Top 50 Episodes #20-18

EPISODES 20-18

# 20. PAST TENSE (Part 1 & 2)

Deep Space Nine, Season 3

Episode Number 57 and 58

Info and General Credits

Part 1 Directed by Reza Badiyi

Part 2 Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Story by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Part 1 Teleplay by Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Part 2 Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr and Rene Echevarria

Aired 1995

Stardate 48481.2

Guest Cast

Christopher Brynner Jim Metzler

BC (Biddle Coleridge) Frank Military

Vin Dick Miller

Michael Webb Bill Smitrovich

Lee Tina Lifford

Gabriel Bell John Lendale Bennett

Premise

After a transporter accident on the Defiant, Sisko, Bashir and Dax are sent back to the early 21st century. Split up on arrival Dax finds herself in the opulence of yuppie society, whilst Sisko and Bashir are confined to the city's rough and poverty stricken sanctuary district. But when historical figure Gabrielle Bell is accidentally killed, a pivotal event in the 21st century may become jeopardised. So Sisko must take his place to ensure that a hostage situation that Bell was to be a key figure in deflating transpires as history recalls it, or all of future history may become unravelled.

Comments

If there is one tried, tested and successful format for a Star Trek episode it's moral allegory. And there can be few finer than this. Even though the setting is a fictional near future, the political and sociological message is as bold as it is relevant. Morality plays are as valid and striking as they were 30 years ago, sometimes not always as kitsch, but this hits home some of the flaws in the very mechanisms of our society. I won't go into a long debate on the subject here, but anyone who sees this two part episode will understand the statements on the issues at hand.

In many ways I'm a techie at heart, but we have to endure some extremely convenient and painfully convoluted techno-babble throughout the evolution of this episode. And although the ideas of 'temporal science' fascinates me I'm also no expert, but seeing as Bashir and Sisko were successful at maintaining the original timeline due to the Bell Riots, wouldn't the 24th century as we know it simply remained unaffected? But in this episode it is implied that Sisko and Bashir travel to some kind of alternate, but parallel timeline, and what occurs as a result of their actions, or inactions immediately affects the 24th century in real time, ie, one minute Starfleet's there, then it's gone, then it's back again thanks to Sisko restoring the events of the Bell Riots to their original historical configuration. My point is that Starfleet should have remained unaffected the whole time. It's hard to explain without writing a full paper on the subject, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Whether or not it is a point of contention in contemporary quantum mechanics, Trek lore states that any changes to the time line occur and 'wrap' instantaneously, such as was seen in 'Yesterday's Enterprise'. So lets say that Sisko and Bashir were to fail in the 21st century and the legacy of the real Gabrielle Bell was lost forever, that would mean that as soon as they dematerialized off the Defiant transporter pad at the beginning of the show the timeline changes accordingly - instantly. But of course they didn't fail, so, duly, there should be no change at all to the 24th century timeline - from the moment they left to moment they returned. The only difference one would presume is that the historical database picture of Gabrielle Bell instantly transformed to that of Sisko, who took his identity.

Anyway, it doesn't really take away from what was a terrific, exciting, and thought-provoking two parter, and certainly one of the best bottle show stories; one that provides a tantalising insight into pre-first contact Earth, and the 21st century history of the Trek universe.

Trekmania Image Archive:

Soundbites:

There's no satisfying some people:

Dax: "....Entering Earth orbit."

Sisko: "Now there's something I never get tired of looking at."

Dax: "If you ask me, the seas could be a little more purple."

Kira: "That's funny. I was just thinking they weren't green enough."

US Presidents, take note:

Bashir: "You know, Commander, having seen a little of the 21st century there is one thing I don't understand. How could they have let things get so bad......?"

Sisko: "That's a good question...........I wish I had an answer."

# 19. YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE

The next Generation, Season 3

Episode Numbers 63

Info and General Credits

Directed by David Carson

From a Story by Trent Christopher Ganino and Eric Stillwell

Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr, Richard Manning, Hans Beimler, and Ronald D Moore

Aired 1990

Stardate 43625.2

Guest Cast

Natasha Yar Denise Crosby

Lt. Castille Christopher McDonald

Capt. Garrett Tricia O'Neil

Guinan Whoopi Goldberg

Premise

After a devastating fight with Romulans at the Klingon Narendra III outpost the Enterprise-C is thrown through a time rift, 22 years into the future where it makes an unscheduled rendezvous with the Enterprise-D. Having effectively changed time the current timeline distorts to such a degree that the Federation now finds itself in a desperately bitter war with the Klingons.

Comments

During 1990 when this episode first aired The Next Generation was receiving high ratings and had already reached a high degree of popularity amongst TOS fans and non-TOS fans alike. Part of the success was largely in thanks to the third season, which of course ended with the breathtaking 'Best of Both Worlds'. But in the middle of the season came 'Yesterday's Enterprise', a story about war, time travel, tragedy and sacrifice, and for the crew it also saw the welcome return of fallen comrade Tasha Yar, lost to a sentient oil slick in the first season. This story was thrashed out by a committee of several members of the writing staff in very quick time, so much so it was expected to fail badly. But it turned into a triumphant success. The originally pitched tale involved the TOS time travel device 'The Guardian of Forever', and saw a team of Vulcan scientist enter the device. As a result their undue presence in the past causes the death of legendary Vulcan philosopher Surak. Changing time as this does sees the resulting 'illogical' and violent Vulcans forge a super alliance with their genetic cousins the Romulans, who then turn on the Federation. The final act would have a time-protected Sarek go back through The Guardian to take Surak's place. In many ways this story sounds more familiar to DS9's 'Past Tense' than the eventual 'Yesterday's Enterprise'. But this is one of the angles on how this episode came into being.

This still remains a firm TNG favourite for many.

This episode saw Worf's first introduction to prune juice. Also, right at the end of this episode when time returns to normal we see Geordi chatting with Guinan in Ten Forward. Notice Geordi's cuffs? - he is still wearing the alternate timeline uniform !

Trekmania Image Archive:

Soundbites:

Every starship should have a Guinan:

Picard: "Guinan they will die moments after they return. How can I ask them to sacrifice themselves based solely on your intuition !!"

Guinan: "I don't know. But I do know this is a mistake. Every fibre in my being says this is a mistake! I can't explain it to myself, so I can't explain it to you. I only know that I'm right."

I think Captain Garrett was entitled to be at this meeting:

Picard: ".....Every instinct is telling me this is wrong, it is dangerous, it is futile !!"

Guinan: "We've known each other a long time. You have never known me to impose myself on anyone, or take a stance based on trivial or whimsical perceptions. This timeline must not be allowed to continue, and I have told you what you must do. Now you have only your trust in me to help you decide to do it."

Picard bites the bullet and wisely sides with Guinan:

Picard: "....The war is going very badly for the Federation, far worse than is generally known. Starfleet Command believes that defeat is inevitable. Within six months we may have no choice but to surrender."

Garrett: "Are you saying that all this maybe a result of our arrival here?!"

Picard: "One more ship will make no difference in the here and now, but twenty two years ago one ship could've stopped this war before it started."

Damn right:

Picard: "Let's make sure that history never forgets....the name....Enterprise."

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# 18. THE YEAR OF HELL (Part 1 and 2)

Voyager, Season 4

Episode Numbers 76 and 77

Info and General Credits

Directed by Allan Kroeker

Written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky

Aired 1997

Stardate 51212.3

Guest Cast

Annorax Kurtwood Smith

Obrist John Loprieno

Zahl Official Rick Fitts

Krenim Commandant Peter Slutsker

En. Brooks Sue Henley

Lang Deborah Levin

Premise

After becoming suddenly susceptible to a terrible disease due to their own foolhardy manipulations of the temporal continuum, Krenim megalomaniac Annorax embarks on a two century mission to restore time to its original state, destroying whatever and whoever in his path....

Comments

Season four was in many ways superior to season three, and it was largely due to some great imaginative episodes such as these. When it came to time travel you'd have thought most plot contrivances had already been thrashed out over the years on various Star Trek incarnations, but this is not the case at all, as in my book this was an entirely new and fresh idea, bold, creative and shocking. Voyager seems to like these grand scale time adventures, for one could quote the likes of 'Future's End', 'Relativity' and 'Timeless', but rather than a run of the mill time travel story this is totally original and is as startling as it is complex. Braga excelled himself this time. It is also fresh in regards to the villain of the piece, Annorax, played superbly by Kurtwood Smith (also seen as the Federation President in Star Trek VI). Yes he is a megalomaniac, but he played the role with such intelligence and conveyed to the viewer a tangible sense of sympathy for his plight. Even though he and his crew were protected from the effects of time it stretches it a bit that they were on this 'temporal restoration' campaign for 200 years, but that is really the only flaw in a technically brilliant slice of science fiction.

Trekmania Image Archive:

Soundbites:

If the Krenim are one thing, they're thorough:

Annorax: "Take us to the Zahl homeworld. Prepare a new set of calculations. We must erase the entire species from time - every lifeform, every molecule."

Tom, as always is a species unto himself:

The Doctor: "Who would have thought this eclectic group of voyagers could actually become a family? Starfleet, Maquis, Klingon, Talaxian, Hologram, Borg, even Mr. Paris......"

Harry seems unfazed that the Borg were involved with Earth's first contact incident:

Seven: "....The Phoenix....."

Harry: "What?"

Seven: "...The correct response to your query; the vessel Ensign Kim was describing, it was designated the Phoenix."

Harry: "Not bad. I didn't know you knew so much about Earth history."

Seven: "I don't. But the Borg were present during those events."

Harry: "Really...?"

Seven: "....It's a complicated story, perhaps another time."

A new twist on getting a taste of different cultures:

Annorax: "Every dish you see here comes from a civilization that has been erased from time. Mr. Paris, you're devouring the last remnants of the Alsuran Empire.......I've collected artifacts from hundreds of worlds. This vessel is more than a weapon, it's a museum of lost histories."

A thought-provoking quote from the self-proclaimed time expert:

Annorax: "Beyond study and instrumentation there is instinct. Not everybody has the ability to truly perceive time, its colours, its moods...."

Picard never retorted with such acerbic candour:

The Doctor: "Captain Katherine Janeway. Under Starfleet medical regulation 121 section A, I the chief medical officer do hereby relieve you of your active Command, effective immediately.....Have a seat."

Janeway: "How do you plan to implement this protocol Doctor? Mr. Tuvok doesn't have a security team, both the brigs have been destroyed, and with the internal forcefields off-line you'll have a hell of a time keeping me confined. You better grab a phaser, because before I give up Command you'll have to shoot me...."

After all this time Vulcans still don't get it about Humans:

Janeway: "I have to stay, Voyager's done too much for us...."

Tuvok: "Curious. I have never understood the human compulsion to emotionally bond with inanimate objects. This vessel has done nothing. It is an assemblage of bulkheads, conduits, tritanium, nothing more."

Janeway: "No, you're wrong, it's much more than that. This ship has been our home, it's kept us together, it's been part of our family. As illogical as this might sound, I feel as close to Voyager as I do to any other member of my crew. It's carried us Tuvok, even nurtured us. And right now it needs one of us."

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