I was watching Star Trek in the olden days, so my favorite has always been TOS: Mirror, Mirror. ENT: In a Mirror, Darkly does a good job of setting up the MU background for Kirk's era. I'm not fond of DS9's take on it, but while writing this post realized that they did the same thing as they did with the series itself: took the concept in a direction away from what fans would expect. Honorable mention goes to TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise, and VOY: Living Witness, as they are closest in style.
For me it's a toss-up: Mirror, Mirror was my favorite TOS ep, and by extension, In a Mirror Darkly is my favorite ENT story. Very believable to think that the one led into the other.
A tie between Mirror, Mirror and IAMD for me. Living Witness is an honorable mention, but I've felt for a while that the DS9 MU could've easily worked as well if it had been a Yesterday's Enterprise follow up with a few tweaks to the backstories and such.
You mean there is more than one Mirror episode? It has been awhile since I watched the other Mirror episodes, but my favorite, by a long shot, is Mirror, Mirror from TOS.
I was going to make this a poll but goofed up somewhere, as I didn't get its input screen even though poll was checked (maybe because I didn't preview first). And the more I watch Mirror, Mirror the more I toy with the idea that the Halkans were somehow controlling the whole thing as a test.
^ Yeah, that would fit, wouldn't it? They are conspicuous as a fixed point between the two universes, aren't they. Unfortunately for the other MU episodes, that speaks to the idea that Mirror, Mirror should have been a one-off, which I've always thought, too.
Even if things we see and hear are true, like the Halkans having no military ability, maybe they could have an undetectable defense. We don't know their technological level, only that they're mellow guys who like to sit outside in a storm. I like doing that too. I see that my theory may be partially influenced from "Spectre of the Gun" (another favorite for its weirdness), so maybe I'm just fooling myself.
Definitely the original, with the Enterprise episode second. For me, the DS9 outings just didn't re-capture what made the TOS episode so great.
"Mirror, Mirror" was great. The rest of the MU episodes varied from mediocre to embarrassingly awful. Diane Duane's excellent novel "Dark Mirror" comes second best - it's what the 24th century MU should have been.
Mirror, Mirror was a great episode. But what I liked about IAMD, was that it was basicly ALL Mirror Universe, except for the hallucination of Archer. So not reflecting about how evil they are and how good we are by our heroes from 'our' universe. Just plain, simple, evil being evil and having fun with it. And I for one loved the MU in DS9, except for the episode with Bareil.
"Resurrection" is the only MU ep I don't have, but since it's set in the "real" universe, it's small loss.
To qualify my previous remarks in this thread, I found the first DS9 one ("Crossover") to be the most palatable of all the ones from that series. IMO it had the essence of the mirror universe, without getting silly with it. But I found the subsequent outings to be wanting, culminating in the embarrassing 'return' of Bareil. Over the years the storytelling on DS9 had evolved in leaps and bounds, and it often felt (to me) that compared to the ongoing Dominion War arc, the mirror universe ones always felt like they were just... running on the spot. The reason "In A Mirror, Darkly" on Enterprise is so good is because, apart from its obvious fan service, it actually captures the mirror universe as seen in TOS. It compells the viewer the same way, hinting at an entire off-screen history that is tangibly different to the one we know. I don't often feel the DS9 episodes achieved that on a consistent basis. That and, as I say, the Dominion War arc was just plain more interesting.
Part of my problem with DS9's handling of the MU was it seemed content to turn into just another war arc as an excuse to show more space battles.
"Mirror, Mirror" and the Enterprise mirror episodes are the only ones I liked. The original is by far the best.
DS9's Crossover with Mirror, Mirror as a very close second. IMO Crossover is the most underrated Star Trek episode ever. The diminishing quality of the subsequent MU episodes tend to distract from just what a great episode Crossover is.
Never liked the Mirror Episodes, it was always all back stabbing all the time, I keep wondering how any of them managed an Empire. I liked the Living Witness depiction which has the Mirror Theme when it came to humans with some key differences. Mirror Mirror however was the best if I had to choose one. 1. A Chain of Command, Janeway was in charge and no one challenged her for power. People gave their opinions freely and she listened. Despite insults and brawls between the crew when it camed to doing a job it was god damned clockwork. 2. Federation styled ideals. Besides Paris calling Neelix a hedgehog while they traded insults every race worked together, there wasn't really xenophobia. In Mirror Episodes you know what races are ahead and who is reluctant to serve. In Voyager if your part of the crew you are part of it. I like to think the whole imagined federation worked like that. If you are part of the Feds you are in, if you aren't get in now or else. Sort of like Micheal Eddington's speech to Sisko about how the Federation is worse then the Borg cranked up to Eleven and actually using Borg as a side bonus. 3. Leather Gloves. Definitely the best evil universe in my opinion, shame the whole Mirrorverse wasn't like that instead of back stabbing and ugh, the Alliance.