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Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 2, Episodes 4 & 5: Mudd's Women/The Enemy Within

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 2, Episodes 4 & 5: Mudd's Women/The Enemy Within

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $17.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not the best Trek--but still fun
Review: "Mudd's Women" presents the first of two appearances by the space rogue Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Roger C. Carmel). In this episode, he is pimping for a trio of artificially enhanced women who owe their beauty to a drug. Classic Trek episodes always tend to be moralistic (in fact, that was a point of pride for Gene Roddenberry), but when Kirk (William Shatner) actually delivers a sermon, as he does at the end of this episode, you know they've gone too far. A slow episode, but occasionally fun.

In "The Enemy Within," a transporter accident splits Kirk into his evil half and good half. The premise is weak, because it gives up any pretense of scientific plausibility and drops the show squarely into the middle of magic fantasy land. The only thing missing is a yellow brick road. This episode also features some stunningly egregious overacting by Shatner. This is not as damaging as it sounds. There is something invulnerable about William Shatner as a performer; the worse he gets, the more cheesy fun it is to watch him. Writer Richard Matheson does manage to slip in some interesting stuff about the necessity of a dark side for a successful leader.


Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Social Issues Galore! What Clairvoyancy!
Review: As with so many of the original series episodes, both episodes have fabulous social issues hidden behind their "star trek"/"science ficition" fronts.

The First episode, Mudd's Women, is very poignant in today's society considering what is beautiful. Woman have always tried to "marry" back in the 60's. This episode broke through that barrier "beautifully". (If you pardon the pun.)

The second episode, has wonderful first moments contained. Technology actually malfunctioning - whoda thunk? The various personifications we all hold within ourselves. The first "He's Dead, Jim" was spoken in this episode as well as the famous Vulcan Neck Pinch.

Two superb episodes have been perfected on this DVD.

Both classic episodes, a must have!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Social Issues Galore! What Clairvoyancy!
Review: As with so many of the original series episodes, both episodes have fabulous social issues hidden behind their "star trek"/"science ficition" fronts.

The First episode, Mudd's Women, is very poignant in today's society considering what is beautiful. Woman have always tried to "marry" back in the 60's. This episode broke through that barrier "beautifully". (If you pardon the pun.)

The second episode, has wonderful first moments contained. Technology actually malfunctioning - whoda thunk? The various personifications we all hold within ourselves. The first "He's Dead, Jim" was spoken in this episode as well as the famous Vulcan Neck Pinch.

Two superb episodes have been perfected on this DVD.

Both classic episodes, a must have!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A worthy purchase
Review: Both are very much entertaining but you must stretch some credibility for one of these stories.

If you can discount certain omissions and science screw-ups, then "Enemy Within" becomes a classic. Sorry, shuttlecrafts existed in season 1 so lack of any reference here is suspicious. And at that extrme temperature, no phaser is going to work let alone a human live.

"Mudd's Women" is the better of the two in terms of plot and concepts since it's possible that a temporarily age-reducing drug could be made whereas you can't circumvent physics and shuttles. Mudd is a wonderful character, devious to the extreme. This alone makes it worthwhile but there are plenty of good elements.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Bad and the Good
Review: First of all, for some reason Paramount have replaced the opening titles score with a different version of the theme. It spoils the original feel of the series. If this is the same for the other OST DVDs then I will not be buying any more of them.

The picture quality is generally excellent, the only noticeable problems being the age of the original prints. Nevertheless the transfer is excellent and the sound is excellent.

What can I say about the episodes on the DVD? "Mudd's Women" is a very light, simplistic story which does little for the series. Its watchable but is not particularly good.

"The Enemy Within", on the other hand, is an excellent variation on the Jekyll and Hyde story as a transporter problem splits Kirk in two, unleashing a savage double on the ship. Until the problem of re-combining Kirk is solved a landing party is stranded on a planet as its extremely cold night closes in. A very good episode.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: THEY CHANGED THE MUSIC!!
Review: Great looking DVD's but They changed the music!!

The opening credits theme is NOT the first season version music but the version used on the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before". They added Shatner's narration but the music is not the original version that was used during the first season. Each season they re-recorded the theme for that year. They are all different in the musical arrangements and instrumentals.

This is NOT the firat season version! I know it is a small point but I think it is really sh#@y that they would take the time to redo the music. It must be money related.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classics, pure and simple.
Review: I got this one as well as the other 4 TOS DVDs currently available, and we all know and love'em, don't we. Cheesy as heck, naive to a fault, yet the excitement and sheer thrill of the series never falter.

Shatner never really could act his way out of a paper bag if he had to, Spocks lack of emotions is probably due to Nimoys relatively poor capabilites as an actor and who in their right mind would ever truly believe that Scotty was Scottish? Yet....the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and when the theme strikes up and that voice goes on about "startdate this" or "stardate that" we're all ready to go along for the ride....

And of course, to replay our fave Star Trek game: Who'll get the red shirt this time?

If you never liked Star Trek, there's no point getting these, but if you did, you'll be as thrilled as ever. Now all I want to know is when are they ever going to start releasing Next Gen, Voyager and DS9 on DVD?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Star Trek the Original Series Vol 02
Review: I loved re-discovering it again. But I gave the DVD 4 stars for the lack of Spanish in the dubbed/subtitled options. A huge portion of the U.S.A. is hispanic and I being married to one would enjoy this much more if my wife who speaks english as well as spanish could also enjoy it in spanish which of course she understands better. Please add more languages in the future releases.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Live long and prosper!"
Review: I was so glad to hear that Paramount is releasing another volume of the original Star Trek. I absolutely love the original series and can't wait until all 79 episodes are released on DVD. This format is extremely clear and excellent picture quality, that it is amazing that it dates back to the 1960's. One of my favorite episodes is gotta be episode #5 "The Enemy Within" and it is included in this volume. Can Spock be able to tell who is the real Captain Kirk? This is great and you must own it because I seem to watch it over and over again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Two landmark Star Trek Episodes
Review: It never ceases to amaze me how Star Trek was able to bypass the censors by outwitting them with well written stories.

Take "Mudd's Women" for example: Here we have three scantily clad females in a thought provoking allegory about the true meaning of beauty. In today's world of rampant cosmetic surgery and designer bodies, the story rings even truer that when it was written. Bill Theiss created some wonderfull costumes with almost no budget. He used to say that an outfits' sexiness was directly related to the appearance that is was about to fall off, and that is certainly true here.

"The Enemy Within" deals with the nature of good and evil. Kirk's attempted rape of Yeoman Janice Rand was almost shockingly graphic for 60s television. One minor nit in the story is that the crew could have sent down a shuttlecraft to retrieve the landing party. Nevertheless, this is a story with depth and some fine acting from all involved.


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