What's wrong with McCoy in The Tholian Web?

[Timo]

Yup. In "Mudd's Women", he was so fond of it that he quickly removed his standard long-sleeved shirt and pulled on this T-shirt when Mudd's Women beamed aboard. When the camera again looked away, he switched back, confident that the women were already impressed.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Too Much Fun]

I wasn't sure about the shirt because Diamond Select Toys is putting out a new McCoy action figure this fall and they called it "Tholian Web McCoy" because he's wearing that shirt. I think they assumed it was the first episode where he wore that shirt. So my mistake was their mistake first!

 

[Aurian]

Yup. In "Mudd's Women", he was so fond of it that he quickly removed his standard long-sleeved shirt and pulled on this T-shirt when Mudd's Women beamed aboard. When the camera again looked away, he switched back, confident that the women were already impressed.

Timo Saloniemi

Really? I have to go check for that.

 

[Timo]

...You can also see that he whipped out some of his medical wall panels from his back pocket and hung them on the transporter room wall for the duration of that shot, again probably to impress the chicks.

(In reality, the editors needed a reaction shot from Kelley, and grabbed one filmed in Sickbay for a later scene. Of course, back then, they felt the need to use a grease lens to soften Kelley's wrinkles in almost every damn closeup of him, so the misused shot stands out even more...)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[plynch]

DeForrest Kelley's acting is one of the things that really makes TOS work.

 

[Wingsley]

I don't have a problem with McCoy's behavior in "The Tholian Web". As has been said before in this thread, he was upset because Kirk's life is in limbo and it seems the Enterprise might wind up like the Defiant. I actually enjoy this ep, despite the cliches. (Enterprise finds yet another sistership with its entire crew dead, Spock underestimates the territoriality of hostile aliens, another space disease drives the Enterprise crew insane)

Despite an annoying resemblance to a weird cross between "The Galileo Seven" and "The Naked Time", I still really like "The Tholian Web". It has a strange, think-out-of-the-box feel. It's the Tholian motivation that puzzles me. Are they behind all of this, or just territorial? We never figure it out. Loskene's appearance comes across as nothing more than a plot device, and that's a shame. This would've made a great two-parter with better writing and more emphasis on the motivation of the Tholians.

I would say that, comparing "Tholian" to TOS Year 1 outings, it is better done than "The Naked Time", though Spock's drama is nowhere near as well done as "Galileo". "Galileo" set a standard for a TOS expedition-into-hostile-territory story. Ironically, Spock seems more intelligent and believable in "Tholian", but the overall plot in the ep is not as well done. Like it or not, Spock does make it clear "I am in command of the Enterprise", and he comes across as someone who can get the job done. This is in stark contrast to his "Galileo" fuel ignition stunt.

It would've been interesting to see what could've been done with the ep if the Enterprise were simply in jeopardy due to interphase, and the Tholians never arrived. The urgency could've still been there and the story could've worked if it were written properly.

 

[JustKate]

I think McCoy gets too much guff here about his attitude. Anwar even called him racist towards Spock (and I know he's not the first person to say that)! Personally, I've always found his attitude endearing. He's stubborn, grumpy, and confrontational, but I just chalk that up to being passionate about his beliefs, and I respect that.

He's a bit of a hypochondriac and very argumentative, but I never found it grating and despite his curmudgeon ways, I never found him mean-spirited. At his core, I think he's a good person who's always wound up because he cares. The scene where McCoy and Kirk first meet in the new Star Trek was one of my favourites in the movie because I think it perfectly showed how endearing McCoy's conviction about his beliefs is.

All his ranting about the dangers of space travel just served to highlight how passionate he is and concerned for his safety and everyone else's. Listen to his "there is only one Kirk" dialog in "Balance of Terror". He almost sounds like he's just lecturing, but he's actually showing how deeply he cares for his friend's well-being.

I disagree slightly here, Too Much - I think McCoy almost always gets a full pass for his behavior, even questionable behavior, just because most people like him so much. People such as Anwar, Gotham Central and me are definitely in the minority, and a fairly small minority at that. Most TOS fans love McCoy. I sometimes wish I did, but I just don't. I can appreciate, most of the time, his role in the series, but there are episodes in which what I see as his shortcomings as a character really come out, and this episode is one of them.

But don't worry - you're definitely in the majority here.

 

[plynch]

I think McCoy gets too much guff here about his attitude. Anwar even called him racist towards Spock (and I know he's not the first person to say that)! Personally, I've always found his attitude endearing. He's stubborn, grumpy, and confrontational, but I just chalk that up to being passionate about his beliefs, and I respect that.

He's a bit of a hypochondriac and very argumentative, but I never found it grating and despite his curmudgeon ways, I never found him mean-spirited. At his core, I think he's a good person who's always wound up because he cares. The scene where McCoy and Kirk first meet in the new Star Trek was one of my favourites in the movie because I think it perfectly showed how endearing McCoy's conviction about his beliefs is.

All his ranting about the dangers of space travel just served to highlight how passionate he is and concerned for his safety and everyone else's. Listen to his "there is only one Kirk" dialog in "Balance of Terror". He almost sounds like he's just lecturing, but he's actually showing how deeply he cares for his friend's well-being.

I disagree slightly here, Too Much - I think McCoy almost always gets a full pass for his behavior, even questionable behavior, just because most people like him so much. People such as Anwar, Gotham Central and me are definitely in the minority, and a fairly small minority at that. Most TOS fans love McCoy. I sometimes wish I did, but I just don't. I can appreciate, most of the time, his role in the series, but there are episodes in which what I see as his shortcomings as a character really come out, and this episode is one of them.

But don't worry - you're definitely in the majority here.

Gandhi said even in a minority of one the truth is still the truth. I think, now that you mention it I appreciate Kelley's acting more than McCoy, were he a real person.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Well, my theory is PMS.

 

[Jeri]

Well, my theory is PMS.

Shouldn't talk about your uncle that way.

(I think you need an accent on your Téjas...)