Poll of the Week: In Case of Mirror Universe, Break Glass

[Jo Marshall]

Star Trek throws the viewer into a universe of boundless hope and optimism for the future, striving for patience, compassion, exploration, forsaking bloodshed and violence for logic and knowledge. A universe in which humanity is learning from mistakes and endeavouring to be better. Way back in those heady days of the 1960s, the writers of Star Trek: The Original Series threw this concept and theme into the ether as the familiar faces and beloved crew of the Enterprise headed into realms unknown — into a mirror universe, where bodies were scantly clad, facial hair was proliferous, and hedonism reigned supreme, all with a tasty agony booth to top off the experience.  

Barring Voyager and TNG, each series indulged in a little MU of their own, giving the viewer a glimpse into the universe where the Terran Empire reigns with a golden sword of glory; a theme later explored to a further extent in Star Trek: Discovery. While some episodes utilised the trope to explore different themes and reflect on the alternate personalities of the characters and situations, like Archer's paranoid determination to take control of the Empire in "In a Mirror, Darkly", others took a comical view of it, playing for the advantage of the one-off "special". Who can forget the incredibly confused Rom in DS9's "The Emperor's New Cloak"?

Taking the theme a step further after the completion of the series, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager both got to indulge in their inner mirror, each with a comic book miniseries. Picard heads out to battle against the Klingon-Cardassian alliance, while Janeway becomes the Pirate Queen of the Quadrant. 

This week, we'd like to know about the Mirror Universe you enjoyed the most. Did you take to Intendant Kira like a duck to water? Or revel in Kirk's impassioned speech to Spock to let them return to their own universe. Do you long for the days of uninhibited goatee growth and unregulated agony booth access?

Which of the Mirror Universe episodes was your favourite?

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Jo Marshall
typo

[Piravao sh'Qynallahr]

Can I vote for the Skarbek episodes?

Teehee, on a more serious note, I opted for In a Mirror Darkly. Enterprise was my first and favorite series, and seeing this darker side of them was awesome.

[Thalas th’Koro]

It was a close call between ENT and DIS for me. Whilst I love the visuals and the shock of the Discovery episode, Enterprise just took it. Showing how the NX-01 crew were in the mirror universe was pulled off superbly and I loved it.

[Noa T'Nessa Levinson]

For me, In a Mirror, Darkly is the one - I love the "no characters crossing over" part - and it was good.

Also, gotta love the theme 😁

Edited September 10, 2020 by Noa T'Nessa Levinson

[Jo Marshall]

10 hours ago, Piravao sh'Qynallahr said:

Can I vote for the Skarbek episodes?

As alt universe, yes! Third one coming up 👀

6 hours ago, Noa T'Nessa Levinson said:

Also, gotta love the theme

That was a cool twist they did well! 

 

[Tony, aka Rouiancet]

Gotta jump on the "In a Mirror, Darkly" train. The Mirror Universe felt so fully realized, and we got so many nice and plot-relevant Easter eggs -- the Constitution-class! The Gorn! The Tholians!

[+ Hutch]

Crossover for me. Assuming that was the first DS9 mirror one? I forget the titles!

But the way they picked up the storyline from the one TOS episode and ran with it. For me, that was what really made the Mirrior Universe a recurring plot