Anyway, mostly the episode just seemed to confirm things that were assumed from "The Tholian Web" but not made explicit. The idea that Tholians aren't humanoid, for instance.
Oh, yeah, and also: they are super cool.
And while these Tholian ships didn't have a web spinner attached, that's fine, because A.) that device is useless (Oh no, they are very slowly building some sort of weird energy filiment thing around us! In several hours, we will be trapped!) and B.) their tactics seemed to be very much in line with the idea of the web. Namely, they spent most of their time disabling or ensaring other ships. Except for the Suliban. Ouch.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I wonder if they are ever going to be brave enough to actually show the Tholians, I wonder which look they'd for. What has been speculated over the years? I know of only two concepts for their appearance; one being just a floating crystal with eyes and I've heard of but not seen another that looks like a crystal version of the Excaliban.
With all that sneaky web spinning and ensnarement behaviour perhaps they're some sort of bizarre arachnid, perhaps with an exotic crystal based exoskeleton?
posted
Just for Shits and GigglesTM, and because I happen to own a variety of old Trek books, I present for the enjoyment of all an examination of some of the info given about the Tholians in non-canon (though, at the time, officially licensed) reference works over the years:
Exhibit A Information from the ancient (vintage 1977) Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual, a fairly cool (though at times scientifically questionable) little book researched and compiled by Eileen Palestine and Our PalTM Geoffrey Mandel, illustrated by Our Other PalsTM Doug Drexler and Anthony Fredrickson. This is where the aforementioned "hive-mind theory" originates, as does the notion that there may be different castes of Tholians, organized in a somewhat insectoid-like hierarchy. Also presented here for the first time is info on the nature of their home world. The lettered labels below the main text correspond to the illustration in the following exhibit.
Exhibit B The corresponding anatomical illustration that accompanies the Manual's text entry. Apparently the authors/illustrators didn't think there was any more to the being's structure than the "head," which is puzzling considering that Commander Loskene's "shoulders" were also visible on the viewscreen in "The Tholian Web" (TOS).
Exhibit C Info from Shane Johnson's speculative Worlds of the Federation, published in 1989. It used the Medical Reference Manual as a reference and built on its treatment with some historical datapoints and the like.
Exhibit D Johnson's interpretation of what the race looked like.
Exhibit E Color art by Don Ivan Punchatz from Worlds of the Federation showing a Tholian and two other familiar non-humanoids from TOS: the Excalbian from "The Savage Curtain" and the Horta from "The Devil in the Dark." Punchatz's art is one of the coolest things about this otherwise rather unimpressive book. Someday I should post the rest of his vibrantly-colorful paintings from it, which show a wide array of lifeforms from the ST universe. This low-res scan hardly does the work justice---but it is, after all, merely for demonstrative purposes.
Exhibit F The "other" interpretation of the Tholians' appearance to which I assume Rev refers. This one come from the 1980s-90s Star Trek: The Next Generation comic book series from DC Comics.
And there you have it, ladies and gents. It's interesting to see how such literature obviously influenced Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong in writing the Tholians into "Future Tense" (ENT), what with the high-intensity heat environment bit and such. I think they may end up being the saviors of the series, being obvious TOS fans and fairly good writers. (I absolutely LOVED this episode, and really enjoyed "The Catwalk" as well.)
-MMoM
-------------------- The flaws we find most objectionable in others are often those we recognize in ourselves.
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I'd prefer something with arms and legs....but less stupid looking than that TNG comic with the Tholians having GIANT HEADS!!!! They definitlty require limbs of some kind: They just could'nt evolve into an intelligent space faring civilization without limbs for handling tools and some form of locomotion.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
The Tholians were in Vendetta, but they were represented as being sort of pirates that attack vessels....and Loskene was still alive, still a commander, and thought the Enterprise D was Kirk's ship...(shudder). NOT a good part of an otherwise enjoyable book. The high point is when the Tholians ensnare a bOrg cube in their web (it now only takes a couple of minutes to make). It does not last long though....
...and nobody commented on their appearance.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Geez the floating crystal looks crappier than I remember!
I agree it needs to have something with arms and legs - or at least a proportional body.
Maybe they wear encounter suits. Yes B5 - but they don't have to call them "encounter suits".
OK and in reply to what I meant about "what we know about the Tholians" I mean - we haven't really learned anything new about the Andorians. Woah they're paranoid. We already knew that.
Andrew
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
Most amazing of all-in the last year of TOS, a show with an admittedly shrinking budget, they were able to create life forms which weren't humaniod-the Excalibia life form, the 'Medusa' life form, the life form in "Spector of the Gun", and the life form of the Tholians. All these were intelligent life forms capable of building civilizations and conducting talks with other alien life forms. The most intelligent non-humaniod life form in modern Star Trek is a talking vegetable from the first season of Enterprise.
They have more of a budget. Why can't they be more creative in the alien life form department?
Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Maybe they wear encounter suits. Yes B5 - but they don't have to call them "encounter suits".
Sure! Why not? A weird race in funny suits with harsh,screeching and barely, if ever, translated speech would be unique. Maybe thorughout the series Silik or Shran can drop hints that Tholia is really quite pleasant.
Registered: May 2001
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posted
But they're NON-humanoid. They CAN'T have arms and legs, can they?
Or is my definition of "humanoid" screwed up?
Just a side comment, in "Exhibit E" the picture of the Horta looks crappy. Am I the only one that saw a striking resemblance to a big ol' plate of spaghetti and meatballs?
-------------------- Petty Officer 1st Class Sorak Chief Tactical Officer USS Gemini NCC-74680 Task Force 44 Task Group 3 Bravo Fleet
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Sorak: But they're NON-humanoid. They CAN'T have arms and legs, can they?
Or is my definition of "humanoid" screwed up?
Just a side comment, in "Exhibit E" the picture of the Horta looks crappy. Am I the only one that saw a striking resemblance to a big ol' plate of spaghetti and meatballs?
They might have several arm and legs or they could be genengenered for life in a vaccum... Just not "actor in a suit" humanoid. I was sooo disapointed in the severe lack of imagination reagarding Trek's first CGI aliens: Species 8472. If they lived in a fluidic environment would'nt they look like they could swim through it? Geeez. The only way the Tholian "floating crystal head" works is by making the Tholians exceptionally advanced telekinetically....way more than anything we've seen on Trek. How else could they get around, build their ships and play poker?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Topher: Excuse me, but talking vegetable?
I think he means Berman.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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