tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post3705280895792424600..comments2024-03-27T10:27:59.266-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Blogging: "The Tholian Web" (November 15, 1968)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-82469343889040797992017-06-03T18:25:52.568-04:002017-06-03T18:25:52.568-04:00Sheri,
Will do. Thanks!
My only issue with Mr. Cu...Sheri,<br />Will do. Thanks!<br />My only issue with Mr. Cushman's books is his critiquing episodes to a degree that it becomes distracting. Okay, we get it, you didn't like this episode! He does the same thing with the Lost In Space books he's written.<br />That said, he's entitled to his opinions, and the books are overall excellent and really incredible resources, and I love 'em warts and all. Nobody else is doing the work he's done, and he's to be commended for that.<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-39752953783897507002017-06-01T21:00:52.196-04:002017-06-01T21:00:52.196-04:00Steve, just FYI, the Shatner story is mentioned in...Steve, just FYI, the Shatner story is mentioned in Cushman's books--but I can't recall exactly where (it isn't in the synopsis of this episode.) Skim those volumes again, it's in there. I'd run across the story someplace else in the late 70's also, but memory is dim (Starlog? Cinefantastique? Some obscure tabloid?) I have some problems with various points of accuracy in Cushman's books, but he presents an overall series history quite well.Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-65122113297464614902017-05-31T21:23:05.550-04:002017-05-31T21:23:05.550-04:00Hi Sheri!
I didn't know that about Shatner! I...Hi Sheri!<br />I didn't know that about Shatner! It's not even alluded to or mentioned in Volume Three of "These Are The Voyages" by Marc Cushman. I'd love to read a copy of Shatner's original treatment!<br />I agree with all of your points. I first saw the episode in syndication, and was amazed by the visuals. I can only imagine what it must have been like seeing this when it originally aired.<br />One thing Mr. Cushman's book does go over in detail is the effects, and how they were achieved. One man, Mike Minor, animated all of those webs by himself! It's a great read, and if you ever get a chance, check it out! Thanks for your insights!<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-90726854511316698922017-05-31T10:04:11.584-04:002017-05-31T10:04:11.584-04:00My two favorite episodes as a kid were The Immunit...My two favorite episodes as a kid were The Immunity Syndrome and The Tholian Web. I found it interesting that both episodes also feature no guest stars. I liked Star Trek best when the stories focused primarily on the main characters without a lot of distracting characters and cultural background stuff to sort through. Just give them a threat and let them work it out. My other favorite is The Doomsday Machine which features only one guest star, the great William Windom who's welcome in anything as far as I'm concerned. I also find it interesting that, in spite of the reduction in budget, the special effects in the third season are quite exceptional.Neal Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053148427058126745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-56943104106072862272017-05-31T01:34:52.797-04:002017-05-31T01:34:52.797-04:00Steve, I agree, the original Tholian ships were be...Steve, I agree, the original Tholian ships were better. I'd forgotten that "Enterprise" episode (I've tried to forget the entire series) that made the Tholians appear to be crystalline spiders. That is most interesting because it's another element bearing remarkable similarity to the outline treatment William Shatner had submitted--for which he never received credit--from which most of his ideas ended up being incorporated into "The Tholian Web". I maintain to this day that Shatner should have demanded a Writers' Guild review over this episode. Under the rules in effect at the time, he may not have received a "written by" screenplay credit, but he should have received a "story by" or "based on a story by" credit. I don't understand why he didn't pursue it.<br /><br />I forgot to mention in my main post how much I think the "alien-ness" of the Tholians is amplified by the sound design of this episode. Their ships behave in unusual ways, the look and feel of the Tholians is very different although our glimpses are brief, and they sound most unusual. This is a very fine episode in every way, and the heck with those who thoughtlessly dismiss Season Three as The Bad Season!Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-59336053003707089592017-05-30T20:04:32.942-04:002017-05-30T20:04:32.942-04:00Thoughtful review of one of my favorite episodes, ...Thoughtful review of one of my favorite episodes, John. I place "The Tholian Web" very highly among Star Trek episodes. It's a fine character-driven story, as all the best ones are, and its ticking-clock component creates tension on a par with that of "The Corbomite Maneuver" or "The Doomsday Machine". William Shatner should have sued over this story, by the way: he had written a very similar outline and synopsis treatment quite early on, and he should have received a "story by" or "based on a story by" credit at the time. <br /><br />I'd add what you didn't mention, John: the always-present tension between McCoy and Spock, which springs to the fore whenever Kirk's moderation is absent, is amplified in this instance by the effects of interspace. At their worst moment, McCoy realizes he's way out of line and out of bounds, and apologizes for it--and Spock recognizes he is not himself. But your point about the triumvirate's dependence on Kirk is well taken. In fact, I've pointed out before, this trio really represents externally the internal forces of the human identity: id, ego, and superego, each of which is crucial to a whole self but dependent on the moderating force of the healthy ego for balance. <br /><br />I think Spock and McCoy lie about the last orders to avoid causing Kirk pain, not because they don't want him to think them weak. They know he relies on them both and don't wish to burden him with the knowledge that they tend to succumb to their worst tendencies--become unreliable--in his absence. The fact that there's no scene in which they agree to cover for each other suggests they've reached the same conclusion independently and instinctively; they've found common ground and learned from this experience. And, yes, that "last orders" scene couldn't be better acted--or better written!<br /><br />How I wish the Tholians and their worlds and ways had been revisited! What an intriguing glimpse of an alien system. Why is lethality their first, last and only response to contact? Instead of endless forehead-bumped whatevers and whoevers, I wish Next Gen and DS9 had shown us the Tholian Assembly. (And what a cool device that dividing Tholian ship is that spins the web--so simple-seeming an effect, and yet so different!) Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-68258175297940705682017-05-30T19:53:18.438-04:002017-05-30T19:53:18.438-04:00John,
With this review of "The Tholian Web,&q...John,<br />With this review of "The Tholian Web," you've achieved maximum credibility. Only a person with a well-versed knowledge of Trek lore and a history of acquaintance with fan criticism could have addressed the vagaries of Spock and McCoy's arguments point by point. This is a thoroughly enjoyable review!<br />"The Tholian Web" was one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek as a kid, and remains so to this day. The image of the Enterprise caught in the alien web was turned into a large poster for the first issue of the Star Trek Giant Poster Book, and it hung on my bedroom wall for quite a long time. I also had the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual book, released around the same time. It revealed what the Tholians looked like below the limits of the Enterprise viewscreen: their heads were basically attached to a prism of sorts, with no appendages or limbs of any kind. I guess they were just supposed to float! However, when Star Trek: Enterprise showed them to be crystalline spiders, it seemed so obvious, didn't it?<br />There is another element to this episode which adds to its greatness: Space is dangerous. In the cosmos await many phenomena for which we as humans will be totally unprepared. In the midst of dealing with a threat so alien, creatures who are completely unlike us in form appear to complicate and drive home the point that we can only depend on one another to make it through. I think that foreign, odd feel which permeates this episode contributes to making Spock and McCoy's dilemma, and its resolution, so much more profound. Also, the crew's loyalty to their captain, their belief and tenacity in their hope that all is not lost, is powerfully felt and resonates. This episode has a "Never Give Up" quality which I appreciate very much.<br />Whenever I watch "The Tholian Web" on blu ray, I always choose the original effects, which are still stunning and still hold up today. I understand what the artists were trying to achieve in their updating of the effects, and the Tholian ships. However, my opinion is that the ships work best as blurry, non-tech objects. The episode is dreamlike, and the original effects perfectly capture the alien-ness of the events. I love "The Tholian Web" exactly as it is, grainy effects and all.<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.com