This is about the only episode where I wished they would just get to the end. All those interminable shots of Gem's' one 'expression' while music swelled in the background each time became very hard to bear after a while. Yes I know it was all about empathy and the human spirit and sacrifice and all, but that was overshadowed by the terrible miming which was really over-egged. The 'logic' when the reason for it all was revealed fell short as well. How had Gem's race survived until now if they were so lacking in compassion and decency? How were they so primitive that they had to be taught such basics of civilisation yet apparently (even in 'captivity') could be so perfectly presented with faultless nails, hair and make-up? Of course I'm used to suspending disbelief quite often when watching Star Trek episodes, that's par for the course, but somehow I couldn't quite manage it for this.
Review of The Empath
