Tholian ships were small starships of characteristic shape, utilized by the Tholian Assembly during the 23rd century. These vessels were armed with plasma torpedo-like weaponry. But their most powerful weapon was the so-called "Tholian web". This web was "woven" by two or more Tholian vessels around an enemy ship. This web could be used as a high power immobilization field/tractor beam to pull captured starships back to Tholian territory. (TOS: "The Tholian Web")
History[]
In 2268, a Tholian ship intercepted the USS Enterprise, demanding that it leave Tholian territory. At the request of First Officer Spock, Tholian Commander Loskene allowed the Enterprise additional time before they were required to withdraw to allow the Enterprise to rescue James T. Kirk from the interphased USS Defiant. The Enterprise crew was unable to rescue Kirk within the Tholians' time limit and the Tholians opened fire, damaging the Enterprise. The Enterprise returned fire, inflicting damage on the Tholian ship.
Soon after, a second Tholian ship appeared, and the two ships began constructing a web in an attempt to trap the Enterprise. The Enterprise crew, fortunately, was able to recover Kirk and escape before they fell victim to the Tholian's web. (TOS: "The Tholian Web")
Ships of the class[]
- Unnamed
Appendices[]
Background information[]
Original studio model
In the final draft script of "The Tholian Web", the Tholian ship was described as "a tetrahedron shaped ship, about one quarter the size of a starship. The ship is crystaline in appearance and of blue green coloration. A soft light seems to pulsate from within. It travels with darting movements."
Due to restrictive finances, Walter M. Jefferies designed the Tholian ship to be simple and inexpensive to build. Two studio models of the vessel were built, constructed almost entirely from wood except for the addition of reflective inserts embedded near the tails. (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection issue 26, p. 11) The materials used were balsawood and plastic. Measuring 15×5×7 inches, the two miniatures were adorned with the same stick-on reflective metal fabric as was used to decorate many of the hand props seen on Star Trek: The Original Series. (The Best of Trek, p. 204). Michael Okuda has in 2001 credited Don Loos with both the build of the two original studio models and the later conversion of one of them into the Class J starship. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition), text commentary)
For the making of "The Tholian Web", the Tholian ships were filmed against black velvet. (Starlog, issue 25, p. 61) Mike Minor recalled, "We shot the models, which had been produced elsewhere, on a little stage at a place down on La Brea [note: Vanderveer Photo Effects] and these elements were shot against black so that we could flop the images and have a ship going right or left, from the bottom right to top corner. Or the image of one ship moving diagonally across the screen could be positived with the image of a smaller ship moving diagonally left to right, right to left, up and down […] But for plot simplicity in getting the job done we simply had them moving in parallel movements, left to right and right to left. We never pulled back wide, which I wanted to do, and show the whole ship being dragged through space with this spherical dome of energy about it." (Enterprise Incidents, issue #14, pp. 44 & 45) The filming made use of some multi-colored lighting which was employed to help accentuate the strange, alien nature of the Tholians. (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection issue 26, pp. 11 & 13)
Russell's 2005 demonstration of the tiny Tholian ship forced-perspective model
As the by Loos manufactured models were deemed too large for effective use in creating the more distant, background Tholian ship web-spinning effect shots around the Enterprise because of "sense of scale" perspective issues, a much smaller model was constructed by Denis Russell, Minor's colleague at Vanderveer Photo Effects. As he later demonstrated at the 2005 Vegas Con Star Trek convention, this model was so tiny that Russell could keep it in his shirt pocket. [1](X)
To represent the interior of the Tholian ship, a background of tin foil was used, which was then altered with special photographic effects. Methods involved a negative image of the background and then throwing more color onto its highlights, enhancing and saturating the footage. (Enterprise Incidents, issue #14, p. 45)
The visual effect of the Tholian ships spinning their web around the Enterprise in "The Tholian Web", which was nominated for an Emmy Award in recognition of its special effects, definitely made an impression on the television audiences of the 1960s and the Tholian ship was certainly not forgotten. However, illustrator John Eaves – who modified the Tholian ship for appearances on Star Trek: Enterprise (in the episodes "Future Tense") – was slightly critical of the original design. "I felt the profile view was a little stark and harsh in The Original Series," he said. (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection issue 26, pp. 11 & 12) On the other hand, reviewer Sue Uram described the Tholian craft as "a rather nice touch from the effects department." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 97) Also, Richard Van Trueran characterized the miniature of the Tholian ship as "clever." (The Best of Trek, p. 204)
This model was the last new original design created for the series, and one of them was subsequently redressed by original builder Loos to represent the Aurora in "The Way to Eden" (Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition), text commentary). It was in this configuration, that the model was gifted by Paramount Television in 1974 to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where it made its first and, to date, only public appearance in the 1992-1994 Star Trek Smithsonian Exhibit, [2] after having received an extensive restoration by Ed Miarecki and his staff at Science Fiction Modelmaking Associates. [3] On the occasion, Miarecki made use of the opportunity to cast an additional copy of the model to represent the original Tholian starship as well in the exhibition, as was later confirmed by Gary Kerr. (source)
After The Original Series had been cancelled, the actual unaltered screen-used (master) model of the Tholian ship ended up in the possession of John Jefferies. Jefferies decided to put his model up for auction as lot 165, estimated at US$7,000-10,000, at Profiles in History's The Star Trek Auction on 12 December 2001 in order to raise funding for the "Motion Picture & Television Fund" charity. [4](X) Three years later the model was as lot 208 offered up again at Profiles' 31 March 2004 Hollywood Auction 18, estimated at US$12,000-15,000. Brother Matt incidentally, also put up his Star Trek holdings at the same 2001 Star Trek auction for the very same purpose, including his Tholian starship design as lot 164, estimated at US$300-500. [5] Both Jefferies items ultimately turned up together again at the 7 November 2021 Heritage The Azarian Collection Auction as lots 89866 (design) and 89867 (model) with the corresponding estimates of US$2,000 and US$20,000, [6] eventually selling for US$2,500 and US$27,500 respectively – including 25% buyer's premium. [7]
For the 2006 remastered edition of "The Tholian Web", the Tholian vessels appeared much different from their initial appearance. Now more closely resembling the Tholian ships from Star Trek: Enterprise, the TOS-R version featured an altered structure and lighted interior.
For the recreation of the Tholian web in ST: "Ephraim and Dot", the Tholian ships resembled those seen in the remastered version of "The Tholian Web".
Apocrypha[]
According to Star Trek Maps, due to their design similarity, it was believed by Starfleet that the Tholians were using modified Federation space cruisers as their starships.
Further reading[]
- Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection
- Issue 26, August 2014
- Issue 129, July 2018
External link[]
- Spinner class at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works