Visual effects comparison - The Tholian Web (redux)

The original TOS effects of the Tholian Web and the Tholian ships were more visually stunning than the remastered ones.

Original effects were not half bad in this episode.

I like the more dynamic angles of the defiant in the cgi version, but there is something to be said about the way the old models looked. The cgi is a little too smooth in some places.

I am surprised by how well the original effects hold up. I have a lot of respect for the bluray releases of TOS because they let you choose between the original and cgi effects. I think its a great way preserving the hard work of the original vfx artists while still allowing people to enjoy the updated versions.

The original effects were better! Why did they bother with CGI?

I prefer the original Tholian ships. They had a more unique color scheme and if you take it with the recent lore that they are creatures derived of extreme heat then it makes more sense the exterior of their ship looks like it radiates heat. The new ones are pretty generic.

Bearing in mind the effects of 60 years of film stock degradation on the original film stock, the CGI stock looks poorly executed and in some examples rather clunky. The Enterprise CGI version ironically looked more like a mere toy model than the 1968 version. It also looked drab and static.

I much prefer, in the scene of the Tholian ship firing on the Enterprise, the original energy blast effect from the stupid swirly effect of the CGI.

What I wonder is why they changed the angle often with the CGI versions? Like, I get that the original was limited in what they could do but why not try to match it?

What's interesting is that the writers tapped into this mystery in Star Trek: Enterprise by having the Defiant as a key narrative component and a way to callback to TOS.

Having seen the originals so many times as a kid, and now watching the CGI for the first time on MeTV, I don't like it. Hope they never do this to 2001: A Space Odyssey!!

Oh goodness. I'm startting to say "fascinating" in my old age of 57.

Where are the stars?

Yes the CGI looks good... I have no issues with releasing the series in HD, but to replace the original effects with CGI is an insult to the artists who created the show.

That's 'The Defiant'? Funny, doesn't look like "Ben Sisko's Mutha F***in' Pimp Hand"...

The original design of the Tholian scout ships is still the best. The essence of alien technology and mystery was compromised and diluted by making the ships look more contemporary.

Original of this episode is SO much better!

This was one of the few TOS eps in which the original SFX were better than the Remastered version.

Updated CGI has the wrong approach. They should overlay. Not recreate from scratch. The original is far superior in art direction to anything a high school educated newbie with a 17" monitor can make. PS3 video game graphics at best.

All the CGI is poor and has dated far worse than the effects it's replacing!

This would have been a good episode if produced in the first or second season; unfortunately it was produced in the third season and Fred Burgerflipper fired the original director for something that was out of his control, so the live action footage is rather shoddy and performances wooden. Music editing also very clumsy.

I watched this episode with my nephew at one point and he thought at the end that Kirk missed his chair lol. Makes sense in a way I suppose not to mention the part from the movie where he says “I miss my old chair” to Bones.

The original had a such nicer star field, and I kind of liked the garish colors for the Tholian vessel.
The remake, though, had much better shots of the web...more panning and better angles.

I don't understand why some of the scenes involving the crew are in black and white. Did I miss something?

I don't think the CGI adds anything to this episode. In fact the scene where the CGI Tholian ship gets hit by the Enterprise phasers looks awful. The way the Tholian ship gets pushed backwards in the new version looks really terrible and more like a video game.

I’ll be honest. I prefer the original to the remake on this occasion. My big reason is that the Defiant is such a strange pitch.

I feel they wanted to just show how much of an “improvement” they could make. But it just ends up looking weird.

This episode is the most intense Star Trek show I've ever seen from the original cast.

Thank you for making the comparison. I wish they would leave the original effects alone. That goes for all movies. Half of the reason we watch old movies/shows is because of nostalgia.

After watching this, I'm even more impressed by what they were able to achieve in 1968. I agree with the other posters that the original practical effects, even if they are a little cheesy, are still more convincing than the CGI effects, which always look animated and unreal.

Cinematography is much better on originals. It's as if the animators have never studied film making, graphic design, or photography.

I vote for the original effects. They look like physical objects, not CGI.

So did Kirk ACTUALLY see the mirror universe of 2155 while in limbo????

Seems to me they had more better shots/sfx this season of the ships??

I hate the CGI effects. The fact that some of the original effects from the 1960s are superior to 21st Century CGI is quite telling. Models and film > CGI. I want to watch a movie, not a video game.

The original effects were way better

I like the models better. When you see the Enterprise top saucer section with the warp engine lights running, CGI pales in comparison. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Sometimes the original effects are better than the CGI effects....

The original Tholian ship is better. Something really elegant and organic about the design that added a real alien look to it.

I much prefer the original effects.

the fading in and out between scenes makes this too annoying to watch.

This is the one episode where I wish they left the original special effects intact. I'm in favor of cleaning up most of the SFX on TOS, even the shots of the Enterprise in this episode, but they should have left the original Tholian ship design and web alone. It's an insult to the creators of the original effects, those effects were beautiful and the passage of time should not take away from it's excellence to be replaced by something that looks more modern.

All they had to do was slight changes. They did wholesale changes for no reason at all. Terrible

Of all the CGI reworked episodes this one fails. As others have said the CGI is more fake looking than the models in alot of these. If we could have less grainy film the models were very good for their time. Contrast with Doctor Who of the same time period.

THE ORIGINAL WAS JUST GROOVY BABY!

Like putting Shakespeare to rap

This was all fraud, EVERY BIT of it.
So much had been said about those Tholians, everything contradicting everything else, that there was NO proof of ANY kind that "Tholians" even EXISTED at ALL, or that they EVER either HAD or WOULD!
Without such proof, it WAS possible to infer that Tholians did NOT exist.

i till think the practical effects are more visually appealing to the eyes.

Is it just me or do all the original shots create more emotion.

Most of the CGI effects are a distinct "disimprovement". In many instances, they disrupt the visual harmony of the episodes. The producers should have added film emulsion grain and other imperfections to restore the original "feel". Only the main act opener with the close-up shot over the Defiant's saucer section with the ship's name clearly visible is visually better than the original. The original cold open with that gorgeous shot of the Enterprise is so much better than the CGI version. The lighting of the miniature has a lot more definition and the grain build-up from the optical printing process adds a lot of "bite" to the visual, compared to the slick, smooth, much-too-hi-res CGI shot. The quaint-looking special effects of TOS is an important part of the charm of the series. They should have left it alone.