Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 4: Time and Again (1995)

It's not hard to tell when an episode from any Star Trek series begins with ambitious intent and ends in a heap of compromises. Such is the case with "Time and Again," a unique time-travel story that was originally inspired by thoughts of what one might do if transported back to Dresden a day before its 1945 destruction, fully aware of what's coming. The script by Michael Piller and David Kemper finds Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) investigating a scene of mass destruction on a planet, and getting caught in a subspace fracture that places them in the same spot just hours before the devastation. While the Voyager crew attempts a rescue, Janeway discovers she and Paris might actually be responsible for the coming disaster.

Production on this episode started with the bold idea of building before-and-after sets to suggest the grandeur of the planet that is lost. But fiscal realities scaled plans back to such an extent that the world Janeway and Paris drop into has that generic, town-square look that is the curse of many Trek episodes from The Next Generation on. (The inhabitants are equally unoriginal.) Still, the premise is very good and the twist ending, while technically incomprehensible, is pleasingly mind-blowing. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

Janeway and Paris have to change history to save lives

My main problem with "Time and Again" (Written by David Kemper & Michael Piller, Aired January 30, 1995) is that Episode 4 is too soon to be another "Star Trek" time-travel story. The story pretty much flips the old time-travel chestnut that when you go back in time to stop the "Titanic" from sinking you end up being the one that distracts the lookouts so that you effectively cause the disaster by preventing them from avoiding it. Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) have beamed down to a planet to investigate a scene of mass destruction that has eradicated all life. A subspace fracture comes along and suddenly they are in the same spot, but back in the future. Of course the Starfleet officers want to try and stop the destruction from happening, which has something to do with a dispute over the controversial use of polaric ion power, even more so when they discover that they might be the actual cause of the explosion.

The allegorical elements aside (are we being warned against indulging in exotic types of fuel sources?), the main thing that is happening in "Time and Again" with future ramifications for the "Voyager" series is another step in the rehabilitation of Tom Paris. Earlier in the episode his main concern is trying to convince Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) that they should pair up with the Delaney sisters in Stellar Cartography. After all, they are trapped in the Delta Quadrant and people are going to start pairing up to perpetuate the species (Tom is more interested in the act of perpetuating rather than the survival of the species). But being responsible for the deaths of millions of beings might force Tom to start growing up a bit. Meanwhile, the EMH (Robert Picardo) has notice that Kes (Jennifer Lien) does not have her brain on file, which is the first step towards the young Ocampa becoming the Doctor's assistant. Still, with Janeway already feeling bad about having trapped her crew in Delta Quadrant, adding guilt over several million deaths is just overkill (so to speak). Put "Time and Again" later in this first season and I think it would have worked a lot better. May 31, 2003

"Let's Do The Time Warp Again!"

This terrific early first season episode of Voyager isn't actually about time travel but could be more closely defined as a time warp. It probably does seem a little too soon in the series for this style of story but it more than likely was moved up ahead on the production schedule because of necessity; guest star availability, readiness for production, etc. Whatever the cause it doesn't hurt the impact of the series or this particular show. It allows for some character development for Kess; we see that Chakotay still holds some animosity toward Tuvok; we also get to see Janeway experience her first dilemma with the Prime Directive.

Traveling close to a star system the Voyager is rocked by a shock wave moving through space. The wave has characteristics that alarm Janeway and she has the crew investigate it, which leads them to a planet that has been laid to waste recently by a violent explosion. An away team beams down to get a closer look at things and Janeway and Paris get swept away by a subspace fracture, finding themselves in the same spot less than a day before the explosion will occur. During all these proceedings Kess experiences a strong vision of that explosion and it's immediate aftermath which disturbs her, and she seeks comfort from Neelix who doesn't quite grasp what has happened to her. The Voyager officers meanwhile make every effort to attempt to both contact Janeway and Paris and find a way to return them to the present. On the surface Janeway and Paris believe they have found the reason behind the explosion and in attempting to get a close look at the potential source get involved in a riot and become prisoners of a faction of activists. Unable to convince the activists that their actions will result in an explosion that destroys their own civilization, Janeway ends up taking matters into her own hands trying to hold them at bay until the exact moment of time of the explosion passes. But the real cause of the explosion turns out to be something totally unexpected...

'Time And Again' is a well-executed and highly imaginative episode. Nearly everyone is given something to do: Janeway and Paris are caught in a time warp; Kess experiences a new development in her psyche; she visits The Doctor in Sick Bay and we get to hear his acerbic wit and see his less than stellar bedside manner; Kim and Torres work on a solution to retrieving the captain and Paris; Chakotay gets to take charge of the Voyager crew and we see further evidence of his lack of desire to work with Tuvok who questions some of the commander's reasoning. Only Neelix seems out of sync with the goings-on. The resolution is one of the most original I can recall in any episode of a Star Trek series. It can be argued that it negates everything we've just witnessed - but you'd just be wasting your time (wince!).

There's a nice touch to this show if you keep a sharp eye out. When Janeway and Paris leave a retail store after getting some appropriate clothing, they walk by the shopkeeper's window and one of their uniforms is on display inside it! The title 'Time And Again' is borrowed from a classic science fiction book by the seminal sci-fi author Jack Finney. December 1, 2002

Time travel already?

Although this episode made for some enjoyable viewing, I question it's placement during the early stages of season one of the Voyager series. I mean, at this point in the game, viewers haven't even gotten used to 'present time' Voyager (overall storyline development, character development, backstory, etc)...and now the writers are throwing time travel at us! And my question, of course, is why? Surely there are more important storyline issues that need addressing at this point! Time travel can wait until after the characters are established!

That having been said, I did like the "moral of the story" regarding the Prime Directive. It was rather a suprise when Janeway figured out who had really been responsible for the destruction of an entire world! I'm not gonna tell who it was though...for that, you'll have to watch the episode! July 18, 2001

Time and Again

Voyager discovers a planet that has been destroyed but the questions of how and why remain a mystery that leads the crew to send an away team to search for answers. It appears that the this world's destruction is linked to its' use of polaric energy but the events that triggered the catastrophe are still unknown that is until Janeway and Paris are suddenly pulled back into the recent past by temporal anomalies to a moment in time less than a day prior to the planet's destruction. Janeway and Paris attempt to discover the reasons behind the disaster as the crew of Voyager desperately attempts to get them back before its too late.

Thus two of Star Trek's favorite themes come into play. the Prime Directive and time travel. Although Paris desires to warn the people of the planet Janeway insist on standing by the Prime Directive, a favorite Trek ethical dilemma. Eventually, Janeway relents on her initial decision but it occurs rather abruptly leaving Paris as well as the audience wondering "Why?".

There are some good moments throughout the episode and an interesting ending but over all an "average" Trek adventure. 3 out of 5 October 30, 2000

Excellent

This was an excellent episode of Star Trek Voyager. I was shipped this in no time at all. May 6, 2000

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