26 Issue Tholian Starship
26 Issue Tholian Starship
00
26
TM
CREW: 1
LAUNCHED: 22nd C
THOLIAN
STARSHIP (2152)
LENGTH: 15 METERS
P18: ON SCREEN
Stand assembly:
u
Attach here u
OPERATED BY: THOLIAN ASSEMBLY
Final position ACTIVE: 22ND CENTURY
LENGTH: 15 METERS
CREW: 1
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SHIP PROFILE
The Tholians operated fast, sleek
vessels that were highly maneuverable.
Piloted by a single occupant, these
ships were often deployed in small
squadrons. By working together in a
coordinated attack, they could utilize DATA FEED
their powerful weapons to overwhelm The Enterprise NX-01’s encounter with a Tholian
much larger vessels. vessel in 2152 marked an Earth’s ship first
recorded contact with the species. The Tholians
inhabited a region of space near the Klingon
border, and they were extremely hostile to
other races. Little more was known about them,
except for the fact that they were very territorial
and renowned for their punctuality.
T
he Tholian starship of the 22nd century was interior of their ships was normally set at about
a small dart-shaped vessel capable of 480 Kelvin (207°C).
interstellar travel at warp speeds. Its overall
aerodynamic shape also suggested it was capable SMALL BUT MIGHTY
of atmospheric flight. Despite the diminutive size of Tholian ships, they
The Tholians were renowned for being extremely possessed considerable firepower. Their arsenal
xenophobic and highly territorial. This meant included particle-beam weaponry and an energy-
that their ships were primarily used to patrol their dampening weapon. Their offensive capabilities
borders, and any vessels trespassing into their space were certainly more than a match for many ships
were promptly told to leave. of the 22nd century. A few direct hits from these
The Tholians rarely travelled far from their own weapons would be enough to disable the engines
system and appeared to have little interest in and armaments of craft intruding into their space.
exploration. This might explain why their ships were Tholian starships often operated in groups of two
so small at just 15m long. As they never ventured far or more and could overwhelm much larger ships.
from their core territory, they did not require ships In 2152, four Tholian starships working together were
that could support a large crew on long missions. able to disable the Tal’Kir, a Vulcan combat cruiser,
In fact, their starships appeared to be operated by as well as destroy a small fleet of Suliban ships.
just a single crew member and certainly could not This incident occurred when the Tholians
accommodate more than two occupants. were attempting to retrieve a 31st-century Earth
The Tholians were so secretive that little was time-travel pod that had been salvaged by the
22 ND
C E N TURY known about them in the 22nd century. Even the Enterprise NX-01. The Tholian vessels scored several
THOLIAN STARSHIP
Vulcans, who had some previous contact with direct hits on the Enterprise with their energy-
them, did not know what they looked like, but dampening weapons, causing it to lose all power
5
SHIP PROFILE THOLIAN STARSHIP OVERVIEW SHIP PROFILE
TOP In 2152, the by scrambling every power relay on board the a web’ of energy filaments in a geometric pattern Once trapped inside the web, the ship could be
Enterprise NX-01 became ship. The Tholians were then able to steal the time- around the ship until it was trapped inside. destroyed, or dragged back to a Tholian port where DATA FEED
the first Earth ship to
travel pod, only for it to return to its proper timeline At least two Tholian ships were needed to create its technology and parts would be harvested. Unlike most advanced species,
encounter the Tholians
moments later. this web of energy strands, although more could be The Tholian starships of the 22nd century were the Tholians were not humanoids.
when it was surrounded
by several of their ships. They had six legs, two arms and
The fact that the Tholians knew about the pod, used. The more ships involved, the quicker the web tactically more than a match for many ships of
their whole body appeared to
and made the unusual decision to travel far outside was completed. The web was made by launching the same era. Even one small Tholian ship had the
shimmer with intense heat. They
their borders to acquire it, appeared to indicate energy filaments from one ship to another, and power to tow the much larger Enterprise with a were hermaphroditic, and their
that they were involved in the Temporal Cold War. by weaving these lines of energy together, a trap tractor beam. This beam also interfered with the speech was punctuated by a
would be formed, ensnaring the ship inside. Enterprise’s targeting scanners, leaving it unable series of hisses and whistles. Their
The tractor beam from WEB WEAPON Once the web was complete, it became self- to fire on the Tholian ship. hard crystalline exoskeleton
a Tholian ship had a could act as a natural transmitter
Tholian starships of the 22nd century may also generating and the Tholian ships were no longer A little more than a century later, however,
yellow-greenish hue, and and send a distress signal. This
have possessed an unusual and ingenious weapon needed to power it. Weapons fire could enter the perhaps because of their reluctance to interact
was powerful enough to exoskeleton would also begin
stop the Enterprise NX-01 known as a Tholian web. Certainly their Mirror web but not leave, as the resulting detonation with other species, Tholian starships had made little to fracture if a Tholian was
from escaping. Universe counterparts of this time utilized it. This was absorbed by the filaments. If the trapped ship advancement. The appearance of their starships subjected to temperatures
involved first disabling a targeted ship with their regained propulsion and tried to leave the web, it remained much the same, but their tactical abilities below 380 Kelvin (107°C).
energy-dampening weapon and then ‘spinning would be sliced apart by the energy filaments. had fallen somewhat behind those of Starfleet ships.
THOLIAN TRAP
In 2155, the Mirror Universe Tholians opened a spatial trapped in the rift until it eventually phased into the Mirror
interphase to another universe by detonating a tri-cobalt Universe. The Tholians then towed the Defiant to one of
warhead inside the gravity well of a dead star. They knew their drydocks where they began harvesting its technology.
it would be too dangerous to send a ship through this rift in The crew of the I.S.S. Enterprise learned of this advanced
the fabric of space, so they transmitted a distress call into ship from the future and an away team managed to
Particle beam emitter
the opening, hoping to lure a ship from the other side. The steal it, but not before the Enterprise was trapped inside a
Habitat module
U.S.S. Defiant NCC-1764 from 2268 responded and became Tholian web and destroyed along with most of the crew.
UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY
Tractor beam emitter
In 2268, Commander
Spock ran an analysis
of the filaments used to
create the Tholian web
and concluded that it
was an energy field,
but there was nothing
similar to its structure in
Federation technology.
SOLE SURVIVOR
Relations between
the Tholians and the
Federation would
Engineering section
continue to be fraught
well into the 24th
century. In 2353, the
Main power matrix
Tholians destroyed a
Federation starbase.
The only survivor was
Commander Riker’s
Habitat module Engine support father, Kyle Riker.
WEB DIFFERENCES
Impulse engine generator The web created by the
Mirror Universe Tholians
came from a beam
emitted from the front of
their vessels and was
completed in a matter of
seconds. The web in the
Warp engine outlet regular universe took
several hours to spin
and came from the rear
of the Tholian vessels.
The I.S.S. Enterprise in the Mirror Universe became trapped after seven The intricately woven filaments that made up a Tholian web had a similar energy
Tholian ships spun a powerful energy web around it in a matter of seconds. structure to that found in their tractor beams.
DESIGNING THE
Bird-of-Prey
THOLIAN STARSHIP
The studio model of the Tholian starship that
appeared
Nimoy in
andTHEtheORIGINAL
ILM teamSERIES
discusshadthe clean
designlines
of the
and was constructed
BIRD-OF-PREY, whilealmost entirely
examining Nilofrom wood.
Rodis’s The
concept
model wasSadly
drawings. later fitted with nacelles
the drawings have for its appearance
disappeared from
as ILMAurora
thethe in the episode
and Paramount ‘The Way to Eden.’
archives.
The return of the Tholians gave concept artist John Eaves the perfect Of course, it was the legendary art entirely from wood with just the addition audiences of the 1960s, and the special
director Matt Jefferies who designed of reflective inserts embedded near the effects for this episode were nominated
opportunity to retro-out one of Matt Jefferies’ original classic starships. the Tholian ship that made a single, tails. With the use of some clever for an Emmy Award.
unforgettable appearance in THE multi-colored lighting during filming, As an aside, one of the Tholian studio
O
ne of the joys for fans of There was tremendous anticipation choice of profession. “One of the great ORIGINAL SERIES in 1968. it gave the Tholian ships a mysterious, models did make another screen
setting STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE to see how ORIGINAL SERIES aliens and things about ENTERPRISE,” said Eaves, spooky alien glow that was in keeping appearance in THE ORIGINAL SERIES.
in the 22nd century was that their ships would be reinterpreted with “was that every now and then we SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE with the creepy appearance of the It was modified with Constitution-class
it offered up the prospect of revisiting modern visual effects technology. would get to work on a vessel that we As ever costs had to be kept down, so non-humanoid race. The visual effect of nacelles and Klingon D7-class
some iconic aliens that had not been Production illustrator John Eaves was loved from THE ORIGINAL SERIES. This Jefferies designed a vessel that would these ships spinning their web of energy battlecruiser pylons taken from their
seen since STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL certainly thrilled about the chance to was a great assignment to retro-out the be simple and inexpensive to construct. around the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 respective AMT model kits. With the
SERIES, nearly 35 years earlier. reimagine designs that had inspired his Tholian ship.” Two studio models were built almost certainly made an impression on the TV addition of these parts the Tholian ship
11
DESIGNING THE SHIP THOLIAN STARSHIP
12 THOLIAN STARSHIP
THE THOLIANS
Executive producer Manny Coto, pictured on set, The head of a Tholian was all that was seen of them in THE ORIGINAL SERIES. The way the viewscreen image
REIMAGINING THE
The producers were particularly keen that the
was very keen to make a Mirror Universe episode. appeared to shimmer with heat led to the revelation in ENTERPRISE that they lived in incredibly hot environments.
Tholians would not be revealed as a humanoid
species in masks, but something far more exotic. in his silver bee-keeper suit), the story first, Sussman was worried that dropping was going to fight Archer and the
THOLIANS
had some problems, not least of which the Defiant from the script would have Suliban for the ship. I thought, ‘Why
would have been the expense of also meant losing the Tholians, but he not make it the Tholians?’”
recreating the Defiant.” decided to stick with them. As a huge fan of THE ORIGINAL SERIES
Sussman’s original pitch was not himself, Sussman reveled in the chance
completely thrown out, however, and KEEPING THE THOLIANS to revisit a species that was a firm fan
the idea evolved, eventually becoming “The Tholians came along as a logical favorite. “What was so cool was that we
the second-season episode ‘Future part of the story involving the Defiant,” knew so little about the Tholians,” said
T
here were no grand plans to revealed the Defiant had emerged from While this pitch had many intriguing Tense’. Instead of featuring the Defiant, said Sussman, “but when it no longer Sussman. “To me they were like the
feature the Tholians in STAR TREK: this spatial rift back in the 22nd century. ideas, it also had a few flaws, chief the story involved an even more involved the Defiant, I thought I’d be Boba Fett of the STAR TREK universe. The
ENTERPRISE, despite their popularity Sussman’s idea for the story was then among which was the effect that futuristic vessel that was being pursued losing the Tholians too. Then I realized Tholians were so mysterious. We did nail
with fans after their one and only that the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 Archer’s discovery of the Defiant would by both the Suliban and the Tholians. At I still needed an alien adversary who them down a bit and we did take away
appearance in THE ORIGINAL SERIES would have to stop the Defiant, and its have on the continuity of the show.
episode ‘The Tholian Web.’ Instead, their
reintroduction came about because
advanced technology, from falling into
the hands of some alien races. EXPENSIVE PROBLEM
MIKE SUSSMAN
STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE producer Mike Sussman also revealed himself as
writer and producer Mike Sussman had Sussman took this one step further and The cost of recreating the Defiant for a Sussman (pictured right on the set of the being an aficionado of THE ORIGINAL
always wondered what had happened reasoned that one of these alien races single show was also prohibitive, as Mike Defiant) began work for the franchise SERIES saying, “I was a hardcore fan from
to the U.S.S. Defiant NCC-1764, the ship would be the Tholians of the 22nd Sussman explained. “As much as I in 1995. After several freelance script the age of seven. I let my geek flag fly
sales, he became part of the writing on ENTERPRISE. It ended up being very
that had disappeared into a ‘spatial century. He concluded that they had would’ve loved to have seen Archer
staff on VOYAGER and later moved on to beneficial having that knowledge of the
interphase’ in ‘The Tholian Web.’ somehow deliberately weakened the and the gang wandering the decks ENTERPRISE. All told, he has writing credits series and knowing what had been done
This unsolved mystery led Sussman fabric of space, hoping to trap a ship of a Constitution-class starship (and on more than 30 STAR TREK episodes. and what hadn’t been done.”
to pitch an idea for an episode that from the future. possibly running into a ghostly James Kirk
15
BEHIND THE SCENES THE THOLIANS
that lived in that kind of environment, Mike Sussman had helped that this alien had bizarre
so it was another way to keep them always wondered about physiology and justified that story point.”
the fate of the Defiant
mysterious. It was just cool to feature after it was pulled into a
The appearance of the Tholian was
them again, and I had no idea what the spatial interphase. This something that Sussman was particularly
art department was going to come up question ultimately led to keen to get right, but the script just
the reintroduction of the
with in terms of their ship. I was just referred to them as a crystalline,
Tholians on ENTERPRISE.
super-thrilled to see what they had multi-legged species. “I felt if we were
designed.” going to show them, we had to do
them right,” said Sussman. “There were
THOLIAN PROBLEM a lot of different designs tossed around.
After the Tholians appearance in ‘Future They were all crystalline, but some of
Tense’, Sussman had no immediate them didn’t quite stand upright. They
plans to feature them again on were cool designs, but I was looking
ENTERPRISE. “I would have been happy at them with Manny [Coto] and our
to use the Tholians again,” said Sussman, concern was that many of them didn’t
The producers were delighted that they were able to “but they were difficult to do, have the head that we saw in THE
feature the Tholian energy web again in ENTERPRISE.
particularly if you wanted to show them, ORIGINAL SERIES episode. We wanted
as I’d set them up as something exotic. The Defiant was a creature where everything above
a little bit of the mystery in ‘Future Tense’ They could have been very boring- recreated as a CG model the neck would be recognizable from
for its appearance on
because we mentioned that their looking aliens that wore helmets, but I ENTERPRISE. The fact
before, but everything below the neck
spaceships were really hot on the inside. didn’t want to do that. So I think in some that it only featured in the could be new.”
“I was diving into all sorts of semi- ways I boxed myself into a corner. It Mirror Universe meant
it freed the writers from
professional publications over the years wasn’t until the fourth season rolled WEB RETURN
continuity concerns.
that speculated what the Tholians were around and we were trying to find a The expense of creating a fully CG
really like. One of the ideas was looking Mirror Universe story that I realized that Tholian meant that it could not be
back on what little we saw of them in my original pitch for the Defiant story, featured too heavily, but Sussman
‘The Tholian Web’ and how the which was very tightly woven with the was particularly happy that they also
viewscreen image seemed to ripple. Tholians, could be resurrected.” managed to feature the infamous
People suggested that those were heat Originally it had been hoped that Tholian web. “We saw a lot of their ships,
ripples, so we established in ‘Future William Shatner could be brought in for and we blew one of them up,” said
Tense’ that it was incredibly hot inside a Mirror Universe episode on ENTERPRISE, Sussman. “I think they created another
their ships. In all the years of STAR TREK but when that failed to pan out, 12 Tholian ships that surrounded the
we had never really run into an alien executive producer Manny Coto was Enterprise and we saw the web. What
particularly keen to go with Sussman’s As ‘In a Mirror, Darkly’ I threw in – which was kind of cool – was
idea involving the Defiant. was a two-part episode, that you can fire in through the web at
it justified the cost of
“The Tholians ended up playing a building the sets on board
the ship, but it couldn’t fire out and that
much bigger part in this story,” said the Defiant that were way you could destroy your enemy.”
Sussman. “I needed a character that needed for filming. The Sussman was delighted that he had
bridge was recreated in
the crew of the I.S.S. Enterprise capture the chance to feature the Tholians and
painstaking detail.
early on in the show who would lead us reveal a little more about them. “I hope
to the hiding place where we would we get to see the Tholians again in a
find the Defiant. I thought, ‘OK, we’ll future STAR TREK production,” said
make it a Tholian.’ It ended up Sussman, “but it was great to finally
becoming a little plot point that the revisit them. What was cool was that we
Tholian sent out a distress call. I thought kept them pretty mysterious. There’s still
if I ended up going with an exotic alien a lot we don’t know and I don’t think
physiology for the Tholian then it could we revealed too much, so I think there’s
The Tholian met a brutal end when the temperature have a crystalline structure that acted still plenty of areas to explore in future
inside its cell was lowered, causing it to shatter apart. like a natural radio transmitter. It really series or movies.”
16 THE THOLIANS
APPEARANCES THOLIAN STARSHIP
BIRD-OF-PREY
NCC-1701-D
COMING NEXT
ON SCREEN TRIVIA
22 CENTURY
ND
ROMULAN BIRD-OF-PREY
In the ‘Future Tense’ episode, Captain Archer
initially wondered if the dead pilot that they
found aboard the derelict craft was Zefram
Cochrane. He was rumored to have been
testing an experimental warp ship when he
disappeared. Cochrane’s true fate was not
discovered until 2267 when Captain Kirk,
Commander Spock and Dr. McCoy found
him living on an asteroid in the Gamma
Canaris region. Cochrane had been brought
there by a cloud-like entity he called the
EVERY
Companion, who kept him young and
FORTNIGHT
alive for the next 150 years. AT YOUR
NEWSAGENT
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