DeForrest Kelley also mentioned that the simplicity and darkness of the set also meant that there was "nowhere to hide" as far as his acting was concerned
You noticed a great little scene that brought out excellent acting. It's when Gem notices Spock and a smile begins to cross her face. I think she had taken a superficial measure of Spock, and saw a being somewhat like the cold, unfeeling aliens. Then on further "empathic encounter", she realizes Spock is a deeply emotional and compassionate person, hence the smile. This realization of Gem is brought out in the later scene, where Spock looks upon the battered and broken body of McCoy, who has sacrificed himself. The look on Spock's face can only be described as love - it's really fine acting by Leonard Nimoy.
This is an episode often overlooked when you’re young because there isn’t much physical action. But it grows on you as an adult because you can appreciate the ideas being played out.
This one of those episodes that we dismissed as kids but learned to appreciate far more as we got older. Kathryn Hays is fantastic as Gem, expressing so much with so little.
Sorry, no. From memory Alpha 'Kathryn Hays (26 July 1933 - 25 March 2022; age 88) was an actress who played Gem in Star Trek: The Original Series third season episode "The Empath".'
I've always loved the way venerable film composer George Duning was given such a field day to create some of his most beautiful and expressive music in this episode. For me, this score (and its subsequent reuse) has always been one of the hallmarks of season three.
Duning's scores were my personal favorites from The Original Series. He was the "sensitive" composer who scored "Metamorphosis," "Return to Tomorrow," and this one, all of which were used in other episodes whenever the editor needed music for a sensitive moment.
You say you have a bad memory; but I'm impressed by how well you remember episode the titles of episodes, the names of characters and actors, and plots-not just commit them to memory, but pull them up readily.
@TheNoiseySpectator , the distinction that you bring up is why I said "You say you have a bad memory; but I'm impressed [&c.]", not "You say you have a bad memory; but you're wrong."
I've always believed this is one of the best ST episodes, across all the different series. The word for the production of this episode is minimalist. The set design is bare and streamlined, with nothing busy disrupting the play. It's very much like stage production you'd see for a Samuel Beckett or Jean Paul Sartre play. The actors were very much at home practicing their craft on this set. Kathryn Hays, as the empath Gem, was excellent.
A deep story about self-sacrifice told in a simple space. My favorite line --- "Everything that is truest and best in all species of beings has been revealed by you. Those are the qualities that make a civilization worthy to survive." So moving! 😢
I agree it's a moving statement, but ironically said by one of the Vians, who came across as totally cold blooded scoundrels, who wanted to conduct gruesome experiments in order to prove their "superior" morality
While by no means the best one, The Empath is my favourite TOS episode. There was always something about it even as a kid that just had me coming back to it, and it wasn't until I was older that it clicked why. It utterly nails the relationship between these three, and just how much they would do for each other. It all works because of them.
Her interpreted dance expressions always move me to tears. That and just the love Kirk McCoy and Spock share for life. I always modelled my combat medical career by McCoy. He is just a character, but a character to inspire to. McCoy is true moral doctor in this episode. You would be surprised how little empathy or morals there actually can be by those in the medical field. I remember at fort sam houston i was saving an o.d'ing soldier in the restroom. Fort Sam is where they train soldier medics. at least 12 soldier medics at various times came in saw me trying to keep this dude alive and help him purge naturally whatever he could from his body. While keeping him hydrated without purging his body of all electrolytes. Not one person helped me, they actually laughed while walking away. The sgt on duty saw me and almost had me arrested for breaking quarters curfew to rush down stairs and get ice, water, and gatorade, and iv's incase he lost the ability to drink on his own. Once i told him i was trying to save an od'ing soldier, he asked if i knew what i was doing and i said yes. He said ok continue on ill be up there in a minute. He never came. No ambulance showed, No report was filed ... it was like it never happened. I couldn't believe that in a school of medics i was the only one willing to save his life, or even cared. Well, i wasn't the only one that cared apparently. The next day while i was in line for chow someone walked by and like barely bumped into me cause he wasn't looking where he was going. Now chow hall is noisy, hundreds of soldiers eating in a room if you can imagine. Then the whole chow hall got dead quite as you suddenly heard this giant booming voice yelling " I KNOW YOU DIDN'T JUST BUMB INTO MY FUCKING MEDIC WITHOUT APPOLOGIZING"!!! First everyone is looking where the voice came from and theres the 6'4 dude i helped the night before standing on the damn table with the most intense look of death i have ever seen in a chow hall over a nudge anyway. Then everyone turned in the direction he was staring and it was at the guy that ran into me. I of course was both scared and embarrassed as I received an apology from the bumper. And the guy on the table said " That work for you doc"?! I was like ya thank you. While the moment was embarrassing it also gave me pride to know i did good and the patient knew it was me that saved him. The whole incident is surreal, but tragically beautiful too. I had no idea he was that big when i was helping him ... not one person ever ran into me or anything, and everyone was extra nice too ... can't blame them when you have a badass like that watching your back.
Listening to your comments has caused me to reevaluate my impression of this episode. I never really hated it, but I was “uncool” about it. But now I see the beauty in it. Thanks for opening my eyes.
@@johnclawed it wasn't prescribed. According to him, another soldier had driven off post and came back with ecstasy. He was burning up, sweating, heart pounding, so while i have no idea if it actually was ecstasy, at a minimum i could assume it was likely an amphetamine. and he had taken it according to him within 5 to 10 minutes of me finding him and he had skipped dinner chow to meet this soldier along with others.
The scariest part was when i felt he can safely rest, after flushing what i could and rehydrating him. Getting his body temp and blood pressure/heart rate down. I really had no idea what he took and stayed most of the night watching him. I scared shitless he could still die in his sleep. I kept expecting EMT's to arrive at some point. But it never happened. Sgt never asked if the dude died and i hid the body, absolutely nothing.
Kathryn Hays (Gem) made many, many appearances on TV shows in the 60's and 70's. She had a legendary career portraying Kim Hughes in the long-running soap opera "As The World Turns". For 38 years she played Kim Hughes. THIRTY-EIGHT! (1972-2010) Now THAT is dedication! She reminds me of the great Audrey Hepburn, who dominated the screen with her elegance and charm. A true gem!
She had on an earlier Roddenberry production, The Lieutenant, as well as guest starred on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., one other classic show. As the World Turns ran for 54 years, beginning in 1956. The American soap opera was a steady paycheck for some actors. Sadly, it had its had its day. I think the newer trend is the telenovelas and the K-dramas, but a number of actors started out in the daytime drama shows early in their careers. Bunnytails, be careful with musical theatre, you may find it highly addictive. 😊
Bunnytails commented on Hays "dramatic movements" and how slim she appeared. My understanding from my youth was that she had been, in her youth, a ballerina which would explain her stature and movements being "dramatic." Beyond that, she was very talented singer, dancer and actress and also very beautiful too.
"Everything the is truest and best in all species of beings has been revealed by you." I love that line. My favorite episode of season 3 which was written by a fan!
This episode has grown on me over the decades. I am a behavioral researcher, so part of me understands the Vians' perspective. Many people say wonderful things about how caring, loving, and altruistic they are. However, when the chips are down, their self-proclaimed goodness doesn't translate to action. The experiment in this episode, though coldly executed, is meant to determine whether Jem has the capacity to act selflessly, even at the expense of her own life. If so, this will separate her from others who only proclaim to care. As with many episodes, there are valuable takeaways if you look deeply enough. Thanks for the reaction!
Though the empath story line is interesting sci-fi, the heart and soul of this episode is how all three of our heroes are willing to give their lives for each other. This was halfway through the 3rd season, and brilliantly sums up our guys' love for each other once and for all.
"The Empath" stands out to me as being the most heartfelt and uplifting gift that Star Trek has ever given us. It's the one ST episode/film that has moved me to my core. The message is so powerful and moving that I reserve it for the rarest of viewings, through the decades. Once you've seen it, it really stays with you - - in my case, probably until my dying day.
"The Empath" could have been a Broadway theater production! I can see this performed on a real theater stage. I liked this episode very much. "You've got a good bedside manner, Spock." was the high point. When you're mute, how do you express yourself? Facial expressions, gestures, postures....it's estimated that less than 10% of human communication comes from uttering words. Everything else comes from our tone of voice and physical expressions.
The speech at the end delivered by Kirk that starts out "we will not leave our friend" is the best in all of Star Trek and it's spinoffs, in my opinion. It always brings a tear to my eye because it encapsulates what Star Trek is all about. The ideas of friendship, self-sacrifice, and honor need to be more than just words.
Although I think this episode is quite flawed, it contains perhaps my very favorite moment in the entire series, a moment that moves me to my emotional core. I'm talking about the smile Gem gives Spock, which you seemed a bit unsure of how to interpret. Here's how it's always struck me, Bunny -- her empathic abilities not only allow her to feel pain and pleasure, but when she physically touches someone and her nervous system connects with them, she experiences the inner landscape of that person, their character-- what makes them tick. As she watches Spock from a distance as he interacts with Kirk and McCoy, you can tell that she's confused by him, because she's never encountered anyone like him. Her empathetic nature is in such direct contrast to his coldly logical bent and lack of emotion. And even when she first touches his shoulder, she seems to furrow her brow, almost in disapproval of his robotic detachment. But after a few seconds she feels the very essence of his being -- and discovers how good and benevolent -- and humane -- he is on the inside. You can see by the warmth in her eyes that at that moment, she suddenly sees and knows the Spock WE all see and know, the Spock we've come to love. I was 13 when this episode first aired, and even after all these years, that moment still chokes me up. Every time.
When I was little I remember that I used to pray that I could take away the owies from my parents. Something about seeing them suffer and wanting them to be happy. I understand now as an adult that feeling was how they felt about us, their children and knowing that we are strong enough to endure. To grow, be kind, helpful and have faith. Thanks for sharing your gifts. Peace
This episode always moves me very deeply, is possibly my favourite. The soundtrack is breathtaking. Regarding the story, the irony of deciding what civilization will be saved based on one of their' members willingness to sacrifice themself for others in the face of such sadistic testing is as far as I know absolutely unique. Was banned by the BBC for it's disturbing nature. DeForest Kelley considered this his favourite episode also.
I remember watching this episode when new with my older brother who was in high school and getting into theatre. He really dug the theatrical setting and mime like acting of Gem which gave me a different appreciation for this particular episode.
A very theatrical episode, which i am sure pleased the actors in this one ...the moment when Gem touches Spock,and understands the true depth of his love for his friends ,is really heart- warming ..
Thank you again bunny for yet another funding adventures video. The part I enjoyed most about this episode was Gem touching Spock and sensing his true emotions for Jim, which he could never speak of out loud.😊
This is on my Top 5 favorite episodes of this entire series. This episode offered a strong analogy to the cruelty of animal testing. And it had brutal torture, sci-fi style. Gem was played by Kathryn Hayes. This lovely, beautiful woman left us in March 2022. They very much got the right actress to play this empathic woman. She was probably about 5'4", so average or medium height. Those Vians were real A-holes. I love how Spock says to them "What could this possibly serve you but to bring you pleasure. Surely beings as advanced as yourselves know that this sun will nova." Gem was able to penetrate through Spock's cold exterior and saw that he did indeed care about his 2 friends and was even willing to offer his life for them. He was unable to hide any of this from Gem.
The actress is from one of my mom's favorite daytime soap As the world turns, she was on it for nearly 40 years. Good episode, my mom looked liked her, people often mistook her for Hays, wanting her autographic, good episode. it grew on me when found out who the actress was, showed my mom, she loved it.
I love your take on the eclectic nature of season 3! It's a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. At 22:00 in your video, the Vians tell Spock and Kirk that they have the power to save the inhabitants of only one of the several inhabited planets in the system from the impending nova. Thus, they wished to test whether Gem's species is the one species that is worthy of being saved. The Vians want to be certain that she has learned the will to survive, the passion to know, the love of life, and the willingness to sacrifice oneself for others from her contact with the landing party. They consider these qualities to be the ones that make a civilization worthy to survive. Clearly, the Vians saw that Kirk has the will to survive, the passion to know, the love of life, and the willingness to sacrifice himself, but in the case of the last attribute he only demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends. That's why the Vians needed McCoy, who showed that he was willing to sacrifice himself for a stranger by rejecting Gem's help which may have killed her. At 25:15, Spock is, of course, right that the test was complete when Gem had shown her willingness to die for McCoy by offering to help him before he threw her aside to keep her from possibly dying, so the Vians had their answer without either Gem or McCoy needing to die. The Vians response that to offer the sacrifice is not proof enough is not only cold hearted, as Kirk points out, but is also logically incorrect, which was Spock's point. I think the Vians were convinced in the end that they had enough evidence of Gem's species' worthiness which is why they healed McCoy instead of waiting until either Gem healed him or he and/or Gem died. After all, in the end neither Spock nor Kirk had the ability to force the Vians to stop their experiment and intervene to heal McCoy, they could only try to convince them to do it. To me the look on the face of the Vian in the foreground at 25:39 after Kirk tells them that love and compassion are dead in them, shows that he does still have compassion, which was just dormant in the Vian until Kirk aroused it. Kirk can arouse emotions in not only androids, but apparently also in emotionless humanoids, but we already knew that didn't we. 😉
Yeah... but this explanation for their actions is really just a conceit by an amateur writer (Joyce Muskat, who was just a fan and never sold another script to any show), and the Vians clearly had better options - like asking the Federation for help! I found it a disappointing reveal. If it worked for you, however, I don't begrudge you for it.
@@jwb932 It is not stated in the episode how many individuals there are in that star system in total that would need to be evacuated. Given the Vians' more advanced technology than Starfleet's, the Vians may know that there are too many individuals to be evacuated even with the Federation's help. That possibility is made more plausible by the fact that neither Kirk nor Spock nor McCoy suggested to the Vians that the Federation would be willing to help the Vians evacuate the other species in order to get the Vians to stop their experiment. To me the real flaw in the Vian's logic is that rather than using their limited resources to evacuate only one entire species, they should have planned to evacuate a subset of every species sufficient for each species to propagate, i.e., emulate the idea of Noah's ark. That would have eliminated the need for any test of "species worthiness." However, the intent of my original comment was not to rewrite the episode or point out a flaw in the concept, but to indicate that the story contains an explanation for why the Vians are conducting the experiment. Whether or not one finds that explanation to be sufficient to justify the Vian's actions is a different question.
I like this one more than most favorite lists. The setting is very The Outer Limits, and the concept is interesting. It's an atypical Trek episode. The tests to see if she could learn compassion and self-sacrifice and teach it to her people.
Thank you for watching this episode it has been a favorite of mine ever since i was a kid in the 1970s i always loved the music in this episode but of course all the music from the original series is awesome ,oh and i love how expresive her eyes are she was definitely the perfect choice for this role rip kateryn hays
I am a fan of this episode. Kathrine Hays, who played Gem, did a magnificent performance. Without speaking, she conveyed much nuanced emotions. Her beauty is unmatched.
It's always a pleasure to watch old Star Trek episodes, even if I don't speak English well... and it's beautiful to listen to your voice and drown in the depths of your wonderful eyes. Grazie Bunny 🌹
STAGE PLAY--- I recently went to a community college production of "The Wizard of Oz" and had my mind blown... I cried and everything. Give your community a chance and you will be rewarded!!!
This is an episode that, as a child, I didn't enjoy at all, and as I've now reached middle age, I see it entirely differently. It's shot so differently from any episode, yet it still feels like Star Trek. I really love the interactions with the big three, especially anytime Spock shows some tenderness towards McCoy. The guest actress was amazing. Again, I couldn't appreciate her performance at all as a little kid. I loved your reaction when you said, "I don't like these two." You're our Star Trek empath with your great reactions to all these episodes. 🖖
@@bunnytailsREACTSalso I know I never got a chance to tell you the secret in legends of korra but I'll tell you now you remember the scene when wan died well the location the battleground field where wan died was the same location in the beginning of the episode zuko alone when zuko was riding his horse through the field that was the secret I wanted to tell you you probably didn't know but now you know
@@bunnytailsREACTS I had wanted to tell you because I know nobody else did they probably didn't know and the ones that did know didn't say anything probably didnt want you to know about so that's why I told so you don't miss out
I love this episode -- very 60s, but quite daring for the era, very philosophical with its rumination on the nature of morality. And I loved the use of pantomime, it's a very different way to advance a story.
Despite this episode's `love-it-or-hate-it` reputation, as well as the basic plot being a retread of The Cage (the Vians are very similar to the Talosians), I've had a soft spot for it ever since first seeing it in re-reuns as a teen. The stark, very theatrical, and almost surreal set design and lighting infuse this production with a fascinating quality that (as you pointed out) allow the audience to really focus on the character interaction. Gem is an intriguing character wonderfully brought to life through the dance-like movements and unabashed expressions of Kathryn Hays, and her inner conflict and growth is nicely contrasted with the cold, methodical cruelty of the Vians. And then we have our Big Three...an amazing, timeless, visceral exploration of their dedication to both eachother and their principles. Principles that, as Kirk points out at the climax, the Vians have lost all concept of in pursuit of their single-minded cost-benefit analysis, and a reminder to us not to allow rigid utilitarianism to dictate our actions. And while I still feel that the third season ended up with more misses than hits, I do agree that it was worthwhile to experiment more with story ideas and production techniques the way they did during this season. Peace and long life...🖖
Gem is played by Kathryn Hays, who after making many guest appearances in TV shows in the '60s, eventually became best known for her role on the daytime serial _As the World Turns_ from 1972 to 2010. She continued to make guest appearances on other shows, but less frequently after she started on daytime television. If you like cozy mystery novels, you might like the Hannah Swensen series written by Joanne Fluke. Of course, Hallmark based a series of movies on these novels, but you know that movies are almost never as good as the books.
It is good to see plays. I went to the theater a lot when I lived in England and the one year I lived in Alabama right after England. One of my favorite performances from those years (indeed ever) is a theater-in-the-round version of _Romeo and Juliet,_ which we saw on a field-trip in eleventh grade: there were no sets; there were very few props; and the costumes were not elaborate. The knife-fight between Romeo and Tybalt was captivating and exciting: it was just two guys with daggers, sort of dancing in circles at each other on this small, circular stage, around which the seats rose: their rotating movements as they tried to defend themselves and stab each other meant that all of us, watching from seats a full 360 degrees around them, got a good view of the action, from many different angles. In the same theater two years before, we'd seen a much more elaborate performance, of the comedy _Noises Off!_ I think you'd get a kick out of this. It takes place in a two-storey vacation house, and much of the humor relies on what each character _doesn't_ know about what other characters are doing. The set first presented to us was the inside of this two-storey house; and the whole plot was played out for us, getting tons of laughs. Then, after a break, the curtain rose to reveal that the whole set had been turned around and now we saw the house from the _outside._ The same events were played all over again, but the different perspective meant that different parts of the action were what got the laughs this time. Finally, if I remember right, they turned the set back around to present the inside to us again, and the action was gone through yet again-now even funnier than either of the previous times, because now we were fully privy to what all the characters were doing. If ever I find that someone is putting on _Noises Off!_ again, I'll jump at the chance to see it. I haven't been to a play or a musical in many years. Thanks for reminding me to do it.
I'm 71 and I have always been what I would learn a half-century ago was called empathic, deeply so. Being working and poor I immersed myself in alternative healing techniques and basic first aid, CPR, and using the environment to aid in healing. In 2007 my friend Sofia was going to get surgery on her foot to remove a bone spur on her right big toe. I had never heard of or seen a bone spur. I was absolutely certain that she did not need debilitating surgery, especially an athlete like Sofia. I met her one night when she got off work one night. We both rode bicycles. Sofia, 5'11" inches tall, didn't know I had a working plan, I knew her well. I asked her to remove her right shoe and I said "trust me" and when she exposed her foot to the parking lot light I remembered a dude from 1977 who had the same bone spur and he simply cut a slit in the canvas shoe where the spur was chafing in the shoe. I told her of this non-medical hack. I proceeded to massage her foot in ylang-ylang-coconut oil and worked my way to the spur and out again, covering the whole foot and again back to the spur. In my mind I was re-integrating the "bad part" back into the "good part" and sent waves of "inclusion love" to the bone that had been deemed a culprit. I took my time and Sofia was quiet and breathing deep. She changed her mind on the surgery. She moved to Arizona in 2009 leaving no forwarding address because she had none. In 2009 I had developed a bone spur on my right big toe. Still there! I wear flip-flops so...ugly foot, I don't care. Sofia was upset that I had become celibate in 1990. She found a pretty boy for her needs to accompany her to Arizona. The kid was totally obsessed with Sofia and she didn't love him and she knew I knew. Frikkin' empathy. I felt terrible for the kid. This Tale of Empathy is for bunnytails and the curious.
Great reaction. You know most Star Trek fans think this episode is slow but I like it. I appreciate it more. Because how you have to do it the way you explained it. You know that McCoy is always ready to sacrifice himself because he’s a doctor because of the oldest member of the crew, he thinks he’s a good life. They always remind me of it. Illusions from the cage. I thought you were a cousin of those aliens I can’t wait to see what you watch next especially the next Star Trek episode. I can’t wait to see you. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for what you do. I’m glad you were able to finish your books get through them as for do entrance dream for electric sheep I don’t remember the book much, but I’m sure you know this, but in case you don’t, it’s brought to movie franchises one blade Runner into a lesser extent total recall I don’t need actually action movie of the actual book electric sheep. I think that’s what Blade supposed to be but I’m not sure. Thanks for the fun until next time.
You said season three is fun and it is but the real fun is watching with you Bunny we get to reexperience a show we loved in a whole new way. Like Luv said BR2049 “Wallace reviverated the technology” I was a kid when this was on tv I think for most of your fans were as well so we didn’t experience this show in the 60’s but got to see it syndication in the 70’s 80’s 90’s and movies Thanks Bunny for making it fun in 2024!
i cried🥹 A really unique, touching episode ... and a great example of why it's such a blessing that we got season 3 of TOS. i really agree with Bunny-chan's comments for this episode too. Thank you~
Hey…are those the butt heads from the cage?😂. All kidding aside, this again proved the love Kirk, Spock, and McCoy have for each other. And how much they cared for Gem. She was an amazing actress. Saying so much without saying anything at all. The music added so much to the performance. Love reliving this show with you and the community. Lots of great comments and learning things I didn’t know about the cast. Thanks for sharing!!
For me, one of the standout episodes of Season 3. Kathryn Hays, who was Bem, did an excellent job without saying a word. Fun fact: Dr. McCoy's torn shirt was DeForest Kelly's old velour shirt from the first two seasons. Notice the difference in color. While the same shade of blue, it (as well as the gold and red colors) come out a bit lighter on the elastic fabric they switched to for Season 3.
Great episode. When I was little, I thought that was William Shatner’s real hair. It was one of the best hairpieces I have ever seen on television. I thought that because in the movies, his hair is curly.
As a child I didn't understand or appreciate it. Now as a adult I love this episode! The friendship of McCoy, Kirk and Spock shines though!! Finally the writing is outstanding showing the teaching of humanity to Gem. Give us hope for the future.
This is easily the darkest episode in the entire eighty episodes of the original "Star Trek" series, being a story about sheer torture, almost like an adventure through Hell. It's also incredible just how phenomenally GOOD this episode is, seeing that by most accounts, it was essentially the production from Hell! Ironically, it didn't start out that way. This episode has one of the smoothest preproduction phases of any TOS episode. It was written by a fan, recent college graduate Joyce Muskat, who at the time was working with screenwriter Robert Fisher at the local theater he owned. She drew from that experience and accomplished what few have deliberately attempted to do: create an episode idea that was practically tailor-made for "Star Trek" Season 3...accommodations for the budget and all. Fisher had a couple of connections to Paramount Television and was able to submit the script in Muskat's name. The fact that she was not a member of the Screen Writers' Guild was an extra bonus since the showrunners could purchase it for less money. Fred Freiberger, Bob Justman, and even Gene Roddenberry (who had largely holed himself in his office on the Paramount lot for most of Season 3, mostly abandoning his own show) gave their inputs and guided Muskat through the changes to make it more palatable for television, since as Bunny herself observed (30:52), it really WAS written more like a stage play. God bless Ms. Muskat! I hope she enjoyed a long, fulfilling life after her fifty-one minutes of fame! Then filming began and that's where things started to get crazy. Originally, the producers were going to have John Meredyth Lucas to helm the episode, but then they found out he was barred from directing duties on the show after going over time (and budget, let's not forget budget) while filming...uh...NEXT WEEK'S episode (Huh!?). So, Bob Justman called in John Erman, an old colleague from his time working on the anthology series, "The Outer Limits," since the plot of "The Empath" bore a striking resemblance to the "Outer Limits" episode "Nightmare," which Erman directed. This was the ONLY episode directed by Erman, who did not enjoy his time filming it, with Shatner and Nimoy preferring to direct themselves and openly criticizing Erman for not understanding the characters. To add insult to injury, he also went over time. Add on several illnesses and injuries (the worst being a severe back spasm for DeForest Kelley), and you have a difficult week for the cast and crew that was even the final straw for cinematographer Jerry Finnerman, who left after being with the show since it went to series after the pilots (don't feel bad for him; he scored an opportunity not long after to be the DP in Sidney Poitier's next movie). Despite all of this, EVERYBODY involved in this episode can agree with the fans that they were very satisfied with the final product.
Bunny, you should see a production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", "Twelfth Night", "Romeo and Juliet" or "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Or else, Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance", or "Ruddigore". Or Mel Brooks' "The Producers". Theatre is a world all its' own, and should not be missed.
I remember that when this episode originally aired, TV Guide gave it a "close-up" - a half page box describing the show because they viewed it as good and significant.
The bare sets surrounded by darkness was a technique used in a LOT of SF shows of the time... The Time Tunnel, used it for their control center, Lost in Space used it a lot, I seem to remember that Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea used it when they had scenes that needed to look 'weird' and were not set on board the submarine, but I do not remember them doing it too much... Probe did it for their computer room if I remember correctly...
There was a marked uptick in violence on American television in the late 60's. Many contemporary articles lament this trend. This episode is an example of this.
Very interesting episode, another exploration of the dichotomy between logic and emotion, and of ethics! The last play I went to was a musical, Jagged Little Pill, based on the music of Alanis Morisette. The story is about an African-American bisexual woman who was brought up in a white household. It goes into a lot of sensitive subjects such as drug addiction. In fact, the song "Uninvited", which was originally about a woman falling in love with an angel (for the movie "City of Angels"), is used as a metaphor for drug addiction taking over the life of a suburban mom,and they perform that as she overdoses. 😲 I went to see it in San Francisco. Alas, I don't think they are touring anymore! But it was a great play. 🙂 I still think you would love the book "Spock's World"....it doesn't spoil anything that happens in the series, although it came out long after the series (TOS) was over, so maybe wait until you have seen all of TOS and all the TOS movies.... As far as non-trek books, actually my favorite genre is Hard Science Fiction, which is SF that tries to stick to known science, and has more detail about the science than typical SF. One of many examples is "The Flight of the DragonFly" by Dr. Robert Forward (a physicist). The starship in the book is driven by a laser sail in our solar system! It accelerates them to 20% of the speed of light, which makes the ship arrive at Barnard's Star in 40 years. This is real science, in theory it could be built, though of course it would be extremely expensive and is a bit beyond our current engineering abilities.... but the huge advantage of a laser sail is that the ship doesn't need to bring its own fuel. You use the light from the Sun, which gives millions of times more power in one second than is needed to power the laser, and you fire it at a large reflective surface on the ship, pushing it forward. In the book, to slow down, a smaller section of the sail separated off, and reflected the light from the main laser, slowing the spacecraft. Another option would be, you could generate a strong magnetic field to repel the solar wind from the target star. 🙂
Hiya Bunny. Your reaction was interesting yet... interesting. That's why I'm watching, to see new young eyes on my TV 'Bible' of sorts. Bullets -- 1. You have to remember that Gem's appearance mimicked late 60's fashion. So at adult cocktail parties, as a kid, I'd see women that actually looked a lot like Gem. And I'd smile because I knew the lady had no clue about Star Trek. 2. The 'look' you're enjoying, as you suspected, was low budget cheese. But this very look was all over THE TWILIGHT ZONE and THE OUTER LIMITS. So it was kinda like Trek saying, hey, why not adopt that look to save money and remember when. 3. A long time ago I shared that this series taught young me empathy. It's in THE CAGE, all over the series, and especially here. Even our best current shows have no clue how to do this IMO.
You make Saturdays so much fun, Bunny! Regarding the shift in tone in the third season, the new producer was trying to make new fans to replace those they lost by a timeslot change. Specifically, he was trying to make the show appeal more to women, and turned to female writers for help with this, including the one who wrote this episode.
The late actress who played Gem, acted in a soap opera for years, she played the wife of the actoer Michael Forest who played Apollo in Who mourns for Adonis.
Before that soap opera gig, Kathryn Hays had guest-starring roles in dozens of the biggest hit TV series of the 1960's, and she was always terrific -- and gorgeous. (I always thought she looked like an American version of Diana Rigg, and I had a HUGE crush on her.) She was especially wonderful and moving in an episode of "Here Come the Brides", which was my second-favorite TV show (after Star Trek) when I was in high school. In fact, Michael Forest also guest-starred in that episode -- maybe that's where they met !
This was one of two episodes, along with Miri, that was banned by the BBC; presumably because of the torture in this case, and I never got to see it until the age of VHS allowed to buy a special tape release of the two banned episodes. They turned out to be two of the best ones of course, kerk
Star Trek is a dream. They beam around the universe in an instant. They live in perpetual night. And they wear their jammies. Yep, it's a metaphor for dreaming 😊
"Weird and likeable" sums up this episode perfectly. The Empath is one of the more controversial episodes, but I like it. Intellectually, this episode is full of plot holes. Why did the Vians insist that Gem and her people develop the quality of self-sacrifice, especially since they did not possess it themselves? Were the Vians planning on not saving themselves? If there were other planets with inhabitants, did those people also not possess that quality? Were the Vians really willing to let the entire solar system's population die out? If Gem had to die in order to demonstrate the quality of self-sacrifice, how could she then transmit that quality to the rest of her people? How did Gem's species develop the ability to heal each other without the instinct to use it? How could they be empaths but also lack empathy? And on and on and on. All that said, I do enjoy the morality tale of this episode. The lack of funding for the third season is really evident here, leading to the stage play vibe. But that puts the focus on the message. Contrast this with, say, The Immunity Syndrome, where a similar story is told but is surrounded by the standard Star Trek ship-in-danger scenario. "Art thrives on restrictions", as stated by Nick Myers in the director's commentary to Star Trek 2.
Fun Fact: For all the music heads out there. This and the episode Is There In Truth No Beauty are the first film/TV scores to use a Yahama E3 electronic keyboard synthesizer. George Duning, had a prototype version flown over from Japan.
Bunnt, love hearung that you're reading "Do Androids Fream of Electric Sheep". It's a great book. I hope you continue to read more PKD stories. You'll be surprised how many have been adapirf to the screen.
The director John Erman worked earlier on a classic Outer Limits episode called "Nightmare" that had a similar theatrical design concept. The storyline is also similar in that it involves aliens torturing soldiers except that this one takes place in a POW camp.
😺Bunny!!!😺 In the late 60's when I watched this... Self sacrifice! In a year or so I would end up reading: "The Population Bomb" (Paul R. Ehrlich, David Brower) thinking it was a book about war... => "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one." Many years later my beloved sister got me a poster: "Everything I need to know about life I learned from Star Trek" LOL You're analysis as always Rings True!!! 😺Bunny!!!😺 Thank you for sharing!
The sparseness of the set reminds me of theater, where in the strength of the actors abilities create the world. It illustrates how older movies often seem of higher quality, despite having sets that border on the laughable. They rely on storytelling as opposed to CGI to create ones suspense of belief.
The "Pearl of Great Price" Scotty refers to at 26:15 is a reference to Matthew 13:45-46: 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. The New King James Version (Mt 13:45-46) This is why the lady was named "Gem". She is a metaphor for the Kingdom of Heaven.
That Episode shows how drastic the Budget Cuts where in Season 3. They supposed to be underground in a cave, but there are no rock walls like in The Devil in the Dark. All is shot in a Dark Studio hall with a lot of empty room and some props in it. You could see something like that also in the Batman Series with Adam West in the last season. Most sets of flats or villain hideouts are always dark empy rooms with some props.
AGREED.I thought the budget cuts were pretty obvious for this episode,it's not one of my favs tho,haven't seen it in years either.Only re-watched it because of Bunny's channel and her watching it.
Great episode another where McCoy sacrifices his life since Kirk couldn’t make decision. The special effects on here pretty cool. The actress who plays gem is played by Kathryn Hays talented actress. She was also on on Famous soap opera called as The World Turns. She was on show ever since it ended 2010 I believe. And she played role of Kim Hughes
Nice to see your journey thru those books - I'm curious and anxious about Walden 2, because it's hard for me to envision two sensibilities further removed than Thoreau and Skinner - Thoreau was a beacon of the Transcendentalist movement, with Walden almost like a kind of manifesto, whereas Skinner sought to remove all mystery and interiority from psychology, and reduce it to observable triggers and reactions - re Philip Dick, IMO the best film of his work is Scanner Darkly, also my favorite book of his I was dreading this episode, because I saw it as a child and it traumatized me, so the memory of it lingered, as if I'd had food poisoning - I agree w all your points about it, but this just fed into the overall effect - basically, the whole episode revolves around torture and sadism - and the dark background leaves us no respite - even the luminous delicacy of Gem reminds us that her function here is to be wounded; the image that lasted in my memory was when they find Bones hanging - but your reaction helped me distance myself I felt the same way about The Cage and The Menagerie - a feeling that I was unsafe as a viewer - and there's more of that to come this season - your term "eclectic" is an excellent way to describe Season 3, for better or worse - but I do agree that the sheer variety and unpredictability is a virtue unto itself - I don't know why the sadism is so upsetting here; is it because I was exposed so young, or is it the family-friendly context of such a series, which is usually so colorful - in any case, it's always challenging, one way or another - regarding the premise of torture showing a path to deeper understanding, there are two films from our own century that address this - one is Martyrs, which evokes Bataille's Tears of Eros - and the other is W Delta Z, which I never see discussed, a really brilliant and penetrating inquiry into the limits of love, shrouded in genre clothing
@@bunnytailsREACTS I believe this is probably the most polarising episode of all in TOS. People seem to either love it (ranking it in their personal Top 10) or hate it (as shown by how frequently it appears on 'worst of' lists) with very little middle ground between. Personally, I think it's one of Trek's best and it's always nice to see a reviewer appreciating it as it can go either way and often does.
When I was kid, I had the VHS and recorded this episode on a cassette tape to listen to at night, in bed. Not a great episode to have in audio only because it is very dialogue light, but I loved that I had an episode on cassette tape. Also, You should do a book channel. (Too much on your plate, I know.)
For me, this was one of the standouts of the third season. The first fan written "spec script' to be used in the Star Trek universe (a rare instance in any TV series). The music is original as well. The debut of the Yamaha Organ for any movie or TV episode.
This episode tends not to get very highly ranked, but I love it. I find Gem (yeah, it sounds so much like Jim, maybe Bones could have suggested Jewel) very sweet and charming, much like the music. Not to get too serious, but I always thought of her as a kind of Christ figure, taking the pains and problems of others upon herself. Oddly enough, I guess I also think of her as being sort of like Wolverine -- she takes on the pains and wounds of others (Wolverine doesn't), but then instantly heals them in her own body. Frankly, the Vians have a heck of a nerve insisting that she should be willing to give her life. The offer, the attempt, to risk her life is plenty -- just save her people, already. On other topics: I finally saw Hamilton two months ago, after decades of skipping stage work, and I would say that you owe it to yourself to experience the stage. The stage is, after all, where drama began, and it's marvelous how so tight a framework of time and space can encompass so much wit and energy and story. Also, there was a time in my life when I was curious about Skinner's behaviorism. Skinner made a lot more sense to me than Freud -- and still does. However, I decided that behaviorism was not the cure-all that "Walden Two" was selling it as. Thank you for this.
I can't believe that in all of my decades of watching TOS that I cannot remember watching this episode before! And it's pretty damn good! Katherine Hays plays a fantastic part in this.
Gem heals them and it all goes away ! The benz comes from nitrogen in the blood , actually from being thousands of feet underwater , scuba diving - good episode 😅
This was considered one of DeForrest Kelly’s favorite episodes because as a character it allowed him to do more than other episodes.
He did shine in this one
DeForrest Kelley also mentioned that the simplicity and darkness of the set also meant that there was "nowhere to hide" as far as his acting was concerned
You noticed a great little scene that brought out excellent acting. It's when Gem notices Spock and a smile begins to cross her face. I think she had taken a superficial measure of Spock, and saw a being somewhat like the cold, unfeeling aliens. Then on further "empathic encounter", she realizes Spock is a deeply emotional and compassionate person, hence the smile. This realization of Gem is brought out in the later scene, where Spock looks upon the battered and broken body of McCoy, who has sacrificed himself. The look on Spock's face can only be described as love - it's really fine acting by Leonard Nimoy.
This is an episode often overlooked when you’re young because there isn’t much physical action. But it grows on you as an adult because you can appreciate the ideas being played out.
I was a child when I saw this episode. I found it compelling then as I do now.
This one of those episodes that we dismissed as kids but learned to appreciate far more as we got older. Kathryn Hays is fantastic as Gem, expressing so much with so little.
Gem broke my heart with her compassion and empathy. And courage. She also was so delicately beautiful.
The actress who played the Empath is still alive, and even in her advanced years is still beautiful.
Beautiful all the way for sure. But sadly, she died a few years ago on March 25, 2022 at the age of 87.
Sorry, no. From memory Alpha 'Kathryn Hays (26 July 1933 - 25 March 2022; age 88) was an actress who played Gem in Star Trek: The Original Series third season episode "The Empath".'
She also played a lady on " As The World Turns" named Kim..
Used to be married to Glenn Ford
@@fredklein3829She also marveled that she continued to receive fan mail from Star Trek fans for the remainder of her life.
I've always loved the way venerable film composer George Duning was given such a field day to create some of his most beautiful and expressive music in this episode. For me, this score (and its subsequent reuse) has always been one of the hallmarks of season three.
Great comet it all the TV series specifically back then all had sensational music
Duning's scores were my personal favorites from The Original Series. He was the "sensitive" composer who scored "Metamorphosis," "Return to Tomorrow," and this one, all of which were used in other episodes whenever the editor needed music for a sensitive moment.
Dunning's score was very similar to one he had done the previous year for the MANNIX episode "The Many Death's of St. Christopher."
"Season three is very eclectic, and that's really cool!" Exactly.
You say you have a bad memory; but I'm impressed by how well you remember episode the titles of episodes, the names of characters and actors, and plots-not just commit them to memory, but pull them up readily.
I agree.
But, maybe her memory is inadequate for _her_ .
@TheNoiseySpectator , the distinction that you bring up is why I said "You say you have a bad memory; but I'm impressed [&c.]", not "You say you have a bad memory; but you're wrong."
I've always believed this is one of the best ST episodes, across all the different series.
The word for the production of this episode is minimalist. The set design is bare and streamlined, with nothing busy disrupting the play. It's very much like stage production you'd see for a Samuel Beckett or Jean Paul Sartre play. The actors were very much at home practicing their craft on this set.
Kathryn Hays, as the empath Gem, was excellent.
A deep story about self-sacrifice told in a simple space. My favorite line --- "Everything that is truest and best in all species of beings has been revealed by you. Those are the qualities that make a civilization worthy to survive." So moving! 😢
I agree it's a moving statement, but ironically said by one of the Vians, who came across as totally cold blooded scoundrels, who wanted to conduct gruesome experiments in order to prove their "superior" morality
While by no means the best one, The Empath is my favourite TOS episode. There was always something about it even as a kid that just had me coming back to it, and it wasn't until I was older that it clicked why.
It utterly nails the relationship between these three, and just how much they would do for each other. It all works because of them.
Agreed!
Her interpreted dance expressions always move me to tears. That and just the love Kirk McCoy and Spock share for life. I always modelled my combat medical career by McCoy. He is just a character, but a character to inspire to. McCoy is true moral doctor in this episode. You would be surprised how little empathy or morals there actually can be by those in the medical field. I remember at fort sam houston i was saving an o.d'ing soldier in the restroom. Fort Sam is where they train soldier medics. at least 12 soldier medics at various times came in saw me trying to keep this dude alive and help him purge naturally whatever he could from his body. While keeping him hydrated without purging his body of all electrolytes. Not one person helped me, they actually laughed while walking away. The sgt on duty saw me and almost had me arrested for breaking quarters curfew to rush down stairs and get ice, water, and gatorade, and iv's incase he lost the ability to drink on his own. Once i told him i was trying to save an od'ing soldier, he asked if i knew what i was doing and i said yes. He said ok continue on ill be up there in a minute. He never came. No ambulance showed, No report was filed ... it was like it never happened. I couldn't believe that in a school of medics i was the only one willing to save his life, or even cared. Well, i wasn't the only one that cared apparently. The next day while i was in line for chow someone walked by and like barely bumped into me cause he wasn't looking where he was going. Now chow hall is noisy, hundreds of soldiers eating in a room if you can imagine. Then the whole chow hall got dead quite as you suddenly heard this giant booming voice yelling " I KNOW YOU DIDN'T JUST BUMB INTO MY FUCKING MEDIC WITHOUT APPOLOGIZING"!!! First everyone is looking where the voice came from and theres the 6'4 dude i helped the night before standing on the damn table with the most intense look of death i have ever seen in a chow hall over a nudge anyway. Then everyone turned in the direction he was staring and it was at the guy that ran into me. I of course was both scared and embarrassed as I received an apology from the bumper. And the guy on the table said " That work for you doc"?! I was like ya thank you. While the moment was embarrassing it also gave me pride to know i did good and the patient knew it was me that saved him. The whole incident is surreal, but tragically beautiful too. I had no idea he was that big when i was helping him ... not one person ever ran into me or anything, and everyone was extra nice too ... can't blame them when you have a badass like that watching your back.
Listening to your comments has caused me to reevaluate my impression of this episode. I never really hated it, but I was “uncool” about it. But now I see the beauty in it. Thanks for opening my eyes.
How could a soldier be O.D.'ing? Was it a drug he was prescribed?
@@johnclawed it wasn't prescribed. According to him, another soldier had driven off post and came back with ecstasy. He was burning up, sweating, heart pounding, so while i have no idea if it actually was ecstasy, at a minimum i could assume it was likely an amphetamine. and he had taken it according to him within 5 to 10 minutes of me finding him and he had skipped dinner chow to meet this soldier along with others.
The scariest part was when i felt he can safely rest, after flushing what i could and rehydrating him. Getting his body temp and blood pressure/heart rate down. I really had no idea what he took and stayed most of the night watching him. I scared shitless he could still die in his sleep. I kept expecting EMT's to arrive at some point. But it never happened. Sgt never asked if the dude died and i hid the body, absolutely nothing.
Kathryn Hays (Gem) made many, many appearances on TV shows in the 60's and 70's.
She had a legendary career portraying Kim Hughes in the long-running soap opera "As The World Turns". For 38 years she played Kim Hughes. THIRTY-EIGHT! (1972-2010) Now THAT is dedication!
She reminds me of the great Audrey Hepburn, who dominated the screen with her elegance and charm. A true gem!
You're exactly correct I saw her recently on the episode of mannix and also a long time soap opera actress the Beautiful miss Kathryn Hays
She had on an earlier Roddenberry production, The Lieutenant, as well as guest starred on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., one other classic show.
As the World Turns ran for 54 years, beginning in 1956. The American soap opera was a steady paycheck for some actors. Sadly, it had its had its day. I think the newer trend is the telenovelas and the K-dramas, but a number of actors started out in the daytime drama shows early in their careers.
Bunnytails, be careful with musical theatre, you may find it highly addictive. 😊
Bunnytails commented on Hays "dramatic movements" and how slim she appeared. My understanding from my youth was that she had been, in her youth, a ballerina which would explain her stature and movements being "dramatic." Beyond that, she was very talented singer, dancer and actress and also very beautiful too.
"Everything the is truest and best in all species of beings has been revealed by you."
I love that line. My favorite episode of season 3 which was written by a fan!
This episode has grown on me over the decades. I am a behavioral researcher, so part of me understands the Vians' perspective. Many people say wonderful things about how caring, loving, and altruistic they are. However, when the chips are down, their self-proclaimed goodness doesn't translate to action. The experiment in this episode, though coldly executed, is meant to determine whether Jem has the capacity to act selflessly, even at the expense of her own life. If so, this will separate her from others who only proclaim to care. As with many episodes, there are valuable takeaways if you look deeply enough. Thanks for the reaction!
Though the empath story line is interesting sci-fi, the heart and soul of this episode is how all three of our heroes are willing to give their lives for each other. This was halfway through the 3rd season, and brilliantly sums up our guys' love for each other once and for all.
"The Empath" stands out to me as being the most heartfelt and uplifting gift that Star Trek has ever given us. It's the one ST episode/film that has moved me to my core.
The message is so powerful and moving that I reserve it for the rarest of viewings, through the decades. Once you've seen it, it really stays with you - - in my case, probably until my dying day.
"The Empath" could have been a Broadway theater production! I can see this performed on a real theater stage.
I liked this episode very much. "You've got a good bedside manner, Spock." was the high point.
When you're mute, how do you express yourself? Facial expressions, gestures, postures....it's estimated that less than 10% of human communication comes from uttering words. Everything else comes from our tone of voice and physical expressions.
Very much agreed!
The speech at the end delivered by Kirk that starts out "we will not leave our friend" is the best in all of Star Trek and it's spinoffs, in my opinion. It always brings a tear to my eye because it encapsulates what Star Trek is all about. The ideas of friendship, self-sacrifice, and honor need to be more than just words.
This episode is very much like a stage play which makes it really unique to me. Great reaction Bunnytails!!
100% you could stage this as a play with just a couple of sets and a few costumes
Until we get to Kathryn Hays, at which point it looks like a ballet. She was adorably graceful in this episode... she moved just like a ballerina. 🥰
I am an engineer and because one of the aliens said it, I like saying "Behold" when I demonstrate something. 😄
@@robertstephens1203 not to mention “behold, a God who bleeds”
Lol. Great idea.
@@alau18 LOL!!! That's one of my favorite scenes in TOS.
Again, your perceptiveness and awareness of so many production elements makes the experience of watching you so satisfying!!!
McCoy: "I'm a doctor, not a coal miner."
Miner not minor?
This episode truly comes full circle in Wrath of Khan when Spock nerve pinches McCoy to give his life for his friends and his ship.
Although I think this episode is quite flawed, it contains perhaps my very favorite moment in the entire series, a moment that moves me to my emotional core. I'm talking about the smile Gem gives Spock, which you seemed a bit unsure of how to interpret. Here's how it's always struck me, Bunny -- her empathic abilities not only allow her to feel pain and pleasure, but when she physically touches someone and her nervous system connects with them, she experiences the inner landscape of that person, their character-- what makes them tick. As she watches Spock from a distance as he interacts with Kirk and McCoy, you can tell that she's confused by him, because she's never encountered anyone like him. Her empathetic nature is in such direct contrast to his coldly logical bent and lack of emotion. And even when she first touches his shoulder, she seems to furrow her brow, almost in disapproval of his robotic detachment. But after a few seconds she feels the very essence of his being -- and discovers how good and benevolent -- and humane -- he is on the inside. You can see by the warmth in her eyes that at that moment, she suddenly sees and knows the Spock WE all see and know, the Spock we've come to love. I was 13 when this episode first aired, and even after all these years, that moment still chokes me up. Every time.
When I was little I remember that I used to pray that I could take away the owies from my parents. Something about seeing them suffer and wanting them to be happy. I understand now as an adult that feeling was how they felt about us, their children and knowing that we are strong enough to endure. To grow, be kind, helpful and have faith. Thanks for sharing your gifts. Peace
This episode always moves me very deeply, is possibly my favourite. The soundtrack is breathtaking. Regarding the story, the irony of deciding what civilization will be saved based on one of their' members willingness to sacrifice themself for others in the face of such sadistic testing is as far as I know absolutely unique. Was banned by the BBC for it's disturbing nature. DeForest Kelley considered this his favourite episode also.
I am glad you also enjoy it!
i love this episode and it like season 3 itself is highly under appreciated
I remember watching this episode when new with my older brother who was in high school and getting into theatre. He really dug the theatrical setting and mime like acting of Gem which gave me a different appreciation for this particular episode.
A very theatrical episode, which i am sure pleased the actors in this one ...the moment when Gem touches Spock,and understands the true depth of his love for his friends ,is really heart- warming ..
Thank you again bunny for yet another funding adventures video. The part I enjoyed most about this episode was Gem touching Spock and sensing his true emotions for Jim, which he could never speak of out loud.😊
Kathryn Hays’ performance is so moving and makes one believe in this beautiful, empathic soul.
This is on my Top 5 favorite episodes of this entire series. This episode offered a strong analogy to the cruelty of animal testing. And it had brutal torture, sci-fi style.
Gem was played by Kathryn Hayes. This lovely, beautiful woman left us in March 2022. They very much got the right actress to play this empathic woman. She was probably about 5'4", so average or medium height.
Those Vians were real A-holes. I love how Spock says to them "What could this possibly serve you but to bring you pleasure. Surely beings as advanced as yourselves know that this sun will nova."
Gem was able to penetrate through Spock's cold exterior and saw that he did indeed care about his 2 friends and was even willing to offer his life for them. He was unable to hide any of this from Gem.
This is one of my favourite episodes of TOS. The music is simply incredible, so beautiful, probably my favourite Star Trek music.
The actress is from one of my mom's favorite daytime soap As the world turns, she was on it for nearly 40 years. Good episode, my mom looked liked her, people often mistook her for Hays, wanting her autographic, good episode. it grew on me when found out who the actress was, showed my mom, she loved it.
this episode is one of the ones I always think of when ST TOS is mentioned. This is Star Trek.
The analysis at the end is always the highlight for me. Saw these episodes many times but bunny gives me new perspectives 🖖
Even as a young kid, Gem, to me was mesmerizing. The feeling has not changed> Great episode and great reaction Bunny.
This has always been a favorite of mine for its minimalism. It was almost like a Star Trek version of THE OUTER LIMITS.
I love your take on the eclectic nature of season 3! It's a roller coaster ride of highs and lows.
At 22:00 in your video, the Vians tell Spock and Kirk that they have the power to save the inhabitants of only one of the several inhabited planets in the system from the impending nova. Thus, they wished to test whether Gem's species is the one species that is worthy of being saved. The Vians want to be certain that she has learned the will to survive, the passion to know, the love of life, and the willingness to sacrifice oneself for others from her contact with the landing party. They consider these qualities to be the ones that make a civilization worthy to survive.
Clearly, the Vians saw that Kirk has the will to survive, the passion to know, the love of life, and the willingness to sacrifice himself, but in the case of the last attribute he only demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends. That's why the Vians needed McCoy, who showed that he was willing to sacrifice himself for a stranger by rejecting Gem's help which may have killed her.
At 25:15, Spock is, of course, right that the test was complete when Gem had shown her willingness to die for McCoy by offering to help him before he threw her aside to keep her from possibly dying, so the Vians had their answer without either Gem or McCoy needing to die. The Vians response that to offer the sacrifice is not proof enough is not only cold hearted, as Kirk points out, but is also logically incorrect, which was Spock's point.
I think the Vians were convinced in the end that they had enough evidence of Gem's species' worthiness which is why they healed McCoy instead of waiting until either Gem healed him or he and/or Gem died. After all, in the end neither Spock nor Kirk had the ability to force the Vians to stop their experiment and intervene to heal McCoy, they could only try to convince them to do it.
To me the look on the face of the Vian in the foreground at 25:39 after Kirk tells them that love and compassion are dead in them, shows that he does still have compassion, which was just dormant in the Vian until Kirk aroused it.
Kirk can arouse emotions in not only androids, but apparently also in emotionless humanoids, but we already knew that didn't we. 😉
Yeah... but this explanation for their actions is really just a conceit by an amateur writer (Joyce Muskat, who was just a fan and never sold another script to any show), and the Vians clearly had better options - like asking the Federation for help! I found it a disappointing reveal. If it worked for you, however, I don't begrudge you for it.
@@jwb932 It is not stated in the episode how many individuals there are in that star system in total that would need to be evacuated. Given the Vians' more advanced technology than Starfleet's, the Vians may know that there are too many individuals to be evacuated even with the Federation's help. That possibility is made more plausible by the fact that neither Kirk nor Spock nor McCoy suggested to the Vians that the Federation would be willing to help the Vians evacuate the other species in order to get the Vians to stop their experiment.
To me the real flaw in the Vian's logic is that rather than using their limited resources to evacuate only one entire species, they should have planned to evacuate a subset of every species sufficient for each species to propagate, i.e., emulate the idea of Noah's ark. That would have eliminated the need for any test of "species worthiness."
However, the intent of my original comment was not to rewrite the episode or point out a flaw in the concept, but to indicate that the story contains an explanation for why the Vians are conducting the experiment. Whether or not one finds that explanation to be sufficient to justify the Vian's actions is a different question.
Thanks to you, I've come to see this episode in a whole new light.
I like this one more than most favorite lists. The setting is very The Outer Limits, and the concept is interesting. It's an atypical Trek episode. The tests to see if she could learn compassion and self-sacrifice and teach it to her people.
That's very Jesus-y: guy suspended with arms out, saying "At least tell me what I'm dying for."
Thank you for watching this episode it has been a favorite of mine ever since i was a kid in the 1970s i always loved the music in this episode but of course all the music from the original series is awesome ,oh and i love how expresive her eyes are she was definitely the perfect choice for this role rip kateryn hays
I am a fan of this episode. Kathrine Hays, who played Gem, did a magnificent performance. Without speaking, she conveyed much nuanced emotions. Her beauty is unmatched.
Agreed!
It's always a pleasure to watch old Star Trek episodes, even if I don't speak English well... and it's beautiful to listen to your voice and drown in the depths of your wonderful eyes. Grazie Bunny 🌹
STAGE PLAY---
I recently went to a community college production of "The Wizard of Oz" and had my mind blown... I cried and everything.
Give your community a chance and you will be rewarded!!!
This is an episode that, as a child, I didn't enjoy at all, and as I've now reached middle age, I see it entirely differently. It's shot so differently from any episode, yet it still feels like Star Trek. I really love the interactions with the big three, especially anytime Spock shows some tenderness towards McCoy. The guest actress was amazing. Again, I couldn't appreciate her performance at all as a little kid.
I loved your reaction when you said, "I don't like these two." You're our Star Trek empath with your great reactions to all these episodes. 🖖
We need you now more than ever. Please keep watching Star Trek so I can relive them with you. 💙💙💙
That's the plan!
@@bunnytailsREACTSHello bun love your reaction to star trek
@@bunnytailsREACTSalso I know I never got a chance to tell you the secret in legends of korra but I'll tell you now you remember the scene when wan died well the location the battleground field where wan died was the same location in the beginning of the episode zuko alone when zuko was riding his horse through the field that was the secret I wanted to tell you you probably didn't know but now you know
@@bunnytailsREACTS I had wanted to tell you because I know nobody else did they probably didn't know and the ones that did know didn't say anything probably didnt want you to know about so that's why I told so you don't miss out
I love this episode -- very 60s, but quite daring for the era, very philosophical with its rumination on the nature of morality. And I loved the use of pantomime, it's a very different way to advance a story.
Despite this episode's `love-it-or-hate-it` reputation, as well as the basic plot being a retread of The Cage (the Vians are very similar to the Talosians), I've had a soft spot for it ever since first seeing it in re-reuns as a teen. The stark, very theatrical, and almost surreal set design and lighting infuse this production with a fascinating quality that (as you pointed out) allow the audience to really focus on the character interaction. Gem is an intriguing character wonderfully brought to life through the dance-like movements and unabashed expressions of Kathryn Hays, and her inner conflict and growth is nicely contrasted with the cold, methodical cruelty of the Vians.
And then we have our Big Three...an amazing, timeless, visceral exploration of their dedication to both eachother and their principles. Principles that, as Kirk points out at the climax, the Vians have lost all concept of in pursuit of their single-minded cost-benefit analysis, and a reminder to us not to allow rigid utilitarianism to dictate our actions. And while I still feel that the third season ended up with more misses than hits, I do agree that it was worthwhile to experiment more with story ideas and production techniques the way they did during this season. Peace and long life...🖖
Love your commentary about this episode. One of my favorite episodes of Season 3 although for some inexplicable reason fans think it a lesser episode.
Yeah, I am seeing a lot of hate in the comments towards this one. :(
@bunnytailsREACTS :(
gem was the star of the episode and had to shine accross it , like you bunny are the gem of this side 😊
Gem is played by Kathryn Hays, who after making many guest appearances in TV shows in the '60s, eventually became best known for her role on the daytime serial _As the World Turns_ from 1972 to 2010. She continued to make guest appearances on other shows, but less frequently after she started on daytime television.
If you like cozy mystery novels, you might like the Hannah Swensen series written by Joanne Fluke. Of course, Hallmark based a series of movies on these novels, but you know that movies are almost never as good as the books.
It is good to see plays. I went to the theater a lot when I lived in England and the one year I lived in Alabama right after England. One of my favorite performances from those years (indeed ever) is a theater-in-the-round version of _Romeo and Juliet,_ which we saw on a field-trip in eleventh grade: there were no sets; there were very few props; and the costumes were not elaborate. The knife-fight between Romeo and Tybalt was captivating and exciting: it was just two guys with daggers, sort of dancing in circles at each other on this small, circular stage, around which the seats rose: their rotating movements as they tried to defend themselves and stab each other meant that all of us, watching from seats a full 360 degrees around them, got a good view of the action, from many different angles.
In the same theater two years before, we'd seen a much more elaborate performance, of the comedy _Noises Off!_ I think you'd get a kick out of this. It takes place in a two-storey vacation house, and much of the humor relies on what each character _doesn't_ know about what other characters are doing. The set first presented to us was the inside of this two-storey house; and the whole plot was played out for us, getting tons of laughs. Then, after a break, the curtain rose to reveal that the whole set had been turned around and now we saw the house from the _outside._ The same events were played all over again, but the different perspective meant that different parts of the action were what got the laughs this time. Finally, if I remember right, they turned the set back around to present the inside to us again, and the action was gone through yet again-now even funnier than either of the previous times, because now we were fully privy to what all the characters were doing. If ever I find that someone is putting on _Noises Off!_ again, I'll jump at the chance to see it.
I haven't been to a play or a musical in many years. Thanks for reminding me to do it.
Now all they need is a "BAT CRIME-SOLVING COMPUTER" label on one of the blinky-light machines.
I'm 71 and I have always been what I would learn a half-century ago was called empathic, deeply so. Being working and poor I immersed myself in alternative healing techniques and basic first aid, CPR, and using the environment to aid in healing. In 2007 my friend Sofia was going to get surgery on her foot to remove a bone spur on her right big toe. I had never heard of or seen a bone spur. I was absolutely certain that she did not need debilitating surgery, especially an athlete like Sofia. I met her one night when she got off work one night. We both rode bicycles. Sofia, 5'11" inches tall, didn't know I had a working plan, I knew her well. I asked her to remove her right shoe and I said "trust me" and when she exposed her foot to the parking lot light I remembered a dude from 1977 who had the same bone spur and he simply cut a slit in the canvas shoe where the spur was chafing in the shoe. I told her of this non-medical hack. I proceeded to massage her foot in ylang-ylang-coconut oil and worked my way to the spur and out again, covering the whole foot and again back to the spur. In my mind I was re-integrating the "bad part" back into the "good part" and sent waves of "inclusion love" to the bone that had been deemed a culprit. I took my time and Sofia was quiet and breathing deep. She changed her mind on the surgery. She moved to Arizona in 2009 leaving no forwarding address because she had none. In 2009 I had developed a bone spur on my right big toe. Still there! I wear flip-flops so...ugly foot, I don't care. Sofia was upset that I had become celibate in 1990. She found a pretty boy for her needs to accompany her to Arizona. The kid was totally obsessed with Sofia and she didn't love him and she knew I knew. Frikkin' empathy. I felt terrible for the kid. This Tale of Empathy is for bunnytails and the curious.
Great reaction. You know most Star Trek fans think this episode is slow but I like it. I appreciate it more. Because how you have to do it the way you explained it. You know that McCoy is always ready to sacrifice himself because he’s a doctor because of the oldest member of the crew, he thinks he’s a good life. They always remind me of it. Illusions from the cage. I thought you were a cousin of those aliens I can’t wait to see what you watch next especially the next Star Trek episode. I can’t wait to see you. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for what you do. I’m glad you were able to finish your books get through them as for do entrance dream for electric sheep I don’t remember the book much, but I’m sure you know this, but in case you don’t, it’s brought to movie franchises one blade Runner into a lesser extent total recall I don’t need actually action movie of the actual book electric sheep. I think that’s what Blade supposed to be but I’m not sure. Thanks for the fun until next time.
You said season three is fun and it is but the real fun is watching with you Bunny we get to reexperience a show we loved in a whole new way. Like Luv said BR2049 “Wallace reviverated the technology” I was a kid when this was on tv I think for most of your fans were as well so we didn’t experience this show in the 60’s but got to see it syndication in the 70’s 80’s 90’s and movies Thanks Bunny for making it fun in 2024!
i cried🥹 A really unique, touching episode ... and a great example of why it's such a blessing that we got season 3 of TOS. i really agree with Bunny-chan's comments for this episode too. Thank you~
Hey…are those the butt heads from the cage?😂. All kidding aside, this again proved the love Kirk, Spock, and McCoy have for each other. And how much they cared for Gem. She was an amazing actress. Saying so much without saying anything at all. The music added so much to the performance. Love reliving this show with you and the community. Lots of great comments and learning things I didn’t know about the cast. Thanks for sharing!!
For me, one of the standout episodes of Season 3. Kathryn Hays, who was Bem, did an excellent job without saying a word. Fun fact: Dr. McCoy's torn shirt was DeForest Kelly's old velour shirt from the first two seasons. Notice the difference in color. While the same shade of blue, it (as well as the gold and red colors) come out a bit lighter on the elastic fabric they switched to for Season 3.
What else has Hayes done?
Other acting roles?
Great episode. When I was little, I thought that was William Shatner’s real hair. It was one of the best hairpieces I have ever seen on television. I thought that because in the movies, his hair is curly.
As a child I didn't understand or appreciate it. Now as a adult I love this episode! The friendship of McCoy, Kirk and Spock shines though!!
Finally the writing is outstanding showing the teaching of humanity to Gem. Give us hope for the future.
This is easily the darkest episode in the entire eighty episodes of the original "Star Trek" series, being a story about sheer torture, almost like an adventure through Hell. It's also incredible just how phenomenally GOOD this episode is, seeing that by most accounts, it was essentially the production from Hell!
Ironically, it didn't start out that way. This episode has one of the smoothest preproduction phases of any TOS episode. It was written by a fan, recent college graduate Joyce Muskat, who at the time was working with screenwriter Robert Fisher at the local theater he owned. She drew from that experience and accomplished what few have deliberately attempted to do: create an episode idea that was practically tailor-made for "Star Trek" Season 3...accommodations for the budget and all. Fisher had a couple of connections to Paramount Television and was able to submit the script in Muskat's name. The fact that she was not a member of the Screen Writers' Guild was an extra bonus since the showrunners could purchase it for less money. Fred Freiberger, Bob Justman, and even Gene Roddenberry (who had largely holed himself in his office on the Paramount lot for most of Season 3, mostly abandoning his own show) gave their inputs and guided Muskat through the changes to make it more palatable for television, since as Bunny herself observed (30:52), it really WAS written more like a stage play. God bless Ms. Muskat! I hope she enjoyed a long, fulfilling life after her fifty-one minutes of fame!
Then filming began and that's where things started to get crazy. Originally, the producers were going to have John Meredyth Lucas to helm the episode, but then they found out he was barred from directing duties on the show after going over time (and budget, let's not forget budget) while filming...uh...NEXT WEEK'S episode (Huh!?). So, Bob Justman called in John Erman, an old colleague from his time working on the anthology series, "The Outer Limits," since the plot of "The Empath" bore a striking resemblance to the "Outer Limits" episode "Nightmare," which Erman directed. This was the ONLY episode directed by Erman, who did not enjoy his time filming it, with Shatner and Nimoy preferring to direct themselves and openly criticizing Erman for not understanding the characters. To add insult to injury, he also went over time. Add on several illnesses and injuries (the worst being a severe back spasm for DeForest Kelley), and you have a difficult week for the cast and crew that was even the final straw for cinematographer Jerry Finnerman, who left after being with the show since it went to series after the pilots (don't feel bad for him; he scored an opportunity not long after to be the DP in Sidney Poitier's next movie). Despite all of this, EVERYBODY involved in this episode can agree with the fans that they were very satisfied with the final product.
Bunny, good observation about the similarities between this episode and "The Cage." I'm certain the Vians & the Talosians would hit it off splendidly.
Stage plays are great ! They offer an experience that cannot be matched by television or movies. They are a unique, singular experience.
Bunny, you should see a production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", "Twelfth Night", "Romeo and Juliet" or "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Or else, Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance", or "Ruddigore". Or Mel Brooks' "The Producers". Theatre is a world all its' own, and should not be missed.
I've seen several plays on Broadway, but the best stage play I ever saw was a small production of Mark Twain's "Pudd'nhead Wilson."
I remember that when this episode originally aired, TV Guide gave it a "close-up" - a half page box describing the show because they viewed it as good and significant.
While the episode has its strengths, I and others tended not to see it as great Star Trek. It was too different to get a fair shake, I suppose.
The bare sets surrounded by darkness was a technique used in a LOT of SF shows of the time... The Time Tunnel, used it for their control center, Lost in Space used it a lot, I seem to remember that Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea used it when they had scenes that needed to look 'weird' and were not set on board the submarine, but I do not remember them doing it too much... Probe did it for their computer room if I remember correctly...
There was a marked uptick in violence on American television in the late 60's. Many contemporary articles lament this trend. This episode is an example of this.
Very interesting episode, another exploration of the dichotomy between logic and emotion, and of ethics! The last play I went to was a musical, Jagged Little Pill, based on the music of Alanis Morisette. The story is about an African-American bisexual woman who was brought up in a white household. It goes into a lot of sensitive subjects such as drug addiction. In fact, the song "Uninvited", which was originally about a woman falling in love with an angel (for the movie "City of Angels"), is used as a metaphor for drug addiction taking over the life of a suburban mom,and they perform that as she overdoses. 😲
I went to see it in San Francisco. Alas, I don't think they are touring anymore! But it was a great play. 🙂
I still think you would love the book "Spock's World"....it doesn't spoil anything that happens in the series, although it came out long after the series (TOS) was over, so maybe wait until you have seen all of TOS and all the TOS movies....
As far as non-trek books, actually my favorite genre is Hard Science Fiction, which is SF that tries to stick to known science, and has more detail about the science than typical SF. One of many examples is "The Flight of the DragonFly" by Dr. Robert Forward (a physicist). The starship in the book is driven by a laser sail in our solar system! It accelerates them to 20% of the speed of light, which makes the ship arrive at Barnard's Star in 40 years. This is real science, in theory it could be built, though of course it would be extremely expensive and is a bit beyond our current engineering abilities.... but the huge advantage of a laser sail is that the ship doesn't need to bring its own fuel. You use the light from the Sun, which gives millions of times more power in one second than is needed to power the laser, and you fire it at a large reflective surface on the ship, pushing it forward. In the book, to slow down, a smaller section of the sail separated off, and reflected the light from the main laser, slowing the spacecraft. Another option would be, you could generate a strong magnetic field to repel the solar wind from the target star. 🙂
Hiya Bunny. Your reaction was interesting yet... interesting. That's why I'm watching, to see new young eyes on my TV 'Bible' of sorts. Bullets --
1. You have to remember that Gem's appearance mimicked late 60's fashion. So at adult cocktail parties, as a kid, I'd see women that actually looked a lot like Gem. And I'd smile because I knew the lady had no clue about Star Trek.
2. The 'look' you're enjoying, as you suspected, was low budget cheese. But this very look was all over THE TWILIGHT ZONE and THE OUTER LIMITS. So it was kinda like Trek saying, hey, why not adopt that look to save money and remember when.
3. A long time ago I shared that this series taught young me empathy. It's in THE CAGE, all over the series, and especially here. Even our best current shows have no clue how to do this IMO.
It is a really fascinating episode and I really enjoyed your reaction!
You make Saturdays so much fun, Bunny! Regarding the shift in tone in the third season, the new producer was trying to make new fans to replace those they lost by a timeslot change. Specifically, he was trying to make the show appeal more to women, and turned to female writers for help with this, including the one who wrote this episode.
The late actress who played Gem, acted in a soap opera for years, she played the wife of the actoer Michael Forest who played Apollo in Who mourns for Adonis.
Before that soap opera gig, Kathryn Hays had guest-starring roles in dozens of the biggest hit TV series of the 1960's, and she was always terrific -- and gorgeous. (I always thought she looked like an American version of Diana Rigg, and I had a HUGE crush on her.) She was especially wonderful and moving in an episode of "Here Come the Brides", which was my second-favorite TV show (after Star Trek) when I was in high school. In fact, Michael Forest also guest-starred in that episode -- maybe that's where they met !
This was one of two episodes, along with Miri, that was banned by the BBC; presumably because of the torture in this case, and I never got to see it until the age of VHS allowed to buy a special tape release of the two banned episodes. They turned out to be two of the best ones of course, kerk
Star Trek is a dream. They beam around the universe in an instant. They live in perpetual night. And they wear their jammies. Yep, it's a metaphor for dreaming 😊
"Weird and likeable" sums up this episode perfectly. The Empath is one of the more controversial episodes, but I like it.
Intellectually, this episode is full of plot holes. Why did the Vians insist that Gem and her people develop the quality of self-sacrifice, especially since they did not possess it themselves? Were the Vians planning on not saving themselves? If there were other planets with inhabitants, did those people also not possess that quality? Were the Vians really willing to let the entire solar system's population die out? If Gem had to die in order to demonstrate the quality of self-sacrifice, how could she then transmit that quality to the rest of her people? How did Gem's species develop the ability to heal each other without the instinct to use it? How could they be empaths but also lack empathy? And on and on and on.
All that said, I do enjoy the morality tale of this episode. The lack of funding for the third season is really evident here, leading to the stage play vibe. But that puts the focus on the message. Contrast this with, say, The Immunity Syndrome, where a similar story is told but is surrounded by the standard Star Trek ship-in-danger scenario. "Art thrives on restrictions", as stated by Nick Myers in the director's commentary to Star Trek 2.
Those plot holes make it difficult (for me) to completely embrace this episode. Kathryn Hays was excellent in this one, though.
My assumption was that they could only save but one, and the Vians were not going to be saved themselves.
plot holes...... ummmm that's not why anyone watches Sci-Fi. If it was, there'd be no Sci-Fi.
@@juangutierrez8977 How is this an assumption? The Vians stated this explicitly.
Fun Fact: For all the music heads out there. This and the episode Is There In Truth No Beauty are the first film/TV scores to use a Yahama E3 electronic keyboard synthesizer. George Duning, had a prototype version flown over from Japan.
Bunnt, love hearung that you're reading "Do Androids Fream of Electric Sheep". It's a great book. I hope you continue to read more PKD stories. You'll be surprised how many have been adapirf to the screen.
The director John Erman worked earlier on a classic Outer Limits episode called "Nightmare" that had a similar theatrical design concept. The storyline is also similar in that it involves aliens torturing soldiers except that this one takes place in a POW camp.
😺Bunny!!!😺 In the late 60's when I watched this... Self sacrifice! In a year or so I would end up reading: "The Population Bomb" (Paul R. Ehrlich, David Brower) thinking it was a book about war... => "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one." Many years later my beloved sister got me a poster: "Everything I need to know about life I learned from Star Trek" LOL You're analysis as always Rings True!!! 😺Bunny!!!😺 Thank you for sharing!
The sparseness of the set reminds me of theater, where in the strength of the actors abilities create the world. It illustrates how older movies often seem of higher quality, despite having sets that border on the laughable. They rely on storytelling as opposed to CGI to create ones suspense of belief.
Another classic trio episode.
Also, you can get cobwebs quite fast if you don't dust.
The "Pearl of Great Price" Scotty refers to at 26:15 is a reference to Matthew 13:45-46:
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The New King James Version (Mt 13:45-46)
This is why the lady was named "Gem". She is a metaphor for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Also, "In his hand are the deep places of the earth" Psalm 95:4, at the beginning by Ozaba. Rare for the show to have 2 biblical references in it.
That Episode shows how drastic the Budget Cuts where in Season 3. They supposed to be underground in a cave, but there are no rock walls like in The Devil in the Dark. All is shot in a Dark Studio hall with a lot of empty room and some props in it. You could see something like that also in the Batman Series with Adam West in the last season. Most sets of flats or villain hideouts are always dark empy rooms with some props.
AGREED.I thought the budget cuts were pretty obvious for this episode,it's not one of my favs tho,haven't seen it in years either.Only re-watched it because of Bunny's channel and her watching it.
"At least he has his shirt back on." Oh, Bunny. 😂 😂 😂
Great episode another where McCoy sacrifices his life since Kirk couldn’t make decision. The special effects on here pretty cool. The actress who plays gem is played by Kathryn Hays talented actress. She was also on on Famous soap opera called as The World Turns. She was on show ever since it ended 2010 I believe. And she played role of Kim Hughes
These aliens are similar to the Talosians in The Cage & Menagerie.
Yeah!
Except played by men rather than women.
Nice to see your journey thru those books - I'm curious and anxious about Walden 2, because it's hard for me to envision two sensibilities further removed than Thoreau and Skinner - Thoreau was a beacon of the Transcendentalist movement, with Walden almost like a kind of manifesto, whereas Skinner sought to remove all mystery and interiority from psychology, and reduce it to observable triggers and reactions - re Philip Dick, IMO the best film of his work is Scanner Darkly, also my favorite book of his
I was dreading this episode, because I saw it as a child and it traumatized me, so the memory of it lingered, as if I'd had food poisoning - I agree w all your points about it, but this just fed into the overall effect - basically, the whole episode revolves around torture and sadism - and the dark background leaves us no respite - even the luminous delicacy of Gem reminds us that her function here is to be wounded; the image that lasted in my memory was when they find Bones hanging - but your reaction helped me distance myself
I felt the same way about The Cage and The Menagerie - a feeling that I was unsafe as a viewer - and there's more of that to come this season - your term "eclectic" is an excellent way to describe Season 3, for better or worse - but I do agree that the sheer variety and unpredictability is a virtue unto itself - I don't know why the sadism is so upsetting here; is it because I was exposed so young, or is it the family-friendly context of such a series, which is usually so colorful - in any case, it's always challenging, one way or another
- regarding the premise of torture showing a path to deeper understanding, there are two films from our own century that address this - one is Martyrs, which evokes Bataille's Tears of Eros - and the other is W Delta Z, which I never see discussed, a really brilliant and penetrating inquiry into the limits of love, shrouded in genre clothing
On the excellent "Enterprise Incidents with Scott & Steve" podcast, Scott becomes very emotional discussing this episode at the end...
I think I would enjoy listening to that. Especially since many people seem to despise this episode!
@@bunnytailsREACTS I believe this is probably the most polarising episode of all in TOS. People seem to either love it (ranking it in their personal Top 10) or hate it (as shown by how frequently it appears on 'worst of' lists) with very little middle ground between. Personally, I think it's one of Trek's best and it's always nice to see a reviewer appreciating it as it can go either way and often does.
When I was kid, I had the VHS and recorded this episode on a cassette tape to listen to at night, in bed. Not a great episode to have in audio only because it is very dialogue light, but I loved that I had an episode on cassette tape. Also, You should do a book channel. (Too much on your plate, I know.)
For me, this was one of the standouts of the third season. The first fan written "spec script' to be used in the Star Trek universe (a rare instance in any TV series). The music is original as well. The debut of the Yamaha Organ for any movie or TV episode.
This episode tends not to get very highly ranked, but I love it. I find Gem (yeah, it sounds so much like Jim, maybe Bones could have suggested Jewel) very sweet and charming, much like the music. Not to get too serious, but I always thought of her as a kind of Christ figure, taking the pains and problems of others upon herself. Oddly enough, I guess I also think of her as being sort of like Wolverine -- she takes on the pains and wounds of others (Wolverine doesn't), but then instantly heals them in her own body. Frankly, the Vians have a heck of a nerve insisting that she should be willing to give her life. The offer, the attempt, to risk her life is plenty -- just save her people, already. On other topics: I finally saw Hamilton two months ago, after decades of skipping stage work, and I would say that you owe it to yourself to experience the stage. The stage is, after all, where drama began, and it's marvelous how so tight a framework of time and space can encompass so much wit and energy and story. Also, there was a time in my life when I was curious about Skinner's behaviorism. Skinner made a lot more sense to me than Freud -- and still does. However, I decided that behaviorism was not the cure-all that "Walden Two" was selling it as. Thank you for this.
Oh you saw Hamilton, nice! I hope I can as well!
I can't believe that in all of my decades of watching TOS that I cannot remember watching this episode before! And it's pretty damn good! Katherine Hays plays a fantastic part in this.
She "Gem"(Kathryn Hays) was in The Night Gallery With Leonard Nimoy "She'll Be Company for You"
Episode aired Dec 24, 1972
Gem heals them and it all goes away ! The benz comes from nitrogen in the blood , actually from being thousands of feet underwater , scuba diving - good episode 😅