Mirror, Mirror (TV series)

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Mirror, Mirror
Image:MMlogo.jpg
Format Time travel / Drama
Created by Hilary Bell and
Posie Graeme-Evans
Starring Petra Jared
Michala Banas
Nicholas Hooper
Jeffrey Walker
James Ashcroft
Nicholas Hammond
Country of origin Flag of Australia Australia &
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
No. of episodes 20
Production
Running time 24 min.
Broadcast
Original channel Network Ten
Original run 30 September 1995
– 23 December 1995
Chronology
Followed by Mirror, Mirror II
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Mirror, Mirror, a 1996 co-production between Australia and New Zealand, is one single complete story given in a serial form — in the same way that a complete story is sometimes given in a television mini-series. Mirror, Mirror lasts for 20 episodes altogether, with all of the episodes (chapters) continuing immediately on from the previous episodes in a serialised fashion, including having a cliffhanger between each of the episodes. The song used in the opening credits was written by Dennis Watkins, and sung by Nadine Weinberger.

Contents

[edit] Cast

  • Petra Jared — as "Jo (Josephine) Tiegan"
  • Michala Banas — as "Louisa Iredale"
  • Nicholas Hooper — as "Nicholas"
  • James Ashcroft — as "Tama"
  • Jeffrey Walker — as "Royce Tiegan"
  • Nicholas Hammond — as "Sir Ivor Creevy-Thorne"
  • Peter Bensley — as "Andrew Tiegan"
  • Judith McIntosh — as "Catherine Tiegan"
  • Michele Amas — as "Primrose Iredale"
  • Gerald Bryan — as "Joshua Iredale"
  • Bernard Kearns — as "The Old Man".

[edit] Plot

When Jo Tiegan is shopping with her father in 1995, she notices an antique shop which she feels a compulsion to go to. There she sees a beautiful oval mirror, which she is given by the elderly owner of the shop — who comments that the mirror is meant for her. Jo is delighted, and the mirror is placed in her bedroom. That night, Jo is stunned to see the image of another girl in the mirror, instead of her own reflection, and it is obvious that the other girl can see her just as clearly. Jo and the other girl, Louisa Iredale, are able to 'introduce' themselves to each other by writing their names down for the other girl to read. After Louisa is called away to dinner, Jo is accidentally pulled through the mirror into Louisa's bedroom in 1919. This leads to the discovery, by Jo and Louisa, that they can visit each other's times, through the mirror, any time they want to do so — provided that the mirror is situated in exactly the same place and that the mirror's alignment and orientation are identical within the mirror's frame, at corresponding moments in 1919 and 1995.

In 1919, Louisa's father is a New Zealand politician, and their family house is a mansion with servants. Jo, the daughter of the Australian school principal at a New Zealand school, lives in a school residential building which happens to be the same house as Louisa's family home, and the girls also even have the same bedroom as each other, although the room's decor for Jo in 1995 is totally different from the way the room's decor is for Louisa in 1919.

When Jo and Louisa meet, there is instant rapport between the two girls and they become firm friends, and life changes for them both as they become caught up in a web of intrigue.

Following Jo's unexpected journey through the mirror, a hazardous situation occurs during an archaeological dig in a well at Jo's school, when a container they discover in the well is damaged and two of the students working nearby are accidentally sprayed with toxic waste. The affected students become extremely ill, and, when it is discovered that the container has the date 1919 on it, Jo is worried that her friends' sickness is her fault because of going through the mirror to 1919.

Back in 1919, Jo asks Louisa to help her find the container so that they can move it, to prevent the later disastrous events happening in 1995. The well is located in the yard of a neighbouring house which is rented by a British visitor to the area, Sir Ivor Creevy-Thorne. Jo and Louisa enter the yard and look down the well - following which they become aware of a teenage boy watching them. The boy is Nicholas whom Sir Ivor had brought from Russia to New Zealand, under the guise of caring for the boy until the dangerous situation in Russia abated. Although Nicholas is grateful to Sir Ivor for his help, he is extremely worried about his family, whom he has not heard about for a long time - and he is worried about the lack of information he receives whenever he asks Sir Ivor about them. Nicholas is also upset that Sir Ivor refuses to allow him to leave the house, or to have any friends of his own age.

When Nicholas eventually manages to escape from the house, he goes to Louisa's home, where he finds Jo's encyclopedia (which Jo had brought through the mirror to show to Louisa). Intrigued by the colour pictures, because only black and white pictures had been his experience up until then, Nicholas checks the book for information about the Russian Royal Family. To his horror, he reads that Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia, and his family, had been killed. When Jo and Louisa come into the room, Nicholas demands that Jo tell him if the information he had read is correct, and asks Jo where she got the book. Jo confirms that the information is correct, and Nicholas reveals to Jo and Louisa that he is Alexei Nikolaevich, the son of the Tsar, and that it is his family who had been murdered. Sir Ivor's treachery is finally revealed. Instead of caring for Nicholas, Sir Ivor had actually kidnapped Nicholas in Russia and brought him to New Zealand so that he could 'sell' Nicholas to the highest bidder - Russian Bolsheviks who want to take Nichoas back to Russia with them so that Nicholas, the last surviving member of the Russian Royal Family, can be killed.

Jo asks her school friend, Tama, to assist her and Louisa and Nicholas. When Louisa and Tama meet for the first time, they instantly fall for each other - with the romantic bond between them deeping as the story progresses. There is also a romantic bond between Jo and Nicholas.

Sir Ivor, who had earlier taken Nicholas' family signet ring (saying it was for the ring's 'safekeeping'), calls for Nicholas to be brought to him and then takes the ring from a desk drawer. Sir Ivor drops the ring into the container of toxic waste - in front of the horrified Nicholas, and warns Nicholas not to attempt to retrieve his ring from the container. Sir Ivor then leaves the room. Sir Ivor is holding a ball that night, to which members of the New Zealand's high society has been invited (including Louisa's parents).

With the help of Tama, and the technology of 1995, a neutralising agent for the toxic waste is discovered, and a sufficient quantity is manufactured to render the waste in the container safe. While waiting at the fence for a chance for Nicholas to go to the yard to pour the neutralising agent in the container, the two couples pair off, and Louisa and Tama shyly kiss each other. Music can be heard from Sir Ivor's ballroom, and Nicholas teaches Jo to dance the old way, during which Nicholas and Jo also kiss each other.

Nicholas, who requires his family signet ring as proof of his identity, tells Jo that the container of toxic waste is safe, as he has hidden it in the well. Jo is horrified at this and now considers Nicholas to be the person responsible for the harm which had befallen her friends at the school. Nicholas promises her that everything would be okay.

Back in 1995, Jo's parents are very worried because they cannot find Jo, and they decide to confront the elderly owner of the antique shop over the matter. They are surprised when the old man welcomes them and comments that they are expected. The elderly man tells them everything, including his true identity, and mentions that Jo was, at that moment, in 1919. They are very upset and annoyed when the old man states that he and Jo would marry (in 1919) and that Jo would not be returning to 1995.

Meanwhile, back in 1919, Nicholas pours the neutralising agent into the container. Although he is successful in neutralising the toxic waste, it will still remain harmful for years after 1919. However, it will be safe in 1995. Nicholas is able to travel through the mirror to 1995 and retrieve his ring. However, when he attempts to return to 1919 through the mirror with the ring, he discovers that he is unable to do so because the ring already exists in 1919. Nicholas is given two choices - he can return to 1919 without the ring (and, therefore, without him being able to prove his identity), or he can stay in 1995 with Jo. Love wins out and Nicholas stays.

[edit] Books

Louisa Iredale has a copy of Lewis Carroll's book Through the Looking-Glass in her bedroom. This is an homage to Lewis Carroll's book, which also involves a girl travelling through a mirror, albeit to another world.

A novelised version of the "Mirror, Mirror" television story was written by Hilary Bell, one of the many co-writers of the television series, following the release of the series. However, although most of the book remained true to the series, there are some marked differences between the series and the novelised version of the story.

[edit] Sequel

Main article: Mirror, Mirror II

A second series of 26 episodes, featuring a completely new story and set of characters, followed in 1997. The series, which was completely separate from the series this article is about, was titled "Mirror, Mirror II".

The only similarity between the two series is the presence of a time travelling mirror in New Zealand. Also the rules for the mirror's mystical properties are completely different between the two series. For instance, during Mirror, Mirror, the mirror could only be travelled through by children - adults were not able to do so — while in Mirror, Mirror II, anybody could go through the mirror without any difficulty, including adults.

Also, Mirror, Mirror had but a single story arc, which is presented in serial form — whereas Mirror, Mirror II is made up of several semi-continuous story arcs, and with almost every individual episode of Mirror, Mirror II corresponding to a new adventure.[citation needed]

[edit] External links

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