diff --git a/src/compiler/emitter.ts b/src/compiler/emitter.ts
index 8081668f98c..5181a0f17f5 100644
--- a/src/compiler/emitter.ts
+++ b/src/compiler/emitter.ts
@@ -21,8 +21,7 @@ namespace ts {
 var __extends = (this && this.__extends) || function (d, b) {
     for (var p in b) if (b.hasOwnProperty(p)) d[p] = b[p];
     function __() { this.constructor = d; }
-    __.prototype = b.prototype;
-    d.prototype = new __();
+    d.prototype = b === null ? Object.create(b) : (__.prototype = b.prototype, new __());
 };`;
 
         // emit output for the __decorate helper function