Star Trek: Strange New Worldshas wasted the opportunity to break bag this great legacy character. After being introduced inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 2,Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pikequickly became a fan favorite. This led Paramount to greenlight a spin-off following Captain Pike, Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck), and their Enterprise crew, andStrange New Worldswas born. With pitch-perfect casting,Strange New Worldshas reintroduced severalStar Treklegacy characters, including Lt. Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley).
Star Trek: Strange New Worldshas added depth to characters like Uhura, and has the opportunity to bring in even more legacy characters in the seasons to come.Star Trek: Discoverymay have received mixed reviews from some fans, but the show nevertheless introduced some amazing characters toStar Trekcanon. As aprequel toStar Trek: The Original Series,Discoveryalso incorporated some classic characters from the 1960s, including Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson).Originally portrayed by Roger C. Carmel, Mudd remains one ofTOS’most memorable guest stars and would make a perfect addition toStrange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is Wasting Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd
Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd Would Be A Fit On Strange New Worlds
After appearing in two episodes ofStar Trek: Discovery’sfirst season and one episode ofShort Treks,Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd has been absent fromStar Trekfor over six years.Star Trek: Strange New Worldshas already proven that it can do comedy extremely well,making it even more glaring that Harry Mudd has yet to appear.Discoveryseason 1’stime loop episode, “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” was one of the season’s best episodes thanks in large part to Wilson’s take on Mudd, and it would be a shame to waste him.
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The last time viewers saw Harry Mudd inShort Treksseason 1, episode 4, “The Escape Artist,” he had fully embraced life as a conman. Mudd is wanted by the Federation for committing a long list of crimes, so he’s likely avoiding Starfleet, but a man like Mudd would not be able to stay hidden for long.It would be a lot of fun to see him interacting with the crew of Captain Pike’s Enterprise.In its first two seasons,Strange New Worldshas brilliantly experimented with various genres and types of storytelling, and Harry Mudd would be a perfect guest star.
How Harry Mudd Can Appear On Strange New Worlds Without Breaking Star Trek Canon
Strange New Worlds Has Already Found Ways Around Established Canon
InStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 1, episode 6, “Mudd’s Women,” Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his Enterprise crew encounter Harry Mudd for the first time. TomaintainStar Trekcanon,Strange New Worldscould find a way to ensure that Spock and Uhura never encounter Mudd.Captain Pike and an away team could encounter Mudd while Spock and Uhura remain on the ship, or Spock and Uhura could be away on a different mission. Either way, it would not be difficult to incorporate Mudd intoStrange New Worldswithout contradictingTOS.
The Harry Mudd ofTOSwas a problematic character, with both of his episodes featuring outdated and misogynistic views of women. Thankfully, Rainn Wilson’s take on the character moved away from these tendencies, and his Mudd treated pretty much everyone with equal disrespect. Wilson’s Mudd was darker than Carmel’s in some ways, too, turning on his fellow prisoners when he was being held captive by the Klingons. This Mudd fits in with the darker tone ofStar Trek: Discovery,butStar Trek: Strange New Worldscould embrace a more fun version of the character that combines elements from both actors' portrayals.
