Star Trek: Discoverycame to an end in May of 2024, and now that the dust has settled on the series, it is the perfect time for some retrospectives. AfterStar Trek: Enterpriseconcluded in 2005,Discoverywas the firstStar Trektelevision show to air in more than a decade when it premiered in 2017. At that premiere, Discovery had a daunting task. The only other newStar Trekmedia in the 2010s were the comics and three movies in the Kelvin timeline.Discovery, therefore, was essentially responsible for re-launching the franchise on television.
to draw in old and new fans alike,Discoverywas set about a decade beforeStar Trek: The Original Series. As such,Discoverycould feature events and characters that were already familiar inStar Trek.Discoveryopened in the middle of the Federation-Klingon warand continued onward through the events that led up toThe Original Series. Perhaps the most famousStar TrekcharacterDiscoverybrought back was Spock (Ethan Peck) as then-commander Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) brother. ButDiscoveryalso brought some less well-knownStar Trekcharacters played by some very famous actors from our reality, but one of them was sadly utterly wasted.
Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd Has Been Wasted By Star Trek Since 2019
The Star Only Shows Up Three Times, But He Could Have Done More
Season 1 ofDiscoverysaw Rainn Wilson as the con artist and smuggler Harry Mudd, otherwise known as Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Mudd was originally introduced inThe Original Series, where Roger C. Carmel played him. Harry Mudd only appeared in two episodes ofTOS, “Mudd’s Women” and “I, Mudd,” but he left a big impression.That Harry Mudd was a charming criminal rogue, but inDiscoveryhe was significantly edgier and more dangerous.InDiscovery,Mudd was shown running afoul of the Klingon legal system instead of the Federation: a much more dire situation.
The Next Generation May Be More Popular, But Star Trek: Discovery Has It Beat In 1 Specific Way
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery each launched new eras of Star Trek, with Disco edging out TNG in one way (but not another).
Despite this revival being a generally popular move, however,Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd has only appeared in oneStar Trekproperty sinceDiscovery:a singleShort Trek. It was an amazing early win forStar Trekto get Rainn Wilson involved in their newest project, so it feels like a letdown to see him fade back into the background ofStar Trek.DuringThe Original Series,Harry Mudd did not returnbecause Roger C. Caramel was busy with other projects, but it’s a shame that the character couldn’t have been brought back a little longer in the new era ofTrek.
Even if it was only a cameo, including Mudd would have madeSection 31feel so much more like aStar Trekmovie.
The opportunity to bring Mudd back feels particularly wasted given the newStar Trek: Section 31movie. Since the eponymous “Section 31” is tasked with handling Starfleet’s dirty laundry, so to speak,it would totally have made sense to have an older Harry Mudd show up inSection 31. Even if it was only a cameo, including Mudd would have madeSection 31feel so much more like aStar Trekmovie. Withrumors of aSection 31sequel, it is still possible that we will see the return of Rainn Wilson’s Harry Mudd toStar Trek.
Why Harry Mudd Appearing In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Is A Problem
Cannon Makes More Appearances Impossible
Of course, there is a reason that we haven’t seen more of Harry Mudd in newStar Trek.The constraints of a human lifespan would have made it difficult for Mudd to appear inStar Trek: The Next Generationor other shows in that era, and afterDiscoveryjumped forward in time, it would have been completely impossible to bring Mudd back. But theoretically, Harry Mudd could appear inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Unfortunately, it is basically guaranteed that Harry Mudd will stay far away from the Enterprise. When Harry Mudd shows up in “Mudd’s Women,” the crew of the Enterprise does not know who he is. But since Lt. Spock and Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) both work on the bridge, there is no way they wouldn’t recognize Mudd inThe Original Seriesif they met him inStrange New Worlds.So for now, at least, we will have to be content with Rainn Wilson’s only appearances as Harry Mudd happening inStar Trek: Discovery.
