Mudd's Women

A rather bizarre and opaque space encounter, with a procurer who's a bit of a bounder, ferries ladies about, who hypnotically pout, causing men to distract and to flounder.

The Enterprise's crystals have cracked, Rigel XII is where they're going to extract, the lithium needed, to stop being impeded, and return to their previous track.

Captain Kirk demonstrates more restraint than most when a supplier of ladies causes the Enterprise to divert to acquire new Lithium crystals and the miners of said crystals don't play ball. Although it's never really clear what's in it for Paddy Mudd.

I am thrilled that they made this average episode because without it they probably never would have made the wonderful follow-up episode, I, MUDD--one of the very best Star Trek episodes ever made.

Harry Mudd is the commander of a craft that is ordered to stop and be boarded. Instead, he over-taxes the engines and he and his "cargo" are nearly killed. The cargo turns out to be three very ordinary-looking women who are supposed to be über-sexy (you can tell because of the sexy jazz riffs that follow them as they slink about the ship).

The episode is pretty good because Roger Carmel was wonderful as Harry Mudd--he was funny and sleazy and just a lot of fun to watch. Aside from his performance, though, the rest of it all just seemed ordinary. No magic--just an ordinary show with nothing to especially recommend it.

By the way, for Star Trek purists, they keep referring to Lithium Crystals. Later, they changed it to Dilithium Crystals that powered the ship.

FYI--The first few episodes were shown in a completely convoluted manner. This is why Uhuru is wearing yellow instead of the familiar ref (which she wore in the first episode aired). This one was filmed BEFORE the first aired episode ("The Man Trap").

This is the first appearance of Harry Mudd, scoundrel of space, a con artist whose cargo are three lovely ladies. He next showed up in the episode "I,Mudd" and even a cartoon version popped up in the animated series in '73. I was never a big fan of the character like many other Trek fans; of all the characters to bring back, they chose this oaf with the huge belt buckle, a throwback to the era of stylish pirates with big earrings. Sure, he can be amusing, but in small doses; after 10 minutes, you want to throw him in the brig to shut him up. He sort of reminds me of the typical characters encountered on the more silly "Lost in Space" TV show. Carmel, a good actor, also tended to be something of a ham and couldn't resist some over-the-top scenery chewing.

This is one of the weaker episodes of the first season, slow going and uneventful. There's a bit of mystery surrounding the three women, who have an odd effect on all the male crew (except Spock, who looks on bemused), causing involuntary arousal. I was more interested in the early use of the transporter at the beginning of the episode, when Mudd's ship is destroyed, but the women had not yet transported to safety on the Enterprise and, for a few moments, there's a question as to whether they would be. For a few seconds, this means they were neither dead or alive, in some limbo, and it all depended on Scotty's and Spock's deft handling of the machinery. This would mirror similar scenes involving transporter use in later episodes. Towards the final act, our beloved starship is once again in danger of spiraling down to its destruction on the planet it orbits, similar to the much more effective "The Naked Time" episode made close to the same time.

But there's no sense of actual tension during this episode. Mostly, the captain and his crew are irritated by Mudd and perplexed by the women - that's pretty much it. The entire plot seems somewhat beneath Kirk and his ship to deal with, including the subplot about some possibly illegal drug. Interestingly, Kirk is all business in this episode, with no time for romance. There is one great exchange between Kirk & McCoy as they conjecture on the mysterious aura of the women and at least one fine performance from guest star Dynarski as one of the miners in the 2nd half of the show. He would later appear as a completely different character in a much later episode, "The Mark of Gideon."

"Mudd's Women" (Oct. 13, 1966) Old TV Guide synopsis: 'Kirk encounters Harry Mudd, a convicted smuggler who is traveling through space with three stunning women.' Roger C. Carmel's Harry Mudd is one of the show's most renowned rogues (returning in the second season's "I, Mudd"), but this Gene Roddenberry original storyline generally focuses on his 'cargo,' three lovely young ladies who have an exaggerated effect on the male members of the Enterprise crew. Drug addiction also finds its way into the final script, as Mudd's steady supply keeps the girls presentable for prospective husbands. Karen Steele enjoyed a lengthy career on the small screen, while that of Maggie Thrett and Susan Denberg concluded by the mid 70s. Susan played five roles during the course of one year before vanishing from show business, best remembered for her starring opposite Peter Cushing in "Frankenstein Created Woman."

I can see what was risky about 'Mudd's Women' back in the '60s, but at the risk of betraying immaturity, it's the superficial aspects of this episode that grabbed me. For one, Harry Mudd's a fun character and I look forward to seeing him again (I hear good things about 'I, Mudd'). Also, the focus on three super fine actresses; the eye candy runneth over. Plenty of mileage is gotten out of crew members going to pieces at the sight of a beautiful woman (not to mention Spock smirking at all of this). It's the last act that's a bit off, and that believe in yourself bit feels forced.

But it's still an enjoyable episode, with a scoundrel for a (somewhat) foil and for the most part a suitably comic tone.

6/10