Spoilers Star Trek: Short Treks 1x04 - "The Escape Artist"

[Nerys Myk]

Mudd is known for interacting with human-like robots? Here he has human-like robots as well! These were (famous) one-time events, it's weird they apparently happened multiple times to the same characters.

Mudd appears in three episodes prior to his DISCO appearences. Only one involves androids, while two involved "love drugs".

 

[Timo]

...And all made direct mention of a more broad-based criminal career. But it always was about "poor misunderstood Harry", the man unable to face the concept of "consequences". I doubt we should worry about continuity of character if we miss out on a chapter. Harry Mudd never changes. (We just get to see more of him, which never grows old, I'm surprised to say.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Noname Given]

This episode seemed to be trolling fandom, with the whole money thing. We have Mudd and the Tellarite, two Federation citizens essentially working for money in a supposedly moneyless society. The Tellarite even expected Starfleet to pay him, despite the fact they don't pay their own personnel. It seems like a giant middle finger to everyone who believes the Federation is moneyless, and that's cool.

So, with this, Georgiou's military academy diploma, and the coming season dealing with faith vs science, looks like Disco is going for the trifecta of fandom's hot button issues.

Oh, and I totally dig the arrangement of the Disco theme used in the end credits. Much better than the actual theme used for the show. I think they should replace it.

The TOS era HAD money (Federation Credits) and PLENTY of TOS episodes mentioned that fact:

TOS - "Errand Of Mercy"
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/27.htm

KIRK: The Federation has invested a great deal of money in our training. They're about due for a small return. We have two hours with which to do it in.

SPOCK: But only two. More Organians will die.

TOS - "The Ultimate Computer"
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/53.htm

KIRK: Genius doesn't work on an assembly line basis. Did Einstein, Kazanga, or Sitar of Vulcan produce new and revolutionary theories on a regular schedule? You can't simply say, today I will be brilliant. No matter how long it took, he came out with multitronics. The M-5.

MCCOY: Right. The government bought it, then Daystrom had to make it work. And he did. But according to Spock, it works illogically.

TOS - "I Mudd"
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/41.htm
(And becase we're talking about Mudd, and this is one of my favorite TOS Kirk/Spock/Mudd exchanges, I've included teh exchange in it's entirety)

KIRK: All right, Harry, explain. How did you get here? We left you in custody after that affair on the Rigel mining planet.

MUDD: Yes, well, I organised a technical information service bringing modern industrial techniques to backward planets, making available certain valuable patents to struggling young civilizations throughout the galaxy.

KIRK: Did you pay royalties to the owners of those patents?

MUDD: Well, actually, Kirk, as a defender of the free enterprise system, I found myself in a rather ambiguous conflict as a matter of principle.

SPOCK: He did not pay royalties.

MUDD: Knowledge, sir, should be free to all.

KIRK: Who caught you?

MUDD: That, sir, is an outrageous assumption.

KIRK: Yes. Who caught you?

MUDD: I sold the Denebians all the rights to a Vulcan fuel synthesizer.

KIRK: And the Denebians contacted the Vulcans.

MUDD: How'd you know?

KIRK: That's what I would have done.

MUDD: It's typical police mentality. They've got no sense of humour. They arrested me.

MCCOY: Oh, I find that shocking.

MUDD: Worse than that. Do know what the penalty for fraud is on Deneb Five?

SPOCK: The guilty party has his choice. Death by electrocution, death by gas, death by phaser, death by hanging.

MUDD: The key word in your entire peroration, Mister Spock, was, death. Barbarians. Well, of course, I left.

KIRK: He broke jail.

MUDD: I borrowed transportation.

KIRK: He stole a spaceship.

MUDD: The patrol reacted in a hostile manner.

KIRK: They fired at him.

MUDD: They've no respect for private property. They damaged the bloody spaceship. Well, I got away, but I couldn't
navigate, so I wandered out through unmapped space, and here I found Mudd.

And I could site more TOS episodes where money use is mentioned/show in the TOS erta, but I believe the point is made.

It was TNG that RETCONNED the fact the Federation (and mankind) still used 'money'. And personally, I thought said retcon was utterly ridiculous in that I don't care how 'Utopian' mankind was sup[posed to get - no one is going to work for anything long if they can just call out what they want from a replicator or just go to a restaurant and order whatever they want for free. The whole "The entire society just works to improve itself now..." isn't science fiction, it's FANTASY. I can believe we'd get to a point in society where 'profit' isn't seen as the be all/end all (although that would probably require further mental evolution of the Human species) - but to completely give up currency (in either electronic of physical form) - no, probably won't happen as long as some form of modern society exists.

Bottom Line: We ain't in the TNG era, here, so don't expect the 23rd century to be like GR's retconned 24th century of Star Trek.

 

[Tuskin38]

The TOS era HAD money (Federation Credits) and PLENTY of TOS episodes mentioned that fact:

Wormhole knows this, look at the posts after where I responded to them. They're poking fun at the people who will complain about it.

 

[Tosk]

It was TNG that RETCONNED the fact the Federation (and mankind) still used 'money'.

Star Trek 4 did it a year before TNG premiered.

 

[DEWLine]

Repeating a question: do we have a glyph for the Federation credit yet?
Reason why I ask:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol

 

[Tuskin38]

Repeating a question: do we have a glyph for the Federation credit yet?
Reason why I ask:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol

We don't have a canon one, but Star Trek Online uses this:

Mind you that's used for all the factions, it's a universal credit, not just federation.

 

[Noname Given]

Star Trek 4 did it a year before TNG premiered.

Are you kidding? - If there's ONE THING the ladies man Kirk knows how to do, it to get the WOMAN to pick up the check. (Hey, equal rights)

 

[Jaimito]

Best one of the bunch.

 

[DEWLine]

Tuskin38: Thank you.
Wondering if the old symbol for the now-discontinued Brazilian cruzeiro - ₢ - might now serve...but then, the Federation uses languages by the millions...

 

[eschaton]

The debate about currency is stupid.

I mean, even if the Federation was canonically cashless internally during the TOS period, clearly there would be a need for some sort of exchange with people outside of the Federation who came from economies with currencies.

 

[The Wormhole]

And I could site more TOS episodes

Cite. It's spelled cite.

It was TNG that RETCONNED the fact the Federation (and mankind) still used 'money'. And personally, I thought said retcon was utterly ridiculous in that I don't care how 'Utopian' mankind was sup[posed to get - no one is going to work for anything long if they can just call out what they want from a replicator or just go to a restaurant and order whatever they want for free. The whole "The entire society just works to improve itself now..." isn't science fiction, it's FANTASY. I can believe we'd get to a point in society where 'profit' isn't seen as the be all/end all (although that would probably require further mental evolution of the Human species) - but to completely give up currency (in either electronic of physical form) - no, probably won't happen as long as some form of modern society exists.

Bottom Line: We ain't in the TNG era, here, so don't expect the 23rd century to be like GR's retconned 24th century of Star Trek.

Yeah, I know all this. As I have already stated in this thread, I have not drunk the Kool-Aid in this matter. The Federation has money, Starfleet is a military, and humans still practice religious beliefs in the future. You aren't just preaching to the choir here, you're preaching to the preacher.

 

[Tuskin38]

Just like modern nations they probably keep a bunch of local currency in reserve.

Even the military has various national currency for personnel that go overseas. Well the Canadian Military does at least, I’m sure others do as well.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Star Trek 4 did it a year before TNG premiered.

Kirk could have been lying, especially since any money he would have would be worthless on Earth in the 80s. Imagine if you took a debit card or even actual currency to 18th century America.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Oh, we're doing the money thing now? I think I have a bash script for that.

 

[Tosk]

Kirk could have been lying, especially since any money he would have would be worthless on Earth in the 80s. Imagine if you took a debit card or even actual currency to 18th century America.

Why would he lie to his crew? And why wouldn't they say, "Uh, what now?"

 

[Awesome Possum]

Why would he lie to his crew? And why wouldn't they say, "Uh, what now?"

It was in reference to the scene where Gillian has to buy the pizza.

 

[Tosk]

But he also says to the crew, "They're still using money..." so he's not lying to Dr. Taylor.

 

[Awesome Possum]

But he also says to the crew, "They're still using money..." so he's not lying to Dr. Taylor.

He could have just been referring to dollars. Even TNG mentioned some sort of credits.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

The Okudagrams from "Conspiracy" made mention of a fiscal year for Starfleet operations. So, there was some form of economic system in play, probably a cashless one..

Kirk might have been referring to the physical form of currency in his statement from ST IV.