I saw Nichelle Nichols at a couple of Star Trek cons way back in the day. She was always very classy, very gracious, very accommodating. A real lady. I remember one fan asking her what her favorite episode was. She named a couple, like "Mirror, Mirror," and "The Gamesters of Triskelion," adding, "Anything that got me off the bridge, honey." RIP.
Actors always love the weird episodes where they can deviate from their regular performance and try something new. It's a new challenge and probably a lot more fun than doing the same character every week. It's either that or episodes where they are on location instead of on the same old sound stage.
It's reported that she once said something to the effect of "If I have to open these goddam hailing frequencies ONE MORE TIME ..." They put that into an episode in which tells Spock "Sometimes I think if I hear the word 'frequencies' one more time, I'll cry." 😁
I also met Ms Nichols, in 1976 at a convention in Richmond Va at the John Marshall Hotel, and never has an actress been more kind and gracious to an 11 year old in Spock ears. She was amazing!
The fact that you instantly used the exact phrase "Mirror Universe" shows just how influential this episode was. Parallel universes were a staple of science fiction literature already, of course, but this was the seminal dramatic work.
A small moment in this episode that probably means a lot more to me than most people is when Kirk and Scotty realize that someone is going to have to stay behind to operate the transporter. Scotty immediately volunteers, and it's not done with any special drama or fanfare, just him being heroic because.... that's who he is. Of course Kirk overrules him, prompting it's own emotional moment as Scotty calls him "Jim," the only time he ever says it during the series. Again, it's more understated than dramatic; just enough that we understand what losing Kirk means to Scotty. It's a perfect little exchange for me.
There was a similar emotional scene in M.A.S.H. where Hawkeye calls Col. Potter "Sherman". I forget which episode it was, but it was during a time of great sadness for Col. Potter.
@@hawkmaster381 Wasn’t it during the episode where Potter went to Seoul to see a friend who was dying, and everyone thought he was, and he opened up a bottle that some law firm was holding until the last one of his friends died?
What I love about that exchange is that it shows Scotty knowing that the others are "too valuable to be left behind" and yet Kirk view of "as captain, my job is to ensure your safety first". It really shows that each character is aware of how important they are not only to each other, but to the ship in general, as well as what they are willing to do in order to make sure the other is safe. It is a small interaction, but the weight of it is immense.
What makes the acting truly impressive is that none of those actors could actually stand Shatner. All the secondary cast had it in for him because of his super-inflated ego. 🤣
Logic is neither good nor evil, so really Spock is the same in both universes, but that goatee makes him look bad-ASS. I love Uhura's performance in this episode, her frailty when first arriving, then later totally confident when distracting Sulu.
What a great episode for Nichelle to show off her acting chops! And Leonard Nimoy really impresses me in this as well. It's a relatively subtle change, but the way he moves/carries himself creates a very distinct difference while still remaining very connected to the character. He's really imposing and he even seems physically bigger as "Mirror Spock." A change I noticed in this is that Spock frequently crosses his arms and leans on things, but Mirror Spock typically squares his shoulders and his arms are away from his sides.
The media always brings up the "first interracial kiss on American TV" when talking about Nichelle Nichols, but they never bring up her "interracial slap" here in Mirror, Mirror, when Uhura slaps the sh*t out Sulu after "distracting" him. Love their pirate sashes. Awesome!
Nichelle's acting CHOPS weren't the only thing she was showing off !!!! LOL. That midriff-OH MY. LOL. SEXY. Nichelle Nichols was a GORGEOUS woman when she was younger.
One of the most MISSED ELEMENT of this episode is actually the set design of the bridge. The "Captain's chair" is a "low back" chair on the regular Enterprise. However, in the "mirror universe", the chair is a "high back" THRONE. It is one of the subtle changes in the set design that directly implies the power and authority that the captain has on his own ship. That the position isn't just a high ranking position, it is the "Throne of power" for the ship and actions from that throne can have a direct impact on the history and direction of the Empire as a whole.
They end up reusing that high-bank version of the chair in the episode "The Ultimate Computer." The captain of one of the other four starships is seen on screen sitting in the high back version. A nice way to give one of those ships a slight variation.
Good point out,Herrzimm,I never noticed that.LOL. Did you notice how the Enterprise orbits the planet in the opposite direction in the mirror universe ???
Here’s another episode that has a Star Trek Continues sequel: “Fairest of Them All,” where we follow the events in the Mirror I.S.S. Enterprise immediately with the end of this episode. The original and restored Shuttlecraft prop currently in a Texas museum makes a cameo.
I highly recommend this episode follow up too. It is first rate and equally as good as Mirror Mirror. It would be fun for you guys to watch off camera but discuss it in your side notes discussion from the couch.
Target Audience should take a short detour and cover "Fairest of Them All". It's quite respectfully well done and true to the spirit of the original series. I believe Gene Roddenberry's son saw it debut at Convention and was so impressed, he remarked it should be considered a part of canon.
@@LeutnantJoker, I realize their aim was to complete the 5 year mission; but Fairest of Them All doesn't need to be seen in a chronological sense. It can fit in nicely right here, on the tail of "Mirror, Mirror" as a self-contained episode. It's also a fan-based series; so a nice diversion that doesn't need to be seen at all unless you're really into Trek. So either way, works.
A good episode, Shatner gets to chew up the scenery as his bad self, but it is Nimoy's acting that really impresses me about this, he is playing himself, but he is not himself, as he would say, fascinating...
Oh boy, it's mirror mirror. This episode is the one I always point to when I talk about how underutilized Uhura was in this show. This sets up a lot of cool Trek lore that becomes pretty relevant in stuff like DS9.
Yeah, it is kind of a shame that TNG didn't use it. But the DS9 episodes actually did a lot to expand the lore, while the Enterprise show did a good bit of "set up" for how the Empire expanded. Obviously, Voyager tried to do a similar set-up with the episode of "propaganda history", but not a direct "mirror-universe" approach. It really was a rich field of lore to dig into, just a shame that most of that rich field was wasted by not returning to it a little more often to view how things could have played out differently with other events through the franchise.
@@johnb2422 - I would agree the later seasons of DS9 should be considered the peak. But the first season, and possibly 1st half of the 2nd are kind of weak (going episode by episode basis), with the ending of the last season feeling rushed and too condensed (Because they obviously knew they were not renewed for one more season to do it properly). But seasons 3-6 was DS9/Star Trek hitting on every cylinder and knocking it out of the park with story lines and character arcs. Oh, and I admit... Garek and Dukat were two of my favorite Star Trek characters ever written.
I had the privilege to meet Nichelle Nichols several times and I can say without hesitation that she was one of the nicest, kindest, most loving individuals I've ever met. There are certain people who radiate goodness about them and make anyone they come in contact with feel welcome, appreciated, and at peace. She was like a combination of a grandmother, a saint, and a deity in both the way she treated people and commanded your respect and admiration just through her warm personality. I first met her on October 1, 2011 at a Star Trek convention in Chicago. She took to the stage for an interview in which she told the story of how the network tried to buy out her contract in order to keep a black woman off the bridge of the Enterprise. They also refused to give her a standard contract like the rest of the cast. This led Ms. Nichols to considerable concern because without it she didn't have a steady income. Gene Roddenberry continually said not to worry however and over the course of the entire season, he hired her as a guest star. This meant that she got a higher scale of pay than if she'd been a contracted regular because of the unique position of the communications station on the bridge. You see, it's right behind the captain's chair meaning even if she had no lines in an episode, she was constantly seen in any shot of the captain (or any other crewman sitting in the chair like Spock or Scotty). Just the corner of her elbow in a shot meant she was credited with appearing in that scene. The result was that Ms. Nichols was paid for every such instance and Gene took the studio to the cleaners for a lot more money than if they'd simply offered her a contract. The scheme worked; the next season the network relented and gave her a standard contract. Ms. Nichols told that story as well as the famous story of how Martin Luther King Jr. talked her out of quitting the show. I don't know that there was a person in the entire audience not in tears after hearing her recount these amazing tales. Immediately after her stage time, I had a photo op with her so I headed down to the photographer. When I stepped up to her for our photo, I told her how beautiful her stories had been and that I doubted there was a dry eye in the room. I added that my eyes were probably still watery and that I'd probably ruin the photo as a result. She took my hand, looked at me, and said, "In that case, we'll take two," then motioned to the photographer that she wanted two photos with me. The last time I saw her was at the 50th anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas in 2016. She and her assistant entered the vendors' room and were looking for her autograph table. Her assistant said they'd ask someone where it was and that they'd be right back. Ms. Nichols sat down in a chair near the door and as I was on my way out, I walked over to her and told her hello and that I was worried after reports of her health that she might not attend (she'd had a stroke the year prior). I told her I was happy she seemed to be doing well and that I was glad she was able to attend. "So am I," she replied with that warm, kind smile. The world lost one of its truly good human beings last week. From her groundbreaking role on Star Trek to her extensive work for NASA recruiting women and minorities, she embodied Uhura's leadership and professionalism while providing a role model, not just for girls and minorities but even little white boys like me who grew up believing in the concept of equality in part because that was what I saw in Star Trek and because that was a future worth believing in. Rest in peace, Ms. Nichols, and thank you for so much.
Call it coincidence or karma. It is indeed special that you get to see Nichelle Nichols' acting chops at their very best in this episode. Requiescat in pace, Uhura.
It's so perfect that even when one of them is from the "good" universe and the other is from the "evil" universe, that Kirk and Spock still like each other! That friendship transcends parallel universes. McCoy jeopardizing his own chance to get home to save evil Spock's life is also quite powerful. Great episode, great reactions. Good call on the Marlena reveal prediction there 😆
Here's a thing... I've was born in 66, so for me there was never a "first reaction", it was always a part of my life before I could even talk because it's always been in syndication most of my life, and like everyone else, I have my favs and not so favs. So watching a genuine first reaction to one of my favorite shows is a treat. Something you might want to watch in the future is "one punch man" another favorite of mine
There was a prog rock band that formed in the1990's named "Spock's Beard" in tribute. Also, this isn't the last time we see the "Mirror Universe" in Star Trek. The concept lives on...
It is kind of great how you guys have picked up on so many of the regular beats on this show. They way you guessed about Kirk's woman from the mirror universe having a counterpart in the regular universe, and the way she would show up at the end of the episode was very cool. 💯✌
Since this could have been Nichelle's best episode I think it worked out for the best that you are able to recognize her career before watching this one. 👏
There’s a fantastic 2 part Mirror dimension story in Enterprise, but if you’re going to watch everything in order it’ll be years before you get to it. Glad you’re enjoying the show :)
Decades later, this episode spawned a whole sub-genre of "Mirror Universe" episodes on several of the modern Star Trek series (specifically "Deep Space Nine," "Enterprise" and "Discovery").
Man it's such a joy to watch everyone ham it up in this episode playing treacherous villains. And the sets and costumes? The dagger impaling the planet logo? Uhura's midriff? Perfection.
My favorite episode! Kirk sure can give a great speech, eh? Everybody shines in this episode. I particularly like the way Shatner responds when Marlena says, " Shall I activate the Tantalus Field?" It's immediately clear he has no idea what she's talking about, but he covers it up. Nice bit of acting. Very entertaining reaction video, guys. As always!
Such a great episode. Of course, best wishes to Nichelle's family and friends. Sets up the entire parallel universe for this series and others to follow. Wonder if you noticed in the end scene. Marlena walks over and starts talking to a random crew member who backs off immediately when Kirk approaches. Seems like they know, if the Captain is interested, get out of his way.
There is a fan made series called Star Trek Continues on TH-cam. They made a sequel to Mirror, Mirror set back in the mirror universe after our Enterprise crew leaves. You might want to check out the episode and the series itself for fun on the side. IMO they actually do a terrific job capturing the spirit of Trek.
Got to meet Nichelle Nichols in person several years ago. She was an amazing lady! If MLK Jr. had not been a fan, she would have been missing from the past few episodes - and what would we be missing??? I think this episode and the one prior showed her fun side. She is what made watching "The Changeling" worth it!!
There's a fabulous fan series called Star Trek Continues. It was a high-budget production that included near-perfect replicas of just about every Enterprise set. One of the 11 episodes picks up where this episode leaves off and shows the result of Spock's decision.
At the time, the soap opera _Dark Shadows_ also used the alternate universe concept. They referred to it as "parallel time." But it wasn't as if everyone in that timeline was an evil counterpart. Just familiar faces who lived different lives. The germ of this episode was to explore the idea of what if the _Enterprise_ was run like a pirate ship. You may not think such a system would be sustainable but in "our" universe this is precisely how the Klingons run their vessels. Some folks complain that while everyone aboard the I.S.S. _Enterprise_ is evil, the Halkans in the mirror universe are not. I would say that there is no force there acting on everyone to make them behave like backstabbing villains. History just went down another path and they got an empire rather than a federation. It doesn't hold that it should have happened for the Halkans, too. In fact, if it did, they were sitting on enough dilithium to blast the ship out of the sky and probably would have done so.
@@belkyhernandez8281 Dark Shadows had well over a thousand episodes, and I believe there were only two storylines in parallel time, one in the present and one in the past (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong). And, yes, vampires, plus werewolves, witches, warlocks, ghosts, and quite a bit of time travel. The "sympathetic vampire" trope in popular culture basically started there. And a witch who liked to choke people without touching them before Darth Vader.
This episode inspired so many parallel universe stories in Trek and other sci-fi franchises. Stephen Colbert on the Colbert report had a segment called Formidable opponent where he debates an evil version of himself. Of course that version has a goatee. Which also means that if you two are wearing goatees we know that you're both the evil version 😛
This episode inspired "evil mirror universe" episodes of Doctor Who, Lost in Space, Hercules, Charmed, South Park, GoBots and Transformers, among others!
@@russellharrell2747 GoBots had a mirror universe in the episode "Transfer Point", aired November 1st, 1985. Evil Guardians vs. heroic Renegades. Transformers did a mirror universe with the Shattered Glass comic book in 2008. Evil Autobots vs. heroic Decepticons.
Great review, nice tribute to Nichelle Nichols. You may recall this is the second time the Enterprise crew encounters a negative parallel universe, the first being “The Alternative Factor.” The so-called Mirror Universe will be revisited multiple times throughout the franchise. It hadn’t really occurred to me that this is the first time that the two-level engineering set appears, which becomes a mainstay of the series. Prior to this, we had only seen a one story control room (which is a different room than this one). Great job, guys!
The actress who portrayed Marlena, BarBara Luna (that's how she spells "BarBara") did a Q&A at a Star Trek event in Los Angeles back in February of this year, and she said that she recalled being very impressed by the racial diversity of the TOS cast. It's amazing how bright and witty Luna still is at 86 years of age: th-cam.com/video/Ou0wp16vPTc/w-d-xo.html
@@SteveBrant55 You're very welcome - but thanks should also go to Alex and Josh; their reactions to classic Trek inspire me to seek out these kinds of fun tidbits.
Yeah, this episode is the Trope Namer for so many things -- it did for parallel universes what "The Matrix" did for virtual reality. And it's so damned much fun! Goatee Spock (and Eyepatch Brigadier, which you're not familiar with) are the parallel universes of my childhood!
@@garymcgregor5951 My favorite part about that is his character arc: how he starts out as a cold bully and by the end when things unravel, he's revealed as just a selfish, panicking coward. It's a brilliant evolution, and it's not even the central part of the story.
Best quotes from this episode: Captain James T. Kirk: You would find me a formidable enemy. Mirror Spock: [Nods] I'm aware of that, Captain. I trust that you are aware of the reverse. Next episode coming up: parade of the dead redshirts.
The reason you're not seeing much of Sulu is that George Takei was off playing a role in the film "The Green Berets". It kept him away from ST for a while, which is one of the reasons they got Walter Koenig for the role of Chekov, to have a familiar face there when Sulu wasn't around. (Also because it took until the second season for Roddenberry to realize they'd stocked the ship with everyone except Russians - and in the 60's, that was kind of a sore point. I mean, if you're going to predict the end of nations and the emergence of a United Earth, what better way to show our territorial nonsense had ended than to have a Russian right there on the command track?)
You guys HAVE to watch a fan creation called Star Trek Continues. It is a very well-made series that uses a duplicate set and uses the original musical score of the original Star Trek and stars Vic Mignogna (a popular Anime voice actor), James Doohan's son, Chris Doohan, Grant Imahara (formerly of Mythbusters) who died a few years ago. The series was professionally made but was stopped by Paramount for copyright/trademark conflicts. It's all over TH-cam. Look at how well the acting is portrayed in this comparison clip: th-cam.com/video/Syt0llURkdo/w-d-xo.html. They go on to make a sequel to this Mirror, Mirror episode (they named it "Fairest of them All") that is quite good.
Yes,it's GOOD.I've watched it numerous times,I like how the Enterprise orbits around the planet in the opposite direction in the intro and of course the lyrics change too. BAD-###.
This "Mirror Universe" will be revisited in future series of the Star Trek universe. It presents a lot of opportunities to dig in deeper for the history of the Mirror Universe. A must for a reaction to the Firefly series is to watch the film "Serenity" which followed the end of the TV show and wrapped up some story lines.
To answer your question, yes, George Takei has had some serious acting opportunities. He featured in an episode of The Twilight Zone ("The Encounter") which was kept on the network's "never play" list following it's original airdate for 40 years due to racially tense subject matter. (btw, even Star Trek has had an episode relegated to the "never play" list. "The Omega Glory" was left off the syndication rotation for over 20 years due to controversial subject matter). Takei has also played the father of one of the primary characters on the NBC series "Heroes" in several episodes.
Was he also in the "Green Hornet " series of the 60s? He appeared in the fantube episode of startrek new voyages as a father w/daughter in jeopardy. The title was time enough now or?? I forget
Victor Perrin, who played the pacifist leader Tharn, was the voice of Nomad, the enhanced probe from "The Changeling". He was also the Control Voice ("do not attempt to adjust your television") in the opening sequence of "The Outer Limits". This is the first and only time you see his face.
One of my favourite episodes. The new set built on stilts overlooking the Main Engineering set was called the Emergency Manual Monitor, it was added for the Second Season and used several times. They also added the island in the middle of the Main Engineering floor to house the dilithium crystals and also the double-ladder on the opposite wall up to a mid-level walkway. Someone has already pointed out the backrest of the Captain's chair on the bridge is higher. The nugget I think you missed was that the mirror Enterprise (orbiting the planet in the other direction) was the first pilot ("The Cage") Enterprise model before the changes that made for the second pilot ("Where No Man Has Gone Before"). The "mirror" universe was revisited in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise - the latter is a sequel or mirror to a Season 3 episode of Star Trek called "The Tholian Web", another favourite to look forward to.
The Fan series Star Trek Continues has an episode called " Fairest of them All" that picks up after Kirk gives his speech to Mirror Spock and shows the aftermath of what took place in the Mirror Universe version of the Enterprise.
Got some bangers coming up. A Piece Of The Action, Doomsday Machine, Ultimate Computer, Trouble With Tribbles. Good, good stuff. Another Harry Mudd episode! Season 2, for me, is on par with Season 1. Though, Season 1 has more of a grimmer Twilight Zone vibe, Season 2 sometimes seems more confident and bold with the characters.
A great episode. One of my favorites. It's kind of "Synchronicity" that you get to an episode a week after Nichelle Nichols passing that gives Uhura a lot of great moments. Her costume was ground breaking in that it was the first time a woman's navel was shown on television. She finally gets to shine and show her great acting chops in this one. Alternate Spock is great because he's not evil and still logically fits within "The Empire". So many great moments in this episode! Definitely top level Trek!
In future Star Trek series we see the Mirror Universe again, and I believe it was in Deep Space Nine when we see it next, and yes, the writers picked up on the threads laid here. There are novels that were sparked by the Mirror Universe story line as well.
The media always brings up the "first interracial kiss on American TV" when talking about Nichelle Nichols, but they never bring up her "interracial slap" here in Mirror, Mirror, when Uhura slaps the sh*t out Sulu after "distracting" him. Love their pirate sashes. Awesome!
I recall a Star Trek magazine article interview with George Take in which he was going to play a villainous role in a film, Return From the River Kwai (1989).
I remember hearing that Nichelle Nichols loved this episode. She got to be dangerous, sexy, and get into fights. In another episode she Uhura had to wear coveralls to repair the communications system. Another moment were her expertise was shown.
James Doohan, Majel Barrett and Grace Lee Whitney have also passed, leaving only the yellow shirts William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Keonig. We all love you, Nichelle. A firebrand and trailblazer,, yes. A fine actor,, yes. An awesome human,, absolutely. First star on the left and straight in till dawn.. Comms are now closed.
The first of many appearances of the Mirror Universe. Most notably on the series Enterprise. This also started the comedic trope of evil twins having a goatee. In Harlan Ellison's original script for "City on the Edge of Forever", instead of the Enterprise disappearing when McCoy changes the past, the crew beams back to the Enterprise to find it's crewed by space pirates. I have to believe that may have inspired this episode.
This episode has an incredible second part in the TH-cam series Star Trek Continues - a must watch for anyone who loves the Original Series and wants to enjoy a smooth story from post OS Animated Series to the Motion Picture.
You’re right. I’ve always thought of The Animated Series as the 4th season/4th year of the mission. Now Star Trek Continues is something to be considered as the 5th. I’m looking at both as canon. If not officially canon, then they should be.
In the "normal" universe Kirk rises to the top because he's that good and heroic. In the Mirror Universe the evil Kirk has risen to the top because he found the Tantalus Field, strange, alien technology he has secreted away in his quarters. It allows him to monitor and disintegrate his foes without leaving any trace.
Thank you for this! This is widely considered to be "Spock's Beard" but I prefer "Uhura's Abs." You may be interested to know that according to franchise canon, Spock is SO inspired by Kirk that he rises to become leader of the Terran Empire and strives to make it more humane, but sadly he is, in an odd way, like Edith Keeler in City on the Edge of Forever, in that he makes our Empire vulnerable to conquest by a Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. (This show seems to keep arguing that it's hard to have civil rights and proper self-defense both at the same time -- weird.) The next episode I can take or leave, but the one right after it features one of the show's greatest guest star performances. So sweet to watch Nichelle Nichols on fire. Thanks, TA. Steady as she goes, warp factor two.
@@michaelceraso1977 No, actually Bill Windham as Commodore Matt Decker in Doomsday Machine. Not taking anything at all away from Jane Wyatt, she's amazing too.
In answer to your question, George Takei played a villain in an episode of "Miami Vice", I believe. And to see more of Walter Koenig as a villain, look up episodes of "Babylon 5" where he appears as Bester, or the "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" episode "Memo from Purgatory" (written by Harlan Ellison). And now you should look up the MST3K episode "Last of the Wild Horses". The host segments are a hilarious parody of "Mirror, Mirror".
Fun fact.... The writer of this episode also wrote the famous Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" where you have the kid wishing people into the cornfield.
"Looking like a band member" was mentioned about Chekov. Well back then there was a little known group called The Beatles, and a tv show following that trend was The Monkees. Chekov was supposed to be maybe the youngest crewman, early 20's. I was around 7 when this show was airing. It all worked. This episode made my mom n especially dad's eyes get wide open when the extra sessy outfits came into view. Yes, even mine were like wooof! I liked all the women this show had on it lol. R.I.P. Nichelle.
I HIGHLY recommend checking out the work of this group on TH-cam called Star Trek Continues--different cast, naturally, but the acting, mannerisms, sets, music, etc. are so faithful that you can forget while watching. They did a sequel to this one, except it continues with bearded-Spock's storyline, now dealing with the bad Enterprise crew's return, called "The Fairest of Them All."
Easily one of my favorite episodes. Nichelle gives one of her most memorable performances here, but she also has a great scene in Star Trek III years later when she gets to be “badass Uhura” again. If you get that far, I think you’ll dig it. 😃
On a ship with only 400 people, it’s ridiculous to think that the captain wouldn’t personally greet each new officer when they came aboard. He must have already met Marlene.
George Takei has voiced several villains in animated series. He's the villain of an episode of Star Wars The Clone Wars and in an episode of Avatar The Last Airbender. He really hams it up in those roles. You seen the Clone Wars episode in question, it's the episode with the plant of pacifist monkey people where Anakin is badly injured.
By ANY measure, and on multiple levels, "Mirror, Mirror" is a GREAT episode! Among other things, it always feels fresh, AND it inspired many other 'Mirror Universe' episodes on subsequent trek series, and in other SF/Fantasy franchises. I always enjoy it, and consider it one of the 'top five' on the original series. That said, if you •want to• put on your 'critical thinking' cap, and analyze parts of it, you CAN find things here in the way of plot quirks/oversights, equipment oddities, and the like. Here’s how Phil Farrand describes two of them, in his wonderful (out of print) book, ‘The Nitpicker’s Guide For Classic Trekkers’ - ••• "This is one of those unavoidable plot oversights…You could not have two radically different universes in sync with each other for long. It just isn’t reasonable that both Enterprises would be orbiting the same planet at precisely the same time, conducting the same negotiations. The sequence of events in such radically different universes would quickly diverge. …And what about all the episodes that have preceded this one? For instance, would Imperial Starfleet Command put Kirk on trial for ‘murdering’ Finney, as our Starfleet Command did in ‘Court Martial’? Wouldn’t just chalk those events up as another assassination? And what would imperial Kirk be doing, during the time Wouldn’t he be traveling to his next assignment? , would imperial Kirk fiddle around with Kodos in “The Conscience of the King,” or would he simply kill the guy? The sequence of events in episode after episode depends on Kirk behaving in a certain way. Imperial Kirk behaves in a diametrically opposite way, and therefore creates a very different sequence. Each difference compounds the next, pushing the two universes farther and farther apart. … When Kirk and the others finally make it home, Uhura reappears with her tricorder. During the initial beam-up, they switched clothes and equipment with their imperial counterparts. Presumably the tricorder Uhura carried arrived in her imperial cousin’s hands. Since imperial Uhura didn’t have it when Spock threw them in the brig, someone on board our Enterprise must have taken it from her. How then does it get back in her hands at the end of the episode?" ••• :) A very solid reaction video!
My first time watching you guys. I grew up with TOS ... this was one of my favourite episodes (not that there's a shortage of them 😁 ) Spock really got to let his Inner Demon run loose in this one. 😆 May I just say I love your reactions. The only thing I'm sorry we didn't get to see was your reaction when "evil" Spock forces a mind-meld with McCoy, because by the standards of that universe, McCoy (and Kirk) should have let him die and he wants to know why they didn't. And congrats on guessing that Marlena would appear in the "real" universe, right at the end of the episode! Looking forward to watching more of your videos.
There are lots of episode where Nichelle Nichols sings. That is because she was discovered by Jazz Legend Duke Ellington and toured with him as his lead singer. And from 1970 to 1987, she worked for NASA, helping them recruit people into the astronaut program. Uhura was the first regular black female character on a TV show that was not a stereotypical "black female character". And on the show she was 4th in command after Kirk, Spock and Scottie. Note Chekhov was brought in because of the success of the Monkees TV show which was about a boy band trying to break into music, and had a lot of hit songs that got radio play. One of the actors was Davy Jones, and he looked similar. Also they made him Russian, to show that the show supposed to occur in the future when The US and Russia were no longer enemies.
Chekhov was added as an homage to the Russians due to how instrumental they were in the Space Race; they were the first to launch a satellite, the first to put a man in orbit, even the first to get a woman into space. But portraying a Russian in a positive light during the hight of the Cold War was practically unheard of and another example of how progressive the show was when it came out. And yes, Walter Koing was chosen for the role due to his boyish face to bring in a younger audience. I actually met him at a convention several years ago and he's a pretty cool guy.
I went to a convention that had Koenig as the guest. When he was done with his spiel, he started to take questions from the audience. I was, for some reason, the only one he ignored. At one point, I thought he finally pointed to me, so I started to ask him my question. He shut me down with "No, not you. The one behind." In the end, my hand was the only one still up in the crowd. Other people were pointing to me and yelling to him, "This one! He has something to ask you!" He just turned his back and ran off behind the curtains. There was no reason for him to single me out for that kind of ignorant behavior. So, no, I do not see him as a cool guy.
@@zoppie well, usually when someone ignores you like that it's usually something about your attitude or demeanor that puts them off, or they're just not getting good vibes from you. It was rude of him to do that to you, but in my experience there's no such thing as "no good reason." Out of interest what was your question, if you still remember it?
@@pyronuke4768 At the time, Star Trek 2 had been released, and all of the cast members were going around making appearances saying stuff to the effect that THIS was Star Trek 1 (as in ignore the previous film we made). It was also well known by this time that Roddenberry had been dethroned as showrunner. And Koenig was saying pretty much the same thing. So I wanted to ask him what he thought about the creator having his baby taken out of his hands. But he had no way of knowing what I was going to ask him. My theory is that I may have had a resemblance to somebody who once gave him a hard time. If so, that's not good enough. Give a guy a chance to show if he's a heckler or troublemaker before you go and treat him like one. And if I turned out to be one, handle me like a professional, not like a coward. I paid good money to be there. And it was a long journey, too. It tainted my experience so much that I did not go to another convention for a good decade or so.
@@zoppie I'm sorry you had to experience that. The convention I went to was a smaller sci-fi convention from 2017, he was there promoting Beyond, and from what I could tell he seemed like a pretty chill guy. I guess 35 years is a long time to change.
So, you guys mention the balcony part of the Engineering set where Scotty climbs up to check stuff out. This set is called the "Emergency Manual Monitor Room" and was actually built as a mezzanine over the normal Engineering set. However, it was only actually six feet above the soundstage floor, not a full deck height up. It shows up several more times as the series goes on. Also George Takei as a villain: He did voice work as evil generals in both Avatar The Last Airbender and one of the Star Wars cartoons (I forget if it was Clone Wars or Rebels, but one of them.) Also the appearance of Marlena in the Prime Universe at the end of the episode is used again in an episode of Deep Space Nine where a member of that crew meets Kirk thanks to some time travel shenanigans. (I won't spoil it more than that. It's a fun episode.) Also, this episode does get follow on stories in Deep Space Nine and there is an entire episode set in the Mirror Universe in Enterprise Season 4. Also, it features very prominently in Star Trek: Discovery. This episode has always been one of the top fan favorites.
This has to be my favorite episode. The woman who portrayed Marlena Moreau was Filipina actress Barbara Luna, who also portrayed a Mexican cantina girl in a very early episode of "Wild Wild West". I like this episode because it was well-paced, unusual, many twists and turns, and the acting was SO GOOD, particularly from Leonard Nimoy, but also because it featured more of the supporting cast. They didn't have to "beam down" to get more lines as was normally the case with most episodes.
“Your agonizer, please.” Another rough day for Mr. Kyle. But when you saw he was still alive, you missed a chance to repeat the classic, “Back to work!” 😄
I saw Nichelle Nichols at a couple of Star Trek cons way back in the day. She was always very classy, very gracious, very accommodating. A real lady. I remember one fan asking her what her favorite episode was. She named a couple, like "Mirror, Mirror," and "The Gamesters of Triskelion," adding, "Anything that got me off the bridge, honey." RIP.
Actors always love the weird episodes where they can deviate from their regular performance and try something new. It's a new challenge and probably a lot more fun than doing the same character every week. It's either that or episodes where they are on location instead of on the same old sound stage.
It's reported that she once said something to the effect of "If I have to open these goddam hailing frequencies ONE MORE TIME ..."
They put that into an episode in which tells Spock "Sometimes I think if I hear the word 'frequencies' one more time, I'll cry." 😁
I also met Ms Nichols, in 1976 at a convention in Richmond Va at the John Marshall Hotel, and never has an actress been more kind and gracious to an 11 year old in Spock ears. She was amazing!
I am so jealous!
This is where the trope of "evil twin is you but with a goatee" comes from.
The fact that you instantly used the exact phrase "Mirror Universe" shows just how influential this episode was. Parallel universes were a staple of science fiction literature already, of course, but this was the seminal dramatic work.
The title may have been a clue, but I do agree.
That's a very interesting point. Is this the first time a parallel universe was depicted in TV? It might be!
@@arsbadmojo I think twilight zone and the outer limits did it
Very true.
@@russellharrell2747 Sliders made a whole series out of popping into parallel universes.
A small moment in this episode that probably means a lot more to me than most people is when Kirk and Scotty realize that someone is going to have to stay behind to operate the transporter. Scotty immediately volunteers, and it's not done with any special drama or fanfare, just him being heroic because.... that's who he is. Of course Kirk overrules him, prompting it's own emotional moment as Scotty calls him "Jim," the only time he ever says it during the series. Again, it's more understated than dramatic; just enough that we understand what losing Kirk means to Scotty. It's a perfect little exchange for me.
There was a similar emotional scene in M.A.S.H. where Hawkeye calls Col. Potter "Sherman". I forget which episode it was, but it was during a time of great sadness for Col. Potter.
@@hawkmaster381 Wasn’t it during the episode where Potter went to Seoul to see a friend who was dying, and everyone thought he was, and he opened up a bottle that some law firm was holding until the last one of his friends died?
What I love about that exchange is that it shows Scotty knowing that the others are "too valuable to be left behind" and yet Kirk view of "as captain, my job is to ensure your safety first".
It really shows that each character is aware of how important they are not only to each other, but to the ship in general, as well as what they are willing to do in order to make sure the other is safe. It is a small interaction, but the weight of it is immense.
Excellent observation; he does it without a moment's pause. It's a very unpleasant choice he's making, but he doesn't even think about it.
What makes the acting truly impressive is that none of those actors could actually stand Shatner. All the secondary cast had it in for him because of his super-inflated ego. 🤣
The way Mr. Spock dropped the agonizer with disregard, was the perfect gesture.
Logic is neither good nor evil, so really Spock is the same in both universes, but that goatee makes him look bad-ASS.
I love Uhura's performance in this episode, her frailty when first arriving, then later totally confident when distracting Sulu.
Not to mention she tries to tackle Spock during that one scene as well!
Never mind how good she looked!
"Mirror, Mirror" made a character with a goatee the classic shorthand for a parallel universe.
What a great episode for Nichelle to show off her acting chops!
And Leonard Nimoy really impresses me in this as well. It's a relatively subtle change, but the way he moves/carries himself creates a very distinct difference while still remaining very connected to the character. He's really imposing and he even seems physically bigger as "Mirror Spock." A change I noticed in this is that Spock frequently crosses his arms and leans on things, but Mirror Spock typically squares his shoulders and his arms are away from his sides.
SO many great performances in this episode! One of the best-acted in the entire series.
The media always brings up the "first interracial kiss on American TV" when talking about Nichelle Nichols, but they never bring up her "interracial slap" here in Mirror, Mirror, when Uhura slaps the sh*t out Sulu after "distracting" him. Love their pirate sashes. Awesome!
Great observations!
Nichelle's acting CHOPS weren't the only thing she was showing off !!!! LOL. That midriff-OH MY. LOL. SEXY. Nichelle Nichols was a GORGEOUS woman when she was younger.
@@sparky6086 That would definitely make a good TH-cam short!
One of the most MISSED ELEMENT of this episode is actually the set design of the bridge. The "Captain's chair" is a "low back" chair on the regular Enterprise. However, in the "mirror universe", the chair is a "high back" THRONE. It is one of the subtle changes in the set design that directly implies the power and authority that the captain has on his own ship. That the position isn't just a high ranking position, it is the "Throne of power" for the ship and actions from that throne can have a direct impact on the history and direction of the Empire as a whole.
Seen the episode probably 100X in my lifetime; never noticed that.
They end up reusing that high-bank version of the chair in the episode "The Ultimate Computer." The captain of one of the other four starships is seen on screen sitting in the high back version. A nice way to give one of those ships a slight variation.
Good point out,Herrzimm,I never noticed that.LOL. Did you notice how the Enterprise orbits the planet in the opposite direction in the mirror universe ???
Also the mirror beaming effect has a reddish shimmer to it.
I noticed the higher back but never thought of it like throne which really works given how we see that era of the Mirror Universe
Here’s another episode that has a Star Trek Continues sequel: “Fairest of Them All,” where we follow the events in the Mirror I.S.S. Enterprise immediately with the end of this episode. The original and restored Shuttlecraft prop currently in a Texas museum makes a cameo.
I highly recommend this episode follow up too. It is first rate and equally as good as Mirror Mirror. It would be fun for you guys to watch off camera but discuss it in your side notes discussion from the couch.
Thank you for reminding me of this! Here's the link to "Fairest of Them All"! th-cam.com/video/dJf2ovQtI6w/w-d-xo.html
Target Audience should take a short detour and cover "Fairest of Them All". It's quite respectfully well done and true to the spirit of the original series. I believe Gene Roddenberry's son saw it debut at Convention and was so impressed, he remarked it should be considered a part of canon.
@@uclagymnastx-ing Star Trek Continues is basically season 4, they should watch it before the Motion picture after finishing season III
@@LeutnantJoker,
I realize their aim was to complete the 5 year mission; but Fairest of Them All doesn't need to be seen in a chronological sense. It can fit in nicely right here, on the tail of "Mirror, Mirror" as a self-contained episode.
It's also a fan-based series; so a nice diversion that doesn't need to be seen at all unless you're really into Trek. So either way, works.
Boy , did you call the ending! LOL She showed up right at the end.
They both nailed the ending. The Kirk speech to Spock to save the mirror universe just before the transport back.
A good episode, Shatner gets to chew up the scenery as his bad self, but it is Nimoy's acting that really impresses me about this, he is playing himself, but he is not himself, as he would say, fascinating...
Oh boy, it's mirror mirror. This episode is the one I always point to when I talk about how underutilized Uhura was in this show. This sets up a lot of cool Trek lore that becomes pretty relevant in stuff like DS9.
Yeah, it is kind of a shame that TNG didn't use it. But the DS9 episodes actually did a lot to expand the lore, while the Enterprise show did a good bit of "set up" for how the Empire expanded. Obviously, Voyager tried to do a similar set-up with the episode of "propaganda history", but not a direct "mirror-universe" approach.
It really was a rich field of lore to dig into, just a shame that most of that rich field was wasted by not returning to it a little more often to view how things could have played out differently with other events through the franchise.
@@herrzimm DS9 is Trek at its peak in every single way.
@@johnb2422 - I would agree the later seasons of DS9 should be considered the peak. But the first season, and possibly 1st half of the 2nd are kind of weak (going episode by episode basis), with the ending of the last season feeling rushed and too condensed (Because they obviously knew they were not renewed for one more season to do it properly).
But seasons 3-6 was DS9/Star Trek hitting on every cylinder and knocking it out of the park with story lines and character arcs.
Oh, and I admit... Garek and Dukat were two of my favorite Star Trek characters ever written.
I had the privilege to meet Nichelle Nichols several times and I can say without hesitation that she was one of the nicest, kindest, most loving individuals I've ever met. There are certain people who radiate goodness about them and make anyone they come in contact with feel welcome, appreciated, and at peace. She was like a combination of a grandmother, a saint, and a deity in both the way she treated people and commanded your respect and admiration just through her warm personality.
I first met her on October 1, 2011 at a Star Trek convention in Chicago. She took to the stage for an interview in which she told the story of how the network tried to buy out her contract in order to keep a black woman off the bridge of the Enterprise. They also refused to give her a standard contract like the rest of the cast. This led Ms. Nichols to considerable concern because without it she didn't have a steady income. Gene Roddenberry continually said not to worry however and over the course of the entire season, he hired her as a guest star. This meant that she got a higher scale of pay than if she'd been a contracted regular because of the unique position of the communications station on the bridge. You see, it's right behind the captain's chair meaning even if she had no lines in an episode, she was constantly seen in any shot of the captain (or any other crewman sitting in the chair like Spock or Scotty). Just the corner of her elbow in a shot meant she was credited with appearing in that scene. The result was that Ms. Nichols was paid for every such instance and Gene took the studio to the cleaners for a lot more money than if they'd simply offered her a contract. The scheme worked; the next season the network relented and gave her a standard contract.
Ms. Nichols told that story as well as the famous story of how Martin Luther King Jr. talked her out of quitting the show. I don't know that there was a person in the entire audience not in tears after hearing her recount these amazing tales. Immediately after her stage time, I had a photo op with her so I headed down to the photographer. When I stepped up to her for our photo, I told her how beautiful her stories had been and that I doubted there was a dry eye in the room. I added that my eyes were probably still watery and that I'd probably ruin the photo as a result. She took my hand, looked at me, and said, "In that case, we'll take two," then motioned to the photographer that she wanted two photos with me.
The last time I saw her was at the 50th anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas in 2016. She and her assistant entered the vendors' room and were looking for her autograph table. Her assistant said they'd ask someone where it was and that they'd be right back. Ms. Nichols sat down in a chair near the door and as I was on my way out, I walked over to her and told her hello and that I was worried after reports of her health that she might not attend (she'd had a stroke the year prior). I told her I was happy she seemed to be doing well and that I was glad she was able to attend. "So am I," she replied with that warm, kind smile.
The world lost one of its truly good human beings last week. From her groundbreaking role on Star Trek to her extensive work for NASA recruiting women and minorities, she embodied Uhura's leadership and professionalism while providing a role model, not just for girls and minorities but even little white boys like me who grew up believing in the concept of equality in part because that was what I saw in Star Trek and because that was a future worth believing in.
Rest in peace, Ms. Nichols, and thank you for so much.
Call it coincidence or karma. It is indeed special that you get to see Nichelle Nichols' acting chops at their very best in this episode. Requiescat in pace, Uhura.
Uhura was an absolute badass in this ..what a shame the writers did not highlight her character far more in the series
It's so perfect that even when one of them is from the "good" universe and the other is from the "evil" universe, that Kirk and Spock still like each other! That friendship transcends parallel universes.
McCoy jeopardizing his own chance to get home to save evil Spock's life is also quite powerful.
Great episode, great reactions. Good call on the Marlena reveal prediction there 😆
Here's a thing... I've was born in 66, so for me there was never a "first reaction", it was always a part of my life before I could even talk because it's always been in syndication most of my life, and like everyone else, I have my favs and not so favs. So watching a genuine first reaction to one of my favorite shows is a treat. Something you might want to watch in the future is "one punch man" another favorite of mine
There was a prog rock band that formed in the1990's named "Spock's Beard" in tribute. Also, this isn't the last time we see the "Mirror Universe" in Star Trek. The concept lives on...
It is kind of great how you guys have picked up on so many of the regular beats on this show. They way you guessed about Kirk's woman from the mirror universe having a counterpart in the regular universe, and the way she would show up at the end of the episode was very cool. 💯✌
That was a nothing but net shot from half-court for sure!
@@arsbadmojo Yes, everything they pick things up. I'm in awe at how insightful they are.
Since this could have been Nichelle's best episode I think it worked out for the best that you are able to recognize her career before watching this one. 👏
There’s a fantastic 2 part Mirror dimension story in Enterprise, but if you’re going to watch everything in order it’ll be years before you get to it.
Glad you’re enjoying the show :)
They just need to see The Tholian Web first, and maybe the Enterprise Pilot episode.
I think there is one in TNG and DS9 also
@@UncleUncleRj DS9 yes…TNG never did. Mirror episode
Decades later, this episode spawned a whole sub-genre of "Mirror Universe" episodes on several of the modern Star Trek series (specifically "Deep Space Nine," "Enterprise" and "Discovery").
Man it's such a joy to watch everyone ham it up in this episode playing treacherous villains. And the sets and costumes? The dagger impaling the planet logo? Uhura's midriff? Perfection.
My favorite episode! Kirk sure can give a great speech, eh?
Everybody shines in this episode. I particularly like the way Shatner responds when Marlena says, " Shall I activate the Tantalus Field?" It's immediately clear he has no idea what she's talking about, but he covers it up. Nice bit of acting.
Very entertaining reaction video, guys. As always!
Such a great episode. Of course, best wishes to Nichelle's family and friends. Sets up the entire parallel universe for this series and others to follow. Wonder if you noticed in the end scene. Marlena walks over and starts talking to a random crew member who backs off immediately when Kirk approaches. Seems like they know, if the Captain is interested, get out of his way.
There is a fan made series called Star Trek Continues on TH-cam. They made a sequel to Mirror, Mirror set back in the mirror universe after our Enterprise crew leaves. You might want to check out the episode and the series itself for fun on the side. IMO they actually do a terrific job capturing the spirit of Trek.
Got to meet Nichelle Nichols in person several years ago. She was an amazing lady! If MLK Jr. had not been a fan, she would have been missing from the past few episodes - and what would we be missing??? I think this episode and the one prior showed her fun side. She is what made watching "The Changeling" worth it!!
There's a fabulous fan series called Star Trek Continues. It was a high-budget production that included near-perfect replicas of just about every Enterprise set. One of the 11 episodes picks up where this episode leaves off and shows the result of Spock's decision.
Oh, you beat me to it! I agree 100%.
Fairest of Them All, episode 3. Great episode to show what happens when MM Kirk comes back to his universe
Here's the episode:🙂
th-cam.com/video/dJf2ovQtI6w/w-d-xo.html
That's a great show!
@@m.e.3862 We need to get them to watch that after they're done with season III :)
The incomparable Vic Perrin.
You might not recognize the face, but he voiced nearly every cartoon show in the 70s and early 80s
He was also the voice in the intro to the original "The Outer Limits" in the early 60's
And African animal documentaries
At the time, the soap opera _Dark Shadows_ also used the alternate universe concept. They referred to it as "parallel time." But it wasn't as if everyone in that timeline was an evil counterpart. Just familiar faces who lived different lives.
The germ of this episode was to explore the idea of what if the _Enterprise_ was run like a pirate ship. You may not think such a system would be sustainable but in "our" universe this is precisely how the Klingons run their vessels.
Some folks complain that while everyone aboard the I.S.S. _Enterprise_ is evil, the Halkans in the mirror universe are not. I would say that there is no force there acting on everyone to make them behave like backstabbing villains. History just went down another path and they got an empire rather than a federation. It doesn't hold that it should have happened for the Halkans, too. In fact, if it did, they were sitting on enough dilithium to blast the ship out of the sky and probably would have done so.
In Dark Shadows, many of the familiar characters from "our" universe weren't exactly totally "good" to begin with.
Really!? I've watched that but didn't notice. I recall vampires or something. That show is hilarious. I need to go back to it
@@belkyhernandez8281 Dark Shadows had well over a thousand episodes, and I believe there were only two storylines in parallel time, one in the present and one in the past (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong). And, yes, vampires, plus werewolves, witches, warlocks, ghosts, and quite a bit of time travel. The "sympathetic vampire" trope in popular culture basically started there. And a witch who liked to choke people without touching them before Darth Vader.
@@anthonyleecollins9319 Thanks!
It is pathetic how happy i am to get access to these Trek reactions a day early. Kudos to you both. Love you guys.
Thanks for being a Patron Ian!
I am excited for you to do Firefly as well, a great series
Me too, it's like watching tv with friends. I'm enjoying this parasocial relationship. 😂
This episode inspired so many parallel universe stories in Trek and other sci-fi franchises. Stephen Colbert on the Colbert report had a segment called Formidable opponent where he debates an evil version of himself. Of course that version has a goatee. Which also means that if you two are wearing goatees we know that you're both the evil version 😛
And the Futurama twist, of course. Bender's twin has a triangular goatee, but Bender's still the more evil of the two...
Thank you guys for mentioning Nichelle Nichols. She will forever be a part of my favorite franchise.
This episode inspired "evil mirror universe" episodes of Doctor Who, Lost in Space, Hercules, Charmed, South Park, GoBots and Transformers, among others!
I like to think Community’s episode “Remedial Chaos Theory” which kicked off the “Darkest Timeline” led to this episode.
This also began the trope of one's evil twin always having a goatee.
@@Lethgar_Smith that just happens on South Park.
Gobots had a mirror universe? It wasn’t just the Transformers was it?
@@russellharrell2747 GoBots had a mirror universe in the episode "Transfer Point", aired November 1st, 1985. Evil Guardians vs. heroic Renegades.
Transformers did a mirror universe with the Shattered Glass comic book in 2008. Evil Autobots vs. heroic Decepticons.
Great review, nice tribute to Nichelle Nichols. You may recall this is the second time the Enterprise crew encounters a negative parallel universe, the first being “The Alternative Factor.” The so-called Mirror Universe will be revisited multiple times throughout the franchise. It hadn’t really occurred to me that this is the first time that the two-level engineering set appears, which becomes a mainstay of the series. Prior to this, we had only seen a one story control room (which is a different room than this one). Great job, guys!
I read somewhere that Nichelle Nichols was asked what her favorite episode was. She said, 'Any one that got me off the bridge.'
My fave episode(science fiction-wise). Love lots of the lines. Kirk's "closing argument" to the bearded Spock is brilliant.
The actress who portrayed Marlena, BarBara Luna (that's how she spells "BarBara") did a Q&A at a Star Trek event in Los Angeles back in February of this year, and she said that she recalled being very impressed by the racial diversity of the TOS cast. It's amazing how bright and witty Luna still is at 86 years of age:
th-cam.com/video/Ou0wp16vPTc/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for this!
@@SteveBrant55 You're very welcome - but thanks should also go to Alex and Josh; their reactions to classic Trek inspire me to seek out these kinds of fun tidbits.
She is a beautiful actress and also played a Mexican cantina woman in an early episode of Wild Wild West.
@@LA_Commander
She was also I’m Days of Our Lives as Maria, an old flame who tried to reconquest Clint Buchanan.
I’m embarrassed to know that.
@@johnwhite5485 Really? Wow, wish I could have watched that! And I'm not even a soap opera fan.
One of my favorite episodes.
Nichelle (RIP) got some great screen time.
Evil Spock, Sulu, and Chekov were also great to see.
Yeah, this episode is the Trope Namer for so many things -- it did for parallel universes what "The Matrix" did for virtual reality. And it's so damned much fun! Goatee Spock (and Eyepatch Brigadier, which you're not familiar with) are the parallel universes of my childhood!
The Brigade Leader is one of Nicholas Courtney's best ever performances (like I need to say it 😆), and one of my favorite adventures!
@@garymcgregor5951 My favorite part about that is his character arc: how he starts out as a cold bully and by the end when things unravel, he's revealed as just a selfish, panicking coward. It's a brilliant evolution, and it's not even the central part of the story.
“I called it! What did I f***ing say!” 😜
Best quotes from this episode:
Captain James T. Kirk: You would find me a formidable enemy.
Mirror Spock: [Nods] I'm aware of that, Captain. I trust that you are aware of the reverse.
Next episode coming up: parade of the dead redshirts.
@@martinboyle9163 Agreed. Another good one from this episode.
The reason you're not seeing much of Sulu is that George Takei was off playing a role in the film "The Green Berets". It kept him away from ST for a while, which is one of the reasons they got Walter Koenig for the role of Chekov, to have a familiar face there when Sulu wasn't around. (Also because it took until the second season for Roddenberry to realize they'd stocked the ship with everyone except Russians - and in the 60's, that was kind of a sore point. I mean, if you're going to predict the end of nations and the emergence of a United Earth, what better way to show our territorial nonsense had ended than to have a Russian right there on the command track?)
You guys HAVE to watch a fan creation called Star Trek Continues. It is a very well-made series that uses a duplicate set and uses the original musical score of the original Star Trek and stars Vic Mignogna (a popular Anime voice actor), James Doohan's son, Chris Doohan, Grant Imahara (formerly of Mythbusters) who died a few years ago. The series was professionally made but was stopped by Paramount for copyright/trademark conflicts. It's all over TH-cam. Look at how well the acting is portrayed in this comparison clip: th-cam.com/video/Syt0llURkdo/w-d-xo.html. They go on to make a sequel to this Mirror, Mirror episode (they named it "Fairest of them All") that is quite good.
Yes,it's GOOD.I've watched it numerous times,I like how the Enterprise orbits around the planet in the opposite direction in the intro and of course the lyrics change too. BAD-###.
Here's the episode "Fairest of them All". It's great! th-cam.com/video/dJf2ovQtI6w/w-d-xo.html
Fantastic fan made series. Very well done with excellent writing.
This "Mirror Universe" will be revisited in future series of the Star Trek universe.
It presents a lot of opportunities to dig in deeper for the history of the Mirror Universe.
A must for a reaction to the Firefly series is to watch the film "Serenity" which followed the end of the TV show and wrapped up some story lines.
Star Trek Continues does a follow up episode to the mirror universe's Kirk adventure after he gets back. Good episode too,I HIGHLY recommend it.
@@powerbad696 Yep. Saw it. They really did a great job with that.
This is my favourite episode of TOS. I have been looking forward to you getting to this one.
Not THE AGONIZER!! 🤣
Better than the agony booth, I suppose.
I always wondered HOW the landing party got beamed into the mirror uniforms!
Yes yes my fave!!!❤we are so lucky to have this show, nothing like it!!
in every universe there is ONE man!!! be that man
Amongst all the other influences this episode has had in TV, it also directly inspired a 90s prog rock band's name: Spock's Beard.
Great band! I was going to say the same but I saw your post first.
“All it takes is ONE speech.” And you have discovered one of Kirk’s superpowers.
To answer your question, yes, George Takei has had some serious acting opportunities. He featured in an episode of The Twilight Zone ("The Encounter") which was kept on the network's "never play" list following it's original airdate for 40 years due to racially tense subject matter. (btw, even Star Trek has had an episode relegated to the "never play" list. "The Omega Glory" was left off the syndication rotation for over 20 years due to controversial subject matter). Takei has also played the father of one of the primary characters on the NBC series "Heroes" in several episodes.
George Takei also voice acted as the head of the Yakuza in the series Archer.
@@linphillips8331 He also voiced the Fire Nation prison warden in Avatar.
Which 20 years? I would swear I saw it during the 70's. It's one of my favorites.
He was in the movie The Green Berets.
Was he also in the "Green Hornet " series of the 60s? He appeared in the fantube episode of startrek new voyages as a father w/daughter in jeopardy. The title was time enough now or?? I forget
Victor Perrin, who played the pacifist leader Tharn, was the voice of Nomad, the enhanced probe from "The Changeling".
He was also the Control Voice ("do not attempt to adjust your television") in the opening sequence of "The Outer Limits".
This is the first and only time you see his face.
One of my favourite episodes. The new set built on stilts overlooking the Main Engineering set was called the Emergency Manual Monitor, it was added for the Second Season and used several times. They also added the island in the middle of the Main Engineering floor to house the dilithium crystals and also the double-ladder on the opposite wall up to a mid-level walkway. Someone has already pointed out the backrest of the Captain's chair on the bridge is higher.
The nugget I think you missed was that the mirror Enterprise (orbiting the planet in the other direction) was the first pilot ("The Cage") Enterprise model before the changes that made for the second pilot ("Where No Man Has Gone Before"). The "mirror" universe was revisited in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise - the latter is a sequel or mirror to a Season 3 episode of Star Trek called "The Tholian Web", another favourite to look forward to.
The mirror universe plot line goes on forever through Star Trek.
The Fan series Star Trek Continues has an episode called " Fairest of them All" that picks up after Kirk gives his speech to Mirror Spock and shows the aftermath of what took place in the Mirror Universe version of the Enterprise.
"Mirror Mirror" & "The Doomsday Machine" are my 2 favourites- Pure Entertainment from beginning to end.👍😎
Got some bangers coming up. A Piece Of The Action, Doomsday Machine, Ultimate Computer, Trouble With Tribbles. Good, good stuff. Another Harry Mudd episode! Season 2, for me, is on par with Season 1. Though, Season 1 has more of a grimmer Twilight Zone vibe, Season 2 sometimes seems more confident and bold with the characters.
Thank you for taking the time to remember Nichelle. A number of the Enterprise's crew have "perminantly beamed up"
Your predictions are uncanny! Or maybe you've just watched a lot of television 😉
In any case, glad you liked it
we live in the mirror universe!!!
A great episode. One of my favorites. It's kind of "Synchronicity" that you get to an episode a week after Nichelle Nichols passing that gives Uhura a lot of great moments. Her costume was ground breaking in that it was the first time a woman's navel was shown on television. She finally gets to shine and show her great acting chops in this one. Alternate Spock is great because he's not evil and still logically fits within "The Empire". So many great moments in this episode! Definitely top level Trek!
One of my favourite episodes. I had a massive crush on Nichelle Nichols as a teenager, and loved her mirror universe uniform.
In future Star Trek series we see the Mirror Universe again, and I believe it was in Deep Space Nine when we see it next, and yes, the writers picked up on the threads laid here. There are novels that were sparked by the Mirror Universe story line as well.
The media always brings up the "first interracial kiss on American TV" when talking about Nichelle Nichols, but they never bring up her "interracial slap" here in Mirror, Mirror, when Uhura slaps the sh*t out Sulu after "distracting" him. Love their pirate sashes. Awesome!
Didn’t really make sense, since Kirk kisses Marlena here, and I’m pretty sure Marlena isn’t white.
I recall a Star Trek magazine article interview with George Take in which he was going to play a villainous role in a film, Return From the River Kwai (1989).
That guitar riff is called "Spock's Theme". It was first played in "Amok Time", as part of the original score for that episode.
I remember hearing that Nichelle Nichols loved this episode. She got to be dangerous, sexy, and get into fights.
In another episode she Uhura had to wear coveralls to repair the communications system. Another moment were her expertise was shown.
One of the best episodes of the series.
15:00 Alex absolutely CALLED it, this was hilarious to see the exact prediction
James Doohan, Majel Barrett and Grace Lee Whitney have also passed, leaving only the yellow shirts William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Keonig.
We all love you, Nichelle. A firebrand and trailblazer,, yes. A fine actor,, yes. An awesome human,, absolutely. First star on the left and straight in till dawn.. Comms are now closed.
I'm glad you both loved it too.
The first of many appearances of the Mirror Universe. Most notably on the series Enterprise. This also started the comedic trope of evil twins having a goatee. In Harlan Ellison's original script for "City on the Edge of Forever", instead of the Enterprise disappearing when McCoy changes the past, the crew beams back to the Enterprise to find it's crewed by space pirates. I have to believe that may have inspired this episode.
This episode has an incredible second part in the TH-cam series Star Trek Continues - a must watch for anyone who loves the Original Series and wants to enjoy a smooth story from post OS Animated Series to the Motion Picture.
You’re right. I’ve always thought of The Animated Series as the 4th season/4th year of the mission. Now Star Trek Continues is something to be considered as the 5th. I’m looking at both as canon. If not officially canon, then they should be.
I totally agree!!!@@phillipblades6784
In the "normal" universe Kirk rises to the top because he's that good and heroic. In the Mirror Universe the evil Kirk has risen to the top because he found the Tantalus Field, strange, alien technology he has secreted away in his quarters. It allows him to monitor and disintegrate his foes without leaving any trace.
Nothing strange or alien about it.
It’s basically just a transporter that does 50% of the job of a real one.
@@DeltaAssaultGamingyou are incorrect it is alien technology that Kirk picked up on a planet it is stated in the episode.
Kirk really throws his mirror counterpart under the bus at the end. Mirror Spock is going to have to kill him if he accepts Kirk's suggestion.
To be fair, Mirror Kirk is pretty evil
Thank you for this! This is widely considered to be "Spock's Beard" but I prefer "Uhura's Abs." You may be interested to know that according to franchise canon, Spock is SO inspired by Kirk that he rises to become leader of the Terran Empire and strives to make it more humane, but sadly he is, in an odd way, like Edith Keeler in City on the Edge of Forever, in that he makes our Empire vulnerable to conquest by a Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. (This show seems to keep arguing that it's hard to have civil rights and proper self-defense both at the same time -- weird.) The next episode I can take or leave, but the one right after it features one of the show's greatest guest star performances. So sweet to watch Nichelle Nichols on fire. Thanks, TA. Steady as she goes, warp factor two.
William Blake Hall - I could not agree more with Bill Windham's performance on the next, next episode; I'm so excited to talk about it, but I'll wait.
@@michaelceraso1977 That's great too but it's further down the road, the one I'm talking about is much closer.
@@michaelceraso1977 No, actually Bill Windham as Commodore Matt Decker in Doomsday Machine. Not taking anything at all away from Jane Wyatt, she's amazing too.
@@michaelceraso1977 Ya got it.
In answer to your question, George Takei played a villain in an episode of "Miami Vice", I believe. And to see more of Walter Koenig as a villain, look up episodes of "Babylon 5" where he appears as Bester, or the "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" episode "Memo from Purgatory" (written by Harlan Ellison). And now you should look up the MST3K episode "Last of the Wild Horses". The host segments are a hilarious parody of "Mirror, Mirror".
Fun fact.... The writer of this episode also wrote the famous Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" where you have the kid wishing people into the cornfield.
"Looking like a band member" was mentioned about Chekov.
Well back then there was a little known group called The Beatles, and a tv show following that trend was The Monkees.
Chekov was supposed to be maybe the youngest crewman, early 20's. I was around 7 when this show was airing.
It all worked. This episode made my mom n especially dad's eyes get wide open when the extra sessy outfits came into view.
Yes, even mine were like wooof! I liked all the women this show had on it lol.
R.I.P. Nichelle.
I HIGHLY recommend checking out the work of this group on TH-cam called Star Trek Continues--different cast, naturally, but the acting, mannerisms, sets, music, etc. are so faithful that you can forget while watching. They did a sequel to this one, except it continues with bearded-Spock's storyline, now dealing with the bad Enterprise crew's return, called "The Fairest of Them All."
Easily one of my favorite episodes.
Nichelle gives one of her most memorable performances here, but she also has a great scene in Star Trek III years later when she gets to be “badass Uhura” again. If you get that far, I think you’ll dig it. 😃
On a ship with only 400 people, it’s ridiculous to think that the captain wouldn’t personally greet each new officer when they came aboard. He must have already met Marlene.
George Takei has voiced several villains in animated series. He's the villain of an episode of Star Wars The Clone Wars and in an episode of Avatar The Last Airbender. He really hams it up in those roles. You seen the Clone Wars episode in question, it's the episode with the plant of pacifist monkey people where Anakin is badly injured.
4:34 best way to show they're an evil alternate universe version of themselves? Give 'em a goatee!
By ANY measure, and on multiple levels, "Mirror, Mirror" is a GREAT episode! Among other things, it always feels fresh, AND it inspired many other 'Mirror Universe' episodes on subsequent trek series, and in other SF/Fantasy franchises. I always enjoy it, and consider it one of the 'top five' on the original series.
That said, if you •want to• put on your 'critical thinking' cap, and analyze parts of it, you CAN find things here in the way of plot quirks/oversights, equipment oddities, and the like.
Here’s how Phil Farrand describes two of them, in his wonderful (out of print) book, ‘The Nitpicker’s Guide For Classic Trekkers’ -
•••
"This is one of those unavoidable plot oversights…You could not have two radically different universes in sync with each other for long. It just isn’t reasonable that both Enterprises would be orbiting the same planet at precisely the same time, conducting the same negotiations. The sequence of events in such radically different universes would quickly diverge. …And what about all the episodes that have preceded this one? For instance, would Imperial Starfleet Command put Kirk on trial for ‘murdering’ Finney, as our Starfleet Command did in ‘Court Martial’? Wouldn’t just chalk those events up as another assassination? And what would imperial Kirk be doing, during the time Wouldn’t he be traveling to his next assignment? , would imperial Kirk fiddle around with Kodos in “The Conscience of the King,” or would he simply kill the guy? The sequence of events in episode after episode depends on Kirk behaving in a certain way. Imperial Kirk behaves in a diametrically opposite way, and therefore creates a very different sequence. Each difference compounds the next, pushing the two universes farther and farther apart. …
When Kirk and the others finally make it home, Uhura reappears with her tricorder. During the initial beam-up, they switched clothes and equipment with their imperial counterparts. Presumably the tricorder Uhura carried arrived in her imperial cousin’s hands. Since imperial Uhura didn’t have it when Spock threw them in the brig, someone on board our Enterprise must have taken it from her. How then does it get back in her hands at the end of the episode?"
•••
:) A very solid reaction video!
My first time watching you guys. I grew up with TOS ... this was one of my favourite episodes (not that there's a shortage of them 😁 )
Spock really got to let his Inner Demon run loose in this one. 😆
May I just say I love your reactions. The only thing I'm sorry we didn't get to see was your reaction when "evil" Spock forces a mind-meld with McCoy, because by the standards of that universe, McCoy (and Kirk) should have let him die and he wants to know why they didn't.
And congrats on guessing that Marlena would appear in the "real" universe, right at the end of the episode!
Looking forward to watching more of your videos.
Wow, The way you called the ending I thought you actually saw the entire episode!!! Brilliant!!!
There are lots of episode where Nichelle Nichols sings. That is because she was discovered by Jazz Legend Duke Ellington and toured with him as his lead singer. And from 1970 to 1987, she worked for NASA, helping them recruit people into the astronaut program. Uhura was the first regular black female character on a TV show that was not a stereotypical "black female character".
And on the show she was 4th in command after Kirk, Spock and Scottie.
Note Chekhov was brought in because of the success of the Monkees TV show which was about a boy band trying to break into music, and had a lot of hit songs that got radio play. One of the actors was Davy Jones, and he looked similar. Also they made him Russian, to show that the show supposed to occur in the future when The US and Russia were no longer enemies.
Chekhov was added as an homage to the Russians due to how instrumental they were in the Space Race; they were the first to launch a satellite, the first to put a man in orbit, even the first to get a woman into space. But portraying a Russian in a positive light during the hight of the Cold War was practically unheard of and another example of how progressive the show was when it came out.
And yes, Walter Koing was chosen for the role due to his boyish face to bring in a younger audience. I actually met him at a convention several years ago and he's a pretty cool guy.
I went to a convention that had Koenig as the guest. When he was done with his spiel, he started to take questions from the audience. I was, for some reason, the only one he ignored. At one point, I thought he finally pointed to me, so I started to ask him my question. He shut me down with "No, not you. The one behind." In the end, my hand was the only one still up in the crowd. Other people were pointing to me and yelling to him, "This one! He has something to ask you!" He just turned his back and ran off behind the curtains.
There was no reason for him to single me out for that kind of ignorant behavior. So, no, I do not see him as a cool guy.
@@zoppie well, usually when someone ignores you like that it's usually something about your attitude or demeanor that puts them off, or they're just not getting good vibes from you. It was rude of him to do that to you, but in my experience there's no such thing as "no good reason." Out of interest what was your question, if you still remember it?
@@pyronuke4768 At the time, Star Trek 2 had been released, and all of the cast members were going around making appearances saying stuff to the effect that THIS was Star Trek 1 (as in ignore the previous film we made). It was also well known by this time that Roddenberry had been dethroned as showrunner. And Koenig was saying pretty much the same thing. So I wanted to ask him what he thought about the creator having his baby taken out of his hands.
But he had no way of knowing what I was going to ask him.
My theory is that I may have had a resemblance to somebody who once gave him a hard time.
If so, that's not good enough. Give a guy a chance to show if he's a heckler or troublemaker before you go and treat him like one. And if I turned out to be one, handle me like a professional, not like a coward.
I paid good money to be there. And it was a long journey, too. It tainted my experience so much that I did not go to another convention for a good decade or so.
@@zoppie I'm sorry you had to experience that. The convention I went to was a smaller sci-fi convention from 2017, he was there promoting Beyond, and from what I could tell he seemed like a pretty chill guy. I guess 35 years is a long time to change.
Thank you for acknowledging that TOS was progressive. So many Republicans think otherwise
Spock's Beard - is the name of a band.
One of the show's best episodes
Back then the parallel worlds idea was still fresh.
Which made it even more interesting at the time.
So, you guys mention the balcony part of the Engineering set where Scotty climbs up to check stuff out. This set is called the "Emergency Manual Monitor Room" and was actually built as a mezzanine over the normal Engineering set. However, it was only actually six feet above the soundstage floor, not a full deck height up. It shows up several more times as the series goes on.
Also George Takei as a villain: He did voice work as evil generals in both Avatar The Last Airbender and one of the Star Wars cartoons (I forget if it was Clone Wars or Rebels, but one of them.)
Also the appearance of Marlena in the Prime Universe at the end of the episode is used again in an episode of Deep Space Nine where a member of that crew meets Kirk thanks to some time travel shenanigans. (I won't spoil it more than that. It's a fun episode.)
Also, this episode does get follow on stories in Deep Space Nine and there is an entire episode set in the Mirror Universe in Enterprise Season 4. Also, it features very prominently in Star Trek: Discovery. This episode has always been one of the top fan favorites.
This has to be my favorite episode. The woman who portrayed Marlena Moreau was Filipina actress Barbara Luna, who also portrayed a Mexican cantina girl in a very early episode of "Wild Wild West". I like this episode because it was well-paced, unusual, many twists and turns, and the acting was SO GOOD, particularly from Leonard Nimoy, but also because it featured more of the supporting cast. They didn't have to "beam down" to get more lines as was normally the case with most episodes.
You totally called that end scene!
“Your agonizer, please.” Another rough day for Mr. Kyle. But when you saw he was still alive, you missed a chance to repeat the classic, “Back to work!” 😄