As fun as IAMD was, I think it's a bit of a shame that they came when the came, late in the last season. That were two slots that could have delved further on events in the real timeline. The same can be said of the Alien Nazi episodes.
Yes, a Mirror Universe episode would've been just perfect for the First Season of ENT. And the fact that it was a 2-parter ate up a lot of time. The Nazi episode wasn't a 2-parter, in itself, but it still had some further resolution, in the following episode. I know a lot of fans love "Observer Effect," but it just went nowhere and seemed to fall flat. Season 4 was a (surprisingly) strong Season, in terms of ENT anchoring itself more securely to the events and timeline of TOS. At the same time, the episodes seemed more functional and servile, in that sense, as well. They didn't have the spark that Season 3 had, when the ENT staff was full of Piss & Vinegar. The self-awareness the Last Season had, of its Changes of Fortune seemed to make it more subdued in its ecstasies. It's heart just wasn't in it, but they put a good face on it, though ... even at the end, for example, bringing in Peter Weller (!!!). This isn't an actor you invite just to mark time during an episode, you're going to give him something meatier to do. But still in all, ENT could've made itself less concern with the tie-ins and gotten on with just giving these characters a really great Season, however you want to divvy it out ... and really bring out the best they had on offer, which was quite a lot.
I loved IAMD. It's some of my favorite eps that ENT ever made. I'm a sucker for Mirror Universe stories, and I'm glad ENT could deliver one! And besides, it has the (to date, latest) onscreen Trek appearance of my favorite actor - Vaughn Armstrong - so that alone makes it great. Turns out that Forrest is a decent guy even in the MU!
Yes. I do think that his character was the best in the MU! Not EVERYONE had to be "evil" in the MU. Seriously, I wondered how the Terran Empire got ANYTHiNG accomplished with all the backstabbing and EVIL. Though as much as I enjoy the Malcolm/Trip friendship, I did get a perverse pleasure out of seeing their rivalry in the MU. Archer was too "over the top" for me. I liked Soval with the mustache and goatee. And add me to the "Vaughn Armstrong Fan Club."!
It was fun seeing the Mirror versions of all the characters. I liked how Trip was a twisted, tragic creature, a bit like the Phantom of the Opera.
Funny how T'Pol was still one of the good guys, though a bit less principled than in the regular universe.
That follows through from Spock in TOS's Mirror Mirror episode. Vulcans see the exploitation and destruction carried out by the Terran Empire as illogical.
And they're damn right, it's stupid even. It's a wonder that they are able to make any progress at all.
Even in cruel empires you find kind people that are willing to break the rules. Here it seems that each and everyone is a power hungry lunatic!
I like the original Mirror, Mirror, but this one seems like the shallowest kind of fan service to me. It just seemed like an excuse to get the Enterprise cast into the old uniforms and onto the old bridge. What was the point?
Not everyone. Captain Forrest (while certainly more harsh and stern than his regular counterpart) still seemed like a decent guy. He even stayed behind to sacrifice himself so that the crew could get into the lifeboats as the NX-01 was disintegrating around him.
Which I found incomprehensible because he seemed as scheming and underhanded as the rest of them. Maybe there is a law that says that a captain that loses his ship is automatically executed, which would seem on a par with everything else we've seen of this universe. So he had nothing to lose.
^ I wouldn't go that far. MU Forrest, like I said, was a typical Imperial captain in that he was strict and unyielding, but there's no indication whatsoever that he was "scheming and underhanded". He seems like the kind of person who would respect and reward those who are loyal to him. (People who are not, for example, MU Archer, who IS scheming and underhanded and exactly the kind of person Forrest does not care for.)