Star Trek (TOS): The Empath

[J!!]

Opinionated Star Trek Episode Guide watches Kirk, Spock, and Bones deal with sinister alien experiments while an empathic mute watches. This is starting to sound like a Mad Lib, doesn't it?

[J!!]

bones doesn't agree with his commanding officer's plan to handle a dangerous situation, and so knocks him unconscious in order to take charge & do things his way.

hmm.



i wonder if there's a poorly lit court martial in his future?

[Mickey_Rat15]

I always hated seeing this episode come up when I was a kid. The mood of the story is grim all the way through. Nothing much actually happens. Watching our heroes get physically and mentally tortured for such a bizarre reason is confusing at best. The Vians get no comeuppance for the horrible things they did beyond disappointment.

I suppose as an adult I can appreciate better what the episoded was trying to say, but my inner 8 year old is still sour about it.

[Mickey_Rat15]

bones doesn't agree with his commanding officer's plan to handle a dangerous situation, and so knocks him unconscious in order to take charge & do things his way.

hmm.



i wonder if there's a poorly lit court martial in his future?

His decision led him to nearly being tortured to death, rather than committing an act of war. That's probably punishment enough.

[AlucardNoir]

bones doesn't agree with his commanding officer's plan to handle a dangerous situation, and so knocks him unconscious in order to take charge & do things his way.

hmm.



i wonder if there's a poorly lit court martial in his future?

This is so funny... until I remember you're referencing STD... sigh, STD.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

Without having watched the review yet, I'd say this one is a case of "what could have been." It's a script and story by someone who isn't a television writer (obviously the regular production crew fine tuned it), which sometimes means that the writer has an idea that's personal and has been percolating in his/her mind for a long time. In some ways, I think this is one of the more nuanced scripts in the franchise.

It not only has the abstract, minimalist set, but some of the ideas it toys around with are more abstract and philosophical than what you'll often see in television. The Vians, the empath, these aren't black and white characters, and the script tries to present some interesting ideas in relation to religion, Western values, and so on.

Unfortunately, I don't think the script or the production ever come together in the way they're meant to. Spectre of the Gun is minimalist in a good way, this one just ends up feeling cheap. The miming is overdone, and I don't think the script's ambitious ideas ever quite come together the way they were meant to. This was a favorite of Deforest Kelley's, but a lot of other people despise this episode. I can see both perspectives, but in the end I'd rate it as just a step above the really bad ones because of its ambition.

[Linkara]

"Unremarkable" is how I would best describe it. It's not terrible - I get what it's going for, but it lacks a lot of substance and pacing that other, better episodes would help with. I think what would have worked better is if they had a subplot with Scotty and company attempting to rescue them and their party undergoes a different sort of test with another empath or the like that reflects other qualities and whatnot that the Vians would want to preserve.

[SuccubusYuri]

bones doesn't agree with his commanding officer's plan to handle a dangerous situation, and so knocks him unconscious in order to take charge & do things his way.

hmm.



i wonder if there's a poorly lit court martial in his future?

His decision led him to nearly being tortured to death, rather than committing an act of war. That's probably punishment enough.

I see Bones' lawyer getting up, "Damnit this man was in 'Spock's Brain', hasn't this hero suffered enough for his country?"

[CrypticMirror]

I always love reviews where Chuck sings.

I again thank you, Chuck, for humouring my request for this episode. I asked for it due to its rep of being the episode where nothing happens in a nowhere place, and was wondering just how well anyone could say anything at all about this. I am astounded there is so much you could. Of course, I forgot that Chuck has long experience of commenting on nothing happening in a nowhere place thanks to Enterprise.

I love the review as much as I love the campiness of the episode itself. I am in the love it for the camp, camp.

[Darth Wedgius]

The American Association of Mimes has released this response: