history of star trek universe

Star Trek timeline: Boldly go on a chronological journey through the Trek universe

From the Original Series to Discovery, here’s how the Star Trek timeline fits together

Star Trek: Picard, which fits on the Star Trek timeline

The Star Trek timeline becomes more sprawling every week. There's little chance Gene Roddenberry, when he created the series back in the '60s, could have guessed that there would be a new episode of Star Trek made available every week (sometimes even two!).

With hundreds of hours of television spread across several TV shows and over a dozen movies, knowing where to begin with the Star Trek timeline is something of a challenge. The events of the ongoing series Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard don't exactly fit in seamlessly at the end. And if you're wanting to include Voyager or Nemesis on a watch/rewatch, then you're in for some complications.

With that in mind, we’ve assembled all the key events that shaped Federation history into one massive Star Trek timeline. We’ve even included the parallel "Kelvin" continuity of the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie and its sequels, an alternative sequence of events kickstarted when a rogue Romulan ship from the future destroyed the USS Kelvin – killing James T. Kirk’s dad, George, and forever altering Kirk and Spock’s destinies.

That said, because the numerous spin-off Trek comics and novels aren’t traditionally considered part of the official Star Trek timeline, we’ve left them out. We’ve also steered clear of the Mirror Universe, so there isn’t quite so much timey-wimey stuff going on that you’d have to be Spock or Data to understand it. But before we engage the warp drive and explore the history of the future, here’s an at-a-glance guide to how the various movies and TV shows fit into the Star Trek timeline:

The Kelvin Star Trek timeline

Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek timeline

Around 200,000 years ago: An ancient alien species is wiped out by an uprising of synthetic beings. They leave eight stars in an implausible arrangement, the Conclave of Eight, to serve as a warning to future generations. (Star Trek: Picard)

1893 - The time-travelling crew of the USS Enterprise-D encounters The Adventures of Tom Sawyer author Mark Twain in San Francisco. (Time’s Arrow, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

1930 - Having been sent back to 20th century New York by the malevolent ring the Guardian of Forever, James T Kirk is forced to allow peace campaigner Edith Keeler to die in order to save millions of lives in World War 2. (The City on the Edge of Forever, Star Trek: The Original Series)

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1947 - Ferengi Quark, Rom, and Nog crash land in 20th century Roswell, New Mexico, and are captured by US authorities who (correctly, to be fair) think they’re aliens. (Little Green Men, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

1986 - Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the original Enterprise crew kidnap a pair of humpback whales to save the future from an alien probe. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

1996 - Genetically enhanced tyrant Khan Noonien Singh and 84 of his followers escape the Eugenics Wars on Earth (remember those?), going into suspended animation on the SS Botany Bay. (Space Seed, Star Trek: The Original Series)

2024 – Picard and La Sirena crew arrive in the 21st century to fix the event that's created a dystopian alternative timeline. Along the way they meet a younger version of Guinan and an ancient ancestor of Data's creator. (Star Trek: Picard)

2063 - In the wake of World War 3, Zefram Cochrane makes Earth’s first successful warp flight, attracting the attention of some passing Vulcans who subsequently introduce Earth into the interstellar community – all while the crew of the Enterprise-E fight to stop the Borg assimilating the planet. (Star Trek: First Contact)

2151 - Suliban fighting in a Temporal Cold War shoot down Klingon warrior Klaang over Broken Bow, Oklahoma – bringing about humanity’s first contact with a Klingon. The prototype USS Enterprise (NX-01) sets off on a mission to return him to Qo’noS – against the wishes of the Vulcans and their massive superiority complex. (Broken Bow, Star Trek: Enterprise)

2153 - An alien probe fires a massive energy beam at Earth’s surface, causing destruction across the American continent. The Enterprise is redeployed to the Delphic Expanse to fight back against the perpetrators, the Xindi. (The Expanse, Star Trek: Enterprise) A group of Borg who survived the attempted invasion of Earth in 2063 are accidentally thawed by a research team in the Arctic. It doesn’t end well. (Regeneration, Star Trek: Enterprise)

2164 - The USS Franklin, commanded by Captain Balthazar Edison, goes missing – that might just prove important later… (Star Trek Beyond)

2230 - Spock is born on Vulcan.

2233 - James T Kirk is born.

2233 (Kelvin timeline) - The USS Kelvin is destroyed by time-travelling 24th century Romulan ship Narada, kickstarting the so-called the Kelvin timeline. (Star Trek, 2009)

Every Star Trek Discovery Easter egg and hidden reference you might have missed

2230s (exact date unknown) - After her parents are killed in a Klingon attack, Michael Burnham is adopted by Sarek and Amanda Grayson on Vulcan. Her adoptive brother, Spock, has his first sighting of a “ Red Angel ”. (Will You Take My Hand?, Star Trek: Discovery)

2254 - The USS Enterprise, captained by Christopher Pike, discovers the survivors of crashed survey ship SS Columbia on Talos IV – though it turns out they’re an illusion created by the telepathic Talosians. (Star Trek: The Cage)

2256 - The USS Shenzou’s first officer, Commander Michael Burnham, defies the orders of Captain Philippa Georgiou, and is charged with mutiny. The Federation/Klingon War begins at the Battle of the Binary Stars. (The Vulcan Hello/The Battle at the Binary Stars, Star Trek: Discovery)

2257 - The Federation/Klingon War ends, with the hydro bomb Section 31 plant at the heart of Qo’noS helping maintain peace between feuding Klingon houses. (Will You Take My Hand, Star Trek: Discovery) With the Enterprise under repair, Christopher Pike assumes command of the Discovery on a mission to understand the so-called “Red Angels” – and track down his AWOL science officer, Spock. (Brother, Star Trek: Discovery)

2258 – In order to save all life in the universe from a rogue Federation AI known as Control, Michael Burnham uses the Red Angel time travel suit (created by her parents) to carry data collected by a millennia-old alien probe into the future. The USS Discovery and its crew follow her on a one-way trip through the wormhole. (Star Trek: Discovery)

2258 (Kelvin timeline) - The Narada reappears and destroys Vulcan, as an act of revenge on Spock. The Enterprise (commanded by Christopher Pike) engages the Romulan ship, but with Pike incapacitated, James T Kirk eventually assumes command of the ship – and defeats the Narada. In the wake of Vulcan’s destruction, Admiral Alexander Marcus tries to increase Starfleet’s military capabilities – and subsequently discovers the SS Botany Bay years earlier than in the Prime timeline. Khan Noonien Singh is revived and recruited by shadowy spy branch Section 31. (Star Trek Into Darkness)

2259 (Kelvin timeline) - Going under the name John Harrison, Khan wages a one-man war on the Federation – all in the name of recovering his crew from suspended animation. The Enterprise crew eventually defeat him and put him back into stasis, but Kirk dies in the process. Luckily Dr McCoy is able to use some of Khan’s blood to revive his captain – phew! (Star Trek Into Darkness)

2260 (Kelvin timeline) - The USS Enterprise begins its (other) famous five-year mission. (Star Trek Into Darkness)

2263 (Kelvin timeline) - Three years into the five-year mission (with things starting to get boring), the Enterprise is destroyed by Krall’s swarm ships, marooning the crew on an alien planet. It turns out Krall was the captain of the aforementioned USS Franklin, who’s spent the last century using alien tech to keep himself alive – and developing a colossal grudge against the Federation. He’s eventually killed on new Federation starbase, the USS Yorktown. James T Kirk and crew are assigned to a new ship, the Enterprise-A. The original Spock Prime – the one who travelled back in time – passes away on New Vulcan (Star Trek Beyond).

2266 - The USS Enterprise’s five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no one has gone before, begins under the command of Captain James T Kirk. (Star Trek: The Original Series)

2267 - After Spock mutinies, a gravely injured Christopher Pike is taken to the off-limits Talos 4, and lives out a “normal” life thanks to the illusions of the telepathic Talosians. (The Menagerie, Star Trek: The Original Series) The Enterprise discovers SS Botany Bay, and awakens Khan Noonien Singh from suspended animation. After he tries to take over the ship, Khan and his crew are exiled to Ceti Alpha 5. (Space Seed, Star Trek: The Original Series)

Early 2270s (exact year unknown) - The refitted USS Enterprise (commanded once again by Admiral James T Kirk) encounters V’Ger, a 20th century space probe (Voyager 6 under an alias) that has gained sentience and threatens to destroy planet Earth. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

2285 - While on a training mission, the USS Enterprise is critically damaged by Khan Noonien Singh, who has escaped exile on Ceti Alpha V and wants revenge on Kirk. The Genesis planet is created by detonation of the top secret Genesis torpedo, and Spock dies after sacrificing himself to save the Enterprise. (Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan) Kirk, McCoy and the rest of the surviving Enterprise crew defy Starfleet orders to commandeer the ship for a mission to the Genesis planet to recover Spock’s body. After they unexpectedly encounter a hostile Klingon Bird-of-Prey, Kirk self-destructs the Enterprise – but Spock is resurrected. (Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock)

2286 - A mysterious space probe appears in Earth orbit, attempting to make contact with now-extinct humpback whales. Kirk and co pilot their commandeered Bird-of-Prey back to 20th century Earth to find some whales. Admiral Kirk is demoted to captain as punishment for his insurrection, and the USS Enterprise-A goes into active service. (Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home)

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2287 - The new Enterprise is commandeered by Spock’s half-brother, Sybok, who plans to meet God (yes, really) at the centre of the galaxy. The question “What does God need with a starship?” has never felt so pertinent. (Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier)

2290 - Hikaru Sulu assumes command of the USS Excelsior, breaking up the Enterprise “dream team” – it was probably about time, to be fair.. (Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country)

2293 - Praxis, the Klingon moon responsible for most of the empire’s power production, explodes. With Kirk and the classic crew due for retirement, they set off on one last mission to escort the Klingon ambassador to peace negotiations with the Federation – and end up having to foil a complex plot to scupper the whole thing. (Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country) Captain James T Kirk is presumed dead when the Nexus energy ribbon has a close encounter with the newly launched Enterprise-B. Predictably, it’s not the end, though… (Star Trek: Generations)

2330s (exact year unknown) - Data is created by pioneering scientist Dr Noonian Soong. (Datalore, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

2344 - The USS Enterprise-C answers a distress call from a Klingon outpost on Narendra III. Surrounded by Romulan Warbirds, it faces certain destruction until it disappears into a mysterious temporal rift… (Yesterday’s Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

2356 - Future Seven of Nine Annika Hansen is assimilated by the Borg, along with her parents on their ship, The Raven. (The Raven, Star Trek: Voyager)

2364 - Commander William T Riker joins the crew of the USS Enterprise-D, under the command of Jean-Luc Picard. Omnipotent being Q appears and puts humanity on trial. (Encounter At Farpoint, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

2365 - Q shows up again, and transports the Enterprise to uncharted space for Starfleet’s first encounter with the Borg. (Q Who, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

2366 - The Enterprise-C emerges from that aforementioned temporal rift and creates a new timeline where the Federation is at war with the Klingons. (Yesterday’s Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation) The Borg show up in Federation space to start an invasion. Jean-Luc Picard is assimilated, becoming Locutus, and Starfleet is almost wiped out at the Battle of Wolf 359. (The Best of Both Worlds, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

2368 - Now an ambassador, Spock turns up on Romulus trying to reunify the Vulcan and Romulan races. (Unification, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

2369 - The Cardassians cease their occupation of Bajor and vacate their space station, Terok Nor. Starfleet moves in and renames it Deep Space Nine, with Benjamin Sisko taking command. It should be a relatively straightforward gig – until a wormhole opens to the Gamma Quadrant on the other side of the galaxy. (Emissary, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

2370 - Starfleet makes first contact with the Dominion, an alliance of races led by shapeshifting Founders from the Gamma Quadrant. (The Search, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

2371 - Turns out James T Kirk wasn’t dead after all – he was just living inside the Nexus energy ribbon where all your dreams come true. When El-Aurian scientist Dr Tolian Soran threatens to destroy entire worlds to get back inside the Nexus, Jean-Luc Picard enlists Kirk’s help to stop him – which doesn’t end well for Kirk, who ends up dead for the final time. The Enterprise-D also meets its end. (Star Trek: Generations) USS Voyager and a ship of Maquis freedom fighters are transported to the distant Delta Quadrant by an alien “caretaker”. The two crews become BFFs implausibly quickly – and for some reason, invite Neelix on board. (Caretaker, Star Trek: Voyager)

2373 - The Borg have another crack at invading Earth. Seemingly defeated, they launch a last ditch attempt to assimilate humanity in the past – so Jean-Luc Picard and crew take their shiny new Enterprise-E back in time to stop them. (Star Trek: First Contact) Meanwhile, back in the Borg’s home territory of the Delta Quadrant, Voyager forms an unlikely alliance with the Collective to battle Species 8472 from “fluidic space”. Borg drone Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01 (AKA, Seven of Nine) joins the Voyager crew. (Scorpion, Star Trek: Voyager) The Dominion War kicks off between the Dominion and the Federation. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

2375 - The Dominion War ends. Benjamin Sisko, the Bajoran “emissary” moves into the wormhole to commune with its residents – aliens who have no sense of linear time. (What You Leave Behind, Deep Space Nine) The Enterprise crew uncovers a shady Federation plot to relocate the near-immortal inhabitants of a paradise planet, to harness its youth-giving properties. It’s difficult to care about any of it. (Star Trek: Insurrection)

2378 - USS Voyager finally makes it back to Federation space. After seven years away, Ensign Harry Kim is still an Ensign. (Endgame, Star Trek: Voyager)

2379 - Shinzon, a clone of Jean-Luc Picard, takes control of the Romulan senate – and his overtures towards peace with the Federation turn out to be a front for war. The Enterprise eventually stops him, but Data has to sacrifice himself to save the day… (Star Trek: Nemesis)

2380 – The crew of the USS Cerritos travel around the galaxy, specialising in "second contact" situations. (Star Trek: Lower Decks)

2385 – Members of the Romulan Zhat Vash experience the Admonition on the “grief world” of Aia, driving many to madness and suicide. Their leader, Commodore Oh, instigates the uprising of synthetic workers at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars, leaving 92,143 people dead and the planet burning. Facing heavy losses, Starfleet abandons its rescue mission to help rescue the residents of Romulus from an upcoming supernoval. Admiral Jean-Luc Picard resigns in protest. (Star Trek: Picard)

2387 - With a supernova threatening to destroy Romulus, Spock – still active after all these years, remarkably – attempts to save the planet by using “red matter” to create a black hole that will engulf the exploding star. He fails – and he, and Romulan ship the Narada, are sucked into the black hole, and back into the newly created parallel Kelvin timeline. (Star Trek, 2009)

2390 – Starfleet vessel the Ibn Majid encounters a pair of synthetic lifeforms. Under orders from Commodore Oh, the captain executes the two androids before taking his own life. First Officer Chris Rios is so traumatised by the experience – expunged from Federation records – that he leaves Starfleet six months later. (Star Trek: Picard)

2399 – The long-retired Jean-Luc Picard ventures back into space after years living on the family vineyard. Having discovered that the late Data had a pair of ridiculously advanced twin daughters, the long-retired Jean-Luc Picard ventures back into space after years on the family vineyard. EXTRA BITS After some close encounters with rogue Romulans, militant AI, and a few Borg, Picard succumbs to his terminal Irumodic Syndrome – but is reborn in a new android body. (Star Trek: Picard)

2400 – Now running Starfleet Academy, Picard finds himself back on a starship when a spatial anomaly appears, broadcasting his name in multiple languages. After ending up in a totalitarian alternative timeline – possibly with a bit of help from Q – he gathers up the crew of La Sirena to travel back to a pivotal event in 2024. (Star Trek: Picard)

3069 – The so-called Burn causes the cataclysmic destruction of dilithium across the galaxy. The Federation is involved in a Temporal War that leads to a galaxy-wide ban on time travel. During this period, Temporal Agent Daniels travels back to 2151 to infiltrate Captain Archer's Enterprise, and overthrow a Suliban plot. (Star Trek: Enterprise/Star Trek: Discovery)

3188 – Michael Burnham emerges from the wormhole, and joins forces with courier Cleveland 'Book' Booker. (Star Trek: Discovery)

3189 – DIscovery arrives in the 32nd century and discovers a universe where the Federation has been decimated by the Burn – the biggest power is now criminal syndicate the Emerald Chain. With the spore drive now one of the most important resources in the galaxy, Captain Saru and crew work to discover the cause of the Burn – and restore the Federation to past glories. (Star Trek: Discovery)

3190 – As numerous worlds sign up to rejoin the resurgent Federation, a mysterious Dark Matter Anomaly destroys Book's homeworld and threatens all life in the Alpha Quadrant. (Star Trek: Discovery)

All caught up? Great, now come and discover the best Star Trek episodes that every Trekkie should watch right now, or watch the video below for a complete guide to the Star Wars timeline – that other sci-fi galaxy far, far, away...

Richard is a freelancer journalist and editor, and was once a physicist. Rich is the former editor of SFX Magazine, but has since gone freelance, writing for websites and publications including GamesRadar+, SFX, Total Film, and more. He also co-hosts the podcast, Robby the Robot's Waiting, which is focused on sci-fi and fantasy.

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Star Trek Timeline

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A Beginner’s Guide to the Star Trek Universe

Star Trek is a behemoth of a franchise. Running over 50 years, it has had five live-action series, one animated series, several films, comics, novelizations, and an extremely obsessive fandom I’ve counted myself a part of since childhood. I understand how Star Trek can seem labyrinthine, too dense for new fans to find their way in. But it’s very well worth it. This guide is a window into the Star Trek franchise, meant to introduce it those who have scant knowledge of its intricacies. At its best, Star Trek is a potently political, unabashedly philosophical, powerfully diverse, empathetic, and supremely well-crafted series that uses its hard science-fiction trappings to speak to our times. With Star Trek: Discovery bringing the franchise back to television after a 12-year absence, now is the best time to see why Star Trek has endured since The Original Series first aired in 1966.

There are a few major concepts to understand before venturing into the realm of Star Trek :

1. How Star Trek imagines the future of humanity and Earth itself. To understand the allure of Star Trek, it’s necessary to understand the ways its creator Gene Roddenberry and later writers conceived of humanity’s future. While Earth is, for all intents and purposes, a utopia during the time of the various Star Trek series, it took a long, bloody road to get there. 21st-century Earth was embroiled in many conflicts, including what would become known as World War III (2024–2053), which was sparked by a litany of issues, including anger over genetic manipulation and the Eugenics Wars. Governments fell. Major cities were destroyed. The loss of life hovered around 600 million. Ten years after the end of the war, First Contact was made with the Vulcans (a rigid, highly logical species that count fan-favorite character Spock as a member), thanks to humanity building the first warp drive that allowed for space travel faster than the speed of light (this event is dramatized in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact ). The discovery of intelligent alien races forced humanity to get its act together. After further chaos and attempts to establish order, eventually the United Earth Government was established in 2150. By the early 22nd century, humanity was able to eliminate most, if not all, of the poverty, disease, hunger, and cruelty that has plagued us since our beginnings. Racism, sexism, and even money was a thing of the past. Humanity’s drive became a philosophy of betterment and exploration.

2. The Federation Founded in San Francisco in 2161 by four different species, including humanity and the Vulcans. To put it simply, the Federation is a republic composed of various planetary governments who have agreed to live semiautonomously under a central body that guides their primary goals: a grand sense of intellectual curiosity and peaceful exploration.

3. Starfleet Starfleet is the defense and deep-exploration service maintained by the Federation. They ferry ambassadors, participate in away missions, protect the peace, and establish new relations with various worlds when necessary. In essence, they’re the heart and soul of the Federation. They continue, to quote Captain James T. Kirk, the “dream that became reality and spread throughout the stars.”

Now let’s get to the fun stuff!

The Original Series (1966-1969)

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Beginning in the 23rd Century, Star Trek: The Original Series adeptly blends sci-fi, adventure, philosophy, and a fierce dedication to diversity in order to tell the stories of the legendary crew of the USS Enterprise . I can’t say it better than Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) does in the opening credits: “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Important Cast Members

Star Trek at its heart is an ensemble with several important key members. There’s, of course, the adventurous, boldly physical, ladies man Captain James T. Kirk , whose swagger often masks his sincerity. My favorite by far is First Officer/Lieutenant Comander Spock (Leonard Nimoy), a half-Vulcan, half-human dedicated to logic and fond of the arts, battling his issues with being in the liminal space between two worlds. His friendship with Kirk is not only the backbone of The Original Series and its cinematic counterparts, but one of the definitive relationships of the entire franchise . There’s also the hilariously blunt Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the congenial chief engineer Scotty (James Doohan), and the revolutionary characters Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, who could count Martin Luther King Jr. as a fan), and dashing science officer Lieutenant Sulu (George Takei).

Gateway Episodes

Season 1, Episode 3, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” Despite being billed as the third episode of the series, it’s actually more of a pilot episode. (Well, technically the second pilot after the first one failed to convince execs of Star Trek ’s potential.) “Where No Man Has Gone Before” follows two crew members who develop godlike psychic abilities after the Enterprise attempts a mission at the edge of the galaxy. It’s full of action and towering emotional stakes, and it capably sketches the main characters.

Season 1, Episode 15, “Balance of Terror” Watching “Balance of Terror” demonstrates the depth and craft of Star Trek: The Original Series. It’s a taut and complex Cold War allegory that introduces the Romulans, the warlike cousins of the more scientifically minded Vulcans. After they arrive, Spock faces virulent bigotry from his peers on the Enterprise , who begin to see him as a threat. It’s a bracing and emotionally astute episode that sharpens the dynamics between its characters to create a provocative tale about the way prejudice blooms and corrupts.

Best Episodes

Season 1, Episode 22, “Space Seed” “Space Seed” introduces the ills from humanity’s past when the Enterprise stumbles upon an ancient ship that escaped 20th-century Earth during the Eugenics War. The passengers are genetically engineered humans who have been asleep for 200 years, but they awake still assured of their own superiority. The episode is notable for introducing Khan Noonien Singh (a decadently malevolent Ricardo Montalban), one of the definitive villains from the franchise, and science-fiction history.

Season 2, Episode 4, “Mirror, Mirror” Star Trek loves traversing to the mirror universe, where the characters turn into their darker, sometimes outright evil, counterparts. This is a gleeful, bracing episode that stands out for its use of Spock and finally giving Uhura a more active role.

Season 2, Episode 15, “The Trouble With Tribbles” If you’re in the mood for a more comedic episode, you can do no better than this unabashedly bonkers one.

What to Skip

Season one and season two are definitely The Original Series at its best (a few episodes, like “Mudd’s Women” and “Assignment: Earth”, deserve to be skipped.) Season three saw the television series get budget cuts, which definitely shows. But even at its worst, The Original Series has something to admire, whether it be the acting or a kernel of the plot.

TOS is a blissful, adventurous, and often exhilarating series. It broke new ground on subjects that other shows rarely ever delved into deeply — war, racism, the issues with eugenics. It’s also a beautiful portrait of the power of sci-fi when it is willing to display humanity reaching toward utopian ideals.

The Next Generation (1987–1994)

In the 24th century, nearly a century after the adventures of Kirk and Spock, a new crew boldly travels on the Enterprise , taking on even more harrowing journeys: exploring the galaxy, interacting with new cultures, and carrying out diplomatic missions that challenge their understanding of the universe and themselves. TNG also reinvents and fleshes out Klingon and Romulan culture, which provides some of the most bracing narratives of the series. Star Trek: The Next Generation is the platonic ideal of the Star Trek ethos — ensemble cast, proudly sincere, steadfastly philosophical, episodic in nature — perfecting what Roddenberry started in 1966. It’s also the best cast chemistry the franchise has ever seen, along with an excellent sense of pacing and action that is predicated on a superb use of suspense.

The minds behind TNG, including showrunner Rick Berman and Roddenberry himself, were wise not to just slightly update the archetypes that TOS created. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (a magnificent Patrick Stewart) is the ultimately European-inflected gentleman — stately, stiff posture, loving, blisteringly intelligent, concerned with the arts, steadfastly dedicated to upholding the tenets of the Federation. First Officer/Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes, who has directed countless Star Trek episodes and even a few of the films) is dashing, wry, a bit cocky, and undoubtedly has the most intense romantic history of anyone on the crew. Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) is an android whose quest to become more human furthers Star Trek ’s interest in what it means to be a human, and the nature of family. Other important characters include: Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), a half-Betazoid, half-human counselor with telepathic abilities and an obsession with chocolate; Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), the chief engineer whose friendship with Data is one of my favorite aspects of the series; and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), the chief medical officer, who has a history with Picard and a warmth I’ve always admired. (I don’t hold it against her that she just so happens to be the mother of the most annoying character in the series.)

Season 2, Episode 9, “The Measure of a Man” This is one of many heartbreaking episodes that involve Data’s quest to be seen as human, despite being an android. Picard must prove Data is legally a sentient being with all the freedoms and rights that entails, otherwise Data will be disassembled for study since he is the only one of his kind that his creator made (at least as far as Starfleet knows). Making the legal proceedings all the more impactful on an emotional level is the fact that Riker is forced to work on the opposing counsel. The pleasures of this show are truly endless, and Data’s arc provides Star Trek with one of its most moving portraits of what it means to be human.

Season 4, episode 5, “Remember Me” To best understand why TNG is the platonic ideal of Star Trek , all you have to do is experience the warmth and tenaciously protective bonds between the characters. “Remember Me” displays that superbly. This is also a great example of how TNG excelled at high-concept episodes that unfurl into something different, and stranger, as revelations come to light. This episode follows Dr. Beverly Crusher as she struggles with her fear over losing loved ones. This fear is magnified when beloved colleagues start disappearing on the ship, and only Beverly retains any memory of them.

Season 5, Episode 2, “Darmok” If you’re looking for an entry that showcases TNG ’s interest in the cerebral, look no further than “Darmok,” in which Captain Picard is stuck on a planet with an alien whose language he’s unable to discern. The chasm between them allows TNG to consider the power of language and connection.

Season 6, Episode 4, “Relics” This may be the best episode for viewers who are dipping into TNG after falling in love with TOS. Star Trek ’s canon is always in conversation with itself. Characters from older series make appearances elsewhere, shining a light on the surprising familial quality of the franchise. “Relics” is one of the best examples of this, with Scotty from TOS finding himself entangled with the crew of Picard’s Enterprise . “Relics” is a beautiful meditation on what happens to older generations when the universe has passed them by. Writer Ronald D. Moore (who has gone on to spearhead shows like Battlestar Galactica and Outlander ) uses the premise of Scotty’s surprising reemergence to celebrate the heart of the series, while also charting the differences between TNG and its predecessor.

Season 3, Episode 26, and Season 4, Episode 1, “Best of Both Worlds Part I and II” I won’t say much about “Best of Both Worlds Part I and II” since the twists these episodes take are simply astounding and quite an emotional gut punch. The episode furthers the characterization of Riker, whose decision to remain first officer rather than captain his own ship gets scrutinized when a young upstart is brought aboard to aid in the Borg crisis. The Borg, introduced in TNG, become one of the definitive villains of Star Trek and they are at their best here, when their hive-mind nature and ability to assimilate other species takes on terrifying new dimensions.

Season 4, Episode 21, “The Drumhead” Star Trek ’s political intrigue is at its best when it subverts our expectations of what heroism and villainy looks like. Perhaps this is why “The Drumhead” is by far one of my favorite episodes. It follows a potential conspiracy that is uncovered on the Enterprise when a Klingon exchange officer is found to have given important schematics of the Enterprise to the warlike Romulans. What starts out as a simple investigation gives way to bigotry and paranoia when Admiral Norah Satie (played with steely grace by classic Hollywood actress Jean Simmons) is brought aboard by Starfleet top brass to investigate.

Season 4, Episode 24, “Mind’s Eye” “Mind’s Eye” is an exhilarating tale of mind control and covert operations that develops Geordi and shows just how dastardly the Romulans can be.

Season 5, episode 25, “The Inner Light” An iconic and beautifully rendered portrait of community and loss that requires little knowledge of the series to be moved by.

Season 7, Episode 11, “Parallels” “Parallels” grants Worf some development and focus (finally!) in a fun episode in which he notices changes in his friends and other crew members he can’t quite explain. There are just so many great TNG episodes. Dive into it and enjoy the ride.

The Next Generation has a notoriously uneven first season. But don’t skip the pilot episode or episode 22, “Skin of Evil,” which has a pivotal character loss that reverberates through the rest of the series. TNG hits its stride in season three and remains consistent until the very end of its seven-season run, perfecting both its episodic structure, stand-alone episodes, and the franchise’s love of a good two-parter whose cliffhangers hit like a sucker punch. It also undoubtedly has the best series finale in the franchise, “All Good Things.”

The Next Generation does not get the love it deserves despite being the most successful Star Trek series during its airing. It’s easy to look upon its episodic nature and lack of bold visual stylistic qualities (at least by today’s standards) and see it as a relic from a simpler time in TV. But that would be a mistake. TNG has a cast that exhibits the emotional qualities of Star Trek better than any of the other series. There’s a camaraderie between them that makes these people easy to love and admire. A 2015 Wired article explains why former president Barack Obama considers himself as a Trekkie : “As Obama sees it, approaching the unknown with resourcefulness and discipline and optimism is what made Star Trek so good.” These qualities are more true of TNG than any other series.

Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is my favorite series from the franchise . It’s also the antithesis of The Next Generation. If TNG represents the glory of utopia and Starfleet’s upper class, DS9 depicts the high price of attaining peace and the fraught nature of taking an assignment no one else wants. Star Trek ’s first black lead, Benjamin Sisko (an intense and commanding Avery Brooks), who becomes a captain in season three, is assigned to command DS9 and aid the Bajorans — a people who are finally free of brutal Cardassian control after a 50-year occupation — in joining the Federation. DS9, which takes place in the 24th century, during the same time period as TNG , disregards a few pivotal aspects of other series: There’s no main starship — the setting is actually a space station near a wormhole; while Roddenberry gave his blessing for the series shortly before he died, showrunners Ira Steven Behr and Michael Piller (who was on until 1995) disregarded his mandate that crew members couldn’t have long-standing conflicts. It’s also the first time Star Trek has larger arcs instead of an episodic nature.

Benjamin Sisko is a grieving widow and single father whose wife was killed in the Battle of Wolf 359, making him openly antagonistic toward Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart, whose appearance in DS9 ’s pilot is meant to bridge TNG with DS9 ) of the USS Enterprise during the only time they meet in the premiere. (For novices coming in with no knowledge of Star Trek , I don’t want to spoil the particulars, but Picard had a hand in the events that led to Sisko’s wife’s death.) It’s fascinating to chart the difference between the morally grey, bombastic, yet emotionally raw Sisko and the gentlemanly Picard. Sisko has a down-home, almost-working-class sensibility. He loves cooking (his father is a New Orleans chef) and baseball. He’s a man who wears his emotions on his sleeve and has an extremely close relationship with his crew. There’s a tenderness to Sisko, which is rendered in his relationship with his son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton). Sisko’s closest friend is Jadzia Dax (a wondrous Terry Farrell), a science officer and member of the Trill , which means she is host to a long-living symbiont that has had seven previous lives. She is symbiotically joined with this creature, giving her the memories and experiences of these seven different lives. Next to Jadzia, one of the most important relationships Sisko has is with his first officer, the Bajoran Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). To put it simply, Kira is a badass. Characters like Jadzia and Kira prove DS9 has the best-written female characters from the franchise.

The chief of security, Odo (René Auberjonois), is a shape-shifter who assumes the figure of a humanoid male and desperately yearns to find out about his origins. Quark (Armin Shimerman), a Ferengi bar owner, at first glance seems like merely a greedy and underhanded figure. But he shows a moral code on occasion and brings the show a lot of its humor (and moral complexity). The ever-dashing Alexander Siddig plays chief medical officer Julian Bashir . A bit tactless and self-obsessed, Julian actually proves to add a great emotional dimension to the series. TNG cast members Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) as the chief engineer officer and Worf (Michael Dorn), as strategic operations officer, join the cast as well, getting far more development than they had previously. DS9 makes great use of its supporting cast, with highlights being: Garak (a powerhouse Andrew J. Robinson) a former Cardassian spy who is on the station to avoid prosecution masquerading as a tailor; Dukat (Marc Alaimo), a brutal and seasoned Cardassian military leader whose villainy is terrifying, thanks to his treatment of the Bajorans.

DS9 is a purely serialized show. Its arc and characters grow richer as the seasons continue. But it makes it difficult to suggest stand-alone episodes since they rely on an understanding on the interpersonal dynamics of the characters. The extended pilot episode, “Emissary Part I and Part II,” is definitely the best place to start. I’d also recommend the season-four premiere, “The Way of the Warrior.” It’s a two-part episode that introduces Worf joining the crew as Klingon antagonism accelerates. It may seem a bit too complex for those coming into the series for the first time, but Worf acts as a bridge between TNG and DS9 for those watching the series in order and looking for something to hold on to.

Season 4, Episode 3, “The Visitor” “The Visitor” centers on the relationship between Sisko and his son, Jake, in the wake of an accident that seemingly kills the captain. But Jake holds on to hope, dedicating his life to bringing his father back. With moving performances by Brooks and Tony Todd as an adult Jake, “The Visitor” cements DS9 as one of the most impactful portraits of black fatherhood in the history of TV.

Season 5, Episode 3, “Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places” This episode turns the curious pairing of Quark and Worf into a hilarious and strangely romantic episode about their separate romantic foibles.

Season 5, Episode 6, “Trials and Tribble-ations” DS9 has a weight to it that can make it seem rather heartbreaking, but the writers weren’t afraid to have fun. The best example of this is undoubtedly “Trials and Tribble-ations,” which has the DS9 crew travel back in time to protect the timeline landing them on the Kirk-era USS Enterprise . It is a joyful ride watching DS9 go colorful and marvel at the legendary crew of TOS.

Season 5, Episode 22 “Children of Time” This is one of the episodes I’ve watched so much, I’ve nearly memorized it. The crew is heading home when Jadzia convinces Sisko to examine curious readings on a planet. Unfortunately, the ship crashes and the crew is faced with curious people on the planet — their own descendants. The episodes reaches a heartbreaking crescendo as it develops how far Odo would go for his unrequited love, Kira. (If you find this pairing as great as I do, season four’s “Crossfire” is also stellar.)

Season 6, Episode 13, “Far Beyond Our Stars” In this episode, Sisko has a vision from the Prophets that splits the episode in two parts — Sisko as captain on Deep Space Nine, and his visions of being a sci-fi writer in 1950s America who is writing a story about a captain on a space station named Benjamin Sisko. The pleasures of this episode are endless: getting to see the actors without their usual alien designs playing wildly different people; its exploration of race; the deftly layered narrative; and most important, the masterful acting by Avery Brooks, who also directs the hell out of the episode. It is by far one of the best episodes in all of Star Trek .

Season 6, Episode 19, “In the Pale Moonlight” No best-of- DS9 list would be complete without “In the Pale Moonlight.” The Federation is losing its war with the Dominion. In order to convince the Romulans to join their cause, Sisko enlists Garak, leading to harrowing consequences and an intense portrayal of just how far Sisko is willing to go in order to protect the Federation and those he loves.

Like TNG, DS9 is an immensely consistent series once it finds its balance. The first season is definitely a bit uneven, but given that DS9 has several dense arcs introduced in its first season, don’t skip “The Emissary” (pilot episode), “Battle Lines,” and “Duet.” DS9 can be binged from seasons two through six. Its final season lacks the typically fine-tuned narrative elegance of the previous seasons, but it is definitely worth the watch with episodes like “Chimera,” “Take Me Out to the Holo-Suite,” and “Extreme Measures” being highlights.

DS9 had an odd reputation while it aired for foregoing so much of what made Star Trek what it was. But DS9 proves how potent Star Trek can be today with its assured handling of grand arcs and stand-alone episodes, great acting and moving themes. It was a series unafraid to ask tough questions and provide tougher answers.

Voyager (1995-2001)

Star Trek: Voyager has all the makings of an amazing series that pushes the franchise in even more audacious territory in the wake of DS9, and also grants the franchise several new, radically different female characters in its most diverse outing . The USS Voyager crew, headed by the flinty-eyed Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), is flung 70,000 light years into the unexplored Delta Quadrant along with a vessel of Maquis terrorists. With 75 years of travel between them and home, and a hostile environment in which the Federation has no foothold, the Starfleet members are forced to join forces with the Maquis. Despite this stellar premise, Voyager is unfortunately weighed down by a reliance on cosmic reset buttons and poor characterization.

My greatest issue with Voyager is its characterizations. At first blush, Captain Kathryn Janeway seems to be a steely, by-the-book, scientifically minded leader. Unfortunately, she can come across as hypocritical — her characterization shifts depending on the needs of the plot. There’s her first officer, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), a former Maquis member, who becomes a loyal and cherished friend. B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), a half-Klingon, half-human, who proves to be a highly capable engineer battling the warring sides of her identity. In an interesting twist, the USS Voyager ’s chief medical officer, the Doctor (Robert Picardo), is a hologram after the medical staff is killed in the first episode. He’s a bit full of himself, extremely talkative, but a valued member who gains his own sense of identity as time goes on. But by far the most important character beyond the captain herself is Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a Borg drone who joins the ship in season four and slowly reclaims her humanity.

Suggesting gateway episodes from Voyager is a bit tricky. The best episodes, while brilliant, don’t represent the series well due to its profoundly uneven writing. The best gateway into the series is its pilot, “The Caretaker,” which, despite a few nagging issues, otherwise wonderfully sets up what I believe to be one of the most fascinating beginnings in Star Trek history.

Season 4, Episodes 8 and 9, “Year in Hell Part I and II” These episodes depict the hellish, fraught, and harrowing dynamics you’d expect from Voyager ’s premise, pushing its characters to the brink. The timeline is altered by a man hoping to bring his wife back to life, with people and even whole planets being wiped from existence.

Season 4, Episode 23, “Living Witness” This episode depicts the Doctor brought back online after 700 years and looks at how the legend of USS Voyager ’s crew proves to be very different than the reality we’ve come to know.

Season 5, Episode 6, “Timeless” “Timeless” makes good use of Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), a Starfleet operations officer who typically was more of an annoyance. Harry makes a fatal miscalculation when the ship is testing out slipstream travel in hopes of getting home to Earth. With only Harry and Chakotay as survivors, they spend years trying to right this wrong.

Season 5, Episode 10, “Counterpoint” “Counterpoint” grants Captain Janeway a worthy adversary, as the crew navigates a sector with a militaristic, xenophobic culture that hates telepaths.

As I noted earlier, Voyager is very uneven with smatterings of great episodes nestled between frustrating ones that rely on too many leaps of logic. Seasons three through six definitely have highlights, so I’d recommend checking out the best episodes that I listed above and deciding if you like the characters enough to binge.

Voyager has become a beloved series thanks to its legion of female characters. But it demonstrates what happens when Star Trek skews a bit too conservative (narratively speaking), afraid to take the risks necessary to challenge our conception of its characters. Its uneven handling of tone, character, and narrative undercuts what could have been a truly bold series.

Enterprise (2001–2005)

Enterprise begins the unfortunate trend Star Trek has continued since, of looking backward instead of pushing the series forward in its timeline. It takes place roughly a century before TOS. This is the first crew of deep-space explorers on the Enterprise , headed by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap fame), whose father designed the engine, as the narrative fleshes out corners of Starfleet’s early years.

Enterprise has three primary characters: the roguish and down-to-earth Captain Archer ; Vulcan High Command science officer T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) who forms a close bond with Archer; and chief engineer Charles “Trip” Tucker III (Connor Trinneer), who grows more assured as the series continues.

Season 1, Episode 1, “Broken Bow Part I and II” This is a good entry into understanding the modus operandi of Enterprise, although it does reflect how uneven the early seasons proved to be.

Season 1, Episode 7, “The Andorian Incident” By this point, as much as I find Vulcans fascinating, the franchise is a wee bit too obsessed with them. But “The Andorian Incident” shows how brutal and xenophobic they can be.

Season 3, Episode 10, “Similitude” Cloning is one of the themes in science fiction that can easily turn frightening and unsettling. “Similitude” questions the ethical problems with cloning as Trip nearly dies and a clone is created for the sole purpose of saving his life. The clone’s life span is only 15 days, causing an uneasiness among the crew that raises a good question: How far would you go to save a friend and colleague integral to your life?

Season 4, Episode 4, “Borderland” “Borderland” brings back Brent Spiner (who memorably played Data) as Dr. Arik Soong (the grandfather of the man who created Data), and turns its gaze to the Eugenics Wars. The following two episodes provide one of the best arcs in Enterprise. These episodes center around the mad-scientist archetype, leaning into the pulpy nature of Star Trek and providing a worthwhile window into the Eugenics Wars from a different angle.

Season 4, Episodes 18 and 19, “In a Mirror, Darkly Part I and Part II” These episodes hit a sweet spot for me. Exploring the mirror universe allows the writers and actors to have a lot of fun playing with the credits and canon. Enterprise twists humanity’s history in the mirror universe, revealing that we lean into our baser, more selfish instincts than create the utopian world that Star Trek represents in its main universe. So, basically the timeline we’re actually living in.

Enterprise takes a while to find its footing, which unfortunately doesn’t happen until its final season. I’d recommend watching the pilot and skipping to the fourth season, which is undeniably its best.

Star Trek: Enterprise is by far the most loathed series by long-term fans. It definitely has a lot of faults, including an odd relationship to canon, sometimes relying too heavily on winking toward TOS instead of being its own thing. But I don’t think it’s as terrible as people have been led to believe. Enterprise ’s failures — both narratively and in terms of gaining a foothold in the larger cultural imagination — represent not just its artistic issues, but how science fiction has changed so dramatically in recent decades. The potent philosophical and political interests of Star Trek — a series that finds pleasure in verbal dexterity and intellectual curiosity rather than the obviously beautiful, so-called cinematic trappings of modern TV’s Golden Age — means it doesn’t exactly fit into our times.

But so much can be learned from the entire Star Trek franchise . In my mind, Star Trek represents the beauty of science fiction when it asks us to better ourselves, to question our prejudices, to dream. It represents sci-fi at its most humane and powerful.

If you want further and more in-depth information this Star Trek wiki is very useful.

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Mirror universe

View history

Terran Empire insignia with marching soldiers in the background

The mirror universe was a parallel universe widely recorded as first being visited by James T. Kirk and several officers from the USS Enterprise in 2267 , though in reality already encountered by the USS Discovery around a decade earlier. This parallel universe coexisted with the prime universe in the same space , but on another dimensional plane .

The mirror universe was so named because most places, ships, and people that existed in the prime universe also existed there, although usually bearing the antithesis of many of their personal characteristics, in particular swapping their morally good characteristics (for example: altruism, kindness) for morally bad characteristics (for example: selfishness, cruelty) or vice versa, thus " mirror "-like. ( DIS : " Despite Yourself "; ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly "; TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

By 2257 , the Terran Empire and the United Federation of Planets were aware of the existence of their respective opposite universe, and both chose to classify that information to prevent deliberate crossovers; the Federation was fighting a costly war at the time they learned of the mirror universe and Starfleet admiralty was afraid of desperate attempts to reunite with loved ones, and the fascist Terrans feared Federation ideals would inspire rebellion. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ", " The War Without, The War Within ")

By the year 3189 the mirror universe had diverged from the prime universe enough that no reported crossings had occurred in the preceding five hundred years. ( DIS : " Die Trying ")

1 Physical basis
2.1 Terran Empire
2.2 Klingon-Cardassian Alliance
2.3 32nd century
4 Technology
5 Starships
6.1 Related topics
6.2 Appearances
6.3.1 Terminology
6.3.2 Origins
6.3.3 First reappearance
6.3.4 Later appearances
6.3.5 Prequel developments
6.3.6 Dating divergence
6.3.7 Crossover characters
6.4.1.1 Comics
6.4.1.2 Magazines
6.4.1.3 Games
6.4.1.4 Novels
6.5 See also
6.6 External links

Physical basis [ ]

The mirror universe seemed to be more than just another of infinite quantum realities , and was instead specially linked in some way to the prime universe, as its moral reflection or moral antithesis. (This does not preclude the possibility that other quantum realities may also have their own mirror universes.) Considerations which marked the mirror universe out from other myriad arbitrary quantum realities in relation to the prime universe include:

The preservation of many historical relationships despite centuries or millennia of historical divergence (for example, groups of individuals such as starship crews coming together in the same times and places, and the birth of visually indistinguishable counterparts in both universes);
The consistent reversal of those same characters' moral qualities, in most cases;
The propensity of individuals to "cross over" (even by accident) between these two specific universes, to the exclusion of others.

While the precise physical basis for the moral symmetry between the Prime universe and the mirror universe remained unknown, there were some indications of divergent physical properties. In particular:

The physical properties of light may be different. Visiting the mirror universe in 2257 , Michael Burnham stated: " My eyes open and it's like waking from the worst nightmare I could imagine. Even the light is different. The cosmos has lost its brilliance. " ( DIS : " The Wolf Inside ")
Possibly as a consequence of this "different" light, mirror universe Humans ("Terrans") were comparatively more sensitive to light, manifesting as photophobia when they crossed over to the prime universe. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ") In 2257 , Philippa Georgiou commented that this sensitivity was "the singular biological difference between our two races" (i.e. between Terrans of the mirror universe and Humans of the prime universe).
In 3189 , a prime universe Starfleet hologram stated " All Terrans are duplicitous by their biology. […] You may not be aware, but in the past hundred years, we've discovered a chimeric strain on the subatomic level in the Terran stem cell. " However, in this case Philippa Georgiou immediately dismissed the possibility of this biological difference, replying: " Silly holo. You cannot rattle me by introducing a completely fabricated biological component to my nastiness and inherently bad behavior. " ( DIS : " Die Trying ")

History [ ]

Terran Empire [ ]

In the mirror universe, much of known history was dominated by the Terran Empire . It is not clear when the Empire began. Captain Jonathan Archer once stated that the Empire had existed for "centuries" as of 2155 . Archer did not mention how many centuries, but by his statement, the Empire can be traced back to at least 1955 , suggesting that it was a Terran political unit before it became an interstellar empire. Emperor Philippa Georgiou also claimed that Terrans had abolished compassionate ideologies "millennia ago" as of the 2250s . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly "; DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ")

First Contact between Vulcans and the Terran Empire took place in 2063 , as it did in the prime universe. A long history of nations warring with each other, the stronger overcoming the weaker, led the people of Terra to believe that conquest was the only means of surviving in the universe. Peace was only a ruse used to determine an enemy's weaknesses and to enable the one offering peace a chance to conquer from within. So, when the Vulcans landed and made their peaceful introduction, Zefram Cochrane shot the first Vulcan to step onto Terran soil instead of welcoming them with open arms (as in the prime universe), and the Terrans, interpreting the landing as prelude to an invasion, raided the Vulcan ship. The shotgun used by Zefram Cochrane later came into the possession of Jonathan Archer , who wondered what would have happened had Cochrane not "turned the tables" on the Vulcans' "invasion force." With advanced Vulcan technology at their disposal, the Terran Empire expanded and conquered other races, including the Vulcans, Andorians , Tellarites , Orions , and Denobulans .

In 2155 , the ISS Enterprise , under the command of Captain Maximilian Forrest , was the flagship of the Terran Empire's Starfleet . In January of that year, Commander Jonathan Archer mutinied against Forrest in order to take the ship into Tholian space to capture the USS Defiant , which had traveled through a spatial interphase from the year 2268 in the prime universe. While the mutiny was ultimately unsuccessful, Captain Forrest had no choice but to continue the mission, since the ship's helm had been locked on auto-pilot . The Enterprise was later destroyed by Tholian ships, but not before Archer was able to take control of the Defiant . ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ") Archer tried to use the Defiant in a grab for power, intending to replace the emperor, but was betrayed by Hoshi Sato , who declared herself empress. ( ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ")

Sometime between 2155 and 2267 , the symbol of the Empire appears to have been altered. The earlier symbol closely resembles that of the United Earth government, depicting all of Terra's continents, though replacing a laurel of peace with an aggressive sword. However, by 2267, the symbol, while remaining essentially the same, depicted only the continents of Terra's western hemisphere.

By the mid- 23rd century , the Terran Empire was the dominant power in the Alpha Quadrant . The Empire, ruled by Emperor Philippa Georgiou , had at some point in the past century conquered Qo'noS ; some Klingons joined Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites in rebellion against the Terrans' rule. By the time of her rule, Kaminar seems to have also been conquered, with Kelpiens reduced to nameless slaves and livestock. In the 2250s, Captain Gabriel Lorca attempted a coup against Emperor Georgiou. She sent her adoptive daughter, Captain Michael Burnham , to apprehend Lorca, but instead Burnham joined Lorca's insurrection. Burnham was subsequently believed to have been killed when her shuttlecraft was destroyed; Lorca was publicly blamed for her death. Eventually, Lorca was betrayed by scientist Paul Stamets . When Lorca was attempting to recruit allies on Priors World , the Emperor caught up with him. He attempted to transport to his ship, the ISS Buran , but the transporter beam was caught in an ion storm and Lorca was transported to the prime universe . ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ", " The Wolf Inside ", " Vaulting Ambition ", " What's Past Is Prologue ")

Lorca successfully impersonated his prime universe counterpart and in 2256 became captain of the USS Discovery . He also recruited the Michael Burnham of the prime universe, though he hid his true origins and motivations from her. Late that year or early in 2257 , Lorca used Discovery 's displacement-activated spore hub drive to return to the mirror universe. He convinced Burnham to impersonate her mirror universe counterpart and bring him as her prisoner aboard Burnham's ship, the ISS Shenzhou . As he had planned, when Emperor Georgiou heard that Burnham was alive, she summoned her to bring Lorca to her flagship, the ISS Charon . Lorca escaped from an agonizer booth on the Charon and rescued several of his followers who were also being imprisoned and tortured there. With their help, he took control of the Charon , but he and his surviving followers were defeated by Emperor Georgiou and Michael Burnham. Lorca was killed, and Burnham and the Emperor were beamed off of the Charon before it was destroyed by Discovery . Discovery returned to the prime universe with Emperor Georgiou using the mycelial network which regenerated with the destruction of the mirror Stamets' super-mycelial reactor . However, Discovery accidentally overshot and returned to the prime universe nine months after their departure despite having spent only a few days at most in the mirror universe. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ", " Despite Yourself ", " The Wolf Inside ", " Vaulting Ambition ", " What's Past Is Prologue ")

Fearing that people would purposely attempt to cross over in order to bring back a lost loved one, the prime universe's Starfleet classified the very existence of the mirror universe in 2257. ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ")

Uhura and the mirror Sulu

In 2267, four Starfleet officers (Captain James T. Kirk , Lieutenant Uhura , Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott , and Doctor Leonard McCoy ) from the USS Enterprise were exchanged with those same officers from the ISS Enterprise in the mirror universe because of transporter interference from an ion storm . They discovered a brutal regime, almost dictatorial in its command structure. Advancement through assassination was commonplace.

During the encounter, Captain Kirk convinced the counterpart of his first officer , Spock , that the Empire could not sustain itself. Indeed, Spock predicted that in its current form, the Empire had 240 years before total collapse. ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

Shortly thereafter, Spock rose to become Commander-in-Chief of the Terran Empire, proposing a series of reforms designed to make the Empire more secure and less dictatorial in nature. These included a significant disarmament program. Unfortunately, once these reforms were complete, the Empire was unable to defend itself against the equally aggressive and powerful forces surrounding it. The Klingon-Cardassian Alliance overran the Empire, enslaving Terrans and Vulcans, and freeing several worlds that still remained under Terran occupation, including Bajor . ( DS9 : " Crossover ")

At some point before stardate 32336.6, the Terran High Chancellor's attempts at reforming the Empire ended in failure and he was killed. The current crew of the Enterprise mutineed and, with the help of Saru , now a rebel leader, escaped the mirror universe to the prime universe with a number of refugees seeking a new life. The ship became stuck in a wormhole but at least most of the crew managed to escape and find new lives amongst the United Federation of Planets . ( DIS : " Mirrors ")

Klingon-Cardassian Alliance [ ]

With the fall of the Terran Empire, the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance became the dominant power in the Alpha Quadrant . Bajor, which before had been enslaved by the Terrans, soon joined the Alliance. The command post and ore processing facility Terok Nor was constructed in orbit.

Also during this time, the forces of the mirror universe began implementing safeguards to prevent another crossover event. Transporter design was altered to prevent inter-dimensional travel, requiring the creation of devices specifically for that purpose, including the multidimensional transporter . In the event of another crossover, those involved would be killed to prevent further interference. ( DS9 : " Crossover ", " Through the Looking Glass ")

Kira Nerys and… Kira Nerys

By 2370 , Terok Nor was commanded by Intendant Kira Nerys , with Elim Garak as her second-in-command. It was at this point in time that contact with the prime universe again took place. A runabout from station Deep Space 9 entered the mirror universe following an incident in the Bajoran wormhole . Kira Nerys and Julian Bashir were captured by forces from Terok Nor, and interrogated by the intendant. Bashir was sent to work in the ore processing plant, where he befriended "Smiley" O'Brien . After instigating a series of incidents aboard the station, including the death of Odo during a slave uprising, Kira and Bashir convinced privateer Benjamin Sisko to rebel against the Alliance and help them to escape back to the prime universe. ( DS9 : " Crossover ")

A year later , Smiley crossed over to the Federation's universe and impersonated his counterpart long enough to capture the prime Sisko and bring him back to the mirror universe, where he convinced Sisko to impersonate the leader of the Terran Rebellion . The mirror Sisko had been killed in a skirmish with Alliance ships, and the rebels needed the other Sisko to win over Jennifer Sisko , Sisko's wife, who in the mirror universe was a scientist working for the Alliance. Jennifer had been developing a transpectral sensor array , which would have allowed the Alliance to locate rebel hideouts in the Badlands . Sisko convinced his wife's mirror counterpart to defect to the side of the rebels. ( DS9 : " Through the Looking Glass ")

While in the Federation's universe, Smiley downloaded information from Deep Space 9's computers, including the plans for the USS Defiant . In 2372 , the rebels constructed their own version of the Defiant , but had trouble getting it to function properly. Jennifer lured Sisko back into the mirror universe to help, though Kira Nerys killed her a short time thereafter. By this time, the rebellion had grown in strength, culminating in the capture of Terok Nor, which became a rebel base of operations. ( DS9 : " Shattered Mirror ")

In 2374 , Intendant Kira sent a thief, Bareil Antos , to the prime universe to steal one of the Bajoran orbs , believing it would permit Kira to unite Bajor under her rule. The attempt failed, and Bareil returned to the mirror universe without the orb. ( DS9 : " Resurrection ")

In 2375 , Grand Nagus Zek , the leader of the Ferengi Alliance in the prime universe, used the multidimensional transporter to travel to the mirror universe along with his Hupyrian manservant, Maihar'du , hoping to open up business opportunities, but they were captured and held hostage by the Alliance. Kira made arrangements with Worf , the regent of the Alliance, to obtain the prime universe's version of the Klingon cloaking device in exchange for Zek's return.

She sent Ezri Tigan , a Trill mercenary and Kira's lover, to the prime side to give Quark the ransom demand. Quark and his brother Rom stole the cloaking device from Klingon General Martok 's ship and delivered it to Ezri, but decided at the last minute that they couldn't trust her to keep her side of the deal. Quark and Rom accompanied her to the mirror universe, where all three were captured by the Terran rebels, who planned to keep the cloaking device, until Ezri's companion Brunt freed them, delivering them to Regent Worf. Aboard Worf's flagship , Quark and Rom were imprisoned along with Zek upon discovering Kira's plan, only to be later rescued by Ezri as revenge against Kira for killing Brunt. Ezri ended up joining the rebel cause. Quark, Rom, Zek, and Maihar'du were allowed to return to the primary universe for having aided the rebels' defeat of Worf, a major victory for the rebellion. During the escape from Worf's ship, Garak was killed. When last seen, the rebels' march towards victory showed no apparent signs of slowing. ( DS9 : " The Emperor's New Cloak ")

32nd century [ ]

By 3189 , the prime and mirror universes had drifted so far apart from each other that no reported crossings had occurred in the preceding five hundred years. As a result, Philippa Georgiou started dying of a time sickness . While searching for a cure, Georgiou was sent back in time to the mirror universe as part of a test, creating an alternate timeline that was implied to still exist when she returned. With Georgiou refusing to be returned to the mirror universe, the Guardian of Forever cured her by sending Georgiou back to a time where the two universes were still aligned where Georgiou could survive. ( DIS : " Die Trying ", " Terra Firma, Part 1 ", " Terra Firma, Part 2 ")

In 3191 , the ISS Enterprise was found by the crew of the USS Discovery and L'ak and Moll where it had remained trapped in a wormhole for centuries. The Discovery freed the Enterprise , learning of its crew's story from a dedication plaque, and sent it to the USS Federation for storage. Checking the crew's manifest against Federation databases, Captain Michael Burnham discovered that at least most of the ship's crew had fond a new life in the prime universe, with junior science officer Doctor Cho even joining Starfleet and rising in the ranks to become a branch admiral . ( DIS : " Mirrors ")

Cultures [ ]

Cardassians
Changelings
Humans ( Terrans )

Technology [ ]

Agony booth
Multidimensional transporter device
Tantalus field
Tri-cobalt warhead

Starships [ ]

ISS Avenger (NX-09)
Bashir's raider
ISS Defiant
USS Defiant (NCC-1764) (originated in prime universe)
ISS Discovery
ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
ISS Enterprise (NX-01)
Regent's flagship
ISS Shenzhou

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ]

" In a Mirror, Darkly " (Season 4)
" In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II "
" Into the Forest I Go " (Season 1)
" Despite Yourself "
" The Wolf Inside "
" Vaulting Ambition "
" What's Past Is Prologue "
" Terra Firma, Part 1 " (Season 3)
" Terra Firma, Part 2 "
" Mirror, Mirror " (Season 2)
" The Tholian Web " (Season 3)
" Crossover " (Season 2)
" Through the Looking Glass " (Season 3)
" Shattered Mirror " (Season 4)
" Resurrection " (Season 6)
" The Emperor's New Cloak " (Season 7)

Background information [ ]

Terminology [ ].

The term "mirror universe" was first mentioned in full in DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow ", after having long been used by behind-the-scenes production sources, such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia . Typically, only general terminology has been used of both universes in relation to each other, such as "parallel universe" and "the other universe" in TOS : " Mirror, Mirror " and DS9 : " Through the Looking Glass ", "alternate reality" in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly ", "the other side" in DS9 : " Crossover " and " Shattered Mirror ", "the alternate universe" in DS9 : " Resurrection " and " The Emperor's New Cloak ", and "the Terran universe" in DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ". Although the term "mirror universe" itself is not used in DIS : " Despite Yourself ", the crew of the USS Discovery specifically referred to their vessel's counterpart as being the "mirror Discovery ."

Origins [ ]

Jerome Bixby was inspired to conceptually originate the mirror universe, as a parallel universe, after writing a short story called "One Way Street", which also features a parallel universe. " Having written 'One Way Street', I thought 'OK, parallel universe!' " he exclaimed. Allowing the show's regular cast to play alternate versions of the main characters was one motive Bixby had for inventing the mirror universe. " As I was searching for ideas, I knew that they loved to use their cast in unusual ways on Star Trek . Instead of just throwing the cast up against a group of bad guys, or space monsters eating planets, they got a kick out of putting the cast into unusual versions of themselves, in an evil persona. " ( Starlog , issue #164, p. 48) Indeed, Bixby also said, " The universe I created was a very savage counterpart, virtually a pirate ship, into which I could transpose a landing party. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74) However, Bixby's original version of " Mirror, Mirror " didn't actually depict the parallel universe as "a very savage counterpart", with only subtle differences from the prime universe, such as the fact the Enterprise therein was manned by a benevolent crew. Harlan Ellison had proposed including a savage alternate universe in his original take on " The City on the Edge of Forever " and the parallel universe setting in the story that became "Mirror, Mirror" initially worried Robert H. Justman that it might be too similar to the antimatter universe from " The Alternative Factor ". ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )

While the story gradually began to develop into "Mirror, Mirror", the imagined universe evolved too. In a revised story outline (submitted on 2 March 1967 ), the universe contained a version of Rigel IV and a war which the duplicate Federation, including the alternate Enterprise , was losing against a race called the Tharn , to the point where surrender of the Federation was proclaimed as imminently necessary. Under orders from Admiral McNulty, Kirk took the Enterprise to rendezvous with elements of the Tharn fleet and submitted the ship to them. As Kirk soon realized, however, the Tharn vessels didn't have shields to withstand a phaser blast and the Federation had no knowledge of phaser technology. Next, ten Tharn ships followed the Enterprise , still acting under orders from McNulty, to the nearest starbase, which was Starbase One. During transit, the existence of the other universe, and the fact Kirk had originated there, was discovered by Mirror Spock and Mirror Scott. The crew of the Mirror Enterprise finally managed to create a phaser weapon, with Kirk's help, and used it to defeat the Tharn, before Kirk was returned to his own reality. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )

Some aspects of the mirror universe were subsequently influenced by comments from Script Consultant D.C. Fontana . For example, she suggested distinguishing the parallel universe from the prime one by doing "something optically or photographically." Thus, the first on-screen view from the mirror universe, depicting the ISS Enterprise and the Halkan homeworld , is a flipped rendition of identical footage from the prime universe. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )

The mirror universe was drastically changed when Gene Roddenberry submitted a rewrite of the story treatment on 1 April 1967 . He had found a way to make a parallel universe comprehensible, also changing the name Tharn to that of an individual and renaming the race as the Halkans. Roddenberry had started to think of the mirror universe as analogous to a country under the political control of a fascist military junta. Expressing how he thought of the alternate reality, Roddenberry mused to Gene L. Coon , " Life is valueless, full of fear and terror, and never exploits the full potential of most of the citizens. " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )

A few wording alterations still needed to be made. After Jerome Bixby proceeded from Gene Roddenberry's blueprint by turning in a first draft script for "Mirror, Mirror" on 26 May 1967 , some clarifications regarding the mirror universe were required. In a memo, Roddenberry told Gene Coon, " Desperately needed are scenes where we, in effect, sit down and say, 'This is where we are; this is what we've seen; what does it add up to?' […] For example, on Page 11, Kirk says, 'We've got two theories: massive change in our normal setting, or we're someplace else.' I had to read this several times to understand what he meant. " Following a second draft of the teleplay (submitted by Bixby in June 1967 ), NBC Broadcast Standards Department objected to the character of Marlena Moreau referring to the mirror universe as "the damned universe," advising that either the word "damned" be deleted or that the phrase be changed to "the universe of the damned." ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two ) In retrospect, referring to the murderous activities rife in the alternate universe, Marlena Moreau actress Barbara Luna half-jokingly commented, " We take that sort of thing lightly in the Mirror Universe. " ( Starlog , issue #235, p. 80)

First reappearance [ ]

Since "Mirror, Mirror" became a favorite episode with fans of Star Trek: The Original Series , it seemed only natural for the mirror universe to reappear in a later incarnation of Star Trek . ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 143)) As early as 21 February 1987 , David Gerrold jokingly reported that the mirror universe played a part in the only Star Trek: The Next Generation sequel to a TOS episode that had been suggested so far, in which the Enterprise returned to the parallel universe. ( Starlog , issue #119, p. 21) The notion of revisiting the mirror universe on TNG was actually pitched to the series many times, ever since it began. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74) Not intimately familiar with the TNG writers' room, Jonathan Frakes and the rest of the TNG cast were not made aware that there was any consideration of depicting the mirror universe on TNG. ( AT : " Vaulting Ambition ") However, one undeveloped mirror universe episode was even written for and submitted to TNG by Jerome Bixby. ( Starlog , issue #164, p. 45; Starlog , issue #167, p. 5) Michael Piller , though, was uninterested in the idea of revisiting the mirror universe. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74) Explained Brannon Braga , " We were a little frightened at doing it, and doing it badly, and maybe never really figured out what the Next Generation take would have been on it. " [1]

The writing staff of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine talked, for a while, about returning to the mirror universe, prior to setting any such plans in motion. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 143)) " We were talking about the idea of doing a sort of a mirror universe, " commented Robert Hewitt Wolfe , " and so, we started to imagine what that mirror universe would be like, if we put our people into it. " (" Section 31 : Hidden File 03", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) The parallel universe reappeared in the DS9 episode " Crossover " because Michael Piller was intrigued by the possibility of finding out how the reality had been altered since its introduction. " I couldn't get away from the fact that it would be interesting to know what happened after 'Mirror, Mirror' finished, " he said. Influenced by watching Schindler's List , Piller was fascinated by the what-if aspect of the grim alternate realm. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74) Wolfe remarked, " So, that was kinda the idea, was what would the mirror universe be like, a hundred years later? Well, it might not be a very nice place. " Changing the mirror universe in this way, pointing out that Kirk had been naive to try to simply improve the parallel universe without any unexpected consequences, was "fun" for Wolfe. (" Section 31 : Hidden File 03", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features)

Portraying the mirror universe in "Crossover" involved production requirements that were extremely demanding. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74) The production staff had the responsibility of convincing the DS9 audience that they were once again viewing events in the mirror universe. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 143)) Director David Livingston relished the challenge, since "Crossover" was the first installment to revisit the location. " That was fun to sort of be on the ground floor of creating this other world, " he commented. (" Section 31 : Hidden File 08", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) Outlining some of the extra needs, Livingston said, " We had more prosthesis makeup because the [space] station [ Terok Nor ] is inhabited by Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans, and the humans are basically slaves so they're wearing different costumes. " Other requirements involved altering the space station itself. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 75) Production Designer Herman Zimmerman noted, " It was more lighting and costuming than anything physical that we needed to do. " The alternate universe was deliberately depicted as "weird", such as by using skewed camera angles. " It looked unusual and immediately told the viewer he was in another world, " stated Livingston, who devised the idea. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 143-144)) Thus, the notion of making the installment's imagery very strong and dramatic set a visual tone for the mirror universe, helping differentiate it from the prime reality. " Stylistically, I tried to carry that same theme through the episode, so that it had a really strong contrast to what happens on our side of the world, or our side of the universe or reality. " (" Section 31 : Hidden File 08", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features)

As for clothing the main characters in both "Mirror, Mirror" and "Crossover", many of the costumes were variations on the ones normally worn by the lead actors in their Star Trek roles. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 144)) The performances of the characters obviously also changed. " You suddenly get to flip your character. It was part of the Disneyland of Star Trek , " related Kira actress Nana Visitor , who was delighted not only to appear in the mirror universe of "Crossover" but also to introduce the character of the Intendant . ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 16 , p. 47) Although Bashir actor Alexander Siddig was one of three members of DS9's main cast who didn't appear as their usual character's mirror duplicate in "Crossover" ( Terry Farrell and Cirroc Lofton being the others), he nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed watching the altered performances of all his cast mates. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 144); The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15 , pp. 22 & 23)

When the mirror universe started being revisited on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Jerome Bixby was very upset that he received no acknowledgement, in "Crossover", for the reuse of the concept. " They did refer to the visit by Captain Kirk and his landing party, and I perked up when they mentioned that, " he admitted. Bixby was so disappointed about not receiving on-screen credit for the recycling of what he felt was an idea he had originated that he consulted the Writer's Guild of America, whose policy was that – if a writer created an original character that was later reused – the writer was entitled to a royalty of some money. " It's arguable, " Bixby explained, " that the mirror universe itself might be termed a 'character' […] I'm not sure that the 'Mirror, Mirror' spin-offs will [result in financial compensation] unless the mirror universe itself can be deemed a character. That was mentioned in passing by the guy at the guild. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 74)

Later appearances [ ]

DS9's second visit to "the other side" was proposed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe to Ira Steven Behr and they proceeded to write the episode, " Through the Looking Glass ", together. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 94) The writers were faced with a choice of how difficult (or easy) to make accessing the mirror universe. " Every time we wanted to do a mirror universe show, " said Behr, " we had to come up with tech [to explain how they got there]. It came down to, did you want to spend half an act finding ways, or did you want to get in there and have fun? So, we made it easier to get in. But at least our [prime universe] people didn't come up with the way to do it. The mirror universe people did. " Nonetheless, Wolfe added, " I would say that it was probably extremely difficult to do, but [off screen]. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 230))

Although Ronald D. Moore hardly had anything to do with "Through the Looking Glass", he highly valued the revisit to the mirror universe, later remarking, " I want to know more of what happened. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 94) However, some viewers seemed concerned that accessing the mirror universe in "Through the Looking Glass" appeared to be too easy. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 230))

The use of the "alternate dimension" in "Through the Looking Glass" allowed for a cameo appearance by Tim Russ as Tuvok . " You're dealing with a basic physics concept, theoretical physics – the concept of an alternate universe – and I thought it was wonderful, " Russ commented. ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 94)

Nana Visitor also enjoyed how the mirror universe was depicted in "Through the Looking Glass". " It was fun to watch everyone else work and see them as this other side of themselves, " she said. ( The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 16 , p. 48)

The mirror universe setting of "Through the Looking Glass" meant the episode took an unusually long time to produce. " These shows have to be shot in a certain style because it's an alternate universe, " observed David Livingston. " Even though Deep Space Nine is already moody and dark, this universe has a certain sinewy look to it, and [Director of Photography] Jonathan [West] said, 'If you want it then I have to take the time to do it.' We all kind of bit the bullet, and it went over tremendously. It [the extra time needed to portray the mirror universe] was not a surprise to me. It might have been a surprise to some people, but I had been there. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 95)

Almost everyone working on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine enjoyed the "Crossover" episodes, which is how they generally referred to installments set in the mirror universe. Writers, actors, and directors alike relished the opportunities to take the characters in a direction which could be completely different from their norm. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 229)) To the DS9 writers, in fact, a visit to the mirror universe was like a vacation. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 329)) Michael Piller noted, " The 'Mirror, Mirror' arc episodes [of DS9] were all great fun. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 142 , p. 50) Hans Beimler enthused, " The alternate universe… [is] a great, fun playground. We get to paint with big brushes. The bad guys are so villainous and the good guys are so good. " ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 127 , p. 24) He elaborated, " I think the fun thing about the alternate universe, [is] you get to use the Star Trek characters, but you can make up rules as you go along. " Laughing, Beimler continued, " It's an alternate universe, but so much of it is blank, that you can really do what you've been wanting to do in our universe and can't do. " Ira Behr commented, " Let's face it, the alternate universe is such a wacky idea, and I don't care what anyone says […] Though we tried to play it with a straight face, at first, in Deep Space Nine , as time went on it just became tougher for us not to see it as what it was, which was kind of a rather flakey alternative to what we had been doing […] To really enjoy the alternate universe episodes, you just have to let go, you have to relax your sphincter a little bit and not be so anal about it, and just try to have some fun. " Behr also described the mirror universe as "something that we were able to exploit pretty successfully for a number of years." ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, pp. 72 & 73) Ron Moore considered the mirror universe as "just [a] wildly fun" setting, commenting, " It's a cool universe, and it's kind of fun to go over there and see the world turned inside out […] If anything, you want to see more and more of that world […] It loosens up the characters a little bit […] The logic of this parallel existence, where all our people look exactly the same but play other characters, is tenuous at best. Rick [Berman] has always kind of stumbled on it. He always stumbles on it, then he always likes the episode. I think it's how we all feel. It seems like a place to go and relax and have a good time. " René Echevarria pointed out, " When you see those characters, you see how much fun the actors have getting to play these shadow versions of themselves. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , pp. 118 & 94) David Livingston remarked, " [One] thing that I like about doing those kinds of episodes […] [is] the cast members get to play other characters and they get a big kick out of it. You know, it's a hoot for them to break out of something that they have to normally play the same every week […] And they chew the scenery and relish in it. It's fun to watch them do that. " (" Section 31 : Hidden File 08", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) Director James L. Conway agreed, " It's great to have these actors be able to free themselves up and play completely different people who are semibasically the same. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 330)) One exception to those who praised the mirror universe was Garak actor Andrew Robinson , since he didn't like the mirror Garak. " I never liked those alternate universe shows, " Robinson complained. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 645)) On the other hand, he admitted, " I know these stories are popular, though. " ( Starlog , issue #237, p. 74)

There was obviously a temptation to go as far afield as possible with differentiating the mirror universe characters from their prime universe counterparts, though there were seemingly limits to this. For example, mirror universe characters that apparently remained much the same as their prime universe counterparts include Spock, Tuvok, and Jadzia Dax. Alternatively, some characters (such as Rom ) could be vastly different in the mirror universe to how they were otherwise portrayed, according to Winrich Kolbe , who directed "Through the Looking Glass". Because the mirror universe episodes of DS9 had a high body count of familiar characters who were eliminated, the writers occasionally worried about running out of characters to populate the alternate realm. " It's a brutal universe, " acknowledged Robert Hewitt Wolfe, laughing. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 229 & 230))

Although the mirror universe inspired the DS9 writing staff to have fun, there were some in-house rules the writers had to follow when depicting the alternate universe. " We can't just go over there and interfere with their culture just because we can, " said Hans Beimler. " That's not a good enough reason. Ira's very specific about this. He wants the crossover shows […] to have what he calls 'bond,' which means there must be a reason to do them. The crossover universe […] [is] a swashbuckling kind of place. But we can't go there just because we're in a swashbuckling mood. We must go there for a [specific] reason. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 331))

While directing DS9 Season 4 installment " Shattered Mirror ", James Conway bore in mind the prevalent eroticism of the mirror universe. " That's what the mirror universe is about, " he remarked. " It's dark and it's sexy, so you can't be afraid of that in those shows because you'd miss opportunities. There's no subtlety over there. " Hans Beimler concurred, " The alternate universe is a sexually charged place, and who does what to whom is a matter of great interest to us. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 331))

At about the end of DS9's fourth season, the show's writing staff thought it likely that the mirror universe would appear again. Ira Steven Behr said, " It's something we'll probably do […] But you have to find a worthwhile story. There's also a big push to have them come to us… We'll see. " René Echevarria believed it was reasonable to expect there might be another "crossover" episode, commenting, " This is a piece of the franchise we want to do every year, but we're always looking for an in that is more than just playing great games […] People always say they want those guys to come to our universe, but the idea of them impersonating one of our people, unfortunately, is an angle we sort of cover with the changelings . So what does that really give you? That's why we keep going there. " Ron Moore concluded, " I can see still going over there [as a possibility]. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 118)

After freelance writer Michael Taylor tried to tackle an ultimately abandoned DS9 installment during the show's sixth season , he and the series' writing staff began speaking about the possibility of doing another mirror universe episode. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 509)) " I wasn't crazy about going back to the alternate universe, " Ira Behr conceded. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 44) The DS9 producers consequently decided to stick with the plan of setting their fourth episode about the mirror universe, which was entitled " Resurrection ", in the prime universe throughout, meanwhile bringing mirror universe characters there, such as Intendant Kira and the mirror-Bareil. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 509))

As Star Trek: The Next Generation had completely bypassed the mirror universe, LeVar Burton – who starred as Geordi La Forge on TNG and directed numerous DS9 episodes – wasn't exposed to the mirror universe until he was called upon to direct "Resurrection". The producers' decision to set the entire installment in the prime universe meant Burton had little difficulty with directing the episode. The only element of the mirror universe he may have experienced trouble with – namely, filming scenes of the two Kiras interacting – was actually no problem for him, as Burton had already shot two Rikers in the TNG offering " Second Chances ". ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 509))

Shortly before the start of DS9's seventh and final season , Ira Behr began to plan another mirror universe episode. Timing was one of the main factors that motivated the return of the alternate universe in seventh season entry " The Emperor's New Cloak ". ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 330 & 644)) Hans Beimler remembered, " We knew we had to do an alternate universe story, that it would be the last time we did an alternate universe story, so we wanted to make it a really great send-up. " Behr added, " We all felt the need, with a small n, to revisit the alternate universe one last time. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 72) Additionally, Behr proclaimed, " The mirror universe was due for a Ferengi show. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 644)) Regarding how the mirror universe was somewhat comedically depicted in "The Emperor's New Cloak", Behr stated, " We finally got to question the whole lunatic idea of the mirror universe. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 643)) This was done via the Ferengi character of Rom, who comes to the realization that the alternate universe "just doesn't make any sense."

Slightly more than a year after having directed "Resurrection", LeVar Burton again returned to the subject of the mirror universe by directing "The Emperor's New Cloak". However, he didn't see the entire scope of Deep Space Nine 's mirror characterizations until he started working on the episode. These performances pleased Ezri Tigan actress Nicole de Boer , who noted, " I liked seeing everybody else's take on the mirror characters. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 644)) She elaborated, " That was so much fun […] I had never seen the mirror universe episodes before, so I didn't really know what to expect. I thought everybody was so great […] We just all have so much fun with it, being bigger, and campy. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 46)

Armin Shimerman referred to "The Emperor's New Cloak" as "the one last acknowledgement of the mirror universe people." ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 36) Ira Behr commented, " I thought all in all it was a doff of the hat, and a little bow, and a wink to […] the alternate universe. " Hans Beimler concurred, " I think it was a nice way to end the last alternate universe [episode], at least the last one we'll do. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 73)

Following his work on "The Emperor's New Cloak", Hans Beimler hypothesized that the mirror universe might appear on Star Trek: Voyager . " I'm sure Voyager will steal our thunder, and go in there, " Beimler contemplated. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 73) His prediction turned out to be an incorrect one, as the alternate universe never appeared on VOY. However, Robert Duncan McNeill did once refer to the event horizon of a specific type-four quantum singularity , which appears in VOY : " Parallax ", as a "mirror universe." ( Starlog , issue #213, p. 38)

Prequel developments [ ]

According to the writers and producers of Star Trek: Enterprise in a panel discussion at the 2005 Grand Slam XIII convention , the concept of featuring the mirror universe in ENT Season 4 had a long gestation period. " We had talked about doing a mirror universe episode ever since we got into Season Four, " recalled Manny Coto . [2] (X) In fact, Brannon Braga, who worked as co-creator and Executive Producer on ENT, even initially considered that an alternate timeline which had been introduced in the season finale of the previous season , " Zero Hour ", might be "the beginnings of the Mirror Universe." ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 151 , p. 35)

The mirror universe was intended to be featured in an ultimately undeveloped two-parter which was concocted in the hopes of enabling William Shatner to appear. It would have been revealed that a method of exiting the mirror universe was via the Tantalus field , as it didn't actually disintegrate but in fact relocated its victims – which had included "Tiberius", the mirror universe James T. Kirk from "Mirror, Mirror" (as played by Shatner) – to a penal colony in the prime universe. [3] (X) " And so by that interesting, fun notion, you would have a world where all these Mirror Universe characters had been living, " stated Manny Coto. Returning to the mirror universe was of paramount importance to Tiberius and thus, when Enterprise NX-01 arrived at the penal colony, he was excited by the prospect of it allowing him to journey back to that reality. Much to his chagrin, however, the mirror universe didn't exist yet. In this narrative, it would have been created by Tiberius himself, as an alternate timeline split off from the prime timeline following the events of the show. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise , Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

Although negotiations between William Shatner and Paramount failed to reach an agreement, the concept of using the mirror universe as the major setting of a story still appealed to the ENT team of writer-producers. Another hurdle was a continuity issue caused by the fact that the visit to the mirror universe in "Mirror, Mirror" had clearly been its first contact with the prime universe. Manny Coto said, " We started bandying about ideas, trying to figure out a way to get our characters into the mirror universe. " [4] (X) Coto further explained, " When we were playing with the idea we kept going back to the old 'okay, they're beaming over and they get transported there' thing […] I hit upon the idea that why don't we just do the story in the Mirror Universe? Not a crossover, but the whole episode in there, and then it hit me that we could treat it like the whole episode sort of beamed over from the Mirror Universe, and that turned into a two-parter. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 41) Speaking from the viewpoint of the mirror universe, he concluded, " There's very little interaction with our regular universe. " [5] (X) Essentially, the creative team wanted to deliver the message that we're "not in Kansas anymore." ( Information provided by Michael Sussman )

The concept that the mirror universe existed at least as far back as when First Contact took place between Humans and Vulcans was thought up by Manny Coto. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise , Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

Prior to writing the script for "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I", Mike Sussman did some further research on the mirror universe by reading the non- canon novel Dark Mirror . ( Information provided by Michael Sussman )

The use of the mirror universe as the only setting of the "In a Mirror, Darkly" two-parter meant that aliens (such as the Gorn and Tholian species) which were otherwise prohibited from appearing on Star Trek: Enterprise , without violating canon, could be depicted in the two-parter. Hence, Garfield Reeves-Stevens related, " One of the great attractions that Manny had for why he wanted to do a Mirror episode was that there were very few continuity issues [within it]. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 69) Coto himself rhetorically asked, " The mirror universe, you know, gave us so much and an original Star Trek vehicle, so how can you go wrong? " ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise , Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

Returning to direct events in the mirror universe by helming "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I" was enjoyable for James L. Conway, having directed DS9: "Shattered Mirror". Of the ENT mirror universe show, he reminisced, " Taking the characters and flipping their personalities completely was a delight. " ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise , Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

In a cut scene from " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ", Archer gives a motivational speech to the assembled crews of the former ISS Enterprise and the Avenger .

Brannon Braga revealed – via his Twitter account – that, before the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise , there was even some talk about setting the entire fifth season in the mirror universe. [6] When interviewed, he explained, " We were going to continue on with the Mirror Universe, in a major way […] Manny Coto […] had some big plans for the Mirror Universe. " [7] Coto himself stated, " The mirror universe was a way, kind of, to expand old mythology, or touch on mythology without breaking canon, and that was gonna be our way to explore fun avenues that we weren't able to explore in regular universe. " ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise , Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features) Coto's plans for season five included featuring the mirror universe in four or five interconnected episodes. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise , Part Three: Final Approach", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

In 2013 , Simon Pegg jokingly theorized that the origins of the mirror universe crew from "Mirror, Mirror" might actually turn out to be depicted with the evolution of the alternate reality crew of the USS Enterprise from that universe, revealing that they are actually one and the same crew. [8]

The mirror universe was further developed and explored in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery . Production Designer Tamara Deverell recalled, " TJ Scott came in and said, 'We're going to the mirror universe,' and he said, 'Just give me some mirrored stuff everywhere.' We started playing around with adding black, shiny floors. The DPs were really in tune with bringing the whole thing down. " (" Designing Discovery ", DIS Season 1 DVD and Blu-ray special features)

Dating divergence [ ]

The credits sequence for the mirror universe Star Trek: Enterprise television series used footage of battles going back at least to the "Age of Sail". The mirror Phlox noted that the "great works" of literature in both universes were roughly the same, except that their characters were "soft and weak" (except for Shakespeare ), pushing back the latest possible date for a divergence to the 16th century . In mirror-Archer's deleted speech from "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II", he invokes the favor of the "gods." This, together with Marlena Moreau 's statement about "being the woman of a Caesar", in "Mirror, Mirror", suggests that the Terran Imperial tradition extends at least back to ancient Rome . However, given the nature of the mirror universe, these statements should be taken with a grain of salt.

Crossover characters [ ]

This is a list of individuals known to exist both in the prime reality and in the mirror universe.

Apocrypha [ ]

The existence of a "point of divergence" from the traditional Star Trek universe has not been confirmed, though according to the novel Fearful Symmetry , the mirror universe is in fact a parallel quantum universe , as quantum signature scans used to match Worf with his USS Enterprise -D in TNG : " Parallels " were also able to differentiate natives of the mirror universe from those of the prime reality. This suggests that even though the two universes were always separate, they shared a similar past up to some point in their history.

According to the FASA role-playing games and The Best of Trek , the mirror universe diverges from the prime timeline around the Eugenics Wars , while DC Comics ' The Mirror Universe Saga comics speculate the Earth-Romulan War was the point of divergence, with Earth having lost that war, and then embarking on a policy of conquest after overthrowing the Romulans (it is not known what kind of contact Sato 's Empire had with the Romulans). Still other works, the novels of William Shatner 's Star Trek: The Mirror Universe Trilogy (co-written with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens ) and the novelization of Star Trek: First Contact seem to indicate that time travel of the Borg to Zefram Cochrane 's era might be responsible. This explanation would tie in with ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly " when the Vulcans first arrived and were killed by Cochrane.

Dark Mirror , a Pocket TNG novel by Diane Duane , at first appears to place the mirror universe as parallel since the Eugenics Wars but Picard discovers that the ending of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is drastically different: Shylock is awarded, and accepts, the owed pound of flesh. On further investigation Picard finds that in the mirror universe Achilles kills old King Priam after the death of Hector when asked to return Hector's body for funeral rites, instead of showing one moment of Humanity. Picard thought of that moment in the original prime universe version as the one time in the poem when " that terrible man showed mercy… but not here. " Picard also discovered that Surak of Vulcan hadn't existed in that version of the mirror universe. This universe is inconsistent with the others in that it was written before the DS9 mirror episodes and references the Terran Empire as still being active in 2367 (although in a conversation with the mirror Worf Picard confirms Kirk and mirror-Spock's belief that the Empire will soon collapse, encouraging Worf to prepare other slaves to be ready to fight back).

Alternate mirror universes might however explain some of the costume and effects inconsistencies in the DS9 mirror episodes. For example in " Through the Looking Glass ", Alliance ships were seen de-cloaking, and in " The Emperor's New Cloak " the Alliance didn't have cloaking technology.

The mirror universe is mentioned a few times in the Deep Space Nine book trilogy Millennium . During the second novel, it was revealed that Dukat , possessed by the Pah-wraiths, has taken over the mirror Terok Nor , where he is awaiting a final confrontation with Kai Weyoun 5 . Also, General Martok crafted an invasion strategy that would have involved moving the entire Klingon fleet to the mirror universe.

In the novel The Soul Key by Olivia Woods , it is revealed that the mirror Benjamin Sisko staged his death. In addition, the Bajoran wormhole is discovered by the mirror version of Iliana Ghemor .

The mirror universe made an appearance in Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force , a video game released for PCs. Voyager , having been pulled into a starship scrapyard, encounters hostile Humans working with various aliens, including Malons, Klingons, and Hirogen . These Human "scavengers" are from the mirror universe and operate from a station made up of the remains of a mirror universe Constitution -class starship , among other things.

The mirror universe also features prominently in Star Trek: Shattered Universe , a video game released on PS2 and Xbox. It depicts an Empire Starfleet of the 2290s , and a crossover to the adventures of Captain Sulu on the ISS Excelsior .

According to the novella " Age of the Empress ", World War II occurred in the mirror universe, with Japan as one as its participants. One of the results appears to have been a lessening of the power of Japan's emperor, as the Kyoto Imperial Palace was turned into a tourist attraction.

The Star Trek: Enterprise novel The Good That Men Do established that Section 31 was already aware of the existence of the mirror universe by 2155 .

A mirror universe of the alternate reality is introduced in issue fifteen of IDW Publishing 's Star Trek: Ongoing comic series. In this version of events, Nero ( β )'s incursion results in a timeline where the Terran Empire conquers the Klingons in 2258 , and James T. Kirk ( β ) recovers the Narada ( β ) from Rura Penthe ( β ). Having destroyed the ISS Enterprise ( β ) and proclaimed himself captain of the "new" Terran flagship, Kirk subsequently tracks down another anomaly similar to that which brought the Narada into their universe and discovers another version of "Spock Prime", who recognizes this world as the mirror universe. Kirk subsequently attempts to use the red matter from the Jellyfish to destroy Vulcan, but this plan is prevented by the treachery of Uhura ( β ), who beamed Spock ( β ) to safety at the last minute. The two Spocks decide to remain on Vulcan to help their people, while Uhura departs as the new captain of the Narada .

The mirror universe plays a major role in several story arcs of Star Trek Online . It first appears in in the mission "Jabberwocky", in which the player must return the mirror version of the Orb of Possibilities to that universe, while braving attacks from both the Cardassian True Way and the reformed Terran Empire. Personnel from the mirror universe also appear in the mission "Lost and Found", as well as the later missions "Temporal Reckoning" and "Ragnarok". The story arc "Terran Gambit" revolves around the Terran emperor of that era (revealed to be the mirror counterpart of Wesley Crusher ) trying to subugate the mirror counterpart of V'ger in an effort to destroy the prime universe. Likewise, the story arc "Kings & Queens" heavily features the mirror counterpart of the Borg Collective , known as the "Borg Kingdom", and their attempts to breach numerous alternate universes.

The mirror universe plays an essential role in Star Trek: Coda , a trio of novels that serve as a finale to the original Star Trek novelverse by setting it within an alternate quantum reality in order to reconcile the differences in events throughout these novels with the new continuity established by series such as Star Trek: Picard . Within Coda it is revealed that when the timeline diverged to create the First Splinter timeline ( β ), an alternate mirror universe was created as well as the two realities are inextricably linked.

Apocryphal appearances [ ]

#9: " Promises to Keep "
#10: " Double Image "
#11: " Deadly Reflection! "
#12: " The Tantalus Trap! "
#13: " Masquerade! "
#14: " Behind Enemy Lines! "
#15: " The Beginning of the End... "
#16: " Homecoming... "
Marvel Comics : " Fragile Glass "
" Enemies & Allies, Part One "
" Enemies & Allies, Part Two "
Star Trek: Mirror Images series
Star Trek: Ongoing : " Mirrored, Part 1 ", " Part 2 "
Star Trek: Ongoing : " Live Evil, Part 1 , " Part 2 , " Part 3 "
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Mirror Broken
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Through the Mirror
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita
Star Trek: Voyager - Mirrors and Smoke
Star Trek: Discovery - Succession

Magazines [ ]

The Best of Trek #14
Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force
Star Trek: Shattered Universe
Mirror Universe (Decipher)
Star Trek Online
Star Trek Timelines
Dark Mirror
Star Trek: Dark Passions
Star Trek: Stargazer : Three
Dark Victory
Millennium : The War of the Prophets
Fearful Symmetry
The Soul Key
Glass Empires
Obsidian Alliances
Shards and Shadows
The Sorrows of Empire
Rise Like Lions
The Ashes of Tomorrow
Oblivion's Gate
Die Standing

External links [ ]

Mirror universe at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Mirror universe at Wikipedia
2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery's enterprise plaque reveals new mirror universe history details.

Star Trek: Discovery brought the ISS Enterprise into the 32nd century, and a translation of its dedication plaque reveals new Mirror Universe details.

Warning: This Article Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 - "Mirrors"

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", reveals new details about the Mirror Universe's history on the ISS Enterprise.
The dedication plaque on the starship sheds light on events in the late-23rd century after "Mirror, Mirror" from TOS season 2.
Burnham and Booker found the ISS Enterprise in interdimensional space and brought it into the 32nd century Prime Universe.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", shockingly brought the ISS Enterprise into the 32nd century, and the starship's dedication plaque reveals new details about the Mirror Universe's history. Written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan, "Mirrors" brought Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) into interdimensional space in pursuit of the next clue to the ancient treasure of the Progenitors, which was hidden aboard the 23rd century ISS Enterprise from the Mirror Universe.

On his X account, Jörg Hillebrand (@gaghyogi49), who was a researcher for Star Trek: Picard season 3 renowned for his attention to detail, posted a clear translation of the ISS Enterprise's dedication plaque from Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 . The illuminated text reveals what happened in the late-23rd century Mirror Universe after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's "Mirror, Mirror." Read the post below:

Here is the image in the X post:

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

A timeline of star trek's mirror universe, from the terran empire to the temporal wars.

The Mirror Universe was introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's "Mirror, Mirror" and its canonical history can be tracked through Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek: Discovery. The earliest chronological glimpse of the Mirror Universe is on April 5, 2063, when Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell) murdered a Vulcan after making First Contact in Enterprise 's "In A Mirror, Darkly". In the 22nd century of Star Trek: Enterprise 's Mirror Universe , Commander Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) captured the USS Defiant from the 23rd century, but he was betrayed by Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), who declared herself Empress of the Terran Empire.

In the 23rd century of Star Trek: Discovery , the Mirror Universe was ruled by Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). Georgiou jumped to Star Trek 's Prime Universe aboard the USS Discovery after defeating a coup by Gabriel Lorca (Jason Issacs) . The Terran Empire continued unabated, but after Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) briefly switched places with his Mirror Universe counterpart, he convinced the Mirror Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to institute reforms to save the Terran Empire from its inevitable collapse.

Refugees fled the Mirror Universe aboard the stolen ISS Enterprise.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 episode 5 reveals that High Chancellor Spock did change the Terran Empire, but he was assassinated for weakness. Refugees fled the Mirror Universe aboard the stolen ISS Enterprise, thanks to the Mirror Saru (Doug Jones), a rebel leader. The ISS Enterprise's personnel did make it to the Prime Universe. However, in the Mirror Universe, the Terran Empire was conquered by the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance , as detailed in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . By Star Trek: Discovery 's 32nd century, the Mirror and Prime Universe timelines have split further apart thanks to the Temporal Wars, making crossing over impossible.

Source: Twitter/X

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+

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Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

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Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
Soundtracks Star Trek Music by Alexander Courage

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Star Trek: Discovery Finally Gave Us A Closer Look At The Franchise's Most Mysterious Villain

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Discovery."

"Star Trek" might represent an idealistic vision of a bolder and brighter future, but the last few seasons of "Discovery" have proven that there will always be bad guys with a penchant for muddying up those ambitions in unexpected ways -- even in the 32nd Century. While the Borg, Romulans, and the warlord Khan often have a stranglehold on the title of "Best 'Trek' villains," one alien species in particular has remained shrouded in mystery for decades. First mentioned in foreboding whispers in "The Next Generation" and finally seen in the flesh (well, so to speak) in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," the Breen have played a significant role throughout the franchise in the years since ... yet Trekkies still had to wait until now to actually see what lies underneath their distinctive helmets.

The advantage of never showing us a Breen's face, as it turns out, is that "Discovery" was able to hide one in plain sight all along.

So far, the addition of scavengers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) has felt like a shoe waiting to drop. The close-knit pair continue to frustrate Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the rest of the Discovery crew (nowhere more dramatically than in last week's time-traveling bottle episode ), remaining one step ahead of our heroes in their quest to recover whatever Progenitor technological treasure hides at the end of this galaxy-spanning rainbow. About midway through episode 5, titled "Mirrors," the writers unleashed their big twist. L'ak, thus far considered an unknown type of extraterrestrial, actually reveals himself as a Breen. Or, rather, an emotional Moll lets this information slip by accident during a particularly fraught moment. In the process, "Trek" finally unmasked its most enigmatic aliens.

Read more: Every Star Trek Show And Movie In Chronological Order

Putting On A Brave Face (Or Two)

In the span of one episode, "Discovery" officially made "Star Trek" history.

Long treated as a mystery that left everything up to our own imaginations, the Breen reveal puts a specific face to what had previously only been a name ... actually, make that two faces. While Moll and L'ak come to a tense faceoff with Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) on board the mirror-universe version of the USS Enterprise while trapped in multidimensional space (it's a long story), the writers treat this as the perfect opportunity to delve into the scavengers' shared past. In a series of flashbacks, we find out that L'ak was part of the Breen royal family and disgraced by his powerful Primarch uncle. Hoping to earn his way back to his people's good graces, all his plans are upended by a torrid romance with then-courier Moll. With their backs against the wall and nowhere else to turn, the lovers choose their own path altogether and, along the way, L'ak reveals his most private aspect of himself: his Breen face.

Of course, the episode adds another twist and introduces the concept of the Breen having two faces -- a solid, corporeal form they can present to others if they so choose, and a more translucent one. (Really, it can only be described as squishier. ) In fact, this creepy and altogether unique visage symbolizes a much more meaningful difference, as we learn when L'ak's uncle calls his chosen face an "insult to your heritage." Apparently, most Breen have moved beyond this "weak" form and consider this some sort of societal faux pas. In just a few minutes, we discover more about Breen culture than we've ever known before.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" stream every Thursday on Paramount+.

Read the original article on SlashFilm

Star Trek's Writers Didn't Invent The Borg Queen – A Paramount Executive Did

When the Borg were first introduced on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (in the 1989 episode "Q Who"), they were terrifying. Clearly inspired by the works of H.R. Giger, the Borg sported tubes, servos, wires, and ineffable black machinery sprouting from their bodies. The Borg were made up of other species that had been kidnapped and assimilated into their collective, their minds wiped and replaced with a singular, terrifying machine consciousness. The Borg traversed space in outsized cube-shaped vessels, likewise crisscrossed with wires and ducts. They only had one goal: to grow. As Q (John de Lancie) described them, the Borg are the ultimate users. They look out at the universe and emotionlessly see nothing but raw materials to expand with.

The Borg returned periodically throughout "Next Generation," becoming one of the show's more impressive antagonists. The race of soulless machine people proved to be a great villain.

Naturally, when "Next Generation" moved into feature films, the Borg had to return. Jonathan Frakes' 1996 film "Star Trek: First Contact" featured the Borg traveling back in time to a vulnerable moment of Earth's history, hoping to alter events in their favor. In the past, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise discovered a new Borg wrinkle: they didn't have a group consciousness but were ruled by a sweaty, malevolent, emotional Queen (Alice Krige). Giving the Borg a "boss monster" was a silly twist that has, unfortunately, become a key part of "Star Trek" lore.

In the oral history book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams," edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, "First Contact" co-writer Brannon Braga revealed that the Borg Queen was invented by a Paramount executive named Jonathan Dolgen ... who thought the Borg were boring.

To elucidate: "Star Trek: First Contact" is about a Borg attack on Earth that is cut short by the tactical savvy of Starfleet and the Enterprise-E. Just before their ship is destroyed, the Borg send a small spherical vessel through a mysterious time portal. The Enterprise pursues, getting caught briefly in a "time wake" and for a moment see that history has been altered. The Earth's population is now nine billion Borgs. The Enterprise goes back to the year 2063 to prevent their timeline alteration.

Audiences finally meet the Borg Queen a third of the way into the film. Unlike the other Borgs, the Queen is individualistic, sexual, and emotional and claims to speak for the Borg. Uncharacteristically, she states very specific goals. She was a fun, slinky, terrifying movie monster, but she made the Borg less threatening; the previously single-minded cyborgs now had a leader one could negotiate with.

Which is how Dolgen wanted it. The exec said that the Borg were dull, amounting to little more than robot zombies. They needed a voice. Screenwriter Brannon Braga hastened to come up with a "fix." Braga recalled:

"We did a substantial rewrite. Also, it was Jonathan Dolgen at the time who ran Paramount, the biggest cheese there was, and he was also a ravenous 'Star Trek' fan. Rick and I used to go into his office for meetings all the time, and he would say, 'Oh, I really like this episode and that episode.' I think he was the one who said the Borg are boring. They're just zombies, you need a voice. We thought, 'S***, okay, it's like a hive. Like a bee colony. Let's make a queen,' and it was probably the best invention we could have possibly come up with."

A hive? Sure.

Assimilate this

Turning the Borg into a hive made the villains a lot less interesting. Instead of being an unreasonable machine intelligence, there was now a hierarchy on board a Borg ship, with a "captain" calling the shots and the "drones" taking orders. And if the Queen was sexual and emotional, she was suddenly prone to trickery and manipulation herself. Indeed, in the climax of "First Contact," Data (Brent Spiner) hoodwinks the Borg Queen; she is emotionally distracted enough to let Data (Brent Spiner) re-aim the ship's torpedos.

But Braga was just following orders from Paramount, and a Borg Queen was his most elegant solution. At least the change was demanded by a Trekkie with his own vision of the franchise, and not an ignorant moneyman looking for toyetic images.

Early in the scriptwriting process, it seemed that Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was to be the hero. Braga realized that Picard should be the one to face off against the Borg again, saying:

"I don't think anyone realized by shuffling Picard and Riker around it would change things so monumentally, but I'm glad it did. Because it was the next movie, and it had been two years since you had last seen Picard, you kind of wanted to do big things with him. You wanted to have him fall in love and take a woman with him at the end. Actually, it was a good instinct on Patrick's part, because you want to see these characters in new situations. But this is an action movie. A romance? What a stupid idea. In the rewrite, the Borg meets the captain and he's our action hero."

"First Contact," despite its action film trappings , was a big hit, and is often considered the best of the "NextGen" movies. A Hive it is.

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The Mirror Universe is the setting of several narratives in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, a parallel universe existing alongside, but separate from, the fictional universe that is the main setting of Star Trek.It resembles the main Star Trek universe, but is populated by more violent and opportunistic doubles of its people. The Mirror Universe has been visited in one episode of Star ...
Mirror universe
The mirror universe was a parallel universe widely recorded as first being visited by James T. Kirk and several officers from the USS Enterprise in 2267, though in reality already encountered by the USS Discovery around a decade earlier. This parallel universe coexisted with the prime universe in the same space, but on another dimensional plane. The mirror universe was so named because most ...
The History Of The Romulans, And Their Place In The Star Trek Universe
The in-universe origin of the Romulans is that they were Vulcans, millennia ago. In that distant past, the Vulcans were a warlike people, far from the cold logicians that fans know. That changed ...
Star Trek: Discovery's Enterprise Plaque Reveals New Mirror Universe
The Mirror Universe was introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's "Mirror, Mirror" and its canonical history can be tracked through Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek: Discovery. The earliest chronological glimpse of the Mirror Universe is on April 5, 2063, when Zephram Cochrane (James Cromwell) murdered a Vulcan after making First Contact in ...
Star Trek (TV Series 1966-1969)
Star Trek: Created by Gene Roddenberry. With Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
Star Trek: Discovery Finally Gave Us A Closer Look At The ...
In the span of one episode, "Discovery" officially made "Star Trek" history. ... (David Ajala) on board the mirror-universe version of the USS Enterprise while trapped in multidimensional space ...
List of Star Trek novels
Bantam Books was the first licensed publisher of Star Trek tie-in fiction. Bantam published all their novels as mass market paperbacks. Bantam also published Star Trek Lives! (1975) by Jacqueline Lichtenberg.. Episode novelizations (1967-1994) Short story adaptations of The Original Series episodes written by James Blish and J. A. Lawrence. Mudd's Angels (1978) includes the novelizations of ...
Star Trek's Writers Didn't Invent The Borg Queen
Jonathan Frakes' 1996 film "Star Trek: First Contact" featured the Borg traveling back in time to a vulnerable moment of Earth's history, hoping to alter events in their favor. In the past, the ...

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