I’ll be satisfied if I can find the rest of the damn books. The wife cleans, you see. Or as I call it, hides my shit.
Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto , you’re beautiful!
All right folks, let’s kick it back in gear - this week’s episode, “Mudd’s Women”. This is one I remember from long ago, though again the specifics had gotten fuzzy over the years. And this one is good, it’s a solid little episode that cranks along with purpose. Now the episode keeps us a bit in the dark about what that purpose is, and doesn’t really get to its central conflict until well into the episode, but Mudd (and his women) are introduced early, and we’re clued in pretty quick that something is off about them.
Again, we’re asked to accept things that really wouldn’t fly in this day and age - Mudd is transporting mail order brides, essentially. The show does take pains to express that the women are going voluntarily, and that they’re giving up dark and dreary existences in the hope of something better (though the fact that they’re escaping to what’s likely an equally dreary existence isn’t really addressed). The women are shown to have their own opinions and agendas, with Eve given a bit more opportunity to express herself as an individual, especially once the Enterprise reaches Rigel XII.
The stakes are raised when we’re told that the Enterprise has burned out all but one of its “lithium crystals” in the rescue effort to get Mudd and his women out of a bad situation - I believe the first real mention of the Enterprise’s power source. Mudd sets up his own power play to get his hands on the very valuable crystals by negotiating a trade for wives, and the stage is set.
Like I said, I enjoyed this episode. It may not be one of the greats but it’s solid and really entertaining. The crew all get great moments, and I have to point out this dialogue between Kirk and McCoy that really cracked me up:
Captain James T. Kirk: Well, come on, you’re the doctor. What is it? Is it that we’re tired and they’re beautiful… and they are INCREDIBLY beautiful.
Lt. Cmdr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, M.D.: Are they, Jim? Are they actually more lovely, pound for pound, measurement per measurement, than any other women you’ve known, or is it that they just… well, ACT beautiful? No, strike that. Strike that.
Captain James T. Kirk: What are they, Bones?
Lt. Cmdr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, M.D.: You mean are they alien illusions? That sort of thing?
Captain James T. Kirk: I asked you first.
Lt. Cmdr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, M.D.: No. An alien smart enough to pull this would be smart enough to keep my medical scanner from going “BLEEP.”
Captain James T. Kirk: I don’t follow you.
Lt. Cmdr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, M.D.: I don’t either.
I also really liked the character of Mudd. He’s pretty hammy, but fits in well with the rest of the cast. But he makes a good foil for the relatively straitlaced crew, as a guy who works out on the edges of civilized space trying to make a buck. And we’re not yet into post-currency Federation yet either, as Kirk and Mudd both try to negotiate with the crystal miners to get what they need.
The only real hitch I find is the climax, which I find to be confusing. Mudd and Kirk reveal to Childers that the women are as beautiful as they are because of the Venus drug, with Eve showing her true self once the drug wears off. But then she grabs the pill, swallows it and returns to her beautiful appearance - then Kirk reveals it was a placebo, and that she is what she is by her own will? What happened here? The drug is shown to have clear effects not just on the people who take it, but on people around them who view them. And her appearance has changed for them but also the viewer. I wonder if they were trying something kind of funny like implying the viewer was under their spell as well? It’s hard to say, but it struck me as kind of odd.
Anyway I’m running long so I’ll bring this to an end. One last observation: in the future, playing cards are round!
Mudd’s Women
S1E06
Story: Gene Roddenberry
Teleplay: Stephen Kandel
Mudd. Harcourt Fenton Mudd. I like the character. This episode? It’s always been down there wit the most boring, “nothing happens” episodes of TOS for me. Not much to say, from my standpoint. There is little suspense or action. The Enterprise catches a Panderer, or Human Trafficker (who as I said, is entertaining) everyone gets a chance to say “Hubba Hubba”, a lesson is presented on relationships on a mining planet by an unlikable miner and an unlikable trafficked woman, Venus drug, the end.
The best moment of the whole episode was the scene with the computer listing Harry’s record.
Psychiatric Treament…Effectiveness Disputed.
Mr. Spock: Any past offenses, Mr. Mudd?
Harcourt Fenton Mudd aka Leo Walsh: Of course not. Gentlemen, I’m simply an honest businessman.
Computer Voice:: Incorrect.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd aka Leo Walsh: Blast that tin-plated pot.
The great comedy of that scene is really contrasted with a claustrophobic, drab, boring episode.
Anyway, This episode slides into last place for me. Even the actors look like they want this one to end. Mudd’s eyes are a window into a man’s dead soul here in this scene. Another “winner” where Gene says, “I have an idea…” and someone else has to write an action-less claustrophobic plot. Just run the show. Quit trying to write.
Navaronegun’s Running Re-View Rankings ™
1.) The Man Trap
2.) Where No Man Has Gone Before
3.) The Naked Time
4.) Charlie X
5.) The Enemy Within
6.) Mudd’s Women
I recall liking this a lot more when I was a young lad. Might have had something to do with how this made me feel.
I do love Mudd though. He’s a fun character and it’s nice he returns in season 2. My wife is watching with me now (she’s a fan of TOS) and both of us laughed at the exchange between Kirk and McCoy mentioned above.
The whole mail order bride thing went waaaaaay over my head when I was younger. It’s interesting that they make it clear these women are just looking for a better life, but even in Roddenberry’s optimistic future, what most women want it to find a husband and “settle down”.
To Dive’s comment about how the placebo still makes Eve beautiful. I kind of read it as the make-up and hair changes were there to help the audience understand that the women when under the effect of the drug had more confidence. But yeah. It’s comes off as weird.
Notes:
- Holy soft focus, Batman!
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McCoy first mentions how much he hates the Transporter
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Kirk less affected by the women because he married to the ship.
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Holy belt buckles, Batman!
- Uhura in gold? Had they not settled on red?
-Greg Out
We could go down a rabbit hole about uniform colors (and I’m pretty sure we have in another thread) but Uhura caught my attention too. I’m guessing they hadn’t really thought it through at this point although Spock and McCoy have been pretty consistent in blue, and Scott in red. We’ve seen Kirk in green and gold though that’s understandable to visually differentiate good and evil Kirk - so at this point I’m just not going to give it much thought.
The gold or yellow shirts were supposed to be green.
Also, those gold shirts worn by Kirk and crew? Well they might not have been so gold after all. According to an interview with Star Trek 's costume designer, William Theiss, the idea was for the show’s uniforms to be red, blue, and green. In fact, on the set, Kirk’s outfit certainly looked to be an avocado (or lime) green, but the end result was a little different when the studio lights finally hit the uniform.
“It was one of those film stock things,” Theiss said, “it photographed one way—burnt orange or a gold. But in reality was another; the command shirts were definitely green.”
Yeah, I’ve read that before but I feel like this is a case where whatever they intended at the time, it’s been superseded by fifty years of continuity at this point.
Still, have to wonder why the tunic shows up as green but the normal shirt looks gold? Either way, it did work to help distinguish the two Kirks.
Well, big picture time here for a bit. We are six episodes in, and one of my preconceived notions has been overturned already. Now, this is subject to change as we continue with S1, but I had always somehow had it in my head that TOS just rocketed out with great episodes like Corbomite and Balance of Terror , maintained that high in S2 and then for budgetary reasons, slides in S3. But S1 is really having a lot of hiccups early. We are 6 in, and I think I have 2 Top 25s, two “Inoffensives” and 2 “Bad”. Even if that skews upward a bit, that is still not a solid kickoff.
I’m not totally sure what your point has to do with the quoted part, but still it’s a reasonable point. I’ve never watched Star Trek front to back, and if you had asked me before we started this little exercise what the pilot was I’d probably have said, “Uh, The Menagerie I guess?”
So I didn’t really have any preconceived notions about how high the bar was set from the start, and generally I’ve been pretty pleased. I guess I’m a little surprised that they chose to run the thematically similar Charlie X and Where No Man Has Gone Before back-to-back, but overall I’d call it a pretty strong start. I think I’d be a bit disappointed if they had started really strong and fallen off.
I know some of my favorite episodes are coming up and I’m anxious to see them again. But I haven’t been let down yet, though I know there are some stinkers ahead too. I may have to shift viewing time to the evening so I can enjoy with a drink.
I haven’t been let down at all; I know how good this series is. But looking at the start with an even eye and being critical, I am impressed at how flawed this thing was early. And a theme I have picked up is that whenever the Story is credited to Gene, and the teleplay is credited to someone else, we’re in for a very uneven episode that is a bit tone-deaf to dramatic tension.
I’m not having a problem with the dramatic tension, myself. Clearly some episodes have more than others but what they’re doing really well in these early episodes is building their world. Of course, Star Trek isn’t serialized, but we learn a little more with each new episode. It’s not all clean - Mudd still refers to Spock as “Vulcanian” in this last ep - but it’s all getting parceled out to us, almost surreptitiously. Had I been around in the late 60s I would have just gone nuts waiting for next week to roll around.
Oh, are they now?
All right, that’s it, I’m out. That is one continuity error too far for me, Mr Roddenberry.
What do you mean Mr. Barrymore isn’t at home? He’s supposed to be on set today!
It’s funny, I love the character (and actor) of Harry. I personally consider Mudd’s Women worse than Spock’s Brain. At least that was fun.
Agree 100%. And despite what @krayzkrok says I think Mudd’s Women competes with Spoiler Spoiler The Alternative Factor Spoiler and Wink of An Eye for sh*ttiest episode in the Franchise. :)
Mudd’s Women, still worse. Maybe the worst. Because I find parts of both of those enjoyable. I guess it’s the brig for me. That’s okay. It’ll let me catch up on my technical journals.
I guess it’s possible there are worse episodes than this, but I’m going to have to be convinced.