I, Mudd; I, Smokey Bear

[jayrath]

It may be well known to some, but I just discovered that Roger C. Carmel, who played our favorite comedic villain, also voiced Smokey Bear in public service announcements.

Smokey on the Enterprise. The mind boggles...

[FormerLurker]

He was not the original voice. As he told the audience at the 1984 Denver Star Trek convention, early in the '70s he learned that the position of voice actor had come open, and he auditioned for and got it.

I met him in the hallway on Sunday morning of the con. He was friendly, gracious and all around pleasant. And the direct opposite of "the camera adds ten pounds." He was HUGE. Not fat, any more than he ever was, including playing Harry Mudd. Just HUGE.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I wish Carmel had been able to do his TNG episode.

Yes, he was going to do one. Mudd would be revived from cryogenic suspension and meet the Ent-D crew. IIRC, he would have sacrificed himself to save them - his final line would have been something like "This is for MY Enterprise!"

I think it was only Carmel's death that stopped the episode.

[gottacook]

Hey, Mister Fleet Admiral: If Carmel died in November 1986, then how could he have been slated to appear in a TNG episode? In April 1987 they were still casting the TNG pilot! (search on "tng casting memo")

[Garrovick]

Even though the TNG cast wasn't finalized until 1987, it was announced to be in production in 1986, before Roger C. Carmel passed away. I believe that they already were kicking around script ideas in 1986, probably before the public announcement of the series, and I think the Mudd episode was one of those original story ideas. Of course, when Mr. Carmel passed, the idea was no longer workable, but I believe at least some of it eventually evolved into "The Neutral Zone". I doubt that the Mudd idea ever made it to the script stage, though - more's the pity.

[Therin of Andor]

Gene Roddenberry often told actors, "I'm working on a script with you in mind..." (He told DeForest Kelley that line often in the 60s.)

Carmel bumped into Roddenberry during the early planning of TNG. I seem to recall it was at someone's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony? I remember seeing pics of them together at such an event.

Aha, IMDb says that Carmel was a close friend of George Takei's (and worked with Leonard Nimoy on "Transformers: The Movie"). Takei's Star Ceremony was October 30, 1986. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was announced to the public on October 10, 1986.

[Sir Rhosis]

A Starlog interview with one of the original writers (I can't remember if it was Lucas or perhaps Kandel) made mention of the proposed storyline, called, iirc, "Deep Mudd."

Sir Rhosis

EDIT: Just looked it up -- mea culpa. Stephen Kandel developed "Deep Mudd" for TOS, not TNG.

SR

[Unicron]

Therin of Andor wrote:

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Aha, IMDb says that Carmel was a close friend of George Takei's (and worked with Leonard Nimoy on "Transformers: The Movie"). Takei's Star Ceremony was October 30, 1986. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was announced to the public on October 10, 1986.

Yep. Carmel voiced several Transformers during the series, with Cyclonus probably being his most famous.

[Delta Vega]

Harcourt Fenton Mudd is my least favourite thing about Star Trek, to say that I dislike the shows in which he appears is an understatement.

Not the actor I hasten to add, just the character.

[Sir Rhosis]

^^^Gotta agree 50%. I sorta liked "Mudd's Women," but "I, Mudd" is tied with "Plato's Stepchildren" on my personal worst list. I honestly never expect to watch either ep again.

Sir Rhosis

[Delta Vega]

Sir Rhosis wrote:

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^^^Gotta agree 50%. I sorta liked "Mudd's Women," but "I, Mudd" is tied with "Plato's Stepchildren" on my personal worst list. I honestly never expect to watch either ep again.

Sir Rhosis

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Mudds Women were growlers, regardless of their state of being.

Even when they were supposedly "hot", they were munters

As for Mudd, well, what a complete arse