Guest star Alan Bergmann said, "Given the minimal sets and the ludicrous pajama-like costumes of the regulars, the episode was quite successful in text and production." Writer Joyce Muskat said, "When I saw it, there were a lot of changes. But the storyline of Gem learning something is the same, and the idea of the stark setting and four characters interacting was still there. So I couldn't find fault with it. I was very satisfied." Critical response In 2015, Polygon ranked "The Empath" as one of the three best Spock-centric episodes of Star Trek. They praised the episode for its moralistic conclusion and what they call the best acting performance by Nimoy, who plays Spock. A 2018 Star Trek binge-watching guide by Den of Geek, recommended this episode for featuring the trio of characters Kirk, Spock, and Bones of the original series. Home video releases This episode was released in Japan on December 21, 1993 as part of the complete season 3 LaserDisc set, Star Trek: Original Series log.3. A trailer for this and the other episodes was also included, and the episode had English and Japanese audio tracks. The cover script was スター・トレック TVサードシーズン This episode was included in TOS Season 3 remastered DVD box set, with the remastered version of this episode. References Citations Sources External links "The Empath" Story outline report and script analysis by Dave Eversole Star Trek: The Original Series (season 3) episodes 1968 American television episodes Fiction about supernovae Television episodes pulled from general rotation