Star Trek: Start to Finish

Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, Mirror (Memory Alpha; SD Video) is that episode where they go to the alternate universe where everyone has a goatee.

Except only Spock has a goatee.

Now, everyone remembers the savage-alternate-universe thing, but it’s played rather nicely as a foil against the planet this episode takes place in orbit of. The inhabitants are a peaceful people who are refusing to give their dilithium crystals to the Federation, because they as a people are pacifists. The episode begins with Kirk’s assurance that the Federation can be trusted with the crystals, since they are good guys. And immediately we’re thrown into the goatee universe, where no one is a good guy.

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Except the one guy with a goatee. Chekov attempts to assassinate Kirk, and fails. Sulu does, too. So all the foreigners are sinister in the mirror universe, but the jewish guy is alright. There’s some subtext here, and it’s not buried very deep.

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There’s also a nice talk by Kirk about society, and how harmonious living is beneficial for all and sustainable, whereas the kill-or-be-killed mirror universe is destined for destruction down it’s path of constant sorrow. I read this as Kirk’s preëmptive rhetorical strike against the neoconservatives. Especially this bit, which seems rather prophetic:

Kirk: Conquest is easy; control is not. We may have bitten off more than we can chew.

Also, Uhura is actually important this episode. She gets not one but two good scenes, and a fight sequence. She almost but doesn’t say that she’s frightened. She actually makes a difference.

And Marlena is another female character who’s interesting and strong and smart, who takes a stand. She’s a love interest, but not really; her interest is the other Kirk, and the internal conflict she plays with “our” Kirk is well done.

All told, this is a strong episode. The mirror universe is cheesy, but not really more so than the “actual” universe. And the mechanics for interdimensional travel are all sorts of vague while also being a snap for the computer to calculate. But if you overlook that, it’s well-constructed and does a fine job.

Grade

A

Uhura

I realize that my tirade against the portrayal of women in the original series overlooks Uhura, a very obvious woman character who has yet to be the love interest for anyone.

But here’s the totality of her character so far: she’s a black woman who operates the radio. Occasionally she remarks that she’s frightened. She also sings.

Now, I don’t want to go overboard on this: Uhura as part of the cast was truly a giant leap in many ways. Featuring a black woman as an important member of the crew was a progressive and ballsy thing to do. But it’s kind of sad that she’s given so little to work with.

And the fact that she was sleeping with Roddenberry doesn’t put all this in the best light, either.

Let me also be clear that the meagerness of the role is in no way Nichelle Nichols’ fault; it’s the writers and the network, who didn’t like her so much that they withheld her fanmail in an attempt to smoke her out of the production. She only stayed around for season two because Martin Luther King, Jr told her that his kids enjoyed watching her.

But if you compare the original Uhura with the one in the 2009 Star Trek movie, you can see how far things have come: the ‘new’ Uhura is an incredibly adept communications officer adept in multiple languages and signals intelligence. They give her things to do and make those things important to the plot. And here’s the thing; these things should be important to the plot; this is a show about wandering around space and communicating with people over the radio.

Which is just to say that, had the production staff been a little more incredibly progressive than they already were, the show would look slightly less dated than it does.