BEING TEXAN: HOW THE PEN/PIN MERGER SCREWED UP STAR TREK FOR ME!

 

So here's an example how problematic the pen/pin merger, which is diagnostic of a Texan accent, can be. When I was a kid and TOS was just then being syndicated on afternoon and late-night TV, I came across this classic episode. "The Empath" S03 E12.

First of all, I recognized the actress playing the mute empath as Kathryn Hays, who portrayed Kim on As the World Turns. As I said she's a mute empath, and McCoy decides to give her a name, so they don't call her something like "Hey You." To my ear, he names her Jim after Captain Kirk -- why I don't know. Anyway, at the end of the episode, when the trio are talking about her, Scotty says that she must have been a "pearl of great price" (referring to the NT parable). I never entirely understood how Scotty quite got there, but I just accepted it.

This is an episode that I've seen many times and liked, as kind of a Rod Serling-esque take on the morality play. I only realized lately that McCoy actually named her Gem instead -- which was actually meant to set up the Scotty anecdote as a parable and in-episode joke. (Much like the son/sun confusion in the episode "Bread and Circuses, but much more visibly so.)

Could they have called her anything else, like Jewel, Ruby or Pearl to make the reference / joke more obvious to this poor Texan's ears and understanding. Apparently not.