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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 | "Future's
End" - Week of Nov. 4th - Nov. 8th File Photo
|| Airdate: November
6th, 1996 Written by:
Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky Directed by: David
Livingston Brief Summary:
Voyager is suddenly confronted with a spatial rift in the
space-time continuum and attacked by a Federation ship from the
29th Century. They manage to repel the attack, but are pulled
through the rift to Earth, 1996. Voyager soon learns that their
return to Earth is part of a series of events that will lead to
the destruction of the solar system in the 29th Century. They try
to prevent the events from occurring, but seem to only make
things worse.... I should say
something right off the bat. I love Star Trek episodes that deal
with time-travel. Sure, sometimes they are not always great
("Time's Arrow"), but they are usually enjoyable on a
plain entertainment level. This is Voyager's first real
time-travel episode (not counting "Time and Again," or
"Death Wish," since they do not exactly represent a
time-travel episode) and it is definitely one of the best. Sure, the story
seems familiar. It is a combination of "Star Trek IV: The
Voyage Home" and the Next Generation's "A Matter of
Time," with a touch of the Original Series' "Tomorrow
is Yesterday" and "Assignment: Earth" thrown in.
Yet, it didn't feel like Voyager was cannibalizing other Trek
episodes. In fact, I found myself completely glued to the
television for the whole hour, something unique for Voyager. The opening teaser
was really well-done and let me know that it was going to be
better than most of Voyager's episodes. It was short, less than a
minute, but it immediately grabbed my attention. The reason for
this is that I didn't know what the hell was going on. It didn't
even make sense until halfway into the episode. This is unlike
the spoon fed openings we usually get from the folks at
Paramount. My hopes were
almost dashed after opening credits, though. When the ship
rumbling begins, Harry Kim says that it is a spatial rift,
"a distortion in the space-time continuum, but it has a
gravitron matrix." Technobabble *and* a space anomaly. Two
things I don't like to see in a Star Trek episode. Luckily, there
was no space anomaly involved and the technobabble was kept to a
minimum. Everything that happened in the episode actually flowed
*and* made sense. These are two things that I *do* like to see in
a Star Trek episode. The situation
which sent them to Earth was done a little too rapidly for my
taste, but better to do that now than at the end (more on that
later). A 29th Century Federation timeship comes through the rift
and orders Voya ger to destroy itself. Voyager fights back and is
pulled into the rift, arriving at Earth, 1996. All in the span of
2 minutes. But, as I said, I would rather see the story get
moving right away than to drag on. But what about the
actual plot? In TNG's "A Matter of Time," a scientist
from the 22nd Century steals a time machine from the 26th and
uses it to steal technology from the 24th (sound confusing? Watch
the episode and it will all make sense.) The same type of plot is
at work here, but this time we get to see what happens when the
person is successful. This brings us to our villain, Henry
Starling. Apparently, Henry
Starling stole the timeship in 1967 and used it to create the
20th Century computer technology we have today, strategically
releasing advancements every few months. I guess we now have the
explanation for why we must upgrade our computers so often. :)
But, on a serious note, this is the type of villain that we need
to see more of on Trek. He is not completely evil and actually
probably believes that what is doing is ethical. No menacing
threats, no sneers, no "Jaanneeewwaaaayys" in Khan
style. Just a greedy, ambitious villain. I can say this without
fear of retribution. I like him better than the Kazon and the
Vidiians (remember those two?) of the first two seasons. Even the aspects
that caused many fans to get worried about this show when the
first reports came out were handled well. "Car chases! When
did Star Trek turn into T.J. Hooker? Is Erik Estrada going to be
involved?" None of the things these people feared came
about. In fact, the car chase (I know, there was no chase) was
little scene that was greatly taken out of proportion from
interviews. I don't mean to preach here, but this is what happens
when people bitch about episodes before they are even aired. If I didn't know
this was a two-parter, I could have sworn that they were going to
wrap it up in the last five minutes, just as usual. The plot
twists at the end quickly reminded me it wasn't going to happen.
The cliffhanger was well-done, causing me to actually ponder
what's will happen, something I didn't feel with "Basics,
Pt. 1" (maybe this episode should have been last season's
closer). The HoloDoc's abduction and the video of Voyager in the
sky top really pumped me up for the second part (although we know
Trek's track record on that...). I never thought I would say
this, but this episode of Voyager matches up with some of the
best Star Trek episodes of any series. Other points of
interest: - The dialogue was
of unusually high quality this week. The credit really goes to
the writers, Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, but it should also go
to the actors for such great delivery. I had such a problem
choosing the quote of the week since there was so much to choose
from. Most of the lines came from the conversations between
Paris, Tuvok, and Rain Robinson. It ranged from Paris' "Red
Alert!" as they were trying to get away from Rain at the
Observatory to Rain's question to Tuvok, "What is that thing
in your pants?" "I beg your pardon!" :) One of the
first Voyager episodes in long time that made me laugh out loud. - You know, I get
so used to seeing alien freaks on Star Trek with latex noses and
foreheads that the first view of Los Angeles reminds you how many
freaks there are in our own world. :) - Notice the
little "in-jokes" throughout the episode. The
"Life on Mars" article posted on the wall of the
Griffith Observatory was one that immediately caught my
attention. There was also a Talosian action figure next to the
computer there (look hard, the figure has its hands up). Another
was the picture of Nixon shaking hands with Starling. It was
really the famous photo of Nixon and Elvis Presley, with
Starling's picture pasted over Elvis. - The scene in
which Neelix and Kes viewed the various television programs was
mostly filler, although it did served a purpose later for the
video of Voyager broadcasted on the news. Although I'm sure a lot
of fans probably didn't like it, I thought Neelix getting into
the soap operas was cute. Especially his explanation that it was
a "exploration of human relationships." Maybe he will
next get into daytime talk shows. :) - When Janeway sat
down at the keyboard of Starling's computer, I expected something
along the lines of ST4's scene with Scotty and a mouse. Instead,
she mentioned that she wasn't used to working with "stone
knives and bearskins." This was the line used by Spock in
another time travelling Trek episode, "The City on the Edge
of Forever." - Another nod to
the Trek past came from the TOS episode "Tomorrow is
Yesterday." When Kirk and company arrived at Earth in the
late '60s, they received broadcasts from radio and television
stations all over the country. The same happened in
"Future's End," only with phone conversations and air
traffic control messages. - The paradox
explanation by Captain Braxton really ticked me off. I felt as
though the writers think we, the audience, are a bunch of idiots
who didn't quite understand the meaning of the word
"paradox." I'm surprised that they didn't have someone
interrupt and place a chart on the screen, detailing each step
for us. This was almost as bad as in "Back to the Future,
Pt. II," where a chart actually was used. - Southern
California sunk in a giant earthquake in 2044, huh? Well, no loss
of any real consequence... :) - Why doesn't
Voyager check its databanks for Henry Starling? I'm sure that if
he was as important as this episode makes him out to be, wouldn't
there be something about him there? To sum it all up: Writing:
Excellent dialogue, interesting plot, and a well-paced story. I
can't remember seeing Joe Menosky's name in the writing credits
since the Next Generation, so it is great to see him back. It
also proved my point that when Braga is teamed up with the right
person, he usually does his best work. Acting: Ranged
from good to great, with special notice to Robert Duncan McNeill
and Tim Russ, both of whom had some excellent delivery this
episode. The only one who was a little over-the-top was the actor
who played Captain Braxton, but even that performance was
adequate enough. Directing:
David Livingston is a veteran Trek director who has done some of
the best episodes. Enough said. Conclusion:
One of the best Voyager episodes in a long time, which really
makes me excited about next week. I remember the first time that
Deep Space Nine really started to receive respect from the fans
on the Internet. It was in the middle of the third season, with
the time travelling episodes, "Past Tense, Part I and
II." All of a sudden, the 'net fans started to say,
"Hey, this show is actually pretty good." Maybe the
same thing will start to happen with Voyager. Then again, maybe
it won't. We'll find out in seven days... Rating: 9.5 Next Week: Things
can't get much worse for Voyager... or can they? Copyright 1996,
Bill Synnamon. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced,
edited, or used for any commercial reason without my permission. "We could
have worn our Starfleet uniforms. I doubt if anyone would have
noticed." - Tuvok, upon
viewing the people of L.A. Fan Comments &
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