When talking to Ben Childress about the lithium crystals, Kirk states that the Federation has authorized him to pay an equitable price for them. This goes against the contention in several other sources (most notably the movie STIV) that the people in Star Trek's time don't use money, as does the charge against Mudd that he purchased his vessel using counterfeit currency.

Kirk gives the stardates out of sequence in this episode. At the beginning of the show, the stardate is given as 1329.8. Later, at Mudd's hearing, it is 1329.2.

In this episode, Mudd is happy beacuse he is going to meet “rich miners” who are willing to be husbands to Mudd's women. This also disproves the contention that the Federation does not use money.

In this episode, Kirk's quarters are on Deck Twelve. Other episodes give their location as Deck Five. Also Deck Twelve has no cabins (see nits from "The Enemy Within.")

The real Venus drug is bright red and sparkles like a ruby. The fake drug is a dull rust color. How come Eve doesn't notice the difference?

Eve pumped herself up, huh? Yeah, she gave herself that eyeliner job by sheer mental force of will.

I believe this is the only episode which puts Spock in the "Starring" category instead of the "also starring" category. (Or was this the case in "The Corbomite Manuever?"

Guest Star Patrol--
Roger C. Carmel (Harry) was Mr. Buell on the TV sitcom, "The Mothers-in-Law", until he was replaced by Richard Deacon. Or was it the other way around?

Its generally agreed that the Federation DID use money in TOS, as noted by the credits bit in The Trouble with Tribbles, and even McCoy saying that he had money in ST III. The Federation apparently abandoned money sometime in the 3 months between III and IV.
Yeah, I know that sounds hard, but having money in the 2260s is believeable.

That was a very unique asteroid belt they flew into. The seven asteroids that they flew over all looked the same, some faced right and some faced left, but they had the same distinct look. (Perhaps this was an artificially created asteroid belt???) It was harder to tell if the asteroids they flew under were identical, but at least eight of them looked like they had the same shape.

If these Lithium crystals are so important to running the ship, then why don't they have any spares? Also, since it takes four crystals to run the ship, why does Kirk only get six crystals from Rigel XII? He should get eight to be on the safe side.

The 'little lovelies' beam on board and Ruth is at the back of the transporter with her back to the men, then there is a shot of all three women lined up facing the men, the shot changes and Ruth is again at the back of the transporter, still showing her backside.

When Kirk is calling the transporter room, why does Spock just look at Scott and McCoy instead of answering the captain? Doesn't Spock know where the switch is? Maybe it is because Scott is supposed to answer? If it is then why doesn't Spock just say, "Mr. Scott, answer the Captain."

Spock seemed amused to introduce Mudd and the women to Kirk, and when the ladies leave he leers, smiles and gives a very un-Vulcan shrug. I guess "Vulcanians" are not as immune to the ladies charms as Mudd assumed. Spock also seems to be affecting some kind of accent when he makes the introductions.

Either Mudd's mug shot is reversed or Mudd likes to rotate his earring every five thousand light years or so.

When Mudd says that he has given them Heaven's own truth, why didn't the computer say, "Incorrect"?

Ruth tells Mudd that the miners are healthy and young, but McCoy only said they were healthy. Of course, if those men are young then living on Rigel XII has been pretty hard on them, at least two of them had some of their hair sandblasted off their skulls.

Eve starts to seduce Kirk, then Eve tells Kirk that she won't do what Mudd wanted her to do and leaves. What exactly was Eve supposed to get Kirk to do? Not doing it didn't seem to affect Mudd's plans any.

After refusing to do Mudd's dirty work with Kirk, Eve enters Mudd's room and leans back against the door, but it does not open.

Going into orbit around the planet the ends of the nacelles change.

Kirk and Spock are looking at the burnt out lithium crystal and Kirk says the choice was between burning out the crystal and saving another man's ship. I thought Mudd's ship was destroyed? Using Kirk's argument, since they failed to save the ship then they burned out the crystal for no good reason.

When Kirk, Spock and Mudd beam down to the planet they do it outside the building in a dust storm. Wouldn't materializing in a dust storm be a bad thing to do?

The exterior of the building, looks like a building, but the interior seems to be carved out of rock, even the door looks like rock.

Childress is searching for Eve in the dust storm and he has his mouth wide open. Isn't that a good way to get a lungfull of dust? If these conditions are common on Rigel XII, then why don't the miners have goggles and dust masks? When Mt. St. Helens blew in 1980, stores stocked a lot of inexpensive dust masks and the news showed how to make homemade versions.

The Enterprise burns out their crystals after merely chasing a cargo ship and extending their shields? Then they enter a decaying orbit for no good reason. (A proper orbit wouldn't require the ship to be under power.)

Childress should have a replicator for his water needs, such as washing his dishes. (Or whatever the device is that makes food and such for the Enterprise crew... ain't that a replicator?)

At one point Childress calls Kirk "Mr. Kirk" instead of "Captain Kirk"

I'll never understand why Kirk & Mudd didn't beam INSIDE the buildings rather than beaming into a storm and getting themselves dusty.

I think the Enterprise was thought to be Enterprise-D size or bigger during that first season, considering Scotty says, "Almost a million gross tonnes of vessel dependant on a crystal the size of my fist." A far cry from the fan-based weight of 190,000 metric tonnes.

The Enterprise was supposed to be the size of an aircraft carrier.

Right, so how much does an aircraft carrier weigh? Anyone out there know?

It's too heavy for me to lift, I know that much. Seriously, this web site http://hem.passagen.se/jim76/usse.htm says that the CVAN-65 Enterprise weights 74,730 tons (standard weight).

Another rhetorical question:

In order to enhance their beauty even further, do they use a MUDD pack?

According to the cutaway poster the Enterprise-D weighs nearly 400000 metric tons.

The DS9 Tech Manual refines it further to 4,500,000 metric tons. By comparison, the CVN-65 U.S.S. Enterprise weighs just over 91,000 metric tons, according to the official Enterprise site.

When Scott signals the Bridge, the camera shows a wall mounted speaker...there is no wall mounted speaker on the Bridge.... this shot shows up again in "Court Martial"

It is clear from this episode that sometime in the future the Enterprise switches from "Lithium crystals" to "Dilithium crystals". It is curious that whatever molecular structure dilithium has would form a crystal just like lithium. It seems to me that dilithium and lithium would have similar qualities, but what are the odds that they would both form crystals?

It's non-canon, but Dilithium has a four-dimensional crystal lattice.

However, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" has a lithium cracking station on Delta-Vega. Now, this would imply that standard lithium is cracked into di-lithium. Make of it what you will.

GREAT LINES:

"Hello" Eve to Kirk........My reaction? "Hammina hammina hammina!"

"They'll throw away the key!" Mudd to Kirk after Kirk volunteers to be a witness at Mudd's trial.

Mccoy's description of his medical scanner going "bleep" is funny too.

HOT SCENE:

Kirk enters his quarters and sees Eve lying in his bed! (Hammina, hammina again!)

How did she get inside the Captain's quarters if the door was locked? Simple...Kirk has a "Babe Bypass Button" {BBB} attached to the ouside of his quarters.

That explains how Lenore got in in "The Conscience of the King."

Does this also explain Valeris in Star Trek VI?

Gene Dynarski (Ben Childress) also played the Gideonoite Krodack in "Mark of Gideon" and Cdr. Orfil Quinteros in Next Gen's "11001001". He reminds me of another actor named Ed Lauter. Separated at Birth?

One comment to the weight issue-isn't an object in space weightless?

Does Kirk's quarters have one of those windowless corridors next to it like the Oval Office does? ;-)

Adam, yes.
However if the ship were going into close orbit of another planet it would be affected by the planet's gravity & IIRC my 7th grade science teacher's lesson, Weight is the Measurement of Gravity's Pull on Mass. (Or something to that effect.)
It would probably be more important to know the ship's mass & then translate to the local gravitational pull (star, planet, asteroid), but since we live on Earth with a, hopefully, stable gravitational pull, Earth references list how much it would weigh if it were setting on Earth.
Did that make sense?

MISSED OPPORTUNITY:

While Kirk & Eve were talking in Kirk's quarters, Rand enters. Her jaw drops and she then yells, "Hands off! He's mine!" then get into a drag 'em out,fist flying,high kicking,face scratching cat fight with Eve. Rand would've kicked Eve's butt hands down!

Mr. Leslie alert!

OK...Eddie Paskey ISN'T Mr. Leslie in this episode, he's Connors...he's wearing green and is seen in Sick Bay.

Once again Uhura is wearing YELLOW instead of red.

What is wrong with Spock in the Transporter room? Kirk is hailing the area and NOBODY (including Spock) answers the Captain's hail! Spock cannot be mesmerized by the women, he doesn't have any emotion. Or did the women somehow activate Spock's Pon Farr?

What is wrong with all three of them? Scotty, McCoy and Spock act way out of character. Not to mention the fact none of three women are even remotely attractive.

Spock cannot be mesmerized by the women, he doesn't have any emotion. Or did the women somehow activate Spock's Pon Farr?

Nope...the writers activated their 'silly, sexist, utterly implausible scenario' mode. :^P

Don't forget also that by this point in the series the degree to which Spock showed emotion was far from established (he does have emotions, remember, he just keeps them under control). IIRC there's another scene in this ep that shows him distinctly enjoying someone's [Kirk's?] discomfiture with the Women.

Rene noted: "Not to mention the fact none of three women are even remotely attractive."

You're kidding, right Rene?

I'll take the brunette.

I'm sorry, they all looked artificial to me and even then, ugly.

They're supposed to look "artificial". That's the point of the episode.

Also, Rene, the appearance was extremely attractive by 1960s standards. You're judging by 1990s/2000s standards. Style, etc... was quite different 40 years ago.

I've found other women on the show attractive. But the women in this episode...ugh. UGLY!

You guys are forgetting about the other property of the Venus drug, which is obviously to make the opposite sex overtly attracted to the person taking the drug. Making the women beautiful was only half the equation.
I agree with rene that Magda was unattractive, even after taking the drug, but Eve was pretty. My favorite is the same as John's; Ruth is beautiful and sexy, and that smile of hers is too sexy for words.
Back to the lithium crystals; they sure look different from the dilithium crystal panels seen in 'The Alternative Factor'.

In all the time that Mudd hangs around his ladies, he never stares at them like the mesmerized crew, although he clearly displays appreciation of the female body. He must have some kind of anti-venus drug in his system so he can inter-relate to them on a normal basis.
That Childress is one picky guy. It's indicated that he and the others have been on Rigel XII alone for 3 years. I realize that by most standards Eve was unattractive and plain just before Kirk and Mudd showed up, but his sex drive must not be too high. ANY female companionship would be better than nothing, wouldn't it? Eve became plain, but Ruth was darn scary in her true form. Wait until HER husband finds out what he's married!

I was going to suggest Mudd was gay (he and Trelane would have made a nice couple), but then in "I, Mudd" he would have had the Harry, Biff, and Charles series. :-)

After the miners made their demands on Kirk, why didn't he refuse to beam them back down? They could ride the good ol' Enterprise down into the atmosphere too.

Mike asked, a while back: Roger C. Carmel (Harry) was Mr. Buell on the TV sitcom, "The Mothers-in-Law", until he was replaced by Richard Deacon. Or was it the other way around?

Better late than never, Mike. Roger C. Carmel was the first Mr. Buell. The show was on the fence for renewal for a second season. NBC would renew it if the show would hold the line on salaries. The other three stars (Eve Arden, Kaye Ballard and Herb Rudley) waived their raises. Carmel insisted on getting his raise (they all were contractually entitled to it.) Instead, he was shown the door, and replaced by Richard Deacon.

Karen Steele (Eve) played the wife of Marty's (Ernest Borgnine) cousin Tommy (Jerry Paris) in the classic 1955 film Marty. She also played KAOS agent Mary Jack Armstrong in a Get Smart episode, in which her character had a past relationship with the Chief. Ms. Steele seems to have been retired from acting, as her last credit was in 1972.
Sorry, Rene. Regarding the discussion of how attractive the three women are, I'm with John 100 per cent.

In the blooper reel, when Magda takes the pill & begins her stretching, she almost has a "Wardrobe Malfunction" (Her breast becomes slightly exposed)

When Mudd & the women are confined to quarters, Harry Mudd calls Eve..."Rose".

"ROSE"?

Also, I'd like to know HOW Mudd & the others escaped from their quarters when Childress & Gossett were talking to Kirk?

Unusual prop: Ben Childress' residence has a very thick stone door on it. I sure like to know how that thing can remain on its hinges! Ditto for the dancing room.

>When Mudd & the women are confined to quarters, >Harry Mudd calls Eve..."Rose".

>"ROSE"?

?? Where exactly does Mudd call Eve "Rose", John? I can't find it.

Mudd calls Eve the name of "Rose" after he arrives in the cabin where the girls are waiting for him. (After Mudd's first confrontation with Kirk in Kirk's quarters)

I think you're talking about the line where he says "Now don't be gettin' panicky." However, what I think he says is the word "loves", addresing all the girls in the plural. I can see how it does sound kinda like "rose", though.

CG enhancing: Following up on an idea in the Space: 1999 threads, if Star Trek the Classic Series could be enhanced with CG, these are ideas I have for this episode.


Actually, this one is fairly good, with Mudd's ship an acceptable blob in the distance, but the enhancer's discretion would govern any changes. The "beacons" on top of the miners' common area (or is that Ben Childress' quarters?) lend a nice effect.

When Mudd's engines blow, there is no optical effect. Sulu calls out, "There go his engines," Kirk whips his head around, and the screen shows the same visual of the ship. We certainly shouldn't see it all, but perhaps some sort of dying glow should be seen around the aft end of Mudd's ship. After the asteroid hits and destroys Mudd's ship, the glow disappears and there is nothing, while one should expect some scattering of asteroid debris, even if the ship was reduced to nothing but pieces of debris too small to spot.

McCoy's clothing is changed during his longing gaze at Mudd's women in the transporter room. Briefly, he's wearing his short-sleeved medical shirt, instead of long-sleeved velour shirt, and a medical scanner is visible in the background.

The optical effect on the briefing room screen possibly was intended to be a polygraph readout. The steady appearance is probably supposed to represent the physiological symptoms of not lying, while the "agitated" appearance would indicate lying, except that the "lying" indicator does not appear as Mudd proceeds to speak a lie: it should show "agitation" as he starts to speak. Changing it to be more accurate wouldn't give anything away: Mudd has already given the impression of a con man while meeting with Kirk in his quarters.

Childress' personal quarters have the quaint, non-technological appearance that would serve a miner well in a hostile environment, however, a bit of technology would be appropriate — perhaps a unit mounted on the wall that looks like Pike-era technology, that initially has a red strobe on its display when Ben brings Eve inside. By the time Eve is cooking dinner, the red strobe has lessened, and by the time Mudd and Kirk arrive, it is slowly flashing red. This would indicate the magnetic storm was lessening in intensity. The unit would be a general environmental monitor. Adjacent to it should be a sub-space communicator, again suggesting old technology. Electric conduits (not EPS) would run down to the floor and off-screen.

I guess we could only assume that the cookstove is nuclear powered since the planet doesn't appear to have trees (firewood) or cattle (for cow patties).

The mechanical computer sounds, that are heard when Kirk orders some information stricken from the record, are awful! Is that the earliest version of disk drives? And why is the erasure simultaneous with the scan lighting being turned off of Eve, Magda and Ruth? I suggest the "disk drive" sounds be replaced with appropriate beeps and boops, and the shot of the scan lighting being shut off be moved to right when Spock starts to erase information.

The shot of McCoy smiling at the women in the transporter room is actually lifted from a later sickbay scene. You can note the different uniforms (he has his slick shiny shirt on in sickbay).

Sir Rhosis

Sir Rhosis, That nit was pointed out by Phil in The Classic Trekkers Guide". But thanks.

And GCapp, I don't see why anything needs CG Enhancing, this insn't Star Wars.

No. But STAR TREK: The Motion(less) Picture was retouched with some CGI, IIRC, when it finally issued on DVD a couple of years ago.

Live long and prosper.

And Robert Weis said that they deliberatly tried to make the CGI do no more or less than they would have done with optical tech of the day if they would have had the time in 79.

When Eve joins Mudd & the other women, she leans against the doors and they remain shut.

Smart doors! They know when you need emotional support (See "The Naked Time")

OOPS! KAM already posted that. Sorry!

Gene Dynarski also played Izzy Mandlebaum Jr., son of Izzy Mandlebaum Sr. (Lloyd Bridges) in two Seinfeld episodes. Including the classic ep where Elaine is the only one who hates the movie The English Patient.

I wonder if the Connors in this episode is supposed to be the same officer who appears in the Power Records TOS story "The Crier in Emptiness" . . . anyone else know what I'm talking about?

Here's an explication:


http://www.danhausertrek.com/Records/Story_3.html

Jerry Finnerman photographed the three women in soft focus here, a trick (as I've said elsewhere) he would use ad nauseum on Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting twenty years hence.

Harry Mudd must be extermely perceptive. In the turbolift, he says to Spock, "Ye're part Vulcanian, aren't ye?". Apparently, Mudd picked up on something that distinguished Spock from being a full Vulcan(ian).
What is it about about Spock that reveals his mixed heritage to Mudd?

At one point, Farrell is walking up the corridor with one of Mudd's women, apparently showing her a communicator. Communicators always struck me as pretty straightforward gadgets, not the first thing I'd be curious about. Maybe the woman (I think it was the "non-Eve" blonde) sweet-talked Farrell into giving it to her, and it's the same one she handed over to Mudd later on. If so, It's a very subtle, clever, seemingly throw-away scene that actually added to the plot without being obvious.

An odd camera shot was when Mudd told the women that Spock (or, his race) would be immune to their charms. There was an strange pan across the turbolift which ended near Spocks' eye.

Another odd scene (although I liked it) was on the bridge, when Kirk, Spock and Scotty talked about the lithium crystals. It's filmed from an unusual low angle, and Spock is oddly fidgeting with his hands, something I think I've rarely seen him do. Again, maybe it's the womens' influence tweaking his human half.

Why did the computer say "incorrect" when Harry identified himself as 'Harry Mudd'? He wasn't lying at that point. I suppose 'Harcourt Fenton Mudd' is more complete, but not necessarily more honest. I mean, this is the same computer that identified 'Reilly, K.' and Leighton, T.' in 'Conscience of the King'. Are there only two people by those names in all the federation records? I found five Reilly K.'s and three Leighton T.'s in my phone book!

For that matter, why are the top-ranking officers on the ship handling all the details of the case? Seems that once they were rescued from the asteroid field, Mudd and co. would be handed down to some approproriate personnel. Then again this is tv, when the top cop always shows up at the crime scene investigation, gets all the clever inspirations and bravely apprehends the culprit often by himself.

I can't figure out mining in the 23rd century. There are apparently only three miners on the entire planet. Supposedly very rich men, they nevertheless wear clothing that looks about 300 years out of date (i.e., shirts with pockets, belts and buckles, etc.). As shown, these guys would look more natural mixed in with the miners in 'The Molly McGuires'! Were Ben Childress and the others in this episode traditionalists, or tightwads?

In 'Devil in the Dark', there are far more personnel on Janus VI, and they wore nice jumpsuits, and apparently had much more modern accomodations (except for that pesky reactor!). Is pergium that much more valuable than dilithium that they can afford the extra perks?

In both episodes, all the miners shown weren't exactly spring chickens. It gives me the impression that there isn't much new blood coming up in the ranks. Bodes badly for the future of mining, methinks.

There are other planets in the Rigel system, we've been told. Good thing, maybe they'll protect planet XII if someone tries to pull off a big dilithium heist. Childress and co. could only do so much fending off invaders with pots and pans!

A lot of scenes in this one were shot through those "chicken wire" wall dividers on the ship. I wondered if there was some symbolic reason for that that escaped me?

The shot of Harry's hand holding the Venus drug which cut to Spock's hand holding the lithium crystal was a type of transition I don't think was ever used in the series again. I don't recall what the director's name is, but I get the impression he only directed this one episode.

Kirk took an awful lot of •••• from Childress. I know he was desperate for the crystals, but I don't think he needed to act as helpless as the 'good' Kirk in 'The Enemy Within'!

Admittedly he was under the influence of the brunette in sickbay, but I didn't get McCoy's remark about the miners. The woman asked Bones if he'd be doing physicals on them, and he replied something like, "Yes, if they need one." How would one know if someone needed a check-up prior to getting a check-up? Besides, according to 'The Man Trap', they are mandatory on a yearly basis.

Speaking of that scene, it didn't appear to me that the medical monitor was situated over a bed, as is usually the case. The brunette walked right through and stood where normally the bed would be.

BobL - Communicators always struck me as pretty straightforward gadgets, not the first thing I'd be curious about.
Well, lots of people have cell phones, but some cell phones have more features than others. Maybe she asked the guy if Starfleet communicators came with an MP3 player, podcasting, video games & downloadable internet? ;-)

I don't recall what the director's name is,...
Harvey Hart.

...but I get the impression he only directed this one episode.
Correct. Mr. Hart did have a fruitful career as a director, though. He passed away in 1989.

By KAM on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 1:43 am:

+ Well, lots of people have cell phones, but some cell phones have more features than others. Maybe she asked the guy if Starfleet communicators came with an MP3 player, podcasting, video games & downloadable internet? ;-) +

I guess it's a good thing that 'ST-TNG' did away with the old-style flip-up communicators. Those would really have started to look dated fast, as it turned out!

Oddly, those wrist comminicators from the first ST movie always reminded me of those Dick Tracy two-way wrist tv's (sans mini tv tube).

By Adam Bomb on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 7:40 am:

+ Correct. Mr. Hart did have a fruitful career as a director, though. He passed away in 1989. +

Thanks, Adam!

Chances are Star Trek's communicators probably influenced cell phone designers.

Course my niece has a phone that clips to her ear & has a flashing light that reminds me of the Borg. First time I saw it I said, "Resistance is futile..."

I think the prop guy wasn't given full instructions regarding Childress's pots and pans. They're supposed to have loads of food stuck to them, so that he agrees to use Eve's idea of sand-blasting them clean. However, the one frying pan that you see on the cooking side is perfectly clean. Why bother cleaing that one?

I don't care how rich Childress supposedly thinks he is; there's no way he could have gotten Starfleet off his back had the Enterrise been pulled into the planet (crew or no crew aboard). Kirk should have emphasized how 430 people aboard her were dependent on Childress giving him the crystals, so he shouldn't have been so callous and made Kirk wait until the last possible minute.

Perhaps the miners are protected diplomatically? I don't understand why Kirk couldn't just send down a search team and retrieve some crystals himself. Then again, maybe the miners are needed to process them in some way so the Enterprise doesn't use 'raw' crystals straight out of the ground.

I'm kinda surprised the word 'jackass' was allowed in '60's tv. It's hardly used even today (on tv, not on the highway! ).

However, the one frying pan that you see on the cooking side is perfectly clean. Why bother cleaing that one?

That bugged me as a kid: I couldn't figure out what she was doing, and I always wondered why she was leaving clean pans out in the sand.

Now that I'm thinking about it, what a grubby place to live. Why would living there appeal to these or any other women? Or men, for that matter? Even 'Planet of the Apes' sets seemed cleaner than these. You'd think these guys would have a shower facility upon entrance. As shown, folks just have to breathe air as if one closed the garage door and swept the floor furiously!

'Eve Childress' is a nice name, though.

Now that I'm thinking about it, what a grubby place to live. Why would living there appeal to these or any other women? Or men, for that matter?
Especially after Ben Childress snarls to Eve, "We've got the good life in our hands." Where? I didn't see it anywhere on Rigel.

$$$
Well, credits, whatever symbol the Federation uses for them. I think it was stated that the miners were rich. Presumably the miners would work for a few years, then retire early.

GREAT ENHANCED MOMENT

There is a new planet surface shot in this episode showing more of the ruins.

OOPS...wrong episode.

Let me try that again...

GREAT ENHANCED MOMENTS

New shots of Rigel

New shots of asteroid field & Harry's shuttle...with a great explosion.

Yes, Mr. !...I realize that. And I put my posting in the right place now. Thank you.

I guess someone just got the DVDs.

Venus drug = steroids?? Just a thought. Especially since Roger Clemens' alleged use of them is a major news item lately. And, this episode was on this morning, and made me think that way.

*snicker* Taking that comparison literally is amusing. The gals take the drugs, their muscles pump up, they go out & play baseball.

The remastered "Mudd's Women" airs next weekend. Main change as noted above is Harry's shuttle in the asteroid field. This episode has already appears in the season one DVD set.

Too bad they can't fix that ridiculously soft focus on the women.

Too bad they can't fix that ridiculously soft focus on the women.
One of Jerry Finnerman's weaknesses, I guess. As I've said elsewhere on this site - Mr. Finnerman was the DP for the 1980's ABC series Moonlighting, and photographed Cybill Shepherd the same way for her one-shots. Especially the close-ups. Maybe Ernest Haller, the DP for "Where No Man..." could have stayed on for the series; I don't know if he was ever asked. But, he was 69 when he lensed the second pilot, and may not have wanted to commit to a series. BTW - The second pilot was Mr. Haller's last assignment; he died in 1970.

Schedule change -- they're rerunning "The Conscience of the King" this week and pushing "Mudd's Women" to next weekend. This also bumps "The Cage" from the schedule.

Harry Mudd is wearing the same clothes in his mugshot that he's wearing on the Enterprise. And, the mugshot is reversed. Note Harry's earring; it's on his right side in the mugshot, but on his left in the episode.
Ben Childress' quarters has a big empty bottle in it. In present times, bottles like that are used for wine. Among other things, I'm sure.
That oblong box that's always in Kirk's quarters can also be seen in the women's cabin. And, a window can be seen in Kirk's cabin; it disappears soon after this episode.

I found all of the first season episodes intriguing with only two exceptions : "The Alternative Factor," & "Mudd's Women." I don't care to watch them in reruns,nor would I bother collecting them. The only time I will view these episodes is to see what the new CGI enhanced moments are.

As mentioned above, the main new effect is Mudd's ship and the asteroid belt. The asteroid belt is similar to the planetary debris in "The Doomsday Machine". There's a new wide shot of the mining huts on Rigel XII.

The briefing room viewscreen (sine wave, and Mudd's police record) aren't changed.

At one point, Spock consults a circular slide rule.

What does "Future Police Record Code X731248" mean? Future as "the code to use the next time you book him", or future as in "Isn't it great living in the future -- I mean, present," (ie, character talks about his present as "the future").

The photo in his police record appears to be reversed -- his earing is on the other ear.

They need to mop the floor on the bridge -- there's a big smudge on the floor behind the navigation station. The low angle on Mudd in the transporter rooms shows light leaking out around the circular units on the ceiling.

Even assuming Scotty and McCoy are stunned by Mudd's "cargo" at the beginning, it's odd that Mr. Spock doesn't respond to his commander's repeated requests for status. Spock does give a weird smirk after he walks out of Kirk's quarters with them, so maybe he's not immune after all. It's similar to when he talks to Rand about the evil Kirk's "interesting qualities" in "The Enemy Within". Fortunately this rather strange lecherous nature to Spock's character was written out early on.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but it seems like Mudd doesn't talk in the the exaggerated pirate-speak in "I, Mudd" that he does here.

This also bumps "The Cage" from the schedule.
"The Cage" was the last episode re-mastered; CBS digital finished it this past April 21. I ass-u-me that "The Cage" will also be the last re-mastered episode to air, sometime in August 2008. I would think that StarTrek.com would keep tabs, but no one updates anything at StarTrek.com anymore, since the staff was laid off.

Here's more on the career and death of Roger C. Carmel. The details of his death are a bit unsavory.

That's a shame. Such a fine actor to die at the age of 54 because of a drug addiction.

Yes it was. I hope you read the full story on the series The Mothers-In-Law and what really led Mr. Carmel to quit. He threw away a load of money ($2000 a week, big bucks in the late 1960s) but stood his ground. I admire him for that.
I posted this on the "I Mudd" page, and I want to say it here too. I read somewhere a while back (and since forgot where) that Harry Mudd was penciled in for a Next Gen appearance. Picard and company would have encountered a cryogenically frozen Mudd, and revived him. Carmel's death ended that.

I get a kick out of Harry's line "Only heaven's own truth." What? Most of what he testified to in the hearing were at first lies. Even his name.

This week's repeat is "Mudd's Women", followed by another Halloween showing of "Catspaw" the next weekend.

There's a stain, or maybe it's a footprint, on the flooring between the Captain's chair and the helm/nav console. Never noticed it until I saw it in the enhanced version; it's visible in the scene when the lithium crystals are tanking.

Wow; I haven't seen this episode in around a decade or so (saw it on VHS) and boy has it dated. While everyone loves Harry Mudd the whole setup with the woman, there roles and everything else seems that it must have been sexist and dated even for the late 1960s.

Kirk ends Mudd's hearing, without deciding what to do with the women. Does this seem fair? Mudd is going to be handed over to the authorities, but Eve has every right to panic and ask, "What about us?"

Kirk and Mudd leave Childress' cave/home...empty-handed! Childress just said they're welcome to the crystals, but no such transaction occurred! Where was Kirk going???

I've always wondered how Mudd could have forgotten that he hid the Venus Drug in the mattress. He rummages through drawers of clothing (not his, because his ship was destroyed), and has completely forgotten where he hid the drug, less than 2 days ago (the time it took for the Enterprise to travel to Rigel II).

Odd that the transporter could only lock onto Mudd, and not pick up the ladies at the same time. Maybe the interior of the ship was shielded from sensors, because Kirk is at the scanner, and asks how many were brought aboard. He must be observing an outside view, and not an interior because he would have noticed the life signs drop from 4 people to 3.

Something tells me Childress will still want the 'vain, useless' version of Eve some times on those cold nights. The guy must have a sex drive, after all, after 3 years alone with the other two monkeys.

If not for the comical manner of Harry Mudd, I might just suspect that the real Captain Leo Francis Walsh died suddenly because of something Mudd did. An accident? Intentional murder? Nah. Mudd's not a killer. But Kirk might want to find out how Walsh allegedly died before he hands Mudd over to the police.

Perhaps Mudd did have something to do with Wlash's death, but Kirk's not the police. Best thing for him to do is turn Mudd over to the civilian authorities, tell them of any suspicions and and let them figure it out.

KAM - "Eve starts to seduce Kirk, then Eve tells Kirk that she won't do what Mudd wanted her to do and leaves. What exactly was Eve supposed to get Kirk to do? Not doing it didn't seem to affect Mudd's plans any."

My guess is that her part of the plan was to get Kirk to free Mudd, or at the very least lessen his charges.
Didn't matter, though, considering the events that followed.

John A. Lang; "GREAT ENHANCED MOMENT - There is a new planet surface shot in this episode showing more of the ruins"

I know he made a mistake and meant The Man Trap, but most of it's correct-- we get to see more of the area in a wide-shot around Childress's mining camp prior to Kirk, Spock, and Mudd beaming down.

I really don't think this story has a happy ending. I just can't imagine any period in time (prior to real-life 1940's) that would approve of Childress's behavior, and Eve's acceptance. Is living with this callous, obnoxious, unattractive, egotistical, sexist jerk with an anger management problem REALLY better than not being married?
I don't want to come off as somekinda feminist (mainly because I'm a guy) but Childress is THE most unlikeable character for me in the majority of the run of the series. I just can't see the appeal.
He gets furious with Eve, grabs her, Kirk and Mudd barge in, and the first words out of his mouth are, "I didn't touch her!"
Hmm. Past experience, maybe? And he was virtually 'touching her', and probably prepared to do more. Who was to stop him? And Eve thinks this is OKAY??? She willingly remains behind when Kirk and Mudd leave???

Big improvement on the CGI effect for Mudd's ship. Just wish it filled the screen more so I could get a better look at it.

Here's Jeff Bond's (from Trekmovie.com) review of the re-mastered version. There are screenshots, but no real better view of Mudd's ship than what we've already seen.

If the close captioning on the enhanced DVD set is correct, forget Kirk saying "Let's get the hell out of here" at the end of "The City On the Edge of Forever", Childress, in this ep, supposedly says, "D4mn," after burning his hand on the stove.

One question, how does the transporter materialize Kirk, Spock and Mudd on windswept Rigel XII without getting any of the flying debris intermingled with their molecular structures? Shouldn't the three have materialized with particles of sand, rock, whatever inside of them?

From the way Eve was talking, those pans weren't as dirty as I expected. By the way, the miners don't have water?! Childress claimed that if he had the water, he'd be able to clean the pans. You'd think a mining operation on as inhospitable a world as Rigel XII would be equipped with as many necessities for survival as possible. And that should include plenty of water.

Are three miners really enough personnel to work the lithium mines? If (di)lithium crystals are so crucial to the operation of the Federation ships, could three men really harvest the ore needed? and what about medical emergencies? Who handles that? And do all three men have enough technical skill to service and repair every piece of equipment they need to run the mining facility?

"Live long and prosper."

Maybe this was said before, but - Ruth said that the miners were "very young." But, Childress and Gossett were at least middle aged. (Not as old as this old fart, though. )

This episodes says that Rigel II is "pretty isolated".

Of course, later episodes reveal that the Rigel system is one of the most populated in the galaxy!

It can be isolated, but heavily populated. Australia is pretty far from us, but has a population of more than 24 million people.

And Rigel could be populated by billions of Rigelians, but only hundreds of thousands of other humanoids that decided to travel there.

Yes, but it was indicated that those three guys were the only ones on that planet. And that the planet was way out in the boondocks.

Then later it's revealed that the Rigel System has countless inhabited planets and is a major trading hub (which means countless people and beings coming through).

Yeah, getting a woman should not be such an issue.

Heck, thirteen years earlier the Enterprise under Pike visited Rigel VII.

Another one. How many planets were there in that system!?

Rigel is a giant star, so it could have a lot of those.

The computer scans the women then the men, but doesn't get any strange readings from the women, despite their systems being influenced by the Venus Drug. It registers high blood pressure and breathing in the men, but can't read a foreign drug in the blood streams of the women?

Well, McCoy's scanner went wonky when one of the women walked in front of it.

Mr. Leslie was, for reasons unknown, using the name "Conners" in this episode.

Kirk could have followed up on information Mudd inadvertently gave about Magda. He says she's from 'the helium experimental station'. Welll? How many pretty blondes with short hair and foreign accents could be there?

Ruth describes the miners as 'fairly young', so I hit up imdb.com for information. Assuming the actors and characters they played are the same age;
Gene Dynarski (Ben Childress) - 33 years old. (A rather OLD-looking 33, if you ask me!)
Jon Kowal (Herm Gossett) - 39
Seamon Glass - 41.
I suppose in the 23rd century, when people can age well over a hundred, 33 to 41 is considered 'fairly young'.

Yeah, that's probably it. What is middle age to us is youth to them.

I suspect there is more than one Rigel system. Probably not to be confused with β Orionis (the Latin version of the bright star in Orion).

This is not such a bizarre idea. The star usually referred to as Alpha Centauri has a seldom used alternate name "Rigil Kentaurus," for example. The word is Arabic for "foot" so it isn't so surprising that other stars in constellations representing people or animals would also have stars with "rigel" in their names.
So the Rigel in Mudd's Women, clearly a remote loction, is far from the Rigel that Mr. Hengest hails from, or the world that Pike and company were visiting.

Well, there are two planets called Delta Vega, so why not.

Two Delta Vegas? Where's the other one?

The other one is the planet that Nero stuck Spock Prime on, so he could see the destruction of the Kelvin Timeline Vulcan.

Cleary a different planet that the one Gary Mitchell dies on, since this world is in the same solar system as Vulcan.

I thought that's what you meant.
But, then again, I consider that trilogy movie series a completely separate Trek universe from the TOS one.

Since the planet exists in the Kelvin Timeline, it must also exist in the Prime Universe.

Timeline, shmineline.
The writers took a bunch of things from the series and movies (Delta Vega, Carol Marcus, Khan, Captain Pike), and screwed up their original concepts completely.
My personal preference and opinion is that they are two separate entities, as unrelated as apples and chairs. The movies were fun, (I liked them, saw the first one twice the next two once each), but Roddenberry wouldn't like them because they were just frivilous crash-bang-boom movies without his original vision anywhere to be seen.

Sorry Steve, I misunderstood your post.

With the Enterprise down to one Lithium (Dilithium) crystal, they head for Rigel 12 to get new ones. I gotta assume that the nearest Starbase or space station is further away, considering such places would probably be the best place to find new crystals and replacement parts for starships.

Probably, yeah.

"What the devil happened to your looks, anyway?!" Childress berates Eve, adding later, "You're homely!"
Obviously, this guy hasn't been around enough women to know what kind of improvement makeup can provide. Sometimes the entertainment rags will show stories with the screaming headline "Actors without makeup!!!' and you see the worst possible photos of celebrities, and they look plain or even (gasp!) old!!!
Some women have natural beauty and don't need makeup (Jennifer Lopez comes to mind, for me, personally), but when she's done up-- hot!
I once sat across from a nice-looking young lady on the subway who spent her trip downtown getting all dolled up and when she was finished, she was beautiful, and looked like a different person.
And last week I caught an old episode of 'Bonanza' that had Tina Louise as a guest star. Not that you'd even know it, as her historically-correct woman-from-the-Old-West look was a far cry from the lovely Ginger Grant. I'm not even sure I would have even recognized her, if I hadn't seen the guest-starring credits. But her actual natural look is of an average redheaded woman that I wouldn't even give a second look.
So, yeah, Childress, Eve didn't look too good at that moment, but barring a shot of Venus Drug, she could have looked just fine with some Space Revlon!

The guy has been out there on that planet for years.

He's a miner on an isolated planet, yet seems to know exactly what he wants.

I doubt he knows about the virtues of makeup (he might have never seen a woman before).

I checked the dialogue, those men were only on that planet for three years.

Surely, they've seen women before.

I once read a story a man raised in a monastery his mother died in childbirth,he remained in the monastery his entire life.

Is it true- I read it in Ripley's Believe or not many years ago--so your guess is as good as mine.

That was a different situation entirely.

None of the miners were raised in such a way.

Are you sure???

The miners are probably from Earth, or some colony world.

Does it matter?

Guess not.

When Kirk first meets with Childress, Childress tells Kirk that he's agreed to get Mudd pardoned of all charges. How we have the authority to do this?

Thought he could bribe someone?