58 Years Ago, ‘Star Trek’s Most Unsettling Episode Took the Sci-Fi Series Somewhere Darker

Over the years, Star Trek: The Original Series' Captain Kirk (William Shatner) has earned a reputation as a womanizer and a man of action. While the former isn't an entirely fair statement, there's little doubt that Kirk is willing to do whatever it takes for the sake of his crew. Sure, he may be down from time to time, but Kirk's never out of a fight, and he rarely finds himself not holding the upper hand at some point over the course of a storyline. But 57 years ago, one of the series' most crushing and best episodes, "The Empath," brought Captain Kirk to a place he's rarely been — at a distinct disadvantage — while showing off a side to the series that hadn't been seen before.