Paramount Studios presents

Star Trek: The Original Series—Volume #2 (1966)

"The fact that my internal arrangement differs from yours, Doctor, pleases me to no end."- Spock (Leonard Nimoy)

Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelley
Other Stars: James Doohan, Michelle Nichols, Walter Koenig
Director: Harvey Hart, Leo Penn

MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 01h:40m:00s
Release Date: 1999-08-17
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A-	A	A-	B	C-

 

DVD Review

"Aye!" -Scotty
"Amen to that, Scotty!" -Bones

Star Trek: The Original Series—Volume #2, Episode #4

Mudd's Women
Stardate 1329.8
Airdate: October 13, 1966
Directed by: Harvey Hart

This rather amusing and risque episode begins with the Enterprise in hot pursuit of a class J cargo ship, who while trying to escape flies directly into an asteroid belt. When the runaway ship's engines burn out, a distress signal is sent. Despite the risk of destroying his own (di)lithium crystal circuits and losing power, Kirk attempts to save the renegade ship by gathering it with the Enterprise's deflector screen.

With the (di)lithium crystal circuits burning up rapidly and asteroids threatening, Captain Leo Walsh is beamed aboard first from the cargo ship, with pirate belt and Irish lilt intact. When his cargo of three beautiful women are transported to the Enterprise just prior to the cargo ship exploding, Scotty and Bones are besides themselves with lasciviousness, and the humorous exchange quoted above takes place. Of course, Spock is unaffected.

It is unclear why the Enterprise was in pursuit of the ship in the first place, and why Kirk is so intent on punishing Walsh, but Kirk orders a trial. During the trial, a lie detector device helps reveal that Walsh's real name is Harcourt Fenton Mudd (Roger C. Carmel), and that the three ladies are brides for sale, intended for settlers on the Planet Opiuchus-3. It is later revealed (to the television audience, not the crew) that the women are actually ugly and haggish, that they can only sustain their appearances with the aid of the mythical Venus Drugs.

Forced to battery power, the Enterprise shifts course to the planet Rigel-12, site of a (Di)Lithium mining operation. Mudd, seeing a way out of confinement, contacts the three male miners behind Kirk's back and arranges a deal. When the miner, Ben Childress, is beamed on board, it is to Kirk's surprise that the miner terms are for the three women and Mudd's release instead of cash payment.

Our lessons for tonight appear to be that beautiful women can get just about anything that they want (except Spock), and that all men who are not Vulcans are pigs. Only kidding (I think?) Similar to last week's episode our moral tells us that everything is not as it seems, and that old cliché: beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes straight to the bone! Also, that one can be or do anything one puts his/her mind to if one's self attitude is correct. Ah, why not let Jim say it for me: "There's two kind of women...you either believe in yourself or you don't."

Random Notes and Amusements: Note that Mr. Farrell is the third Lieutenant in as many episodes following the dead Mitchell and the re-posted Bailey...Perhaps Kirk is so mad at Mudd because he has some pent up hostility from not having gotten any in his first two episodes?...If you close your eyes and listen to Mudd, you can almost picture the Lucky Charms leprechaun...Note the editing blooper with cuts of Bones in the transporter room in two different outfits..."Amen to that, Scotty," Ah, you gotta miss DeForest Kelley...Did you know that if you hit Spock with a kidney punch you'd be hitting him in the heart?...Curious

This episode rates 4 out of 5 Enterprises:





"I've seen a side of me that no man should ever see."
-James T. Kirk.

Star Trek: The Original Series: Volume #2, Episode #5

The Enemy Within
Stardate 1672.1
Airdate: October 6, 1966
Directed by: Leo Penn

On planet Alpha 177, geological technician Fischer slips into some kind of magnetic yellow ore and cuts his hand. After he is beamed back to the ship, the transporter unknowingly malfunctions. When Kirk beams aboard, he is actually split into two: one good, one bad. After putting back a few belts of Silirium Brandy, Kirk's "strange alter ego" makes a thwarted attempt to sexually assault Yeoman Rand.

When the strangely wigged, unicorn-dog thing is transported aboard, Scotty discovers the split personality transporter malfunction. With the evil Kirk running around on board looking for a little Yeoman booty call, the evidence forces the crew to shut down the transporters, putting the remaining landing party in jeopardy of the frigid night temperatures on Alpha 177.

As time goes on the good side of Kirk is failing in his ability to lead and make decisions, while the bad side is unable to rationalize and negotiate human encounters. A theory is tested, whereby the two dogs are transporter back together, but when it is transporter back as one, it is dead. Kirk then must decide whether to risk his life in the same experiment. Neither personality can live entirely separate of the other, and possibly not at all if one or the other should die.

It is the adversaries, no not the two Kirks, but Spock and Bones that feed us our lesson for this evening: Spock with his assessment of the roles of good and evil, and intelligence overseeing the both. That one cannot lead without the strength that comes from the dark side of our personalities. That it is the intellect that rules the emotions. Very Vulcan. And Bones, whose interpretation is that everyone has a darker side in conjunction with his good side, which is entirely normal. It's the combination of these natures that make us what we are. Human. And in either case, the one cannot function well without the other.

Random Notes and Amusements: Has anyone else noticed that the heart rate sound in sick bay is eerily similar to that used by George Romero in Dawn of the Dead? ...A little Yeoman booty, hey Jim?... Speaking of which, what's with that big devil Spock at the end with Yeoman Rand? I mean the woman was just assaulted...Here lies the entry into legend of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch...And Bones' saw, "He's dead, Jim" (thanks for that note to www.startrekcontinuum.com)...The feud between McCoy and Spock is becoming evident...this is the first venture into Scotty's world, Engineering...And, in case your interested, this is the second installment of the "Kirk's hairless bare chest" watch... With the two Kirks facing off, we probably see Shatner at his most stereotypical, Saturday Night Live John Belushi parody, Shatneresque...It's all good stuff, folks.

This episode rates 4-1/2 out of 5 Enterprises:



Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	no
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: As with the first volume of the series, Paramount delivers a non-anamorphic 1.33:1 original television aspect ratio presentation. Again compared to the preview trailers, it is evident the time spent on cleaning up the unsettling amount of dirt and scratches. I did notice this disc to be slightly grainier than the first, with more evidence, as Bill Hunt of www.thedigitalbits.com calls it, dot crawl and pixelation. Still, you will not find a better transfer of these episodes on any other medium to date. Perhaps Paramount could have spent more time restoring their premier franchise, but one has to remember that with the source materials being so old, only so much could be done no matter how much time and money is spent. I would also argue that with nearly 100 episodes in tow, if Paramount was to ever get these episodes out to the public on DVD, that much time and money would prevent it until, let's say, when Star Wars will be on disc (2006?)!!

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	no

Audio Transfer Review: The 5.1 soundtrack is mostly center channel based, with occasional sweeping effects as the enterprise flies by, and mostly pleasant surround when the incidental music fills out the speakers, the only complaint, and a small one at that given the age of the track, that at times the musical score is not without its peaks of teeth clenching tinnyness. The sound for the rest of the track is suprisingly clean and well rendered, with the dialogue easily understood even if the mix is a bit low at times requiring one to turn the stereo up a few notches more than usual.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 13 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
2 TV Spots/Teasers
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Liner notes

Extras Review: The second disc contains the same lean features as the first, scene selection, preview trailers, liner notes, and English subtitles and captioning for the hearing impaired. Again, a note that the subtitles are not entirely accurate but detract little from the overall understanding of the dialogue.

Extras Grade: C-
 

Final Comments

Overall, another fine entry into the Star Trek: The Original Series catalogue, and despite the lack of features, a worthy investment to ST: TOS devotees and average fans alike.

Robert Mandel 2000-05-01