10 Best Final Lines In Star Trek Episodes

At the end of the second season episode of The Original Series, The Trouble with Tribbles, Kirk is wondering how the crew have rid the Enterprise of certain squeaky little populators. No one seems to want to answer until Scotty finally admits that he beamed them all to the engine room of the departing Klingon vessel, adding the now iconic line, "[…] where they’ll be no tribble at all". The bridge bursts into fits of laughter, and you’d be a cold-hearted viewer if you didn’t at least crack a smile.

The episode is regularly voted as one of Star Trek’s all-time best and, as its closing line would indicate, it stands out in particular for its (deliberate) comedic style. It divided TOS producers and writers, however, many of whom (including Gene Roddenberry himself) weren’t overly keen on the episode’s less-than-serious subject matter. Disagreements about the tone of the show between Roddenberry and the then more comedy-orientated series producer Gene Coon are even cited as part of the reason for the latter’s departure mid-way through season two.

After all these years, the episode and its memorable final line continue to show that Star Trek does well when it’s having a little fun. Each of the subsequent series (and even the darker Discovery and Picard) have had their fair share of comedy. Gene Roddenberry also later chose The Trouble with Tribbles as one of his favourite episodes.