Mirror, Mirror

Kirk, McCoy, Scott, and Uhura get thrust into an alternate reality where the Federation is an evil empire and their shipmates and friends are now malicious, dangerous adversaries. Now the four have to find a way to get back to their own reality without being discovered and killed.

This is one of the best-written, best-acted TOS episodes ever. Ordinarily there is some aspect of the writing to nitpick about. Not here. Every action anybody takes makes sense, the characters are developed superbly, and the pacing is swift and invigorating. This is quality TV writing, and if every script had been this good the series would have lasted a lot longer, I think. One moment I'd like to point out especially: early on Kirk proposed to disable the phasers so they can avoid phaser-bombing a helpless planet, but Scottie subtly reports to Kirk he cannot because the phaser banks are being guarded. This is good writing: the good guys had a sensible (not contrived) solution to a problem, and the obstacle to that solution also made perfect sense (and was not contrived). That makes the tension feel very real.

The acting takes it over the top. William Shatner's Kirk displays the quick wits and cleverness that make the character so interesting. And notice how our good guy Kirk is not entirely uncomfortable in his new, dangerous environment. Sure, he's disgusted by all the cruelty around him, but you can sense he gets a thrill out of navigating all the treachery. Leonard Nimoy's evil version of Spock is genuinely menacing in a cool, calculating way. Nichelle Nichols' Uhura shows us a cunning, wily side of her we have only ever seen suggested before (and check her out in that revealing outfit.) But the acting prize goes to George Takei. In this episode, his evil Sulu is slimy, sleazy, scary, and wonderfully despicable. As another reviewer suggested, Takei should have played more villains.

Overall, Mirror, Mirror is a ten.

Having failed to convince the Halkan council to allow the Federation to mine dilithium crystals on their planet, Captain Kirk. Dr. McCoy, Scotty and Uhura beam back to their ship during a magnetic storm only to find themselves in a parallel universe where the Enterprise belongs to a brutal empire. This alternate version of The Enterprise is manned by an untrustworthy, backstabbing crew who attempt to move up the ranks using deceit and assassination.

As Scotty and McCoy attempt to rig the transporters to replicate the conditions that transposed them, Kirk has to prevent arousing the suspicions of the alternate Spock and avoid being bumped off by Chekov, while Uhura does her best to keep the lusty parallel version of Sulu at arm's length.

Spock with a beard; George Takei playing a treacherous sex pest; Chekov thrown into an agony booth; good Kirk snogging the evil captain's woman Marlena (BarBara Luna); Uhura looking foxy in a sexier than usual outfit: it's all tremendous fun, one of the most enjoyable TOS episodes.

An ionic storm causes confusion, when the landing crew make an intrusion, take a parallel trip, to a pirate space ship, run by uniformed rogues through collusion.

Channels are disrupted and some of the crew beam across boundaries into a parallel world where variations on a theme are enough to make you feel unwanted.

I recently watched an old episode of The Twilight Zone where an astronaut returns to Earth and to a family that isn't quite right. The concept of a parallel universe has been a part of scifi for a long time. In this episode, after negotiating with a planet to gain dilithium crystals, Kirk beams up. At that very time, something happens, sending him into another universe. it contains similar characters though they are beset with avarice and evil. Even Spock has accepted the fact that maintain discipline he must inflict pain on people, even kill them. Of course, if good Kirk is on this starship, his counterpart is on the Enterprise we know. Of course, here comes the fun. The good Kirk must figure out what happened and find some way to turn things back. The other Kirk sticks out like a sore thumb but has the power of his position. So things aren't so easy to remedy. This is a wonderful use of a unique situation and the writers don't waste it. What's neat is that the good Kirk tries to initiate change on the new ship, so he isn't just single minded in his efforts.

I first saw this episode in 1973, when I was 7 and able to understand the meaning of Trek. This has turned out be in my top three episodes of TOS, and here 44 years later, I can never stop watching it.

Now granted there is Star Trek Continues and they made a good follow up to the story, but I would love to see this continue more. What eventually did become of the Terran Empire after the overthrow? Too many questions that should be followed up, in my opinion.

Awesome episode. One of TOS very, if not the best.