At the ENTERPRISE writers/producers pane at the Grand Slam Con.l, the staff revealed the secrets about the aborted ENTERPRISE episode featuring the return of 'Captain James T. Kirk' to STAR TREK.

Star Trek.com posted their report about the third day of the Grand Slam XIII convention, with guests Jolene Blalock, Wil Wheaton and Manny Coto, Mike Sussman, Andre Bormanis, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.

"We had talked about doing a Mirror Universe episode ever since we got into Season Four," Manny Coto explained "But then we had the possibility of getting William Shatner. Coincidentally, the Reeves-Stevens [who have worked with Shatner on several STAR TREK novels] were a pair of writers whom I desperately wanted to bring on the show. And they, it turned out, had an idea for a Mirror Universe two-parter which would feature the return of William Shatner."

According to several reports last year, Shatner has spoken about a "Captain Kirk" story idea which he himself pitched to Paramount that was well received. ENTERPRISE writers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens revealed at the convention what that pitch was.

"The idea was that the Tantalus Field was not a disintegrator, it was a humane way of dealing with prisoners, by sending them back in time to a sealed penal colony," Garfield explained. "Enterprise NX-01 comes upon the colony - and Tiberius [mirror-Kirk] is there. Tiberius thinks, 'Finally, a ship with a transporter - I can get back to my own universe, my own time.' He basically goes on the NX-01, gets to the transporter, sets it to go back to the mirror universe - the Mirror Universe doesn't exist."

"It hasn't been created yet," Judith said

"So Tiberius and Archer work together to figure out where the division point is between the universes, what point that one split off into the other. And as it turns out, Tiberius and Archer together are responsible for the creation of the mirror universe." Garfield said.

Manny Coto recounted that Shatner pitched the idea to him, Brannon Braga and Rick Berman and the producers loved it, but Berman pitched an alternative concept, which was actually devised by writer Mike Sussman.

"Shatner was going to be 'Chef' - an ancestor of Kirk." Sussman explained "We would find out that at some point in the future the real Kirk got into trouble, got taken out of history. And Daniels would show up, he would grab Archer, he would grab Chef - who of course looked like a William Shatner - and say, 'You have to go to the future and impersonate Captain Kirk in some important ceremony.' That was the setup."

"We pitched this to Shatner and there was a long silence," Coto continued. After that, the studio negotiations with Shatner fell through, but they still wanted to do a Mirror Universe episode, which became the two parter "In a Mirror, Darkly".