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TOS Season 1 Episode 6 — Mudd's Women
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 7:19 pm    Post subject: TOS Season 1 Episode 6 — Mudd's Women Reply with quote

________________________________

The lovely Karen Steele gives a fine performance in this fine tale about the Enterprise burning up their dilithium crystals (which they call lithium crystals in this episode) while rescuing Harry Mudd and his three drug-augmented hotties who have all the male Enterprise crewmen salivating and going bug-eyed whenever these gals are in sight.





The story is actually quite good, with 24th century "steroids" making homely women drop-dead gorgeous. However, the story cheats a bit by insinuating that the women seem to give off pheromones that put all the guys in the mood for love just by being close to the gals.

Karen is my personal favorite of the trio, for obvious reasons.





But the other ladies aren't exactly Plain Janes, either.





The Enterprise is in dire need of replacement crystals as the ship's power fails. They manage to reach a very under-manned lithium crystal mining operation on a planet with constant sand storms and three lonely, horny guys who are supposedly getting rich mining the priceless crystals.

One can't help wondering why the Federation doesn't have a massive mining operation on this planet if the crystals are worth many times more than diamonds (as we learn in one shipboard discussion).

The lonely, horny trio of miners want the three hotties so badly they refuse to give our heroes what they need 'til they can buy the sexy gals from Harry Mudd.

This story of sex and technology rolls along pretty well . . . until we get to the end and Karen turns homely when the drug wears off.

We've already seen the three love bunnies turn into aging hags earlier in the story, when the miracle drug made them delicious again quicker than you can say, "My place or yours, Honey?" Wink

But in the climax, Karen and her lithium miner suitor are alone in his quarters when Karen's dose of miracle drug wears off, and she starts looking like my typical blind date in high school!



But Kirk and Harry arrive in time to give her a quick refill on her prescription, and in seconds she's a Vegas show girl again!



I love the scene where she sits in the miner's lap and asks him if he actually just wants a trophy wife or woman who will cook and clean and listen to him tell her about his hard day at work.



Right after that we find out that Kirk and Harry slipped her a placebo instead of the hot-stuff drug, and her amazing transformation from homely dog into sizzling babe was entirely the result her "believing in herself".

At this point the viewer is scratching his head and wondering why the writers believed we'd buy the ridiculous idea that homely girls could suddenly get real pretty just because they had happy thoughts about themselves, despite what they saw in the mirror!

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Jun 28, 2021 3:11 pm; edited 4 times in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 2:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In spite of the terrific actor Roger C. Carmel & the pretty women, this & "The Alternative Factor," are the weakest episodes from season one.

If this comes on I always switch the channel.

There's a photo of Shatner & Nimoy as Kirk & Spock with visitor Harlan Ellison on the set from this episode.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not a big fan of either of the Harry Mudd episodes to be honest but my favourite girl used to be Susan Denberg, until I heard about the wild life she had in Hollywood and that put me right off her! Crying or Very sad
JB
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

My goodness, JB, are you saying you'd be reluctant to take this sweet girl home to met your mother? Very Happy

(If you do, make Susan button up her shirt first . . . ) Shocked



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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well back in the eighties and nineties I might have lowered my expectations but then again for many years it was assumed that she'd died in the seventies! But it appears she had turned her back on Hollywood and gone home in the early seventies!
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
There's a photo of Shatner & Nimoy as Kirk & Spock with visitor Harlan Ellison on the set from this episode.

And here it is:


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

My God, he looks so young! (In fact . . . they all do!

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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Read Harlan's book about the background of the making of the episode he penned, the classic The City On the Edge of Forever.

He had nothing good to say regarding his dealings with both Gene Roddenberry or William Shatner.

Ellison liked Leonard Nimoy and thought he was a class act.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No one seems to like the Shat do they?
JB
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________ Classic Star Trek: Mudd's Women


__________


MUDD'S WOMEN (1st season; episode #4)
Directed by Harvey Hart / writers: Stephen Kandel, Gene Roddenberry



Ah, yes, the women - the women of Star Trek.

This was the earliest indication of what the show would soon be known for - pulchritude 23rd-century style - though this episode would end up having a slightly subversive take on feminism and the female sex.

Also, this episode features the first appearance of Harry Mudd, scoundrel of space, a con artist whose cargo are three lovely ladies (played by Karen Steele, Susan Denberg and Maggie Thrett). He next showed up in the episode I,Mudd (in the 2nd season) and even a cartoon version popped up in the animated series in 1973, in Mudd's Passion.



Mudd is his name: I was never a big fan of this over-the-top character like many other Star Trek fans; of all the characters to bring back for another episode - they chose this oaf with the huge belt buckle, a throwback to the era of stylish pirates with big earrings. Sure, he can be amusing, but in small doses; after 10 minutes of listening to his hyperbolic nonsense, you want to throw him in the brig to shut him up. He sort of reminds me of the typical characters encountered on the more silly Lost in Space TV show. Roger C. Carmel, though a good if flamboyant actor, also tended to be something of a ham and couldn't resist some over-the-top scenery chewing.



This is one of the weakest episodes of the first season, slow going and uneventful, and, being also one of the earliest, probably shows that the show was still finding its footing. There's a bit of mystery surrounding the three women, who have an odd effect on all the male crew (except Spock, who looks on bemused), causing involuntary arousal. I was more interested in the early use of the transporter at the beginning of the episode, when Mudd's ship is destroyed, but the women had not yet transported to safety on the Enterprise. For a few moments, there's a question as to whether they would be.

This means, for a few seconds, they were neither dead or alive, in some limbo, and it all depended on Scotty's and Spock's deft handling of the machinery. This scene would mirror similar ones involving transporter use in later episodes.



Towards the final act, our beloved starship is in danger of spiraling down to its destruction on the planet it orbits, similar to the much more effective The Naked Time episode made close to the same time. But, there's no real urgency. There's no sense of actual tension during this episode. Mostly, the captain and his crew are irritated by Mudd and perplexed by the women - that's pretty much it. The entire plot seems somewhat beneath Kirk and his ship to deal with, including the subplot about some possibly illegal drug (drug-dealing would later be classified a no-no in Roddenberry's vision of the future).



BELOW: the remastered long shot version of the mining colony on the planet to which the Enterprise eventually arrives



However, promisingly, Kirk is all business in this episode, with no time for romance. Shatner must have understood this early that he must project professionalism and resolve - he was more serious in the first season, compared to the later ones. There is one great exchange between Kirk & McCoy as they conjecture on the mysterious aura of the women and at least one fine performance from guest star Gene Dynarski as one of the miners, Ben Childress, in the 2nd half of the show.

BoG's Score: 6 out of 10



Extra Trek Trivia: Harcourt Fenton Mudd (his full name) uses the name Leo Walsh at the start of the episode. Mudd claims that Walsh, the real captain of his small ship, died suddenly. Actress Denberg next appeared in the sci-fi/horror film Frankenstein Created Woman (1967).


_____________ Episode in Brief - Star Trek TOS


__________




BoG
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
________________________________

~ Gerald Perry Finnerman was encouraged to be creative in choosing dramatic lighting and camera angles.

Robert H. Justman recalled that he said to Finnerman, "We're all in outer space, Jerry, and we're in colour. NBC claims to be the first full-colour network, so let's prove it for them. When you light the sets, throw wild colours in — magenta, red, green, any colour you can find — especially behind the actors when they're in a close shot. Be dramatic. In fact, go overboard. Backlight the women and make them more beautiful. Take some chances. Nobody can tell you that's not the way the future will look. How can they? They ain't been there yet."

Bob Justman was very pleased with the final results in this episode. He stated, "Guest stars Karen Steele, Maggie Thrett and Susan Denberg, good-looking in real life, looked even more radiantly lovely and ravishing as they worked their magic upon Captain Kirk and crew - after Jerry worked his magic upon the three actresses."


Note from me: Many scenes in the series had colored lighting on the wall behind the actors. Back in those days people were just tinkled pink by their new color TV sets. Prior to that were just tinkled black & white, but they liked pink (and all the other colors) better. Laughing

~ Susan Denberg (playing Magda Kovacs) appeared in this episode two months after revealing herself as the Miss August 1966 centerfold in Playboy.

Note from me: Yes, I found images of her Playboy spread. No, I won't post them here. But yes, you can click on the link below and drool at your leisure. (Be careful. I think I shorted out my ke-ke-keyboard-d-d-d!) Shocked

https://thethoughtexperiment.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/stripey530x800.jpg

~ A lengthy monologue in which Harry Mudd attempted to persuade Uhura into taking the Venus drug was also excluded from the episode because it was deemed too wordy and long.

Roger C. Carmel was extremely disappointed by the deletion of this monologue, later describing it as "wonderful". He explained, "I remember being very disappointed because I felt the monologue was very effective and very much to the point of the show's philosophy."

He nevertheless liked this episode, just as much as he liked Star Trek: The Original Series: I, Mudd (1967).


Note from me: I'd like to see that deleted scene.

~ NBC Program Manager Jerry Stanley recalled that "One of the problems we had was in trying to talk Gene Roddenberry out of some of his sexual fantasies that would come to life in the scripts. Some of the scenes he would describe were totally unacceptable". William Shatner noted "that NBC allowed "Mudd's Women" to be produced at all is still a minor miracle".

Note from me: In the words of my ex-wife, "That guy was a horny toad!"

~ Production went a day over schedule due to the intricate camera setups used by director Harvey Hart, which had good results but were too time-consuming. Hart also made things difficult for the editors by "camera cutting" the show, leaving few choices of shot available. Due to these factors, Hart was not invited back to the show.

Note from me: The episode does indeed have many inventive camera angles and close-up. Mr. Hart's work was apparently not appreciated by the network.






One of the more memorable bloopers in the series occurred while filming the scene where the women take the "Venus drug." As Maggie Thrett's (Ruth) reaction shot was being filmed, her right breast popped out of her scanty green costume. A shot of her stuffing it back in with an embarrassed smile appeared in the first season's blooper reel.~

Note from me: Gee, I didn't realize that the Venus drug actually enlarged their breasts! Laughing

~ Although Susan Denberg and Maggie Thrett were given makeup and facial appliances (primarily rubber cement was applied, to make the skin seem 'wrinkled') to make them appear 'ugly', as the Venus drug wore off in Harry Mudd's quarters.

At the end, Karen Steele appears not to have had so much 'ugly' make-up, likely to show their 'self confidence makes you beautiful' point easier. She simply, has her hair uncombed and unstyled, and no eye makeup (eye liner, eye lashes, shadow), though it does seem they caked on some powder to dull her face.

People are just so used to seeing women 'made up', by simply not doing these things to any woman, their appearance can be quite different.


Note from me: Yes indeed, that's very true. Well applied makeup on a reasonable attractive women makes a tremendous different. The girl you kiss goodnight on her doorstep after a date does NOT look so lovely when she wakes up the next morning. Shocked

For that reason, whenever my date whispers in my ear after a passionate goodnight kiss, "Darling, do you want to sleep with me?" — I just whisper back, "No thanks, sweetheart. After we have sex I'll just to home sleep in my own bed." Laughing

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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 1:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Many NBC shows used the colored lights on the walls. It is considered a trademark of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", and even "Dragnet" had colored lights shinning on walls.

David.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
Many NBC shows used the colored lights on the walls. It is considered a trademark of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", and even "Dragnet" had colored lights shinning on walls.

Okay, sure, that's true.

But Star Trek's colored lights were in SPACE — where no one can hear you scream, "Turn off those damned colored lights!"
Confused
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2021 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bogmeister wrote:
Mudd is his name: I was never a big fan of this over-the-top character like many other Star Trek fans; of all the characters to bring back for another episode - they chose this oaf with the huge belt buckle, a throwback to the era of stylish pirates with big earrings. Sure, he can be amusing, but in small doses; after 10 minutes of listening to his hyperbolic nonsense, you want to throw him in the brig to shut him up.

I think Mudd was always putting on an act. He was a thief and swindler who imagined himself as a glamorous rogue and played the part to the hilt, complete with fake accent.

Bud Brewster wrote:
The episode does indeed have many inventive camera angles and close-ups. Mr. Hart's work was apparently not appreciated by the network.

"Hey, we need this episode in the can by next Tuesday. Who do you think you are, Orson Fucking Welles?"

Quote:
At the end, Karen Steele appears not to have had so much 'ugly' make-up, likely to show their 'self confidence makes you beautiful' point easier. She simply, has her hair uncombed and unstyled, and no eye makeup (eye liner, eye lashes, shadow), though it does seem they caked on some powder to dull her face.

I also noticed that Eve (Karen Steele) looked a lot better than the other two women when the drug wore off. Ruth and Magda looked like old hags. Eve just looked ten years older and a bit disheveled!
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 13, 2021 10:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Original title "The Women."

Gene Roddenberry's story outline, "The Women," was one of three he wrote for NBC to choose from when planning the first pilot.

The others were "Landru's Paradise," later to be made as "The Return of the Archons," and the one the network picked, "The Cage."

Oh my gosh, a case where a network actually made the correct decision as to which script to shoot for the pilot.

Had NBC gone with the lame "Mudd's Women," we might never have seen Star Trek picked up as a series. Fans checking out "Mudd's Women," if it had become the pilot might never have returned even had the show been picked up by NBC.

"The Return of the Archons" might have worked well as the pilot as it is a fine episode.

Roddenberry had no Harry Mudd in his original outline; writer Stephen Kandel created Mudd.

Roddenberry & Kandel brainstormed story ideas for ST; one being titled "Warrior World." The script was deemed violent and potentially costly and was not working out. It was then that GR asked Kandel to try his hand at turning "The Women" into a teleplay.

The biggest hurdle in getting "The Women" on TV was the subject---prostitution & drugs were hardly the type of thing that NBC wanted on their prime time schedule.

Helping the network swallow the bitter pills was Kandel's addition of the flamboyant, conniving Harry Mudd. The cheerful, lighthearted interstellar con man character effectively distanced the worrisome NBC censors from the hot topic issues at play in the story.

So NBC was concerned about space hookers & drugs but a pimp made it all okay? And that's why we call it Hollyweird folks.

Eliminated from the script was a horned koala creature that was to be perched on Mudd's shoulder. Like a parrot perched on a pirate, which is what Harry was in effect.

That would have been pretty cornball as a concept. However, I could envision the fantastic Jim Henson's Creature Shop coming up with a marvelous looking creature for Harry if this story was being produced today.

The Creature Shop constructed awesome looking alien puppets for "Farscape," which remains one of my all time favorite sci~fi TV series ever!

The script also called for a digging machine being driven on the mining planet of Rigel XXI. This was also dropped as being too expensive for the episode's budget.

Nowadays good ole' CGI would solve this problem instantly.

Casting Director Joe D' Agosta : Roger C. Carmel was just like Mudd in that they were both flamboyant characters. He was an interesting actor with a lovable, joyful kind of personality, a bigger than life kind of character.

Yeoman Rand was in earlier drafts of the script but was written out.

Writer Harlan Ellison was at the studio offices working on his script for ST: "The City On the Edge of Forever," during the production of "Mudd's Women."

He came into the office of writer/story editor for ST John D.F. Black to announce that he had hooked up with "Mudd's Women" actress Maggie Treat.

John laughed and corrected Ellison telling him that her name was Maggie Thrett; not Maggie Treat.

Harlan replied, "Well it just goes to show you the difference between you and me. To you she's a threat; to me she's a treat."

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