I've wondering why the Mirror Kirk et al. didn't fool our friends on the "normal" Enterprise. On several occasions the mirror Spock assumes that the normal Kirk's weak actions are a quiet cunning. There are also instances that indicate that it's normal for the mirror Kirk to not have a quick temper. To rise in rank in the mirror universe (even without the tantalus device, in the case of the other 3 members of the landing party...) an officer would have to be constantly ready for surprises and (literally) back-stabbing. The "go-with-the-flow" attitude of the guard who switched sides showed not only a situational morality, but an operating strategy like we see in some computer games. I'm not certain that the mirror Kirk could ultimately fool everyone, but I don't think he's the loud brute that's shown in the brig scene either.
When Scotty calls Uhura to let her know that she needs to distract Sulu, he uses his communicator to contact her. She pulls out her communicator and flips it open, but it must have been on stealth mode, because it doesn't make the usual chirping noises.
Why didn't Marlena just pop Sulu out of existance with the Tantalus field? I expected to see him flee the room after his henchmen disappeared. Maybe she just has a strong sense of fair play. (In THIS universe?) Or maybe killing Sulu, even a bad Sulu, was a no-no.
Did they actually change bodies with their counterparts - - or just their clothes ?!
And what happens if in this universe Scotty say got fat a couple of decades earlier. Would he then fit into his counterparts close, or wouldwe have a sight that NO-ONE wants to see.
It wasn't logical for alternate Spock to give Kirk a heads up with regard to Imperial Starfleet Command's orders.
I wonder what became of the Tantalus device in alternate Kirk's quarters. Attendant Kira might have found the device quite useful on Terok Nor.
To Liam K, 1/25/99
Very funny! Whacko Warner did introduce Scotty to the donut!
The head of the Halkanian Council didn't seem that bright. He kept saying that the Halkanians would die to prevent the dilithium crystals from being mined and used for evil purposes. First of all how would their dying prevent the crystals from being used? The dilithium crystals will exist whether the Halkanians are alive or dead. Secondly, are the Halkanians really asking to be killed? The leader even says, with your power you could just take the crystals. Have the Halkanians confused Captain Kirk with Captain Kervokian?
In the transfer it appeared that the Imperial Enterprise was orbiting in the opposite direction of the Federation Enterprise, but during Kirk's Stardate the Imperial Enterprise is shown orbiting the same direction as the Federation Enterprise.
In the Classic Trekkers Guide Phil commented on Kirk materializing with his arm raised when he dematerialized with his arm down. Well, maybe Imperial Kirk dematerialized with his arm up and Federation Kirk's arm was put into that position along with the change in clothes? (or bodies.)
Imperial Kirk became Captain by executing Captain Pike, but Federation Kirk only met Pike when command of the Enterprise was given to him. Also in the Federation universe Spock was extremely loyal to Captain Pike, and broke the law to see that the rest of Pike's life would be happy. So why didn't Imperial Spock feel the same loyalty for Captain Pike? And what happened to Number One? Did she get her head blown off when the Talosian refused to drop the illusion? (See my comments on The Cage)
Not a nit, just something that looked funny. Spock and Kirk walk away from Chekov's torture followed by (apparently) two bodyguards. The funny thing is that they appear to be two Vulcans, but at a closer look the guy behind Kirk is just a human with big ears.
If those two guys with Kirk and Spock were bodyguards, then why don't we see them in other scenes?
It wasn't too bright of Imperial Kirk to tell Marlena about the Tantalus Field, now was it? Did Imperial Kirk just think that he was so charming and attractive that Marlena wouldn't use it against him? Also it would certainly cut down on his sexual conquests. Marlena tunes in to see Kirk about to get intimately involved with some other woman...*poof*... "Hey, where'd she go?"
How does the Tantalus Field know who to focus on or in which part of the ship to become active in? Marlena turns it on the first time and there's Spock, the second time we see Kirk walking away from his quarters and the final time it shows us Sick Bay, but it didn't seem like Marlena was fiddling with that many buttons to get the different views.
Why do they call it a Tantalus Field anyway? Tantalus was a thief of Ambrosia who tried to feed the gods a stew made of his nephew and was punished by having food and drink kept eternally out of his reach. Making people disappear doesn't seem to be part of the mythology. Of course in the episode Dagger Of The Mind Tantalus V was a prison planet, perhaps in the Imperial universe it was a weapons development center?
In the first of Deep Space Nine's Mirror Universe stories they mentioned the events of this episode and, I believe, they said that Spock's 'revolution,' while it eliminated the Empire, it made them easy prey for the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. Which actually made it a bit depressing, surely Spock would have known other Empires would try to take over.
As soon as the landing party meets in sickbay and figures out what has happened, Kirk sends Scott to short out the ship's phasers to buy him some time. Either Scott wasn't able to do this (and how hard could it be?), or Kirk isn't confident that Scott got it done, because Kirk decides to tell Sulu not to fire on the Halkans. If the phasers were inoperative, then Kirk could just tell Sulu to fire, the phasers would fail, and Kirk wouldn't draw suspicion like he ends up doing when he doesn't even try to fire.
When Sulu goes over to Uhura's station to "charm" her, he leans against the console with his back to the closest wall. But when the shot changes to a close up of his face, there is no wall immediately behind him.
When Spock catches Kirk fiddling with the transporter, and he can't extract any information from Kirk, he says he can learn what he needs to know from McCoy, who he views as weaker. Why does he think McCoy is conspiring with Kirk at this point? Spock hasn't seen McCoy do anything suspicious yet. In fact, it is only when Spock takes Kirk to sickbay and finds the other three there that he seems to realize that the landing party is up to something along with Kirk.
Spock "will die without immediate treatment"? Come on, he's a Vulcan, and it was only a little bump on the head.
After the main power to the transporter is cut, they realize that someone must operate the controls manually. I'm surprised that nobody suggests that Marlena does it (I'm sure that Kirk could sweet-talk her into it). Unless of course she doesn't have the technical proficiency to do so (surely Scotty could talk her through it from the transporter pad?).
At the very end of the episode it certainly looks like Kirk is hitting on Lieutenant Moreau. I thought that a captain is not supposed to fraternize with the crew. (Ha ha!)
I think Scott wasn't able to get to the phaser controls because of the security on the Imperial Enterprise.
I've always wondered why when Marlena uses the Tantulus field to eliminate Sulu's henchmen, why she doesn't also get rid of Sulu himself. The nearest thing I can figure is that it is something to do with the code of the mirror universe and that it is more honorable for Kirk to defeat Sulu in single, fair, hand-to-hand combat. But if that's the case, why does Marlena close up the Tantalus device completely? Isn't she at least interested in seeing how the fight between Kirk and Sulu comes out?
Spock had the climactic scene of "Whom Gods Destroy" rewritten because in the original scene he was knocked out and he complained because the character of Spock had never been knocked out before. But Spock gets knocked out in this episode. Or does it not count because it's the alternate-universe Spock? (Spock is also rendered unconcious by Landru in "Return of the Archons")
When Uhura distracts Sulu's attention from the board, it still makes a noticeably loud beeping noise. Shouldn't Sulu hear this?
Must've been all the blood rushing in his, umm, ears...
Yet another SouthPark homage to Trek. In the episode with the killer goldfish (I can't remember the title), all the people from the alternate universe wore beards ala Spock in "Mirror, Mirror". They were all referred to as "evil-xxx", even Cartman, although Evil-Cartman was a nice guy...
Note: Item posted here because Kitchen Sink is temporarily closed.
During his "One Man With a Vision" speech, Kirk asks Spock 2 something like, "How long before the Halkan prediction of galactic revolt is realized?"
I don't remember the Halkans predicting anything like that. Did I miss something, or did they just edit that line out and hope we wouldn't notice?
MISSED OPPORTUNITY...
I'd REALLY like to have seen what Rand would have
been like in the "Mirror Universe".
She'd probably be in Kirk's quarters with a skin-tight leather suit and carrying a whip.
RUMINATION:
Uhura looks absolutely delicious in the episode.
The head Halkan (not named in the episode, but called Tharn in James Blish's short story version)was played by Vic Perrin, who played on a lot of TV in the 60's (I remember him in at least two "Dragnet"s'.) He was heard, bur not seen, as the Control Voice on the 1960's version of "The Outer Limits."
Uhura DOES look delicious. If this episode were remade today, would she be wearing a navel ring?
I saw Vic Perrin thursday and yesterday in a two-part episode of "Mission: Impossible". He played a lawyer called "Cheever".
Sadly, Vic Perrin died in 1989.
About Todd Pence's comments above:
Nimoy claimed that Spock never got knocked out before? What about The Return of the Archons, The Apple, A Private Little War, The Way to Eden, ...? None of the actors ever impressed me with their level of knowledge of the show. Which is okay, except that they all have a tendency to pretend to know everything!
I'm just going by what Nimoy said, as quoted in Shatner's book and Star Trek Lives and elsewhere. What is even more puzzling to me is WHY having Spock be knocked out would be such a terrible thing and compromise the Vulcan's character so.
Uhura gets to show her belly button...Okaaay!
But the problem is...no other scantily clad woman up to this point has shown hers! Not even Vina!
I made a mistake...the women in "The Apple" show their navels.
The computer states that the "Alt-Enterprise" is labeled "ICC-1701"....so....why then do we see "NCC-1701" on the naecelles?
GREAT LINE: "Oiling my traps, darling" Moreau in Kirk's quarters.
In the transporter, Scotty calls the captain, "Jim"...this is the first time he's called him that ever!....and I think the only time....unless I miss my guess....I could be wrong.
Uhura gets to kick Moreau's butt when she grabs the phasor....I must note that Uhura...when she bends over a little, she shows A LOT of cleavage. (not that I'm complaining, mind you)
KUDOS to the creators on keeping things straight....as I pointed out in "Amok Time", Spock has the statue of the soldier's head wearing the helmet.....in this episode, the alt-Spock has it too.
Juli K: Not certain if it made it into the episode (been awhile since I saw it ) but according to the Blish novelization - from an earlier draft of the script - the alt-Halkan leader defies Kirk one last time: "Perhaps someday all your conquered planets will revolt, as we have done. Then how will you maintain your grip"...etc. The creators may have decided to cut these lines but kept Kirk's later reference in for dramatic effect.
John: I'm all for giving the creators credit where it's due - but that statue's in alt-Spock's quarters mostly because it's the same set that was used in 'Amok Time'. 
Incidentally, call me crazy (or naive), but 'Oiling my traps, darling' just doesn't strike me as all that risque a come-on! At least, not as risque as the Chief seems to think it is. Am i missing something? (On second thought, nevermind, I don't want to know.)
P.S. Re: the 'Why did Leonard Nimoy object to being knocked out?' argument: According to 'I Am Spock, Nimoy's beef wasn't about being knocked out per se - it was the context involved.
Seems the scene originally had Spock trying to decide between the two Kirks by force. Eventually Garth was to catch him off guard, and-conk! (Thus allowing our favorite Captain to save the day, natch.)
Nimoy argued that Spock would be far more likely to, as he put it, 'handle the situation using deductive logic' or a mindmeld. In other words, Spock wouldn't be knocked out in that situation. A fair enough argument, I think?
(This episode may have gotten confused with the well-known story of how the Nerve Pinch was created - wherein Nimoy refused to knock another character out with a gun, and convinced the creators to let Spock pinch 'em, instead.)
Sorry if this is a little impassioned - but Nimoy has always impressed me as an actor who's very aware of what's going on around him.
KUDOS to the make-up dept......that scar on Takei's (Sulu's) face looks absolutely real!
I love "alt-Kirk's" command chair...it's much higher in the back than the command chair we've normally seen on the Enterprise.
KUDOS to the SFX people...they used different transporter sparkles for the alt-universe transporter.
kerriem, you've got this in the wrong board, it belongs on "Whom Gods Destroy".
The Blish novelization of the story doesn't have Spock being knocked out (either for real or fake), but has him use logic to shoot the right Kirk.
Uhura DOES look delicious. If this episode were remade today, would she be wearing a navel ring?
Probably, and who know what other peircings as well;)
My wife wore a navel ring, until her skin split and the navel ring fell off. When it heals, I want to get her a good new piercing and a new ring. I also want her to get her navel tattooed (a star shape or similar,) but for now, she is not receptive to that. I don't like any other piercings that they do today (eyebrow, tongue etc.)
Every copy of this ep I have scene has the last shot of the third act-Sulu's face-washed out. Did the film processor use too much developing solution that day?
The Tantalus device is seen in Sickbay in "Journey to Babel"
There is a great blooper from this ep-Shatner, Doohan and Nichelle parading down the corridor in a conga line, singing. The befuddled expression on the poor redshirt guard is priceless
It WAS a good idea to change the transporter effect for the mirror universe. Job well done.
Sorry, ScottN - a little further back on this board there's a posting that claims Leonard Nimoy refused to be knocked out for the scene 'because Spock had never been knocked out before'. Thought I'd set the record straight - again, sorry if I got too carried away.
No problem, I was discussing "Whom Gods Destroy" here too, so I'm just as guilty
Mr. Nimoy, in "Star Trek Lives" (Bantam, 1975) mentions "Whom Gods Destroy", and the Kirk vs. Kirk scene in particular, as the last straw between him and Fred Freiberger. He wanted to do a very analytical scene for Spock to figure out the real Kirk, without being knocked out (in fact, why Spock could NOT be knocked out.) None of that mattered to the producer, who only wanted to show Kirk fighting Kirk. The final result was a compromise-Spock would fall down but still be conscious, hence Kirk's last two lines implying Spock let himself be knocked down.
The pinch was created by Nimoy for "The Enemy Within", as Nimoy felt that Spock was more advanced than to just simply deck a guy.
I also think that Spock being hit by a plaster of paris ornament (looked like a skull) as he was here, should not even come close to knocking him out, much less be almost fatal. (I agree with Matt S. and his previous post.)
I wonder if the mirror universe command chair has a higher back to keep the captain from being stabbed in the back by an ambitious underling?
GREAT MOMENT: Kirk walks into alt-Kirk's quaters and sees a scantily-clad Marlena Moreau lying on the bed.....hammina..hammina...hammina.
Was Marlena's last name derived from H.G. Wells' "Island of Dr. Moreau"?
Either alt-Kirk has a "Beautiful Babe Bypass Button"(R)
{AKA: BBBB} on the door for his quarters too or Marlena lives with alt-Kirk...if that is so, I'm surprised the censors allowed it.
Hey, good question, John.
In 'Dark Mirror' (the NextGen novel set aboard an alt-Enterprise-D) the Captain's woman has quarters with a connecting door to the Captain's, which makes sense to me.
Really, I'm surprised the whole 'Captain's woman' concept got past the censors. I mean, what service did the creators tell NBC she was providing for alt-Kirk? Baking his favorite cookies?
Welllllllllll, here's what they might have said:
"She's like a White House intern."
"She makes him Tapioca."
"She's the ship's mouse catcher" (Hence the 'oiling my traps' line.;-)
"She's like that woman you don't want me to tell your wife about." ;-)
Actually, as long as Kirk didn't take advantage of her services I'm not certain the concept was so much different from a 'gun moll' that might appear in some crime drama.
There's been a lot of hoopla about the "first inter-racial kiss" in "Plato's Stepchildren"...well..doesn't Sulu kissing Uhura in this episode count?
Alt-Kirk almost puts his head thru the force-field in the Brig...wouldn't getting that close throw him back by a force beam? It should.
Uhura takes a pretty good hit in this episode during the fight with alt-Spock, she goes flying into the wall...rather HARD!
KUDOS to the sound effects crew....they remembered to turn off the Sick Bay monitor when alt-Spock got off the exam table
There's been a lot of hoopla about the "first inter-racial kiss" in "Plato's Stepchildren"...well..doesn't Sulu kissing Uhura in this episode count?
No it does not count because they are both part of ethnic minorities none of the censors raised any concerns and no white racists would care if an Asian man and a black woman kissed. Since whites are a majority in America they are the only ones who the network thought about. People with racist attitudes tend to divide the races into 2 groups us (in this case whites) and everyone else.
Sad, but true.
Another interesting note.....when alt-Sulu's targeting viewer goes up, you can see alt-Chekov looking towards his right.....as if he's looking at a cue card or something.
Cue cards? I thought only Marlon Brando used them.
Whatever the case may be, I'd like to add alt-Sulu to "The number of love interests for Uhura" on the "Romance Tote Board" in the "Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers"
Marlena must not have made a very good impression on Kirk...this episode is the only episode with her in it.
What happened? This.....?
Kirk: Will you come to my quarters for some drinks? You can let your hair down and put on a slinky nightgown or a micro-mini-skirt with a revealing midrift.
Marena: I'm not that kind of woman.
Kirk: Then get off my ship.
(That might explain a lot of things...including Rand's disappearance.)
Twice in this episode, Marlena is wearing the earrings that Uhura normally wears in the other episodes.
GREAT SFX DEPT. When Kirk, McCoy & Scott finally beam back to their Enterprise, their shadows also materialize on the back wall....KUDOS!
For some strange reason, the Halkan leader sounds like both the Metron leader & NOMAD. HMMMMM, I wonder why.....??????
Personally, I'd would've liked to have seen
alt-Kirk, alt-McCoy, alt-Scott & alt-Uhura have more scenes in our universe.
However, it's still a great episode.
OK....during the teaser, Spcok calls the ion storm "unpredictable"...why didn't Kirk stop & think that the ion storm MIGHT have an adverse effect on the transporter & just simply beam up later when things clear up?
Because it'd be a short show if he did!
PLUS...we wouldn't get to see Uhura's yummy looking tummy!
Does Spcok write scpipts for Spawnk? 
OK....during the teaser, Spcok calls the ion storm "unpredictable"...
So would one be correct to call the opening scene of this episode a "Spcok teaser"?
Sorry, I'll just slink back to the rock from under which I crawled....
You guys don't miss a thing, do ya'? 
Let me try that again....
OK....At the start of the show, SPOCK calls the ion storm "unpredictable"...Why didn't Kirk stop & think that the ion storm MIGHT have an adverse effect on the transporter & just simply beam up later when things clear up?
Because it'd be a short short if he did.
Thanks to all the manual "spell checkers" out there.
De nada, John. That's what nitpickers are for! :D
Oh, wait!
Because it'd be a short short if he did.
Who loves short shorts?
WE love short shorts!
Gadzooks!
It'd be a short SHOW if he did!
I must have passed by Gamma Hydra IV (The Deadly Years) on the way home from work today!
Another "cheesecake" moment for Uhura....
At the start of the SHOW, Uhura has one foot on the ground and the other up on the Halkan platform.
"Missing" line: "Captain,look at my legs" (ala Janice Rand---"Miri")
Whatever happened to this Tantalus field. Did the Alliance get their hands on it when they conquered the terrans. I can see Intendant Kira putting such a device to extensive use.
The wall with the Tantalus Field showed up in Sickbay in "Journey to Babel."
This ep was my first Trek episode DVD purchase today. (This Bud's for you, John A. Lang.) I wanted a lot more, but had already loaded up my Amex with clothes for my son. I chose this ep (it is on DVD with "Deadly Years") as it may be the coolest Trek ep of all, for all the reasons listed above. Why there are only two episodes per DVD, I don't know, except of course to maximize profit for Paramount. Three episodes, at 50 mins. each, could easily fit on one DVD.
Obvious gag that I'm surprised John A. Lang missed. Moreau shows up in the transporter room with a phaser and asks Kirk to take her with him. Uhura fights her. What was missing was Uhura stating in a very loud voice... (all together now...)
HANDS OFF! HE'S MINE!!!!
I didn't miss it, I just didn't do it because of the flamers out there who flagrantly disobey the "no-flame" rule on the homepage of Nitcentral.
Actually, I'd like to have seen the fight last a little longer!
John, ignore the flamers. I enjoy the laughs your comments provide.
Yeah...I don't always find 'em funny, but the TOS board without you posting goofy jokes would be a very dull board indeed.
Keep up the good work, John.
When Kirk gets the procedure for recreating the accident, he has the computer record it to tape. He hands the tape to Scotty, who starts talking about warp engines and stuff...
How does Scotty know what the procedure is? Can he read a tape just by looking at it?
JOHN make up yr bloody mind is it rand uhuru or the cpt s woman s woman u want to be assimilated with, eh, too much luvvy duvvy here... ^5
Anonymous, this isn't IM or chat. Use full words instead of chat abbreaviations, please.
Thank you.
Why is Sulu dressed in red if this is a parallel universe? How did Kirk kill Pike to assume command if he visited him in the Menagerie? And most importantly why did Kirk tell Spock-2 to assume command? This would mean his demise.
Why is Sulu dressed in red if this is a parallel universe?
Because it's a parallel universe! Sulu is the "Security Officer".
How did Kirk kill Pike to assume command if he visited him in the Menagerie?
It's a parallel universe. Mirror-Kirk didn't visit Mirror-Pike, because Mirror-Pike was dead.
And most importantly why did Kirk tell Spock-2 to assume command? This would mean his demise.
Who's demise? Mirror-Spock's? Mirror-Spock is strong, smart, and capable enough to defend himself, plus he has the Tantalus device. If you're talking about Kirk, it's not *OUR* Kirk that would be killed, but Mirror-Kirk.
Thanks for explaining that ScottN. I meant Kirk's demise, but I understand your logic. So 4 people(the landing party) were in the same place at the same time but that is the only similarity. Some people are dead in one universe and others are alive in others. This episode is almost as confusing as Wink of an Eye. Thanks again ScottN
If you read Phil's book, you'll note that he comments on that as a major nit. The fact that *EVERYBODY* has a counterpart, and that they're all on the ISS Enterprise is too big a coincidence, given the divergent history.
The ISS Enterprise security chief Farrell doesn't appear to have a duplicate in our universe. Unless he's supposed to be the Farrell who is a regular in the first season, and he doesn't look a thing like him.
I must say, Uhura looks darned good for someone who sits at a desk all day long. Or does alternate-Uhura do 500 crunches per day, just to stay in shape for a spur-of-the-moment assassination attempt? ("When your life daily hangs in the balance and you want to look your best, use the Ab-er-cizer for guaranteed satisfactory results!")
Marlena mentions to Kirk that she likes being "the captain's woman"--presumably a position akin to a high-class concubine. However, at the end it's strongly suggested that alt-Spock may attempt to overthrow alt-Kirk and take his place as captain. During that conversation, Marlena gradually sidles up to Spock, giving the impression that she's now his property (I can't think of how else to call it...it's a form of semi-voluntary slavery). Nice to know where her standards lie *snort*.
I can understand McCoy trying to save Alt-Spocks life, but why doesn't he sedate him while operating on him (or whatever McCoy calls waving the little thingy about). Then Alt-Spock couldn't suddenly grab his arm, after being close to death a minute ago.
McCoy has a big problem with estimating time, too (like Scotty): First he says he needs just one minute to save alt-Spock. When Kirk battles with alt-Sulu, McCoy is watching, of course, not operating! But after the fight, McCoy suddenly needs 5 minutes! Of course he needs to be left behind and be overpowered by a close-to-death alt-Spock, but couldn't he give a better estimate first time? Or did he think Kirk wouldn't give him 5 minutes, so he started with one?
Probably Marlena lets Sulu live to fight it out with Kirk because she knows how much Kirk just *loves* to prove his macho-manliness by hand-to-hand combat I mean, thats what he is doing all the time...
Maybe alt-Kirk is so much in love with Marlena that he told her about the tantalus-device so she could save his back by using it - like during the attack in sickbay.
So you think alt-Kirk was a one-woman man??? Wow, he truly is the opposite of our Kirk...
well, I remember our kirk making out with only one woman at one time Granted, its a long succession of "captains' women", but there is no suggestion of a threesome or sth. like it.
Usually the phrase 'one-woman man' means a man who is loyal to one woman for years & years & years, sometimes even decades.
er, KAM, I knew that - that's why I put "" after the sentence. And I never pictured alt-Kirk as one-women man, anyway. I mean, if he gets tired of marlena or hits off another babe, he can use the tantalus device on her just as easily, thus eliminating risk.
I mean, everytime kirk is struck by a woman, he acts as if it is a one-woman relationship.... Its just that he is able to break up really quick, too.
I thought you might know, but I wasn't sure. (Sometimes it's hard to know what slang terms people will get & which they won't.)
I did try to come up with some funny comments to go with my explanation, but they were really lame, so I left them on the cutting room floor.
(Some posters will no doubt be shocked by the idea that I do sometimes not post jokes. ;-)
Perhaps Kirk set the Tantalus device so that Marlena could only eliminate people that he pre-selected. That way, she wouldn't use it on him or anyone else he wanted to spare (maybe Sulu).
Either alt-Kirk has a "Beautiful Babe Bypass Button"(R)
{AKA: BBBB on the door for his quarters too or Marlena lives with alt-Kirk...if that is so, I'm surprised the censors allowed it.
Marlena says something about a yeoman getting her things, so I assume she does live with Kirk-2.
Scotty seems to be saying that the field density between universes is increasing when he tells Kirk they have a deadline. But later in sickbay, he says the field density is closing fast. It's possible in the earlier scene, he meant the effect of the matter transmission is increasing, not the density...hard to tell from the wording.
"The two-way matter transmission
affected the local field density between the universes,
and it's increasing."
Concerning "Whom Gods Destroy:" In "Star Trek Lives," Nimoy did say he didn't think Spock could be knocked out by any human. I'm not sure he really meant that, because he also said that he didn't like the idea that Spock could be knocked out with one punch. AND he also said that the series had never shown exactly how easily Spock could be rendered unconscious and the original scene in "Whom Gods Destroy" violated that by showing Spock being knocked out. So he said a lot of different things, as far as objecting to the scene. Plus he pointed out that Spock had the phaser, so how could someone approach him to knock him out? Makes sense.
There's a current band out there called Spock's Beard. I wonder if their name was perhaps inspired by this episode?
While looking to download the Neural Paralyzer's "Spock Rap" yesterday, I ran across the band's name. I didn't download anything by them. Are they any good?
I don't know, I've never heard them.
WHAT IF...alt-Sulu's scar was made by alt-Uhura's knife. If this is so, why does he still chase her? You'd think he'd learn.
Why did Spock think that the alt-Kirk's, alt-McCoy's, alt-Uhura's & alt-Scott's behavior "refreshing"? Isn't Vulcan a pacifist planet that abhors violence? If it was a joke, then that'd indicate humor...an emotion....from an emotion-supressed man.
He might deny it, but Spock on several occasions has shown that he can tell a joke. Remember what Captian Sulu said about Vulcans having a sense of humor in the Voyager ep, "Flashback"?
As for the WHAT IF? question, this is the Mirror Universe. Their mating rituals may be different from ours. Certainly their mores are different. Alt-Uhura cutting him, may have been a sign of encouragement to Alt-Sulu. Or represented a challenge.
I don't find it as inconsistent that Spock would make a joke. I can picture a Vulcan making a dry, well-timed observation about an ironic situation now and again. They probably won't explode with laughter from the humor of a clever comment, but they'd recognize and appreciate it. Not everything Vulcans do is perfectly logical, and if they were, Vulcans would be indescribably dull.
As for alt-Kirk and Marlena, it's possible that he is monogamous, since he is the original Kirk's opposite in many ways. It's also possible (and more likely) that being the Captain's Woman means she is exclusively the Captain's concubine (she seems to be at his beck and call, and they don't seem married), but he can date around.
So does that mean George Burns was a Vulcan.
It does seem strange that Spock emphasizes his difference from humans, which should include a sense of humor, but he contradicts it (or the writers contradict it, depending on your point of view).
When McCoy says that (then)Lieutenant Norman won't submit to a physical, Spock says "He's probably afraid of your beads and rattles." in 'I,Mudd'.
He tells McCoy, "I had no idea you were (medically) trained, Doctor. Watching you I thought it was trial and error." in 'Bread And Circuses'.
And he tells someone to "Take Dartagnan (sp?) here to sickbay,", refering to an unconscious Sulu in 'The Naked Time'.
These comments are humorous to humans, which means Spock is capable of one-liners and sarcasm.
Maybe sarcasm is a way for Spock to let off steam at being forced to deal with so unlogic, emotional humans all the time? Or its his human side coming through - he may talk as if he's more Catholic than the Pope, but in fact he is only half-Vulcan, so it may be harder for him to suppress his emotions than for normal Vulcans.
Spock could also know about the stress-relieving effect for humans by cracking a joke in a tense situation - doesn't he even say so in one ep.? (Can't remember which one, maybe it was only in the Blish novelization.)
Any of those are indeed possible. Thanx.
Or its his human side coming through
I don't know, constanze. Tuvok had a fairly dry wit as well, though he didn't do it as well as Spock. Sarek also had a fairly dry wit (see Journey to Babel(TOS).
I like to point out a continuity error, in "Mirror, Mirror," I discovered from a Star Trek magazine.
On the Enterprise bridge, Chekov is wearing a gold sash on his waist and a dagger on his right hip. He leaves the bridge and goes into the elevator. A moment later Kirk joins him.
Chekov's gold sash and dagger are missing in the elevator. Instead, he has the agonizer device on his waist. When the elevator doors open, his gold sash and dagger reappear.
Anyone who now looks at this scene will say this is an obvious continuity error. It amazing that Phil Farrand and all nitpickers, including myself, overlooked it.
At the beginning of the episode, when Spock is going to punish Kyle for his inefficiency with the transporter, he asks Kyle to give him his agonizer. Why doesn't Spock, who as a senior officer is presumably in charge of shipboard discipline, carry his own? And why is a junior officer like Kyle carrying the device?
The sadistic value of having your own instrument of punishment used against you? I mean, it could be that the Empire had evolved such a value system in which it is more degrading to have your own agonizer used on you than someone else's. Just a thought.
Sort of like sending a kid to cut their own switch, I guess.
Right. Exactly.
So what you're saying is, we should get Berman and Braga to carry around tapes of Threshold(VOY), Fury(VOY), Terra Nova(ENT), Aquisition(ENT), Rogue Planet(ENT), and Precious Cargo(ENT) on them?
Sounds good to me. But that's useless unless they have VCRs or DVD players nearby, too. I'm willing to make a contribution to the cause. though. Just tell me where to donate.
We'll give 'em those portable ones.
Sulu confronted Kirk and the others with three armed security guards, but he neglected to arm himself with a phaser! If he wanted command of the Enterprise that bad, then he should have had one on him, set on kill (but not 'vaporize') so his former captain's body could be proven dead. Instead, all he has is a knife.
In the fight scene, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and and Scotty all seem to have the same voice. All of the 'ugh's, 'argh's, and 'oof's all sound like they're uttered by the same guy.
The guard that's hypoed by McCoy outside of engineering looks like present-day World Wrestling Entertainment champion, Brock Lesner, only about a 80 pounds lighter. Same barber, I guess.
CLASSIC LINES:
McCoy: "What's this?"
Kirk: "It's called - Blood."
When McCoy pointed out the spot where he had spilled acid, all well and good. But...I don't remember if that spot stayed on the table in succeeding episodes. Does anyone remember?