This was the fourth episode to be aired on television in the second season of “Star Trek” on October 6, 1967.

This is one of many “Star Trek” episodes that explore the darker side of human nature. Peeling off the veneer of civilization, it shows our good Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Engineer Scotty (James Doohan) and Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) successfully concealing their moral values in order to fit in with a lawless society.

Jerome Bixby’s script still speaks to us about issues that are relevant today. While the finest among us might be capable of defying the social mores of a decadent society, most of us would likely revert to savagery if we thought it necessary to our personal survival. This episode suggests that humans are naturally savage, and that we need a strong social structure to encourage morality, kindness and other virtues. Otherwise, there would be more people like Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi.

The costumes on the barbarians in the alternate universe are shockingly revealing by 1960s standards, but rather tame according to the MTV generation. In particular, Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) shows not only a lovely, shapely body, but also fine physical fitness in the cut-down top that reveals her well-muscled shoulders. As a teenage girl in 1967, I did not appreciate her feminine beauty, but men certainly did. When interviewed, the actress has said that she wanted to quit the show because her role was so insignificant, but she was persuaded to stay on with Star Trek when a friend pointed out that the simple fact that a black woman had a recurring role on a network television series was breaking new ground.

Plot

In “Mirror, Mirror” a transporter malfunction sends the landing party to a mirror universe, where they find themselves aboard a parallel Enterprise run by ruthless barbarians. Meanwhile, their barbaric counterparts find themselves on board the starship Enterprise in our universe. Kirk and the others must find a way home before they are discovered and exposed by their parallel crew members. Our Starfleet personnel find it much easier to blend in where treachery, back-stabbing and seduction are the accepted means to get what they want, than the uncivilized counterparts find it to blend in with a more refined society.

They must depend upon Mr. Spock, who is an honorable man in both universes, to help them get back to their proper places in their own universes.

It must have been fun for the actors to kick their heels and act bad for a while. Even in the “Brady Bunch” era, the crew of the Enterprise came across as sappy good guys who often seemed silly and cartoonish.

Key Technology

The plot hangs upon a malfunction of the transporter caused by an ion storm.

The transporter, which beams people down to planets, back up to the Enterprise and between space ships at the speed of light, was once thought to be impossible in the real world. It was merely a convenience that the writers hit upon when the models of the shuttle craft were not ready for the taping of the earliest episodes of the first season.

In recent years, however, physicists have managed to “transport” photons and subatomic particles. What “arrives” at the destination is not the original object, but an exact copy of it. The problem is that anything much larger than an atom would be impossible to send in that manner because they would have to be taken apart into their component particles, and we do not have the capability to reassemble them when they arrive at their destination. This is especially true for living organisms, which would certainly be killed. We do not know how to bring matter to life or to give it intelligence or a soul.

In his book The Physics of Star Trek (1995) Lawrence M. Krauss discusses this and other aspects of the Star Trek technology which seem far more possible today than they did 30 years ago. This book is over ten years old, but it is still worth buying, if for no other reason than the Foreword by Stephen Hawking.

Recommendation

Whether you are a fan of “Star Trek”, a student of physics, or just somebody looking for good entertainment, this episode still stands up well today.

I recommend it.

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Thank you so much for reading my review!

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12