Star Trek (TOS): Episode By Episode Thread

Well said, apileocole.

I reiterate that the ambiguity suggested here in the overriding theme that we are better people for being the sum of our parts is largely what makes this one of the arguably "top tier" Star Trek episodes, rather than merely presenting a simplistic "good" vs. "evil" confrontation. It actually seems somewhat cynical to say that the only effective leaders must have an aggressive, but fearful (not to mention sexual!), side to their natures.

As I opined back in post #21, this may be an example of where Mr. Spock's judgment regarding the attempted rape of Yeoman Rand (I agree with Solaris that this is quite serious indeed, particularly for 1966 TV!), as evidenced by his wry comment to her at the end, and which could be interpreted as downright disturbing, is not perhaps best relied upon. Still, it is Spock who is shown to be the most acutely aware of what Kirk is going through given his human/Vulcan identity, which Spock oddly refers to the latter as his "alien" half here, and is perhaps also able to read into the psyche of Yeoman Rand to see her own submerged feelings (which I do think are hinted at). Maybe, maybe not....

I think 4 1/2 stars (or Tribbles, if you prefer) is about the right rating for this challenging and well written episode, courtesy of Richard Matheson, albeit a bit cheesily executed. Besides the aforementioned bloopers, "The Enemy Within" probably does get docked a bit for the hammy potrayal of "bad" Kirk, complete with eyeliner as others have noted, but given that this is William Shatner we're talking about, I'd say that's pretty much par for the course!

 

Half a Tribble by volume is hair, after all, so the ah, "half" positions are filled by Tribbles suffering alopecia. Yeah, that's it.

We wouldn't hurt a hair on their little head. Wherever that is...

 

#6: Mudd's Women

Original Air Date: 10/13/66

Stardate: 1329.8

After stopping a vessel in space, Kirk and the crew find a very odd captain with a very strange cargo. The captain of the vessel is Harcourt Fenton Mudd - known as Harry to his friends - and the cargo are three lovely women he is transporting as brides for lonely men on distant planets. Kirk has a major problem: while trying to rescue Mudd and his women from his disintegrating ship, the Enterprise's lithium crystals used to power the engines were destroyed. They travel to a nearby mining colony where Mudd sets about to arrange marriages for the women, interfering with Kirk's plan to buy the crystals. All the time, the ship's orbit is deteriorating and risks burning up in the atmosphere.

Mudd's women was only the second episode produced after the 2nd pilot. Due to that, there are some anomalies (Spock smiles and has red cheeks, Uhura has a beige uniform). This episode would introduce TOS most recurring guest star, Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Also in "I, Mudd" and an episode of TAS, "Mudd's Passion"). Mudd is basically a space pirate (puffy shirt and all). The morality tail Roddenberry was shooting for here, was surprisingly not human trafficking (although it is touched on). Instead, it is the notion that we are what we believe we are, or the "placebo effect". Many rate this episode highly. It probably depends on how much you like Mudd's character. For me personally, not so much.

Personal Rating: 3 stars

 

Trivia:

Lt. Farrell's first name, Johnny, is spoken here for the only time.

This was one of three scripts submitted to NBC (along with Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Beforeand Star Trek: The Omega Glory) when they were seeking to do a second pilot for the series.

The hand-held device Spock is using after the landing party beams up is a modern E6B flight computer, used by pilots to aid in calculating fuel burn, wind correction, time en route, and other items.

This is the first episode in which the Enterprise's power source is named, however, they are called simply "lithium crystals", and not "dilithium" as was done in all later episodes of this and all later incarnations of Star Trek.

Spock is referred to here as a "Vulcanian" and not a "Vulcan". The terminology was evolving through the early episodes of the series.

Towards the end of Mudd's hearing, in a conversation with the women, he addresses Ruth (Maggie Thrett) as "Maggie".

 

I was never overly fond of "Mudd's Women". Put me in the column of people that find Roger C. Carmel's portrayal as a bit too flamboyant, chewing the scenery all the way. That said, the episode does have its charms, not the least of which are the lovely ladies as eye candy, lovingly photographed in soft-focus (except for when the Venus drug wears off).

I always found it interesting as the women are beamed aboard, they're arranged on the transporter pads in a triangular shape, all facing outward. The next shot is of Mudd, Scotty, and McCoy lined up in a row, which is then mirrored by a shot of the ladies lined up in a row. Back to the men, and then we see the ladies are indeed still in place on the transporter pads, and are just then moving off - where they line up as pictured earlier. This disjointedness actually adds to the impact of the disorientation the men must feel as the women are in view and beginning to weave their magic. It's underlined as they leave the transporter room and Scotty sighs, to which McCoy says, "Amen to THAT".

The updated special effects work well here to give Mudd's ship a little detail, instead of just being a yellow indistinct shape on the viewscreen.

Fred Steiner's music score is effective, and becomes a much-used library source throughout the series. The motif used for the ladies gets used in the series almost every time a lovely female is introduced, and gets heard here by the on-screen characters as a fox-trot version source music that the miners and ladies dance to.

Harry

 

More trivia for I, Mudd the sequel (pictured here): David Gerrold was brought in to do an uncredited rewrite as I recall.

 

I think you are right! I mistakenly included a picture from "I, Mudd", not "Mudd's Women"

Here is a shot from the correct episode!

 

I always like Mudd's Women. But then, I was 13 when it first hit the airwaves. You think a 13 year old boy wouldn't like an episode featuring 3 beautiful women?

Beyond that, I find Carmel practically restrained in this episode compared to I, Mudd. That episode was played strictly for laughs which didn't help.

Mudd's Women also deals very well with the issue of beauty, its source and importance.

It is an early episode and that mostly shows with Spock. He isn't really Vulcan yet. That is to come.

 

I watched I, Mudd last night to compare, and I found I enjoyed the broad comedy of that episode better than this early, shaky one. Not a favorite.

 

#7-What Are Little Girls Made Of

Original Air Date: 10/20/66

Stardate: 2712.4

The crew of the Enterprise arrive at the planet EXO-III with some trepidation and great anticipation. They are there to see if hey can locate the renowned scientist Dr. Roger Korby. The man hasn't been heard of for 5 years and the general belief is that he is dead. For Nurse Christine Chapel however, a reunion with Corby will be a reunion with her fiancé. They find Korby alive but when Kirk and Chapel beam down to the planet, they find a man obsessed who is using alien technology to reproduce the humans around him in the form of androids.

I like a lot of what goes on in this episode. To be honest, it scared me to death as a kid. Cassidy is absolutely huge and terrifying. The cavernous environment is just as scary. To its detriment are the acting of Christine Chapel and Roger Corby. Overall, another quality episode.

Personal Rating: 3

 

Trivia:

First mention of Capt. Kirk's brother, George Samuel Kirk, who is married with children.

Crewman Mathews (Vince Deadrick Sr.) is the first actual "red shirt" to be killed in the series. He's pushed into a bottomless pit minutes after beaming down to the planet's surface.

 

I believe that "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" might have been one of the episodes that NBC did not rerun in the summer of '67, because my recollection is that I first saw it in syndication as a new episode to me.

And it's one I've never been crazy about. All of the guest stars were familiar to me in one way or another. Ted Cassidy had done his Lurch thing, Michael Strong had been guesting on shows like THE FUGITIVE, so he was a familiar face, and I'd grown up watching Sherry Jackson on the older episodes of MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY. Familiar faces don't usually bother me, but for some reason they did here. The other thing that bothered me a little bit here was that the show was only a few weeks into its run and this is already the SECOND time William Shatner was called upon to do a dual role. Enough already.

The episode felt claustrophobic with its underground/cave locale, though I have to say, the lighting director certainly made it a colorful affair, much like what was done on the Enterprise sets. Sell those color TVs!

Finally, the episode centered somewhat around Nurse Chapel, and she was an actress and character I didn't care for, so that adds to the ho-hum factor for me.

If I were giving stars or tribbles, I'd rate this a 2 out of 5.

Harry

 

"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" is another favorite of mine. I remember finding Lurch rather frightening during my intial viewings, particularly when he barges into the room and grabs Kirk violently. I enjoy the set design, especially the colors of the underground labrynths. Robot lady is hot (ha-cha).

As for Mudd's Women, it is an episode I don't care for and tend to skip when I hunker down to re-watch the series on DVD.

 

I enjoyed it. Particularly how Kirk got his "message" to Spock.

 

Great episode for me. The idea behind Ruk is good. Andrea is one reason I like the original series better

 

You are correct. Here is a list of TOS air dates, not only for the original airings but the reruns.

 

#8: Miri

Original Air Date: 10/27/66

Stardate: 2713.5

The Enterprise receives an old style SOS signal and finds on arrival a planet that is virtually identical to Earth. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Yeoman Rand beam down to the planet only to find that it is inhabited solely by children. Kirk befriends one of the older children, Miri, but they soon learn that experiments to prolong life killed all of the adults and that the children will also die when they reach puberty. They also learn that the children are in fact, very old. Soon, the landing party contracts the virus and has seven days to find a cure.

Miri is not one of the strongest episodes of season 1. To recommend it, the actors (except for Yeoman Rand) do a wonderful job. This is the first example of the trinity (Kirk, Spock, McCoy) finding their chemistry. They have a problem to solve with the Captain handling the politics, Spock the calculations, and McCoy the medicine. Spock and McCoy begin their bickering in this episode, and Dr. McCoy has a nice moment when he tries the remedy on himself. Against the episode is the children not coming off very threatening, really no purpose for Rand, and the creepy factor of the Captain hitting on Miri to get information. Overall, I find it to be mediocre, but not bad.

Personal Rating: 2 stars

 

Trivia:

Although all the children on the planet die when they reach puberty, Michael J. Pollard, who played Jahn, was 27 years old when this episode aired, and Kim Darby, who played Miri, was 19.

The red-headed boy, Stephen McEveety, is the son of Vincent McEveety. One of the little girls is played by Dawn Roddenberrywhile the girl held by Kirk as he rushes to the lab with his newly recovered communicator, is played by Melanie Shatner.

"Miri" didn't receive its first UK TV showing until the 1990s, despite Star Trekbeing frequently repeated. This was down to the BBC feeling that the episode contained some very dark themes, much too unsuitable for the show's early evening transmission.

The outdoor scenes of this episode were filmed on the same back lot streets that also were used to create Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show, except that the streets were piled with debris and dirt to create the appearance that the town was in ruins. Several building exteriors familiar from Mayberry can be seen in those exterior shots, including the courthouse, Walker's Drugstore, and the Mayberry Hotel. The long shots of those buildings, however, also reveal that on "The Andy Griffith Show" the two-story buildings that can be seen here were always filmed up close, to create the impression that Mayberry consisted only of one-story structures.

 

I seem to like "Miri" more than most. I think it's on the strength of having Kim Darby in the cast. She always appealed to me - I'd seen her before in two episodes of THE FUGITIVE, so her presence just made the whole thing click for me.

The "identical-to-Earth" nonsense is tough to take, but if you can look past that, the episode is all that much better. The children weren't particularly menacing, no, the evil here is the disease and lack of time to solve their problem. I thought Rand's presence was just fine - she provided a bit of counterpoint to Miri.

But I've read the thoughts of others on the episode, so I find myself a bit lonely in liking it.

Harry

 

Miri is not a favorite of mine. Not sure why. Maybe it's just those darn kids.

 

I like Miri quite a lot. It is one of the few shows that feature children that I like. The children do not irritate me. Kim Darby is very good. I always find it funny that 27 year old Michael Pollard is still playing a teenager. That is stretching it. Similar to Gary Burghoff playing a 19-20 year old on Mash even though he was in his 30s during most of the show's run.

 

Kim Darby is excellent in this episode. Pollard does a good job also. It is not a bad episode by any stretch.

The other kids are a problem, and I do not like Rand in this episode. The Captain flirting with a supposed pre-pubescent girl (even though she is 300 years old) does not play well for me.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Darby and Pollard carry it to be decent though.

 

It's a fair enough episode. I don't particularly like or dislike it. It isn't one of the stronger episodes.

Although I do think some of the dialogue has become 'iconic' in trek-lore....'bonk bonk'!!!

 

I like it when Kirk screams "No Blah Blah Blah". Of course when I do my impression of Kirk saying this I say No More Blah Blah Blah. Seems funnier to me.

 

Interesting to see such a wide range of opinion on this episode. My recollection of it is that I disliked it enough to place it in the "lower tier" (the only 1st season episode I recall as being arguably worse was "The Alternative Factor"), and I tend to agree with the Zodiac that it is most likely those darned kids, but I may need to re-watch it with a fresh eye before giving it a fair review.