Star Trek

Mudd's Women

Season 1, Episode 6, Aired 10/13/66

Episode Summary

The Enterprise picks up a intergalactic conman, Harry Mudd, and three incredibly beautiful women who harbor a dark secret.

7.4

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Cast & Crew

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Leonard Nimoy

Mr. Spock
William Shatner

Captain James Tiberius Kirk
George Takei

Lt. Hikaru Sulu

Fan Episode Reviews (11)

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The Enterprise encounters Harry Mudd, the galactic pimp.

7.5

"Good"

By Celedorian, Nov 22, 2011 Report Abuse

This is a clunky episode that has some pretty good things and pretty bad things. The plot itself is interesting, because it basically deals with prostitution (at a time when no other TV show would dare touch the topic), but the actual script is a bit lacking, and doesn't make much sense in a few places. It seems the show was more concerned about the outfits of the women than the screenplay. You also have to wonder about a ship where discipline is lost the moment cute girls come onboard. On the plus side, Harry Mudd is one of best favorite Trek villains (though villain might be too strong a term, which is what is so lovable about him.) It's no wonder why he was asked back. Also, the women are nice to look at.moreless

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Another episode with a lot of emphasis on women

6.0

"Fair"

By Deo13, Sep 17, 2011 Report Abuse

Good episode. This starts off with Kirk trying to communicate with a vessel and they attempt to flee him and wind up in an asteroid belt. Kirk uses his ships power to create a protective barrier around their ship which causes him to overload his own energy crystals. Kirk manages to beam all the crew aboard before their ship is destroyed. The crew consists of a man named Harry Mudd who seems to be a man who sells women to men on lonely planets. He has with him 3 very attractive girls. But the catch is that they really are ugly but Mudd has some illegal drugs which enhances their beauty. Kirk and the Enterprise stop by a mining planet to get new crystals and Mudd introduces his women to the 3 miners. In the end one of Mudds women takes what she believes to be one of the illegal pills but really is just a placebo and still turns attractive. The 3 women stay with the miners and Harry Mudd goes with Kirk to attend trial on the charge of ignoring a communication from a starship.moreless

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Not one of the better episodes saved on by the character of Harry Mudd.

4.5

"Poor"

By AgentAlbertross, Oct 24, 2010 Report Abuse

I left this episode on my remastered box set till last as its not one of the best episodes in my opinion. I will say that Harry Mudd is a great character and I'm glad he returned for another episode. The women though great to look at are portrayed as pretty one dimensional characters with stereotypical womens needs! The end is quite silly in that the main lead female becomes beautiful after not taking the Venus drug. Though in defence of the writer it could be argued that she had taken so much of it over the years that it's still in her system so she temporarily becomes beautiful. I think the Venus drug could be a metaphor for alcohol in that members of the opposite sex can appear to be alluring until we meet them sober the next morning! Lolmoreless

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An interesting mix of 1960s attitudes and futuristic trappings, the main asset of this installment for me is atmosphere.

6.5

"Fair"

By Mac-Ale, Nov 01, 2008 Report Abuse

The Enterprise encounters a shady smuggler who is willing to up the ante to maintain his business.

There are some real strengths to this installment, I especially like the idea that it explores the lives of people in space who don't connect to Starfleet and what they do. Harry Mudd is best served here, as deceptive and droll but also as dead serious when it comes to his livelihood. I also like the spare but effective scenes on the planet, the howl of the winds and the sullen attitudes of the Lithium miners work well to paint a picture.

Unfortunately, this episode falls into the same trap that many others do - while "Star Trek" was good at examining issues like racism, sexism, the march of technology, and counter-culture - it rarely rose above the issues themselves and suggested new ways of addressing them. In this case, the 23rd century seemed to have plenty of room for woman serving aboard stars ships, but the plot here assigns little value to woman even when the sham of the "Venus drug" is exposed. There is almost a deliberate attempt to portray Mudd's woman as "returning to beautiful" rather than having the male characters think about their attitudes in any depth.

Which is all fine, TV is not often "cutting edge" in these matters, it just seems like a little more thought to the script would have made the story more effective.moreless

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The Enterprise picks up colourful galactic conman Harry Mudd and his beautiful female "cargo". But in the rescue, the ship's lithium crystals are damaged; replacements lie on a mining planet where Mudd hopes to sell his women. Not one of my favourites...moreless

6.5

"Fair"

By Jay-Spacedust, Oct 19, 2008 Report Abuse

Although not bottom-of-the-barrel, this is generally one of my lesser favourite episodes.
It is mostly a comedy, but beyond the flamboyant Mudd himself (more of him in a moment), it's not really laugh-out-loud material, and not a patch on some of 'Star Trek's other more light-hearted episodes.

The presentation of the women, who survive on their looks, is very dated, and works against the episode. The theme of the mail-order brides could have been cutting edge and ahead of its time, but sadly things don't rise much beyond the basic and predictable.

The best thing about the episode is undoubtedly Roger C. Carmel as the roguish intergalactic conman Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd. The character was popular enough to return in the second season episode "I, Mudd", as well as 'The Animated Series' episode "Mudd's Passion".
The plot of Mudd having his women on drugs has darker implications than the episode presents; it is seen on-screen as merely to make his "cargo" look better and raise a higher price; and Mudd is presented more as a scoundrel than the drug-peddling pimp that he might have been.
I also wasn't convinced in the whole "believe in yourself" resolution of the story.

Other than that, the plot is pretty simplistic, and, in places, very slightly dull. It could have done with a separate b-plot to beef things up a bit (these didn't really become common until 'The Next Generation').

Don't get me wrong, this isn't bottom-of-the-barrel, and it does very much end up as a colourful, kitsch example of the 1960 (well, it's set in the future, but you get what I mean). But this episode just sadly doesn't do that much for me.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Trivia: Mudd's record notes under Sentences: Psychiatric Treatment... Effectiveness Disputed. His Future Police Record Code is X731248. Edit
- When Spock orders Farrell to set a court for Rigel 12, Farrell's insignia is missing. Edit
- When the women beam on board, the brunette is in the back. then there's a reaction shot of the three women standing abreast. Then in the next shot the brunette is in the back of the transporter chamber again. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- Leonard Nimoy's "Also Starring" credit is missing from the opening titles. Edit
- This episode depicts the Enterprisess power source as "lithium" crystals. The prefix "di" was added later as lithium is a real element and a metal and does not occur as crystals. Edit
- This episode was a potential pilot for Star Trek. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Spock: I'm happy the affair is over. A most annoying emotional episode. McCoy: Smack right in the old heart. Oh, I'm sorry. In your case, it would be about here. Spock: The fact that my internal arrangement differs from yours, Doctor, pleases me no end. Edit
- Harry Mudd: You're a hard-nosed one, Captain. Kirk: And you're a liar. I think we both understand each other. Edit
- Kirk: Computer, go to sensor probe. Any unusual readings? Computer: No decipherable reading on females. However, unusual reading on male board members. Detecting high respiration patterns, perspiration rates up, heartbeat rapid, blood pressure higher than normal. Kirk: Uh, that's sufficient. Strike that from the record, Mr. Spock. Edit
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