The Empath

Either Minara Threatening to Supernova, or an Egg Being Fertilized.

 

79)  “The Empath”  Original Airdate: (12/6/68)  Remaster Airdate: (07/26/08)

 

Evaluation:

From the results of this penultimate RM episode, it’s obvious that the team was running on nearly-spent dilithium crystals.  Worn out from the demands of renovating the FX for eighty TOS episodes, the RM team took a minimalist approach to the dated visual (and audio) effects in “Empath.”  While audio elements don’t fall within the purview of the RM project, it would’ve been nice if they’d have replaced or tightened up some of the sound effects in this episode.  The patented boing sound (see: “The Gamesters of Triskelion”) is as persistent as a prank caller in the episode and starts to grate on the nerves after a few instances.  One sound heard with great frequency in the underground labs is the Theremin; an ethereal musical instrument heavily utilized in 50s sci-fi movies.  This auditory annoyance sounds exceedingly dated when compared to modern, digital sound effects.  As for the show’s visuals, the new Minara II is brilliantly rendered in russet hues to honor the original planet’s cinnamon cast.  A couple of effects that needed some CG surgery but failed to go under the RM knife are: the reddish-orange ripple effect that envelops characters/objects before they wink in/out of the frame, and the swirling, multicolored force field that imprisons the crew.  The spinning effect on McCoy’s tricorder hasn’t been updated either.  Although many of the wound transference sequences have been touched up (most spectacularly the smoothed out images of the wounds on Kirk’s wrists and McCoy’s face), the same tacky white star appears when Gem touches Kirk’s boo-boo in the initial healing session.  The mirage shot, when Scotty and the rescue party vanish from view, wasn’t touched up but was livable in its original stop-motion form.  The viewscreen shot of the sun nearing its extinction is exceptionally well-done and is an appropriate visual reminder of the planet’s impending fate.  Kudos to the RM team for going the extra mile!  The end still features the same silly shot of the Vians slowly drifting away and upward, but it’s hard to diagnose how the RM team could’ve salvaged the sequence.  It’s unclear whether or not this sequence inspired Q’s stylized exit in the courtroom scene in TNG’s “Encounter at Farpoint.”  What is certain is that the original show’s creativity was severely constricted by the lack of coin and that the RM team’s creativity was significantly stifled by sheer attrition.

 

Money Shot:  The wrist/face healing sequences and the shot of the sun preparing to supernova.

 

Wish List:  The sound effects listed above and better FX on McCoy’s tricorder, the Vian force field, the wink out effect and the white starburst that appears during the first occurrence of wound transference.

 

Remaster Grade:  C+

 

Screencaps:

 

Original                                                                             Remastered