Line #26 Recap/StarTrekS2E8IMudd


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/i_mudd.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Welcome to planet Mudd!]]
3
4	'''Original air date:''' November 3, 1967
5
6	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?
7
8	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 [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast 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.
9
10	Yeah, that's what he thinks.
11
12	!!I, Tropes:
13
14	* AliceAllusion: About to LogicBomb the Alice series of androids, Kirk says, "Next, we take the Alices through Wonderland."
15	* BehindEveryGreatMan: 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.
16	* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Mudd rankles at being called a liar and a thief by Kirk. He prefers "entrepreneur".
17	* BlingOfWar: Mudd's getup has a martial look, but in this case it's probably Bling of Sloth and Avarice.
18	* BrickJoke: 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 [[spoiler: 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!"
19	* ChewOutFakeOut: 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.
20	* ContinuityNod: Mudd's previous appearance in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen 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[[/note]] returned in ''Deep Space Nine''. Sarek, Amanda, Cyrano Jones, Koloth, and the Guardian of Forever would all reappear in episodes of ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries.'' And of course, Captain Pike and his crew would get their own spin-off series, ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds.)''
21	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: 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. [[AndIMustScream And he can't turn them off.]]
22	* DisproportionateRetribution: Apparently Deneb V punishes copyright infringement with the death penalty. Also played for laughs with at least five hundred androids of Harry's wife.
23	* EuphemismBuster: Combined with RuleOfThree when Mudd explains what happened after ending up on death row on Deneb V:
24	--> '''Mudd:''' Well, of course, I...left.\
25	'''Kirk:''' He broke jail.\
26	'''Mudd:''' I...''borrowed'' transportation--\
27	'''Kirk:''' He stole a spaceship.\
28	'''Mudd:''' The patrol reacted in a hostile manner--\
29	'''Kirk:''' They fired at him.
30	* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Uhura is the first to be impressed by the female androids, while Kirk asks about male androids.
31	* EvilLaugh: Mudd lets loose one after revealing the Enterprise crew are stuck here.
32	* FailedFutureForecast: Chekov references Leningrad, which was [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture renamed back to St. Petersburg in 1991]].
33	* FakeDefector: Uhura sells out her compatriots' escape plan, but it turns out her betrayal was also part of the plan.
34	* FateWorseThanDeath: What the ''Enterprise'' crew leave Mudd to: stuck on the android planet with 500 copies of [[HenpeckedHusband his wife]] that he can't shut off.
35	* FullNameUltimatum: [[EmbarrassingFirstName Harcourt]] [[EmbarrassingMiddleName Fenton Mudd!]] His first name is embarrassing, his middle name is embarrassing and his last name is nothing to crow about either!
36	* GildedCage: 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.
37	* HamAndCheese: {{Invoked}} InUniverse -- Kirk and his officers say and do the most ridiculous things in the most over-the-top manner to LogicBomb the androids.
38	* HellOfAHeaven: 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.
39	* HenpeckedHusband: 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?
40	-->'''Stella-bot:''' Harcourt Fenton Mudd, you lazy good-for-nothing-thing-thing-thing...!
41	* HiveMind: All the androids operate this way, with Norman as the "Queen", if you will.
42	* HowWouldYouLikeToDie: A question Harry Mudd evaded by [[TakeAThirdOption breaking out of jail]]:
43	-->'''Mudd:''' Do know what the penalty for fraud is on Deneb V?\
44	'''Spock:''' The guilty party has his choice: death by electrocution, death by gas, death by phaser, death by hanging....
45	-->'''Mudd:''' The key word in your entire peroration, Mister Spock, was, ''death''.
46	* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: 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.
47	* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: Mudd tries to explain euphemistically how he came to this planet. Kirk is [[EuphemismBuster more direct]].
48	* HypocriticalHumor:
49	** Harry claims InformationWantsToBeFree as his defense for patent infringement, yet he got caught because he ''sold the rights'' to one of his stolen patents.
50	** 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.
51	** After the androids quit obeying Mudd's orders and declare that he will be left behind with all the other humans:
52	--->'''Mudd:''' You'd better do something because I'm as anxious to get off this ruddy rock as you are!\
53	'''[=McCoy=]:''' You wanted to leave ''us'' on "this ruddy rock" and leave by yourself.
54	* ICommaNoun: The title
55	* InsaneTrollLogic: Deliberately evoked [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbHtzqCge_8 by Kirk and company]] to [[LogicBomb overload]] the androids' programming.
56	* InsistentTerminology: You will call him "Mudd the First!"
57	* IronicEcho: "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 LogicBomb Norman and the android begs for an explanation, Kirk returns the favor.
58	* JustBetweenYouAndMe: 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 [[NothingCanStopUsNow the crew can't do anything to stop them]] that they don't see any need to keep secrets.
59	* LargeHam: This time, it's not just the actors. The characters themselves [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbHtzqCge_8 deliberately ham it up]] in order to make the androids crash.
60	* LeftItIn: 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."
61	* LiarsParadox: Captain Kirk and Harry Mudd use a liar's paradox to set off a LogicBomb in an android holding them captive.
62	-->'''Kirk:''' Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Remember that. Everything Harry tells you is a lie.\
63	'''Mudd:''' Listen to this carefully, Norman. I am lying.\
64	'''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!\
65	'''Kirk:''' [[IronicEcho I am not programmed to respond in that area.]]\
66	''(Norman crashes)''
67	* LogicBomb: Several are set off in hopes of shorting out the androids. One even includes the characters playing around with an imaginary bomb.
68	** The one Spock comes up with to short out two of the Alices is ''beautiful'' in its simplicity:
69	--->'''Spock''' (to Alice 27): I love you. (turns to Alice 210). However, I hate you.\
70	'''Alice 210''': But, I am identical in every way with Alice 27.\
71	'''Spock''': Yes. Of course, that is exactly why I hate you-- because you are identical.\
72	(both Alices promptly shut down)
73	** And, of course, the infamous LiarsParadox.
74	* MenAreTheExpendableGender: 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 Bomb}}s on the androids, the female Alices are shown simply closing their eyes and slipping placidly into sleep mode. However, Norman's death by LogicBomb is much more visually torturous, as smoke and sparks pour from his ears ... because ''his brain is on fire''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the fact that Norman - the sole model of his kind - is essentially the central HiveQueen, 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.
75	* MostWritersAreMale: The female androids are far more fanservice-y than the male ones.
76	* NoSell: What happens when Spock tries his Vulcan nerve pinch on Alice 210; she just seems bemused and Spock has to resort to a LogicBomb to neutralize her and Alice 27.
77	* OffhandBackhand: This is how Norman treats all the {{Redshirts}} in engineering. Fortunately, this is a funny episode, so they're just KO'ed.
78	* OhCrap: Mudd's reaction to seeing the number 500 on the Stella android at the ending is epic.
79	* OhNoNotAgain: Quite clearly Kirk's reaction when he sees Mudd on the throne.
80	* PartingFromConsciousnessWords: Mudd protests being knocked out as part of the crew's plan to fool the androids.
81	* PlanetBaron: 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.
82	* PolitenessJudo: When threats of utter destruction still leave Kirk reluctant to follow Norman's demands, he tries saying "please".
83	* PurpleProse: 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.
84	* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: All of the androids not only look human, but they are programmed to be "fully functional".
85	* RoboticReveal: Norman reveals a mechanical panel on his abdomen. Originally, it was a simple [[{{Zeerust}} cluster of wires and transistors]]. The remastered edition has something that better lives up to the "Most sophisticated" description Spock gives.
86	* SexBot: 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 [[NegativesAsAPositive 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.
87	* ShadowArchetype: 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 ChivalrousPervert 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.
88	* ShoutOut: The title of the episode is one to ''Literature/IRobot'', and the plot of the episode also has a little bit of fun with Asimov's Three Laws.
89	** ''Literature/IClaudius'' as well, as Harry fancies himself as the androids’ ruler.
90	* SickCaptiveScam: 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, [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow who will expect them to make an escape attempt]]. Now that they've made an obvious one, they can continue with the real one.
91	* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: 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.
92	* StatingTheSimpleSolution: How does Spock know so much about the androids' abilities? "I asked them."
93	* StopWorshippingMe: Even Harry Mudd tires of being planetary emperor.
94	* ThatCameOutWrong: [=McCoy=]'s explanation of why he doesn't trust Norman -- he never smiles, he doesn't do small talk... -- [[InsultFriendlyFire accidentally insults Spock]]. He tries to explain that it's different for Vulcans, which doesn't really help.
95	* ThatRussianSquatDance: While he doesn't get into the Preesyadkee, Chekov's dance is very reminiscent of the Kazatsky.
96	* TooHappyToLive: 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 [[PietaPlagiarism takes Scotty in his arms]] and declares he died of too much happiness.
97	* UncannyValley: InUniverse - From the beginning, [=McCoy=] notices that there is something off about Mr. Norman.
98	* {{Understatement}}: "We're in a lot of trouble."
99	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Kirk says nothing about his plan until he sets it into motion--which involves SlippingAMickey to Mudd in order to get back to the ''Enterprise''. It looks like it might work [[SubvertedTrope 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 [[DoubleSubversion this too was part of the plan]]. On to Phase 2...
100	* VanityIsFeminine: Uhura has trouble dismissing the possibility of having eternal youth and beauty.
101	* WellIntentionedExtremist: 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.
102	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Little, if any, concern is given towards the androids that are sabotaged by the crew's LogicBomb as listed above.
103	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse
104	** 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.
105	** What did the androids intend to do about the other intelligent species who are neighbours to humans?
106	** Sulu completely disappears from the episode after the ''Enterprise'' arrives at Planet Mudd.
107	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: 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 BatmanGambit to [[FakeDefector trick the androids]].
108	* WorldOfSnark: Before the intentionally hamming it up kicks in. Kirk, Bones and Spock all have fun snarking at Mudd's expense.

Context Recap / StarTrekS2E8IMudd