# Was "The Trouble with Tribbles" a bottle episode? (Star Trek: TOS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [September 26, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422 "2025-09-26T22:58:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/81 "2025-10-14T01:22:08Z")
I feel there’s a distinction between a cheap production and a bottle production. A bottle production is one where you’re using resources you’ve already paid for. Regular cast members who are already under contract and sets that have already been constructed. Those costs might have been very high initially but they’re already in the budget. What a bottle production avoids is any new costs. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/82 "2025-10-14T01:30:27Z")
Of course, you could also have a bottle series, where the whole series not only uses only a small number of sets, but they’re inexpensive sets. Or maybe even generic sets left over from some other series. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/83 "2025-10-14T01:34:34Z")
Fair enough. Taking advantage of the already sunk cost would be a bottle episode, then. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/84 "2025-10-14T07:18:53Z")
If a show went into production with a full season of completed scripts, they could use the bottle episode concept to create normal episodes at a discount. Imagine the first week of shooting on TOS if they just filmed all of the bridge scenes (with the regular cast) for the entire season. The next day, you shoot all of the regular cast scenes in the transporter room, then in the corridors, the sick bay, the whatsit tubes. You don’t even bring in your special sets, location shoots, guest stars, redshirts, and aliens until the last weeks of shooting. I suspect that’s how it’s done on today’s 10-episode seasons. But someone, back in the day of 25+ episode seasons, must have tried or at least contemplated doing it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/85 "2025-10-14T13:25:41Z")
I doubt they had scripts far enough in advance to do that though. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/86 "2025-10-14T15:00:47Z")
That was my reaction to _All In The Family_; very simple almost stage-play like sets, and really darn near only the one living room. Same for the cast. Especially the first season, after Archie, Edith, Gloria, and Meathead there were very very few other character appearances. E.g. Reverend Felcher was a common topic of convo, but IIRC he never appeared in the flesh. He was totally cost-free. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/87 "2025-10-14T17:18:10Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Imagine the first week of shooting on TOS if they just filmed all of the bridge scenes (with the regular cast) for the entire season. The next day, you shoot all of the regular cast scenes in the transporter room, then in the corridors, the sick bay, the whatsit tubes. You don’t even bring in your special sets, location shoots, guest stars, redshirts, and aliens until the last weeks of shooting. I suspect that’s how it’s done on today’s 10-episode seasons. But someone, back in the day of 25+ episode seasons, must have tried or at least contemplated doing it that way. That’s how [My Three Sons](https://stanleylivingston.com/my-three-sons/my-three-sons-trivia/#:~:text=At%20Fred%20MacMurray's%20insistence%252C%20all,joined%20the%20cast%20as%20Dodie.) was filmed. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/88 "2025-10-14T23:47:05Z")
Thanks. I remembered that one old sitcom had used that strategy but couldn’t remember which one. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/89 "2025-10-15T01:18:28Z")
He was in one episode, [The Saga of Cousin Oscar.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0509944/) Ironically, Cousin Oscar does _not_ appear! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/90 "2025-10-15T01:27:17Z")
Why didn’t Kirk “phaser on stun” the tribbles? It’s been decades since I’ve seen that ep, and I always wondered about his inability to deal with them. I looked up a synopsis because I wasn’t sure about it, but they did indeed beam them onto the Klingon ship. They were laughing on the bridge, but it’s a major fuck-up on Scotty’s part, because it revealed to the Klingons a real security problem. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/91 "2025-10-15T01:30:56Z")
I would suppose that the treaty in effect forbade the Klingons from raising shields while in Federation space. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/92 "2025-10-15T01:33:53Z")
Scotty’s tribble prank would certainly have triggered quite the diplomatic row at a time when the Federation and the Klingons were just barely ready for peaceful coexistence. He’d have been keel-hauled in any real Navy run by any real government. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/93 "2025-10-15T01:34:27Z")
I would think that they would have detection of energy impulses aimed at them figured out, but I’m fanwanking, and to be honest, I never was that big of fan 😆 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/94 "2025-10-15T01:59:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > E.g. Reverend Felcher was a common topic of convo, but IIRC he never appeared in the flesh. He was totally cost-free. **Fletcher!** Felcher! _Whatever!_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/95 "2025-10-15T02:06:49Z")
I only remember Edith saying the name as “Felcher”. Which to 13yo me, was, like so many surnames, just another meaningless word. Heck, I think I first learned of … alternate … meanings of “felcher” here on SDMB 20 years ago. So what’s the true backstory there? What was the character properly called? Was mispronouncing that name a running gag I never got? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/96 "2025-10-15T04:07:29Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > If a show went into production with a full season of completed scripts, they could use the bottle episode concept to create normal episodes at a discount. Imagine the first week of shooting on TOS if they just filmed all of the bridge scenes (with the regular cast) for the entire season. The next day, you shoot all of the regular cast scenes in the transporter room, then in the corridors, the sick bay, the whatsit tubes. You don’t even bring in your special sets, location shoots, guest stars, redshirts, and aliens until the last weeks of shooting. I suspect that’s how it’s done on today’s 10-episode seasons. But someone, back in the day of 25+ episode seasons, must have tried or at least contemplated doing it that way. In the early '70s there was the _NBC Mystery Movie_, a series that would rotate among different recurring characters. One week it was Columbo, the next it could be McMillan and Wife, then McCloud, etc. The original was on Sunday, but it was successful enough to launch another version on Wednesday, and one of the shows was _Banacek_. It ran for two seasons of 8 episodes each, and was filmed rather like what you describe. The show was set in Boston. From what I’ve read, the whole production crew would go to Boston and shoot all the exterior scenes they needed for the whole season. Then everyone went back to Hollywood and shot the remaining scenes on the usual sound stages. I’ve had the chance to see it recently, and it’s a great time capsule of Boston from 50+ years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/97 "2025-10-15T07:02:53Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Why didn’t Kirk “phaser on stun” the tribbles? Because they were adorable. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/98 "2025-10-15T10:46:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So what’s the true backstory there? What was the character properly called? Was mispronouncing that name a running gag I never got? Not so much on the Reverend’s name, but Archie’s malapropisms in general. Like, _“It’s a well known fact that capital punishment is a_ _ **detergent** _ _to crime!”_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/99 "2025-10-15T11:59:54Z")
'Zactly. Heck, the real dialog included discussing transporting them directly into space as a means of culling / disposal. Which was rejected as cruel. If they’re alive they’ll keep eating. Dead is the only cure. Of course after the cutesy ending wherein Scotty gleefully delivered them all to the Klingons, it was left unmentioned what the Klingons did with them. Good bet it wasn’t pretty. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422/100 "2025-10-15T12:02:17Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Not so much on the Reverend’s name, but Archie’s malapropisms in general. Like, _“It’s a well known fact that capital punishment is a_ _ **detergent** _ _to crime!”_ For sure Archie did that to great comic effect all the time. My personal favorite being that in Archie-speak a doctor specializing in women’s reproductive systems is a “groinocologist”. IIRC it was Edith who spoke of Rev. Felcher. Archie may, _may_, have gone to church, but he wasn’t big on socializing within it or interacting one-on-one w the preacher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-trouble-with-tribbles-a-bottle-episode-star-trek-tos/1023422.md?page=6)