"The Tholian Web" is the ninth episode of the third season of the original American science fiction television series, Star Trek. It is episode #64, production #64, first broadcast on November 15, 1968, and repeated August 19, 1969. It was written by Judy Burns and Chet Richards and directed by Herb Wallerstein.
In the episode, Captain Kirk is caught between dimensions while the crew of the Enterprise works to retrieve him. All the while, the Tholians are weaving a destructive energy web around the Enterprise because Spock will not leave Tholian space without his Captain.
Video The Tholian Web
Plot
The Federation starship USS Enterprise enters an uncharted region of space while searching for her sister ship, the USS Defiant, which has been missing for three weeks. Sensors detect what seem to be fractures in space, and an unexplained power loss affects all systems. The Defiant is found adrift, and Captain James T. Kirk, First Officer Spock, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, and Navigator Ensign Chekov transport across wearing environmental suits for protection. Aboard Defiant, they find the crew dead, apparently having killed each other.
The boarding party discovers that the Defiant is slowly dissolving. At one point, McCoy is able to pass his hand through an almost invisible man and a table. With limited transporter functionality due to the unexplained malfunctions, Kirk orders his men to return to Enterprise first. The beaming takes much longer than usual, and as Chief Engineer Mr. Scott finally tries to beam Kirk aboard, the Defiant vanishes, taking the Captain with it.
Spock determines that the local space is experiencing periods of "interphase", and believes that Kirk will reappear during the next one. As he explains the situation, Chekov lashes out in anger, a symptom that Dr. McCoy believes is due to their proximity to Defiant. Spock, however, refuses to move the ship, fearful of disrupting local space, which would result in the loss of the Captain.
With two hours to go before the next interphase, the Enterprise is approached by a small, unfamiliar ship. Its captain, Commander Loskene of the Tholian Assembly, asserts that the Enterprise has violated Tholian space and must leave. Spock persuades him to wait one hour and fifty-three minutes. When the time is up, Kirk does not reappear, and Spock concludes that the Tholain ship has disrupted the interphase. When the Enterprise is attacked by Loskene, McCoy again urges Spock to leave, believing that Kirk is dead. Spock chooses to return fire and the Tholian ship is disabled, but the Enterprise takes damage as well. Scotty warns that because of the damage he cannot guarantee that he can hold their position. A second Tholian ship joins the first, and the two begin to weave a vast energy web that cages the Enterprise. Spock determines that if the web is completed before repairs are done, they will be unable to escape.
Spock conducts a memorial service for Kirk, during which another man becomes insane. Spock and McCoy then view a tape left by Kirk meant to be played in the event of his death, which asks the two of them to work together for the benefit of the ship. Lieutenant Uhura and Scott both report seeing ghostly manifestations of Kirk. Finally, this apparition is seen on the bridge; Kirk is still in his environmental suit and appears to be urging Spock to "hurry".
With the Tholian Web nearly complete, McCoy dispenses an antidote to the effects of the local space, and Spock determines the time of Kirk's next appearance. They successfully lock onto Kirk's coordinates, and Spock orders the activation of ship's power, which carries them through the spatial rift to a point 2.72 parsecs away. Kirk is brought along by the transporter lock, and he is beamed aboard just as his oxygen runs out.
Back on the bridge, Kirk questions Spock and McCoy about their handling of the emergency, particularly concerning his final orders. Both claim that they had not had time to listen to them, and Kirk accepts that answer.
Maps The Tholian Web
Sequel
In a two-part episode of Star Trek: Enterprise called "In a Mirror, Darkly", it is revealed that the Defiant has reappeared in the Mirror Universe of Archer's time, where it is first salvaged by the Tholians and then stolen by the Terran Empire. The Defiant bridge is recreated in precise detail, even to the positions of the dead crewmen.
Cultural impact
In 1997 it became known that United States Customs investigators had used the name "Tholian Web" for a technique for embroiling child porn enthusiasts in internet conversations to trick them into illegal activity. By 1997 it had triggered hundreds of prosecutions.
In 2010 Gerry W. Beyer, of the Texas Tech University School of Law, cited a video recording introduced in this episode, which Captain Kirk, Captain of the starship Enterprise, had left for his two most senior officers to play in the event of his death, urging them to overcome their personal animosity. Beyer described this fictional recording as one of the first recorded instances of what he called a "video-will".
Political scientists have compared the metaphor of the entrapment in this episode with the deep challenges politicians and administrators feel when confronted with competing factions and lobby groups.
See also
- Star Trek portal
References
External links
- "The Tholian Web" at StarTrek.com
- "The Tholian Web" on IMDb
- "The Tholian Web" at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- "The Tholian Web" at TV.com
- "The Tholian Web" Remastered FX reel at TrekMovie.com
Source of article : Wikipedia
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