Star Trek: Discovery has already teased a lot of call backs to the original series with castings of characters from the original Star Trek, and that nostalgia train keeps on rolling with this interesting bit of news. Co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman teased the return of a classic show element at the Star Trek press conference, and CinemaBlend was there to capture it:
Yes, Tribbles, yes.
Star Trek: Discovery will once again bring back the lovable but problematic Tribbles who were first seen in the original Star Trek series. For audiences, that's the first time the Tribbles appeared on television, but within the Trek timeline, Starfleet first encountered them during the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise. Given that Star Trek: Enterprise takes place in the 2100s and Star Trek: Discovery takes place a decade before the original series, which was set during the 2260s, the Tribbles should be something the Discovery crew is in the know about, provided they're the ones dealing with them.
With Star Trek: Discovery dealing so heavily with Klingons, it's possible the Tribbles will play a role with their people. While their tendency to quickly reproduce is problematic for humans, a Tribble will react violently when in the presence of a Klingon and emit a high pitched shriek. When considering that a single Tribble can make 1,000,000 in the course of four days, hiding one on a Klingon planet or ship could have a devastating effect and severely inhibit the capabilities of the race during this cold war between them and the Federation. Would the Federation do something so sinister even in wartime?
That remains to be seen, but with Klingons serving as a focal point to Star Trek: Discovery and Tribbles officially involved in the series it seems almost a given the two will collide in some way whether big or small. Unfortunately, the series takes place long before the Klingons would obliterate the Tribble homeworld in the late 23rd century, so fans won't get to see the hilarious sounding war that went down between Klingons and a race that's really just a bunch of fluff. That said, perhaps Star Trek: Discovery will show what event led the Klingons to eventually commit mass genocide against the creatures?
Star Trek: Discovery will premiere, Tribbles and all, September 24th on CBS with successive episodes to air on its streaming service CBS All Access. For more on the series, be sure to read up on how new tech will be used in the prequel series, as well as how the Klingons will look even more different than they have across the franchise. For information regarding the hot shows airing on television right now, visit our summer premiere guide.
