12 Abandoned Star Trek Ideas That Would Have Been Incredible

12. Deep Mudd

Before he inexplicably turned into a sadistic serial killer, Harcourt Fenton Mudd was a charming conman who kept getting himself into ridiculous scrapes. About once a season of The Original Series, he was bailed out by the crew of the Enterprise from each of his varied schemes. The second time was an episode called I, Mudd, a play on I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, since it revolved around a planet of robots. The proposed third season episode Deep Mudd would have followed up on that storyline.

Essentially, Harry would have uncovered numerous weapons on the planet and sold them to a passing crew of pirates in exchange for safe passage. The pirates would have turned on Mudd, just as the Enterprise was on its way back to check on him. Mudd and Kirk would have had to work together and outwit the pirates, eventually arresting them. Mudd would have then absconded once again, to stir up more trouble another day (perhaps winding up frozen in cryo-stasis). This episode was planned for season 3.

Alas, it fell foul of scheduling, since Roger C. Carmel was booked filming Burt Reynolds' sci-fi film Skullduggery. This episode was never made, which may have worked out well for Gene Rodenberry, who never liked the pirate angle. But then, given that season 3 started with the truly abysmal episode Spock's Brain, perhaps pirates would have been better.

Alas, the faithful audience was due to have another outing of Harry Mudd in the first season of Star Trek The Next Generation. The crew of the Enterprise D would have uncovered a cryogenically frozen Mudd and thawed him out. This one didn't come to pass either, since Roger C. Carmel passed away before it could be filmed.