In a Mirror Darkly: A Critique?
- Thread starter YARN
- Start date
Although it's a fun episode, I always thought the ending was a bit.... abrupt.
I can remember when I first watched it, and the credits rolled immediately after Hoshi said "You're speaking with Empress Sato. Prepare to receive instructions", I was like.....huh, what? Is that it? What did I miss here? Is there a part 3 or something?
I can remember when I first watched it, and the credits rolled immediately after Hoshi said "You're speaking with Empress Sato. Prepare to receive instructions", I was like.....huh, what? Is that it? What did I miss here? Is there a part 3 or something?
Uh...the show was cancelled.
^ But that wasn't the final episode...
I don't know if they planned on doing a part III if ENT had made it to a 5th season, although they probably would have done.
Surprised that stations on the ground didn't immediately open fire on the Defiant, though. Advanced technology or not, the ship would have taken a heavy beating at least.
I don't know if they planned on doing a part III if ENT had made it to a 5th season, although they probably would have done.
Surprised that stations on the ground didn't immediately open fire on the Defiant, though. Advanced technology or not, the ship would have taken a heavy beating at least.
One thing the writers were careful about was to end it where it's not entirely clear if any of the regulars really die. Even T'Pol, on the doomed NX, could have somehow escaped, though Soval escaping with her might have tripped and gotten impaled by a falling ceiling girder for good measure.
I like the episode. I just finished watching Part 1, and started wondering what they could have done if casting had worked out. Suppose, somewhere between Archer's team beaming over to Defiant and the Enterprise blowing up, they'd found one other thing-- Captain James T. Kirk. Still in his shiny space suit with styrofoam helmet, only he's aged 40 years. Part 2 could go anywhere from there.
T'Pol wasn't on the Avenger, she was on the Defiant.
Manny Coto said at the time that he planned on having the Mirror Universe episodes continue with it's own separate storyline (separate from Ent), if the show had continued.
And if they had continued with no contact with the real universe, this would have been yet another milestone in originality for Ent -- the first Trek series to feature the MU in episodes completely separate from the RU.
In his short story, Age of the Empress, Mike Sussman likely gives us an idea of where the MU stories were headed, and it makes me sad every time I think about it.
I don't think so, not with Defiant's advanced shields and firepower.
^ Some enterprising (heh) soul on the ground could have come up with something.
And in any case, a ship with advanced shields and weapons isn't infallible. The Defiant, faced with a prolonged assault by the rest of Earth's fleet, would have eventually buckled. One ship can't hold off for long against many.
The only thing I can think of is that the current Terran Emperor was not that popular, and so they jumped at the chance to replace him anyway. So maybe that's why Hoshi had such an easy time of it.
And in any case, a ship with advanced shields and weapons isn't infallible. The Defiant, faced with a prolonged assault by the rest of Earth's fleet, would have eventually buckled. One ship can't hold off for long against many.
The only thing I can think of is that the current Terran Emperor was not that popular, and so they jumped at the chance to replace him anyway. So maybe that's why Hoshi had such an easy time of it.
If I'm not mistaken, I believe Mike Sussman's short story describes the battle with Starfleet. From what I recall, there was little political intrigue going on, just a lot of 23rd century muscle. Without being too spoilery I'll just say, the Defiant does MUCH more than simply place Emperss Sato in power.
Seriously recommend this book to any who want to see what happened after part II of IaMD.
But having deflector shields in use against energy weapons that are literally one hundred ten years less advanced is a quantum leap in military technology. It would be like putting a fleet of wooden-hulled frigates like the USS Constitution (1797) up against the metal-armored HMS Dreadnought (1906). There's just no real competition -- the older fleet loses, even if there are a hell of a lot of them.
The whole episode reminded of an analogy of a pirate movie set in the Star Trek mirror universe, and as such I'd say it was excellent (was it intentional?)
Dominic Keating's acting performance was great (I can't forget the look on his face and his split-second hesitation when Archer practically tells him to go ahead while he will stay behind and take the Gorn out next, once Reed and company have been killed), but Scott Bakula was rather overacting, IMHO.
Bob
Dominic Keating's acting performance was great (I can't forget the look on his face and his split-second hesitation when Archer practically tells him to go ahead while he will stay behind and take the Gorn out next, once Reed and company have been killed), but Scott Bakula was rather overacting, IMHO.
Bob
Wasn't the Defiant bridge set actually left over from a fan production or something like that?
@Sci: Perhaps the Defiant couldn't have stood up to a direct assault, but how about sabotage from within? That's exactly what happens in IAMD II, isn't it? After Hoshi makes her demands, somebody on the ground could have secretly contacted one or more of the crew and convinced them to take her out.
@Sci: Perhaps the Defiant couldn't have stood up to a direct assault, but how about sabotage from within? That's exactly what happens in IAMD II, isn't it? After Hoshi makes her demands, somebody on the ground could have secretly contacted one or more of the crew and convinced them to take her out.
I believe it was a ramp-up of a continuing rebuild on the part of the producers that was allowed to be markedly accelerated due to the amortized cost structure that was possible once it was determined that the episode was going to be a two parter. At least I think that's what I recall.
The Sulu Scope was from New Voyages/Phase II. The rest of the bridge was built for the episode.
Berman, Braga and the rest of Paramount made some serious errors in implementing ENT, no doubt about it. They failed to recognize that, by going back to the "beginning", they were unraveling alot of assumptions regarding what the STAR TREK Universe was about; they were literally re-inventing the wheel, only they treated it like it was a prequel to TNG. This much is obvious. And then they got the bright idea to throw a dollop of TOS on top of it. Actually, as silly as it was, it was an entertaining flight of fancy. Much moreso than VOY.
I do not understand your hostility for the theme music. Maybe it's just me, but I actually thought Russell Watson's song sounded grown-up and one of Berman's best attempts to articulate the ideals of TOS, setting it to music and embedding it in every episode.
It seemed to be a refreshingly creative way to bring the old "Space, the final frontier..." theme narration into 21st-century TV format. I thought it worked very well.
The whole point of ENT, as I understood it, was that these characters, and Earth overall, had evolved technologically and were in the process of stepping into their own future (deep space flight, the Coalition/Federation, high-tech prosperity, etc.) but those characters and their society still had alot more in common with you and I than we saw in any other TREK.
As for the gratuitous explosions and nasty action and infighting exhibited in "Darkly", that's to be expected. It was the final entry in a long list of Bermanian treks that tried to capitalize on "Mirror, Mirror". The only one of these alterniverse shows to ever impress me was "Yesterday's Enterprise", and they never followed up on that one.
I agree that ENT had many things about it that were controversial with longtime TREK fans, and that it could've been better-implemented. Having said that, how many TV shows do you know of that stay on the air for four consecutive years that are branded a failure?
If ENT in general and "Darkly" in particular left a bad taste in anyone's mouth, it's probably because (1: the show's makers were obviously running out of ideas; IIRC, Berman himself thought Paramount should not do ENT... (2: While ENT had some great story ideas like "First Flight", the overall lack of a creative direction with the show was getting pretty obvious, probably contributing to problem #1... (3: Hollywood, being silly as it is, recognized that Berman's shows had strayed too far from what TOS was all about, so naturally they sought to compensate by dumping the Starship Defiant into our laps; problem solved, or so they thought.
"Darkly" was fun, ENT had potential, Archer (and Bakula) were pretty good as the captain of the Starship Enterprise. But just like your Daddy's T-bird, you aren't gonna have much fun with this cruiser if you don't put any gas in the tank and you don't have a destination to drive to. At least "Darkly" was a fun little jaunt to the hamburger drive-in for a couple Saturdays. Just don't expect Brenda to fall in love with you over it.
