Perhaps the thing I like best about John Byrne’s New Visions is that they are full-fledged stories on the scale of a classic Star Trek episode in each issue.  The premise, though, brings with it its own challenges, and because of that length, I suppose Byrne is somewhat limited in the characters and scenery he can use, according to what he can get sufficient images of.  With New Visions #4 comes the second instance in the series of a Kirk doppelganger, for instance, because no doubt there is little shortage of Shatner out there.

“Made out of Mudd” is a story that left me amused mostly by picking out the several episodes from which it draws its characters but has little else to recommend.  Though Byrne’s creative use of the materials at hand is admirable in its way, this story feels under developed, limited, perhaps, by those same materials.  The inclusion of Harry Mudd feels like a missed opportunity, in particular, as that character becomes mostly a vehicle for exposition.

It’s not that it doesn’t feel like a Star Trek episode; it’s just that it doesn’t feel like a particularly good one.

The issue also demonstrates the problems Byrne faces with heavily using complicated sets, or sets that ought to be complicated, outside of the Enterprise itself; more than in previous issues, the computer-generated backgrounds and props clash with the actors, and some panels simply don’t look very good.  There’s still a novelty to it, but there is a feeling of Byrne’s reach exceeding his grasp.

I can’t personally find it within myself to judge New Visions too harshly, because it does strike some properly nostalgic notes, even in this, its weakest issue to date.  Suffice it to say that if you aren’t already sold on New Visions as a series, though, this issue probably isn’t going to work in its favor.