Mudd's Women
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"Mudd's Women" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
television series ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''. Written by Stephen Kandel, based on a story by
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...
, and directed by
Harvey Hart Harvey Hart (March 19, 1928 – November 22, 1989) was a Canadian television and film director and a television producer. Hart studied at the University of Toronto before being hired by the CBC in 1952.Rist, Peter Harry (2001). "Harvey Hart ...
, it first aired on October 13, 1966. In the episode, the ''
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...
'' pursues a vessel and rescues its occupants
Harry Mudd Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...
, an interstellar con man, and the three mysteriously beautiful women he is transporting to become the wives of settlers. This is the first of two episodes of the original series to feature Harry Mudd. He also appears in "
I, Mudd "I, Mudd" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Stephen Kandel and directed by Marc Daniels, it was first broadcast on November 3, 1967. The crew of the ''Ente ...
", the animated series ( ''TAS'') episode " Mudd's Passion", and in '' Star Trek: Discovery'', as a recurring character.


Plot

The USS ''Enterprise'', under the command of
Captain Kirk James Tiberius Kirk, often known as Captain Kirk, is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterp ...
, is in pursuit of an unregistered cargo spaceship. The ship overloads its engines in an escape attempt through an asteroid field. Kirk orders ''Enterprise''s shields extended around the other spacecraft to protect it until its occupants can be transported aboard ''Enterprise''. This action severely strains the ''Enterprise''s systems and destroys all but one of the
lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...
crystal circuits in the ''Enterprise''s warp engines.In later episodes warp engines are powered by
dilithium Dilithium, Li2, is a strongly electrophilic, diatomic molecule comprising two lithium atoms covalently bonded together. Li2 has been observed in the gas phase. It has a bond order of 1, an internuclear separation of 267.3  pm and a bon ...
crystals rather than lithium crystals. The in-universe relation of a lithium crystal to a dilithium crystal has never been explained. It is possible its use was replaced by dilithium, or it could be a related component.
The ''Enterprise'' beams the cargo ship's three passengers and captain aboard, just as an asteroid impact destroys their spaceship. In the transporter room, the captain gives his name as Leo Walsh. The three women who accompany him are stunningly beautiful, and they distract the male crew members of the ''Enterprise,'' excluding
Mr. Spock Spock is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as science officer and first officer (and Kirk's second-in-command) a ...
, whose Vulcan heritage makes him immune to female charms. The women are intended as wives for settlers on the planet
Ophiuchus Ophiuchus () is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. The serpent is represented by the constellati ...
III and are introduced as Ruth Bonaventure, Eve McHuron, and Magda Kovacs. All three signed on with Walsh to escape a situation in which their marriage prospects were slim or non-existent. Kirk convenes a hearing, during which the computer contradicts Walsh's testimony, reporting that his ship master's license has been revoked and forcing him to reveal his true name, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, a criminal with an extensive record. The hearing ends as the final lithium crystal fails. Without lithium crystals, the ''Enterprise'' must limp on reserve power to the storm-plagued planet Rigel XII to obtain new crystals from the miners there. Ben Childress, the chief miner, having been in contact with Mudd, demands his release along with the women in exchange for the crystals. The ''Enterprise's'' remaining power is insufficient to maintain the ship's orbit for more than a few days, threatening a fiery reentry into the planet's atmosphere, so Kirk is forced to allow Mudd and the women to beam down to the planet. However, once there Childress reneges on the deal. At an impromptu party with the three miners, Eve becomes angry when they begin fighting over the other two women, and runs away into a magnetic dust storm, with Childress and Kirk in pursuit. Kirk beams back to the ''Enterprise'' to try to locate them from orbit. Childress finds Eve, brings her to his quarters, and falls asleep. On waking, he is confronted with a much plainer Eve. Kirk and Mudd beam back down to the planet to deal with Childress. The captain reveals that Mudd has been giving the women the Venus Drug, which creates a transient, illusory beauty, and that the other two miners have already been married to Ruth and Magda. As Childress confronts Mudd over the deception, Eve snatches a dose of what appears to be the Venus Drug, but is in fact a
placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...
. This restores her self-confidence to the point that Childress finds her as attractive as before. Pleased, he gives Kirk the replacement crystals. Kirk offers to take Eve away with him but she opts to stay with Childress. Eve tells Kirk, "You've got someone up there called the ''Enterprise''." The ship continues on its way, with Mudd in custody.


Production

The story was one of three submitted for production as the second pilot of ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'', the others being " The Omega Glory" and the selected episode, "
Where No Man Has Gone Before "Where no man has gone before" is a phrase made popular through its use in the title sequence of the original 1966–1969 ''Star Trek'' science fiction television series, describing the mission of the starship ''Enterprise''. The complete int ...
". It was filmed as the second episode of the first season, after " The Corbomite Maneuver".
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...
told Stephen Kandel he wanted a swashbuckling character as the guest lead. Several weeks later Kandel presented his idea, "Mudd's Women", and started to write the script but disliked that Roddenberry repeatedly rewrote it. Roddenberry took credit for Kandel's story when screen credits were submitted to the Writers Guild for approval.


Reception

Zack Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave the episode an 'A' rating, describing the character of Harry Mudd in particular as "a familiar character type, but an enjoyable one". In 2015, ''Wired'' suggested this episode was skippable in their binge-watching guide for the original series. In 2016,
TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. It covers various topics including the latest news on television, reviews, latest releases, and more. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s ...
ranked Eve finding out Kirk had given her a placebo rather than the beauty pill as number 13 on the top twenty moments of ''Star Trek: The Original Series''.


Notes


References


External links

* * *
"Mudd's Women"
Review of the remastered version at TrekMovie.com
"Mudd's Women"
Full Episode for viewing at CBS.com
Star Trek transcript - Mudd's Women
{{Gene Roddenberry Star Trek: The Original Series season 1 episodes 1966 American television episodes Fiction set around Rigel Television episodes written by Gene Roddenberry Television episodes written by Stephen Kandel