Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Episode: 2.13 Timed Squared (04-03-89)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: .5/.5/3
Notable Guest Stars:
There are no guest stars other than reoccurring characters such as Dr. Pulaski and Miles O’Brien
Review:
This episode has an interesting premise. The Enterprise is boldly going and ruins into a shuttle just hanging out in space. Obviously, they are all concerned so they tow it in, only to find out its their shuttle pod, and inside is Captain Picard. Who is also on the Bridge?
Yes, Picard has a time twin in this episode. The idea is that Picard 2 is from six hours in the future and got pushed into a time loop by the explosion of the Enterprise (though it takes them a long time to get to that conclusion. )So it asks the question, if you found yourself face to face with a version of you that was six hours before you, and it told you that you needed to leave to save the world, would you believe it?
Picard doesn’t. He has trouble believing its actually him and not some trick. Riker is a little skeptical too because he doesn’t think that Picard would leave the ship. However Picard wants to protect the ship, so Picard leaves the ship (Picard 2 that is).
I decided to include Picard 2’s death as half a redshirt death, because technically he is a crewmember and he died and was not resurrected. But he is also a time clone of Picard so he disappears at the end. It can still be debated.
I loved Patrick Stewart’s acting in this episode, and it was clear which Picard was which. The only thing that would have improved this was if Picard got to speak to his other self longer.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Maurice Hurley on the story by Kurt Michael Bensmiller
- Directed by Joseph Scanlan
- Maurice Hurley wanted to use Q, but Gene Roddenberry nixed the idea. It might have been interesting to use Q, but I think I’ll go with Gene on this one. Too much Q is possible.
- The shuttlepod was named after Farouk El-Baz, one of the leading geologists working with the Apollo Program and the moon landings.
Pros:
- Patrick Stewart’s acting
- Introduction of the ‘shuttlepod’, which appears to be a one to two-man vessel, a much smaller version of the shuttlecraft which can fit several people.
Cons:
- Nothing stands out
Screencap via CygnusX1
Sokorra Lewis 