the empath star trek episode

The Empath (episode)

• View history

On a doomed planet Kirk, Spock, and McCoy become the subjects of an alien experiment whose mysterious intention involves a beautiful, empathic woman.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.2 Story and script
• 4.3 Production
• 4.4 Effects
• 4.5 Sets and props
• 4.7 Continuity
• 4.8 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest star
• 5.4 Co-starring
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.6 Stunt doubles
• 5.7 References
• 5.8 External links

Summary [ ]

The USS Enterprise is ordered to evacuate a research station on the planet Minara II whose sun, Minara , is about to go nova . Captain Kirk , Commander Spock , and Doctor McCoy beam down to the planet. They find the six-month old research station abandoned, with dust covering the floor and desks, indicating that the station has been uninhabited for some time. Informed by Scott of an imminent solar flare with high levels of cosmic rays , Kirk immediately orders Scott to take the Enterprise out of orbit, reasoning that the landing party will be protected by the planet's atmosphere during the 74.1 solar hours it will take for the flare to subside. Upon consulting a visual tape recording , the landing party discovers that the two researchers, Drs. Ozaba and Linke , had mysteriously disappeared three months earlier amid a flurry of seismic activity and deafening noise. Soon after this discovery the landing party similarly vanishes, while hearing the same noise.

Act One [ ]

Lal and Thann with control devices

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy appear 121.32 meters (around 400 feet deep) below the planet's surface. They were transported by a matter-energy scrambler similar to their transporter technology. After wandering through a cavern, they encounter a beautiful humanoid woman with short brown hair, who is wearing a long purple dress, reclining on a dimly lit, cross-shaped couch. McCoy wants to go forward because she looks harmless, but Spock reminds him that the sand-bats of Manark IV look like inanimate rock crystals until they attack.

The woman awakens, but does not respond to any of Kirk's questions. McCoy determines that she does not have any vocal cords , not even vestigial, indicating that she comes from a species of mutes . Kirk observes that she is very much like the naturally mute people of the civilization on Gamma Vertis IV . McCoy names her Gem , saying this will be better than calling her "You".

Two different-looking humanoid aliens suddenly appear to the landing party. Identifying themselves as Vians , Thann and Lal , they make it clear that they know the identities of the landing party. They demand that Kirk not interfere, and when he approaches they stun him with a hand-held control device with a red button on the face. Kirk points out that if the Vians know who they are, they also must know that they come in peace and that their Prime Directive prohibits interference.

The Vians momentarily trap the landing party in a force field while they tend to Gem. McCoy tells Kirk not to fight the force field since it interferes with the body's metabolism. The Vians correct McCoy's hypothesis, saying that the field draws its strength from their bodies' energy and the more they resist the stronger the field becomes. They depart and the field vanishes.

Kirk has suffered a cut on his forehead and when he touches Gem to see if she is all right, she recoils in pain. Gem composes herself and then touches Kirk's wound. With a flash, the wound is transferred to Gem's forehead. A doubting Kirk touches her wound and notes the blood on his finger. Suddenly, the wound on Gem's forehead quickly heals as well. McCoy, observing, is clearly impressed by her ability to heal and surmises that Gem is an empath . Her emotional system is so sensitive that it feels the pain of another and that pain becomes part of her, before she dissipates it.

Spock finds that his tricorder now gives readings of electronically sophisticated devices elsewhere. Heading to the source of the readings, they find a laboratory where the now deceased Drs. Linke and Ozaba are trapped in transparent tubes marked SUBJECT LINKE and SUBJECT OZABA respectively, with their bodies are twisted in agony.

Act Two [ ]

There are also 'subject' tubes designated for McCoy, Kirk, and Spock. One of the Vians appears and says there is need for more testing. He blames Ozaba's and Linke's "imperfections" for their deaths. While Kirk talks, Spock sneaks up behind and gives the Vian a Vulcan nerve pinch . As the landing party walks off toward a passage to the surface Spock has located, the Vian arises. Apparently the nerve pinch was less effective than normal. He joins his companion, and they share a look that indicates they are impressed with the crew.

At the surface, Kirk tries to contact the Enterprise with his communicator , but the ship is out of range. He leads the landing party through a storm back to the abandoned research station, where it appears to them that Scotty, Lemli , and a security officer are waiting for them. Spock and McCoy go ahead with Gem, but Kirk spots the Vians watching them and stops. He moves toward them, but one uses his control unit to make Kirk move in slow motion. He remarks, " Their will to survive is great. They love life greatly to struggle so. The prime ingredient. "

When Spock, McCoy, and Gem reach the research station, the images of Scotty and the security officers suddenly vanish. Gem brings Spock and McCoy back to where Kirk is confronting the Vians. They announce that they only need one specimen, so Kirk sends the others back to the ship. The Vians transport them away, and then recapture Kirk.

The Vians bring Kirk back to the laboratory. Here, where the bodies of Ozaba and Linke are displayed like specimens, the Vians chain a shirtless Kirk by his arms to the ceiling. They tell him they want to witness his courage and will to survive. Kirk asks, " Why? What is it you hope to prove? If my death is to have any meaning, at least tell me what I'm dying for! " Thann says that if Kirk lives, he will have his answer. Using their control units, they torture Kirk, as Gem watches helplessly.

Spock and McCoy have been transported to the chamber where they originally met Gem. When Kirk and Gem are also transported there, Spock and McCoy are trapped in a force field. With McCoy's encouragement, Gem heals Kirk's wrist wounds. When she finishes, she collapses. The process is physically draining and, apparently, has its limits.

The Vians return and indicate that, for their next experimental subject, Kirk must choose either Spock or McCoy. To make the decision all the more difficult, the Vians indicate that there is a 93% chance that Spock will suffer brain damage and permanent insanity, and an 87% chance that McCoy will die.

Act Three [ ]

Spock analyzes the confiscated Vian hand device. McCoy, uncomfortable with the wait, comments that it's not natural for a Human to live underground. Spock points out that some Humans spend the majority of their lives "beneath the surface." McCoy responds, " I'm a doctor, not a coal miner. " Spock tells McCoy that he is recording his notes of the hand device in the tricorder in the event that he is taken by the Vians so that McCoy and Kirk can continue his work and escape. McCoy further protests, adding that he's not a mechanic and doubts he would be able to make it functional; Spock assures him that the two of them together will be able to figure it out.

Plagued with symptoms resembling the bends , Kirk is caught off-guard by McCoy, who renders Kirk unconscious from behind with a hypospray . Now finding himself in command, Spock declares that he will go with the Vians at the appointed time, but McCoy sneaks behind Spock, who has been momentarily distracted by Gem, and renders him unconscious as well, intending to sacrifice himself for his two friends. All of these noble efforts at self-sacrifice are observed by Gem.

Taken to the Vians' laboratory, McCoy undergoes extensive torture. Meanwhile, now awake, Spock has come to understand the Vian hand-held devices. They are control units, not control mechanisms – they are not a mechanical device at all. They are tuned to the pattern of electrical energy of the person who uses it and are activated simply by mental commands. Being most familiar with his own brain pattern , Spock re-tunes the device to his own pattern. Kirk points out that it is strange that the Vians let them keep the device if they would be able to understand it. They must want Spock and Kirk to escape and to leave McCoy behind.

Spock completes the modifications and says he may only be able to effect one transport. He suggests there is enough energy to go back to the Enterprise , but Kirk would prefer to go to McCoy, stating " the best defense is a strong offense – and I intend to start offending right now. " Spock transports Kirk, Gem and himself to the laboratory, where they find McCoy severely injured and on the verge of death. The Vians are nowhere to be found.

Act Four [ ]

" How long? " " It could happen anytime. " " The correct medical phrase, eh, Spock? "

Spock and Kirk release McCoy from his chains. He is in bad shape; with barely a pulse. Spock scans McCoy and finds that he has severe heart damage, congestion in both lungs , and his circulatory system is in danger of collapse. He is bleeding into the chest, his spleen and liver are hemorrhaging and his kidneys have 70% failure. Spock informs Jim that McCoy is dying and the best he can do is make him comfortable. McCoy compliments Spock on his bedside manner.

The empath, "Gem"

Kirk suggests that Gem could heal McCoy, but he is not sure if the attempt will kill her. At least, he hopes, she can improve his condition so that McCoy can be healed on the Enterprise . Suddenly the Vians appear and trap Spock and Kirk in a force field; they demand that the Human and Vulcan not interfere and allow Gem to make her own choice without urging or forcing. It is their wish to see if Gem will attempt to help McCoy on her own at the cost of her own life – the completion of their test.

At this time they explain to Kirk, Spock, and the dying McCoy that they have been part of an experiment. They have the power to save only one species from the impending nova, and so they wished to test whether Gem's species is worthy of being saved. Apparently the Vians want to be certain that she has learned the principles of: the will to survive, the passion to know and the love of life, and self-sacrifice from her contact with the landing party. These qualities, they say, make a civilization worthy to survive.

As they speak, Gem has approached McCoy. The Vians are pleased that compassion has entered her "life-system." She moves her hands on McCoy's face, transferring his injuries to her. McCoy awakes, but Gem collapses, sobbing. She tries to help him more, but moves away in fear.

Inside the force field, Spock points out that Gem is not the only one who can save McCoy: of course, the Vians must have the power to help. The Vians respond that McCoy's life is not important, but what is important is their experiment.

McCoy starts coughing and Gem returns to his side. McCoy asks that Gem not touch him. If she touches him, she will die, and he cannot take life – even to save his own.

Spock realizes that if he and Kirk were to suppress their emotion, they would be able to escape from the force field. Spock escapes first and takes the other control device from the Vians. Kirk demands that the Vians save McCoy but they refuse, demanding that the experiment continue. Offering to give her life, they say, is not sufficient. She must sacrifice her life.

Kirk gives the Vians their control devices and reprimands them. They have forgotten what it means to feel the emotions they want Gem to experience. He scorns their lack of love and compassion, saying that they are nothing but intellect. The Vians heal McCoy and, taking Gem with them, teleport from the laboratory, presumably to save Gem's species. The landing party returns safely to the Enterprise , which has returned to orbit after the solar flare has subsided.

Back on board, Kirk says he is awed by the element of chance that brought them into contact with Gem. Scotty observes that she must have been like the 'pearl of great price' (Matthew 13:45-46 of the Humans' Christian Bible). McCoy is pleased that, in the end, it was the strength of Human emotion that overcame their captivity by the dispassionate, intellectual Vians. Scotty suggests that the Vulcans be made aware of this and Kirk asks Spock to deliver the message. Spock sarcastically promises to give the thought all the due consideration it deserves. Kirk then orders Sulu to take the Enterprise to warp factor two.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2268

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to call her Gem. " " Gem, Doctor? " " Well, that's better than 'Hey, you'. "

" Their own imperfections killed them. "

" If my death is to have any meaning, at least tell me what I'm dying for. " " If you live, you will have your answer. "

" Some men spend the majority of their lives in mines beneath the surface. " " I'm a doctor, not a coal miner. "

" Why did you let him do it? " " I was convinced in the same way you were, Captain. By the good doctor's hypo. "

" The best defense is a strong offense, and I intend to start offending right now."

" He's dying, Jim. "

" You've got a good bedside manner, Spock. "

" This Arena of Death that you've devised for your pleasure… will it prevent this catastrophe? "

" What could she learn from us? " " Your will to survive. Your love of life. Your passion to know. They are recorded in her being. "

" Jim, I can't destroy life, even if it's to save my own. I can't. "

" Love and compassion are dead in you! You're nothing but intellect! "

" But from little what you've told me, I would say she was a pearl of great price. "

Background information [ ]

Production timeline [ ].

• Unsolicited script by Joyce Muskat , titled "The Answerer", early- April 1968
• Story outline by Muskat, 26 April 1968
• Revised story outline by Arthur Singer , titled "The Empath", 7 May 1968
• First draft teleplay by Muskat, late- May 1968
• Second draft teleplay, 21 June 1968
• Final draft teleplay by Singer, 22 July 1968
• Revised final draft teleplay by Fred Freiberger , 23 July 1968 , 24 July 1968 , 25 July 1968
• Additional page revisions by Freiberger, 29 July 1968 , 1 August 1968
• Day 1 – 25 July 1968 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Planet surface Int. Science outpost
• Day 2 – 26 July 1968 , Friday – Paramount Stage 1 : Int. Gem's area , Operation platform
• Day 3 – 29 July 1968 , Monday – Paramount Stage 1 : Int. Gem's area , Underground corridors
• Day 4 – 30 July 1968 , Tuesday – Paramount Stage 1 : Int. Gem's area
• Day 5 – 31 July 1968 , Wednesday – Paramount Stage 1 : Int. Vians' lab
• Day 6 – 1 August 1968 , Thursday – Paramount Stage 1 : Int. Vians' lab
• Day 7 – 2 August 1968 , Friday – Paramount Stage 1 : Int. Vians' lab ; Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Science outpost , Bridge
• Score recording: 6 September 1968
• Original airdate: 6 December 1968
• First UK airdate (on ITV ): 10 June 1984
• First UK airdate (on BBC2 ): 5 January 1994
• Remastered episode airdate: 26 July 2008

Story and script [ ]

• This episode was written by Joyce Muskat , one of only four fans who were able to sell scripts to the original series, the others being David Gerrold , Judy Burns , and Jean Lisette Aroeste . Co-producer Robert H. Justman read her unsolicited script and recommended it be bought. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p. 404) It was Muskat's only script sale. [1]
• This was one of the few episodes to quote the Bible , specifically Psalm 95, verse 4: " In His hands are the deep places of the Earth. The heights of the mountains are His also. " At the end of the episode, Scotty also references the Gospel of Matthew 13:45-46: " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. "
• "The Empath" has similarities to a 1963 Outer Limits segment called "Nightmare". In that episode, Humans are brutally interrogated by aliens in a minimalistic set. John Erman also directed "Nightmare" ( The Star Trek Compendium 2nd ed., p. 115). Willard Sage ( Thann ) was one of those behind the interrogations and Robert H. Justman was, at that time, an assistant director on the series. [2]
• In the United Kingdom, the BBC skipped this episode in all runs of the series through to the early 1990s. An official BBC statement by Sheila Cundy of the Programme Correspondence Section reads: " After very careful consideration a top level decision was made not to screen the episodes entitled "Empath" [sic] , " Whom The Gods Destroy " [sic] , "" Plato's Stepchildren "" and "" Miri "" [actually transmitted in 1970, but not re-aired until the '90s] , because they all dealt most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness, torture, sadism and disease " (BBC form letter, undated, Reference 28/SPC). "The Empath" was finally shown for the first time on 5 January 1994 . It had previously been shown on Sky One , a subscription satellite TV channel. ( citation needed • edit )

Production [ ]

• This is the only episode whose first-act credits open on a completely black background.
• The preview of the episode shows Gem's healing of wounds done by jump-cuts, rather than as fades.
• Regarding the sequence of Gem absorbing the boils, Kathryn Hays had to be strapped to a board in order to be kept absolutely still while make-up was applied and stop-motion photography filmed the progression. The few moments that appeared in the scene took eight hours to film. ( Starlog issue #3, p. 28)
• John Meredyth Lucas was originally hired to direct this episode (and " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky "), but Paramount executive in charge of production Douglas S. Cramer vetoed his involvement, as he went over schedule and budget with " Elaan of Troyius " earlier in the season. Then, Robert Justman came up with the idea of hiring John Erman , because of his involvement with the aforementioned "Nightmare". Erman wasn't entirely satisfied with the working conditions on the show (especially [as he called it] William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy 's ill-behavior towards the guest director), and decided not to return to direct further episodes. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three , pp. 240-241; 252)
• This was the final episode shot by director of photography Jerry Finnerman , who had shot every episode since " The Corbomite Maneuver " (except " By Any Other Name " and parts of " Who Mourns for Adonais? "). Camera Operator Al Francis took over primary camera duty on the next episode filmed, " The Tholian Web ".
• After Dr. McCoy is tortured by the Vians, the distressed tunic that DeForest Kelley is wearing is the velour tunic used in the first two seasons, not the new double-knit version created for the third. The difference in hue between Spock's tunic and McCoy's can be noticed in certain shots.
• During the syndication run of Star Trek , no syndication cuts were made to this episode.

Effects [ ]

• Sound effects of the Vians' laboratory were previously used in the android Norman's lab in " I, Mudd ".
• The footage of the sun Minara is re-used from " Operation -- Annihilate! ".
• The planet Minara II appears red in some orbital shots, but gold in others.

Sets and props [ ]

• The helical staircase in the station was later reused in " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky ".
• The couch itself is a gigantic version of the agonizers seen in " Mirror, Mirror " and " Day of the Dove ". It was first seen as the Eymorg's table in " Spock's Brain ".
• The tripodal device in the center of the Vian laboratory also appeared first in the episode "Spock's Brain" as the framework connected to the black box (by "light rays") that housed Spock's brain. It is inverted here from its position in that episode.
• The orange-red flickers that accompany the Vian transporter effect are frames of the same effect created to represent the Medusan ambassador Kollos .
• Nichelle Nichols ( Uhura ) and Walter Koenig ( Pavel Chekov ) do not appear in this episode.
• This was DeForest Kelley 's personal favorite episode. ( The Star Trek Calendar (1986) [ page number? • edit ] )

Continuity [ ]

• Though identified as Thann and Lal in the closing credits, the two Vians are never called by their proper names on-screen.
• In " Turnabout Intruder ", Kirk (in Janice Lester's body) mentions the events of this episode to try to convince Spock of the mind switch.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release ( CIC-Arena Video ): catalog number VHL 2075, December 1983
• Original US Betamax release: 1988
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 33 , catalog number VHR 2385, 5 November 1990
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.3, 6 October 1997
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 32, 28 August 2001
• As part of the TOS Season 3 DVD collection
• As part of the TOS-R Season 3 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Guest star [ ]

• Kathryn Hays as Gem

Co-starring [ ]

• Alan Bergmann as Lal
• James Doohan as Scott
• George Takei as Sulu
• Davis Roberts as Dr. Ozaba
• Jason Wingreen as Dr. Linke
• Willard Sage as Thann

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli
• Dick Geary as Security guard
• Command crewman
• Sciences crewman
• Operations crew woman
• Illusory security guard

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Paul Baxley as stunt double for William Shatner
• Unknown stunt performer as stunt double for DeForest Kelley

References [ ]

abdomen ; analysis ; answer ; arena ; assumption ; atmosphere ; bearing ; bedside manner ; bends ; blood ; body ; " Bones "; brain damage ; brain pattern ; chance ; chest ; chief medical officer ; choice ; circulatory collapse ; circulatory system ; civilization ; coal ; collection ; compassion ; computer ; congestion of the lungs ; contact ; control mechanism ; control unit (aka T-bar control ); cosmic rays ; courage ; cut ; danger ; data ; death ; decompression chamber ; device ; distance ; doctor ; dust ; emotion ; emotional reaction ; empath ; energy ; energy transfer point ; environmental factor ; estimate ; evidence ; evolution ; exit ; experiment ; failure ; fear ; fear of death ; force field ; frequency ; friend ; Gamma Vertis IV ; Gem's planet ; Gem's species ; hand ; hemorrhaging ; head ; heart ; home ; Homo sapiens ; hour ; humanoid ; hypo ; idea ; identification ; information ; inhabitant ; insanity ; instinct ; intellect ; intention ; internal bleeding ; interrogation ; kidney ; kilometer ; knowledge ; laboratory ; landing party ; lifeform (aka life ); light ; liver ; logic ; lungs ; Manark IV ; matter-energy scrambler ; meaning ; mechanic ; mechanical device ; merchant ; metabolism ; meter ; Minara ; Minara II ; Minarian star system ; Minara Station ; mind ; mine ; miner ; mirage ; month ; mute ; name ; nervous system ; nitrogen ; object ; observation ; orbit ; order ; pain ; passage (aka passageway ); passion ; pathology ; peace ; pearl ; " Pearl of Great Price "; percent ; permission ; person ; phaser ; physical reaction ; physiology ; place ; pleasure ; power source ; price ; Prime Directive ; prime ingredient ; prisoner ; probability ; proof ; Psalm 95 ; pulse ; quality ; rate of decrease ; record tape ; research station ; result ; right ; Ritter scale ; rock crystal ; sand-bats ; scientist ; scientific knowledge ; search party ; self-preservation ; self-sacrifice ; sensor ; sickbay ; solar flare ; solar hour ; sound ; space travel ; specific gravity ; specimen ; spleen ; storm ; story ; strain ; strength of will ; subject ; surface ; survival ; symptom ; teacher ; telepath ; terror ; " the best defense is a strong offense "; thing ; thought ; torture chamber ; transporter mechanism ; tricorder ; value ; vestigial ; Vians ; vocal cords ; Vulcan ; Vulcan neck pinch ; week ; will : wound ; wrist

External links [ ]

• "The Empath" at StarTrek.com
• " The Empath " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " The Empath " at Wikipedia
• " The Empath " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• " The Empath " at the Internet Movie Database
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

• May 1, 2024 | Toronto Stage Used For ‘Discovery’ Renamed “The Star Trek Stage” By Pinewood Studios
• May 1, 2024 | Star Trek Event Coming To ‘World Of Tanks’ Online Game – Watch Mission Preview
• April 30, 2024 | Star Trek Team Was Top Fundraiser For Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 2024 Charity Walk
• April 30, 2024 | See Alexander, Nog, And Jake Deal With Q Jr’s Time Loop Shenanigans In ‘Sons Of Star Trek’ #2 Preview
• April 29, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 506 With New Images. Trailer And Clip From “Whistlespeak”

“The Empath” Review, Screenshots and FX Video

| July 30, 2008 | By: Jeff Bond 150 comments so far

REVIEW by Jeff Bond

“The Empath” is one of those classic Trek episodes that you appreciate more as an adult than as a kid or teen, when it’s likely to play as unbearably “mushy.” But it’s illustrative of how different Trek has always been from the other science fiction shows of the period—classic Trek was unashamedly “touchy feely,” focusing on humanity’s most noble impulses and feelings.

In “The Empath” Kirk, Spock and McCoy touch down on a planet threatened by an imminent supernova (see “All Our Yesterdays”), and find a Federation research station that’s seemingly abandoned. “Security cam” footage saved in the station’s computers shows the station’s crew mysteriously disappearing (this is one of several examples on the show of security cam footage employing arty zooms and pans) before the Enterprise officers themselves disappear and find themselves deep underground in an alien research facility. There they find an attractive female mime that McCoy dubs Gem (in a strange foreshadowing for an episode based on torture, the bed Gem is found lying on looks like a giant agonizer from “Mirror, Mirror”). Soon Gem’s captors also appear: the Vians, aliens who look a lot like the Talosians from “The Cage.” They eventually hang Kirk and McCoy from the rafters (given the show’s strange, minimal sets, just exactly what the rafters are in this case is an interesting question) and torture the bejeezus out of them as we discover that Gem is an “empath” who absorbs other’s emotions and physical pain into her own body. As in many Trek episodes, the superior Vians are running a test—but in this case the subjects aren’t the Enterprise crew and by turn humanity, but Gem and her race, with the Vians seeking to discover whether she is willing to sacrifice her life for her newfound friends Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

Like “Spectre of the Gun,” “The Empath” showcases an odd, stage bound theatricality, from Kathryn Hays’ pantomime performance as Gem to the strange minimalist sets, achieved by blacking out the stage floor, curtaining off the walls and lighting to create the effect of a pure black, featureless environment marked by “floating” set pieces including Gem’s bed and the Vians’ laboratory equipment. This was a technique often used on Lost in Space and Irwin Allen’s other sci fi TV shows of the period but rarely on Star Trek—in fact the sets, lab sound effects and even the Vians’ costumes seem much more like something out of Lost in Space than Trek. There are other stylistic touches that are out of character for Trek, notably the use of slow motion in an exterior scene involving the illusion that the landing party is about to be rescued by Scotty.

“The Empath” is all about caring, but there is some condescension in the way Gem is treated that echoes the “Mary Sue” approach of some later Trek episodes—McCoy especially seems instantly charmed by and concerned for Gem despite having little or no idea exactly who and what she is (although Spock does remind him that the sandbats of Maynart IV appear to be inanimate rock crystals before they attack…) and the doctor immediately raises the need to find a catchy name for her to Priority One. There’s a sense that this is more about her appearing to be a helpless, pretty “girl” rather than an alien and you have to wonder how Kirk, Spock and McCoy would treat Gem if she were male instead of female. On the other hand, while it’s unstated in the episode, women are often considered to be more “empathic” and nurturing then men so it’s somewhat of a natural choice to portray Gem this way.

Some of what appears to be clumsy plot development in the story winds up making perfect sense when we see what the Vians are trying to achieve—the fact that they tell the Enterprise officers how their force field works, giving them the key to their eventual escape, the fact that they label their experiments in English so Kirk and the others can read and divine what’s about to happen to them, and the fact that they allow the humans to obtain one of their “control units” all plays into their manipulation. And “The Empath” does pay off as an illustration of one of Trek’s key strengths, the unstated but effectively portrayed “love” between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Probably the warmest moment between Spock and McCoy in the entire series occurs in the aftermath of McCoy’s torture as the camera holds on a shot of Spock’s deeply concerned expression as he holds his hand to McCoy’s head, with a touched McCoy weakly responding “You’ve got a good bedside manner, Spock.” Gem herself expresses the affection between the characters with a warm and silent smile as she watches them vie to be the first to sacrifice themselves for the others earlier in the story.

Another Trek staple that works better here than in some other episodes is the way Kirk manages to change the Vians’ behavior with an imploring speech—this one makes particular sense given what the aliens want out of Gem; for them to refuse to show mercy and compassion when they value it so highly in others is a critical contradiction.

All that said, “The Empath” still registers sometimes as overly sentimental and it gilds the lily with its talky final scene on the bridge in which Kirk and McCoy have to admit that they were “awed” by Gem and Scotty unloads his “story of the merchant”—Trek often presented the moral of the story verbally but after such an effective wrap-up this coda seems like more hand-holding than an intelligent viewer really needs.

With most of the episode set underground there are few spaceship shots in “The Empath,” but in addition to their usual additions of a new planet, CBS-D puts their efforts in other directions—there’s a more realistic view of the star system’s sun with visible solar flares and most importantly, the team has worked to smooth out the transitions in the makeup effects that are used to illustrate Gem’s empathic powers. When Star Trek was originally filmed this kind of effect hadn’t changed much from the thirties and forties when films like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Wolf Man showed transformations by fading between shots of different stages of theatrical makeup. While it worked for audiences of the time, the approach requires loads of suspension of disbelief. Because of the big changes in the look of the static makeups between shots, and even changes in the position of the subject and the sudden appearance or disappearance of hair, the technique has the aspect more of a magical quality than something organic. Here the impact of CBS-D’s digital “smoothing” of the effects is considerable as it actually adds quite a bit of emotional power to the growth of scars and bruises on Gem’s fragile facial features. It’s too bad this couldn’t have been employed for the healing scenes in “Miri” as well but the addition here is one of CBS-D’s more effective fixes.

SFX VIDEO by Matt Wright

SCREENSHOTS by Matt Wright

Remastered vs. Original

  Seasons One and Two discounted at Amazon US The Season Two box set is now available at Amazon for pre-order, discounted to $63.99 (Amazon has a low price guarantee that if they drop the price before ship date of August 5th you will get that lower price). The Season One DVD / HD DVD combo disk is available now for $104.99 (retail is $194.99).

Boy, this episode was always a tough one to swallow!

Eh. This one always felt phoned-in.

sound stage city

I guess I’m in the minority who liked this show, even as a kid in the 1970s. The stage-iness is part of the mood and the charm; Gem was oddly appealing in her muteness; and the Big Three had some great moments.

Sure, it’s no “Balance of Terror” or “City on the Edge…”, but it’s also far from the “Spock’s Brain” and “Children Shall Lead” end of the spectrum.

Uh oh. I always liked this one as a kid. But I was a wierd kid.

Never liked this episode. The merchant story that Scotty paraphrases is from the Gosples. Jesus used it as a parable. I like how trek writers lift material from scripture but given the show’s humanist bent would never properly give due credit. “Bread and Circuses” being a notable exception.

I love this episode. Reminds me of the last season of Batman.

so i guess its obvious that these guys are based on the talosians? i remember having an old copy of the cage i taped from BBC2, anyone remember the talosians voices changing from scene to scene> lol from high to loww and slowww

5. I still like this one, probably because it did feel theatric, more like a play than a television episode.

ive got to be in the mood for this episode. it has some really good moments but its very surreal.

I think this episode was one of four of TOS banned by the BBC here in Great Britain for many years before it was finally shown to UK audiences.

many thanks Greg UK

I loved some of the new music created for this episode.

Funny how Jeff nailed the fact that the platform looked like a giant agonizer. As many times as I’ve seen this episode over the years, I never picked up on that until I watched the remastered episode last weekend.

““The Empath” is one of those classic Trek episodes that you appreciate more as an adult than as a kid or teen,”

1. “Boy, this episode was always a tough one to swallow!”

Agreed Harry. I hated it as a kid and it really made for a lousy afternoon after school when I discovered, “Oh man!”, this was the one that was on. I just found it gory and sadistic. I couldn’t believe any race could be that way.

I do remember an ailing Deforest Kelly telling on those SciFi extras in between the commercials that this was one of his favorites because of the approach and art direction. Again, to quote Jeff Bond….I can appreciate them all on a different level these days.

Always loved this episode, when I was a kid I was very curious as to how Gem survived the pain, it looked so gruesome to me back then!

#8: The voices of The Talosians changed in pitch only during the “pieced together” version of “The Cage” that had both black and white and colour footage, this was before the “lost colour footage” was “found”. It’s been so long since I have seen the entire colour version of The Cage that i can’t remember if they kept the pitch correct throughout that one. On the original “Managerie”, their voices were re-dubbed at a lower pitch (and re-voiced), there was a post here a while back about the guy who played Commodore Mendez being one of the re-dubbed voices), and the main Talosian voice in the original “Cage” was the late Meg Wyle herself.

The story and dialog has some holes, but it’s heavy on the McCoy, so I still enjoy it. And like Paul, I liked the black box set. It manages to make me feel closed in, yet suspicious of what may be lurking in the darkness.

I think this was one of the ones the BBC dropped from showing because it was No Good

Oh boy More Mars like Planets!

No Season 2 Box-Set in UK???? What’s wrong? Season 2 only available in US-Stores next week? Why is it impossible to tell us the european release-date????

I’ll try to not ever say this again, but boy am I tired of the “realistic” planets!!

I’ll give it to them that the makeup transitions look great. Makes the episode better, even. However, whats with CBS and their hatred of over exposing shots? The new sun looks far less menacing than the old. Like a planet.

i am very impressed with the high def video clip shown above for this episode. if that’s what the remastered episodes looks like, I might change my mind and get the DVD.

I always liked this episode and still do. it made a whole lot of sense to me, even as a kid.

This may be the only original series episode that I’ve never seen all the way through. And, because I didn’t set my VCR correctly last weekend, I still only saw the last 15 minutes.

But as a kid, I’d read the James Blish adaptation, so I staged it in my head. I knew it was set in a pitch dark, nearly featureless underground cavern, so I pictured it as a dark place I knew — my grandmother’s spooky basement. Thereafter, when I’d go into that basement, I’d be expecting to see those tubes with the dead scientists in them. Yikes!

But last weekend, with the bit I did see… as Jeff ponders above, I wondered what the empath would have been like if it had been male instead of female. More to the point, I wondered, what if the Empath looked like the Vians(Talosians), and the captors torturing them were typican Trekian alien babes? Be an interesting change in the dynamic of the episode.

I miss the split-screen “comparison” videos!

The aliens in Lost in Space’s “Invaders from the Fifth Dimension” appear to be related to the Vians.

“(this is one of several examples on the show of security cam footage employing arty zooms and pans)” — I think it was mentioned in the review for “And the Children Shall Lead” that the reviewer didn’t see how the tricorder could take shots of the subject that contained the tricorder itself. Neil Stephenson makes a very believable for nanotechnology employing camera obscurae (sp?) of only a few molecules in size. Essentially, there would be no need for a fixed camera; you would get an indefinite number of tiny low powered cameras flying around.

Point is — if Trek ’09 is to use the three basic tools — phaser, communicator, tricorder — then each has to show us something that doesn’t exist in 2008. There are opportunities to do that and blow us out of our socks. I think JJ will.

re: better transitions and “It’s too bad this couldn’t have been employed for the healing scenes in “Miri” as well ” — As I’ve repeatedly said, I doubt this is the last time we’ll see a revamp of TOS. CBS-D has broken some important ground, but another complete pass would be nice to finish the job. I mean really, Paramount is making a mint off this 40+ year old property. COME ON.

Anyway, thanks Jeff. I always thought this one had a nice creepy beginning, then got sloooooow through the middle. Yes, I agree that this one is the most Lost In Space-like ep. I like Scotty’s little Gaelic storytelling at the end, but maybe that’s just me.

believable case for…

This one was one of my favorites… to the contrary of the popular opinion on it..

Yeah this was one of the ‘banned’ episodes in the UK for years. Probably until the 90s. It was released on a rental VHS along with ‘Miri’ the other banned episode in the UK. Renting the video in the 80s was the only way to see these episodes.

Oh, and the Talosians were all played by chicks. The Vians are dudes — with no dates. No wonder they’re grumpy.

10 — yes Beeb did restrict it because it thought the Kirk hanging/torture too strong. I like it’s theatrical feel. I watched for the first time the last but one episode of the Prisoner with just Pat McGoohan and Leo McKern in a very play like surreal script and theatrical set which also worked brilliantly with strong allegories to modern life and the individual fitting in to society etc (exec prod, written and directed by McGoohan too), very Trek like.

13 I can also remember reading De’s comments about this being one of his favourites with its theatrical prod design somewhere in an Starlog article I think years ago.

A big part of Trek and its appeal was is theatrical/Shakespearean feel and connections, hope this is not forgotten in the new film.

The set doesn’t just SEEM to be out of “Lost in Space,” the tubes holding Ozaba and Linke ARE from “Lost in Space.” They are, in fact, the freezing tubes from the Jupiter II, which can be identified by their crowns and pedestals. Five of these tubes are seen simultaneously in “The Empath,” six would have been available as old props from LIS.

Apparently, one year after LIS left the air, Star Trek felt it was safe to rent some of its props from 20th Century Fox.

As for the giant “agonizer”-shaped bed, it is actually the Eymorg conference table from “Spock’s Brain.” The base of the table was either cut off, or, more likely, the carpeted pedestal was built around it.

I think I have those stairs b4, which episode? Other than all the time Irwin Allen used them. The holding tubes for the crew, look like the freezing tubes from LIS.

This has to be one of the lowest budget episode of the whole series. Very few cast, no stage, and very little props. But not the worse episode by any means.

I’m pretty sure that CBS-D did touch up the healing “morph” shots in “Miri.”

I believe that a similar spiral metal staircase shows up as the way into the underground portion of Yonada in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.”

25. CmdrR “I like Scotty’s little Gaelic storytelling at the end”

As #6 Roger points out, Scotty’s little story was actually one of Jesus’ parables.

13. Andy Patterson “I do remember an ailing Deforest Kelly telling on those SciFi extras in between the commercials that this was one of his favorites because of the approach and art direction”

“Star Trek Special Edition”! I can’t believe I forgot all about that! Strange that CBS/Paramount hasn’t included any of those interviews as extras in the DVD box sets. Same with the Patrick Stewart-narrated documentary that accompanied the “All-Color” version of “The Cage” that debuted just before the 2nd season of TNG. I always felt that little doc was far better than the lame anniversary ‘celebration’ shows that came in the years following it (the 25th anniversary show, the lame show that accompanied the TNG finale, and especially that *awful* Star Trek Honors show with Kenny G and some opera diva singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” plus that painful-to-watch Trek skit with the cast of “Frasier”).

RE: The agonizer bed

Glad to see I’m not the only one whoever noticed this! Genius bit of self-referencing (whether intentional or not).

The new close up of the sun looked even more fake than the original. It looked like a static painting. I didn’t care for it.

I love the planets the guys at CBS-D are doing.. MUCH better than the ones that they originally had. I love the realism to them.

I was watching an old episode on SPACE here in Canada… wow… you can see the choma key shadows of the enterpise as it orbits… the planets look horrible and unbelievable. But then again.. AT THE TIME, it was advanced and spectacular.

I look forward to purchasing the remastered series and watching the full episodes. Everything looks great in them!

I never cared for this episode. Call me a Philistine.

Also, it’s “gild” the lily, not “guild” the lily.

Lod Garth’s FAAAAAVorite episode

If JJ and company watched this episode and used it as a basis on how to treat the big 3. Their humanity, courage, sacrifice and hetero brotherly love for one another they will do well

WAY TOO MANY TORTURE SCENES THAT WENT NOWHERE…

…helped make “The Empath” seem as if it was being written as it went along. I never thought it was as BAD as some make it out to be… just irritatingly unfocused.

cbs does a great job with planets but they have no talent for anything else

This is not Lost In Space, it’s The Outer Limits “Nightmare”. Check the credits for both: directed by John Erman.

#31, There was also a hexagonal viewscreen (with rounded corners) on the set that was either from Land of the Giants or Lost In Space…not sure which, but definitely from one or the other.

I recognized it being in The Empath when watching my Irwin Allen DVDs recently…

#37 – I represent the Lily Pop Guild.

I always liked this episode. The low-fi production design forces you to pay attention to the acting and the dialogue, and in that way “The Empath” always reminded me of an episode of The Twilight Zone. Serling could get enormous mileage out of two or three sets, some well written dialogue and a handful of quality performers.

oh and the score is beautiful

STILL wish that they’d made the ‘remastered’ Enterprise a far LIGHTER shade overall, throughout the episodes…. The comparison shots here really show how much ‘whiter’ the original looked overall. And I don’t ever recall seeing ‘grey’ merchandise of the ‘E’ either….

41. I was just about to mention the similarity to “Nightmare,” which is quite a bit creepier than the “Empath.” Amazing that it’s the same director, though his style is certainly a big clue.

I also find Gem a bit like the Eloi in the 1960’s “The Time Machine.” Attractive, not very verbal, and really in need of developing an instinct for self sacrifice.

I always loved this episode! Spock’s reaction to McCoy’s hypo shot is priceless.

…the adventure continues….

ahhhh… reminds me of me boyhood boarding school…

St. Lulubell’s Co-Ed School For Misfit Boys by tha’ Isle o’ Eel… vast dark open spaces, strange blokes in robes running aboot, tha’ only women thar’ havin’ taken a vow o’ silence, showin’ strong emotion gets ya’ confined ta’ quarters, indiscriminate torture of alien life forms to (offical story) make them feel human, and a Scotsman relatin’ Bible stories…

tha’ best o’ times… tha’ worst o’ times… These days, iffi I had any, I would just send me kids ta’ bandcamp…

Arrrrrrrr…

on a more pedestrian note did anyone think the way they treated Gem was truly outrageous?

An archive of Star Trek News

You may have missed

Several S&S Trek Books On Sale For $1 This Month

• Star Trek: Lower Decks

Another Classic Trek Actor On Lower Decks This Week

Classic Trek Games Now On GOG

• Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy Opening Credits Released

Star Trek: The Original Series

Cast & Crew

Kathryn Hayes

Willard Sage

Alan Bergmann

Davis Roberts

Jason Wingreen

Information

© 2009 CBS Corp.

Accessibility

Copyright © 2024 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Internet Service Terms Apple TV & Privacy Cookie Policy Support

• What’s The Viewscreen?
• Donation Success!
• Star Trek: The Animated Series Re-Watch Index
• Star Trek Movies I-VI Re-Watch Index
• Related Posts Index
• The Re-Watches
• Ten Forward
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch Index
• Privacy Policy
• Star Trek Re-Watch Index
• Laugh Treks

Star Trek Re-Watch: “The Empath”

Season 3, Episode 12 Production episode: 3×08 Original air date: December 6, 1968 Star date: 5121.5

Mission summary

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are on the second planet around the star Minara, doomed to nova in classic stars-nova-left-and-right Star Trek style. A research crew was dispatched there six months ago to take some last minute readings, but now that the Enterprise has arrived with their ticket out of there no one’s around. The station is covered in dust and cobwebs and hasn’t been inhabited in at least three months. Scotty, at the Enterprise ’s helm, alerts the captain that a solar flare is about to dump cosmic plot device rays that force the ship to retreat a safe distance from the planet, leaving the trio all alone.

As soon as our heroes are stuck and the Enterprise is out of range, they play a videotape lying around. In it, two scientists bitch and moan about “this godforsaken place”–which seems to have infuriated some locals, because a high-pitched screech and cheesy camera effect later, both scientists have disappeared into the ether. Then Kirk, Spock, and McCoy hear the same sound themselves and in just moments, vanish one by one. It turns out the sound was a transporter effect, and they’ve all been beamed beneath the planet’s surface to some kind of German Expressionist Hamlet . The walls, floor, and ceiling are inky, black darkness; the rest is silence. Literally, actually–they find a pedestal with a lady draped over it, but McCoy reveals she has no vocal cords: she’s mute. Her big, soulful eyes reveal a kind of childlike wonder and concern, but she can’t communicate at all, even telepathically. She gestures like she’s in some kind of invisible ballet and it’s clear she’s a little frightened by the men.

MCCOY: We can’t keep referring to her as she, as if she weren’t here. KIRK: Do you have any ideas? MCCOY: Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to call her Gem. SPOCK: Gem, Doctor? MCCOY: Well, that’s better than “Hey, you.”

Two Talosians Vians appear in swishy silver robes and trap Kirk, Spock, and McCoy in some kind of technicolor forcefield. The more they resist, the stronger the forcefield becomes.  Kirk tries to make peace with the Vians but Lal, the spokesperson, isn’t interested. They vanish and the forcefield disappears. Gem seems to be all right though, and when Kirk goes to check on her she touches him. A minor cut that was on his forehead disappears and appears on her own head, before vanishing as well.

MCCOY: The wound is completely healed. It fits, Jim. She must be an empath. Her nervous system is so sensitive, highly responsive that she can actually feel our emotional and physical reactions. They become part of her.

That’s an awesome racial ability! She’ll make a good addition to the party. They set off to investigate the lair and find a bunch of zany sculptures–they’ve found the MoMa! Actually the art installation is supposed to be a high-tech equipment, accoutrement to an alien laboratory. In two life-size test tubes are Linke and Ozaba, the research team in the home video. That’s a little disconcerting. Even worse: there are three empty tubes next to them, each neatly labeled “McCoy,” “Kirk,” and “Spock.”

Dun dun dun.

One of the Vians shows up again and claims it wasn’t his nefarious experiments that killed those men, it was the puny humans’ “own imperfections.” Like, you know, a vulnerability to their experiments. Kirk tries to explain that the nova-ing sun should be enough reason to abandon the little shop of horrors, and a ninja-like Spock manages to neck pinch the alien while he’s distracted by the bad science. (A weakness we can all sympathize with, I’m sure.)

They take this opportunity to get the hell out of there–without noticing that the alien has recovered and doesn’t seem to be pursuing them. They manage to emerge from the underground complex and head towards the research station, where a landing party would have begun its search. In the distance they can see Scotty smiling and waving to them, but Gem isn’t much of an athlete and has to be dragged there by McCoy. Kirk, on the other hand, noticed the Vians watching them from a rock outcropping–and decides to confront them and let the others go ahead. The Vians explain that “one specimen” should be sufficient, and Kirk agrees to submit to their experiments on the condition that his men can go free.

The others join up with him and explain that the image of Scotty and the landing party was a mirage. They try to talk Kirk out of his sacrifice but he won’t hear it. It doesn’t matter, though–the Vians blink everyone else away from the surface.

KIRK: One specimen, you said. One specimen! What happened to my men? THANN: Indeed, the prime ingredient. KIRK: Where are they? Tell me! You said you’d let them go!

Well, they were lying, obviously. And what’s this talk of a prime ingredient? Iron Chef: Minara II ?

Later, Kirk is strapped into some kind of torture device, dangling from chains attached to the ceiling, barely conscious. Gem looks on, horrified, a cipher for the audience.

LAL: We’ve already observed the intensity of your passions and gauged your capacity to love others. Now we want you to reveal to us your courage and strength of will. KIRK: Why? What is it you hope to prove? If my death is to have any meaning, at least tell me what I’m dying for. THANN: If you live, you will have your answer.

Mmmm Dead Captain’s Goulash, coming right up…

Thank goodness we’re spared the torture scenes. Later, Kirk and Gem are beamed over to rejoin McCoy and Spock, who are promptly placed in a forcefield. Kirk collapses almost immediately but McCoy is stuck behind the forcefield and can’t help him. Gem instinctively reaches out to Kirk to absorb and heal his wounds, but she recoils from the pain. McCoy urges her to try again. She does so, frightened, and collapses from the effort.

The forcefield is released and McCoy diagnoses Kirk with–wait for it–the bends. Seriously? In any case, the Vians show up again and this time explain that they’ll need either Spock or McCoy. McCoy will likely die from the experiment, but Spock would go insane, and Kirk must choose which of his friends to sacrifice. They disappear and Spock explains that he’s been jiggering the transporter controller they swiped to try and get it to work for them. He has left notes for McCoy, because he volunteers for the experiment. McCoy, however, has hypos, and he drugs both Kirk and Spock so that the Vians take him away and not his friends.

When Kirk finally comes to, he demands to know what happened:

KIRK: Why did you let him do it? SPOCK: I was convinced in the same way you were, Captain. By the good doctor’s hypo.

But by then Spock has gotten the transporter device to work and they agree to beam back to the lab and try and save the doctor. Joined by Gem, they find McCoy in the same crucifixion position that Kirk was in–but he’s in much worse shape. Gem looks like she’s about to throw up as Spock cuts down the chains. They put McCoy on a bed but Spock confirms the obvious: McCoy will die.

KIRK: Can’t we do something? SPOCK: I’m afraid not.

If only we had some kind of healing magic… person….hmmm…. hmmmmmmmm….

The solution comes to them slowly but surely, and they discuss enlisting Gem to save him. This seems to be outside of the experiment’s parameters, though, and the Vians appear and warn Kirk and Spock not to coerce or persuade Gem in any way. And so it’s proven, finally, that Gem is the heart of their experiment.

LAL: Of all the planets of Minara, we have the power to transport the inhabitants of only one to safety. THANN: If Gem’s planet is the one that will be saved, we must make certain beyond any doubt whatsoever they are worthy of survival. KIRK: How will the death of our friend serve this purpose? LAL: His death will not serve it, but her willingness to give her life for him will. You were her teachers. KIRK: We were? What could she learn from us? LAL: Your will to survive. Your love of life. Your passion to know. They are recorded in her being. THANN: Her planet will be fortunate. LAL: Each of you is willing to give his life for the others. We must now find out whether that instinct has been transmitted to Gem.

Surprise surprise, it has. Gem goes to McCoy and begins to heal some of his wounds, but the internal injuries are too much and she recoils. This pisses the Vians off–she’s supposed to go the whole nine yards! But eventually she returns on her own and tries again to save McCoy. As he slowly regains consciousness and figures out what Gem is doing, he weakly pushes her away from him.

MCCOY: Don’t let her touch me. She’ll die. Jim, I can’t destroy life, even if it’s to save my own. I can’t. You know that. I can’t let you do it.

Spock comes up with an idea: if the forcefield is feeding off of their emotional energy, which he just decided was what was happening for some reason, then he can suppress his emotions enough to escape it. He concentrates and soon the forcefield disappears around Spock. Kirk, meanwhile, is still arguing with the Vians. Gem has already offered her life to save McCoy, but they’re still not satisfied.

LAL: To offer is not proof enough. KIRK: If death is all you understand, here are four lives for you. We will not leave our friend. You’ve lost the capacity to feel the emotions you brought Gem here to experience. You don’t understand what it is to live. Love and compassion are dead in you. You’re nothing but intellect.

Oh, snap! This seems to humble them enough that they finish healing McCoy, and then carry an unconscious Gem off into the darkness.

Back on the Enterprise , the men contemplate the episode we were all forced to endure:

SCOTT: Not to dispute your computer, Mister Spock, but from little what you’ve told me, I would say she was a pearl of great price. KIRK: What, Scott? SCOTT: Do you not know the story of the merchant? The merchant, who when he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. KIRK: Yes, she was all that. And whether the Vians bought her or found her makes little difference. She was of great value. MCCOY: Well, personally, I find it fascinating that with all their scientific knowledge and advances, that it was good old-fashioned human emotion that they valued the most.

And with that irrelevant story, the end.

Every copy of this episode should come with its own empath, to absorb away the pain of watching it. Riddled with cliches, it feels like a distillation of some of the worst Star Trek episodes: people mysteriously disappearing, space douches, torture porn, awful special effects, even more atrocious music, and disturbing parables that fail to elicit anything from me but disgust. Usually I can see a gem (sigh, now they’ve ruined another word for me) that, in another’s hands, might have been impressive–but here the main premise is so flawed I can’t imagine any execution of it that would satisfy.

Why is the third season obsessed with torture? The Vians are so reprehensible and their intentions so deeply disturbing that it’s a wonder the Federation doesn’t come back and try them for crimes against humanity (broadly speaking). It’s not just that they’re unfathomably cruel, for no discernible reason, but they take that at least two levels beyond where it needs to go to prove their villainy, attempting to drive a doe-eyed woman to suicide. How is this entertainment? It’s unnecessary and sickening, and I resented the emotional manipulation of such a set-up.

Perhaps this is trifling in the face of the other flaws, but the allusions to Scripture made me wonder about the real motives behind this episode. We get not one, but two direct quotes from the Bible. First, there’s the videotape of Linke and Ozaba where Ozaba says, “In his hand are the deep places of the earth. Psalm 95, verse 4.” Okay, so alien stuff, god, yada yada, got it. But then things start to get less subtle: Kirk and McCoy, when hanging from the chains, look like they’re being crucified. They’re both compassionate and selfless individuals who had decided to sacrifice their own lives to save the lives of others. When Kirk recovers, Gem heals his wounds–which include wrist abrasions like stigmata. And if you look at the couch/bed that they use throughout the episode, it’s shaped like a cross. What’s with all the Jesus imagery? To top it all off, Scotty whips out the parable of the pearl at the end, but I can’t for the life of me figure out the relevance. Is Gem supposed to be a Jesus figure, taking on others sins and sacrificing herself for them? Is that supposed to be the divine presence in all people?  It sounds even more inane to type that out than to think it, so I have to hope that wasn’t the intended meaning.

I will say one thing: this episode is beautifully directed. It has some of the most artful and bold tableaux of the series, strikingly blocked. I mean, look at these:

Isn’t that beautiful? You can read the relationships between the characters instantly, with no context, no dialogue.  The minimalist set is evocative and mysterious, with the “scientific instruments” standing out starkly amidst the darkness. I love the way the actors walk in and out of the shadows–despite the fact that there are no walls, the rooms feel claustrophobic and suffocating. And while the Vians are Talosian clones, I liked Gem’s costume–it was elegant, and combined with her fluid gestures (as stupid as they were) it lent her grace.

And I am, right now, enacting a ban against child-women. Ugh.

Was anyone else in watching this reminded of The Green Mile ? Both stories feature people who can absorb the hurt and pain of someone else into themselves, and both explore the idea of love and compassion as tools for pain and suffering when used by terrible people. To use compassion against someone, to hurt them with their loving kindness and empathy, represents the kind of moral bankruptcy that I wish only existed in science fiction.

Torie’s Rating: Warp 2 (on a scale of 1-6)

Eugene Myers: This episode unintentionally causes us to empathize with Kirk and McCoy’s suffering, unfortunately by torturing us along with them.

“The Empath” is a mashup of stories we’ve seen before: powerful, big-headed space douches testing the crew by messing with them physically and mentally. It borrows heavily from “The Cage” (and, of course, “ The Menagerie “), with the Vians appearing as a cross between the cerebral Talosians and The Twilight Zone ‘s towering Kanamits . The twist that the aliens are actually testing Gem may be surprising, but this premise introduces a slew of other logistical problems–most of which Kirk and Spock point out.

The idea that the Vians are evaluating Gem’s worthiness, and thus the worthiness of her entire planet for salvation, is intriguing, but it isn’t a fair test. They’re manipulating the results, attempting to alter her very nature by pushing the limits of her compassion, while demonstrating their own callousness and cruelty. They don’t have the moral high ground, just a position of power, and one wonders why they are interested in saving anyone. If they value human qualities so much, how can they so casually kill people for their misguided cause? And how did they even know that the human race possesses these desirable qualities anyway? Presumably the Organians and Metrons have been talking them up at Space Douches Anonymous. Thanks, guys.

Not only do the Vians fail at the scientific method–they explain their experiment right in front of the subject, which has to skew the results–but their basic argument is inherently flawed. They won’t be satisfied unless the empath is willing to sacrifice her own life, never mind the fact that she takes on a stranger’s wound spontaneously and voluntarily, with no discernible personal benefit. Many humans wouldn’t even do that much. On the other hand, aside from some temporary weakness and discomfort, there’s no real disadvantage to her powers; the injury is briefly transferred, and then she somehow heals–a disappointing bit of magic that considerably lowers the stakes and value of her selfless gesture.

What bugs me most about this episode is that McCoy goes from not knowing anything about Gem to suddenly becoming an expert on her unusual physiology. Similarly, the Vians conveniently know everything about the Enterprise and its crew, and Spock figures out how the Vians’ weapon works well enough to tune it to his brain pattern and operate it flawlessly. (I don’t even remember how he acquired one of them in the first place!) These ray guns can do anything: a Jedi-like Force push, teleportation, slow motion, holographic projection, emotion-based containment fields ( why ?), and resurrection. I suppose it merely focuses the Vians’ powers like a handheld version of Trelane ‘s generator. Whatever, it doesn’t make any sense.

There are some neat things in “The Empath.” As usual, I liked the teaser (though I think it’s hilarious that a Starfleet researcher is on record as saying “I can’t stand this for one more day!”), especially Kirk’s imprint left behind in the dust after he’s been teleported away. The minimalist set kind of works, and I loved the lab and the creepy specimen tubes complete with nameplates, as if the Vians are collecting poseable, life-sized Star Trek action figures. But I hate everything about Gem, especially her interpretive dance, flowy outfit, and weird-looking eyes; the sappy soundtrack; and the shoddy time-lapse photography, some of the worst effects in the series. Even more of a problem is Dr. McCoy’s “highly unethical” drugging of Kirk and Spock, which is inexcusable no matter how good his intentions. And what is up with Scotty’s little story about pearls at the end of the episode? I don’t see the connection. (Is this why McCoy arbitrarily names her “Gem”? Sheesh.)

Most disappointing of all, I can’t even see any promise in this episode, even without its incompetent execution. It was poorly conceived, through and through.

Eugene’s Rating: Warp 2

Best Line: MCCOY: She seems harmless enough. SPOCK: The sand-bats of Manark IV appear to be inanimate rock crystals, doctor, until they attack.

Syndication Edits: None.

Trivia: This was reported DeForest Kelley’s favorite episode.

Like with “ Miri ” and “ Plato’s Stepchildren ,” this episode was not aired in the UK until the 1990s because of its depiction of sadistic violence.

Other notes: Joyce Muskat was one of only four fans to have her episode produced for the series, the other three being David Gerrold (“ The Trouble with Tribbles “), Jean Lisette Aroeste (“ Is There in Truth No Beauty? “), and Judy Burns (“ The Tholian Web “). It was her only television sale.

Previous episode: Season 3, Episode 11 – “ Wink of an Eye .”

Next episode: Season 3, Episode 13 – “ Elaan of Troyius .” US residents can watch it for free at the CBS website .

About Torie Atkinson & Eugene Myers

50 comments.

This is one of the few episodes where I would spontaneously decide to watch something else/read a book/clean out the gutters. It’s just awful. You both touched on the obvious connections to “The Cage” and I wonder if Freiburger wasn’t trying to do another remake/improvement. If so he failed.

They also clearly saved a lot of money here. Infinity set? Even cheaper than a bucket show! Primary character who doesn’t have any lines? Lower pay scale! Fan writer? We can pay her minimum!

When I saw the story author’s name, I was surprised. The mother of someone I went to school with had the same name and she would have been in her mid to late 20s in 1968. But a bit of thought and a quick check in my recently refound yearbooks shows that they spelled their name with a c instead of a k. Too bad. It might have made this episode a little more interesting.

I first saw this episode decades ago when I was much younger and I was instantly confused because while McCoy says ‘Gem’ I heard ‘Jim’ and that just made no sense at all. (Like anything else here makes sense.) Frankly I sum up this episode as “Dr MCCoy is saved by a Mute Liza Minnelli.” Sounds better than what really transpired.

@1 DemetriosX

Maybe when she saw how the episode turned out, she altered the spelling of her credit to maintain deniability.

I hadn’t even considered that they could shortchange the actress by not giving her any lines!

@2 bobsandiego

I thought her name was spelled “Jem,” which made sense because this episode was “ truly outrageous ,” albeit not in a good way. But hey, there were holograms…

“Dr MCCoy is saved by a Mute Liza Minnelli.” I would rather have watched that.

Torie, I somehow blocked out all that Biblical imagery! But I was oblivious to most of that stuff the first time I read the Narnia books, too. Good observations, and you’re right about the direction being something special, particularly given the content. I must have been too busy comparing Kirk’s half-naked torture to Picard’s similar predicament in TNG’s “Chain of Command”… and wondering why Kirk gets to take his shirt off while McCoy gets his shredded. Plus the episode doesn’t exactly invite much reflection on its “deeper” meaning.

@ 1 DemetriosX

I found my attention wandering during this, too. I hope it’s not supposed to be a remake of “The Cage”–though if it is, at least they didn’t try to get Gem to breed with one of them. *shudder*

@ 2 bobsandiego

That makes me want to see a Dr. McCoy/Cabaret crossover.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense as some kind of Bible story. As in, Kirk and the others are imbued with a selflessness that mirrors the divine, and they have to impart that onto Gem as a kind of conversion metaphor. Bleeeech.

How people change with time. I had missed this one first run, but I remember that I enjoyed this episode back in the 70s. I was under the influence of heavy doses of Arthur C. Clarke and James White at the time so maybe that explains it. But now, apart from the beauty of the blocking which Torie has pointed out, I don’t care much for this episode. Part of me still likes the basic premise – testing a species for worthiness of surviving – but the execution here falls short (By a mile? An astronautical unit? A light year?) of the idea’s potential.

I had not realized that this was a fan written episode. That changes my thoughts a little. While Gem was not in your face about it, could she be viewed as a Mary Sue type character?

I also wonder just what it was about the first two guy that made the experiment fail. Were they such jerks that ‘gem’ let them die? Did they hate each and have no selflessness? Any the whole concept is stupid. Let’s see we’re going to try to force ‘gem’ to learn to be selfless, so she can pass this ‘instinct’ (instincts aren’t learned butt-heads!) and then we’ll save her people from certain destruction. But the only way to know she has learned her new ‘instinct’ is if she kills herself. ummm your paln is for a dead girl to teach her people new tricks. This might not work.

some kind of German Expressionist Hamlet

Next time I am discussing interior design, remind me to use this in a comparison as soon as I possibly can.

I’m pretty sure that Gem’s outfit is the only good thing about this episode. Someone who has the skillz (such as, not me) should do a cosplay!

This episode is a highly polished turd.

Fascinating setting, clever interplay (between Our Heroes, not so much with the Space Douches), attention to detail- lavished on a weak premise.

Gen must be intended as a Christ figure. Her willingness to help others, even at the cost of her own life, will save her people. Okay, got it. But could the LalThalians at least try to save others? Save what percentage they can from however many planets there are? At least try- maybe the nova calculations are off, and there really is plenty of time.

I also wonder what kind of test the other planetary champion(s) got.

And, come on- physical injury absorbed emotionally? Ack!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukah!

Oops. That’ll teach me to preview next time.

Another thing here: am I the only one who found Gem more creepy than anything else? Maybe it’s the mime vibe, but she really just weirds me out.

@6 Ludon While Gem was not in your face about it, could she be viewed as a Mary Sue type character?

I think you could make a good case for it. She does save everyone, after all!

Thanks, and happy holidays to all of you, too! We’re (still) working on a much-belated present for everyone, probably around the New Year…

@11 DemetriosX

Gem freaks me the hell out. I hated the way she moved, and her eyes often look like they’re different sizes! She’s a big reason for why I’ve never liked this one. I can’t even appreciate her outfit the way Torie and WonderGirl do, depriving me of any enjoyment of her character at all.

@ 11 DemetriosX Oh hell yeah she creeped me out. Frankly an early thought I had was.

“Mime! The First Directive is clear…we can kill mimes!”

Hah! I am glad I am not the only one who thought Jim (whatever y’all say, Bones was naming her after his BFF) totally looked like Liza Minelli.

I am still wondering: what exactly were the Big Head Space Douches going to do if their experiment failed? Sit around in space for another couple years until the nova happened or some more subjects showed up? Where are the other alien species? What are they planning to do that they can’t do with the other planets?

How many inhabited worlds are there in this star system, anyway?? Where did this ep’s SDs come from? If they live Miles Beneath the Earth’s Crust, what’s the big deal with the nova anyway?

I like some of the ideas here — I can almost forgive them their evil, if it weren’t for the DEEPLY SEATED INESCAPABLE LOGIC FAILS that surround the entire thing.

Torie, you were generous.

@ 14 Deepthought Yes Torie was generous, but cut the woman some clakc this is her first trip through 3rd season Drek. Bouncing of ‘Wink of an Eye’ and ‘Plato’s Step Children’ this certainly looked– better? I feel dirty just typing it,

@14 DeepThought @15 bobsandiego

I did give this the same rating. I’m not sure why… Though we don’t grade on a curve, you’re right that something like “Plato’s Stepchildren” does make everything else seem better in comparison.

Oh, and here I was wondering if I’d ever get down to Warp 1 just a couple weeks ago. Full Reverse! Scotty, I need more power!

The GF is a huge TOS fan, and when I said we needed to watch this again, she was pained.

And I actually said during our rewatch, “This episode makes me want to punch Liza Minelli.” The GF started yelling “Mimes!” ala Shakes the Clown.

The last couple episodes make me wonder if the writers weren’t amusing themselves by writing the scripts ‘exquisite corpse’ style, with nobody having any idea what the overarching plot is supposed to be.

I wouldn’t say she’s a Mary Sue, unless you want to call Jesus a Mary Sue…

…hmmm…

@ 7 bobsandiego

I was wondering about that, too! Did they not sacrifice themselves valiantly? What the hell was the “prime ingredient”? Were they just jerks?

@ 8 WonderGirl

Oh I wish I had made that up! It’s an actual movie, which was torn to pieces by the MST3K guys . One of my favorite MST3ks.

It’s not just that–in the time it takes them to fully “test” Gem, they probably could have saved ALL the planets. The research guys disappeared three months ago, right? So couldn’t they have evacuated both planets, even without special powers?

@ 11 DemetriosX

I didn’t think she was creepy, but she reminded of big-eyed anime characters.

@ 14 DeepThought

I don’t think it was generous. It’s watchable, sometimes even compelling, and has some nice Kirk/Spock/McCoy moments. I like the emphasis on selflessness and compassion, and I like the way all three of them display it in their own ways. It wasn’t AWFUL…

@ 17 ChurchHatesTucker

I’m sure that would’ve come out waaaay more interesting. But the story is coherent enough, it’s just repugnant.

@16 Eugene “… something like “Plato’s Stepchildren” does make everything else seem better in comparison.”

Seriously? Plato’s is like a scriptwriting clinic compared to this.

@18 Torie & @6 Ludon

Mary Sue is far more interesting.

Yeah, Plato’s Stepchildren was way better than this. (Though that’s not saying much admittedly). This episode was just *dull,* from the plot to the sets to the characters. One of the five worst episodes of the series.

I dunno, folks. I actually think that, while deeply flawed, this is one of the more watchable episodes of S3.

Look, it has A Mime. And a terrible, awful “sensitive” musical score to accompany The Mime’s ridiculous rolling and gybing, so I’ll grant it starts out way in the deficit.

But the mime does serve some function in depicting an alien, an alien culture, and a somewhat original one at that. She’s at least as interesting in this regard as most bump-head “aliens” on TNG.

I think the sparse sets created a unsettling, nightmarish milieu that helped accent the unsettling, unfocused predicament the characters found themselves in. The set is, at once, austere and half formed as in dreams. Similarly, the fisheye lensing on the Vians helped create an unsettling, horrific effect.

At some point herearound the cast and staff must’ve learned from NBC the gas tank would not be refilled, the series would not be renewed, and they had to finish the trip with what they had. Given that scarcity of resources, I think “The Empath” created a setting and a mood handily on a restricted budget. Even the aliens floating away in the end was eerie in its simplicity.

Speaking of aliens, in this episode they were notably inscrutable–actually alien!–from the Vians (who never actually stated their goals or rhetorically fenced with the Captain’s Three in the usual fashion, preferring instead to simply frame their grisly intents in scientific probabilities) to Gem (whose thoughts and motivations were withheld from us). The landing party were bugs under their cruel microscope, but still worthy of being informed exactly how they would be dissected. I think they treated the landing party ethically if coldly. Like a vivisectionist might talk to a dog. The effect was one of nightmares.

In a season full of clumsy parallel earths and bludgeoning morality plays, this one stands out as creating a startlingly unfamiliar, weird milieu.

Refreshingly, the Vians weren’t particularly interested in the landing party except as set pieces for their experiments. The way the Vians analyzed the probable fate of the landing party was something Spock might do, utterly stripped of compassion.

The episode fares much better in its handling certain tropes than other episodes, including the odd three-way compassion of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, all of whom show an almost unbearable willingness to sacrifice themselves for one another. Spock is tender in his treatment of McCoy, and Gem’s warm reaction in touching Spock helps undergird what we already know about him–he is an alien of great feeling and tenderness, even kindliness. She sees inside him in a way I don’t think has yet been depicted in the series.

Much was made of mental discipline under emotional duress in “Spectre of the Gun” and “Day Of The Dove,” but Spock’s escape from the Vian’s “angst prison” handles those tropes by seconds rather than by episodes. Smartly and efficiently done.

In terms of acting, Shatner reins it in here in a notably less-than-over-the-top performance while other stars are allowed to shine to the furthest limits of their characterizations. Some soliloquy and scenery-chewing, but not a lot.

Finally–and I don’t think this gets enough credit–at no point were the three deprived or deceived of their senses or instruments. They know everything knowable about their situation. I bring this up because, by this point, most S3 episodes have revolved around the crew being technically or intellectually bereft or misled. Here, they have all their gear and all their wits. Spock quickly figures out their location, their status, and–never at a loss–analyzes alien technology for escape. The aliens, meanwhile, are (somewhat uniquely) on par with the landing party, neither loftily magical or denigratively primitive as in so many episodes, but Federation equals but in strangely different ways. Are the Vians superior to the Federation? It doesn’t seem so, but they have engineered the upper hand.

I think this episode engages in what Trek does best, an exploration of the limits of human compassion. It does this more ably than many.

@21 Lemnoc “I think this episode engages in what Trek does best, an exploration of the limits of human compassion.”

Well, we can agree on that.

@ 19 and @ 20

You guys are insane . “The Empath” is sheer brilliance compared to “Plato’s Stepchildren.”

@ 21 Lemnoc

Many interesting points.

My problem with the empath as a potentially interesting species is that she just doesn’t make sense. It’s a neat idea, but any creature whose sole characteristic is the ability to absorb others’ physical ailments should already by instinct do those things. The idea that the Vians had to “train” her to do what seems to be the only obvious purpose of such a species is just baffling.

The Vian experiment seemed utterly pointless. At least in “Arena” and “Gamesters” Kirk knows he’s being tested; Gem has no idea what they want or why, and training “instincts” is kind of contradictory. Besides, why not save both planets and have them face off to see who is more worthy? They certainly had the time .

Their selflessness was heartening to see but it did become kind of absurd in its extremes–like watching friends fight over who has to pay the dinner check.

@Torie #23 Just thought of something; maybe the Vians didn’t save Jim’s people because of some non-time constraint? Like energy? Don’t they say they only have the power to save one of the planets?

But it still doesn’t make sense because where are the other candidates? Did they all fail the test?

I do take Lemnoc’s point that they’re *supposed to be alien* and therefore a bit incomprehensible, but then why are they trying to justify themselves to the earth-men using human logic? If their motives and methods are inscrutable because our psychologies are mutually incommensurate, because we literally cannot think the same way, then they should be as limited in that regard as we. Otherwise they’re back to the role of super-intelligences whose breadth encompasses and surpasses our own, and the problem with that trope is that it just isn’t *interesting*.

Still, Lemnoc, good show on a spirited defense of the ep; you make a lot of good points and I find myself liking it better with your commentary.

I guess I can envision a society of empathic creatures who glean so much harm from one another’s ailments and emotions that they actually DO NOT interact or consider self sacrifice, simply as a matter of self preservation. We don’t really know if Gem, in trying to heal McCoy, was herself in danger of fully experiencing his death, but it is strongly implied that, had she continued, she’d have died. Perhaps Gem’s people have had a bellyful of “feeling and healing” for one another.

Where it breaks down is that the Vians (or any race) could “teach” or awaken compassion as an “instinct” to a race of empaths estranged from one another. I mean, what’s Gem going to do? Convince millions of the errors of their ways…or will her awakened sacrifice [*gag*] washeth away the sins of her generation?

I gather Kirk’s comments alerted the Vians to just how foolish and vain their efforts were. Even big-brains can be pretty dumb at times.

I think that arguing which episode is better “Plato’s Stepchildren” or “The Empath” is like arguing which tastes better, a crap sandwich or a crap sandwich with mustard.

you know there is something elese that has always bothered me about this episode. That fantasic pectoral muscles of Kirk and McCoy. These two men are chained by the wrists, then suspended in air by those same wrists, and while being totured mainatin a perfect crucifixation pose. Arms straight out. Hell I know in my case my arms would have been straight up right away just like I was being mugged.

@20 Mercurio

I weep for you.

You make a good attempt at defending this episode, but despite the many good elements you mentioned, when you put them all together it’s just a mess. I think it’s a bad sign when you cite a mime as one of the best qualities of a show, though at least we didn’t have to put up with any more bad dialogue from her.

I do wonder when they learned that the series wouldn’t be renewed–it would be interesting to gauge the (further) drop in quality from that point. Then again, looking at the air order vs. the production order, there’s no rhyme or reason from week to week–it’s just a mixed bag.

@26 bobsandiego I think that arguing which episode is better “Plato’s Stepchildren” or “The Empath” is like arguing which tastes better, a crap sandwich or a crap sandwich with mustard.

Best. Comment. Ever. You should be writing these! Seriously, do you want “The Way to Eden”? Anyone?

@ 28 Eugene: Thanks but I’ll stick to what I know, snide remarks from the peanut gallery. Sadly I have no talent for writing funny. (not like my friend Gail. Bless her heart.) I have an idea for a short story about evil time traveling historians that would only work as tragic comedy but it’s what I cannot write. *le sigh*

Yay, brother.

@ 29 bobsandiego: I see a story idea in your comment – and not your stated idea. A writer forced or tricked into writing something he ‘knows’ he can’t write – but with a twist.

@21 Lemnoc: You are right that there are some interesting things and ideas in this episode. Some of those are what I had responded to and liked about this episode back in the 70s. In fact, I realize now that this episode planted the seed of my fondness for characters with empathic abilities. However, despite those interesting elements, the end result fell short of the idea’s potential. Think of this episode as the opposite of the movie (or play) “The Producers” in which they set out to create a flop but all the bad elements happened to fall together and made their effort a hit. Or, let me suggest a different angle. Chicken soup, mashed potatoes and chocolate are each good food items but they will not combine to make a good stew.

@ 20 Eugue Anyway, looking ahead Tori has “The Way to Eden”, “The Savage Curtain” AND “Turnabout Intruder.” You, you lucky dog, get ‘The Cloud Miners.” LOL

@32 bobsandiego

*sigh* I think we’re both in the middle of a no-win scenario… :P

I’m drawing a blank on some of the upcoming episode titles. I’m sure I’ve seen them, I just don’t remember anything about them. So, this should be interesting.

So happy Torie gets Turnabout. I feel like this whole enterprise has been leading up to that.

@34 ChurchHatesTucker After that we may need to buy her booze.

@33 Eugene Your geek-fu is week. I recall back in the late 80’s a friend and I driving around at night discussing Star Trek (TOS) and we ended up discussing every single episode by title save one, We had to rush to another friends shouse – he had the whole CBS VHS set of the series — to see which one we missed. Oh we hung our heads in shame, while recalling episode like THe Empath and Plato’s Stepclidren we had somehow forgotten “Mirror Mirror.”

@34 ChurchHateTucker

Well, turnabout is fair play. I started the re-watch with “The Man Trap” so Torie gets to finish it!

@35 bobsandiego

Don’t make me show off my Star Trek credit card again! Or my shuttlecraft alarm clock…

I used to remember every episode title of Star Trek and TNG, and could identify an episode within seconds. Then I went through an Enterprise-induced breakup with the franchise and didn’t watch or think about it for years, pretty much until this re-watch dragged me back into it. I’m sure all that useless trivia is still lurking around somewhere in my brain though.

@36 Eugene Oh, you stuck with it longer than I did. I watched TNG and was mildly entertained but found the characters flat. DS9 I started but fell out fo the habit of watching. Voyager I lasted three episodes and threw up my hands in disgust and Enterprise I watched the pilot — most of it anyway. TOS is the only series in my library, but I have it on blu-ray and man they look great. BTW I have the soundtrack to The Doomsday Machine/Amaok Time on my ipod. Great writing music.

I swear I’m going to make a Trek fanfilm just so I can give it a confounding title like “All of Tomorrow’s Yesterdays.”

@38 ChurchHatesTucker

That would be brilliant .

bobsandiego@35: Missed one, did you? Shame, that. I remember standing at the bus stop on my way to school, writing out all 78 episode titles and not missing one.

And I had little use for any of the later series, either. There were a few good TNG and DS9 episodes. The rest was dreck.

@ 40 NomadUK Oh we hung our heads in shame. We didnlt forgot a bald episode like “The Empath”, no we forgot one of the collest freaking episodes ever. “and some of my associates are Vulcans.” What a bad-ass line.

FORGET a BLAND– where’s a proofreader when I need one.

“Without speech, how will she be able to understand us?”

This is a very, very common human fallacy; that those who do not or cannot speak, cannot hear or understand. People who work with autistic children often make this error, and it can be very damaging.

Gem picked up emotions through touch (you see that when she “reads” Spock), but was non-telepathic, and lacked a formal sign language. Nor was she a mime. More like a dancer, she communicated through facial expressions, postures and attitudes. Perhaps that’s sign language for Minarans. Maybe she was talking her head off and we didn’t understand her. (I liked Nell , too.)

In any case, certain types of people are made uncomfortable by this type of communication and even by standard Sign as used by the deaf. They react to it by calling it ridiculous, or say that it’s “creepy” to teach babies to sign, in spite of the fact that this is known to help with language acquisition. I’ve often wondered if this is some kind of cultural conditioning.

If anything was ridiculous in this episode, it was the long, long shots of Kirk collapsing in slow motion. Plus the whole flimzy idea of the Vians trying to “awaken” Gem into sacrificing her life to prove her people “worthy”. Dammit, you save everyone you can!!! All people are worthy of survival, and just because they don’t now have certain concepts doesn’t mean they won’t have them in the future; isn’t that what Star Trek was all about?

Other than the fact that self-sacrifice unto death is overrated (how can you help others if you give so much of yourself that you have nothing left?), there’s no reason to assume that an empathic people would not have the concept. We saw that she instinctively helped the men when they were hurt. I’m more inclined to go with Lemnoc’s idea that the Minarans were all too aware of these concepts and had ethics which prevented overdoing it. The concepts in this script needed a lot of work and didn’t get it.

Gem is one of my favorite Star Trek characters. When I first saw this (when it initially aired), I wanted to know more about her world and people. I imagined being like them and marrying a girl like her. I never wrote any fan fiction, but if I had, it’d have been about her.

Both my parents suffered chronic pain during my childhood, and I’d have given a great deal to be able to do what Gem did.

The look of this episode really won me over. The direction, the setting, the extremely inventive use of light and shadow make this very memorable. I agree that much of this is rehashed themes, but it really did feel like an alien setting. I have to admit that its visual impact really did trump a lot for me…and there were a handful of good character moments that were derived from the bizarre situation. It’s not Star Trek at its best, but I couldn’t help but admire it.

On Utube, Brent Spiner commented that “Gene Roddenberry had nothing to do with religion” I wonder why there was a few references to Christianity in the original series? At the end of “Escape from Rome” Uhura picks up radio talking about Christ and Kirk says” I wonder what it would be like, to see it all happen all over again?” In the episode “The Empath” again at the end, SCOTT: “Do you not know the story of the merchant? The merchant, who when he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” This clearly in the Bible, Mathew 13:45.

Again late, and not much of a comment. I do wish that when Kirk asked McCoy why he chose the name “Gem”, McCoy had replied something like: “A rare thing of beauty hidden under the ground”.

Many years later, I have to chime in… I spent half the episode wondering why Spock didn’t just do a mind meld with her.

A similar question came up for us yesterday watching “The Lights of Zetar.” Don’t forget the mind meld!

As I recall, DeForest Kelley said that this was his favorite episode mainly because of the cinematography, which is admittedly pretty cool. The fact that it’s a fan-written script is also pretty cool. There are some interesting things to think about: for example, how Vians set themselves up as the judges of the moral worth of Gem and her species, while failing to question the morality of their own behavior… not unlike a certain Captain, or, in fact, most of us (at least at some times). If they measure a species’ moral worth by its capacity for compassion, and their own compassion only extends to those they consider “worthy,” then they are failing to meet even their own measure.

Then again, the Vians are saving the population of an entire planet; all the Federation did was build a small observatory. Apparently, the Federation is pretty much okay with millions of people being killed, as long as they collect some astronomical data.

When I was a kid, the end of Act One — with the dead scientists in the tubes, followed by the empty tubes with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy’s names on them — gave me chills. This time around, I found myself surprisingly affected by McCoy’s bravery in Act Three when he is about to be tortured, looks at the tube with his name on it, turns to the Vians and says, “Well? Get on with it!”

The main philosophical contention of this episode seems to be the idea that sacrificing oneself for others is the highest virtue. This is a major theme in Christianity, of course, but it’s a tenant of many other major religions as well, as well as many non-religiously-based ethical codes. That being said, the reference to the Parable of the Merchant at the end of the episode is pretty much impenetrable, at least to me.

For all its flaws (for example, Gem’s ballerina-like gestures), this episode has some interesting ideas, and some really striking visuals. To me, it’s one of the high points of Season Three.

I don’t understand how the crew of the Enterprise can act all high and mighty when they’ve known about a star going nova for at least six months but have done absolutely nothing about the planets inhabited by millions of people who are about to die, whether they know it or not.

I know the Prime Directive forbids interfering in pre-warp societies’ natural progress, but Kirk violates the Prime Directive all the time, and who gives a fuck about natural progress if that progress with be stopped by mass extinction?

It’s like the Flight 93 conundrum: If you believe that killing is always wrong, is killing acceptable when the people you’re killing are trying to commit suicide anyway?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  Notify me when new comments are added.

Recent Comments

• Nanda on Star Trek Re-Watch: “And The Children Shall Lead”
• GMC on Star Trek Re-Watch: “Miri”
• Joey on Star Trek Re-Watch: “The City on the Edge of Forever”
• bcjammerx on Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Datalore”
• Richard Simpkins on Re-Watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Recent Discussions in Ten Forward

• Re: A data journalism approach to solving "best ST" debates? by: Kevin July 3, 2017, 19:02
• ST Rewatch: The EMotion Picture (long) by: Guest October 18, 2015, 15:13
• Re: Chaos on the Bridge by: Kevin September 3, 2015, 13:13
• Re: Leonard Nimoy by: Kevin February 28, 2015, 15:13
• "Shaka, When the Walls Fell" by: ecmyers June 19, 2014, 08:20

Recent Posts

Laugh treks: “spock’s brain”.

Making "Spock's Brain" re-watchable.

Laugh Treks are humorous audio recordings you can sync with your Star Trek episodes to enhance your viewing experience.

Favorite Posts

Uhura takes the first steps to becoming a crazy tribble lady.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who on the ship is meanest of all?

If you hit Forever, you went too far.

Wrath, like a seed, needs time to grow... in a Petri dish, best kept cold.

This week on Masterpiece Theater... Shakespeare’s Hamlet! In space.

• June 2014  (1)
• May 2014  (1)
• January 2014  (2)
• November 2013  (1)
• October 2013  (1)
• August 2013  (5)
• July 2013  (2)
• June 2013  (4)
• April 2013  (3)
• March 2013  (4)
• February 2013  (4)
• January 2013  (4)
• December 2012  (2)
• November 2012  (4)
• October 2012  (3)
• September 2012  (4)
• August 2012  (4)
• July 2012  (3)
• June 2012  (5)
• May 2012  (4)
• April 2012  (4)
• March 2012  (5)
• February 2012  (4)
• January 2012  (4)
• December 2011  (5)
• November 2011  (5)
• October 2011  (6)
• September 2011  (1)
• August 2011  (7)
• July 2011  (8)
• June 2011  (8)
• May 2011  (5)
• April 2011  (6)
• March 2011  (4)
• February 2011  (5)
• January 2011  (6)
• December 2010  (5)
• November 2010  (6)
• October 2010  (6)
• August 2010  (1)
• July 2010  (3)
• June 2010  (3)
• May 2010  (6)
• April 2010  (8)
• March 2010  (4)
• February 2010  (3)
• October 2009  (2)
• September 2009  (6)
• August 2009  (1)
• July 2009  (5)
• June 2009  (8)
• May 2009  (8)
• April 2009  (9)

About Arras WordPress Theme

The Viewscreen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

• Show Spoilers
• Night Vision
• Sticky Header
• Highlight Links

Follow TV Tropes

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekS3E12TheEmpath

Recap / Star Trek S3 E12 "The Empath"

Edit locked.

Original air date: December 6, 1968

The Power Trio beams down to a planet in the Minaran system to rescue a pair of Federation scientists before the sun goes supernova. The scientists are nowhere to be found, but an audio/visual record they left behind reveals they seem to have vanished into thin air accompanied by an earthquake and an ear splitting buzz. Soon, our heroes are experiencing the same thing.

Fade from black . Spock's reading indicates that they are either on the set of a minimalist avant-garde play, or they're several miles below the planet's crust. They find a lovely brunette with a pixie cut and a diaphanous gown taking a nap. They wake her up to find that she is mute. Bones decides to call her Gem. (No relation to a truly outrageous pop star , or a young character from To Kill a Mockingbird , or a hyper active and immature power ranger ). Soon after, they are introduced to their hosts, a pair of Sufficiently Advanced Aliens named Thann and Lal. (No relation to a certain android who learned to feel )

Doctors Ozaba and Linke are now physicians under glass. Lal and Thann maintain that they had nothing to do with their deaths . They have experiments to do, and now they have three new lab rats. They even have neatly labeled glass cases in the event that they don't survive the experiments!

The Tropath:

• Act of True Love : Each of the Power Trio attempts to sacrifice himself to protect his friends. Kirk intends to give himself up to the Vians to keep Spock and McCoy from having to go through the Cold-Blooded Torture they would inflict on them; Spock fully means to do the same once Kirk is sedated, making him the highest-ranking officer on the mission. Then McCoy sedates Spock and sacrifices himself to protect him and Kirk . He lives, thanks to outside interference, but he did not know that that would happen.
• All There in the Script : Though identified as Thann and Lal in the closing credits, the two Vians are never called by their proper names on-screen.
• In the teaser, one of the doomed scientists calls the planet a "godforsaken place" just before the earthquake hits. His colleague quotes from the Book of Psalms , and jokingly suggests that God is registering an objection.
• At the end, Scotty paraphrases the parable of the Pearl of Great Price from Matthew's Gospel .
• Blue-and-Orange Morality : The Vians must have some form of compassion if they are willing to rescue a race from a supernova sun. Yet, their test to see which one is more worthy of saving is needlessly cruel.
• Book Ends : The scientists quote a Bible passage during the teaser, while Scotty recounts the story of the Pearl of Great Value, which while not identified as such, originates as another passage at the end.
• Everything is fanservice to somebody.
• Cobweb of Disuse : The research station has dust and cobwebs everywhere note  so we know the planet has spiders — will the Vians transport them and other life forms as well? to show how long it's been since the scientists disappeared. One of the away team does the traditional pick-up-an-object-and-blow-dust-off-it to emphasize the point.
• Cold-Blooded Torture : The Vians call it an "experiment".
• Cute Mute : Gem, with her pixie cut and modest if diaphanous outfit, is more cute than sultry. Her constantly startled expression adds to her cuteness. She has no vocal cords and never utters a sound, even her weeping being silent.
• Deadpan Snarker : The values of emotion are discussed in the epilogue. Spock is told that perhaps Vulcans could learn something about the importance of emotion. "I shall give the thought all the consideration it is due." Spock replies. Bones' compliment of Spock's bedside manner could count as a deadpan snark as well.
• Description Cut : While the Enterprise waits out the solar storms, Scotty figures that Kirk and the gang are all right. Cut to Kirk getting tortured, while Spock and McCoy are next.
• Emotions vs. Stoicism : A major theme of this episode. The force field Kirk and Spock are kept behind is triggered by their emotions. Spock is able to suppress his enough to walk through it.
• The Empath : Well, duh! Look at the title! However, it is implied that the Vians may have given Gem her powers (there's a short scene where they are using their devices to somehow alter her).
• Empathic Healer : Gem, and her decision of whether to risk her life to save Dr. McCoy is a major plot point.
• Friendship Moment : Bones knocks out both Kirk and Spock in order to sacrifice himself to the Enemy of the Week.
• Healing Hands : Gem has to touch people, and let their pain flow momentarily into her, in order to heal them.
• Hell Is That Noise : The sound that attacks everyone's eardrums just before they disappear and awaken in the Vians' "lab" for want of a better word.
• Heroic Sacrifice : Kirk offers himself up to save Gem and his friends. While Kirk is sedated, Spock declares himself in charge of the mission and decides that he will give himself over to the Vians. Bones sedates Spock and offers himself up. Gem's entire race will be destroyed if she is not willing to sacrifice herself to heal Bones.
• Hey, You! : Name dropped when Bones defends his idea of calling the female alien Gem with "It's a lot better than 'Hey you'."
• Homeworld Evacuation : The star of the Minara system is about to go nova. A group of highly advanced aliens known as the Vians can save the population of only one of the planets in the system. They decide to determine which planet's population will be saved by putting a member of each population through a Secret Test .
• Hope Spot : Hey, look! Scotty and a pair of Red Shirts are here to save us! Nope, just a mirage set up by those darn Vians.
• Humans Are Special : That's what the Vians learn from their "experiments". Thankfully, this also convinces them to save Gem and the other Minarans after all, in addition to healing McCoy.
• I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder : Bones, complaining about the underground lair they're imprisoned in, says that he's a doctor, not a coalminer. Later, when Spock tries to get him to help with a captured alien device, he adds that he's not a mechanic either, but without using the whole phrase.
• Liquid Assets : Gem can heal others, but suffers concurrent damage to herself. If she heals someone badly enough injured, she could die.
• Making the Choice for You : The Vians give Captain Kirk a Sadistic Choice: which of his officers will be subjected to torture. If Dr. McCoy is chosen there's an 87% chance he will die, but if Mr. Spock is chosen there's a 93% chance he will suffer permanent insanity. Dr. McCoy makes the decision for Kirk by injecting him with a sedative, then injects Spock with a sedative when he decides to sacrifice himself and go.
• Moral Myopia : Gem has to die to prove she's worthy of life?! Well, to prove her people are worthy of it, but still...
• More Expendable Than You : The Vians intend to use either Spock or Bones for an experiment that is highly likely to cause death or permanent insanity. Spock declares that he is volunteering; Bones overrules that decision with a sneak knockout shot.
• My Brain Is Big : The alien Vians are much more intelligent than Earthlings and have the bulging heads to prove it.
• Never My Fault : When accused of killing the two scientists, the Vians insist it was their own physical weaknesses that killed them. It was their fault for not being immortal!
• Noodle Incident : Bones mentions that the sleeping woman they find looks harmless. Spock points out that people have said the same before being attacked by rock crystals. When the Hell did that happen, Spock?
• Ontological Mystery : How did we get here? This is not our red sheeted bed. This is not our beautiful healer. These are not our specimen jars. (OK, they have our names on them....)
• Parting-from-Consciousness Words : "My decision still stands" says Spock when Bones shoots him up with a sedative, taking the decision of who will be tortured out of Spock's hands. (He was going to offer himself.) "Good bedside manner, Spock." Bones tells Spock just before he passes out from his injuries.
• Discussed in the episode. Kirk actually suggests to the Vians that Gem could heal Bones just enough to keep the injuries from being fatal, and that would be sufficient. They reply back that it's not enough to just heal him—she must be willing to sacrifice her life to do so, to reveal the depth of her (and her species') capacity for compassion. The Vians just ain't gonna be happy unless SOMEONE dies in the process... They do finally take Spock's point note  "It is complete. Gem has earned the right of survival for her planet. She offered her life." that she's already shown herself more than willing to do it, and they heal McCoy, pick her up and leave.
• Prematurely Marked Grave : The Power Trio find two scientists dead in experiment cases and three more cases with their names.
• Psychic Powers : Gem has them in the form of Healing Hands . It is unknown whether other members of her race have this ability or if she is unique.
• Reckless Gun Usage : Kirk, telling someone you're not going to hurt them would be a lot more convincing if you weren't pointing a phaser at them. He does this twice.
• Rubber-Forehead Aliens : Lal and Thann. Seriously, Will, what's up with the glittery Hefty bags?
• Sadistic Choice : Kirk is told he must give either Spock or Bones up to be tortured as he was earlier. He decides to Take a Third Option and offers himself.
• Screw You, Elves! : Kirk gives Lal and Thann a good Him Summation when the "experiment" is finally over.
• Secret Test : The Vians can save only one planet when the sun goes supernova and wanted to see if Gem's people were worth saving, all based on her decision to save another's life.
• Shirtless Scene : Kirk's torture (but not McCoy's).
• Single Tear : Gem sheds one when she realizes what these three men are willing to go through for each other. She breaks down in tears when she finds out just how tough it will be to heal Bones' extensive injuries.
• Some Kind of Force Field : Prevents our heroes from interfering with the "experiment".
• Stock Footage : The footage of the sun Minara is re-used from " Operation: Annihilate! ".
• Tareme Eyes : Gem is a rare live-action example.
• Unwanted Rescue : McCoy uses what's left of his strength to push Gem away so that she won't sacrifice herself. McCoy: Jim, I can't destroy life, even if it's to save my own. I can't.
• The Voiceless : Gem. Justified in that she has no vocal cords.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious : After the power trio's escape to the surface, McCoy refers to the captain as "Kirk," a rare deviation from the usual.
• You Said You Would Let Them Go : Said by Kirk after he offers himself up to the Vians. Bones and Spock are, as they say, safe. For now.
• Star Trek S3 E11 "Wink of an Eye"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek S3 E13 "Elaan of Troyius"

Important Links

• Action Adventure
• Commercials
• Crime & Punishment
• Professional Wrestling
• Speculative Fiction
• Sports Story
• Animation (Western)
• Music And Sound Effects
• Print Media
• Sequential Art
• Tabletop Games
• Applied Phlebotinum
• Characterization
• Characters As Device
• Narrative Devices
• British Telly
• The Contributors
• Creator Speak
• Derivative Works
• Laws And Formulas
• Show Business
• Split Personality
• Truth And Lies
• Truth In Television
• Fate And Prophecy
• Edit Reasons
• Isolated Pages
• Images List
• Recent Videos
• Crowner Activity
• Un-typed Pages
• Recent Page Type Changes
• Trope Entry
• Character Sheet
• Playing With
• Creating New Redirects
• Cross Wicking
• Tips for Editing
• Text Formatting Rules
• Handling Spoilers
• Administrivia
• Trope Repair Shop
• Image Pickin'

Advertisement:

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Episode Preview: The Empath

• Buy the Book…
• Reviews Hub

the m0vie blog

Following Us

• Adding Our RSS Feed to Your Gmail
• Following our Feed in Internet Explorer
• Millennium (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (Reviews)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (Reviews)
• Star Trek: The Original Series (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Voyager (Reviews)
• The X-Files (Reviews)
• X-Files Fandom Poll Form

Check out the Archives

Awards & Nominations

Star Trek – The Empath (Review)

This July and August, we’re celebrating the release of Star Trek Beyond by taking a look back at the third season of the original Star Trek . Check back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the latest update.

Like Is There in Truth No Beauty? before it, The Empath is very much  “weird big ideas” version of  Star Trek .

It is a simple story, as Kirk and his away team visit a planet in a star system about to go nova. It deals with fairly universal themes, like compassion and humanity. There are stakes, there are aliens, there is a test of worthiness. In many ways, The Empath is a quintessential Star Trek episode, one of those classic “humanity proves their worth to a powerful alien species” narratives in the style of Arena or Spectre of the Gun . The biggest deviation from that template is the fact that it is not humanity on trial; it is an unknown species represented by an anonymous mute.

The triumvirate triumphant.

However, The Empath works in large part due to this simplicity. There is an elegance to the story, one that distils a lot of core Star Trek ideals down to their very essence. The Empath is very much a “humans are special” story, in the vein of episodes like Lonely Among Us or The Last Outpost . However, it works better than most of these stories because it hits on a very strong core idea. The Empath suggests that what makes humanity special is not necessarily unique or intrinsic or intangible. According to The Empath , what makes humanity special is pretty basic.

As the title implies, humanity’s greatest virtue might be its empathy or its compassion.

Although humanity also offers “Shirtless Shat.”

The Empath works in large part due to its elegance and its simplicity. The set-up is fairly simple, established through the exposition of the opening log entry. The Minara star is entering a “critical period” of its “nova phase.” The Enterprise has been ordered to evacuate a research facility before the star goes nova and consumes everything in the system. When the Enterprise picks up a “gigantic solar flare” , it is forced to withdraw to a safe distance. Kirk and his party are left alone on the surface of the planet.

Inevitably, Kirk discovers that the researchers are not where they are supposed to be. Instead, they have been abducted by an alien species. Kirk and his away team are abducted by the same aliens, and subjected to a battery of brutal tests while an anonymous alien mute watches silently. Kirk finds himself wrestling with impossible questions of sacrifice and compassion as the sinister alien overseers confront him with one difficult choice after another. Lives hang in the balance, as the nature of the test slowly becomes clear.

Researching the research party.

It is a stock Star Trek plot, the kind of story that Gene Roddenberry would use in  Encounter at Farpoint to launch Star Trek: The Next Generation almost two decades later. However, what is striking about The Empath is the sheer unrelenting purity of its plot. This is an episode with a minimum of superfluous or distracting material. The outline of the story is established with ruthless efficiency in the opening minute of the teaser; Kirk explains about the star going nova, and Scott immediately has the ship withdraw to “minimum distance for absolute safety.”

This efficiency is reflected in other aspects of the script. The episode’s primary guest star is Kathryn Hays as Gem, the alien who finds herself caged up with the leading trio. As the climax of the episode reveals, Gem is primarily there to observe the activities of the Enterprise crew. “You were her teachers,” Lal states at the climax. The Empath doubles down on this idea. Reinforcing the suggestion that Gem is there to watch and learn, the episode reveals that the character is mute. As such, her abilities to actively contribute are minimised.

Empath to glory.

Actor Kathryn Hays quite enjoyed the experience of working on Star Trek , finding the role rewarding and the technical aspects of the production quite fascinating :

I’ve often thought that was an interesting role for me to play.  I loved playing that.  It was technically very interesting.  That show was fascinating to work on from a technical point of view.  It was so different from a regular show. 

Indeed, it is telling that Hays should mention the technical aspects of the episode. The Empath takes the simplicity of its premise and carries that all the way through, right down to the production design.

No need to be (Mc)Coy about it.

The bulk of The Empath unfolds upon a very distinctive set, particularly by the standards of Star Trek . The space is mostly blacked out and half-formed. There are occasionally items of furniture to be distinguished from the all-encompassing blackness; there are gigantic tubes, a sofa, a laboratory table, a readout. All of these items seem to have been conjured up from nothing, from the surrounding darkness. When Kirk and McCoy are tortured later in the episode, they are suspended from chains that seem to reach upwards into an infinity void.

The set design on The Empath mirrors that of Spectre of the Gun . There is a sense of abstraction, as if the characters have stepped into a world that is not fully formed. There is an absurdist quality to it, recalling the more visually creative touches of British sixties science-fiction like Doctor Who or The Prisoner . To some extent, British broadcasters embraced those designs because they were cost effective. With The Empath , that style of production design had a similar appeal to the production team. The third season of Star Trek was looking to save money.

Broken Bones.

The set design on The Empath is one of the episode’s most memorable features. When Starlog asked actor DeForest Kelley to single out his favourite episodes of the original run, he immediately jumped to The Empath :

Another one that I like very much, that I enjoy, is The Empath. That was an interesting show because it was done on a huge soundstage all blacked out. It was a very theatrical production, the only lights were pinpoint wipes that were spotting us and we had great fun doing it.

If the premise of The Empath is quintessential Star Trek , then the production design on the episode is much more unique. The Empath is an episode that lingers in the memory.

Running just as fast as he can.

At the same time, the consciously stagey design of The Empath captures a lot what is so distinctive and effective about the production of the original Star Trek show. The underground prison is very obviously a blacked-out sound stage, but the truth is that the production values on Star Trek were never enough to render alien environments in a particularly convincing manner. Even when Kirk and the away team leave the prison to enter the cave system, the cave system looks like a stage. Even when they reach the surface, the surface looks like a studio.

This is particularly apparent in the third season of the show. After all, budget cuts forced the cast and crew to work primarily on soundstages; The Paradise Syndrome and All Our Yesterdays were the only episodes that shot on location. All other planet surfaces had to be represented through set design. It is very difficult for standing sets to look natural. This has always been the case, even in earlier seasons. This is not to complain, this is simply to make an observation. The production design on Star Trek always felt slightly abstract, representational rather than literal.

“Production budget? What production budget?”

As Mervyn Nicholson argues, there is a very clear aesthetic divide between the original Star Trek series and the live action series that would follow :

There is an obvious difference between Star Trek, the original show, and the successor series and movies. And that is that they look so different. In terms of the look, there is a definite dividing line between the origin and what came after. The first series looks primitive, even quaint — not much more than “a lot of orange paint [and] plastic plants” — by comparison with the successor series, with their sophisticated special effects and updated styling. The computers in the original series appear to be plywood painted grey. The revolution in special effects came after the first series, and affected both the movies and the TV series that succeeded it. But the difference in style is much more than just special effects and, by the 1980s, changes in fashion and production values. The ’60s, the period of Star Trek, were long gone in a cultural sense, as well as in terms of visual fashions and production values. The original series has a definite look, a style. This look is not the mere consequence of what are today obsolete production techniques. By treating the style of the original series as integral to the show — and not as a kind of regrettable defect — we can get a better grasp on the Star Trek phenomenon itself. Typically, people talk about themes and characters, while the visual style is regarded with a patronizing sense of its quaintness. In fact, however, the look of Star Trek is deeply interesting in its own right.

The later series put a much greater emphasis on verisimilitude than the original Star Trek had, with the more abstract production design of episodes like The Thaw standing in stark contrast to the general look and feel.

They’re even vacuum-packed.

In some respects, it is interesting to wonder if the lack of detail on the sets of the original Star Trek simply reflected the reality of television production at the time. After all, television sets were a lot smaller during the middle decades of the twentieth century and broadcast reception was a lot rougher during the sixties. As such, set detail was a lot less important for sixties television shows than it would have been in later decades. Audiences at home were unlikely to be watching on sixty-inch high definition plasma television sets.

After all, a lot of the production design choices on Star Trek were made in the context of contemporary media technology. This is most obvious in the show’s use of colour. When Star Trek was first broadcast, colour television was a novelty. However, the show seemed designed for colour more than black-and-white. There was less emphasis on the sharp visual contrast associated with black-and-white cinematography, while the production design used all manner of bold and distinctive colour to give the series a unique visual flair.

Shadows and symbols.

In Inside Star Trek , Herb Solow argued that Star Trek benefited from its proud use of colour in its production design early in its first season:

However, in December 1966, with Star Trek having been on the air only three months, an NBC executive called with some news. The Nielsen research indicated that Star Trek was the highest-rated color series on television. I distributed the information to the Star Trek staff. We thought it was all very interesting, nothing to write home about, and went back to work. We were wrong; we failed to see the importance of the research.

Perhaps those initial and subsequent Nielsen color series ratings contributed to giving Star Trek a second year of life. Putting aside low national ratings and lack of sponsors, perhaps a reason for renewing Star Trek, other than all the phone calls, letters, and demonstrations at NBC, was its position as the top-rated color series on the ‘full color network.’ NBC’s parent company was RCA. Star Trek sold color television sets and made money for RCA.

Michael Kmet has suggested that this is something of an exaggeration , but it underscores how important colour was to the production design of Star Trek .

Talk about a black out.

This style of production design (heavy on strong colours and light on fine detail) was likely informed by the realities of contemporary television consumption. After all, television shows are designed to cater to the audience at home. This is not to diminish the fantastic work done by people like set designer Matt Jefferies, set decorator John Dwyer and cinematographer Jerry Finnerman. The fact that their work is still subject to so much discussion and debate today is a testament to their skill and technique.

The franchise wouldn’t begin moving away from this style of production until the third season of The Next Generation . The first two years of The Next Generation feature a number of studio sets that look and feel like they might have been lifted from the original Star Trek ; the planets featured in Arsenal of Freedom , Skin of Evil or Loud as a Whisper . From the third season of The Next Generation onwards, dry ice and lighting was typically used to disguise studio-bound sets in episodes like The Enemy or Battle Lines .

Getting away, Scott free.

Still, there is only so much that lighting and dry ice can do. Even on the later shows, the franchise’s fantastic (and famous) standing cave sets cannot perfectly emulate a real cave environment. On a science-fiction show like Star Trek , there is always some element of abstraction required. Given that this is a show with warp speed and transporters, suspension of disbelief comes with the territory. At the same time, even the cave sets in the later series would grow more elaborate and more detailed, more closely approximating real caves.

The set design in The Empath is simply the more abstract minimalist tendencies of the original Star Trek series taken to their logical extreme; sofas without furniture sets, consoles without walls, chains without ceiling hooks. It is haunting and unsettling, feeling incomplete. The set design in The Empath looks wrong on an instinctive level. The Empath wanders into the realm of the uncanny, suggesting that there something fundamentally broken. The set design is an artistic triumph.

It was, by all accounts, a pretty rough season.

It also fits quite comfortably with the apocalyptic themes bubbling through the third season of the show. Star Trek was dead at this point in the run. There was very little that could change that. The series had been lucky to secure a third season; there would not be a fourth. It seems as though the entire production team has accepted this fact, a grim resignation sinking into every fibre of the production. There is a sense of dread that hangs over the whole of the third season.

To be fair, there were earlier points in the run when the universe seemed like a haunted place that was hostile to the very notion of humanoid life. The Man Trap had been the very first episode of Star Trek to broadcast, the story of a predatory salt vampire that was the very last of its kind on a dying world. It would be quite some time before Kirk encountered a rival galactic power, when the Romulans appeared in Balance of Terror . The Klingons would not appear until Errand of Mercy . Otherwise, space seemed strangely empty.

For most of the first season, the universe seemed to be inhabited by dead or dying civilisations that had shuffled off this plane of existence; the all-powerful aliens of Charlie X , the long-vanished “Old Ones” of What Are Little Girls Made Of? , Trelane’s parents in The Squire of Gothos , the Telosians featured in The Menegarie, Part I and The Menagerie, Part II . Although the universe became a bit more vibrant early in the second season, producer John Meredyth Lucas returned to that tone with episodes like The Immunity Syndrome or The Gamesters of Triskelion .

While the third season certainly mirrors that early portrayal of the Star Trek universe, it feels more melancholy. It is no longer that Kirk and his crew are wandering through the light of long-dead stars in search of ghosts, it is that Kirk is in the process of becoming a ghost himself. Death stalks Kirk and the Enterprise in the third season. The tone was set quite effectively in Spectre of the Gun , with Kirk and his away team sentenced to die in a shoot-out as they watch their final minutes tick away.

“I hate to point it out, but…”

Death accompanies Kirk as he warps across the universe, literally and figuratively. Kirk dies metaphorically at the start of The Paradise Syndrome , replaced by Kirok; later in that same episode, Kirok’s wife and unborn child are stoned to death. Spock fakes Kirk’s death in The Enterprise Incident . McCoy diagnoses his own terminal illness in For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky . Federation outposts seemed to be staffed by dead bodies in episodes like And the Children Shall Lead , Whom the Gods Destroy and The Lights of Zetar .

This apocalyptic tone simmers through The Empath , as Kirk and his away team visit a system that will soon be consumed by a star going nova. The Viians are engaged in fatal research, torturing their subjects to death. The Federation researchers are found dead, stuffed in labelled tubes. The Viians warn Kirk that their experiments will exact a deadly toll. “There is an eighty seven percent chance that the doctor will die,” Lal advises Kirk. What of Spock? “The possibility is ninety three percent that he will suffer brain damage, resulting in permanent insanity.”

Let it Viian.

Ultimately, the Viians are conducting an experiment to determine which civilisation will be permitted to survive the supernova. “Of all the planets of Minara, we have the power to transport the inhabitants of only one to safety,” Lal confesses. Even allowing for the relatively upbeat optimistic ending of The Empath in which all four participants survive the latest iteration of the Viians’ deadly experiments, the episode still ends with the deaths of an entire star system. (Save one planet.) Death stalks the Enterprise.

Still, The Empath is an endearingly optimistic episode. Star Trek is a show with an intrinsically optimistic perspective on the human condition. Although the franchise’s utopian idealism would not truly galvanise until the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , this was always a show about how humanity managed to survive the twentieth century and find their way out into the stars. In the context of the sixties, with looming threat of mutually assured destruction, that alone provided a counterpoint to post-apocalyptic science-fiction like Planet of the Apes .

“Anybody up to recreate the poster for The Motion Picture ?”

It is debatable how much of this utopian humanism was part of the franchise from the beginning. After all, Gene L. Coon was highly critical of the Federation as an institution in episodes like Arena or Errand of Mercy . It was only in the early years of The Next Generation that the franchise came to embrace the idea that humans were generally just the best at everything. This could occasionally become suffocating and overwhelming, particularly in episodes like Lonely Among Us or The Last Outpost or The Neutral Zone .

The Empath hits on a number of similar ideas, with the Viians abducting Kirk and his away team because they seek to exploit that which makes humanity special. However, The Empath is never as clumsy or awkward as those later episodes. In part, this is because the Viians suggest that humans are not inherently superior, and that they just happen to have developed values that are worthwhile and can thus serve as an example. This is also because the episode chooses to be very specific about what makes humans so special: empathy and compassion.

“I sense a Gem of an idea here.”

In keeping with the rest of the episode, this is a very simple idea. However, it is also very specific. Humanity are of interest to the Viians for a  very precise reason. In fact, it seems to have been a happy coincidence that the Federation seemed to have a research post in the sector. Perhaps if another species had been present, the Viians might have used them instead. Indeed, Spock is just as capable of demonstrating the commitment and self-sacrifice which the Viians laud, with the episode never daring to suggest that Spock’s human half is superior to his Vulcan half.

(To be fair, there is some good-natured ribbing about Spock’s Vulcan heritage at the very end of the episode. “I find it fascinating that with all their scientific knowledge and advances, that it was good old-fashioned human emotion that they valued the most,” McCoy reflects. Scotty suggests, “Perhaps the Vulcans should hear about this.” Spock wrily responds, “I shall certainly give the thought all the consideration it is due.” However, Spock’s half-human heritage is never discussed, and he is just as willing to sacrifice himself to save Kirk and McCoy.)

Communicating his anxiety.

More than that, there is a sense that the humanism in The Empath is earned. In later Star Trek stories focusing on how special and unique humanity are, there is a sense that mankind is speaking from a position of comfort and luxury. It is easy for mankind to be selfless and altruistic in a world where the replicator can provide for just about every need, where poverty does not exist, and where the holodeck can allow individuals to live whatever life they choose. There is no conflict because technology has evolved to a point where it blunts the causes of conflict.

Watching later episodes of Star Trek , it can seem like the franchise embraces technological determinism. It can occasionally seem like mankind does not get along because they learned important lessons from history, mankind gets along because they invented magic technology. In a way, this aspect of the franchise’s utopianism feels quite cynical. After all, if the modern world does not have replicators or transporters, if it is not physically possible to eliminate poverty and starvation by pushing a button, can mankind really transcend its base impulses?

The brutality of the Viians really floored Kirk.

To be fair, it could be argued that there is some intrinsic worth to that sort of utopian thought. It is reassuring to know that all of our modern problems are transient, and that it is physically possible for mankind to get along with one another if all of our basic needs are met. However, it is also very much an easy answer with limited application to the modern world. It suggests that the problems with the world today have nothing to do with mankind, and everything to do with resource scarcity and competition.

This approach to utopian thought and idealism ignores the role that mankind plays in issues like food scarcity and poverty. It suggests that the problems facing mankind are all external, in a way that allows mankind “off the hook.” After all, what introspection and reflection is necessary if all it takes is a replicator to perfect mankind? If technology provides an easy answer, there is no need for personal development or growth to make a better world feasible. This is one of the big criticisms of Roddenberry’s utopian thought.

“Soon the Viians will have what we desperately need. Soon we will have the secret of William Shatner’s hairpiece.”

The humanism in The Empath is not anchored in technology. It is not an “easy” humanism preached to the universe by the crew of what is effectively a floating five-star hotel. Instead, the compassion and empathy in The Empath is well earned. It shines through a crucible of pain and suffering. Kirk’s compassion for Spock and McCoy is not diminished by the knowledge that he will suffer for the sacrifice that he makes, it is enriched by it. Spock’s willingness to sacrifice himself is even more altruistic once he knows the potential price of his sacrifice.

This is not the same as condoning the suffering or pain. The Empath is explicit in condemning of the Viians’ experiments. They may be a technologically advanced species, but their methods are barbaric. “You’ve lost the capacity to feel the emotions you brought Gem here to experience,” Kirk insists. “You don’t understand what it is to live. Love and compassion are dead in you. You’re nothing but intellect.” There is never any indication that the trials are  “fair” or  “justified” or  “righteous” , even if they form something of a crucible for the crew’s humanism.

“Dammit, Jim. I asked them to tear my uniform sexy, just like yours.”

Indeed, the torture inflicted upon the crew in The Empath was so striking that it was the first episode of Star Trek not to be shown on the BBC. The British Broadcasting Corporation pulled the episode from its schedule. When fans wrote to query the show’s absence, the broadcaster responded in June 1976:

After very careful consideration a top level decision was made not to screen the episodes entitled Empath, Whom Gods Destroy, Plato’s Stepchildren and Miri, because they all dealt most unpleasantly with the already unpleasant subjects of madness, torture, sadism and disease. You will appreciate that account must be taken that out of Star Trek’s large and enthusiastic following, many are juveniles, no matter what time of day the series is put into the programme schedules. A further look has been taken following the recent correspondence, but I am afraid it has been impossible to revise the opinion not to show these episodes.

Reportedly, the controversy was sparked when the BBC’s broadcast of Miri in December 1970. The broadcaster reportedly received a high volume of complaints about content . As a result, The Empath , Whom Gods Destroy and Plato’s Stepchildren were not broadcast. They were first broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky One in 1990.

No Miri illusion.

In some ways, the hard-earned humanism of The Empath foreshadows the approach that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would take towards the franchise’s utopianism. The second live action spin-off would adopt a more skeptical approach to the technological determinism that defined a lot of the early Next Generation episodes, instead suggesting that mankind’s capacity for empathy and compassion is best judged under pressure or facing threat. Deep Space Nine would suggest that those virtues meant nothing if they could not survive a crucible.

The Empath is very much a piece of “pop Christianity.” To be fair, a lot of popular culture is heavily influenced by Christian belief. In the United States, and the larger western world, Christianity is treated very much as the default belief system. Even those raised outside Protestantism or Catholicism will recognise many of the basic stories, lending those tales a universal and recognisable quality. These core Christian stories are ubiquitous in western culture. As such, pop culture can seem to absorb these elements passively, almost through osmosis.

Research stations of the cross.

Certainly, the original Star Trek embraced a passive Christian aesthetic. In the later spin-offs, the Federation would be defined as an atheistic organisation that had moved away from religious and spiritual beliefs. However, episodes like  Balance of Terror , Who Mourns for Adonais? and Bread and Circuses subtly seemed to suggest that the Federation shared the same religious outlook as sixties America; a monotheistic Christian belief system with chapels and a singular capital-g God.

The religious subtext in The Empath is distinct from those earlier stories. The episode is infused with Christian imagery and iconography, from the story itself through to the production design choices. The very idea of a representative chosen to suffer for the redemption of an entire species recalls the story of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus Christ, Gem takes the sins of the world upon herself. She even dies and is ultimately resurrected, saving her entire planet. The humanism at the heart of the story recalls a very New Testament philosophy of love and compassion.

A thorny issue.

Crucifix imagery abounds. The sofa on which Gem is sleeping evokes a cross. When Kirk and McCoy are tortured by the Viians, they are hung from the ceiling by chains that hold them in a position quite similar to the crucifixion. Gem’s miraculous healing powers recall those demonstrated by Jesus Christ, but it is worth noting the wounds that she takes upon herself. Early in the story, Kirk has a gash across his forehead; it recalls the wounds Christ would have suffered from the crown of thorns. Later, she heals his wrists, where the crucifixion nails would be.

The Empath is very much written in the style of a religious parable, something reinforced towards the climax of the story as Gem lays dying. When the Viians decide to take her away, they do not simply disappear as they did (repeatedly) earlier in the story. Instead, they float upwards, as if taking Gem towards heaven. The framing emphasise this ascent imagery, the camera inviting the audience to stare down at Kirk and the away team as the Viians ascend in their flowing gowns.

It’s all in the wrists.

While The Empath trades in Christian iconography, it never leans too heavily into it. Kirk and Spock never pause to label the story as one rooted exclusively in a western Christian tradition. Instead, the story incorporates the strong humanist values of the New Testament, recognising the ideas of empathy and compassion as intrinsically valuable without needing to tie them to a particular set of religious beliefs. It just so happens that the New Testament is one of the great humanist texts, so it makes sense to draw upon that imagery in crafting The Empath .

The Empath was the first and only episode of Star Trek to be directed by veteran television director John Erman. While Ralph Senensky’s work on Is There in Truth No Beauty? demonstrated the influence that a director could have on television production in the sixties, Erman’s experience on The Empath is perhaps more indicative of what sixties television shows expected from directors. There is a sense that television directors were largely treated as hired hands in the sixties, mostly in charge of getting the episode done on time and on budget.

Just floating some ideas.

Discussing the episode with These Are the Voyages , Erman stressed that he had very little input into the stylised aesthetic of the episode:

My memory was that [the stylised approach] was pretty much dictated by the powers to be. I don’t think I had a whole lot to say about it. The only place that I kind of exerted some influence was with Kathy Hays and a couple of the other actors, but I didn’t have control over what the look was supposed to be.

Erman was largely working within predefined boundaries established by the production team, rather than defining his own vision of what he wanted Star Trek to be.

The production team had to find new and exciting ways to keep William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy from killing one another.

In many ways, Erman seemed to be there to mediate between the various actors and their competing interests. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had a strained relationship at this point in the run of the original Star Trek show. Both actors had a legitimate claim to playing the lead character. William Shatner was top billed and played the senior officer, while Leonard Nimoy was very much the breakout fan-favourite character who received mountains of fan mail each and every week.

With all of that in mind, it was inevitable that there would be some tension between the two performers. Both Gene Roddenberry and Fred Freiberger had been forced to carefully navigate the egos of the two leading men, with the show often caught between their demands. William Shatner would notoriously count his lines in a given script and steal lines from his co-stars . Leonard Nimoy had been embroiled in a heated salary battle at the start of the second season, seeking to increase his input and influence over the show .

“Well, at least I don’t have to count her lines.”

The directors of individual episodes could often find themselves caught in the middle of this tug of war between the two actors. In Science Fiction Television Series , co-star Alan Bergmann recalled working on The Empath :

Working with Ms. Hays was a pleasure. Mr. Shatner and Mr. Nimoy seemed to be in conflict. They struggled over better camera positions and made life difficult for the director.

After all, as far as Shatner and Nimoy were concerned, the episodic directors were just blow-ins who were working on the series for a single episode. Erman must have seemed like easy prey to Shatner and Nimoy.

Things are looking up.

Discussing the experience with Marc Cushman for These Are the Voyages , Erman candidly acknowledged a sense of disappointment with how he was treated by the show’s two lead performers:

I just remember that I was really disappointed in Lenny. I had known him from before when we were both young actors. We had studied with Jeff Corey at the same time, and so I was really looking forward yo doing the show. But the role of an episodic director is not a very creative one. I likened it, at one point, to saying that you’re kind of sweeping the sh!t under the carpet. You’re not really able to make creative choices. The only time you’re really creative in episodic television is if you do the pilot, or if you come in right after the pilot. But nobody was like Bill and Lenny. I don’t remember any other actors absolutely saying what those guys said, which was, “Oh no, my character just wouldn’t do that.” That was kind of the ultimate put down [for a director].

Erman is quite honest in discussing the role of a director on a show like Star Trek , as something akin to a safe pair of hands. He is also quite frank in his assessment of the two lead actors.

This one’s a real Gem.

Still, beyond the difficulties facing Erman in dealing with Shatner and Nimoy, The Empath is a very effective and very intriguing piece of Star Trek . It is an episode that is striking and memorable, as much for its simplicity as for anything else. It is an episode that cuts to the heart of the franchise’s humanist and idealistic philosophy, without feeling heavy-handed or awkward. It is a piece of pop Christian television that never feels patronising or crass. The Empath is a remarkable accomplishment, all the more powerful for how surreal and odd it seems.

Then again, it is perhaps the perfect third season episode.

Share this:

Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: compassion , humanism , star trek , the empath , utopianism |

4 Responses

‘The Empath’ is a fine and moving piece of work. All concerned should be very proud of what they accomplished.

It really is. Massively underrated.

Strange that in all this write-up you mentioned Kelly but briefly though in many ways this is his episode.

I thought that as well, this was very clearly a McCoy episode, with him making the ultimate sacrifice for Spock and Kirk, and mentioning him so little in the review feels like a great disservice.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Recent Posts

• 373. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (#225)
• 371. Poor Things (#246)
• 370. Dune: Part Two (#12)
• 369. Memento (#57)
• 368. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (#154)

Recently tweeted…

• "I Simply Am Not There": The Existential Horror of Eighties Excess in "American Psycho"...
• Star Trek: The Original Series (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Reviews)
• Adding Our RSS Feed to Your Gmail

Available at…

Blogs Well Worth Your Time

• 1001 Must See Films
• Andrew at the Movies
• Anomalous Material
• Cut the Crap Movie Reviews
• Encore Entertainment
• Fandango Groovers
• FlixChatter
• Four of Them
• It Rains… You get Wet…
• Jameson Cult Film Blog
• Jar Watches Films
• Let's Go To The Movies
• M. Carter at the Movies
• Marshall and the Movies
• Movie News First
• Musings from a Man Lost in La Mancha
• Never Mind Pop Film
• Paragraph Film Reviews
• Roger Ebert's Journal
• Ross v. Ross
• Scannain.com
• Screenwriter (Donald Clarke, Irish Times)
• Strange Culture
• The Film Cynics
• The Pompous Film Snob
• The Projection Booth
• Things That Don't Suck
• Too Busy Thinking About My Comics
• Undy a Hundy

Film Nerd Resources

• CinemaBlend (News)
• Internet Movie Database
• Rope of Silicon
• The Guardian Film Blog
• James Berardinelli
• Roger Ebert

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Sign me up!

Blog at WordPress.com. WP Designer.

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Star Trek #312

Star Trek » Star Trek #312 - The Empath released by Paramount Pictures on December 6, 1968.

The Enterprise travels to Minara II to evacuate a research facility before the system's sun goes nova. But when they arrive they find the scientists are nowhere to be found.

Summary short summary describing this episode..

The Empath last edited by mshirley27 on 11/13/23 04:32PM View full history

The USS Enterprise goes to Minara II to retrieve the skeleton crew of a research station before the system's sun goes nova. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down while Scotty takes the helm and has the ship retreat to a safer distance from the solar flares.

They discover video that shows the crew disappearing. Then they themselves are transported to an alien research facility far underground where the discover a mute woman. The four of them learn that they are captives of an advanced race known as the Vians who killed the scientists the crew had come to retrieve.

Edit Image Title

Embed image, what size image should we insert (this will not affect the original upload), how do you want the image positioned around text, link to comic vine content.

You can search for any Comic Vine content.

Link to a page

Insert table, embed tweet.

Enter the URL for the tweet you want to embed.

User reviews Add new review

Average score of 1 user reviews

Long Boring Remake of The Menagerie 0

Star Trek #312 - The Empath by gc8 on September 14, 2016

The Empath, who evidently isn't very empathic.One of the complaints I had as a kid was that all aliens on Star Trek had big bald heads. And it's easy to see why someone would think that. It seems like every time the Enterprise crew encountered an "advanced race" they had big bald heads. From the original unaired pilot, "The Cage" to this one, "The Empath". In fact the look of the aliens, two guys with big bald heads, isn't the only similarity between "The Cage" (later aired as the two part "The ...

Pick a List

This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

Comment and Save

Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.

Thanks, we're checking your submission.

Use your keyboard!

Log in to comment

The Empath Stardate: 5121.5 Original Airdate: 6 Dec, 1968

<Back to the episode listing

Star Trek ® and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc . Copyright © 1966, Present. The Star Trek web pages on this site are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.

Midnite Reviews

Detailed analysis of classic sci-fi movies and tv shows, star trek episode 67: the empath.

Technical Specs

Director: John Erman

Writer: Joyce Muskat

Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Kathryn Hays, Alan Bergmann, James Doohan, George Takei, Davis Roberts, Jason Wingreen, and Willard Sage

Composer: George Duning

Air Date: 12/6/1968

Stardate: 5121.5

Production #: 60043-63

Concluding Comments

Overall Quality: 9/10

If you enjoyed this post, please click the follow button or enter your email address in the subscription box to stay tuned for more updates.

The Empath – Episode 67

The Empath was the twelfth episode of Star Trek’s third season to air, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy made unwilling participants in a test of character. In this episode Gerry and Iain discuss judgment and who gets to set the tests.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS

Attending the planet Minara II to recover a research team before the local star goes nova, the Enterprise is shocked to discover no signs of life. Kirk, Spock and McCoy investigate further and find themselves co-opted into a test set by the Vians, Lal ( Alan Bergmann ) and Thann ( Willard Sage ).

The subject of the test is Gem ( Kathryn Hays ), an Empath from one of the other planets due to face annihilation in the nova. She is being assessed by the Vians to see whether her species is worthy enough to be saved from their imminent firey extinction.

The Empath was directed by John Erman , his only Star Trek episode. The writer was Joyce Muskat , a freelance writer whose submission was purchased for the show. This was her only Star Trek episode.

In this episode Gerry and Iain considered distance and perspective without points of reference.

The discussion continues in the comments below and please keep in touch with us on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram where we’re @trekpodcast.

You can listen to the show here on the website, on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , Pocket Casts , TuneIn , Stitcher , Google or wherever you find your podcasts.

The Empath was released in 1968. It is 50 minutes long and originally aired on the NBC network. It can be viewed on Paramount+ in the United states, Netflix in the UK and is available on DVD and Blu Ray in other countries, including a comprehensive remastered set of all three seasons released by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery season 5, episode 5 ending explained.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 contains two major reveals about the Mirror Universe and the Breen. We break down what the ending means.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 - "Mirrors"

• Star Trek: Discovery's next clue is hidden aboard the Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise trapped in interdimensional space.
• L'ak is a Breen with a blood bounty on his head, and his backstory with Moll is revealed.
• The USS Discovery crew, led by Commander Rayner, helps save Burnham and Book and bring the ISS Enterprise into the Prime Universe, but Moll and L'ak escape.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors," ends with Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery's crew grappling with jaw-dropping reveals about the Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise, L'ak's (Elias Toufexis) species, and the next clue in the hunt for the Progenitors' treasure. Written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan, the thrilling "Mirrors" sends Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) into interdimensional space after Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak and the third Progenitors' clue , but they found a lot more than they bargained for.

In Star Trek: Discovery s eason 5, episode 5, Captain Burnham, Cleveland Booker, Moll, and L'ak are all trapped aboard the derelict ISS Enterprise after Burnham's shuttle and L'ak's ship are destroyed by interdimensional space, a dangerous region between Star Trek 's Prime and Mirror Universes . Michael ingeniously uses the Enterprise's tractor beam to send a distress signal to the USS Discovery, where Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) and the bridge crew find a way to keep the aperture of the interdimensional space wormhole open to fly the ISS Enterprise through. However, L'ak and Moll make their escape, leaving Burnham, Book, and the Starfleet heroes to grapple with the third clue to the Progenitors' treasure, and what they learned and found in the wormhole.

The ISS Enterprise's first and only previous appearance was in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's "Mirror, Mirror", which introduced the Mirror Universe.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Captain kirk's mirror universe iss enterprise now belongs to 32nd century starfleet, it's been a long road for the iss enterprise.

The Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise becomes the property of the 32nd century's Starfleet and United Federation of Planets at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors." Captain Burnham assigned Lt. Commanders Kayla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) - who don't actually appear in the episode - to fly the ISS Enterprise back to Federation HQ to be put into "storage". However, the acquisition of a major historical find like a 23rd-century Constitution Class starship filled with Terran Empire technology from the Mirror Universe is bound to be of interest to Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg).

After the Temporal Wars, crossing over between the Mirror Universe and Star Trek 's Prime universe is now impossible, but the ISS Enteprise was trapped in interdimensional space for centuries, which crossing over could still happen.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5's ISS Enterprise scenes were filmed on the USS Enterprise sets of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . Discovery season 5's production took place at the end of 2022, after Strange New Worlds season 2 had wrapped in June and long before Strange New Worlds season 3 filming started in December 2023. The USS Enterprise's bridge, medical bay, transporter room, and hallways were redressed to turn the starship into its Mirror Universe counterpart.

Commander Michael Burnham previously came aboard Captain Christopher Pike's (Anson Mount) USS Enterprise in Star Trek: Discovery season 2.

Star Trek: Discovery's Mirror Universe Revelations

We found out what happened to mirror spock and mirror saru.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5's ISS Enterprise appearance answered some big questions about the events of the Mirror Universe after Star Trek: The Original Series ' "Mirror, Mirror." Cleveland Booker learned from the plaque where the Enterprise's missing crew left their story behind that the Terran High Chancellor was assassinated after making reforms. This refers to the Mirror Universe's Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who was urged by the Prime Universe's Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) to make reforms to prevent the inevitable collapse of the Terran Empire, which happened anyway.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Mirror Universe episodes revealed that the Terran Empire, weakened by Spock's reforms, was conquered by the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.

Refugees led by a Kelpien slave-turned-rebel leader - Saru (Doug Jones) - used the ISS Enterprise to flee the Mirror Universe for the Prime Universe in the 23rd century, but the starship was trapped in interdimensional space. The Enterprise's crew eventually used the ship's shuttles and escape pods to abandon the starship in an effort to make it to the Prime Universe. Some did make it through, including the ISS Enterprise's junior science officer, Dr. Cho , who later joined Starfleet and became a branch Admiral in the 24th century.

Jinaal Bix redacted the names of the scientists who found the Progenitors' technology, including Dr. Cho.

Moll & L'ak Escaped Discovery With A Breen Bounty On Their Heads

L'ak is the nephew of the breen primarch.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 revealed the backstory of Moll and L'ak, including the revelation that L'ak is Breen . Years before Star Trek: Discovery season 5, Moll was a courier who sold latinum to the Breen Imperium, where she met L'ak, the nephew of the Breen's Primarch Ruhn (Tony Nappo), who had fallen out of favor and was working in the shuttle bay. Moll and L'ak fell in love , and L'ak committed a crime against the Breen by consorting with "a lesser being" and removing his helmet to show Moll his true face. Confronted by his uncle, L'ak shot the Primarch and fled with Moll.

Moll and L'ak used one of the ISS Enterprise's remaining warp pods to flee capture.

Moll and L'ak both have an Erigah, a Breen blood bounty, on their heads, and they hope that finding the Progenitors' treasure and selling it to the Breen will buy their freedom. Neither Moll and L'ak want the Federation's help offered by Captain Burnham, and they would "rather die" than be separated in a Federation prison. L'ak was injured in a brawl with Burnham, but instead of seeking medical attention from the USS Discovery, Moll and L'ak used one of the ISS Enterprise's remaining warp pods to flee capture. However, this time, Moll and L'ak left behind a warp trail Discovery can follow.

Cleveland Booker Tries To Connect With Moll

Booker's mentor was moll's absentee father.

Cleveland Booker has personal reasons to connect with and save Moll. Moll's real name is Malinne Booker, and she is the daughter of Book's late mentor, Cleveland Booker IV . Moll's father abandoned her and her mother to become a courier and raise the funds needed to move his family to a new home in the Gamma Quadrant. However, Booker IV's dangerous life as a courier and dealings with criminal organizations like the Emerald Chain made him keep his distance from Malinne, who blamed him for leaving her behind.

Moll doesn't want Cleveland Booker in her life.

Moll became a courier like her father to do what he didn't and earn enough latinum to move to the Gamma Quadrant, but Moll's entire world shifted when she fell in love with L'ak and the Breen placed a blood bounty on their head s. Moll doesn't want Cleveland Booker in her life , but she relents when she has the chance to kill the man who took her father's name. Whether Moll will ever come to see Book as the "only family" she has left, the way Book sees her, remains to be seen.

Commander Rayner Got The Best Out Of USS Discovery's Crew

Citrus mash for everyone.

Captain Burnham left Commander Rayner at the conn of the USS Discovery while she and Book went on their away mission, despite Rayner's reservations about leading Burnham's crew. However, Rayner was impressed that Burnhum learned Kellerun literature to connect with her new First Officer. This knowledge was the key to Rayner saving Burnham from interdimensional space. Burnham used the ISS Enterprise's tractor beam to send a signal the Kellerun commander would understand.

Rayner gained a new appreciation for Discovery's crew and how to work with them as his own crew.

Commander Rayner placed his trust in the USS Discovery's crew to "science" a way to open the wormhole's aperture and pull the ISS Enterprise into the Prime Universe. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp). Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio), Lt. Commander Gen Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon), Lt. Christopher (Orville Cummings), Lt. Linus (David Benjamin Tomlinson), Lt. Naya (Victoria Sawal), Lt. Commander Asha (Christina Dixon), and Lt. Gallo (Natalie Liconti) all rose to the occasion and found a way to save Burnham and Book. In turn, Rayner gained a new appreciation for Discovery's crew and how to work with them as his own crew.

Dr. Culber Reaches Out To Tilly

Culber has questions science can't answer.

The USS Discovery's counselor, Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), needs a counselor of his own. Culber continues to deal with the unimaginable experience of Trill scientist Jinaal Bix occupying his mind and body in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, "Jinaal." Being taken over by a Trill has left Culber with existential questions, and he hopes finding the Progenitors' technology will provide him with the answers he seeks.

Hugh finds a sympathetic ear in Lt. Sylvia Tilly.

Unfortunately for Hugh, he doesn't believe he can share his feelings with his husband, Commander Paul Stamets because Paul is a man of science, and Culber's questions are ineffable. Hugh finds a sympathetic ear in Lt. Sylvia Tilly, but the answers Dr. Culber seeks are tied to what the USS Discovery finds when they locate the Progenitors' treasure - or so Hugh hopes. Culber, who has already died and been resurrected, may find himself in a new scenario that has pivotal life-or-death decisions in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

Dr. Hugh Culber's dilemma in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a rare attempt by Star Trek to address spiritual questions.

Where Star Trek: Discovery's Next Progenitors' Treasure Clue Leads

The next clue involves water.

Captain Burnham acquired the third clue from Moll and L'ak, which is a vial of water contained within a piece of the Progenitors' treasure map. Burnham is waiting for Commander Stamets to conduct a chemical analysis of the water, which will reveal where the USS Discovery must go next for the 4th clue . However, Michael told Book that Dr. Cho, the former Terran scientist who became a Starfleet Admiral, went back to the ISS Enterprise in interdimensional space and hid her clue to the Progenitors' technology there.

Michael also told Book she saw him in the past during Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange's" time loops, and that they were happy back then.

Burnham and Book mused over the lessons attached to each clue. On Trill, finding Jinaal's clue was dependent on Burnham and Booker proving they value lifeforms other than their own. On Lyrek for the first clue, the lesson was the importance of cultural context. Michael surmised that the lesson Dr. Cho left behind with her clue on the ISS Enterprise was to have the hope to shape your own future in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 as the search for the Progenitors' treasure and the answers to life, itself, continues.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+

Star Trek (TV Series)

The empath (1968).

• User Reviews

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews

• User Ratings
• External Reviews
• Metacritic Reviews
• Full Cast and Crew
• Release Dates
• Official Sites
• Company Credits
• Filming & Production
• Technical Specs
• Plot Summary
• Plot Keywords
• Parents Guide

Did You Know?

• Crazy Credits
• Alternate Versions
• Connections
• Soundtracks

Photo & Video

• Photo Gallery
• Trailers and Videos

Related Items

• External Sites

Related lists from IMDb users

Recently Viewed

REVIEW: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Episode 4 – “Face the Strange”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 begins with L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) and Moll ( Eve Harlow ) taking center stage. As they continue their quest for the Progenitor’s secret, it is revealed that they are lovers on the run. Their relationship could serve as a mirror to the various relationship storylines unfolding this season. The most intriguing to witness would be the showdown between L’ak and Moll and Captain Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and Booker ( David Ajala ). Moll’s determination matches Captain Burnham’s and given Moll’s connection to Booker’s mentor, tension is steadily building toward confrontation. Throughout the series, viewers know the lengths Booker and Burnham will go to protect their loved ones. Now, what would lovers Moll and L’ak do with limitless power?

Back on Discovery, the bug that Moll planted on Adira Tal ( Blu del Barrio ) on Trill begins to wreak havoc on the ship’s systems. The spiderlike nano-bot serves as a reminder of how far technology has advanced since the period most Star Trek fans are accustomed to. The bug not only can meld into the ship but also somehow causes Discovery to jump through different points in the ship’s history – past, present, and future. Unfortunately, Captain Burnham, Commander Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ), and Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ) are the only ones aware of the loop the ship is caught in.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 becomes a race against time to stop the time bug from looping the Discovery. L’ak and Moll have surged ahead in their pursuit of the secrets of the Progenitors. If “ Jinaal ” showed us anything, it’s that the technology they are all seeking likely shouldn’t belong to anyone, let alone two fugitives. Finding the time bug becomes crucial in preventing an unthinkable future.

As Discovery jumps through time, fans embark on a nostalgic journey through the show’s history. It’s a heartfelt reflection on the progress made by Burnham, the crew of Discovery, and the ship itself through five seasons. Despite the Temporal Prime Directive, the Starfleet trio receives assistance from the crew at different stages of their journeys. However, this highlights why this season has been disappointing so far.

The action has been toned down, with science and history driving much of the recent storyline. The temporal sci-fi elements at play are fascinating. However, it’s intertwined with rehashing similar plotlines featuring different characters. Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 quickly becomes another iteration of the “this ship’s not big enough for two captains” scenario. Further, as two captains vie for dominance, the episode also attempts to impart another basic lesson to Commander Rayner.

So far, Commander Rayner has learned to open up to people. Now, he’s tasked with learning how to collaborate with others, which seems contradictory given his extensive experience as a Starfleet officer. I can’t help but feel that the effort spent developing Commander Rayner’s character arc could have been more effectively used focusing on the character we’ve known for four seasons. It’s particularly troubling when Commander Rayner is just grappling with basic empathy.

Additionally, Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 once again highlights why Captain Burnham is worthy of leading Discovery despite her initial arrival as a prisoner. However, it plays more like a clip show than nearing the halfway point in the final season. After five seasons, Burnham has solidified her place as the captain. However, instead of pushing the boundaries of the Star Trek genre in terms of action and representation, there’s a heavy focus on reminiscing about that journey.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 affirms that the series is hesitant to make significant plot moves until later in the season. Instead, it opts for a recap-like feel, with the writers guiding us through character development we’ve already witnessed over four seasons. Frustratingly, this occurs alongside the series’ exploration of compelling sci-fi concepts. By the episode’s end, the only anticipation lies in discovering what transpired during the time of the Discovery’s loop. That’s a considerable effort for one episode, especially when many of the lessons learned are ones the show has already taught.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 is streaming exclusively on Paramount+ with new episodes every Thursday.

The post REVIEW: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Episode 4 – “Face the Strange” appeared first on But Why Tho? .