Star Trek -- Season 2 Episode 8 (I, Mudd)

Harcourt Fenton “Harry” Mudd is an odd character.  He’s annoying, outlandish, conniving and opportunistic.  The character could easily have gone off the rails.  Roger C. Carmel did well enough in Mudd’s Women that he was asked to come back for a second episode called I, Mudd.

The Enterprise is commandeered by an android called Norman.  He takes the ship to a planet with over 200,000 androids and one human.  Somehow, Mudd came to live on that planet.  The inhabitants have been good to him so far, in that they’ve given him everything he could ever want.  The only notable exception would be a way off the planet.   That’s where The Enterprise comes in.  The crew is beamed down to the surface.  Mudd is told that he’ll be beamed down.

It isn’t until the androids start making modifications to the ship that their ruse is discovered.  Given Mudd as their only example of humanity, the androids have come to the conclusion that humanity needs to be tamed.  They will do so by serving humanity and making them complacent enough that they’ll need the androids.  The scary part is that it could work.  Of course, the humans are able to outsmart the androids.  Kirk gets his ship back and leaves Mudd to the androids.  Mudd can leave, provided that he becomes a better man.  However, it will likely be a rather long sentence.

This is one of those episodes that could only have worked in the context of The Original Series. The Next Generation-era shows tended to be more sophisticated.  Here, the androids are undone by simple logical paradoxes.  Spock claims to love one android and hate another android, despite the fact that they’re both the same model.  Norman, who acts as a controller, is undone by the liar paradox.  It’s all neat and orderly.

It’s also a bit odd that given a population of 200,000 androids that can create anything, no one thought to build a ship.  Their creators are long gone, but created a ship that could travel from the Andromeda Galaxy.  Mudd must have also had a ship.  How is it that they had to steal the Enterprise?

For that matter, how did Norman insinuate himself into the crew?  He would have had to have been transferred.  I suppose it’s no big deal for them to fake orders, but it’s still a lot of effort given that they didn’t really need a ship.  Even if you say that they needed a Federation ship, why not build an exact replica?  (For that matter, how did Norman get off the planet if they didn’t have a ship in the first place?)

It’s one of those episodes that becomes confusing if you start to think about it.  Given that the planet’s androids were so easily outmaneuvered, it’s hard to believe that a full-scale invasion would have worked.  It would have been a matter of time before someone would have figured out how to stop the androids.  If not that, then another race, such as the Vulcans, would have come to our aid.

The story is more about humans not being able to survive in captivity.  Even the best cage is still a cage.  There has to be some motivation to do better.  Even when Kirk leaves Mudd on the planet, he gives Mudd an out.  If he doesn’t want to stay there forever, he has to change his ways.

In a way, it’s a shame that more wasn’t done with the concept.  It’s conceivable that other similar outposts were located elsewhere in the galaxy.  I realize that The Next Generation couldn’t rely on The Original Series for too many episodes, but it would have made for a nice reference.  Maybe have an Andorian or Romulan mention finding a group of the same androids.  Maybe they’ll show up on Star Trek:  Discovery.

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Star Trek -- Season 1 Episode 6 (Mudd's Women)

Any advanced society is going to have an undesirable element.  There will be places that aren’t safe.  There will be people who are less than reputable.  The United Federation of Planets is no exception.   Harcourt Fenton “Harry” Mudd is one such example.  He tries to evade Starfleet’s flagship only to be brought aboard with what would seem to be his crew, except that the three beautiful young women are not his crew.  They‘re his cargo.  You see, he supplies lonely men with wives.

In rescuing Mudd, The Enterprise burns out it’s dilithium crystals.  They can get more, but Mudd sees an opportunity.  Dilithium miners tend to be especially wealthy and especially lonely.  He’s able to contact the miners and do his own negotiating, knowing that the ship is in no position to negotiate.  If Captain Kirk refuses, the ship will stay in orbit of the planet indefinitely.  What’s a captain to do?  Kirk is able to eventually get his crystals and help both the miners and the women.  As for Mudd, he’ll be brought to justice.

If you’re wondering, yes, the women really do appear to be that attractive.  All the men, with the exception of the half-Vulcan Spock, fall for them.  In fact, Mudd is able to use the women to get information from various male crewmembers.  The catch is that the beauty comes from a pill.  Without the pill, the women seem much more plain.  Herein lies the moral:  Attractiveness need not come from a chemical.  It’s not clear if Mudd’s pill is a fake, but Kirk is able to get the same effect through a placebo.

One thing I find odd, at least from a modern perspective, is how it would seem that almost all of the male crew fawn over the women and the female crewmembers don’t.  Yes, it’s the 1960’s.  That may have been a bit too daring for Star Trek at the time.  Still, to even have that kind of attention paid to beauty is a bit much.  Humans are supposed to be more evolved than that.

Speaking of which, it was a minor miracle that Mudd was as likable as he was, considering that he was trading in people.  He’s trying to use women to turn a profit, which would seem to be a rather inappropriate way to make a living.  This is mentioned, albeit briefly, since it does put Kirk in an awkward position.  He doesn’t want to use the women to get the crystals he needs, but he has little other choice.

This brings me to a third point.  It would seem that Kirk has some time in orbit before it would decay.  It’s not mentioned whether or not he could call for backup.  (At the very least, another ship might be able to bring some dilithium crystals.)  Space is big, so it’s conceivable that the nearest ship would take too long to get there.  Kirk does also point out that there would be consequences for the miners if they insist on taking the women as payment.  It’s not a major issue, as Kirk is able to deal with the situation himself.  It’s just one of those things I wondered about.

The episode did pretty well considering that this is only the sixth episode of the first season.  It could have been better, but I’m saying this with the advantage of fifty years of hindsight.  There are certain aspects of the episode that are undoubtedly a product of the era and it did manage to get a message across effectively.

Roger C. Carmel is also able to sell the character of Harvey Mudd.  Had he been played any other way, the episode might not have come across as well.  Carmel also plays well off of William Shatner.  Mudd is as goofy as Kirk is serious.

If you’re watching the series streaming or on DVD, I’d say it’s worth watching.  Mudd will make an appearance later in the series.  It’s worth noting that he doesn’t seem to have learned his lesson.

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