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Venus drug (TOS04)

A Venus drug was a narcotic chemical compound that supposedly made people more attractive to others, and was was illegal in the United Federation of Planets . According to Harcourt Fenton Mudd , who used a Venus drug in a scheme to defraud a group of lithium miners on Rigel XII , "it give[s] you more of whatever you have. … [W]ith men, it makes them more muscular. Women, rounder. Men, more aggressive. Women, more feminine." [1]

Gelatin Venus drug placebo (TOS04)

Gelatin Venus drug placebo ( TOS 04 )

Notes and References

  • ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "Mudd's Women" . Star Trek , season 1, episode 6 (Production number 04). Directed by Harvey Hart . Written by Stephen Kandel . Desilu Productions . 13 October 1966 .
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Mudd's Women

Mudd's Women

  • The Enterprise picks up untrustworthy entrepreneur Harry Mudd accompanied by three beautiful women who immediately put a spell on all the male crew members.
  • 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. — garykmcd
  • The Enterprise pursues a vessel (a cargo vessel which was trying to run away from it and hide inside an asteroid belt. The Enterprise had to protect the vessel with its own deflector screens as the vessel's engines overheated and eventually it was destroyed) and rescues its occupants. The vessel has no registration identification and its planet of origin is uncertain. The vessel's captain gives his name as Leo Walsh and the 3 women are his cargo. Kirk says Leo is lying and convenes an inquiry on him. Walsh is confined to his quarters till the completion of the inquiry. The 3 women smite all the men on board the Enterprise (they are dreadfully beautiful and charmingly sexy). In rescuing the occupants, the Enterprise damaged its lithium crystals (as the ship's own engines overheated during the rescue) and only one functioning left, and that too might not hold as it has an hairline crack at the base. Spock suggests a course to Rigel XII, a mining planet with a supply of lithium.. The planet is only 2 days away. Under a lie detector machine, Leo reveals that he is Harry Mudd, an interstellar con man, who is transporting three mysteriously beautiful women to become the wives of Dilithium miners on a settlement planet Ophiuchus-3. Mudd says his profession is to recruit wives for settlers. There is no data on the 3 women Ruthie, Magda and Evie. Evie says that they come from planets with no men. She welcomes the opportunity of men waiting for them to be their husbands. As the hearing concludes the last crystal goes off and now the entire ship is dependent on batteries. Mudd is happy that the ship is going towards the lithium mines as that would also have rich miners for the girls. The ship proceeds to Rigel XII on auxiliary impulse power. McCoy gives the medical exam to one of the girls and finds no readings for her on his scanners. Evie is tasked by Mudd to seduce Kirk but she cant do it, as she likes Kirk. Mudd takes a communicator that Magda stole and contacts Rigel XII. Meanwhile as Enterprise enters orbit around Rigel XII, the women show rapid signs of aging and want Mudd to give them the pills. Kirk meets the leader of the miners Childress & Gossett, who wants Mudd freed (charges dropped) and his girls in exchange for the Dilithium crystals. Kirk has to agree. But at the surface Evie refuses to mingle with the mining crew and escapes into the magnetic storm that suddenly engulfs the surface of the planet. Childress wont give the crystals without her. Kirk returns to the Enterprise to search for Evie who is now lost on the planet, but the magnetic storm in interfering with the sensors (they have already been searching for 3 hrs and 18 mins) and the ship is now down to 43 mins of power as several more hours of search reveals nothing about Evie's location. Childress finds Evie and brings her to his cabin. He finds Evie getting old. As the magnetic storm eases, the Enterprise finds Evie in Childress's cabin. Kirk and Mudd enter Childress's cabin on the planet's surface, where Kirk makes Mudd reveal that he has been giving the women Venus drug, which makes them rounder and more appealing. Childress is OK with the deceit and wants the girls to stay still.. He gives the crystals to Kirk, who leaves with Mudd.

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Star trek: discovery: who is harry mudd.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to re-introduce a classic Star Trek fan favorite villain. Here's what you need to know about Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd.

Thief. Swindler. Con man. Liar. Rogue. These are just some of the ways Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) described Harcourt Fenton Mudd, a.k.a. Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel), though Mudd himself would prefer "entrepreneur." The original Star Trek series had its share of lighthearted episodes and some of the most popular involved the irrepressible, but dangerous, rascal Harry Mudd. With his penchant for puffy pirate shirts and his flamboyant, over-the-top theatrics, it would be easy to take someone like Mudd lightly, but in his encounters with the crew of the original Starship Enterprise, Mudd has proven to be more than the mere "irritant" Kirk also once called him. In his way, Mudd has been a unique threat to Kirk's crew.

With Star Trek: Discovery set to re-introduce Harry Mudd, this time played by Rainn Wilson ( The Office ), in two episodes beginning with episode 5 "Choose Your Pain", let's look back at the dastardly machinations of Harcourt Fenton Mudd and the trouble he has caused throughout the Original Series.

THE ORIGINAL HARRY MUDD

Harry Mudd was one of the earliest antagonists introduced in the original Star Trek . Mudd debuted in "Mudd's Women", the third episode of season one, which involved him leading the Enterprise on a wild goose chase that ended up damaging their Dilithium crystals, the starship's main power source. When Mudd was beamed aboard the Enterprise, he didn't come alone. Mudd had three astonishingly beautiful women with him who inflamed the desires of the Enterprise's crew. Ultimately it was revealed Mudd's female companions were enhanced by the illegal Venus drug, which boosted their physical attractiveness. Mudd planned to sell the women as wives to three miners on the planet Rigel XII, which is a source of Dilithium crystals for the Federation. In a rather dated example of sexual relations, the miners eventually agreed to marry the women even after discovering they were enhanced by the Venus drug. Kirk got the Dilithium crystals the Enterprise needed, and Harry Mudd was taken into custody and incarcerated.

Mudd proved popular enough with fans to warrant a comeback. In the 12th episode of season two, "I, Mudd", Harry reappeared doing better than ever: suddenly he was the king of an entire planet. A mysterious android named Norman took control of the Enterprise and brought it to an unknown planet, which Kirk and his crew discovered was populated by a race of androids ruled by King Mudd The First. We learned that Mudd had escaped prison and gone back into a life of crime, this time selling alien technologies to other races without patents. Mudd's criminal scheme was discovered by the Vulcans, and though he escaped, he crashed on the android planet, which made him their king while they used him as a guinea pig to study humanity. Mudd planned to escape the planet by substituting the entire crew of the Enterprise for himself, trapping them on the planet while Kirk and company took his place.

In "I, Mudd" we learned Mudd had been married to a woman named Stella, who regularly chided him for being a lazy, good-for-nothing swindler. One of Mudd's reasons for living in space and engaging in criminal schemes was to escape his wife on Earth. The androids created 500 identical versions of Stella; Kirk used these androids to torture Mudd when he left him behind on the planet after he and the Enterprise crew figured out how to defeat the androids and escape. This was the last we saw of Mudd... at least in live action. Harry Mudd appeared a third time in Star Trek: The Animated Series , in the episode titled "Mudd's Passion". Somehow escaping the android planet, Mudd began selling a dangerous love potion across the galaxy. Mudd was again captured by the Enterprise, but he gave the love potion to Nurse Chapel (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry), who used it on Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Eventually Mudd was incarcerated yet again, this time sentenced to rehabilitation therapy. As Mudd never appeared again in Star Trek going forward, we are left to wonder if Harry Mudd ever reformed his ways.

HARRY MUDD ON STAR TREK: DISCOVERY

Discovery is not only introducing fans to a Harry Mudd who is a decade younger than the version who clashed with Kirk, the Harry Mudd played by Rainn Wilson will be an edgier re-imagining of the character to suit the tone of Discovery . From what we know so far about "Choose Your Pain", Captain Lorca (Jason Isaacs) is captured by the Klingons and held aboard a prison ship. He is held in the same cell as Harry Mudd and another new character,  Starfleet Lieutenant Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif). Discovery 's version of Harry Mudd looks to be both mischievous and deadly at the same time. It will be interesting to learn more about him in his younger days (expect plenty of Easter eggs ), and whether or not he is already married to Stella in 2256-2257. With Wilson already set to continue appearing as Mudd, Discovery is banking on their version continuing the popularity of the original from the 1960s. It'll be a Star Trek first, however, to have a Harry Mudd episode where his name isn't in the episode's title.

NEXT: STAR TREK: DISCOVERY EPISODE 3 ORIGINAL SERIES EASTER EGGS

Star Trek: Discovery streams @ 8:30pm ET on CBS All-Access and internationally on Netflix.

star trek venus drug

The Venus drug is a chemical compound used to give the user "more" of whatever they already have. Women become more beautiful and alluring, men more aggressive and muscular.

As of 2266, the drug was illegal in Federation space. Harcourt Mudd gave it to three women whom he was ferrying to Ophiucus III as wives for settlers there. After the USS Enterprise intecepted Mudd's ship, these women ended up on Rigel XII, where the deception was uncovered. There, Eve McHuron took a placebo and became as beautiful as she had been after taking the drug, raising the question of how effective the Venus drug actually was, and how much of a person's beauty is due to poise and confidence. (TOS: "Mudd's Women")

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen

Trivia / Star Trek S1 E6 "Mudd's Women"

Edit locked.

  • Creator Backlash : A mild instance; while teleplay writer Stephen Kandel didn't outright dislike the episode by any means, he felt that the finished product was weaker than it could have been, as he wanted to focus the story more around Mudd, while Gene Roddenberry was more interested in the three women and the Venus drug plot device, leading to the finished product being an awkward mix of both.
  • Deleted Scene : A lengthy monologue in which Harry Mudd attempted to persuade Uhura into taking the Venus drug was also excluded from the episode because it was deemed too wordy and long, much to Roger C. Carmel 's disappointment.
  • A lengthy scene of Spock leading Mudd and his women through the corridors of the ship including closeups of the women's backsides.
  • Extended dialogue from Mudd's hearing.
  • A longer search by Harry Mudd for the Venus drug in his quarters.
  • Extended scenes of the party on Rigel XII.
  • Eve running out of the party into the wind followed by her struggling against the elements, and Childress then searching for her.
  • A more lengthy transformation of Eve when she takes the fake Venus drug.
  • Recycled Set : The quarters used by Mudd and his ladies is the set for Kirk's quarters, with all of the furnishings removed.
  • Star Trek S1 E5 "The Enemy Within"
  • « Trivia »
  • Star Trek S1 E7 "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

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Published Oct 13, 2019

53 Years of Mudd's Women

For the anniversary of its first airing, we're presenting some of our favorite facts from the iconic episode.

star trek venus drug

" Mudd's Women " aired 49 years ago today, or on October 13, 1966. The episode — the third of Star Trek: The Original Series ' first season — marked the first appearance of Roger C. Carmel as Harry Mudd, the likeable conman who keeps the company of almost-too-perfect ladies.

star trek venus drug

In honor of the episode's first airing 53 years ago today, here are 9 facts, figures and anecdotes about "Mudd's Women."

1. Carmel, the fan-favorite actor played the irascible Mudd, appeared again in " I, Mudd " and also voiced the character in " Mudd's Passion ," an episode of The Animated Series . He died in 1986 at the age of 54.

star trek venus drug

2. The idea for the story sprang from a concept by Gene Roddenberry called "The Women." It was introduced in March 1964, a long while before "Mudd's Women" would finally be produced and aired.

3. "Mudd's Women" was one of the three options considered to serve as Trek 's second pilot.

star trek venus drug

4. In the episode, Spock is referred to as "Vulcanian."

5. That guy in green overalls? It's Eddie Paskey as Connors, though Paskey would be seen throughout Star Trek usually as Lt. Leslie — and attired in red.

star trek venus drug

6. This was director Harvey Hart's one and only TOS episode. According to Memory Alpha, "the production of this episode went a day over schedule. According to Bob Justman and Herbert Solow, this was due to the intricate camera setups used by director Harvey Hart, which had good results but were too time-consuming. Hart also made things difficult for the editors by 'camera cutting' the show, leaving few choices of shot available. Due to these factors, Hart was not invited back to the show."

star trek venus drug

7. "Mudd's Women" is one of just two episodes in which the crystal that power the Enterprise are called lithium rather than dilithium.

star trek venus drug

8. The quarters used by Mudd and his ladies was actually the set for Kirk's quarters, with all of the furnishings removed.

star trek venus drug

9. According to Starlog Magazine , "A lengthy monologue in which Harry Mudd attempted to persuade Uhura into taking the Venus drug was also excluded from the episode. The scene's removal was because it was deemed too wordy and long."

star trek venus drug

What are your favorite moments and facts from "Mudd's Women?" Let us know on Twitter, Facebook , and Instagram !

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star trek venus drug

Midnite Reviews

Detailed analysis of classic sci-fi movies and tv shows, star trek episode 6: mudd’s women.

General Information

Director: Harvey Hart

Writer: Stephen Kandel

Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Roger C. Carmel, Karen Steele, DeForest Kelley, Maggie Thrett, Susan Denberg, James Doohan, George Takei, Jim Goodwin, Nichelle Nichols, Gene Dynarski, Jon Kowal, Seamon Glass, and Jerry Foxworth

Composer: Fred Steiner

Air Date: 10/13/1966

Stardate: 1329.8

Production #: 6149-04

star-trek-mudds-women

Arguably the weakest entry in season one’s lineup of episodes, “Mudd’s Women” is marred by languid pacing and forgettable character exchanges. Nevertheless, Stephen Kandel’s narrative should be commended for its poignant, if not terribly profound, life lesson.

star-trek-mudds-women

(Spoilers beyond this point)

Having revealed the secret of her beauty to lithium miner Ben Childress (Gene Dynarski), Eve swallows a replica of the Venus Drug and regains her youthful, attractive appearance after doing so—a placebo effect that Kirk attributes to Eve’s newfound self-assurance. Emotionally satisfying though it may be, Eve’s extraordinary physical change is never explained from a scientific perspective.

star-trek-mudds-women

Concluding Comments

A lackluster episode, “Mudd’s Women” deserves criticism for its uninspired subject matter and hackneyed execution. For the above reasons, all but the most dedicated of Star Trek fans may wish to avoid this installment.

Overall Quality: 5/10

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star trek venus drug

Star Trek : "The Enemy Within"/"Mudd's Women"

First, some housecleaning: I wasn't all that happy with the way the last entry turned out, so I'm going to gear down from three to two episodes a week. At the very least, things won't feel quite so rushed. Also, no update next week, as I'll be on vacation in Chicago, but we'll back for February, so no worries. For those of you playing a long at home who haven't heard about it, you can watch the original Trek via CBS.com. It's only available in the states, and I can't vouch for the visual quality, but it's free, at least.

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Now, back to our regularly scheduled review…

TOS was never big on continuity; there are bits here and there, but in general, the episodes don't comment on each other in the way we expect these days from even our most self-contained series. But by coincidence or intention, "The Enemy Within" makes for an interesting response to the directly preceding "Naked Time." Whereas "Time" was about the whole crew succumbing to their basest desires, "Enemy" focuses on one man divided against himself; and since that one man is Kirk, we're talking about some seriously complicated math.

The Enterprise is in orbit around a new planet, with Kirk, Sulu and a surveying team scurrying about on the surface, doing science-y things, walking the space dog (or whatever the hell it is Sulu has in his arms), and working hard to get finished before nightfall. The planet doesn't seem all that comfortable even in the daylight—constant wind, lots of fake rocks—but once the sun sets, the temperature drops rapidly till bottoming out at 120 degrees below zero. Since as far as we can tell nobody on the ground has much in the way of protection beyond a few blankets and their uniforms, the hard freeze makes an already dangerous situation becomes that much more deadly.

Still, it shouldn't be too big a deal to get back; after all, we've got those magical transporters. Unfortunately, one of the techs on the ground gets himself covered in some magnetic dust, and when he's beamed back to the ship, the dust screws up the energizers somehow. Nobody notices the problem, and Kirk comes up next; he seems fine at first, if a little dazed, and Spock leads him out of the room with a suggestion he make a quick stop off at Sick Bay. Too bad they didn't wait another minute, because when the transporter tech comes back, there's another person stuck in the matrix. A quick flip of the switch, and out pops EVIL KIRK!

Hooooo boy.

Apart from his fevered monologue in "Time," "Enemy" provides William Shatner with his first chance to really, really tear things up, and as EVIL KIRK he does his level best to leave no plywood wall uneaten. Generally I enjoy Shatner's theatrics; he sets the tone for the series, and his commitment to the role helps sell some of the sillier effects work. But every so often he goes over the edge, and EK is a prime example. In some scenes he does well, but others—like his "Emcee from Cabaret" styleintroduction—are just so hilariously awkward that they kick you right out of the episode. I don't have a problem with ham, but I do have a problem with acting that looks like a first take with no direction and no restrictions. It makes sense that EK is at his goofiest when he's alone on screen; without another actor to play off of, Shatner has to supply all the beats, and he can't quite manage it.

That said, there are two Kirks this time around, and Shatner's performance as the "good" side is very solid stuff. Even before you know why, you get a clear sense of him being diminished, and there's a certain tragedy to his rapidly softening presence. The basic plot of "Enemy" is a familiar one; I think two thirds of the cartoons I watched growing up had an ep devoted to somebody getting Jekyll-and-Hyde-ed. But it works here, because, theatrics aside, the acting is solid, and the script (penned by genre stalwart Richard Matheson) is thoughtful and logically laid out. When EK starts running around the ship threatening people, Spock and the Good Kirk immediately figure out the problem (with a little help from a bifurcated space dog); there are a few moments of mistaken identity, but the plot doesn’t waste our time with them.

One of those mistaken identity moments is worth mentioning, as it gives us this week's installment in Everybody Loves Rand. After EK busts into Sick Bay demanding Saurian Brandy from McCoy (an aside: EK's obviously going where he knows the booze is, but I like how EK winds up talking to McCoy first, while GK goes with Spock), he makes an impromptu visit to the yeoman's cabin. Shatner turns down the volume for most of this scene, and it's terrifically creepy, with Rand balancing her feelings for Kirk, their respective positions aboard their ship, and the physical threat a drunken, horny sociopath represents. For the most part, “Enemy” relegates EK to yelling and grimacing, but for those few minutes, the danger of having the most important person in the crew's little universe reduced to his basest instincts becomes horribly relevant. (Which makes it all the weirder when Rand’s two encounters with EK are reduced to a bad joke from Spock at the end.)

The first two acts of the episode play out smoothly; we get ourselves a threat, we discover that threat is more complicated than we initially believed (there’s an Evil Kirk! Oh crap, the good Kirk is a total wuss!), and all the while, lives are in danger on the planet below because of the malfunctioning transporters. This gets a little silly—I can’t help wondering what sort of degree system the Federation uses, since 120 below seems immediately fatal in Celsius and Fahrenheit—but it ensures that the problem of the two Kirks is more than just a philosophical one. Writing-wise, my only real issue is that the third act seems redundant; Spock figures out that the Kirks need to re-integrate fairly early on, and there are no new revelations after that point. Having EK trapped in Sick Bay, only to break out and run up to the Bridge, was fairly unnecessary, although Shatner does some nice work here with both sides of the personality. In the end, Kirk becomes singular again, Sulu and his frozen friends are rescued in the nick of time (funny how nobody mentions using the shuttlecraft to go pick them up), and a valuable lesson is learned by all: that a man without at least a little monster in him isn’t much of a man at all.

So let’s see. We’ve had a couple of super-power episodes, a mind-warping virus episode, and a sci-fi metaphor episode, but I’d say that “Mudd’s Women” is the first overtly comic episode of the series. It has some sci-fi elements, of course, and it gets a little serious by the end, but at by and large this is the kind of “whacky guest star” ep that would become a staple of Trek s down the line. Harcourt Fenton Mudd may not have the powers of a Q being, but he does have a sense of humor, an ego, and the unshakable presumption that the rules are largely a matter of someone else’s problem. With TOS, the jokes don’t always work; there’s a tendency, especially in later seasons, to go overly broad, punctuating every gag with a double-take and musical sting. For seem reason, I’d assumed “Women” worked much the same, but re-watching it, I was happy to find I was misremembering. Some of the jokes centering on the male crew’s immediate obsession with Mudd’s lovely ladies fall flat, but in general, this one has a pleasantly light touch, helped out by some clever character work and an enthusiastic performance from Roger C. Carmel.

The Enterprise comes across an unidentified ship in their travels, and when they try and make contact, the ship immediately bolts; this being fairly suspicious behavior, the Enterprise follows, eventually forcing the other ship into an asteroid belt where it overheats and explodes. Fortunately, Scotty and crew are able to beam the ship’s four passengers aboard before the explosion, but the pursuit burns out a number of the Enterprise’s lithium crystals, leaving them in a bad state. For their pains, they’ve managed to capture a large guy dressed in clothes apparently stolen from a high school drama club, as well as three women whose impact on every man they meet (apart from Spock) is immediate and devastating. The guy in the goofy outfit claims to be Captain Leo Walsh, and the women—well, they have names, but honestly, when you look that good, you don’t really need a name.

Kirk smells a rat, even after meeting with the hotties, and for good reason. Captain Leo Walsh is not a captain, nor is he a Leo Walsh; his real name is Harry Mudd, and he’s got a rap sheet as broad as his belly. He claims to be on a purely legitimate errand, ferrying the women (Ruth, Magda, and Eve, aka, The Conflicted One) to Ophiucus III so they can pick up husbands, but Kirk isn’t convinced. There’s something strange going on here, and it has something to do with the way the men can’t stop starring at Eve and her friends. Sure they’ve been in space a while, but the Enterprise is a coed operation. The women are beautiful, but “pound for pound” (as McCoy delicately puts it) are they really that much more beautiful than any other pretty girl?

They aren’t, honestly; Mudd’s been giving them a “performance enhancer” called the Venus drug, but even when they’re at they’re supposedly most desirable, none of the women seems to justify the saxophone music that follows them wherever they go. But maybe that’s part of the point; as Kirk ultimately explains, there are only two kinds of people in this world, those who believe in themselves and those who don’t. The looks aren’t as important as the way they’re carried, and all Eve needs is a little Dumbo-esque magic to let her stand on her own.

Much has been made of how TOS is basically a Western in outer space, and there are times in “Women” when the tech trappings seem to have been forgotten altogether. After the last lithium crystal burns out, the Enterprise heads to a mining planet to pick up some spares; Mudd, through careful application of his Angels on the ship’s crew, manages to make contact with the miners before Kirk does, and offers up the women in exchange for his freedom, and the command of the ship. Obviously this doesn’t sit well with Kirk, so there are some tense dialogues both on the Enterprise and on the planet surface—a surface that, weird colored rocks aside, wouldn’t have looked all that out of place in an episode of Bonanza . The miners themselves, led by a man named Childress, are a tough looking crew, and there’s some unpleasantness between them when the women finally beam down. It seems bizarre that you’d only need three guys to mine a planet, and that their living quarters are rustic despite being, as we’re repeatedly told, fabulously wealthy; and the fact that Kirk puts up with them as long as he does doesn’t really make sense. (Even if he couldn’t call for Federation back-up to put pressure on Childress, he could at least threaten to send a message letting the folks back home know that the miners were willing to let over four hundred people die for sheer stubbornness.) But as flaws go, these are minor; the tension created by the situation, even if it doesn’t entirely make sense, is good enough that I don’t mind suspending a bit more disbelief than usual.

And man, Harry Mudd is a lot of fun. I think it’s the way he manages to roll every piece of dialogue that comes out of his mouth; he’s like the budget Zero Mostel, and even with his ridiculous costume and distracting neck hair (seriously, I can’t imagine what watching this in high-def is like—I kept wanting to shave my TV), he makes a great foil for Kirk, and a nice change of pace from most of the villains we’ve dealt with so far. Carmel comes back for another go-round in the second season in “I, Mudd,” and it’s not hard to see why they brought him back. Recurring characters outside the main leads are great for world-building, but I imagine Mudd was a lot of fun to write for, too. It’s a familiar character type, but an enjoyable one.

Like I said, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this on seeing it again. I especially like the tone shift in the final act—it’s a risky move, taking the focus largely away from the Enterprise crew and putting it on Eve and Childress, but it works. The two have a nice chemistry together, and I like how neither of them come off as particularly bright or remarkable; just two frustrated people trying to figure out if they fit together. As always with TOS’s sentimental moments, we’re skirting the line between corny and authentic, but in this case, it's largely successful.

In the end, the women get their husbands (although is anybody else creeped out wondering what happens to Ruth and Magda when they run out of meds? Childress wasn’t too happy, and he seemed like the most normal of the lot), the Enterprise is saved, and Mudd is on his way back to the authorities, sputtering all the while. Kirk, after being briefly tempted by Eve, has remained true to his first and only love, and McCoy has gotten several eyefuls worth of lady flesh. Oh, and Spock? He gets some really good smirking in there, so everybody goes home happy.

“The Enemy Within”: A-

“Mudd’s Women”: A

Stray Observations :

—Continuity alert: at the start of “Enemy,” Kirk’s uniform doesn’t have the standard Starfleet insignia on it, but it comes back after the opening credits. Wacky!

—Didn’t talk about them much, but Spock’s disdainful reaction shots through the first half of “Mudd’s Women” are hilarious.

—Riley’s gone for now, and in his place we’ve got Johnny Farrell. He’s—goony looking.

—Next week: Vacation! Week of Feburary 6 th : "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Miri"

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Maggie Thrett Dies: Actress And Singer Most Famous For “Mudd’s Women” Episode Of ‘Star Trek’ Was 76

By Tom Tapp

Deputy Managing Editor

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Maggie Thrett Leonard Nemoy

Maggie Thrett, the actress and singer who most memorably played Ruth in the “Mudd’s Women” episode of the original Star Trek , died December 18, her family announced. She was 76.

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“Mudd’s Women” is one of the most memorable episodes of the 1960s Star Trek , in no small part because it featured three stunningly beautiful women (Thrett, Karen Steele and Susan Denberg) who seem to have strange powers over the male members of the Enterprise crew — except Spock, of course.

Ironically, though Carmel was her neighbor, Thrett had to audition for the role. She had no idea what the show actually was.

“I am shocked that years later I am best known for doing this episode,” she told author Tom Lisanti in 2017. “I am forever in TV history. At least it was not bad so I am not embarrassed by it. Some company contacted me to sell my autograph on these Star Trek cards. They pay me to and they resell at these Star Trek conventions. I was invited once but it didn’t work out.”

Speaking of pay, Thrett told Lisanti she had to fight for her pay from the show.

“I remember we hit Golden Overtime that day [of filming]. We were there from about 4 in the morning to about 9 or 10 at night. You are passed regular overtime and are into triple overtime. They didn’t want to pay,” said Thrett. “I had to fight for it through the Screen Actors Guild. They don’t like when you do that and hurts your chances to be on the show again. I got my money and no surprise was never invited back. Years later I got a letter from Gene Roddenberry to forfeit my residuals and to donate them to his charity. I declined.”

As a singer, she had a minor hit with her single “Soupy,” which was produced by Bob Crewe, who was the one who convinced her to change her name. The song is an appropriately — for 1965 — groovy and high-energy arrangement with lots of horns. You can listen to it below.

In May 1970, Thrett was involved in a road accident while a passenger on Gram Parsons’ motorcycle. Although she was apparently unharmed (Parsons suffered significant injuries), soon after this, Thrett turned her back on the entertainment business.

Her nephew, ironically named Chris Pine, wrote earlier this week, “She left Hollywood, and originally I was told it was because “she didn’t make it” but later, I learned that she had become disenchanted by the industry and how it treated women. She kept a lot of that to herself, only opening up about her own experiences when she was much older and finally able to enjoy some of the perks that came with being on Star Trek .”

She even changed her mind about conventions, according to signing convention agent Scott Ray.

“In the last five years of her life, Maggie did two convention appearances,” Ray wrote . “She was amazed seeing how her career had endured…and making new fans that weren’t even alive when she did it [Star Trek].”

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Memory Alpha

Drugs and treatments

  • View history

The following is a list of medical substances and treatments for various illnesses by usage.

  • 1 Analgesic
  • 2 Anesthetic
  • 4 Cardiovascular
  • 5 Neurological
  • 7 Radiation
  • 8 Recreational or non-medical
  • 9 Resuscitative
  • 10 Sedative
  • 11 Stimulant
  • 13 Related topics
  • 14 External link

Analgesic [ ]

  • asinolyathin
  • hydrocortilene
  • morphenolog
  • triptacederine

Anesthetic [ ]

  • anesthizine
  • hyvroxilated quint-ethyl metacetamin
  • nasal numbing agent
  • dermaline gel

Cardiovascular [ ]

  • anticoagulant
  • benjisidrine

Neurological [ ]

  • acetylcholine
  • cortical analeptic
  • CPK enzymatic therapy
  • desegranine
  • neural paralyzer
  • neuromuscular adaptation
  • norepinephrine ( norep )
  • psychotectic therapy
  • psychotropic drug
  • Sodium Pentathol
  • synaptizine
  • Vulcan neuro-pressure
  • felodesine chip
  • nogatch hemlock
  • Veridium Six

Radiation [ ]

  • antiproton radiation treatment
  • arithrazine
  • chronexaline

Recreational or non-medical [ ]

  • Hupyrian beetle snuff
  • impedrezene
  • ketracel-white
  • maraji crystal
  • Rhuludian crystal
  • tropolisine
  • yridium bicantizine

Resuscitative [ ]

  • morathial series
  • trinephedrine

Sedative [ ]

  • improvoline
  • Mexhohexital
  • sonambutril
  • tetrovaline

Stimulant [ ]

  • Chloromydride
  • Dalaphaline
  • Delactovine
  • Inaprovaline
  • Neuro-stimulant
  • Polyadrenaline
  • Tricordrazine
  • alpha-wave inducer
  • analeptic compound
  • anti-intoxicant
  • benzocyatizine
  • contraception injection
  • corophizine
  • cryptobiolin
  • deoxyribose suspension
  • dermal osmotic sealant
  • dermatiraelian plastiscine
  • Folk medicine
  • glycoproteins
  • happiness pill
  • hexadrin therapy
  • immunosuppressant
  • infra-sensory drug
  • Invernian herb
  • love potion
  • macrospentol
  • makara herb
  • Medicinal brew
  • metabolic reduction injection
  • myofibrilin
  • neodextramine solution
  • numanol capsule
  • patent medicine
  • poly-nutrient solution
  • psychoactive drug
  • radiogenic vaccine
  • Rejuvenation drug
  • retroviral vaccine
  • ribosome infusion
  • Rigellian gene therapy
  • Scalosian water
  • synthetic antigen
  • tri-ox compound
  • triclenidil
  • trifluorinate compound
  • triglobulin
  • tryptophan-lysine distillate

Related topics [ ]

  • Drug addiction
  • Medical equipment

External link [ ]

  • Drug References in Science Fiction
  • 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

IMAGES

  1. Venus drug

    star trek venus drug

  2. Venus Drug

    star trek venus drug

  3. Image

    star trek venus drug

  4. Image

    star trek venus drug

  5. Maggie Thrett

    star trek venus drug

  6. One of the most popular episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, Mudd

    star trek venus drug

VIDEO

  1. Mudd's Women

  2. I Love The Star Trek Cast

  3. U.S.S. Prometheus in her glory

  4. Mudd's Women: Hello Ruth / The Last Crystal / The Venus Drug (From "Mudd's Women")

  5. Star Trek And Jacque Fresco's 'No Money Society'

  6. DEE'S STORY:STUCK ON BLUES

COMMENTS

  1. Venus drug

    The Venus drug was an illegal chemical compound supposedly capable of enhancing one's most attractive qualities. Considered by many to be merely a myth, the drug was said to make women more beautiful and alluring, and men more muscular and aggressive. In 2266, the interstellar criminal Harcourt Fenton Mudd utilized the drug on three women whom he intended to provide as wives to settlers on ...

  2. Mudd's Women

    "Mudd's Women" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Stephen Kandel, based on a story by Gene Roddenberry, and directed by Harvey Hart, it first aired on October 13, 1966.. In the episode, the Enterprise pursues a vessel and rescues its occupants Harry Mudd, an interstellar con man, and the three mysteriously beautiful ...

  3. Venus

    Venus (also known as Sol II) was the inhabited second planet of the Sol system. In the late 19th century, the orbital path of Venus was depicted on a German map of the inner system. (Star Trek: Enterprise opening credits) In 2024, the position and orbital path of Venus were depicted on a map of the Solar System, which was seen at the gala held for the Europa Mission astronauts. (PIC: "Two of ...

  4. Venus drug

    A Venus drug was a narcotic chemical compound that supposedly made people more attractive to others, and was was illegal in the United Federation of Planets.According to Harcourt Fenton Mudd, who used a Venus drug in a scheme to defraud a group of lithium miners on Rigel XII, "it give[s] you more of whatever you have. …[W]ith men, it makes them more muscular.

  5. Mudd's Venus Drugs what do they do? : r/startrek

    A Facebook group just had a post about the Venus Drug, so I had to find someplace to talk about it. It can't simply be a confidence boost- it's illegal and that one woman set off McCoy's bio beds sensors. I can't imagine the FED outlawing something that simply boosted confidence. But those sensors definitely showed something was going on.

  6. "Star Trek" Mudd's Women (TV Episode 1966)

    Mudd's Women: Directed by Harvey Hart. With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Roger C. Carmel, Karen Steele. The Enterprise picks up untrustworthy entrepreneur Harry Mudd accompanied by three beautiful women who immediately put a spell on all the male crew members.

  7. "Star Trek" Mudd's Women (TV Episode 1966)

    All three of "Mudd's women" are otherwise plain women whom the illegal "Venus drug" has given unnatural allure. The episode veers unevenly between drama and farce, the male crew of the Enterprise being reduced to a bunch of sex-crazed adolescents; even Spock, as hard as he tries to hide it, feels the heat. ... Star Trek: Enterprise later did a ...

  8. Everything You Wanted to Know About Harry Mudd... and More

    The miners gladly accepted, leaving Kirk no choice but to release Mudd and his cargo, but when the women turned plain and non-glamorous after a night spent on the planet, Kirk arrested Mudd for fraudulently enhancing their beauty with illegal Venus drugs. Kirk promised to testify at Harry's trial, much to the latter's displeasure. ["Mudd's Women"]

  9. Of Mudd and Men

    Mudd's illicit "cargo" was three unimaginably beautiful women — Eve, Magda, and Ruth. Mudd said that the women were bound for the settlement on Ophiucus III in order to get married. That may have been the truth, but Mudd conveniently neglected to mention that the trio had been augmented by illegal Venus drugs to become even more stunning.

  10. "Star Trek" Mudd's Women (TV Episode 1966)

    Summaries. The Enterprise picks up untrustworthy entrepreneur Harry Mudd accompanied by three beautiful women who immediately put a spell on all the male crew members. 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 ...

  11. Harcourt Fenton Mudd

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Thief -""Come now.""Swindler and con man…""Entrepreneur!""Liar and rogue.""Did I leave you with that impression?James T. Kirk and Harcourt Mudd Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd was a male Human, notorious for being a con artist, smuggler, and swindler, who lived during the mid-23rd century. Mudd claimed that he had been screwed over since the day he was born, and ...

  12. 'Star Trek: Discovery': Who Is Harry Mudd?

    In Star Trek: Discovery, Harry Mudd will be played by Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on The Office. As Discovery takes place ten years prior to Star Trek: The Original ...

  13. Star Trek Discovery: Harry Mudd Explained

    Harry Mudd was one of the earliest antagonists introduced in the original Star Trek. Mudd debuted in "Mudd's Women", the third episode of season one, which involved him leading the Enterprise on a wild goose chase that ended up damaging their Dilithium crystals, the starship's main power source. When Mudd was beamed aboard the Enterprise, he ...

  14. Venus Drug

    The Venus drug is a chemical compound used to give the user "more" of whatever they already have. Women become more beautiful and alluring, men more aggressive and muscular. As of 2266, the drug was illegal in Federation space. Harcourt Mudd gave it to three women whom he was ferrying to Ophiucus III as wives for settlers there. After the USS ...

  15. Star Trek S1 E6 "Mudd's Women" / Recap

    Recap /. Star Trek S1 E6 "Mudd's Women". Harcourt Fenton Mudd, aka Harry Mudd. Bad guys were anything but subtle in The '60s. Original air date: October 13, 1966. The Enterprise is in pursuit of a small vessel. The vessel is destroyed but Scotty manages to beam off the "crew," which consists of "entrepreneur" Harry Mudd and three captivatingly ...

  16. Star Trek S1 E6 "Mudd's Women" / Trivia

    Extended scenes of the party on Rigel XII. Eve running out of the party into the wind followed by her struggling against the elements, and Childress then searching for her. A more lengthy transformation of Eve when she takes the fake Venus drug. Recycled Set: The quarters used by Mudd and his ladies is the set for Kirk's quarters, with all of ...

  17. 53 Years of Mudd's Women

    In honor of the episode's first airing 53 years ago today, here are 9 facts, figures and anecdotes about "Mudd's Women." 1. Carmel, the fan-favorite actor played the irascible Mudd, appeared again in "I, Mudd" and also voiced the character in " Mudd's Passion ," an episode of The Animated Series. He died in 1986 at the age of 54.

  18. Mudd's Women (episode)

    During the syndication run of Star Trek, the following scenes were typically cut from broadcast A lengthy scene of Spock leading Mudd and his women through the corridors of the ship including closeups of the women's backsides. Extended dialogue from Mudd's hearing. A longer search by Harry Mudd for the Venus drug in his quarters.

  19. Star Trek Episode 6: Mudd's Women

    Star Trek Episode 6: Mudd's Women Share Tweet Pin It. General Information. Director: Harvey Hart. ... Eve swallows a replica of the Venus Drug and regains her youthful, attractive appearance after doing so—a placebo effect that Kirk attributes to Eve's newfound self-assurance. Emotionally satisfying though it may be, Eve's extraordinary ...

  20. Star Trek: "The Enemy Within"/"Mudd's Women"

    Star Trek: "The Enemy ... but at by and large this is the kind of "whacky guest star" ep that would ... Mudd's been giving them a "performance enhancer" called the Venus drug, but even ...

  21. Eve McHuron

    Eve "Evie" McHuron was a female Human civilian who lived during the mid-23rd century. McHuron was one of three women being transported to Ophiucus III by Harcourt Fenton Mudd, as a settler's wife in 2266. Originally from the farm planet Bootes III, she had no marriage prospects, as the farms were tended by automated machinery and her brothers. She was introduced to the Venus drug by Mudd ...

  22. Maggie Thrett Dead: Actress Was One Of "Mudd's Women" On 'Star Trek'

    Maggie Thrett, the actress and singer who most memorably played Ruth in the "Mudd's Women" episode of the original Star Trek, died December 18, her family announced.She was 76.

  23. Drugs and treatments

    The following is a list of medical substances and treatments for various illnesses by usage. asinolyathin bicaridine hydrocortilene metorapan morphenolog terakine triptacederine anesthizine anetrizine axonol hyvroxilated quint-ethyl metacetamin melenex nasal numbing agent neurozine dermaline dermaline gel kelotane adrenaline anticoagulant benjisidrine digoxin lectrazine metrazene vasokin ...