The intro gives me the impression that the Terran Empire was founded during the Great Depression (possibly in the U.S.)
What's required to play this. I have Windows Media, Winamp, Quicktime all as far up to date as my Windows will allow and I got 30 error messages when I try to open the file...
-Russ
"The real ideological schism in America is not Republican vs Democrat; it is North vs South, Urban vs Rural, and it has been since the 19th century."
-Mike Wong
Well, saw this episode tonight. I must say, *very* interesting. Was there any lead-up to this in previous episodes, or did they just pull this Mirror Universe thing out of the blue?
Also-- the Tholian looked like utter shite. Should've kept the old floating-crystal-head look... may not make much sense scientifically speaking, but it's still the traditional look, dammit!
Elheru Aran wrote:Well, saw this episode tonight. I must say, *very* interesting. Was there any lead-up to this in previous episodes, or did they just pull this Mirror Universe thing out of the blue?
Out of the blue
Also-- the Tholian looked like utter shite. Should've kept the old floating-crystal-head look... may not make much sense scientifically speaking, but it's still the traditional look, dammit!
Where is that canon?
In TOS (which is the only other place Tholians are shown) we see only the "head" in a distorted image.
The "look" of the Defiant seemed a little off compared to the last time we saw a Connie ( the REAL Big-E, in the DS9 episode) though, probably variation in the CG. Nice touch Archie picking up that Phaser-II Wonder what the setting is....
Few nits here and there, but good clean fun and should be interesting to see the conclusion
"Of course, what would really happen is that in Game 7, with the Red Sox winning 20-0 in the 9th inning, with two outs and two strikes on the last Cubs batter, a previously unseen meteor would strike the earth, instantly and forever wiping out all life on the planet, and forever denying the Red Sox a World Series victory..."
I thought it was very impressive that they managed to make the TOS sets, props, and ship models look wondrous and high-tech compared to the NX-01. So much for those naysayers who think that Enterprise's designs look too futuristic for its era. The 1960s-era designs of TOS look weird to modern eyes, and somehow through lighting and camera angles they were able to make the weirdness come off as advanced and futuristic rather than ridiculous.
That's about the only thing I've ever liked about Enterprise in general; the artists were consistently able to make mundane Treknology like tractor beams and transporters look otherworldly and amazing.
Too bad the writers and actors can't live up to the standards set by the VFX artists.
"This war, all around us, is being fought over the very meanings of words." - Chad, Deus Ex
Why wonder why? The answer is simple: obviously, someone somewhere decided that he or she needed Baby Jesus up the ass.
-The Illustrious Darth Wong, on Jesus Dildos
Well actually, I am intellectually superior to you. In fact, the average person is intellectually superior to you.
-Mike to "Assassin X"
Spacebeard wrote:I thought it was very impressive that they managed to make the TOS sets, props, and ship models look wondrous and high-tech compared to the NX-01. So much for those naysayers who think that Enterprise's designs look too futuristic for its era. The 1960s-era designs of TOS look weird to modern eyes, and somehow through lighting and camera angles they were able to make the weirdness come off as advanced and futuristic rather than ridiculous.
That's about the only thing I've ever liked about Enterprise in general; the artists were consistently able to make mundane Treknology like tractor beams and transporters look otherworldly and amazing.
Too bad the writers and actors can't live up to the standards set by the VFX artists.
Excellent point, I thought the same thing about the bridge interior of the Defiant ... great job of making the old look new.
[img=right]http://www.tallguyz.com/imagelib/chmeesig.jpg[/img]My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but
Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to
make guesses in front of a district attorney,
an assistant district attorney, and a stenographer.
Sam Spade, "The Maltese Falcon" Operation Freedom Fry
An interesting premise. Seeing the Defiant from the outside and inside was certainly a rush. I hope they take the thing for a spin next episode.
Observations:
The mirror Zefram Cochrane seem to be acted by a different actor wearing his clothes. All the alternate shots of him doesn't show his head at all.
Jerry Goldsmith's First Contact theme makes a welcome reappearance.
Mirror NX-01's undersides are the same as the regular one's. Underside beauty passes are recycled from regular shows' VFX. No need for new renderings.
I have no problem with the Tholian's physionomy. However, there are certain scenes where I thought he was animated badly.
Notice the "Star Trek Enterprise" logo in the credits turn from white to black with a white glow?
More sci-fi brainbugs - you can SEE a surge coming up a power cable (EPS conduit, whatever)?
yes, seeing the TOS bridge layout almost brings a tear to your eye They really did a good job.
*Liked the look on Archer's face too, when he keyed the helm and the tactical/targeting display activated -- a spun up Connie with really big guns (compared to the toys of this era ) Hmm wonder what we blow up first......
"Of course, what would really happen is that in Game 7, with the Red Sox winning 20-0 in the 9th inning, with two outs and two strikes on the last Cubs batter, a previously unseen meteor would strike the earth, instantly and forever wiping out all life on the planet, and forever denying the Red Sox a World Series victory..."
In TOS (which is the only other place Tholians are shown) we see only the "head" in a distorted image.
The Tholians being floating crystals comes from some of the books, I think. The only one I'm familiar with is the Worlds of the Federation book.
The design was never offical, though.
I know, but the cockroach thing... it just doesn't sit well with me for some reason... they should've just shown the head (maybe made the inside of the chamber all fogged up or something, and then the head pokes out of the fog, and that's all you see). It would've been cheap, but that was precisely what the original Tholians were... cheap...
Indeed. I don't suppose there's anyplace I could download this ep?
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Jon wrote:The hostility of the humans during first contact and the opening credits with the alternative moon landing, for example, would suggest that the divergence point for the Mirror Universe was some time before first contact.
I just downloaded the intro, the suit the astronaut was wearing in the moon landing sequence looks like the standard Enterprise space suit, so perhaps the Terran Empire was simply claiming Luna later?
I'll tell you what, they should have put Linda Park in that outfit a LONG time ago.
Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves…We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed.--Ada Louise Huxtable, "Farewell to Penn Station", New York Times editorial, 30 October 1963 X-Ray Blues
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Don't ask stuff like that.
Sorry, it won't happen again.
Anybody feel like summarizing what happened for me? pretty please?
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Twice in this one episode someone gestures to Archer to looks at the viewscreen, hinting something was about to happen, then the event happens. In this case both were exploding ships. Yeah, I know it might be because they were looking at the sensor readouts which might predict the explosion, but I dunno. It just bugs me somehow.
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Don't ask stuff like that.
Sorry, it won't happen again.
Anybody feel like summarizing what happened for me? pretty please?
From Trek Today:
In the Mirror universe, the first contact with Vulcans ends with Zefram Cochrane shooting one of the Vulcans while humans raid the Vulcan ship. In the following years the Terran Empire grows, using Vulcan technology and treating Vulcans as slaves. By the time Forrest has become captain of the ISS Enterprise, Reed and Phlox have helped to develop the agonizer booth and his first officer, Archer, has learned of a powerful ship hidden in Tholian space. When Forrest insists that Enterprise will rendezvous with the fleet instead, Archer leads a mutiny with the help of Reed. Recruiting Mayweather as his lackey, Archer takes up romantically with Sato - who had left him for Forrest when Forrest was promoted over Archer - and heads into Tholian space, ordering Tucker and T'Pol to get the Suliban cloaking device on the ship installed and functioning.
When Enterprise encounters a Tholian ship, Archer has it disabled and beams the pilot aboard. After some torture advice from Phlox, he learns that the captured ship is being kept in a system dominated by a gas giant. He also learns that the Tholian emits a distress tone if not sedated. Tucker and T'Pol work on the cloak, but an explosion sabotages their work. Archer believes an agent of Admiral Black must be responsible, beats up Forrest when he can't name the spy, and has Tucker tortured when the engineer denies responsibility. It makes no sense to him that Tucker would have done such an incompetent job, however, and by the time he begins to suspect T'Pol, she has led a counter-insurgence to free Forrest. The former captain retakes the bridge, but Archer has set the ship's auto-navigation to reach the gas giant's system and it will take several days to break the system's encryption. Not even ten hours in an agonizer booth makes Archer tell Forrest anything more.
Intrigued by the data Archer has sent to Starfleet, Admiral Gardner orders Enterprise to investigate the ship the Tholians have supposedly discovered. Archer explains that the ship is not only from a parallel universe, having fallen through an interphasic rift, but that tests on its materials indicate that it is from a hundred years in the future. T'Pol finds this ludicrous, but Forrest insists that they will investigate anyway. Privately she admits to Tucker that she made him sabotage the power grid by planting a telepathic suggestion during a sexual encounter, then performed another mind-meld to wipe his memory. Tucker vows revenge, but first he gets the cloak working, enabling Enterprise to approach the Tholian system undetected. There the crew discovers the USS Defiant, which has fallen through a rift between universes just as Archer said.
While Archer takes an away team onto Defiant and gets the ship's systems back in working order, Forrest plans to bring the futuristic database on board and then destroy Defiant since he doesn't believe the ship can successfully piloted through Tholian space without detection. He also orders T'Pol to assassinate Archer, but before she has an opportunity to do so, the Tholian in sickbay regains consciousness and sends out another distress call. Phlox kills the alien, but not before numerous Tholian ships close on Enterprise and begin to create a web around the vessel. Under heavy fire, Forrest orders his crew to abandon ship and buys time by shooting at the Tholians. While Archer, T'Pol, Tucker and Reed watch from the Defiant's bridge, a vast explosion rocks Enterprise.
Thank you, good sir. One more question, if I may, before I stop bugging you all. Was the Defiant in this ep the one from DS9?
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Trogdor wrote:Thank you, good sir. One more question, if I may, before I stop bugging you all. Was the Defiant in this ep the one from DS9?
Negative, the real one -- NCC-1764, USS Defiant, presumed lost near Tholian border in TOS era
"Of course, what would really happen is that in Game 7, with the Red Sox winning 20-0 in the 9th inning, with two outs and two strikes on the last Cubs batter, a previously unseen meteor would strike the earth, instantly and forever wiping out all life on the planet, and forever denying the Red Sox a World Series victory..."
Thank you, kind sir. I'll stop pestering everyone in this thread now.
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
Wonder what the setting is....
They really did a good job. 
