Mirror, Mirror
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 6 October 1967
- ON
- NBC
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- Marc Daniels
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 39
WRITTEN BYWritten by Jerome Bixby
A transporter accident during an ion storm throws Kirk and three crewmates into a parallel universe, where the Enterprise serves a brutal empire and officers rise by assassination.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
After failed talks with the peaceful Halkans over their dilithium, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura beam up during an ion storm and arrive aboard a very different Enterprise. In this mirror universe the ship serves a ruthless empire, discipline is enforced with pain, and officers advance by killing their superiors. Spock wears a beard, and this Kirk took command by murdering Captain Pike. Posing as their savage doubles, the landing party must find a way home while the empire expects Kirk to wipe out the Halkans. Kirk stalls, which marks him for death. Lt Marlena Moreau, the mirror Kirk's companion, reveals the Tantalus field, a device that makes enemies vanish, and later uses it to save him from an attack. The mirror Spock uncovers the deception but decides it is logical to help them return and restore his own captain. Before leaving, Kirk urges him to challenge the empire. Home again, the crew meet their own universe's Marlena.
- 01Jerome Bixby loosely adapted his 1953 short story “One Way Street”. It was the first of his four scripts for the original series.
- 02Nominated for the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, it lost to another Star Trek episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever”.
- 03The mirror universe returned in Deep Space Nine, Enterprise and Discovery, and the bearded Spock became pop culture shorthand for an evil twin.