Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 63: The Empath [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"The Empath" is one of the highlights of the third season and should rank very highly against any ST episode past, present, or future--so why is it generally so reviled among the fans? This episode is a classic example of the surface elements of a story being confused for its substance. Yes, Kirk does get tortured, shirtless, in this episode (so does McCoy, but with shirt on). Yes, it's all in the name of saving a planet from extinction. So what? Next Generation fans love that episode where Picard is tortured by the Cardassian, why be hypocritical when it comes to "The Empath"? In any case, the episode is not an essential one because Kirk gets tortured. It is essential because it is a beautifully written, mesmerizingly performed morality play in classic Trek fashion.

It should be noted that this was DeForest Kelley's favorite ST episode, and it's easy to see why, for it is the most essential McCoy episode ever. The script basically examines the complex Kirk-Spock-McCoy triad in fine detail, with McCoy being the focal point, and it is his actions which prove the greatest test of his character in any of the episodes or films. The sparse, all-black sets work *very* well and are reminiscent of the Outer Limits episode "Nightmare". The performance of Kathryn Hays as the mute Gem (outfitted in a beautiful costume, to boot!) is spellbinding; anyone who gives this episode one star is doing her a great disservice, for she manages to convey a plethora of complex emotions without uttering a single word. George Duning's musical score is also superb, and enhances the episode immeasurably--its electric organ theme for the brotherly love in the Triad would become the score for all romantic scenes for the rest of the season. Finally, the Vians themselves are a most interesting species, and a parable for modern science, which can in its clinical detachment become unwittingly cold--the episode certainly does not celebrate their torturous actions, far from it. Indeed, there are so many emotions and messages at work here that the space for this review is not enough to write about them! In any case, the episode is highly recommended and you should judge for yourself what it is trying to say.

This is one of the first Series's best episodes. Friendship, sacrifice and a plethora of tensions make this a well written episode. Instead of goodies and gadgets, emotion and character assume the center of the stage.

Cheap to make? Yes. There were few special effects. The Vians weren't cute and cuddly, quite the contrary, they were cold, heartless and "alien". "Gem", the empath is silent but deeply insightful and talented.

This isn't the typical Star Trek pablum; a secret widget or gimmick doesn't save the day. The Genesis Planet doesn't bring anyone back to life. The Transporter doesn't make anyone young again. None of Dr. McCoy's special nostrums cure every ill, instead Dr. McCoy's character is revealed. Under the whiny exterior is a tough man who can call the shots and back them up.

What saves the day is Kirk's appeal to the Alien's vestigial sense of morality and right and wrong. Their only motive, to learn if the equally alien "Gem" is capable of self sacrifice and learning the noble virtues which in their view make civilizations worthy to survive. Kirk turns this around on the aliens, convincing them to demonstrate the very virtues which they prize by letting the men and Gem go.

On the road to this realization Kirk is tortured. Spock and McCoy vie for the position of the next victim. McCoy sacrifices himself for Spock.

It ends happily but enigmatically. We never learn if the Vians save Gem's race or if she survives. We do not learn if the three men are better friends for having suffered so together.

Would I change this episode? Slightly, some of the dialogue was sophomoric, but the story was far superior to most Star Trek episodes. I recommend this episode highly.

"The Empath" is certainly one of the most intimate episodes of Star Trek on so many levels. The Enterprise arrives at a star system that is about to go nova to pick up a scientific team. Kirk, Spock and McCoy have just found the station abandoned when they are suddenly transported to a huge cavern. There they find the corpses of the scientists and a mute empath, who McCoy names Gem. The mystery as to what is going on is solved when two Vians appear and explain they are doing experiments which consists of torturing Kirk and letting Gem heal him with her empathic abilities. When the Vians return for more tests, McCoy sedates the others and goes in their place. Kirk and Spock awake to find the doctor dying, with Gem his only hope. There have been a lot of Star Trek episodes where superior aliens test humans, but in "The Empath" the Vians provide a surprise and interesting twist. It seems they can transport the inhabitants of ONE planet from the Minaran system before its star explodes and while Gem's people are the most promising, the Vians must learn if she can sacrifice her self for another, which they call one of the highest qualities. So all the torturing has not been in the name of sadism, but rather to justify the horrendous choice of which planet of people to save. Of course, the two Earthlings and the Vulcan get high marks for their performance during the experiments. The strength of "The Empath" is the clear evidence of the strong relationship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Probably no other episode in the series focuses on the trio as much as this particular one.

DeForrest (Dr.McCoy) Kelley said this was his favorite episode. Meeting all the requirments of the quintessential morality play, all the world's a stage as Kirk, Spock and McCoy encounter Gem (an empath, so-dubbed by McCoy)and teach her the values that make a species worthy of salvation. It's didactic literature at its best: if you haven't the time or inclination to read the Bible, everything you need to know is here. This episode may be confusing to viewers who don't grasp allegory, but Roddenberry must have smiled.

Some people refer to this episode as quirky in an attractive way. To me, the premise is just silly, although it shows the three main characters behaving in the most noble of ways. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are captured and the subjects of an experiment where the worthiness of a mute empath (Jem) is being tested. The star of their planetary system is about to nova and a technologically advanced species can only save the inhabitants of one of the planets. The Enterprise three are to be placed in danger, but separately, so only one is to be placed at risk. Using his advantage of having a hypospray to render the other two unconscious, McCoy puts himself at risk. Although they have the opportunity to escape, Kirk and Spock choose to go to the aid of McCoy. All of this is so Jem can experience the concept of self-sacrifice and prove the worth of her "people."
The problem with the episode is that no intelligent species would ever try to save a planet by performing dangerous experiments on another intelligent species. All they had to do was to approach the Federation and ask for assistance and a fleet of ships would have been provided, which could have saved the inhabitants of all the planets. The amount of time wasted in the test of Jem was enormous and there is also the problem of what they would have done if she had failed the test. Find three more humans to torture?
There is one redeeming feature of this episode, and that is the deep affection and personal loyalty that Kirk, Spock and McCoy demonstrate towards each other. Each was willing to die for the other, without hesitation and there was no thought about leaving their comrades to save themselves. More than in any other episode, we see that natural "human" trait of bonding with your comrades in arms. One can argue that a precondition for any species to achieve space travel is the ability of selected groups to function as a unit, willing to risk all for their comrades.
Therefore, despite my intense dislike of the premise of the experiment, I find the episode tolerable, although in the bottom third of the original series in terms of quality.

This episode is amazing. Fans just go along with the easy classics (The Doomsday Machine, Amok Time, Mirror, Mirror) and mindlessly say that the Third Season was crap. I have noticed that a lot of people hate episodes because they don't pay attention to the dialogue. It is worth it in the end because the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triad is shown in full force. I rank this episode 4th out of 79th.

This is one of my favorite episodes of the original series. It is a great example of the friendship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Sure, it doesn't have all of the special effects and more elaborate sets of some of the other episodes, but it still ranks high in my all time favorite episodes.

Some reviewers hate this episode, and it's easy to see why: most of it consists of super-intelligent aliens (looking like the big-brained Talosians from "The Cage") torturing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy for no apparent reason.

There's always a reason, of course. A star is about to go nova, and the aliens can only save one of two humanoid races. To make sure they pick the most deserving race, they engage in a strange experiment: they capture the three Enterprise crewmen and throw them together with a young woman from one of the two races. McCoy names her "Gem." Then the torture begins.

The young woman is a mute empath with healing powers. When she sees the men suffering to the point of death, she can heal them at the cost of great pain to herself. If she's willing to sacrifice herself, it proves that her race is worthy of saving.

Admittedly, this is a difficult episode to watch for the most part. But the incredibly spare, dark sets (due to the 3rd season budget) make a virtue out of necessity, giving a moody, impressionistic quality. Also, the way Kirk, Spock, and McCoy try to sacrifice themselves for each other is moving. It is clearly implied that Gem learns from this.

The real payoff is at the end. The aliens are satisfied that the experiment has succeeded but, in the spirit of Scientific Method, insist that the experiment be seen through to the final step; thus they leave McCoy and Gem to die. Kirk's brief appeal to them -- in all this testing for compassion and mercy, they themselves learned nothing -- is the finest instance of this device (resort to speechmaking) in any episode of any Star Trek series. The aliens suffer from a blindspot common to scientists, in which one destroys the flower while trying to examine it, and Kirk shames them for it convincingly.

A final note: in the last scene, Scotty refers to the story of the merchant and the pearl, playing off the name "Gem." This is actually one of Jesus' parables from the Bible, making this episode, along with "Bread and Circuses," the only episodes to have explicitly pro-Christian messages. That is perhaps appropriate, given the theme of self-sacrifice.

maybe it's the bizzarro black void most of the episode takes place in. Love the Vians too, letting the boys think they can escape while they whole time they've got it under control. OK, so it gets a little slooowww at points, and i dont care for the original music score, which usually adds so much. But it's a pretty good story and one of the weirdest episodes of them all.

In "The Empath," Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy are somehow transported to an underground place where they find out that there are a couple of aliens who do tests on humans that can possibly kill them if they develop too much fear from the tests. Also in this strange place is a curious woman called an Empath.

"The Empath" is a boring and poor episode. The script and the episode itself isn't exciting and not even all that interesting. About the only thing good about the episode is a brave feat by Dr. McCoy. I don't recommend "The Empath" to anybody unless you absolutely have to have every single episode of Star Trek The Original Series. It's one of the few episodes that I would recommend passing up.