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Published Nov 3, 2023

Revisiting 'I, Mudd'

It's time for a look back at one of Star Trek's iconic episodes.

StarTrek.com

“ I, Mudd ,” written by “ Mudd’s Women ” scribe Stephen Kandel, is a fun and entertaining hour of Star Trek .

It’s got the second appearance of the gregarious Harcourt (Harry) Fenton Mudd , hundreds of duplicate androids, and a nice plot that involves our Enterprise crew — forced off their ship by the androids and held hostage on a planet — overloading a giant hive mind with illogic in order to free themselves.

Since today is the anniversary of the first broadcast of “I, Mudd,” we thought we’d coordinate all units and stroll down memory lane.

Promotional Material

In broadcast order, from the beginning of the series, “I, Mudd” was Episode 37 and it followed the second season’s “ Catspaw ” – the previous week’s horror-oriented offering.

Advertising for the episode was handled by both the Desilu Studios and the NBC Network, and a storyline note for the episode resulted in a paraphrased television listing, as seen in the image above.

The novelty of using twins to represent the many androids was heavily promoted prior to the episode’s broadcast. Several focus articles were written specifically about it, including the above, which appeared in the October 14, 1967, edition of TV Guide .

Note the error in the identification of the twins. The pictures in the upper right and lower right of the last page were flipped and needed to be switched to correctly match the text.

Mudd the First

The role of Harry Mudd was played on The Original Series with joie de vivre by Roger C. Carmel.

Carmel would go on to portray Mudd a third time when he voiced the character in The Animated Series episode, “Mudd’s Passion,” and his reportedly planned fourth outing in Star Trek: The Next Generation was cut short when he unexpectedly passed away in 1986 (at the age of 54).

Currently, the character of Harry Mudd is delightfully played by Rainn Wilson in the series, Star Trek: Discovery .

The Twins, Twinned and Twinned

As mentioned previously, twins were used to represent several of the android series, and the producers were lucky enough to find four sets of them. Each set was used to represent any of the 500 androids by simply changing their numbered necklaces (called 'badges' in the script). This trick was done often and gave the impression that any one set was more than just two individuals.

However, there was one instance in the episode where it was useful to show more than two androids in one of the series simultaneously, and for this feat, they turned to an optical effect.

"I, Mudd"

This shot, with its six Alice Androids, was created by combining three optical elements, each containing actors Alyce and Rhea Andrece and photographed separately into one element using an optical printer. If you look very carefully at this composite, you can see the vertical matte lines between Alices 2 and 3 and Alices 4 and 5 (from left to right) that separate the three shots.

Interestingly, the final draft script for “I, Mudd,” (dated July 31, 1967, and written about two weeks prior to the start of filming) populated the planet with only the Alice and Stella android series. Specifically, that script specified that the Alice series had 207,809 duplicates while the Stella series only had one.

Also, in this early draft, all of Norman’s part was originally Alice One’s and Chekov’s was Sulu’s. (Other than that, it’s essentially the same as the shooting draft — the revised final draft — dated August 4, 1967.)

Enticing the Crew – A Deleted Scene

Every episode of The Original Series had one or more scenes that were deleted or trimmed as they were being assembled, and “I, Mudd” was no exception.

The partial deleted scene shown below comes from Act III of this episode and it was intended to show more of Kirk’s crew being cajoled into staying on the planet. The accompanying text comes from the shooting draft of the script, and we’ve paired it with retouched images from the film frames of the lost scene.

Note that the director, Marc Daniels, chose to stage this scene somewhat differently than what was called for in the script.

INT. LOUNGE AREA – (SMALL REDRESS) CAMERA OPENS TIGHT on an Enterprise CREWMAN, stretched out on a chaise lounge. He is eating grapes. CAMERA PULLS BACK as we see an Alice #73 handing him a filled goblet of wine. CAMERA PANS so we see and Enterprise CREW WOMAN, seated with an ecstatic look on her face, as back of her, a Male Android, with a shoulder badge #114, industrially massages her back. There is a sound of gentle MUSIC as CAMERA CONTINUES TO PAN, and we see another Enterprise Crewman, leaning back with his eyes closed, as another Alice #500 plays a stringed instrument… and yet another Enterprise Crewman is being handed a plate of interesting looking food by a smiling, lovely member of the Barbara series #321 of Androids. GOING TO A FULL SHOT, we get the impression that each and every one of the Enterprise crewmen is very, very happy.

Mudd in His Eye?

We’ll close this article by leaving you with a frame from a blooper that occurred in the third act. There was no sound with the film, unfortunately, so there’s no way of knowing exactly what occurred that caused it.

However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t use our imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Get Updates By Email

This article was originally published on November 3, 2017.

David Tilotta is a professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and works in the areas of chemistry and sustainable materials technology. You can email David at [email protected]. Curt McAloney is an accomplished graphic artist with extensive experience in multimedia, Internet and print design. He resides in a suburb of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Together, Curt and David work on startrekhistory.com. Their Star Trek work has appeared in the Star Trek Magazine and Star Trek: The Original Series 365 by Paula M. Block with Terry J. Edrmann.

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“I, Mudd” Screenshots and Video and Audio Clips [UPDATED]

| October 15, 2006 | By: Matt Wright 83 comments so far

As per ususal here are some comparison shots and an assortment of extra shots for I, Mudd. Since this is the first 2nd season episode we also have an MP3 of the new theme, this one with the trademark soprano ( related story) .

Quotes 

Captain Kirk : Well, opinions?

Chekov : I think we're in a lot of trouble.

Captain Kirk : That's a great help, Mr. Chekov. Bones?

McCoy : I think Chekov's right, we are in a lot of trouble.

Captain Kirk : Spock, and if you say we're in a lot of trouble...

Spock : We are.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : [explaining his latest trouble]  I, uh... sold the Denebians all the rights to a Vulcan fuel synthesizer.

Capt. Kirk : And the Denebians contacted the Vulcans.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : How'd you know?

Capt. Kirk : That's what I would have done.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : Oh. It's a typical police mentality. They've got no sense of humour; they arrested me!

McCoy : Oh, I find that shocking.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : Worse than that! Do you know what the penalty for fraud is on Deneb 5?

Spock : Guilty party has his choice. Death by electrocution, death by gas, death by phaser, death by hanging...

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : The key word in your entire peroration, Mr. Spock, was... d-d-d-DEATH. Barbarians! Well, of course I... left.

Capt. Kirk : [to the others]  He broke jail.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : I, ah, borrowed transportation...

Capt. Kirk : He stole a spaceship.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : ...the patrol reacted in a hostile manner...

Capt. Kirk : They fired at him!

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : They've got no respect for private property - they damaged the bloody spaceship! Well, I... I got away, but I couldn't navigate, so I wandered out through unmapped space. And here I found... Mudd!

Norman : If you do not come with me, your engines will be destroyed and you will remain in orbit here, forever.

Capt. Kirk : I must say that's a gracious invitation.

Norman : There is a word. Among us there is no corresponding meaning, but it seems to mean something to you humans.

Capt. Kirk : And what is that word?

Norman : Please.

Alice #251 through 500 : Do you require something, lord?

Capt. Kirk : No. Yes! My ship.

Alice #251 through 500 : I am not programmed...

Alice #251 through 500 , Capt. Kirk : [together]  ... to respond in that area.

Capt. Kirk : Yes, I know.

Alice #251 through 500 : Is there anything *any* of you require to please you?

Capt. Kirk : Alice, give us back our ship to please us. Return us to our ship because we desire it.

Alice #251 through 500 : We are programmed to serve. We shall serve you to your best interests to make you happy.

Capt. Kirk : But we're unhappy here.

Alice #251 through 500 : Please explain "unhappy."

Spock : Unhappiness is the state which occurs in the human when wants and desires are not fulfilled.

Alice #251 through 500 : Which wants and desires of yours are not fulfilled?

Capt. Kirk : We want the Enterprise.

Alice #251 through 500 : [her badge number starts to flash]  The Enterprise is not a want or a desire. It is a mechanical device.

Capt. Kirk : No, it's a beautiful lady and we love her!

Alice #251 through 500 : [badge light remains on]  Illogical, illogical. All units relate. All units. Norman, coordinate.

Chekov : You know this man, Captain?

Captain Kirk : Oh, do I know him? Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Thief.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : Oh, come now.

Captain Kirk : Swindler and con man.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : Entrepreneur.

Captain Kirk : Liar and rogue.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : Did I leave you with that impression?

Alice #1 through 250 : We have a very extensive library section for your amusement.

Alice #251 through 500 : Our research laboratories and workshops are extremely well equipped.

Alice #1 through 250 , Alice #251 through 500 : You are free to visit them.

Captain Kirk : All right, we might later. In the mean time, would you mind leaving us?

Alice #1 through 250 , Alice #251 through 500 : Why should we leave you?

Captain Kirk : Because... we don't like you.

Captain Kirk : What is a man but that lofty spirit, that sense of enterprise, that devotion for something that cannot be sensed, cannot be realized but only dreamed, the highest reality?

Captain Kirk : Who caught you?

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : That, sir, is an outrageous assumption!

Captain Kirk : Yes. Who caught you?

[trying to confuse an android] 

Captain Kirk : Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Remember that. Everything Harry tells you is a lie.

Harcourt Fenton Mudd : Now listen to this carefully, Norman. I am... lying.

Norman : You say you are lying, but if everything you say is a lie, then you are telling the truth, but you cannot tell the truth because everything you say is a lie, but you lie... You tell the truth but you cannot for you lie... illogical! Illogical! Please explain! You are human. Only humans can explain their behavior! Please explain!

Captain Kirk : [giving him the same statement the androids have repeatedly given him several times before]  I am not programmed to respond in that area.

McCoy : All right, it's worked so far, but we're not out yet.

Captain Kirk : [to Spock as he enters]  Well?

Spock : Success, Captain. We've been pruning the leaves and branches of the tree, now it is time to get to work on the root.

Captain Kirk : Scotty! Scotty's dead! He had too much happiness. But now he's happier, he's dead. And we'll miss him.

Alice #1 through 250 : Why does she strike him?

Captain Kirk : She likes him.

Dr. McCoy : [referring to large darkened pane on wall]  Harry, what's this?

Harry Mudd : [pressing button by pane to reveal Stella android]  Ah. That, gentlemen, is a shrine to the memory of my beloved Stella.

Capt. Kirk : Who?

Harry Mudd : Stella, my wife.

Dr. McCoy : Dead?

Harry Mudd : Oh, no, no, no, merely deserted. You see, gentlemen, behind every great man there is a woman, urging him on. And so it was with my Stella. She urged me on into outer space. Not that she meant to.

[with increasing irritation] 

Harry Mudd : But with her continual, eternal, confounded nagging--well, I think of her constantly, and every time I do, I go further out into space.

Dr. McCoy : That's very interesting. You leave your wife and then bring her along.

Harry Mudd : I had the androids construct a perfect replica of Stella, so that I could gaze upon her, and rejoice in her absence. Gentlemen, attend. Stella, dear...

Stella Mudd : [switching on, angrily]  Mm, Harcourt? Harcourt Fenton Mudd, what have you been up to? Nothing good, I'm sure. Well let me tell you, you lazy, good-for-nothing...

Harry Mudd : Shut up!

Stella Mudd : [switching off]  Nothing... thing... thing.

Harry Mudd : Marvelous, isn't it? I finally have the last word with her...

[to Kirk] 

Harry Mudd : and with you.

Norman : We cannot allow any race as greedy and corruptible as yours to have free run of the galaxy.

Spock : I'm curious, Norman. Just how do you intend to stop them?

Norman : We shall serve them. Their kind will be eager to accept our service. Soon they will become completely dependent upon us.

Alice #1 through 250 : Their aggressive and acquisitive instincts will be under our control.

Norman : We shall take care of them.

Spock : Eminently practical.

Captain Kirk : The whole galaxy controlled by your kind?

Norman : Yes, Captain. And we shall serve them and you will be happy, and controlled.

Capt. Kirk : Mr. Spock, we seem to be taking an unscheduled ride.

Spock : Interesting.

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Mudd androids

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The androids of the planet Mudd originated in the Andromeda Galaxy . They were constructed by a humanoid species , known simply as the " makers ", for the purpose of performing necessary service functions, freeing their makers to evolve a perfect social order. Large groups of androids were sent to establish outposts for various purposes. At one time, there were many such outposts of androids scattered throughout the stars, but when the sun of their homeworld went nova , the androids' "makers" slowly became extinct . By the later 2260s , there were only a few outposts remaining. On one of these outposts, located on a K type planet in the Milky Way Galaxy , the androids worked at adapting the planet for productive use. They had managed to build vast libraries, impressive medical research laboratories, and cutting-edge engineering shops until the slow march of time caused them to lose focus on their original purpose. The accidental arrival of the Human Harcourt Fenton Mudd sometime between 2266 and 2268 brought the androids a new, if misguided, purpose.

• 1 Organization
• 2 The Mudd era
• 3 The post-Mudd era
• 4 Series of Mudd androids

Organization [ ]

By the 2260s, there were some 207,808 androids on what became the planet Mudd. They were led by a single coordinator named Norman , who utilized a central control complex to join them into a gigantic, highly intelligent hive mind . The androids were divided into groups of identical models each numbering up to five hundred units. Among these were the Herman series , the Oscar series , and many others. Constructed of a self-renewing plastic over a skeleton of beryllium - titanium alloy, none of the android bodies had ever worn out, but the estimated duration was 500,000 years . In addition to being very resilient, they were also exceptionally strong.

While the android collective brain is vast and formidable, it had a weakness in its inability to process logical paradoxes and irrational behavior.

The Mudd era [ ]

Mudd the First

When the planet was stumbled upon by fugitive Harry Mudd, the androids dubbed him Lord Mudd the First and made him their ruler. Serving Mudd with near-absolute loyalty, they nevertheless held him against his will. While ruler and prisoner of the android population, Mudd ordered the construction of an additional 2,501 androids, most of which were very attractive female models, including the Alice series , the Barbara series , the Maisie series , the Trudy series , and the Annabelle series . In addition, he commissioned a single android in the image of his estranged wife Stella , whom he could command to be silent at will to amuse himself.

The original Stella android

Needing beings to serve, and being less than satisfied with Harry Mudd as the sole provider of purpose, the androids promised to allow him to leave if he would help them secure new specimens to serve. At Mudd's direction, Norman posed as a Starfleet officer and commandeered and sabotaged a Federation starship , the USS Enterprise , and forced it to the planet Mudd.

However, the androids' long observation of Harry Mudd caused them to draw certain negative conclusions about the Human race as a whole. Although realizing that Mudd was flawed even for a Human being, the androids nevertheless determined that the Human race was much too greedy and corruptible to have free run of the galaxy. They determined the best way to control Humanity's aggressive and inquisitive instincts was by serving them, until Humans became completely dependent on them, happy and controlled. For that reason, they decided to leave Mudd on the planet and leave on the Enterprise themselves in order to offer their "services" to Humankind. ( TOS : " I, Mudd ")

The post-Mudd era [ ]

Mudd, verbally assaulted by three of the Stella series

Using a combination of irrational behavior and logical paradoxes, the androids were eventually overcome by the Enterprise crew with the assistance of Harry Mudd. With the androids incapacitated, it became possible for the Starfleet personnel to reprogram the androids to continue once again the project they had been sent to the planet to accomplish. In addition, the androids were to be left with custody of Harry Mudd, not as a sovereign ruler, but instead as a "first-class example of a Human failure", to be observed in order to avoid similar individuals in the future. In addition, at least 500 new androids based upon Harry Mudd's original Stella design,were commissioned by Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk , including its characteristic shrill and shrewish demeanor, but without any regard for Harry's command for it to "shut up". ( TOS : " I, Mudd ")

Series of Mudd androids [ ]

According to Spock – aside from the six series seen and Norman, who was in a class by himself – there were " a whole plethora of series. "

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Recap / Star Trek S2 E8 "I, Mudd"

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Original air date: November 3, 1967

There's something strange about this Enterprise crewman. He never smiles, never engages in small talk, shows great reluctance to talk about his past, and he isn't Mr. Spock. He soon takes over the ship and reveals that his name is Norman, he is an android and they will be going to his planet—no ifs, ands, or buts. Once in orbit, Norman specifies who will be in the landing party. Kirk and company find they have no choice but to comply when Norman threatens to destroy their engines. When they beam down, who should greet them on a grand throne but their old friend, Harry Mudd?

It seems that after Harry decided to release himself on his own recognizance (i.e., he broke out of jail) he crash landed on this planet of androids who immediately made him their emperor. It seems the androids are very much like Lumiere and his friends . They're just not happy without people to serve. And now that they have an entire starship full of people to serve, Mudd can now leave his android followers for a permanent vacation.

Yeah, that's what he thinks.

• Alice Allusion : About to Logic Bomb the Alice series of androids, Kirk says, "Next, we take the Alices through Wonderland."
• Behind Every Great Man : Harry notes that every great man has a woman urging him on...and every time he thinks of Stella, it urges him further on into space.
• "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word : Mudd rankles at being called a liar and a thief by Kirk. He prefers "entrepreneur".
• Bling of War : Mudd's getup has a martial look, but in this case it's probably Bling of Sloth and Avarice.
• Brick Joke : Early on, Norman claims that they don't know the meaning of the world "please", even as they add it onto their 'request' that the Enterprise visit the planet. When the landing party first arrives on the planet, one of the Alices says "If you will follow us, please." (Possibly a clue that Norman in his role as central control computer has transmitted the importance of "please" to the other androids.) At the end, as Norman is overloading from trying to solve Mudd's Liar Paradox, he exclaims "Illogical! Illogical! Please explain!"
• Chew-Out Fake-Out : Uhura seemingly sabotages her crewmates' escape attempt. After the androids leave, Kirk approaches her sternly, seemingly intending to chew her out (if not throttle her with his bare hands) for her betrayal...only to reveal to the viewers that Uhura's sabotage was part of the plan, which she pulled off very well and for which he's very proud of her.
• Continuity Nod : Mudd's previous appearance in " Mudd's Women " is directly referenced, making this one of the few episodes with direct continuity with a previous story. Harry is also the only recurring character not part of Enterprise's crew during the run of the series (Khan, Sarek, and Amanda would later appear in the films, with Sarek also appearing on The Next Generation , while Kor, Kang, and Koloth note  though Kang and Koloth were only created due to John Calicos being unavailable to return as Kor in their respective episodes returned in Deep Space Nine . Sarek, Amanda, Cyrano Jones, Koloth, and the Guardian of Forever would all reappear in episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series . And of course, Captain Pike and his crew would get their own spin-off series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .)
• Cool and Unusual Punishment : Mudd is left on the planet with at least five hundred android copies of his shrewish wife in an attempt to keep him in line. And he can't turn them off.
• Disproportionate Retribution : Apparently Deneb V punishes copyright infringement with the death penalty. Also played for laughs with at least five hundred androids of Harry's wife.
• Euphemism Buster : Combined with Rule of Three when Mudd explains what happened after ending up on death row on Deneb V: Mudd: Well, of course, I...left. Kirk: He broke jail. Mudd: I... borrowed transportation— Kirk: He stole a spaceship. Mudd: The patrol reacted in a hostile manner— Kirk: They fired at him.
• Even the Girls Want Her : Uhura is the first to be impressed by the female androids, while Kirk asks about male androids.
• Evil Laugh : Mudd lets loose one after revealing the Enterprise crew are stuck here.
• Failed Future Forecast : Chekov references Leningrad, which was renamed back to St. Petersburg in 1991 .
• Fake Defector : Uhura sells out her compatriots' escape plan, but it turns out her betrayal was also part of the plan.
• Fate Worse than Death : What the Enterprise crew leave Mudd to: stuck on the android planet with 500 copies of his wife that he can't shut off.
• Full-Name Ultimatum : Harcourt Fenton Mudd! His first name is embarrassing, his middle name is embarrassing and his last name is nothing to crow about either!
• Gilded Cage : The trope is discussed among the crew when they realize they are in a situation where their every comfort and desire will be catered to...unless it is a desire to leave.
• Ham and Cheese : Invoked In-Universe — Kirk and his officers say and do the most ridiculous things in the most over-the-top manner to Logic Bomb the androids.
• Hell of a Heaven : Mudd says the android planet is a paradise, in a tone that shows it's become anything but. With all his desires catered for, the interstellar rogue had gotten bored and restless.
• Henpecked Husband : Harry Mudd had an android made of his harridan of a wife so that he could finally have the last word. Guess what his punishment is? Stella-bot: Harcourt Fenton Mudd, you lazy good-for-nothing-thing-thing-thing...!
• Hive Mind : All the androids operate this way, with Norman as the "Queen", if you will.
• How Would You Like to Die? : A question Harry Mudd evaded by breaking out of jail : Mudd: Do know what the penalty for fraud is on Deneb V? Spock: The guilty party has his choice: death by electrocution, death by gas, death by phaser, death by hanging.... Mudd: The key word in your entire peroration, Mister Spock, was, death .
• Humans Are the Real Monsters : The androids come to this conclusion after spending a good amount of time with Mudd. They plan to fix this problem by taking over the universe.
• Hurricane of Euphemisms : Mudd tries to explain euphemistically how he came to this planet. Kirk is more direct .
• Harry claims Information Wants to Be Free as his defense for patent infringement, yet he got caught because he sold the rights to one of his stolen patents.
• When protesting a patrol shooting at him, Harry rants that had no respect to keep them from damaging private property, namely the spaceship, ignoring that he stole the spaceship in the first place.
• After the androids quit obeying Mudd's orders and declare that he will be left behind with all the other humans: Mudd: You'd better do something because I'm as anxious to get off this ruddy rock as you are! McCoy : You wanted to leave us on "this ruddy rock" and leave by yourself.
• I, Noun : The title
• Insistent Terminology : You will call him "Mudd the First!"
• Ironic Echo : "I am not programmed to respond in that area." Initially, it's used by the androids on Kirk and Company. Later, when Kirk and Mudd Logic Bomb Norman and the android begs for an explanation, Kirk returns the favor.
• Just Between You and Me : Spock notes that the androids are almost ready to take the Enterprise out of orbit. Bones asks how he knows that; Spock replies, "I asked them." Kirk ruefully comments that the androids are so confident that the crew can't do anything to stop them that they don't see any need to keep secrets.
• Left It In : When the Alices 1 & 2 are telling the crew of the library facilities, they are in perfect sync, until one says, "You are free to use them," while the other says, "You are free to visit them."
• Liar's Paradox : Captain Kirk and Harry Mudd use a liar's paradox to set off a Logic Bomb in an android holding them captive. Kirk: Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Remember that. Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Mudd: Listen to this carefully, Norman. I am lying. Norman: (chest light frantically beeping) You say you are lying, but if everything you say is a lie then you are telling the truth, but you cannot tell the truth because everything you say is a lie. You lie. You tell the truth. But you cannot for... Illogical! Illogical! Please explain! (Smoke comes out of Norman's head) You are human! Only humans can explain their behavior! Please explain! Kirk: I am not programmed to respond in that area. (Norman crashes)
• The one Spock comes up with to short out two of the Alices is beautiful in its simplicity: Spock (to Alice 27): I love you. (turns to Alice 210). However, I hate you. Alice 210 : But, I am identical in every way with Alice 27. Spock : Yes. Of course, that is exactly why I hate you— because you are identical. (both Alices promptly shut down)
• And, of course, the infamous Liar's Paradox .
• Men Are the Expendable Gender : Oddly, it applies to androids as well this episode, insofar as "Male characters get more explicit and brutal deaths." To wit: as the crew is dropping Logic Bombs on the androids, the female Alices are shown simply closing their eyes and slipping placidly into sleep mode. However, Norman's death by Logic Bomb is much more visually torturous, as smoke and sparks pour from his ears ... because his brain is on fire . Justified by the fact that Norman - the sole model of his kind - is essentially the central Hive Queen , and so required a much stronger paradox to take him down, compared to the female models (and presumably, the other offscreen male models that Mudd mentioned) who were just smaller parts of the whole.
• Most Writers Are Male : The female androids are far more fanservice-y than the male ones.
• No-Sell : What happens when Spock tries his Vulcan nerve pinch on Alice 210; she just seems bemused and Spock has to resort to a Logic Bomb to neutralize her and Alice 27.
• Offhand Backhand : This is how Norman treats all the Redshirts in engineering. Fortunately, this is a funny episode, so they're just KO'ed.
• Oh, Crap! : Mudd's reaction to seeing the number 500 on the Stella android at the ending is epic.
• Oh, No... Not Again! : Quite clearly Kirk's reaction when he sees Mudd on the throne.
• Parting-from-Consciousness Words : Mudd protests being knocked out as part of the crew's plan to fool the androids.
• Planet Baron : Mudd has become ruler of a planet of androids, though by the end of the episode the robots are more his captors than his subjects.
• Politeness Judo : When threats of utter destruction still leave Kirk reluctant to follow Norman's demands, he tries saying "please".
• Purple Prose : In the latter stages of the story the Enterprise crew and Mudd go on long, flowery speeches to the androids, presumably so that their circuits will overload even quicker trying to work out just what the hell they're talking about.
• Ridiculously Human Robot : All of the androids not only look human, but they are programmed to be "fully functional".
• Robotic Reveal : Norman reveals a mechanical panel on his abdomen. Originally, it was a simple cluster of wires and transistors . The remastered edition has something that better lives up to the "Most sophisticated" description Spock gives.
• Sex Bot : Suggested about as blatantly as television of the era could get away with when Chekhov realises the implications of the female androids being programmed by "that unprincipled, evil-minded, lecherous kulak Harry Mudd"... and decides things might not be too bad here after all. When we next see him, later on, he has a huge blissful grin on his face.
• Shadow Archetype : Moreso than in the previous appearance of Mudd, Mudd is portrayed to contrast Kirk — but Kirk wants to help while he explores space and is a Chivalrous Pervert at worst, while Mudd complains of his nagging wife pushing him into space, and is an intergalactic pimp. Lampshaded in Mudd's introduction, wherein Kirk is clearly furious to see Mudd again, readily translating all of Mudd's excuses into unforgiving realities.
• I, Claudius as well, as Harry fancies himself as the androids’ ruler.
• Sick Captive Scam : The crew sedate Harry and tell the androids that he's dying but could be saved if they could get to the Sickbay on board ship as part of a plan to get the upper hand. Played with in that this scheme is only part of a more complex one to outgambit the androids, who will expect them to make an escape attempt . Now that they've made an obvious one, they can continue with the real one.
• Sidetracked by the Analogy : Mudd tells Spock he couldn't sell false patents to his own mother. Spock can't figure out why he'd want to do that, leaving Mudd to roll his eyes.
• Stating the Simple Solution : How does Spock know so much about the androids' abilities? "I asked them."
• Stop Worshipping Me : Even Harry Mudd tires of being planetary emperor.
• That Came Out Wrong : McCoy 's explanation of why he doesn't trust Norman — he never smiles, he doesn't do small talk... — accidentally insults Spock . He tries to explain that it's different for Vulcans, which doesn't really help.
• That Russian Squat Dance : While he doesn't get into the Preesyadkee, Chekov's dance is very reminiscent of the Kazatsky.
• Too Happy to Live : During one of the logic bomb incidents, Scotty begs to be put out of the misery of having too much pleasure. Kirk, Spock and Bones all pretend to shoot him. Kirk takes Scotty in his arms and declares he died of too much happiness.
• Uncanny Valley : In-Universe - From the beginning, McCoy notices that there is something off about Mr. Norman.
• Understatement : "We're in a lot of trouble."
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee : Kirk says nothing about his plan until he sets it into motion—which involves Slipping a Mickey to Mudd in order to get back to the Enterprise . It looks like it might work until Uhura blows the whole plan out of her desire to stay and become an immortal android. Kirk looks like he's about to chew her out big time—and then congratulates her, revealing that this too was part of the plan . On to Phase 2...
• Vanity Is Feminine : Uhura has trouble dismissing the possibility of having eternal youth and beauty.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist : The androids want to take over the galaxy, coddling everyone into a state of blissful dependence, in order to protect the cosmos from all the hubris, aggression and whatnot they observed in Harry Mudd.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human? : Little, if any, concern is given towards the androids that are sabotaged by the crew's Logic Bomb as listed above.
• The robots apparently were working on the robot body to put Uhura's brain into before they left to take over the galaxy. When the episode ends, it seemingly gets forgotten about.
• What did the androids intend to do about the other intelligent species who are neighbours to humans?
• Sulu completely disappears from the episode after the Enterprise arrives at Planet Mudd.
• Who Wants to Live Forever? : Uhura is briefly tempted with the possibility of living forever. At one point, it looks like she's even willing to betray her crew for the chance. Fortunately, it turned out to be all part of a grand Batman Gambit to trick the androids .
• World of Snark : Before the intentionally hamming it up kicks in. Kirk, Bones and Spock all have fun snarking at Mudd's expense.
• Your Mom : Generally, bringing up Spock's mother is a good way to get introduced to your spleen . Fortunately, he's too confused as to why he'd want to sell her false patents to really react.

Video Example(s):

Captain Kirk and Harry Mudd use the liar's paradox to defeat the android Norman.

Example of: Liar's Paradox

• Star Trek S2 E7 "Catspaw"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek S2 E9 "Metamorphosis"

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