Talk:The Empath

Choosing which people to save

It's odd to me that there's no mention that, by defending Gem and trying to convince the Vians to save her people, the Enterprise crew are effectively choosing her people over the others. One more convenient violation of the prime directive? LarryJeff (talk) 18:25, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

I don't think it is a violation of the prime directive. This rule only applies if you have a choice, i.e if you can decide to interfere or not. In this case (as in most other episodes of TOS), no choice to stay out of trouble could be made. The interference was already there. So the decision to support Gem's race was just human. --Robinandroid (talk) 12:45, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

WikiuserNI, I could have worded the original post better, but I was actually discussing the article (and whether this potential prime directive problem should be mentioned). I see how my intent was misunderstood as a WP:FORUM violation.

Robinandroid, I'm not convinced. They did have a choice, they could have chosen to just let the Vians make their choice without attempting to influence them either way. Their mere presence was not interference. LarryJeff (talk) 14:03, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

If it really is a question of content, then no, unless cited. Further discussion amongst ourselves as to whether we've found a plot hole or something else of note in the writing serves no point.

I would readily remove any mention in the article that read along the lines "I've noticed a possible Prime Directive violation". WikiuserNI (talk) 14:24, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Agreed with WikiuserNI. --Robinandroid (talk) 13:47, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Merge Joyce Muskat into this page?

Joyce Muskat wrote this episode but appears to have sold no other TV episodes; as far as I can tell she is written about only in connection with this episode. Shall we merge Merge Joyce Muskat into this article? Jodi.a.schneider (talk) 04:10, 22 May 2014 (UTC)

Fully support. Apologies for the delay. The Joyce Muskat article, based on its contents, doesn't meet notability, and it's reasonable to assume that if the subject is notable that that article would have been expanded in the near-decade since this issue was raised. Canonblack (talk) 14:26, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Actor playing Lal

The credits say that Lal (the first Vian) is played by one named Alan Bergmann, but he really looks and talks like John Le Mesurier, who was a distinguished British actor of that time. Herbmuell (talk) 19:40, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

So your argument is that, because you've never heard of Bergmann, the established facts therefore must be wrong and you are right? If you can find a reliable source supporting your claim--and you won't--cite it and make the change. Le Mesurier never appeared on Star Trek and rarely appeared on US television. Canonblack (talk) 14:37, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Muskat or Muskrat

As it now stands, the article calls the writer Joyce Muskat in five places and Joyce Muskrat (with an R) in two places. I'm almost sure her name is Muskat, but not 100%. In any case, I no longer make edits to articles so I'm not going to be the one to fix it. 50.49.127.222 (talk) 16:25, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

• Corrected article. Thanks. Sir Rhosis (talk) 20:27, 11 June 2025 (UTC)