The last episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise are beginning to tick off, one by one, until the series ends for good. I watched the "Mirror, Mirror" homage on Sunday night in the hotel, but I missed the teaser and the opening credits, which sounded like a riot, from everything I read about them in the Blogosphere, including this random sampling:

IT F***ING ROCKED!!!!

It was a veritable love-fest to the original series. So full of kick-ass references, from a Tholian web to the climax with a Constitution-class starship.

In case you haven't been following, this episode is a return to Star Trek's beloved Mirror universe; a parallel universe populated by all our evil twins.

In this episode, Commander Archer (yup, he's only the first officer) leads a mutiny against Captain Forrest and takes command of the evil Enterprise. Archer has learned from a Tholian slave that the Tholians have captured an Earth ship, from the future AND a parallel universe. Now in command of Enterprise, evil Captain Archer sets a course for the heart of Tholian space to capture this ship....

What I liked:

The opening sequence. We flashback to the events of Star Trek: First Contanct, when First Contact is made. Rather than shaking hands with the Vulcan captain, evil Zephram Cochrane whips out a shotgun and blows away the Vulcan captain, and then proceeds to loot the Vulcan ship.

Evil Hoshi, who is "the captian's woman," meaning she spend the whole episode slinking around in one of those black baby-doll nightgown thingies.

Evil female uniforms have bare midriffs. [Sigh--Ed]

Horribly scarred evil Trip. [It was a really nice little throwaway homage to the fictional "delta rays" that crippled Capt. Pike in the original series' "The Menagerie" episode--Ed] He even modified his Southern accent slightly. Instead of a "Southern gentleman" southern accent, we get a "wife-beating trailer trash" southern accent.

Tholians. We finally see a full-bodied Tholian. CGI rocks.

The Tholian web. Their trademark weapon makes a return appearance. Did I mention CGI rocks?

The climax on board the Defiant.

It rocked it rocked it rocked.

Bring on pt. 2!!!

Including, the great James Lileks, who says, "this is not your father's Trek. So it's going to be fun":

Point is, this was a payoff for longtime fans the likes of which no other show can really do. There’s so much Trek lore built up over the years, but the original show had all primary texts; these last few shows of “Enterprise” are like finding a cave next to the Dead Sea Scrolls with commentary tracks from the original authors. There really isn’t any pop culture parallel to this; very few things lasted this long, had consistent tutelage (for better or worse, alas) and ended by going back to the beginning in a fashion that presumed foreknowledge of the future by the viewers, and withheld it from the characters. Wow. And thanks. And (sob.) I will miss it.