What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (3 Viewers)

[Bryan^H]

Aww...I like that episode. Edward James Olmos is INTENSE in this series. Miami Vice can get melodramatic (the above episode no exception), but there's no denying it's got style to burn.

That's cool, watching a whole night's line-up like that, Bryan. Might have to try that sometime.

Olmos is always so intense on Miami Vice. Everything about "Bushido" was solid acting, story, direction--It just didn't resonate with me for some reason. I do love the series as a whole though. Great stuff.

 

[Flashgear]

Great stuff, Randall! Am tempted to pick up Ben Casey, if just for the prestigious nature and rarity of the series, despite my aversion to most medical dramas. I've liked Vince Edwards in the few films I've seen him in (he's good as the burly cigar-chomping sergeant in The Devil's Brigade, for instance).

Please do indeed post on Kojak S4 when the mood strikes you...I've only got S1, but love that show.

Thanks, Jeff. Vince Edwards and Telly Savalas certainly match each other in intensity with this Ben Casey episode. Savalas was brilliant in so many guest starring appearances, wasn't he? And his career signature role as Kojak is rightfully remembered as his immortal legacy in showbiz...Kojak season 4 is a good one, with on-location filming in Manhattan and NYC environs really ramped up for greater authenticity during the "summer of Sam", as Spike Lee's movie referenced...NYC is at it's seedy worst in the late '70s, with season four's premiere episode filmed at Battery Park, the location of my own most scary New York minute a couple of years before...lots of great guest stars in season 4...Joan Van Ark, Morgan Fairchild, George Maharis, Richard Gere, Roosevelt Greer, Sharon Gless, Lynn Redgrave, Geraldine Page, Simon Oakland, Maude Adams, Ken Kercheval, Eric Braeden, Carol Lynley, Christopher Walken, Gloria Grahame, etc.,...I have the whole series on DVD from Shout, but need to pick up the Kojak reunion telefilms from the '80s and early '90s, as that 5 film set is very affordable...I don't remember ever seeing those back in the day...it might be interesting to see the older Kojak as well, although I'm usually not a big fan of reunion movies, or reboots, as they usually prove disappointing...that being said, I did recently pick up the first 3 Gunsmoke reunion films from that very same period...Jeff, I will post about some Kojak S4 episodes with screen caps in the future...love the NYC filmed shows!...I'll be getting the new Filmchest set of Deadline soon, and really look forward to seeing more of the Big Apple in it's late '50s, early '60s, prime...

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Finally got back in the vintage TV viewing groove. I had a blast with all of these shows, all courtesy of my DVD collection.

Perry Mason - 1.2 "The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece"
Not a lot to say about this, typically solid, episode of the venerable courtroom drama, just a regular ol' slice of Perry Mason being clever and doing his thing. No real notable guest stars, other than a pre-Dobie Gillis Dwayne Hickman, as the boyfriend of the titular niece. Not nearly enough Paul Drake for my liking, and this early on, the relationship between Ray Collins' Lt. Tragg and Raymond Burr's Mason is much more antagonistic than it would become. As always, it's Burr's unflappable, commanding presence which anchors the show. There's a scene where a tired Perry is getting a neck massage from the lovely and loyal Della (Barbara Hale), but all it takes is a phone call for workaholic Mason to shrug off her ministrations and head back out on the case. Now that's dedication.

The Magician - 1.15 "The Illusion of Black Gold"
This was a first-rate episode, fast-paced and exciting, with a nifty guest cast, including Eric Braedon (at his most reptilian) as an evil oil magnate, Lynda Day George, looking scrumptious as his plaything, and Milton Selzer as a Russian scientist whose revolutionary process to get oil from shale results in his getting kidnapped and held for the highest bidder. While Bill Bixby is coolness personified as magician Tony Blake, he rarely engages in fisticuffs; this time out, his assistant, Jerry (Julian Christopher), does the honors, knocking seven bells out of miscellaneous thugs. But never fear, Bixby fans, he does get plenty of action otherwise, sneaking into heavily-guarded warehouses, throwing exploding smoke bomb cigarettes hither and yon, and performing neat little magic tricks to impress good-looking gals.

The Rat Patrol - 2.10 "The Hide and Go Seek Raid"
Randall's highlighting of actor Alan Caillou's fascinating and colorful life a while back in this thread spurred me on to watch this episode...and my oh my, is it a cracker! Sutton Roley directs the hell out of this sucker, which features lots of cleverly shot and visually interesting action. The Rat Patrol shake the dust off their desert fatigues and ship out for the Isle of Rhodes, on a mission to rescue the kidnapped - and mute - young son of a British general (Caillou) from a Nazi stronghold. Great stuff...and perennial fourth wheel Justin Tarr even gets a single line and a few close-ups!

Barnaby Jones - 1.10 "Murder-Go-Round"
Sly old fox Barnaby investigates a conspiracy of murder and greed in a small mountain town, doing his usual folksy, friendly shtick, poking and prodding at the guilty parties (including Claude Akins, Dabbs Greer, and Geoffrey Lewis) until their nerves start to crack. Lee Meriwhether looks particularly fine this episode, just a stunning woman all round. A real hoot, this one...but sadly, I'm slowly running out of pristine quality, uncut first season episodes...gonna have to bite the bullet and order S2, even though half or more of the episodes on that set are from reportedly grotty, syndicated prints.

Petrocelli - 1.2 "Music to Die By"
Excellent early episode, as our scrappy lawyer hero (Barry Newman) defends a guilt-ridden country singer (Ricky Nelson, who gets to croon a few nice tunes) from a murder charge. Featuring David Huddleston as a cagey, good ol' boy cop, David Doyle as Ricky's manager, and Jeremy Slate as a deep-pockets executive who wants to replace Petrocelli with a famous big name attorney. Susan Howard is just completely adorable in this show, and her chemistry with the intense Newman is off the charts...enough to make me wonder if there was more than mere professionalism going on between them (hint hint, wink wink, if you know what I mean...) Poor legman Pete (Albert Salmi) doesn't even get any beer or BBQ as payment for his efforts this ep, but lends a strong, warm presence to his scenes, especially one in which he confronts a foxy, halter top-wearing witness (Bobbi Jordan) about to hightail it out of town. As always, the dusty, wide open Tucson, Arizona locations make a refreshing change from the plethora of shows set in N.Y.C. and Los Angeles.

 

[Susan Nunes_329977]

Really enjoying binge watching Naked City. I was a very young girl when this series appeared in its first run. It remains a great series that holds the attention throughout. Furthermore, what is most fun about this series are the number of actors and actresses who appeared on this show besides the "guest stars" who went on to greater fame. I just finished watching an episode featuring Robert Morse (now 88 years old!) as a "guest star," but what killed me was seeing Dustin Hoffman in the same episode as a supporting player.

Most series during this era had people who later became famous on television and in movies, but this show has even more of them.

 

[John*Wells]

Cobra Kai Season 1 episodes 1-5 (DVD)

 

[JohnHopper]

While waiting for my season 16 of Gunsmoke, I will give the second season of The Wild Wild West another spin.
Let's watch now the season opener “The Night of the Eccentrics” featuring Count Carlos Manzeppi and his Eccentrics team.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

... I will give the second season of The Wild Wild West another spin.
Let's watch now the season opener “The Night of the Eccentrics” featuring Count Carlos Manzeppi and his Eccentrics team.

A fabulous season!

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Hazel
"Hazel's Famous Recipes" (S1E16)

Two eggs, one cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon chili sauce--this is Hazel's "famous" salad dressing. Sounds perfectly dreadful. Being somewhat of a self-proclaimed foodie, I wanted to check out this episode for any useful epicurean tips. The salad dressing wasn't a good start.

Hazel (Shirley Booth) is hell bent on getting her recipes published. Barney the mailman keeps returning her manuscript (which appears to be the size and heft of the Gutenberg Bible) after each publisher's rejection as her recipes being "too fattening" and "old-fashioned". Hazel seems initially unfazed--I suspect she's a heavy afternoon drinker--and keeps attempting to get her book published.

Rosie, the next door neighbor's maid (the Baxters must live in an enclave of former Dukes and Duchesses) requests Hazel's recipe for baked ham with apricot sauce. Sounds like an entree one might find at Bob Evans in 1962. So far, none of Hazel's recipes have incented me into a cooking euphoria.
Rejections continue and Hazel begins to lose confidence in her culinary skills. She decides to secretly try using recipes from another's cookbook in hopes that the Baxters will vehemently reject the food as being far inferior to her own. Unaware of Hazel's intentions, George and Dorothy promise each other to bolster Hazel's spirits by passionately complimenting her next meal. Hazel whips up the cookbook's kidney bean casserole, assured it would not come close to her own creation. Let's face it, not even Julia Child could make kidney bean casserole appetizing. Of course, both George and Dorothy unwittingly go overboard in their praise even though hating the dish. And being severely gaseous afterward. Hazel becomes more discouraged, possibly doubling her daily alcohol intake in her depression.

Hazel admits to drinking cheap Muscatel during the day; Writing down a recipe for boiled water; Dorothy secretly touches the upper thigh of an old man right in front of the family.

George (Don DeFore) takes it upon himself to get Hazel's book published, even offering the publisher to finance it himself. The publisher tries out a few of Hazel's recipes and proclaim them to be the ambrosia of the ages and enthusiastically agrees to publish her book and even mount a national promotional campaign. In celebration, Hazel cooks up gut-busting dinner of stuffed double-cut pork chops and sticky sweet potatoes swimming in butter and marshmallows. George happily gobbles it up and consequently suffers an acute coronary afterward, requiring several surgical bypasses and dietary restrictions for the rest of his life.*

Turns out that all of Hazel's recipes came from her mother--who purloined them from an old cookbook, thus voiding any chance of publication.
Moral: Stick to frozen TV dinners.

* This scene was apparently cut from the episode.

 

[Rustifer]

Not nearly enough Paul Drake for my liking

I always liked the scenes at the end of a Perry Mason episode, when Della, Paul and Perry wrap up a successful case over a few drinks in their favorite watering hole. I keep hoping after one too many that Perry or Paul will blurt out or do something extremely untoward to Della thus causing her to sue both.
I mean, really, that's what would probably happen in real life....

Perry playfully tries to undo Della's bra strap with one hand

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Really enjoying binge watching Naked City. I was a very young girl when this series appeared in its first run. It remains a great series that holds the attention throughout. Furthermore, what is most fun about this series are the number of actors and actresses who appeared on this show besides the "guest stars" who went on to greater fame. I just finished watching an episode featuring Robert Morse (now 88 years old!) as a "guest star," but what killed me was seeing Dustin Hoffman in the same episode as a supporting player.

Most series during this era had people who later became famous on television and in movies, but this show has even more of them.

Great to see you posting in the thread again, Susan! From what little I've seen of it, Naked City seems to be an excellent show. I need to pick up that 30-minute first season with James Franciscus, after enjoying his work a lot this past year in various episodes of Mr. Novak and Longstreet.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Episode Commentary
Hazel
"Hazel's Famous Recipes" (S1E16)

Two eggs, one cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon chili sauce--this is Hazel's "famous" salad dressing. Sounds perfectly dreadful. Being somewhat of a self-proclaimed foodie, I wanted to check out this episode for any useful epicurean tips. The salad dressing wasn't a good start.

Hazel (Shirley Booth) is hell bent on getting her recipes published. Barney the mailman keeps returning her manuscript (which appears to be the size and heft of the Gutenberg Bible) after each publisher's rejection as her recipes being "too fattening" and "old-fashioned". Hazel seems initially unfazed--I suspect she's a heavy afternoon drinker--and keeps attempting to get her book published.

Rosie, the next door neighbor's maid (the Baxters must live in an enclave of former Dukes and Duchesses) requests Hazel's recipe for baked ham with apricot sauce. Sounds like an entree one might find at Bob Evans in 1962. So far, none of Hazel's recipes have incented me into a cooking euphoria.
Rejections continue and Hazel begins to lose confidence in her culinary skills. She decides to secretly try using recipes from another's cookbook in hopes that the Baxters will vehemently reject the food as being far inferior to her own. Unaware of Hazel's intentions, George and Dorothy promise each other to bolster Hazel's spirits by passionately complimenting her next meal. Hazel whips up the cookbook's kidney bean casserole, assured it would not come close to her own creation. Let's face it, not even Julia Child could make kidney bean casserole appetizing. Of course, both George and Dorothy unwittingly go overboard in their praise even though hating the dish. And being severely gaseous afterward. Hazel becomes more discouraged, possibly doubling her daily alcohol intake in her depression.

Hazel admits to drinking cheap Muscatel during the day; Writing down a recipe for boiled water; Dorothy secretly touches the upper thigh of an old man right in front of the family.

George (Don DeFore) takes it upon himself to get Hazel's book published, even offering the publisher to finance it himself. The publisher tries out a few of Hazel's recipes and proclaim them to be the ambrosia of the ages and enthusiastically agrees to publish her book and even mount a national promotional campaign. In celebration, Hazel cooks up gut-busting dinner of stuffed double-cut pork chops and sticky sweet potatoes swimming in butter and marshmallows. George happily gobbles it up and consequently suffers an acute coronary afterward, requiring several surgical bypasses and dietary restrictions for the rest of his life.*

Turns out that all of Hazel's recipes came from her mother--who purloined them from an old cookbook, thus voiding any chance of publication.
Moral: Stick to frozen TV dinners.

* This scene was apparently cut from the episode.

Great stuff, Russ - and Thanksgiving holiday appropriate! Always enjoy your funny photo captions, too. Hope your Turkey Day dinner was more palatable than Hazel's recipes.

 

[John*Wells]

Cobra Kai season 1 eps 6-10 and season 2 in its entirety

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Has Downton Abbey slid into the "classic" range yet?

Because I've been rewatching that since the movie has been released into the wild of home media (even if it is only PPV or streaming).

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
The Invaders
"The Believers" (S2E14)

It's been up to David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) for some time now to convince the world that there's aliens among us. He hasn't been very successful. Those pesky other-world beings are sneaky little bastards. They look like us, talk like us, buy their suits at Men's Warehouse, drive Fords and redeem Kroger coupons. The whole affair has left David bitter and humorous as a gastric bypass. If only he could find some believers!

Deep in the basement of the Singeiser Computer Company reside a group of folks manning in what in 1967 passes as a computer--a room-sized contraption with blinking lights, tape reels and toggle switches. David is orchestrating their efforts as they are among the few that believe aliens are a palpable threat. The computer is being used to collate all the known facts David has collected in his quest. A plan is being devised via punch cards to defeat the enemy. But no sooner can you say "Mr. Spock" than all but David get killed. He escapes only to be drugged, kidnapped and secreted in a back room of what could be a Walmart. The aliens are eager to find the identities of the other "Believers" and kill them so as to continue pursuit of Earth ownership and control of all McDonald's franchises worldwide. Attempts to hypnotize David with what appears to be a shiny Christmas ornament doesn't work on him. Surprisingly, beings that can travel the universe at will have no futuristic tools to uncover their enemies other than using old-fashioned strong arm tactics.

Carol Lynley; Roy Thinnes; The "Believers" wait for lunch to be delivered in the conference room

We soon find out that the aliens have a secret hideout that's even equipped with a convenient cafeteria. On Tuesdays, the special is egg salad and tater tots. It's over this meal that the captured David meets Elyse (Carol Lynley), an unwilling psychologist within the alien ranks. She's attracted to David despite his receding hairline and tater tot breath. The two manage to escape and make their way to the Burbank airport, a well known haven against aliens as well as traveling Canadians. This gets them nowhere and eventually retreat to David's well-appointed apartment for many heart-to-heart talks which end in Elyse wearing a flimsy nightie. David is so consumed with his alien compulsion he doesn't even notice much less take advantage of the alluring opportunity.

Turns out Eylse is a pawn of the aliens, which should have been apparent since she drives a Mercury. As with all Invader episodes, no progress is made against the enemy. David would eventually succumb to drinking and frequenting strip clubs in defeat.*

Notes:
The Invaders was being groomed as a replacement for The Fugitive, which was nearing the end of its run in 1967. The premise continued Quinn Martin's format of terse narration with David Vincent as a Dr. Richard Kimball-like figure.

If you were so inclined and nerdy enough, you could actually buy a model kit of The Invaders flying saucer, courtesy of Aurora Plastics.

Guys who owned one of these probably didn't get as many babes as they hoped it would evoke.

*The series ended abruptly before this development could be revealed

 

[Flashgear]

David would eventually succumb to drinking and frequenting strip clubs in defeat.*

Russ, that sounds about right, as I don't think David Vincent ever got over sultry Suzanne Pleshette, who played the alien stripper in season one's The Mutation, filmed in scenic downtown Rancho Cucamonga! That's the whistle stop just before Pismo Beach, as Bugs Bunny used to say...

If you were so inclined and nerdy enough, you could actually buy a model kit of The Invaders flying saucer, courtesy of Aurora Plastics.

Guys who owned one of these probably didn't get as many babes as they hoped it would evoke.

You are correct sir! I was completely bereft of grade school female entanglements when I built that Aurora model kit in my competitive glue sniffing years...in truth, it was definitely one of Aurora's clunky, lesser efforts...maybe a rush job as they probably suspected the show itself wouldn't last...it didn't compare very well with the earlier Aurora kits of the submarine Seaview, the flying sub, or the Lost in Space chariot, Robinson family, and the Cyclops...oh yes, I was that kind of kid...sniffing that much glue probably knocked 20 points off of my IQ...Love The Invaders in my original CBS season sets...I hope you review more episodes of this series Russ...I think you would love season two's The Saucer (w/ Anne Francis) and Dark Outpost (w/ Dawn Wells).

 

[BobO'Link]

Episode Commentary
The Invaders
"The Believers" (S2E14)

It's been up to David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) for some time now to convince the world that there's aliens among us. He hasn't been very successful. Those pesky other-world beings are sneaky little bastards. They look like us, talk like us, buy their suits at Men's Warehouse, drive Fords and use Kroger coupons. The whole affair has left David bitter and humorous as a gastric bypass. If only he could find some believers!

Deep in the basement of the Singeiser Computer Company reside a group of folks manning in what in 1967 passes as a computer--a room-sized contraption with blinking lights, tape reels and toggle switches. David is orchestrating their efforts as they are among the few that believe aliens are a palpable threat. The computer is being used to collate all the known facts David has collected in his quest. A plan is being devised via punch cards to defeat the enemy. But no sooner can you say "Mr. Spock" than all but David get killed. He escapes only to be drugged, kidnapped and secreted in a back room of what could be a Walmart. The aliens are eager to find the identities of the other "Believers" and kill them so as to continue pursuit of Earth ownership and control of all McDonald's franchises worldwide. Attempts to hypnotize David with what appears to be a shiny Christmas ornament doesn't work on him. Surprisingly, beings that can travel the universe at will have no futuristic tools to uncover their enemies other than using old-fashioned strong arm tactics.

Carol Lynley; Roy Thinnes; The "Believers" wait for lunch to be delivered in the conference room

We soon find out that the aliens have a secret hideout that's even equipped with a convenient cafeteria. On Tuesdays, the special is egg salad and tater tots. It's over this meal that the captured David meets Elyse (Carol Lynley), an unwilling psychologist within the alien ranks. She's attracted to David despite his receding hairline and tater tot breath. The two manage to escape and make their way to the Burbank airport, a well known haven against aliens as well as traveling Canadians. This gets them nowhere and eventually retreat to David's well-appointed apartment for many heart-to-heart talks which end in Elyse wearing a flimsy nightie. David is so consumed with his alien compulsion he doesn't even notice much less take advantage of the alluring opportunity.

Turns out Eylse is a pawn of the aliens, which should have been apparent since she drives a Mercury. As with all Invader episodes, no progress is made against the enemy. David would eventually succumb to drinking and frequenting strip clubs in defeat.*

Notes:
The Invaders was being groomed as a replacement for The Fugitive, which was nearing the end of its run in 1967. The premise continued Quinn Martin's format of terse narration with David Vincent as a Dr. Richard Kimball-like figure.

If you were so inclined and nerdy enough, you could actually buy a model kit of The Invaders flying saucer, courtesy of Aurora Plastics.

Guys who owned one of these probably didn't get as many babes as they hoped it would evoke.

*The series ended abruptly before this development could be revealed

I was so inclined and nerdy enough. I bought one of those model kits. I recall being quite (read incredibly) disappointed in just how few pieces you got for your money. What you see in that photo is it. Took all of 5 minutes to assemble. I rarely painted a model - paint was expensive and messy and you could get *one* brush in my town. It was a larger, square/flat tip, brush (a bit smaller than what comes in standard water color sets) that was absolutely not suited for detail work (you could do a 1/16" line if you were *very* careful and lightly used an edge of the brush). Not that I'd have had the patience for that back then.

Those larger plastic bits on the rails with the saucer top (aka lid) are the feet. You have to manually move them from "tucked in" to "upright" for flight or landing and they tend to fall out. The 1/4 circle and angular pieces at the bottom connect to make a couple of "rooms" inside the saucer.

The *entire* instruction sheet (the flip side shows how to put the lid and feet on the model - they stay loose):

I still have mine in a box in the garage somewhere.

 

[BobO'Link]

Russ, that sounds about right, as I don't think David Vincent ever got over sultry Suzanne Pleshette, who played the alien stripper in season one's The Mutation, filmed in scenic downtown Rancho Cucamonga! That's the whistle stop just before Pismo Beach, as Bugs Bunny used to say...


You are correct sir! I was completely bereft of grade school female entanglements when I built that Aurora model kit in my competitive glue sniffing years...in truth, it was definitely one of Aurora's clunky, lesser efforts...maybe a rush job as they probably suspected the show itself wouldn't last...it didn't compare very well with the earlier Aurora kits of the submarine Seaview, the flying sub, or the Lost in Space chariot, Robinson family, and the Cyclops...oh yes, I was that kind of kid...sniffing that much glue probably knocked 20 points off of my IQ...Love The Invaders in my original CBS season sets...I hope you review more episodes of this series Russ...I think you would love season two's The Saucer (w/ Anne Francis) and Dark Outpost (w/ Dawn Wells).

That LIS Chariot/family/Cyclops set was incredible! I actually did a bit of painting on that one. It got lost along the way. I think mom threw it out when she and dad moved about 20 years ago - along with my lighted Enterprise and Klingon Bird of Prey. It's partly my fault for not going and supervising/saving my stuff. I'd gotten most of what I wanted years before and had left the more fragile/difficult to store stuff so... I still have the Seaview (it's in that same box with the saucer). I showed it to my grandson a few years back. He thought it looked cool (I still think so myself).

I was the kid who saved all the extra parts from those automobile kits (the ones where it could be built in one of several formats so you had lots of extra parts - hoods, wheels, engine bits, etc.) and turned them into space ships when I'd collected a few kits worth.

 

[Susan Nunes_329977]

Started watching Ben Casey today. It was the first episode I watched, and I thought it was rather funny that "Ben's" love interest on the show was Sam Jaffe's real-life wife, Bettye Ackerman.

 

[Susan Nunes_329977]

Great to see you posting in the thread again, Susan! From what little I've seen of it, Naked City seems to be an excellent show. I need to pick up that 30-minute first season with James Franciscus, after enjoying his work a lot this past year in various episodes of Mr. Novak and Longstreet.

I got to where I really like James Franciscus. He was a totally underrated actor.

The same is true of Paul Burke. He was also very good on this show.

 

[Rustifer]

Episode Commentary
Star Trek
"The Trouble With Tribbles" (S2E15)

Undoubtedly one of the more classic episodes of the series, this is a respite from the show's normal pretentiousness by making a parody of itself with an absolutely silly premise. So unusual that Wikipedia has a whole treatise on just this one episode. The scene of Capt. Kirk half buried in tribbles has become a universal sci-fi icon of sorts.

The Enterprise is racing through the parsec quadrant that houses deep space station K-7 after receiving word of an attack by Klingons. Upon arrival, Kirk learns this is a false alarm intended to lure the Enterprise to the station to meet with a Federation agriculture bigwig in order to guard the station's storage of a special grain to be grown on nearby Sherman's planet. It's never explained who Sherman is, but he must have been pretty important to have a planet named after him. Kirk is incensed to be handed what he considers to be a frivolous task in relation to his already bloated self ego, but orders are orders.

Spock and Kirk repair to the Station's bar for a snort and to bitch about their assignment. It is here we're introduced to Cyrano Jones (Stanley Adams), an interstellar huckster who distributes anything from Spiken flame gems to Anterion glow water. To interested onlookers, he introduces his newest product--a furry cuddly creature called a 'tribble'. Lt. Uhuru is fascinated by it and purchases one for 10 credits. Back to tribbles in a minute.

The Federation orders Kirk to utilize the Enterprise as a giant UPS truck to safely transport the grain to Sherman's Planet. "Just lovely", grumbles Kirk. It's important to be protected as the Klingons want to sabotage the shipment for some reason. A Klingon warship is suddenly spotted causing Enterprise crew members to frantically scramble through the ship's passageways in search of something to do about the threat. Spock and Kirk beam back onto the space station to meet with smarmy Klingon Captain Koloth (William Campbell) who is requesting shore leave for his crew who's been aboard ship for 5 months and seeking some female companionship. Apparently space station K-7 is considered the Las Vegas of the Quadrant.

Wondering if it can be used as a hair extension; Scotty sucks down some space Scotch; Standing up to the Klingons

Meanwhile, Uhuru's pet tribble has popped out about ten babies. The crew is delighted over the furry little things and everybody wants one. Dr. McCoy soon learns the more you feed a tribble, the more it reproduces. Tibbles upon tribbles upon tribbles. Back at the station's bar, Klingons are taunting the Enterprise crew members by calling Capt. Kirk a "Dilebrium slime devil". Them's fightin' words, and all hell breaks loose so we get to witness an old fashioned interplanetary bar fight. Fortunately, there's no neon Budweiser signs, plate glass windows or Jack Daniel bottles to be broken.

Adding insult to injury, tribbles are taking over the station and the ship. As much as they eat--especially the stores of grain--they reproduce even more. But the tribbles, who have a natural aversion to Klingons, start to mysteriously die off. Well brand my space blaster, those Klingons had poisoned the grain supply. Sabotage occurred as predicted! Kirk, all puffed up righteous, kicks the Klingons out of the quadrant with stern words and shaking finger.

Spock calculates that it will take about 17 years to clean up all the tribble poop. Requests by crew for transfer off the Enterprise increases dramatically.

Notes:
Demand for tribble merchandise explodes:

Slippers, key chains, purses...