At its hieght Star Trek is one of the most forward thinking shows. Unfortunately there are times when things get a bit wobbly when viewed with 21st Century sensibilities. Mudds women Is one such example.
When the Enterprise experiences a series of Lithium crystal failures, in persuit of the Rogue Harry Mudd, Mudd attempts to exploit the situation to avoid facing jail time.
Mudd’s Cago is three women to be sold as wives for miners. While the girls are there voluntarily it does raise uncomfortable questions about the concept of arranged marriage and people trafficking- particularly when Kirk reluctantly goes along with the trades in order to save the ship.
The women are highly seductive particularly when under the influence of the Venus Drug, which again raises its own problems. The women are depicted as sexualised sirens, stunning the male crew members to silence, or nagging matrons, a point which the episode kind of addresses even though there should be a third aspect to a wife - that of a partner.
Mudd, Trek’s first recurring antagonist is fantastic, pompous, overbearing and somewhat inept, he nevertheless almost has a cheeky charm about him.
So although very much “one for the Dads” there is nevertheless some moments of comedy here that will be tampered up in series 2
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