ENT: Enterprise - 4x18 - In a Mirror, Darkly

[NiteShdw]

Enterprise - 4x18 - In a Mirror, Darkly

* This is the official discussion thread for "In a Mirror, Darkly" - Do not read or post unless you've watched the episode! *

 

I thought that Scott Bakula's acting was pretty poor in this episode. He was trying to be mean, but he over played the constant frown on his face. Phlox was great as was Captain Forrest, but Trip and others were less than well acted.

 

The storyline was pretty interesting, I liked that it gave some background to how it started. I was a little annoyed that it turned out to be Zephram that killed the Vulcan. I thought it should have been an angry mob.

 

I liked the storyline that everyone was out for themselves and that discipline was 'enforced' (coerced?). I hope that the next episode is a little better done.

 

And why did Archer just give the ship back to Forrest? I know he sent out the 'insurance policy' to the admiral, but he hid in the turbolift when he knew Forrest was going to take back the ship?

[Elessar]

First thing I have to say about this episode is a request - to the first few people done downloading the torrent - PLEASE seed for at least a little while so a few people can finish the download. I'm fuckin hangin at 92.6% here.

 

Anyway, I thought Archer's performance was a bit dry too...but Trip's I liked, for the few scenes he had, and the Trip/T'Pol Mirror interaction was funny...For us shippers it's interesting to see what direction their relationship has taken in the mirror universe.

 

I think Archer was making a calculated surrender, he believed it was more likely he'd be killed trying to resist since Forrest managed to make it to the bridge and he took a gamble that the Fleet Admiral would agree with him and order Forrest to investigate the Defiant, in which case he wouldn't kill Archer since Archer knew the most about this whole deal.

 

Reed was maniacally violent but there was something I liked about how Archer just mentioned in passing how he had 'his own ambition'...I'm hoping we'll see more of that explored in Part 2. I also liked how just about everyone eventually ended up in that damn torture tube.

 

I think it was Phlox who stole the show with Hoshi following a close second. Regardless of what feminists would say about HO-shi's character change, there was more depth and flavor to THIS Hoshi than regular Hoshi ever had. She was just so flat before, this one has FEELING. Even if it's 'bed-to-bed' hopping feeling.

 

I really enjoyed Vaughn Armstrong's appearance as well, I thought it was shitty to kill him in the Vulcan Arc, he was just such a jovial old man (ok not THAT old).

 

I'm anxious to see Part 2 but the most fan-boyish thing I'm specifically looking forward to is them reading about their mirror-selves. It's going to remind me of the TNG episode where the aliens wiped the crew's memory, inserted that phony "Executive Officer" to take over the ship and then when the crew records were recovered they all absently read about themselves in the 3rd person. That'd be the one where Ro and Riker got it on.

 

I need to watch it again before I can comment much DIRECTLY on the dialog because there was a lot of chatter around me while watching it and I missed just about every other word.

 

Which brings me back to my first point...seed!

[TheIceMan]

I'd have to agree that Bakula really overacted on this one. Just didn't seem natural or authentic. Interesting to finally see a Tholian all the way but, I thought the CGI for the creature really sucked.

 

Seeing the Defiant power up like that with the lights and sounds I grew up with was really cool. I hope they don't ruin that by having the thing fly around like an F-15 fighter that a certain online Star Trek series has done. I want to see her appear majestic and move with a sense of size and power much like the Enterprise did in TOS.

 

If this episode is what Enterprise would have been like in the beginning I might have actually taken an interest in it and been watching all along. As it is the first 10 or so episodes I saw turned me off and I only watched this one for the Defiant and the Tholians.

 

Oh, if this takes places 100 years or so before the time of TOS, why is it the Tholian ships appear to be the same from that time? I had this same question when I first saw the Klingon ship. Is the Federation the only race who change and upgrade their ships as time goes on or what?

[striker2063]

So, I finally viewed this Mirror Episode.

 

The beginning was very exciting... seeing the scenes of First Contact also with the music.

Then... The Intro...was it longer than usual?... the scenes of war were strange but then, when the little man on moon appears, the music gets better and the scenes were more interesting.

 

OK now to the episode itself:

 

The Enterprise looks nice with its yellow painting. The Story was nearly non-present... The acting of Phlox (John Billingsley) was pretty poor. He wasn't scary at all and so, he was non-convincing. Archer at the other side acted as an intimidating person, typical for the mirror universe.

 

I don't want to go into detail about this episode this time, because there are far too much details ;-)

 

Finally it was a nice Mirror-Universe-Episode with the worst music ever.

[S0V13T]

Warning: Contains Spoilers / Fanboy nitpicking.

 

I really liked this episode. But the way the ladies were portrayed was in really poor taste imo. Hoshi being a half naked slut the entire time, and T'pal's uniform was so utterly.... stupid, I was half expecting her to have a butterfly tattoo or something right above her ass (You guys know the kind of hoochi's I'm talking about) But from this ep, I'm finally able to agree with all you guys that are all drooling over t'pal ;) She was mad hot, but in a totally "How chicks in grade 9 dress now-a-day's" kind of way. Oh well, UPN has to cater to teenage males to get the ratings, it seems.

 

 

As usual, Phlox's acting was rock solid, as was Vaughn Armstrong (Trip, T'pal, Reed, etc were all fine, but definatelly nothing to write home about). I think you guys are being a little overly critical of Archer tough. I think he did a somewhat good job of playing the role of a sane man in an insane world. His plan was to end the war against the (rediculously poorly done CGI Tholians) to save lives.

 

Then again, seeing how Zrphram blew the vulcans away, and how Archer refers to T'pal as a Vulcan slave and obviously has aggression towards Vulcans. seems to me that good univerese Archer didn;t like the vulcans becuase they were interfering with his dad when he was building the warp 5 engine, so that makes sence. But what is his modivation against the vulcans in this ep? A smug sence of supuriority? And how did 'The Terran Empire" possibly over throw Vulcan and Enslave them? Seems that the vulcans in regular enterprise had a buttload of ships that in a fullscale war, would have enough power to decimate Earth over night.

 

On a similer note, Phlox is on Enterprise becuase he's participating in the Vulcan Medical Exchange Program.... so if Earth and Vulcan never allied.... uh... why is Phlox on Enterprise? Ahhhh... The "Voyager Effect" rears it's ugly face, once again.

[GeneralLee]

Most interesting.... very dark, rather sinister.

 

I really liked the first few minutes. At first I did not realize what was going on, especially when I saw those Starfleet ships with the yellow trim on them.

 

And the females, WoW. They looked great!

 

Looking forward to Part II

[srider]

I loved the this eps if only more of ent eps were so well written

[kciss]

I thought this was a fantastic episode, great to see the defiant!

More like this earlier would have kept enterprise gripping, shame the good is coming to an end and not allowed to continue. its its own fault tho, thiss should have come earlier

[GLaDio]

finally we got to see some tholians :cyclops:

[dabrood]

9,5 of 10 from me. You are free to spoil yourselves with nitpicking, I just enjoyed it ;-) This is not an episode to look too deep inside, it's a just for fun bad ass trip.

 

The first sequence with the old scenes from First Contact was just genious. Best idea seen in a long time.

 

And to Phlox: I like him not beeing as crude as the others, because that makes him even more scarier for me. The nice docter that loves to torture people...

 

The only thing that really bothers me (therefore the -0,5) ist the pretty poor Alien-CGI. Well, at least it explodes nicely ;-)

[Guest Guest]

This epsiode is one of the best ever enterprise episodes they have done-to-date. Its full of action, fall of everything that you want in a mirrow universe episode. I liked how all the actors changed their characters into mirrors! and its also good to see forest again :p Also that Hoshi looks really hot in this episode :stare:

[shatnerite]

Awesome episode: AIRLOCK ARCHER was an agressive BASTARD! Heh!

 

Ethics for Vulcans? fuggedaboudit! T'Pol shags Trip just so he can be twisted around her mind-probing fingers to do her bidding. And Trip! WOOHOO! More delta radiation, PUH-LEEZE! He even talks funny. Mmmffff...

 

Sergeant Maybeheretoday: sure! suck up to your boss. He needs someone to watch his butt for him.

 

Whoreshi -- what a SUH-LUTTT! Sleep with anything that will slip between her legs.

 

Dr Mengele --- er, I mean, PHLOGS! Member of the Interspecies Medical Examiners (Intergalactic Coroner). Could you do an autopsy on that Tholian while you're at it?

 

A complaint: the uniforms with the epaulets? wtf? Shudda changed the colour to BROWN or GREEN.

 

WOOHOO! CAN'T WAIT fer PART TWO!

[Driux]

I want to see females in those original TOS outfits. :p

 

Edit:

---------

Ow and I liked the episode. Makes you wonder what kind of a twist the storyline will take. It would be interesting if the real enterprise becomes envolved in this mirror universe somehow.

 

There's a prevew to the next episode:

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/9515.html

 

Looks like fun. :)

[heliman]

ok even though this episode merges the orig series and ds9 all into the current entreprise i did find this the worst episode ever . i think because there ditching the show there quality is going down

 

my humble opinion only

 

ohh and really the "real " enterprise shouldn`t be able to interfere due too beeing about 100 years later when the orig uss defiant was lost

so unless there really getting there story line mixed it shouldn`t happpen

[vyper]

But the way the ladies were portrayed was in really poor taste imo. Hoshi being a half naked slut the entire time, and T'pal's uniform was so utterly.... stupid

 

Okay, firstly I have to take issue with this statement - there is nothing wrong with having hot chicks wandering around half naked, especially if they look like Linda Park. B)

Let's be honest, TOS did far worse when it tried.

 

Now, the acting: ole Scott should get a kick in the groin for his acting in the first twenty minutes, but after that he does well.

Ad./Capt Forrest is one of the best played roles in this episode in my opinion. Phlox - convincing, disturbing actually when he smiles at the dying Tholian.

 

Plot - Very good, but I felt it took us too long to get to the point.

 

It would be interesting if the real enterprise becomes envolved in this mirror universe somehow.

 

I am the ghost of continuity and I demand vengeance for that statement!

[RagenWrongly]

I have to say the change to the opening was kind of neat. I enjoyed this episode. Vulcan’s as slaves. It was dark, praise the Terran Empire. Death to all non believers.

[synexo]

The intro to this episode had me goin' WTF! out loud, and I think how they changed it from it's usual intro is about the most un-trek thing enterprise has done yet, in a 'breaking the mold' sorta way. Actually now we're on the 3rd intro for the show. I wonder if they'll use the same one for the next episode or two...

 

I really enjoyed this one although it does seem like they're cramming an awful lot of err... trick shots or what not into this one, using scenes from First Contact, props from TOS and the like. Seems like for these last episodes they might be sorta revisiting the whole trek-franchise or something, as Riker and Troi are supposed to be in these last few episodes also. Maybe they'll get flung out to the delta quadrant, transported to the future,and land on an alien planet where they find evidence that a starfleet ship once visited!

 

But yeah, Hoshi just gets hotter every time I see her. Phlox's character was perfect, still doin' the Dinobulans are always chipper deal. Archer I thought played his mirror well, because he's got that cheesy optimism goin' usually, and here he had cheesy evil goin' on. T'Pol as usual doesn't ever need to do anything but keep those beautiful d*********g lips on her face to be playin' her part.

 

p.s. And I'm sure all you real star trek fans realize this plot itself was ripped off from TOS.

 

 

 

[Engineer101]

the intro was weird and made me think, "Did Nazi Germany Like Won the War? or was it America Became a Nazi Like Country or something.

anyways onwards to the episode. They draw a starship from the good universe to the evil one? im watching it again as i speak. and the 3rd time tomorrow. the worst one was watching Enterprise go bye bye. That was evil and horrifiying to me.

[chrisis1033]

I don't understand. There was already a thread started on this episode. If you want to start an offical one why not just continue the existing thread?

 

I mean, common.. I put my amazingly insightful comments...??... in the other thread and these poor people will never have the change to see them...

 

I thought that it was one of the better Enterprsie Episodes. I will echo the many people saying why couldn't season 1, 2 and 3 have been like this!!??

 

I especially thought the female uniforms were excellent!! :cyclops:

 

[Kettch]

One of the best Star Trek Entreprise episodes ever.

 

Can't say that any of the actors preformed badly.

I believe this episode is going to become one of the most popular episodes.

 

I think that Scott Bakula did a great job playing Archers mirror.

He made clear that there are two differnt characters.

 

And to those who didn't understand why Archer returned the ship.

Well forget about it you don't have the imagination to understand it.

It is all about imagination.

 

sincere

Kettch