Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 31: Metamorphosis [VHS]
Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy  (DeForest Kelley) accompany a Federation ambassador (Elinor Donahue ofFather Knows Best) aboard a shuttle bound for a rendezvous with theEnterprise. The ambassador, Commissioner Nancy Hedford, needs to be  treated for possible contact with an alien disease, and she haughtily insists  that her escorts get through this interruption in her work as quickly as  possible. But a vaporous, translucent life form called "the Companion" has other  ideas, traveling across space in search of humans who can ease the loneliness of  a pilot (Glenn Corbett) marooned on a barren planet for more than a century.  Kirk, however, offers the stranded man an alternative: a return to  civilization. Whether he wants it is another matter--he and the  Companion share an extraordinary intimacy of the mind and heart. A kind of  chamber drama largely set in a single locale, "Metamorphosis" was written by series producer Gene L. Coon and directed by frequentTrekhelmsman  Ralph Senensky. Guest stars Corbett and Donahue are a bit monotonous in their performances, a little under par for a guest shot on the series. But  Coon's story compensates with another fascinating application of one of his pet  themes: empathy shared between different species. Kirk and Spock's knowing  looks, as they begin to understand the Companion's true feelings for her  captive man, by themselves make this episode worth watching.--Tom Keogh