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TNG Episode #39: Time Squared

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:17 am    Post subject: TNG Episode #39: Time Squared Reply with quote

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TIME SQUARED episode #13 of 2nd season / Air Date: 4/3/89
written by Kurt Michael Bensmiller; Directed by Joseph L. Scanlon


______Star Trek STNG Moments 39 Time Squared


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This one was like a dry run for all the wild cosmic concept stories of the future seasons, especially Cause and Effect. But this early effort pales next to those, being draggy and with no revelations in the final act.

The Enterprise comes across a drifting shuttlecraft. When they bring it aboard, they are stunned to realize that it is one of theirs. That is strange enough, but when they see the unconscious occupant . . . it's another Picard! The Picard on the bridge is called over and is a bit disturbed to see his 'other' self.

It's no clone, no android, no alien in disguise — it really is another Picard. How can this be?

_________________

It turns out that it is indeed another Picard — from 6 hours in the future. Yep, it's one of those time displacement dilemmas. Data and La Forge manage to get some info from the shuttlecraft's log, and they discover that in several hours the Enterprise is destined to explode, with Picard the only survivor on the shuttlecraft.

The crew now begin to second guess themselves on what steps they should take. The wait is soon over when a strange vortex appears and the ship is probably doomed.

___________

Since the misplaced Picard is 'out of phase' and his internal clock is out of whack, he is out of it for most of the time, so there is a missed opportunity here to have the two Picards interact in a substantial manner.

However, Picard's final action against his double may raise some eyebrows. Overall, though, this goes nowhere and is anti-climactic after a promising beginning. There are also some confusing elements, when it's hinted that this is some personal matter between Picard and some living entity in the vortex.

BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10



BoG
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Bogmeister is right. This episode is a huge disappointment. I've seen it three times, and I still don't know what the hell it's about.

I'd rate it lower than Bogmeister did. Rolling Eyes
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By the way, this seems to be the last TNG episode that Bogmeister reviewed. He has all seven season listed in his index, and each episode has a "thread starter post" consisting of little more than a YouTube link (few of which still work), but he wrote no reviews for anything after this one in season 2.

I'm going to wander off topic here, so please bear with me.

The vast majority of the work Bogmeister did on his board, the Galactic Base of Science Fiction, was done between January 2010 and September 2010 (the first nine months of its existence).

He went on to add posts to other sections until he passed away in 2015, but there are only seven replies from his eleven members . . . in all that time. Sad

However, his work on the version of All Sci-Fi which existed from 2007 until 2015 was incredible. He was my co-site administrator from 2008 until 2015, and he out-posted me on a regular basis. His contributions were exactly like those on the Galactic Base of Science Fiction — carefully thought out, and skillfully crafted.

He rarely made short posts.

I'm still deeply puzzled as to why he never promoted his board here on All Sci-Fi. I would have gleefully joined, and I would have encouraged the 161 members we had in 2010 to do so as well. Confused

By 2015 we had 260 members.

And yet, Bogmeister's section called Other Sci-Fi Boards or Forums DOES lists us among the 29 forums he provided promos for. In fact, we're second on his list, right below the Class Horror Film Board.

________________________________

ALL SCI-FI

The Science Fiction wellspring from which sprang... a Base?



Founded: 2007 membership: 161 and counting overlord: Bud Brewster
________________________________

I don't get it. He promoted All Sci-Fi, but he never even mentioned his own board . . . even though it desperately needed members! Shocked

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trivia } Original title was Time To The Second."

The low-budget shuttlepod was first seen in this episode as an alternative to the full-size shuttlecraft.

The craft is named after NASA scientist Farouk El-Baz.

The slingshot time travel method utilized on ST:TOS episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday'' is mentioned here.

It would also be used in ST:IV.

Yeah, this episode is like watching paint dry.


Last edited by Pow on Wed Aug 07, 2019 11:58 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Yeah, this episode is like watching paint dry.

Right. And even the color of the paint is boring . . . Rolling Eyes
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Krel
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The shuttlepod was such a sad, cheap, crude, ungraceful looking prop. It looked like something a Dad made for his kid (which has been done in real life). The engines weren't even attached to the prop! Laughing

No, seriously. The prop had wheels under the bottom for wheeling it around, and they would just push the engines up against the hull when they had it in the position they wanted.

TNG had problems with shuttlecraft. I liked the first frog-shaped shuttle, but there was no way they were building a full-scale exterior for that curvy (read: VERY EXPENSIVE!) shape. When they showed the exterior with people, it was a painted flat! Laughing They claimed the ST:V shuttle for the show. I guess Paramount figured that they paid for the mock-up, so they were going to get their money's worth out of it by God!

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Critics of CGI in general should consider the fact that the ability to combine live action sets and actors with CGI surroundings (absolutely seamlessly these days) has freed those poor set designers to do whatever they damn well pleased . . . without having to worry about the prop department running out of money before they've built the elaborate designs those brilliant people envisioned for a science fiction movie or TV series!

The legacy of Forbidden Planet is a glorious demonstration of what can happen when dedicated filmmakers boldly defy the limits imposed by unimaginative studio heads and penny-pinching accountants!

Hollywood can now mix reality with fantasy in the blended world of CGI, which presents the audience with screen images that come straight out of the minds of the artists who created them!

Wow . . . what could be better than that?

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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was just a sad, tired episode of ST:TNG. The shuttlecraft prop looked like something ordered from the back of a sixties comic book! They were out of cardboard so they used a couple pieces of 1/8 inch plywood to construct this piece of crap!

I've rewatched the first few episodes of ST:Discovery and as poor as the writing may be the CGI is suberb! Too bad this tech was not as developed in the days of ST:TNG!

Storywise, it made little sense. I'd give it a 2!

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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2019 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe that the original intention was that Q was going to be revealed as the true force behind the episode but later on was instead added to the next episode to be prepared production wise and the first appearance of the Borg in Q Who?
JB
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