Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei
• Directors: Herb Wallerstein
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Chet Richards, Judy Burns
• Producers: Edward K. Milkis, Fred Freiberger, Gene Roddenberry, Gregg Peters
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
• VHS Release Date: July 29, 1991
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300988600
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,677 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"The Tholian Web" was conceived when writer Judy Burns went looking for a new angle on ghost stories. A physics student suggested she somehow use the theory of infinite dimensions, and out of that came Burns's script, which finds Captain Kirk (William Shatner) trapped between different kinds of space, floating in and out of view of the Enterprise crew. Adding to the dilemma are time constraints (Kirk's oxygen supply is running low), an effort by the arachnid-like Tholians to trap the Enterprise in a gigantic web, sub-space dementia affecting the crew, and rising hostilities between Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the latter none too happy with the way the Vulcan is running the ship in Kirk's absence. Burns's original conception was to make Spock the spectral Starfleet officer locked in interspace, but the show is quite effective in the way various characters mourn the presumed death of their leader and figurehead. The Tholians don't make another appearance in Trek lore until The Next Generation, but this particular episode won the original series its first Emmy for special effects. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover

Kirk is trapped in interspace, and the Tholians, accusing the Enterprise of trespassing, begin to weave an energy web around the ship.

TREK TRIVIA
"The Tholian Web" won Star Trek's first Emmy for special effects (created by Vanderveer Photo Effects). The voice of Commander Loskene was provided by fan favorite Barbara Babcock.
The Tholians would not be heard from again until the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, when it was learned that Riker's father was the sole survivor of a Tholian attack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the top 10, May 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 64: The Tholian Web [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This was certainly one of the best of the 3rd season. It was fun to contrast this episode with the one in the first season when Spock was also in command, when the Gallileo shuttlecraft crash-landed on a hostile planet. That time, Kirk fought to recover his friends while Spock worked to recover the captain from a stellar interphase in this one. Spock is much more comfortable with command in this episode; he is able to say worthy comments at Kirk's memorial service, while he had to ask Dr. McCoy to perform a similar thing in the Gallileo episode. He is momentarily discomfited at hearing Scotty calling him Captain. I understand the value of opposing views establishing conflict and drama, but McCoy totally misinterpreted Spock's actions. It was an error to have McCoy playing this kind of part because he knows Spock better than that by this time. It is so obvious why Spock stayed and risked engaging the Tholians. But, McCoy was just as insubordinate as he was in the Gallileo episode. Both Spock and Scotty are totally in character in this episode and except for McCoy's irrationality, the family atmosphere between the main characters is evident (notice how careful Sulu is with Chekov after he goes berserk). An excellent episode.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A ghost story where Kirk is the ghost, January 27, 2005

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 64: The Tholian Web [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Enterprise encounters another starship, the Defiant, adrift in a region of unexplored space. When there is no answer to their hails, Kirk, McCoy and Chekov beam aboard the Defiant and encounter a dead crew. However, they are astonished to learn that the members of the Defiant crew killed each other. For unknown reasons, they went mad, turned on each other, leaving no one alive. Suddenly, the Defiant begins to fade away, so they prepare to beam back to the Enterprise.
However, the systems aboard the Enterprise are being affected by that area of space, and Kirk must stay behind, as there is not enough power to beam all of them at once. The Defiant fades into another universe before they can beam Kirk back to the Enterprise, so he fades away with it. Spock determines when the next period of interphase will occur, so he keeps the Enterprise stationary, hoping he can rescue Kirk during the next interphase. A Tholian ship appears and challenges the Enterprise, accusing them of trespassing in their space. Spock explains that they are on a rescue mission and the ship they are aiding has phased into another dimension. The Tholians agree to stand by for the specified amount of time.
Unfortunately, the presence of the Tholians has disturbed the space, so the interphase does not take place on schedule. Thinking that they have been deceived, the Tholians open fire on the Enterprise and they are forced to respond, disabling the Tholin ship. Another Tholian ship arrives and the two begin constructing an unbreakable energy field around the Enterprise.
The situation on board the Enterprise deteriorates as the madness that destroyed the Defiant crew has infected the Enterprise. Checkov is the first to go and others soon follow. McCoy determines that it is the area of space that is causing the madness and he works frantically for a cure. Meanwhile, Spock declares Kirk dead, so he assumes permanent command. As usual, McCoy and Spock do battle, until they view Kirk's last orders that were to be viewed if he were to die. This dampens the tension and MCCoy discovers a cure. At the last moment before the Tholians complete their cage, another interphase takes place and the Enterprise is able to escape the cage and recover the captain.
This episode is memorable for another Spock-McCoy battle over Spock's command decisions, which has already occurred in the episodes, "The Galileo Seven" and "The Gamesters of Triskelion." Once Spock is in command, McCoy seems obligated to challenge his authority. This is of course nonsense, McCoy is an officer and in the rigid command structure of Star Fleet, his actions are extremely insubordinate. By this point in the series, McCoy's challenges of Spock's authority is very predictable and somewhat stale. The Tholian cage is also a bit of an absurdity, why spend all that time building a giant cage to hold the Enterprise when they could at any time power back up and leave through a hole? With two ships, they could have attacked the Enterprise and probably destroyed it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tholians and the earliest U.S.S. Defiant., July 13, 2003

By 

Wes Huntington (Le Sueur, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 64: The Tholian Web [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives in an uncharted area of space to answer a distress call from the U.S.S. Defiant, NCC-1764. The starship is visible on their viewscreen, but sensors on board the U.S.S. Enterprise say it's not.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Chekov beam aboard and spread out to investigate. Everyone aboard is dead ... apparently killed in a bizarre mutiny, although there are no life readings aboard. McCoy, in the ship's sickbay, tells Kirk that he can find no clue as to why the crew died, but has taken readings to study. Then, as his hand passes through a body and exam table, McCoy realizes the U.S.S. Defiant is dissolving.

Quickly Kirk orders them beamed back to the U.S.S. Enterprise, but Scotty explains that due to the poor stability of the space around them, he can only beam three aboard. After the usual debate, Kirk stays behind while the others beam back. When Scotty tries to bring Kirk aboard, his image wavers, and disappears. Interphase, Spock calculates, will occur in a little over two hours. In the meantime, they must wait. If the captain is still alive, they should be able to retrieve him then.

Complications arise when Chekov goes crazy and attacks Spock on the bridge. Slowly, more members of the crew fall prey to the "illness," attacking their crewmates. McCoy and his staff work round the clock to find a cure. When the doctor suggests Spock "put some distance" between the Enterprise and the Defiant, Spock explains that any movement in the weakened space could disturb both ship's positions and jeopardize Kirk's rescue.

At a little over an hour before interphase, a Tholian ship appears, telling Spock that the U.S.S. Enterprise has violated Tholian space. The Vulcan explains that they were answering a distress call from the nearby U.S.S. Defiant and are waiting until they can retrieve Kirk. The Tholians agree to wait until the appointed time before taking action.

Unfortunately, when the interphase occurs, Kirk is not where he should be. Spock suspects that the Tholian's entrance into the area of space disrupted the U.S.S. Defiant's position. A funeral service is held for Captain Kirk, following which McCoy insists they view the Captain's last orders. Spock reluctantly agrees and the two men go to their friend's quarters and listen to Kirk's touching advice.

Uhura is the first to see Kirk's image floating before her, and for a time, McCoy thinks she's contracted the disease. But when he and Spock see the Kirk on the bridge, they realize that he is, in fact, still alive.

The Tholians decide that Spock has, lied to them and opens fire. Making a decision, Spock orders the phasers fired at the ship. The Tholian ship is disabled, but soon another ship joins it and they begin "building" a sort of web made of shining filaments. Spock analyses the web and announces that if they don't bring Kirk aboard and leave before the web is completed, they "won't see home again." At the last minute, Spock orders full power against the web and the U.S.S. Enterprise is thrown outside the Tholian's trap, several parsecs from their previous position. The hope is that Kirk, caught in the U.S.S. Enterprise tractor beam when they changed position, was brought with them.

Tensely McCoy waits with a hypo of tri-ox for Kirk, whose air is running out as he's successfully beamed on board the U.S.S. Enterprise, alive and unharmed. In a humorous tag, McCoy and Spock convince Kirk that there had been no time to view his final orders and Kirk, somewhat disappointed that his wisdom had gone unheard, says that he hopes there isn't a similar circumstance where the two men will view the tape.