Star Trek: 10 Dropped Plot Threads We'll Never Get The Answer To
6. Because More Harry Mudd Can Only Be A Good Thing - I, Mudd (Star Trek The Original Series)
Okay, this might be a bit of a stretch, given that I, Mudd" was a continued exploration of Mudds Women, but why stop there? Harcourt Fenton Mudd is such an endearing and entertaining character that more adventures with this guy wouldnt hurt. After all, rogues make for the best stories. Rogues are instant story generators. If the scriptwriters found themselves stuck for a plotline, here's a character who instantly makes his own. All he needs is a criminal motivation and the story writes itself. In fact, this idea was repeated in Star Trek: TNG's episode "The Outrageous Okona". Mudd is lascivious, manipulative, completely narcissistic, but also so relatable to a 20th (and 21st century) audience still pre-occupied with the pursuit of material wealth and other intrinsic things. We are a selfish society but the Earth in the time of the Federation is not. People dont accumulate wealth or trap themselves in nowhere careers; the people of the 23rd century live in a utopia-like existence where the pursuit of personal wealth is not the global preoccupation but rather the betterment of ones self. Harry Mudd is a throwback and is therefore totally relatable to the audience - and its fun to see him interact with the spotless, law-abiding Star Fleet officers. He lies, thieves and presents a criminal record in a time when crime is supposed to have been eradicated. That makes him unique in the Star Trek universe and therefore, worthy of more stories. Why don't we see more of his adventures? A rich, entertaining character who is a perfect foil to the captain and crew of the Enterprise. Most importantly though, he also serves as a continued reminder of why the 23rd century is such a utopian society. If Mudd's pursuit of profit through smuggling and conniving is so wrong then we need to see more of it to remind ourselves in our primitive society what is right. We needed more of this. So what ever happened to him? Did he remain on the planet of androids? Was he brow-beaten to death by his android-replicated wife? Surely this is an inventive and cunning character who could have broke out of his prison. Given Mudd's demonstrated cleverness, getting off-planet wouldn't have been too difficult a task. This needed a re-visit, simply out of comic relief and pure fun. And surely the Federation could make some use of a planet full of robots willing to serve humanity. Forget Riza.
John Kirk is a Teacher-Librarian and currently a History/English Teacher with the Toronto District School Board.
But mostly, John teaches Geek.
Comics, Sci-Fi (Notably Star Trek), Fantasy and Role-Playing and table-top games all make up part of John’s repertoire, There is a whole generation of nerds-in-embryo who rely on him to make sense of it all, to teach that with great power comes great responsibility, that the force will be with us always and that a towel IS the most useful thing to have in one’s possession.
When John isn’t in the classroom, he can be found in his basement writing comic reviews for www.popmythology.com and features for Roddenberry Entertainment's www.1701news.com.
