The Alternative Factor

There was some debate as to whether or not this episode should have been included in our Star Trek Time Travel - Season One article, as the episode's main guest star Lazarus claims to be a time traveler. However, the episode has practically nothing to do with time travel per se, and time travel only seems to be mentioned as one of a number of excuses the writer could have come up with for separating Lazarus from the rest of his society. More to the point, Mr. Spock spends most of the episode convinced that Lazarus is a liar, and it remains unclear, and ultimately unimportant, whether or not he is lying about the time travel bit.

Lazarus actually turns out to be more of a "slider", but unlike in Tracy Tormé's 1995 tv series "Sliders", the more primitive, dualistic thinking here postulates only two universes, and generates much fear surrounding the idea of a matter-antimatter collision. Seeing as how the Enterprise's engines operate on such collisions regularly, this shouldn't be such a big deal, nor should a parallel opposite universe be required to find this particular danger in the first place.

So, despite invoking both time travel and parallel universes in the same breath, this episode actually does nothing to demonstrate how the two ideas support each other in maintaining an anti-tragedy arena that allows free will, or indeed how the two ideas interact at all.

Our focus today is on the aspect of doubles, particularly Lazarus's double, and how the idea of looking into such a mirror can drive one to madness. The episode proceeds to be one that is difficult to follow closely and appreciate on a character level though.

The writer holds a lot of honest explanation back to attempt to create a bit of a mystery, but this doesn't really ring true for the characters he has put into the episode. Even after one has seen it once through, each occurence of the lengthy effects sequence tempts one to believe that Lazarus has once again switched places with his double. Not so, and attempts to figure out their separate characters this way will easily have one shrugging one's shoulders with the disappointment that they are both equally silly.

In actual fact, we are often left with the same Lazarus we started off with (instead of his double) after some of these effects sequences. At other times, Lazarus switches with his double and no effects sequence is shown, for example during one of the commercial breaks. The cut on the forehead is a much more accurate indicator of which Lazarus we are seeing at any given time - and this reveals another bizarre writing cheat. The "good" Lazarus has no on-screen dialogue whatsoever until the final act of the show. Yes, believe it, even though our regular characters apparently have plenty of opportunity to talk to him earlier on, and apparently do talk to him when the camera's not around to show it. It seems that the only reason they don't get his superior explanation of what's going on from the beginning is the writer's artificial desire to keep it a mystery until the end.

Many other processes remain confusing as well. Does Lazarus really need his space/time craft on the surface to use the corridor between universes? He seems to end up there quite well without it "during his alleged confrontations". Also, why does Spock sometimes detect the whole universe winking out when Lazarus enters/exits the corridor, while at other times he detects nothing?

Though this episode works hard to open up a new concept of parallels and succeeds in leaving its audience with something interesting and haunting to provoke substantial thought afterwards, its sloppiness in creating characters and processes that we can believe in, follow on-screen, and root for, make it one of the lesser episodes of the season. No wonder it was held back while countless other episodes that were filmed later were broadcast ahead of it.

Mirror, Mirror

And now we arrive at one of Star Trek's finest episodes, which we at first suspected might deserve to be included in both our Time Travel and Prime Directive articles for season two. First to the Prime Directive question. The episode opens with Kirk and the rest of his landing party playing diplomat to a group of councilors on the planet Halka. Out of respect for their rights under his laws, Kirk must agree to continue a "hands off" policy with respect to trade. No actual mention of the non-interference or Prime Directive is actually made here, it's just a similar idea. It is perhaps at its most appropriate here because it is arrived at through consultation and agreement of both parties, with Kirk representing the Federation honestly, unlike many other tales where Starfleet comes to their decisions completely on their own and deceives local populations as to who they are and what they value.

Though all this is but background to contrast the Federation with the parallel Earth Empire seen later on, it remains one of the better examples of Starfleet being on top of its principles.

It isn't long, however, before Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura trade places with their doubles in a parallel universe. As in "The Alternative Factor", the writer's thinking is fairly dualistic when it comes to postulating what kind of parallels might be out there, aiming for a type of archetypal opposite. Unseen here is the pluralistic thinking that leads to unlimited number of parallel universes such as seen in the show "Sliders". This would be necessary in order to accept the idea of around ten thousand new parallel universes branching out of a person's minute decisions each day, which makes nonsense out of the idea of changing history and cures bad time travel non-interference theory.

While this remains an excellent story, "Mirror, Mirror" doesn't really have the substance that it should to wake up its writers and fans to the folly of Star Trek's usual theories of time travel. In fact, the popularity of returning to this particular parallel universe while ignoring the many others that could equally be explored cements the dualistic thinking instead. But that's a sequel problem. "Mirror, Mirror" is to be commended for spearheading an excellent idea.

The selection of this particular landing party seems a bit contrived. We should have the personnel that best aid first contact and trade negotiations, yet these four seem better selected to give the audience an entertaining cross-section of the crew to watch as they interact with their doubles in a parallel universe, and to make sure they have enough of the right skills between them to get back again at the end. Uhura might be appropriate for a negotiation (her complete range of skills and duties remains vague at this point in the series), but it is unusual for her to be off the ship. Scotty's expertise seems wasted, because as he has said himself in "A Taste of Armageddon", "The best diplomat I know is a fully armed phaser bank." There isn't likely any use for his knowledge of dilithium usage until after the Halkans become open to the idea of trade. And McCoy is likely only there to rub Kirk's shoulders and give him a moral boost between rounds of negotiation. One does feel like one is stretching to justify these four as a landing party, but what the heck. The episode turns out so well anyway, this really is just a minor nit.

Kirk is probably right to quietly assess the situation of suddenly appearing in a parallel universe, and at first confide only to his own landing party. However, and especially in hindsight, were they right to slip so easily into the deceit of living in their doubles' shoes? There can be little doubt that this is where the bulk of the episode's tension and drama springs from. But what would have happened had they confided in Spock immediately after the first sickbay scene when they figure out what had happened to them? Perhaps most of the Enterprise and her crew would have been at their disposal (although probably not at their command), with the Halkan problem temporarily put aside, as they attempt to send our heroes home and get their own crew back. Yes, it would require most of the episode to be restructured to find tension and drama in different ways in other scenes, but it's still an interesting thought to follow through.

As the episode stands, honesty nicely does come out in the end, and remains crucial to the uplifting nature of the resolution of the plot. Well done. While taking the number three ranking in a 1991 Viewer's Choice Marathon poll, this episode beats its number two rival "The City on the Edge of Forever" by light years, and can proudly hold its ground as one of the very best original Star Trek episodes ever.

Season One (1966-1967) 29 episodes @ 51 minutes

Standard DVD with original effects: Region 1, NTSC, U.S. Region 1, NTSC, Can. Region 2, PAL, U.K. Standard DVD Remastered with CGI: DVD/HD Combo Region 1 DVD/HD Combo Region 1 DVD/HD Combo Region 2 Standard DVD only Region 2 Blu-Ray with optional CGI: Region 1, U.S. Region 1, Canada Region 2, U.K.

"Mirror, Mirror" is available on DVD and will be coming to Blu-Ray soon:

Season Two (1967-1968) 26 episodes @ 51 minutes

Standard DVD with original effects: Region 1, NTSC, U.S. Region 1, NTSC, Canada Region 2, PAL, U.K. Standard DVD remastered with CGI: Region 1, NTSC, U.S. Region 1, NTSC, Canada Region 2, PAL, U.K. Blu-Ray with optional CGI: Region 1, U.S. Region 1, Canada Region 2, U.K.

Both "The Alternative Factor" and "Mirror, Mirror" (along with 3 of its best Deep Space Nine sequels)
are available in the following themed DVD box set.
Click on the Amazon symbol for the desired disc format and location nearest you for pricing and availability:

Star Trek Fan Collective: Alternate Realities Region 1, NTSC, U.S. Region 1, NTSC, Canada Region 2, PAL, U.K. A series of "Fan Collective" DVD Sets are also on the market, offering a sampling of episodes from across all Star Trek series and spinoffs. "Alternate Realities" is apparently the first of those to offer the remastered versions of original Star Trek episodes, with the upgraded special effects. Those who are dubious about this process may wish to try this less-expensive-than-a-full-season set to see what all the fuss is about. We also get some long-awaited audio commentaries on a few of the episodes, a welcome rarity for Star Trek's live-action tv shows, although some British fans have complained that the audio commentaries are missing from the Region 2 version.

20 episodes @ 43-51 minutes each: Mirror Universe TOS: "Mirror, Mirror" DS9: "Crossover" DS9: "Through the Looking Glass" DS9: "Shattered Mirror" Ent: "In a Mirror, Darkly (Part 1)" Ent: "In a Mirror, Darkly (Part 2)" Parallel Dimensions TOS: "The Alternative Factor" TNG: "Parallels" (with writer's audio commentary) Twisted Realities TOS: "The Enemy Within" (with audio commentary) TOS: "Turnabout Intruder" TNG: "Frame of Mind" Voy: "Shattered" Alternate Lives TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise" (with audio commentary) TNG: "The Inner Light" DS9: "The Visitor" Voy: "Before and After" Voy: "Timeless" Voy: "Course: Oblivion" Ent: "Twilight" (with audio commentary) Ent: "E2" Special Features Mirror Universe: Part 1 Mirror Universe: Part 2 Parallel Dimensions Twisted Realities Alternate Lives: Part 1 Alternate Lives: Part 2 Audio Options (may vary according to region) English Español Portugues

Article written by Martin Izsak. Comments on this article are welcome. You may contact the author from this page:

Contact page

Read the next Star Trek reviews: Prime Directive Origins

If you liked this article, or simply enjoy the parallel universe theme in science-fiction, be sure to check out the 1995-1999 tv series "Sliders" by Star Trek the Next Generation writers Tracy Tormé and Robert K. Weiss, and read our continuing series of in-depth Sliders episode reviews, best accessed from our SLIDERS Episode Guide Catalogue.

You may also be interested in: Doctor Who #54: "Inferno" or Doctor Who #176: "Rise of the Cybermen"