Re: [scifinoir2] Star Trek and Time Travel (was 'Star Trek' Writers Talk Direction)
I'll even give "Voyager" props for one good time travel show-- "Timeless". While guiding Voyager through a quantum slipstream to Earth, Harry Kim sends incorrect calculations that result in the deaths of everyone but him and Chakotay. Years later, he sends a message back in time to himself, correcting the mistake and saving the crew. Not the best show, not as good as some of the time-travel classics listed below. But memorable for seeing the Voyager's crash, and for the rare chance to see Garrett Wang actually get to *act*, rather than stand around being bright and shy and compliant. But again, later, back to the well: the two-part "Year of Hell" saw the entire Voyager crew decimated by a time-changing megalomaniac, but at the end? All is put back , it never happened. A cheap trick, using time-travel again to tell a sad story, then using it to erase all the consequences. Watching 85% of Voyager, as I've done in the last few months with the reruns on SpikeTV, I'm more convinced than ever that B&B became hacks. -- Original message -- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Judge Hatchett? We must hear more! > > Time travel is, with the possible exception of alien invasions or > computers/robots gone rogue, probably the most commonly used theme in science > fiction. Got no problem with that. A big aspect of Babylon 5's mythos centers > around time travel, as B4 was actually sent back in time to help with the > previous Shadow War, and the prophet Valen came from the future. In fact, I > can't think of single good scifi series that hasn't used time travel at some > time. > > And Trek has had some classic time travel eps: > > City on the Edge of Forever - OS show where Kirk must kill his love Edith > Keeler > to save the future. > > Yesterday's Enterprise - TNG ep where the Enterprise C comes into a future > where > the Federation is about to lose a war to the Klingon Empire. (one of my top > five > TNG eps, by the way) > > Trials and Tribbleations - *Awesomely* funny DS9 ep where Sisko and company > travel back to the site of the original "The Trouble with Tribbles" classic > > And as you mentioned, the "Memento" like "Enterprise" episode is very good. > In > fact, it was one of the shows signaling the long hoped-for arrival of quality > in > that series. But B&B were so obssessed with time travel shows it became a > joke. > Check it: > > * TNG series finale dealt with Picard being bounced around time by Q in order > for him to learn "non-linear" thinking > * DS9 kinda/sorta began with time travel, as Sisko kept reliving his past in > the > Celestial Temple, and kinda/sorta ended with it, as he left his wife to > journey > through time. > * Voyager's series finale had Janeway of the future go back in time to help > Janeway of the past get home sooner. > * The main theme of Enterprise from the start was the so-called "Temporal > Cold > War", and journeys/glimpses of the past and future were themes of its series > finale. > > Without even trying hard, I can think of well over a dozen more time travel > eps > in Voyager--the biggest offender--alone. Some were good, some bad, but the > theme > was overused, which shows a weakness in writing. That's what happens when the > same people control a franchise for this long: they go back to the same well > over and over again. Similar to the way the Borg--once feared and > mysterious--became common and frankly boring due to overuse. > > > But B&B used it so much it's unbelievable. > > -- Original message -- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Justine is just the tip of the iceberg. Don't get me started on my Judge > Hatchett... > > Yeah, the time travel plot device was overused and predictible. I did > enjoy the Enterprise T'Pol/Archer short-term memory problem episode. That > was an outstanding exception. > > __ > James Landrith > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > cell: 703-593-2065 * fax: 760-875-8547 > AIM: jlnales * ICQ: 148600159 > MSN and Yahoo! Messenger: jlandrith > Taking the Gloves Off - http://www.jameslandrith.com > The Multiracial Activist - http://www.multiracial.com > The Abolitionist Examiner - http://www.multiracial.com/abolitionist/ > __ > > > You're the first person I've heard of crushing on Justine Bateman! :) > > One reason I got so sick of Enterprise and aspects of Voyager was perhaps > > the main plot device B&B overused--time travel! Man, I've literally lost > > count of how often they used time travel in all the series to tell a > > story, then reverse everything. Some were really good--"Yesterday's > > Enterprise" (TNG), "Trials and Tribbleations" (DS9), the "Enterprise" > > where Archer lost his memory and had to be told by T'Pol each day how > > Earth was destroyed. But in the main time travel was so overused it be
Re: [scifinoir2] Star Trek and Time Travel (was 'Star Trek' Writers Talk Direction)
"became"? You mean they weren't *always* hacks? But I'll accord your analysis of "Timeless", and the check's in the mail for "Year of Hell". Even *felt* like a Year of Hell in the *viewing*. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'll even give "Voyager" props for one good time travel show-- "Timeless". While guiding Voyager through a quantum slipstream to Earth, Harry Kim sends incorrect calculations that result in the deaths of everyone but him and Chakotay. Years later, he sends a message back in time to himself, correcting the mistake and saving the crew. Not the best show, not as good as some of the time-travel classics listed below. But memorable for seeing the Voyager's crash, and for the rare chance to see Garrett Wang actually get to *act*, rather than stand around being bright and shy and compliant. But again, later, back to the well: the two-part "Year of Hell" saw the entire Voyager crew decimated by a time-changing megalomaniac, but at the end? All is put back , it never happened. A cheap trick, using time-travel again to tell a sad story, then using it to erase all the consequences. Watching 85% of Voyager, as I've done in the last few months with the reruns on SpikeTV, I'm more convinced than ever that B&B became hacks. -- Original message -- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Judge Hatchett? We must hear more! > > Time travel is, with the possible exception of alien invasions or > computers/robots gone rogue, probably the most commonly used theme in science > fiction. Got no problem with that. A big aspect of Babylon 5's mythos centers > around time travel, as B4 was actually sent back in time to help with the > previous Shadow War, and the prophet Valen came from the future. In fact, I > can't think of single good scifi series that hasn't used time travel at some > time. > > And Trek has had some classic time travel eps: > > City on the Edge of Forever - OS show where Kirk must kill his love Edith > Keeler > to save the future. > > Yesterday's Enterprise - TNG ep where the Enterprise C comes into a future > where > the Federation is about to lose a war to the Klingon Empire. (one of my top > five > TNG eps, by the way) > > Trials and Tribbleations - *Awesomely* funny DS9 ep where Sisko and company > travel back to the site of the original "The Trouble with Tribbles" classic > > And as you mentioned, the "Memento" like "Enterprise" episode is very good. > In > fact, it was one of the shows signaling the long hoped-for arrival of quality > in > that series. But B&B were so obssessed with time travel shows it became a > joke. > Check it: > > * TNG series finale dealt with Picard being bounced around time by Q in order > for him to learn "non-linear" thinking > * DS9 kinda/sorta began with time travel, as Sisko kept reliving his past in > the > Celestial Temple, and kinda/sorta ended with it, as he left his wife to > journey > through time. > * Voyager's series finale had Janeway of the future go back in time to help > Janeway of the past get home sooner. > * The main theme of Enterprise from the start was the so-called "Temporal > Cold > War", and journeys/glimpses of the past and future were themes of its series > finale. > > Without even trying hard, I can think of well over a dozen more time travel > eps > in Voyager--the biggest offender--alone. Some were good, some bad, but the > theme > was overused, which shows a weakness in writing. That's what happens when the > same people control a franchise for this long: they go back to the same well > over and over again. Similar to the way the Borg--once feared and > mysterious--became common and frankly boring due to overuse. > > > But B&B used it so much it's unbelievable. > > -- Original message -- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Justine is just the tip of the iceberg. Don't get me started on my Judge > Hatchett... > > Yeah, the time travel plot device was overused and predictible. I did > enjoy the Enterprise T'Pol/Archer short-term memory problem episode. That > was an outstanding exception. > > __ > James Landrith > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > cell: 703-593-2065 * fax: 760-875-8547 > AIM: jlnales * ICQ: 148600159 > MSN and Yahoo! Messenger: jlandrith > Taking the Gloves Off - http://www.jameslandrith.com > The Multiracial Activist - http://www.multiracial.com > The Abolitionist Examiner - http://www.multiracial.com/abolitionist/ > __ > > > You're the first person I've heard of crushing on Justine Bateman! :) > > One reason I got so sick of Enterprise and aspects of Voyager was perhaps > > the main plot device B&B overused--time travel! Man, I've literally lost > > count of how often they used time travel in all the series to tell a > > story, then reverse everything. Some were really good--"Yesterday's > >
