horny, Miguel.
Yeah, no, I think it's kind of bad.
And it's it's not the eulogium or the morologium.
What's the one?
It's the, she's got the, it's the betazoid kind of...
She's more horny than ever.
Yeah, because she's undergoing menopause, but it's...
He trying to go to the Dixon Hill.
The holodeck program.
And then she just goes on there, basically, and pursues him.
Yeah, it's dreadful.
All right, let's do that.
Absolutely weird doing that.
Gene Roddenbury had a point about Star Trek being comedy. doing
comedy.
That's it.
So we've just done a successful comedy for the original series and
now we're just gonna watch the crew of the Enterprise D fuck it up
in the 1st kind of plunge and sort of depressing way possible, I
think.
I literally cannot wait.
You've been listening to entitled Star Trek Project with Joe Ford
and Nathan Bottom League.
We're online at untitled Star Trek Project.com, where you can find
links to our Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channel.
Our podcast artwork is by Kayla Ciceran, and the theme was
composed by Cameron Lahn.
This episode was recorded on the 29th of November 2022 and
released on the 9th of December.
We'll see you next time for Star Trek the Next Generation.
There we go.
I've already started on 2nd skin.
So I'll finish it tomorrow, probably.
Can you hear me, all right?
Yeah, I'm all right.
Yeah.
Really clear?
Yeah, I love this new microphone.
It was not as expensive as the old one, but it is good, I think.
That's what matters.
That is what matters.
I read a list of microphones for under a 100 American dollars that
this guy said was good.
And uh, this one's this is it, and it's got less, because there's
those ones when we're recording, like, and there's that big
fucking pop shield in my face.
You know, like when I was like crouched in Calvin's room on his
tiny fucking desk and like I'm down here in the frame and then
there's a big giant pop shield.
I think I've got some YouTube videos or some of that going on, you
know.
This is much more normal.
I just feel like I'm at a press conference.
We just there we go.
Just so I can, I've got memory out for up, so I can just mention a
few little bits and bobs.
Yeah, I've got a linked memory alpha here on my notes page.
Have you read?
I've got to drop what the original working title was, but I don't
know what that is.
Don't tell me yet.
Oh okay.
It's great.
I mean, it's terrible and that's why it's great.
Oh, dear.
Now you got to be all high energy.
But the next day, I'm 35.
So I will have to go to bed after this.
I think.
But I have 2 lessons tomorrow and then I will, I think I'll spend
all of my free time doing prep for the fucking 1st aid course.
Then tomorrow night.
I will record the podcast and edit AR and I'm 2nd skin.
I mean I think I should be fine.
Red leather, yellow, leather, red, yellow.
All right.
Are you ready?
Always.
Hey, Joe. Hi.
All right, I'm going to do that a little bit more.
I'm excited.
Oh, yeah, for a comedy episode, remember?
Hey, Joe. No, for a death.
I can just stick the high in for a before.
We'll do it once more.
Just to get natural.
Of all the things that we agonise over it is...
I do the timing, like I make it happen.
Hey, Joe. Hi.
So this is an exciting one.
This is one of the most famous episodes of original Trek.