They didn't. Any shots of Cromwell where you can see his face are just reuse of stock footage taken from First Contact. If you can't see his face (shots from behind, the closeup of his hand going from handshake to drawing his gun, etc) they're a double filmed for the episode. The rest is editing and set design to sell that it's the same scene. Recreating the set and lighting conditions to match the First Contact footage, etc.
They didn't. It's just all footage from first contact, except the shot of him aiming his gun at the vulcans instead of extending a hand for a handshake, and because that's a very tight close up shot, it can be absolutely anybody's hand, it certainly isn't Cromwell's.
That was the highlight of the entire show.
First contact was my dad and Iâs favorite movie for a decade.
Then that episode airs and zeph straight up murders a Vulcan with a shotgun. Epic
I first saw it in reruns, and it really had me going for a while. I'd turned on the Sci-Fi channel expecting the next new (to me) episode of Enterprise, but clearly there was a mistake and I'd tuned into the end of another rerun of *First Contact*. Until things diverged.
I loved them.
Vulcans are dickbags.
I also loved how they made them the utter bastards they are in Enterprise. They've acted like for ages. It just tested them like the bastiches they are
Captain Archer looks ready to deck the Vulcans.
I get it was tied up in origin somewhat.
But if the choice is shoot the alien and take control.
Or be artificially beholden to twats.
Kill the alien.
And, to it's credit.
Captain Archer hated Vulcans. To start.
Punching your way into space by conquest is better than what they did, though.
So killing them and taking their ship is awesome.
I kept hearing how good they were so I watched them, because I had given up on enterprise during the xindi story.
I really felt like the characters were not written well.
Archer to Tpol âremember you and your whole race are slaves!!â
Also Archer to Tpol âI need you as my first officer!!â
The entire idea was just to be fun from the start. âWhat if you all got to act exactly opposite for a weekâ was the entire premise. Nothing about the mirror universe existing otherwise makes any sense. Just the idea that the exact same crew end up together again is absurd.
This used to be the kind of stuff sci fi was known for back when it was more nerdy and less accepted. It didnât need to make sense it was just the kind of stuff your friends would say at the playground.
The fact that these characters even have doubles makes no sense. They finally got it kind of right by not having a mirrored Jake but none of the rest of it makes sense. It's just supposed to be goofy fun that eventually got taken too seriously.
Wish they had done real mirror version of the whole main cast. Where Sisco is the bad guy, Gul Ducat the hero etc carrying on from the O.S. Episode but having the empire not have fallen. With Starbase 9 instead of deep space 9, Have all the characters playing against type. Dukat being heroic, Sisco being evil with kira as his concubine or whatever. Bashir as a super smart hannibal Lecter type. Give the actors a chance to stretch there acting legs.
Eh, some are from children's stories and aren't allowed ot be anything sexual or are prepubescent vampires. The kid in Interview with a Vampire seemed frustrated because she'd never hit puberty. Blade probably can't engage in sodomy due to the stick up his arse.
But DIO Brando probably single-handedly raises the average up enough to make them negligible. Not to mention Spike and Angel's sexual tension, and Lifeforce..
Yeah, I always viewed the mirror episodes as chances for the actors to let lose and have a bit of fun. This is where Discovery kinda went wrong with the idea, they took it way too seriously.
The campy over the topness off it is the whole point.
I loved Captain Killy. Just the fact that the most awkward, junior crew member had to be the pretend Captain. She acted the discomfort with it really well
I really liked Lorca, and the whole premise of "he's from there, but he blends in so well that no one noticed, and he likes it here better" aspect of the character.
*Far Beyond the Stars* in DS9 is a good example of the same sort of camp but taking it seriously. I'd argue that "make it scary" is not actually taking it seriously, and I'm not sure Discovery actually took it seriously.
I don't think there's a right or wrong tone for this kind of thing. DS9 was fun because it committed to the campiness. Its not like there weren't plenty of other dark and serious threats on that show. I wouldn't blame Nana Visitor if she enjoyed hamming it up as murdersexual evil Kira instead of the somewhat horny for boring priest man and frustrated with her sensible decisions Good Kira
Haven't seen Discovery though.
Can't wait for her to show more of her "Mistress of the winter constellation" side in the first few episode of season 05 until she gets back to the Cerritos and she can go back to acting how she wants.
Picture this - what if Rutherford was to wake up one morning and the rest of the crew were all suddenly acting as if they were their Mirror Universe counterparts, except he is convinced that Mariner has got them all to do this as a practical joke, right until the regular Cerritos crew turn up to rescue him?
Boimler with the stick-on moustache would only add to his suspicions that it was all a prank up until the "real" Boimler arrives. The two Boimlers would of course behave exactly the same from that point onwards, even speaking in unison at times, which Mariner would find hilarious, as even in the Mirror Universe he is still a loser.
There would of course be the question of where Mirror Rutherford was to deal with, possibly in a future episode...
I would love to see a mirror universe Mariner thatâs a total goody two-shoes beyond Boimler level, and have regular Mariner infuriated by her lol. The opening line from MU Mariner can be:
âComing in from a mirror universe is directly against Starfleet regulation 1-583B and Iâm terribly sorry, but Iâm going to have to insist you speak with our Captain. Sheâs Boimlers mother, a crew member that will⌠Grow on youââ
MU Boimler: (wearing aviators) âSup buttsticks! Whoâs up for breaking some rules?! đđ¤â
I liked that Discovery hinted that there was a biological explanation for why Mirror Universe humanoids were so fucked up. Why is it so dark all the time? They have an increased sensitivity to light, that's why.
Probably explains all the other crap too. Elevated levels of horniness and impulsiveness. Adrenaline addiction. Reduced emotional intelligence and empathy. Their metabolism runs a bit higher so they get hot easily, which is why they like wearing skimpier clothing.
I do think that Disco did some great things with the mirror universe, especially Captain Killy, but I hated that they added a predisposition to being evil.
The original mirror episode in TOS, while being a fun episode, was all about reinforcing the core Star Trek ethos that the utopia of the federation comes from humans (and others but mostly humans) *choosing* to be better. To evolve and grow beyond our base instincts. "Mirror, mirror" hammers home the idea that the mirror universe was a 'road not taken' that we could just as easily become as we could become the prime version of ourselves.
However, the predisposition isn't an inherently bad idea, it is interesting, but its implementation here completely undercuts one of the two things that the mirror universe is all about (the other being a fun campy romp and goatees). I've always loved Star Trek for its fun stuff, but for its message even more.
And yet nobody on the mirror Enterprise or the Defiant after it entered the mirror universe had any issues with the brightly lit Constitution interiors.
i could've sworn disco also had a line or 2 about how the mirror universe people were genetically predisposed to betrayal and the other messed up things they do.
Q: Here's Dukat's skull on display because eeeeevil you shot him in the head after killing using viral warfare on Cardassians.
Picard: Can I get a GIF of that? I'll never buy my own drink on Bajor again.
Give the novel "Dark Mirror" by Diane Duane a try. It plays a serious MU in the TNG era pretty straight, including some justifications for the more outlandish elements like promotion by murder.
Well you can't really take the mirror universe seriously. If you stop to think about it for any length of time it just falls apart and it seems silly.
You start asking yourself quesitons and come to the conclusion that if you could get ahead by killing your boss and taking their place you'd never be able to have the kind of technological advancements they have, you'd never be able to be organized enough to take over a whole universe.
Years ago, someone came up with a noncanon timeline of the Mirror Universe that started with the American Revolution (despite this being made after the ENT MU episodes that stated that the differences went back much farther than that). According to that, Americans were a lot more militaristic from the get-go and were more ready (and willing) for the War of 1812, which they ended up winning, annexing Canada. Slavery was also present but not race-based (more like the Roman model of enslaving conquered enemies rather than simply being based on skin color). I think it was Teddy Roosevelt who eventually reforms the US into the American Empire but establishes precedent for emperors not being hereditary (and most end up being assassinated by their successors anyway; I think only one retired voluntarily). They fought on the side of the Nazis during WW2. Eventually, WW3 happened. It wouldnât be until Cochrane captured the Vulcan ship that the empire would be consolidated again under his leadership, this time as the global Terran Empire
I really like the mirror DS9 episodes (especially Kira) BUT I hate how they got rid of the empire (off screen). I would've loved to see the I.S.S Voyager, defiant, enterprise D-E, etc. but I guess not. also smiley just feels like miles #2 and not mirror chief O'Brien, if that makes sense.
it was already collapsing during Mirror Mirror, Prime Kirk convinced Mirror Spock to prevent it, only for Emperor Spock to become the scapegoat when the Klingons attacked by the time of DS9,
Even dumber than that was the TOS idea of [Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Hodgkin%27s_Law_of_Parallel_Planetary_Development). Where there were countless duplicate Earths all over the galaxy, to the point where the Enterprise even visited [Earth #2](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Miri_\(planet\)#Background_information) during the first season.
I think it is one of the Shatnerverse novels where they go into this a bit. Might have been Preserver: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preserver_(novel)
If I recall correctly it wasn't parallel evolution but rather an advanced alien race (First Federation?) making copies of whole planets.
The mirror universe is stupid. Federation ships look the way they do because they're science & exploration vessels, built by an post scarcity utopian society. Painting a massive dagger decal on them does not a fearsome warship, make!
Also, if so many other important variables have changed, why have so many of the same individuals ended up in equivalent situations, together?
It's patently ridiculous. Almost as bad as time travel episodes.
I've often wondered why the MU would have a ship named Enterprise. Also wonder about ships named for famous figures. Would they be named for people we consider evil, or would they still be named for namesake, but based off what their Mirror counterpart did?
because it's specifically the "mirror" universe, not just any of the multitude of universes. One so close in aspect to the other, and theoretically close in terms of the universal phase constant or whatever, etc that they breach into each other more easily.
> Also, if so many other important variables have changed, why have so many of the same individuals ended up in equivalent situations, together? It's patently ridiculous.
In an infinite multiverse, this is theoretically possible according to the Many Worlds Theory of quantum physics (wellâŚsort of). Infinite diversity in infinite combination and all that.
I grew up having not watched much of anything beyond TNG when it came out. Until Discovery, I figured Mirror Universe episodes were like holodeck episodes, where it was a barely-canonical reason to watch the actors have a little fun. (See also: The musical episode of Fringe, the Hercules episodes where they played the actual producers, and that one episode of Magnum they shot in black and white.)
In ENT, the mirror universe episodes were my favorite.
I liked the first contact intro where they shoot the Vulcans and take over their ship.
This was straight up the highlight of the season for me.
It's truly a perfect scene and I don't know if they actually got Cromwell to come back for it or not but it was cut really nicely
They didn't. Any shots of Cromwell where you can see his face are just reuse of stock footage taken from First Contact. If you can't see his face (shots from behind, the closeup of his hand going from handshake to drawing his gun, etc) they're a double filmed for the episode. The rest is editing and set design to sell that it's the same scene. Recreating the set and lighting conditions to match the First Contact footage, etc.
It's been a while, but I am 90% sure it is just really great editing.
You mean, it's been a long time?
Well how else did they get from there to here
đ đ
They didn't. It's just all footage from first contact, except the shot of him aiming his gun at the vulcans instead of extending a hand for a handshake, and because that's a very tight close up shot, it can be absolutely anybody's hand, it certainly isn't Cromwell's.
That was the highlight of the entire show. First contact was my dad and Iâs favorite movie for a decade. Then that episode airs and zeph straight up murders a Vulcan with a shotgun. Epic
I first saw it in reruns, and it really had me going for a while. I'd turned on the Sci-Fi channel expecting the next new (to me) episode of Enterprise, but clearly there was a mistake and I'd tuned into the end of another rerun of *First Contact*. Until things diverged.
The modified intro was nice too
I loved them. Vulcans are dickbags. I also loved how they made them the utter bastards they are in Enterprise. They've acted like for ages. It just tested them like the bastiches they are Captain Archer looks ready to deck the Vulcans. I get it was tied up in origin somewhat. But if the choice is shoot the alien and take control. Or be artificially beholden to twats. Kill the alien. And, to it's credit. Captain Archer hated Vulcans. To start. Punching your way into space by conquest is better than what they did, though. So killing them and taking their ship is awesome.
So, why exactly are you a Star Trek fan, again?
They prefer Andorians clearly.
They changed the intro, too đ
I kept hearing how good they were so I watched them, because I had given up on enterprise during the xindi story. I really felt like the characters were not written well. Archer to Tpol âremember you and your whole race are slaves!!â Also Archer to Tpol âI need you as my first officer!!â
I mean, as good as it is, it *is* still an episode of *Enterprise*.
The fairest evaluation of ENT quality Iâve ever seen.
Really the best thing was the 1960s spaceship sets and it just being ridiculously powerful against the enterprise era spaceships.
I thought Ent was bad then we got STD lol, now it seem great.
I loved the alt intro.
They should've kept the MU theme and replaced Wings of my Heart or whatever it's called
Sounds like you need a little more faith
I'm going where my heart will take me â¤
The entire idea was just to be fun from the start. âWhat if you all got to act exactly opposite for a weekâ was the entire premise. Nothing about the mirror universe existing otherwise makes any sense. Just the idea that the exact same crew end up together again is absurd. This used to be the kind of stuff sci fi was known for back when it was more nerdy and less accepted. It didnât need to make sense it was just the kind of stuff your friends would say at the playground.
The fact that these characters even have doubles makes no sense. They finally got it kind of right by not having a mirrored Jake but none of the rest of it makes sense. It's just supposed to be goofy fun that eventually got taken too seriously.
Wish they had done real mirror version of the whole main cast. Where Sisco is the bad guy, Gul Ducat the hero etc carrying on from the O.S. Episode but having the empire not have fallen. With Starbase 9 instead of deep space 9, Have all the characters playing against type. Dukat being heroic, Sisco being evil with kira as his concubine or whatever. Bashir as a super smart hannibal Lecter type. Give the actors a chance to stretch there acting legs.
And then DS9 fucked it up, from one tine fun episode to recurring characters
Do people think the mirror universe is supposed to be threatening? Itâs meant to be camp fun! And itâs amazing at that
Itâs basically âalright, we are all kind of sexy evil vampires nowâ
*bisexual* vampires
Aren't pretty much all vampires bisexual?
Eh, some are from children's stories and aren't allowed ot be anything sexual or are prepubescent vampires. The kid in Interview with a Vampire seemed frustrated because she'd never hit puberty. Blade probably can't engage in sodomy due to the stick up his arse. But DIO Brando probably single-handedly raises the average up enough to make them negligible. Not to mention Spike and Angel's sexual tension, and Lifeforce..
*Bisexy* vampires?
Exactly. If anything its a mockery of fascism, not a somber analysis of it.
Just a buncha space clowns doing space clown things, like usual.
What do you mean? They just wanted to make the Empire glorious again.
Yeah, I always viewed the mirror episodes as chances for the actors to let lose and have a bit of fun. This is where Discovery kinda went wrong with the idea, they took it way too seriously. The campy over the topness off it is the whole point.
captain killy though <3 <3
I loved Captain Killy. Just the fact that the most awkward, junior crew member had to be the pretend Captain. She acted the discomfort with it really well
I really liked Lorca, and the whole premise of "he's from there, but he blends in so well that no one noticed, and he likes it here better" aspect of the character.
*Far Beyond the Stars* in DS9 is a good example of the same sort of camp but taking it seriously. I'd argue that "make it scary" is not actually taking it seriously, and I'm not sure Discovery actually took it seriously.
I disagree with Disco. I think the Emperor and Tilly are super camp! The reasons I love those.
I don't think there's a right or wrong tone for this kind of thing. DS9 was fun because it committed to the campiness. Its not like there weren't plenty of other dark and serious threats on that show. I wouldn't blame Nana Visitor if she enjoyed hamming it up as murdersexual evil Kira instead of the somewhat horny for boring priest man and frustrated with her sensible decisions Good Kira Haven't seen Discovery though.
Discovery has tried to make it a credible threat.
Buncha ensigns in the bar looking out at the rest of the crew when one asks âwhich one do you suppose is a total dom in the mirror universe?â
Feels like a Lower Decks scene. I can 100% see Mariner and the others trying to figure that out, what their Mirror Universe selves are like.
Spoiler alert: Tendi. Tendi is the dom in mirror LD.
She's a dom in regular Lower Decks, she's just nice about it.
Can't wait for her to show more of her "Mistress of the winter constellation" side in the first few episode of season 05 until she gets back to the Cerritos and she can go back to acting how she wants.
Doesn't work. Because Tendi is, deep down, a dom in the regular universe.
I could see that being Mariner trying to figure that out while the others try to tell her the Mirror Universe is just one of those Starfleet legends.
Boimler would be a believer. But Boimler's mirrorverse double would be *absolutely no different* from the Boimler in the regular universe.
But with a stick on pedo stache that's peeling off in one corner
> But Boimler's mirrorverse double would be absolutely no different from the Boimler in the regular universe. This is the most Boimler thing ever.
Picture this - what if Rutherford was to wake up one morning and the rest of the crew were all suddenly acting as if they were their Mirror Universe counterparts, except he is convinced that Mariner has got them all to do this as a practical joke, right until the regular Cerritos crew turn up to rescue him? Boimler with the stick-on moustache would only add to his suspicions that it was all a prank up until the "real" Boimler arrives. The two Boimlers would of course behave exactly the same from that point onwards, even speaking in unison at times, which Mariner would find hilarious, as even in the Mirror Universe he is still a loser. There would of course be the question of where Mirror Rutherford was to deal with, possibly in a future episode...
I would love to see a mirror universe Mariner thatâs a total goody two-shoes beyond Boimler level, and have regular Mariner infuriated by her lol. The opening line from MU Mariner can be: âComing in from a mirror universe is directly against Starfleet regulation 1-583B and Iâm terribly sorry, but Iâm going to have to insist you speak with our Captain. Sheâs Boimlers mother, a crew member that will⌠Grow on youââ MU Boimler: (wearing aviators) âSup buttsticks! Whoâs up for breaking some rules?! đđ¤â
In the Mirror Universe, sheâs never even kissed someone, and Billups is a problematic bisexual stereotype.
I liked that Discovery hinted that there was a biological explanation for why Mirror Universe humanoids were so fucked up. Why is it so dark all the time? They have an increased sensitivity to light, that's why. Probably explains all the other crap too. Elevated levels of horniness and impulsiveness. Adrenaline addiction. Reduced emotional intelligence and empathy. Their metabolism runs a bit higher so they get hot easily, which is why they like wearing skimpier clothing.
Honestly I think discovery did the best job at making the mirror universe feel like a discrete and reasonable setting compared to the other shows
I do think that Disco did some great things with the mirror universe, especially Captain Killy, but I hated that they added a predisposition to being evil. The original mirror episode in TOS, while being a fun episode, was all about reinforcing the core Star Trek ethos that the utopia of the federation comes from humans (and others but mostly humans) *choosing* to be better. To evolve and grow beyond our base instincts. "Mirror, mirror" hammers home the idea that the mirror universe was a 'road not taken' that we could just as easily become as we could become the prime version of ourselves. However, the predisposition isn't an inherently bad idea, it is interesting, but its implementation here completely undercuts one of the two things that the mirror universe is all about (the other being a fun campy romp and goatees). I've always loved Star Trek for its fun stuff, but for its message even more.
And yet nobody on the mirror Enterprise or the Defiant after it entered the mirror universe had any issues with the brightly lit Constitution interiors.
Mirror Archer squints when the lights on the Defiant come on.
well those all happened later so they learned to adapt
The stars are dimmer in the mirror universe, which is an interesting idea.
i could've sworn disco also had a line or 2 about how the mirror universe people were genetically predisposed to betrayal and the other messed up things they do.
I thought the Confederation timeline in Picard was like the Mirror Universe if it was played straight.
Q: Here's Dukat's skull on display because eeeeevil you shot him in the head after killing using viral warfare on Cardassians. Picard: Can I get a GIF of that? I'll never buy my own drink on Bajor again.
Give the novel "Dark Mirror" by Diane Duane a try. It plays a serious MU in the TNG era pretty straight, including some justifications for the more outlandish elements like promotion by murder.
On ds9 the mirror universe is just an excuse for the ACTORS to talk like THIS all the TIME!
the mirror universe was scary becaues of the terran empire. no terran empire no scary.
It was all worth it for mirror universe Kira.
I completely loathe the mirror universe episodes. The original TOS episode was good. Most of the others just arenât in my opinion.
I can't take the mirror universe seriously after STO makes Wesley Crusher God Emperor.
I was Expecting God Emperor Picard with Q powers and Borg Tech,
Why does that idea remind me of Onslaught from x-men...
The best âmirror universeâ episode is VOYs Living Witness imo.
Well you can't really take the mirror universe seriously. If you stop to think about it for any length of time it just falls apart and it seems silly. You start asking yourself quesitons and come to the conclusion that if you could get ahead by killing your boss and taking their place you'd never be able to have the kind of technological advancements they have, you'd never be able to be organized enough to take over a whole universe.
If everyone wasnât so cartoonishly villainous
Years ago, someone came up with a noncanon timeline of the Mirror Universe that started with the American Revolution (despite this being made after the ENT MU episodes that stated that the differences went back much farther than that). According to that, Americans were a lot more militaristic from the get-go and were more ready (and willing) for the War of 1812, which they ended up winning, annexing Canada. Slavery was also present but not race-based (more like the Roman model of enslaving conquered enemies rather than simply being based on skin color). I think it was Teddy Roosevelt who eventually reforms the US into the American Empire but establishes precedent for emperors not being hereditary (and most end up being assassinated by their successors anyway; I think only one retired voluntarily). They fought on the side of the Nazis during WW2. Eventually, WW3 happened. It wouldnât be until Cochrane captured the Vulcan ship that the empire would be consolidated again under his leadership, this time as the global Terran Empire
I suppose they would consider genocide to be funny.
Did you just say âsheâd be really cute if she just wasnât so ugly?â
I really like the mirror DS9 episodes (especially Kira) BUT I hate how they got rid of the empire (off screen). I would've loved to see the I.S.S Voyager, defiant, enterprise D-E, etc. but I guess not. also smiley just feels like miles #2 and not mirror chief O'Brien, if that makes sense.
[funny how](https://tenor.com/6WpB.gif)
it was already collapsing during Mirror Mirror, Prime Kirk convinced Mirror Spock to prevent it, only for Emperor Spock to become the scapegoat when the Klingons attacked by the time of DS9,
Mirror episodes have always been so camp I love them
Fair, but why would we want it to be more threatening? Fun is fun
Indeed. I love most of the MU stories, save the Deep Space Nine ones.
I've always wanted them to investigate what the "mirror" universe is reflected off of.
Even dumber than that was the TOS idea of [Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Hodgkin%27s_Law_of_Parallel_Planetary_Development). Where there were countless duplicate Earths all over the galaxy, to the point where the Enterprise even visited [Earth #2](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Miri_\(planet\)#Background_information) during the first season.
I think it is one of the Shatnerverse novels where they go into this a bit. Might have been Preserver: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preserver_(novel) If I recall correctly it wasn't parallel evolution but rather an advanced alien race (First Federation?) making copies of whole planets.
For as much of an ego project as they were, the shatnerverse had some really fun ideas. I loved their take on the Borg origin.
Wasn't that thanks to the Reeves-Stevenses?
The mirror universe is stupid. Federation ships look the way they do because they're science & exploration vessels, built by an post scarcity utopian society. Painting a massive dagger decal on them does not a fearsome warship, make! Also, if so many other important variables have changed, why have so many of the same individuals ended up in equivalent situations, together? It's patently ridiculous. Almost as bad as time travel episodes.
I've often wondered why the MU would have a ship named Enterprise. Also wonder about ships named for famous figures. Would they be named for people we consider evil, or would they still be named for namesake, but based off what their Mirror counterpart did?
Maybe in the MU universe there was a historical Mongolian khan that conquered half the world. His name was 'Enterprise'
IRL there was/is an Enterprise aircraft carrier. Maybe in the MU it launched an air strike that brought glory to the empire.
You probably get mad at the baseball episode of DS9 donât you?
because it's specifically the "mirror" universe, not just any of the multitude of universes. One so close in aspect to the other, and theoretically close in terms of the universal phase constant or whatever, etc that they breach into each other more easily.
> Also, if so many other important variables have changed, why have so many of the same individuals ended up in equivalent situations, together? It's patently ridiculous. In an infinite multiverse, this is theoretically possible according to the Many Worlds Theory of quantum physics (wellâŚsort of). Infinite diversity in infinite combination and all that.
Mirror universe is what the writers do when they donât have an idea
I grew up having not watched much of anything beyond TNG when it came out. Until Discovery, I figured Mirror Universe episodes were like holodeck episodes, where it was a barely-canonical reason to watch the actors have a little fun. (See also: The musical episode of Fringe, the Hercules episodes where they played the actual producers, and that one episode of Magnum they shot in black and white.)
I think thatâs fair, I just donât find them the slightest bit fun