“A Tribble Called Quest”

Review Text

The crew of the newly relaunched Protostar beams down to a barren world where "nature is out of balance" in the hopes of retrieving a cache of bosonite that can be used to re-create the mini-star that powers the ship's protostar drive. It's here they encounter massive, spiky tribbles who have mutated to be far bigger and more fearsome than their usually small and cuddly selves; they make rolling attacks like the giant boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Apparently they are the ones responsible for the lack of natural balance.

Also on this world, they discover a Klingon vessel that houses the lab of Klingon scientist Dr. K'Ruvang, who was sent here long ago by the Empire to eliminate the tribble threat and is not to return until he has done so. His experiments have resulted in the mutations and the natural-order-gone-awry. Rok knows how to science the science in a way that might be able to fix the tribbles' out-of-control reproduction and return the environment to normal. Her expertise, which eclipses a supposed scientist who has been at this for years, places her at a Wesley Crusher level of brilliance.

Then again, maybe not. The Klingon is an endless cliché, who growls about his dishonor, has no patience, acts recklessly, and definitely does not seem like much of a scientist. (The very idea of a Klingon scientist is itself scoffed at here. But why not make this guy genuinely smart and different — an equal scientific peer — instead of like every Klingon dolt we've ever met?)

When an errant sneeze by Rok creates a bio-growth that results in the creation of a creature that gets loose in the lab, Rok beats herself up for her oversight, leading to a somewhat oversold lesson about moving past one's mistakes. The creature turns out to be a baby tribble hybrid with a cute face, which they name "Bribble." I hesitate to suggest this might've been an idea conceived in the hopes of selling toys, because that would require a hypothetical alternate universe where Prodigy had any sort of cultural cachet.

As Prodigy goes, this follows a fairly boilerplate formula. The action ramps up in the last act, with the crew attempting to extract the bosonite from a cavern using transporter pattern enhancers. But they get trapped with a swarm of tribbles closing in, and the dumb Klingon is bent on prioritizing his own mission, even if it means blowing everyone up to take care of the tribbles. Bribble is the key to communicating with the hostile tribbles, which you probably figured out given the number of plot pieces in play here and how they must inevitably fit together.

This is a massive downgrade after the "Last Flight of the Protostar" two-parter. However, I do like that Prodigy finds time for some character moments mixed into the plot. In addition to Rok's storyline, we also have Zero, who is already suffering the ill effects of their new body being off the world where it was created. Jankom offers his "fix it" mentality as moral support, although one wonders what Zero's ultimate fate will be. Meanwhile, Gwyn and Maj'el bond as they ponder their purpose as relative outsiders. The episode ends with the successful installation of the bosonite and the restarting of the protostar drive, ticking another box in the journey to Tars Lamora.

Previous episode: Last Flight of the Protostar, Part II
Next episode: Cracked Mirror

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