The Animated Series 1x10 "Mudd's Passion"

rating: ***

Memory Alpha summary

Poor Harry Mudd.  The guy was such a part of Star Trek lore, and the legacy of the original series (two episodes, even!), that he received one of the several "sequel episodes" in the series.  And now?  You couldn't con someone into caring about him...

It's the fault of the movies, really.  Once it was determined that Khan was the one who best suited the cinema treatment, the decidely uncinematic Mudd, and his original portrayer, Roger C. Carmel, was dropped by the wayside.  Carmel returned to voice Mudd in "Passion," such was his distinctiveness.

All the same, Mudd has a place in history if not memory, and perhaps "Passion" makes his best case for that.  Here he's involved in love potion nonsense (there's some echoes to be found in Deep Space Nine's "Fascination") that results in a lot of romantic shenanigans.  His prior appearances all had to do with robotic nonsense that invariably redirected mostly back to Mudd himself.

via Treks in Sci Fi

Leading the way is Nurse Chapel, making this episode notable for more than one recurring character.  Chapel's significance slowed significantly in later years, even though she did appear in the movies (you'd probably have to know that to really notice, though).  This is probably in part because the emphasis on the role diminished over time, and the fact that performer Majel Roddenberry became better known as Lwaxana Troi (in both Next Generation and Deep Space Nine), plus, y'know, having married Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (she was originally billed by her maiden name, Majel Barrett).

As an artifact of the series, "Mudd's Passion" has a peculiar place.  It's a strong bridging experience, and represents two experiences well, if not exceptionally.  As another candidate as an ambassador for the series, it does a fine job of displaying how animated Star Trek doesn't have to rely on anymore gimmicks than basic storytelling.

four quarter analysis

franchise * series * essential * character

notable guest-stars:

Roger C. Carmel

Majel Roddenberry

Nichelle Nichols

James Doohan

Star Trek 2x8 "I, Mudd"

rating: ***

Memory Alpha summary

There was a point when Harry Mudd would have been a defining character in Star Trek lore.  That point was lost some forty years ago, less if you're an inveterate fan of the original series and not the franchise as a whole.  Since I'm approaching the franchise as a whole, I'm assuming, and rightly so I think, that Harry's time really has passed.  "I, Mudd" may be his defining moment, if you care to have a look.

Unlike his previous appearance in "Mudd's Women," this one's a lot more about the character than the, ah, effect he has on people.  It was rare enough to have a sequel at this point in television, much less franchise, history.  To have one that delves more deeply into a guest character's life was rarer still.  That, in a nutshell, was the significance of Harry Mudd to that point.

I'm not arguing that the character no longer has any worth.  He has exactly the same amount as he always had, except now his legacy has been dwarfed by subsequent Star Trek history.  Khan leaped ahead of him.  He has no answer to the Borg.  Well, anyway.

"I, Mudd" is the one with all the android women.  Yes, Mr. Data in Next Generation is not unique.  The original series had a surprising number of androids.  The difference between them and Data is that the later was always considered (with an exclamation point in "The Measure of a Man") an autonomous individual capable of determining his own fate, considered in his own regard and not simply in relation to or as a pawn of others.

What Mudd does have in common with Data is a complicated relationship with family.  He hates his wife.  It might be said that his whole nefarious life is a reaction against her.  That's what this episode ultimately pivots on.

The most notable legacy of the episode, other than the defining Mudd moment, is that in some ways it's a prototype for "The Trouble with Tribbles" seven episodes later, complete with the humorously ironic ending (one might almost have imagined Cyrano Jones from "Tribbles" as having originally been penciled in as Mudd).  Taken in that context, "I, Mudd" is significant indeed.

via Subspace Communique.  Will the real Kirk please stand up?

The Animated Series episode "Mudd's Passion" features the character in this same outfit, by the way.

franchise * series * essential * character

notable guest-stars:

Roger C. Carmel

Star Trek 1x6 "Mudd's Women"

**

Back in the 1960s, heck even the '70s or '80s, the name "Harry Mudd" would have been one of the most famous ones in Star Trek lore.  Today, not so much.

Mudd made a handful of appearances in the series and even The Animated Series.  He is without question a classic figure in franchise lore, but his importance rapidly diminished over the years.  He certainly didn't appear in the films.  He did make it into Star Trek Into Darkness, but only as an oblique reference (the prequel comic book adds a good bit more, but then, that only counts so much).  His presence had no direct effect in any of the later series, unless you count someone like Okona or Kasidy Yates.  There!  Count both of them!

Basically, Mudd was a lovable scoundrel.  He was also a jolly fat man.  If he'd appeared in "The Trouble with Tribbles" handing the little fuzzball to Uhura, his legacy would be assured.  Instead he dealt in androids.

In androids???  You'd be surprised how often androids showed up in the original series.  That alone is a whole subgenre that helped usher in the era of Mr. Data.  Mudd's corner of this subgenre originally began as a con.  "Mudd's Women" doesn't feature androids, but his efforts to create perfect female companionship also prefigures Quark's holosuite programs (remember the one with Kira?) in Deep Space Nine.

Mudd is one of the first civilians to meddle in Kirk's affairs.  Usually in Star Trek the people who aren't in Starfleet or belong to adversarial alien species are the residents from the planet-of-the-week.  In that sense, Mudd is also a predecessor to the space station in DS9, filled with a whole society of its own.

As such, I recommend this episode as essential to the series if not directly the whole franchise.  Mudd sets a precedent, even if you don't remember or particularly care for the character yourself.  You can't watch or enjoy the original series without including Mudd in its legacy.  And now you know why.

franchise * series * essential * character

notable guest-stars:
Roger C. Carmel

Memory Alpha summary