Line #20 Recap/StarTrekS3E9TheTholianWeb


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_tholian_web.png]]
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3	'''Original air date:''' November 15, 1968
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5	Everyone is staring intently at the view screen. It seems a ship known as the ''Defiant'' has gone missing. Everyone can see the faintly green glowing ship, but it's not picking up on any sensor readings. [[CatchPhrase "Fascinating!"]], says Spock. Kirk decides Chekov, Bones, Spock and himself will beam over and check it out.
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7	They beam aboard the ''Defiant'', each wearing a HazmatSuit. It looks like [[EverybodysDeadDave everybody's dead, Jim]]. Seems like the captain of the ''Defiant'' was strangled to death by a disgruntled RedShirt, who [[TogetherInDeath is also dead.]] What's more, this entire ship including the dead crew members are starting to dissolve. And the transporter is on the fritz! Scotty manages to mend it up but says he can take only three at a time. Kirk bravely insists on being the last to beam aboard. Unfortunately, they can't get a fix on him. As Chekov observes, the ''Defiant'' disappeared and took the captain with her.
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9	Shortly thereafter, aliens called the Tholians demand that the ''Enterprise'' go away. Spock, who is now in command, insists that they will not leave until Kirk is rescued. The Tholians respond by opening fire. Spock, against Bones' suggestion, fires back. The Tholians decide to trap the crew there forever, and reveal that this is a part of space where people tend to go insane.
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11	Chekov and other crew members lose their minds. Kirk is declared dead after attempts to save him have failed. Everyone is going bonkers one by one. Bones is even nastier to Spock than usual, and to make matters worse, the Tholians are building the eponymous web in space using their jetstreams so the ''Enterprise'' can't leave.
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13	----
14	!!The Tholian Tropes:
15	* BeehiveBarrier: the Tholians are making a spherical geometric web thing to trap the ''Enterprise''. In this case, the barrier is to keep the ''Enterprise'' in.
16	* BlatantLies: Spock and Bones flatly deny ever looking at Kirk's VideoWill. Kirk doesn't seem to believe them, but plays along.
17	* BlingOfWar: Kirk's medal from [[Recap/StarTrekS1E24ThisSideOfParadise "This Side of Paradise"]] makes another appearance.
18	* BottleEpisode: Takes place entirely on the Enterprise standing sets (doubling for the last time as another Constitution class). While we do get some new effects the Tholian ship is little more than a wooden diamond and the Tholian itself a glove puppet on a screen.
19	* ConflictBall: [=McCoy=] is exceptionally critical of Spock this episode, even by his usual standards. He says that Spock's first responsibility is to safeguard the crew, implying that they should not be trying to save Captain Kirk. At least some of this is due to the madness-inducing effects of the "interphasic space" ''Enterprise'' is currently inhabiting.
20	%%* DeadManWriting: Kirk's taped message, though he doesn't actually die.
21	* DoctorsOrders: Bones says, "That's a medical order, Captain", when he insists on making a toast with Spock with the antidote.
22	* DoorJam: Kirk gets stranded in "interspace" with only limited air in his spacesuit, while complications ensue for the rest of the crew.
23	* DueToTheDead: Spock calls for a moment of silence for Captain Kirk. Bones insists that he and Spock watch Kirk's VideoWill. When it reveals that his LastRequest is for Bones and Spock to try to get along, Bones apologizes for being DrJerk and they attempt to comply with Kirk's wishes.
24	* ExtremophileLifeforms: The Tholians are [[SiliconBasedLife silicon-based]] bug-like aliens adapted to environments so hot that being subjected to anything lower than 380 Kelvin -- about ten degrees above the boiling point of water -- will crack their carapace and kill them.
25	* FishEyeLens: Prominently used right in the beginning as the crazed Chekov's point of view, with a horribly distorted Spock front and center. Chekov screams, naturally.
26	* FriendshipMoment: After Bones apologizes to Spock, Spock replies, "...I believe the Captain would merely have said ... 'Forget it, Bones'".
27	%%* GhostShip: the ''Defiant''.
28	* HatePlague: A NegativeSpaceWedgie drove the crew of the ''Defiant'' to kill each other, and then begins to drive the ''Enterprise'' crew to outbursts of anger.
29	* HyperspeedEscape: An unusual variation for ''Trek''. Spock is able to calculate, combined with the interphasic space and "its" periodic overlaps with "ours," how to apply "ship's power" to alter how it will open, and thus yank ''Enterprise'' from "our" space, where she's all but trapped by the Tholian web, to "theirs," where she's free to escape and rescue Kirk.
30	* ISeeThemToo: Scotty, Spock and [=McCoy=] know the vision Uhura had of Captain Kirk was real when they see him themselves. [=McCoy=] releases Uhura telling her she is all right, "we all saw him, the Captain's still alive."
31	* IfIDoNotReturn: Spock and [=McCoy=] view the [[VideoWill message]] Kirk left behind for this contingency when Kirk is lost and presumed dead.
32	* ImpairmentShot: The POVCam gets a FishEyeLens and [[JitterCam jitters]] when someone's starting to get a little craaaaazy....
33	* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: ''Defiant's'' disappearance into interspace will have major consequences for the Mirror Universe that resonate well into the 24th century.
34	* LargeHam: It says something about Creator/WilliamShatner that even when Kirk appears as a translucent, inaudible ghost, he still looks like he's chowing down on cold slices of ham.
35	* LudicrousPrecision: The Tholians attack precisely when the hour is up after the Enterprise was unable to rescue the Captain.
36	-->'''Spock:''' The renowned Tholian punctuality.[[note]]Nimoy came up with that line spontaneously. Theodore Sturgeon observed that the actors were so deeply into their roles that they would "speak their own lines," ad libbing in character.[[/note]]
37	* KindRestraints: When Chekov goes violently insane due to the effect of the area of space the Enterprise is in, he's shown strapped down to a table in Sick Bay screaming. Uhura is also strapped down after her vision of Captain Kirk, even though she remains very quiet.
38	* LoafingInFullCostume: Averted. We see Uhura in civvies. She wears a red kaftan-inspired dress and is about to accessorize with a gold necklace when she starts having chest pains.
39	* MenAreTheExpendableGender: ZigZagged. Initially, all of the dead ''Defiant'' crew we see are men, playing this trope straight. However, the corpse of a woman can be seen in one of the compartments.
40	* TheMenFirst: Kirk, Spock, [=McCoy=], and Chekov beam onto the ''Defiant''. When she starts disappearing, Scotty can beam three of them back to the ''Enterprise'' because the transporters are acting up, so somebody has to stay behind. Naturally, Kirk chooses himself.
41	* TheMutiny: Initially suspected, as the first sight they see is the ''Defiant'''s captain dead on the bridge with a RedShirt's corpse grasping his (broken) neck.
42	* ObviousStuntDouble: During the attacks on ''both'' [=McCoy=] and Scotty, their stunt doubles take the brunt of the attacks. It's especially evident in 1080p.
43	* PrematureEulogy: Kirk is [[NotQuiteDead presumed dead]] when he is pulled into another universe. We get an official ceremony with about 50 people present and Spock lamenting his friend--as much as a Vulcan would, anyway. [=McCoy=] finishes up by giving another short eulogy in Kirk's quarters during the next scene.
44	-->'''Spock:''' I shall not attempt to voice the quality of respect and admiration that Captain Kirk commanded. Each of you... must evaluate the loss, in the privacy of your own thoughts.
45	* RussianGuySuffersMost: Chekov is the first one on the ''Enterprise'' to go completely bonkers.
46	%%* SendInTheSearchTeam: How the whole mess started.
47	* SpaceMadness: Being in a particular area of space causes violent insanity by distorting the molecular structure of brain tissues and the central nervous system. Symptoms include dizziness, chest pains and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick attempting to murder your senior officer.]]
48	* StarfishAliens: The Tholians look like 20-siders with GlowingEyes. They were, in fact, meant to look like living jewels. They would get a ''massive'' effects upgrade (along with the Gorn) when they finally returned in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''.
49	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Kirk's "final orders" assume three things: that he's dead, that the tactical situation is critical, and that Spock and [=McCoy=] are at odds. He's right on 2 of the 3.
50	* TearsOfJoy: Uhura sheds a few when she learns that not only is she not crazy, but Kirk is indeed still alive.
51	* ThinDimensionalBarrier: The crew of the ''Enterprise'' accidentally stumbles upon one of these in space while investigating a recently dead Federation ship. Kirk gets trapped in the other universe, while distortions in the laws of physics start to prevent the Enterprise's systems ([[HatePlague and the crew's brains]]) from working properly.
52	* TwoDSpace: Averted. The web appears to be spherical.
53	* VideoWill: Kirk leaves a final set of instructions for Spock and [=McCoy=] should he be declared dead.
54	-->'''Kirk:''' Bones, Spock. since you are playing this tape, we will assume that I am dead, that the tactical situation is critical, and both of you are locked in mortal combat. It means, Spock, that you have control of the ship and are probably making the most difficult decisions of your career. I can offer only one small piece of advice, for whatever it's worth. Use every scrap of knowledge and logic you have to save the ship. But temper your judgment with intuitive insight. I believe you have those qualities, but if you can't find them in yourself, seek out [=McCoy=]. Ask his advice. And if you find it sound, take it. Bones, you've heard what I've just told Spock. Help him if you can. But remember he is the Captain. His decisions must be followed without question. You might find that he is capable of human insight and human error. They are most difficult to defend, but you will find that he is deserving of the same loyalty and confidence each of you have given me. Take care.
55	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: What happened to the ''Defiant''? Over thirty years later, we find out in the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' MirrorUniverse episode [[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E18InAMirrorDarkly "In a Mirror, Darkly"]].

Context Recap / StarTrekS3E9TheTholianWeb