Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.06 Mudd’s Women
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/16
Notable Guest Stars:
Roger C. Carmel – Harry Mudd. Mudd would be a reoccuring character through out TOS and the Animated series.
Gene Dynarski – Ben Childress. He would appear as various other characters over the series.
Karen Steele – Eve McHuron. She was a popular character actor on television.
Review:
This episode is one of my father’s favorites, and I’m not opposed to it, although I cringe slightly at the subtle human trafficking feel this episode has. I suppose the main moral of this episode was supposed to be accept who you are, that’s the best you.
Harry Mudd, apparently, works as the middle man in arranged marriages between three women who have medically enhanced beauty and various miners who are without wives. Although it takes a while to get that out, so at first it just looks like he’s selling women.
Kirk has none of this, and decides to hold Mudd on trial for avoiding them (they never explain exactly what brought him into their view in the first place). Mudd gets around that by contacting the miners himself and they insist on the women before giving Kirk his desperately needed supplies.
Everything turns out for the best, except for Mudd.
Interesting Notes:
For all the talk about how Kirk is such a playboy, McCoy seems to be worse. Kirk has only flirted a bit so far in this series, McCoy has been distracted by the pretty several times.
Pros:
- Kirk is a competent Captain. He also apologizes when he looses his temper. It feels a bit more natural then some of the artificually calm captain moments in some series.
- Spock spends half this episode midly amused at the rest of the crew. The rest he is just annoyed this is taking so long.
Cons:
- Why isn’t there any backup dilithium crystals? I would think you would have at least 3, if the ship runs on 6.
- there are some awkward cuts with the effects in this episode.
Sokorra Lewis 