There is ONE episode of classic TREK I feverishly hate beyond all others, even though it has an unusual appealing guest character and a good moral message involving the friendship of the Big Three. It's THE EMPATH. I'm not sure I'm in the mood to begin a dissertation on it, but I'd be delighted to begin a back-and-forth discussion on why watching corpses decompose is ten times as entertaining. Here are some of the things in it I hate most:
The unrelenting low-budget darkness from scene to scene.
The trickery of the false escape in Act Two, making us believe we'll see some actual sets, with the tacky illusion of Scotty pretending to save the others (Scotty never saves ANYBODY in the third season), then taking that all away before plunging us all back into darkness.
Act Two's abysmal-beyond-belief moments of Shatner's facial grimaces while listening to the emotional, slowed-down music. I couldn't tell whether I was watching an Ivory Snow commercial or an enema in progress.
And especially the endless, TORTUROUSLY long fourth act eternity in which Kirk and Spock do nothing, held back by a bunch of pink energy.
Plus, the aliens get away with torture AND two deaths, and we're supposed to understand their reasoning for preparing Gem to save her world? Needs of the many or not, I found it grossly offensive......just as I did the end of THE MARK OF GIDEON, in which the guest star blonde will survive, and best of all, infect her offscreen population and cut down on the population. I'm very confused at these sort of messages.
Begin!
FOXHOT - I am really happy you picked 'The Empath', as I, also feeling it was the biggest stinker of the all, watched this episode last night! - and I have a very different perspective on the premise than the one I held since I first saw it.
This should make for a good on,... much 'meat' to go through!
Good opening opinion on your part, but before we dig in,
Let us re-establish our 'Rules of Analysis':
1) We are looking at premise, script, and story elements which failed to translate as satisfying in the end.
2) We must not point to bad acting, scenery, or an obviously cheap-hokey props,.. although they are everywhere - as no actor, scenery, or prop has the power to bring about a BAD FABLE.
3) To keep things orderly, I suggest we work through in Chronological Order, so as to cover all bases, and avoid jumping about.
4) Keep firmly in our minds to try not to BASH, but to reveal weaknesses, to learn where and how it went bad, and how it could have worked, but ultimately failed as an aired episode.
Okay, that's what I suggest, and I want to get your thoughts on the above before I comment.
Please amend, alter, approve, or what-have-you to the guidelines above, signaling we are ready.
Thanks
