star trek bridge commander maximum warp edition review

#STAR TREK BRIDGE COMMANDER MAXIMUM WARP EDITION REVIEW FULL#
#STAR TREK BRIDGE COMMANDER MAXIMUM WARP EDITION REVIEW SERIES#

For my part, I tried wrapping my head around the argument of sending Captain Christopher (Roger Perry) back to the 1960's just before he was beamed up to the Enterprise in the first place. There's a good reason time travel stories can make your head hurt this one has a few of the ingredients. An entertaining episode, and one that established a trope for the entire franchise - engagement with the show's own historical context. Kirk engages in one of his better fight scenes - if you're into that sort of thing. The cinematography is effective, though the effects are some of the worst in the series, and many of the long range shots of the ship should probably have been cut.

The episode is well written, despite the ridiculous premise, and very nicely acted. The crew must figure out a way to repair the time line, return some unwanted guests to earth without memories of visiting the Enterprise, and, of course, return to the 23rd century without ripping the ship apart. They are spotted and branded a UFO, and a warplane is sent to investigate. The ship enters earth's gravitational field partially disabled and in a decaying orbit. Enterprise, on its way to earth, is catapulted back in time by a slingshot effect relating to the gravitational pull of a star, to the late 1960s (ya, I know, a physics class might have helped here, but bear with me). The plot is fairly complicated and as impossible (from a scientific perspective) as most of what passed for science in Voyager and Enterprise, but the strength of Fontana's dialog and the performances of the regular crew and the guest stars (Roger Perry is great in this) carries it. And though not terribly serious, Tomorrow is Yesterday is a good example.

#STAR TREK BRIDGE COMMANDER MAXIMUM WARP EDITION REVIEW SERIES#

The original series was never equaled in any of its worthy successors in making commentary - whether comedic or serious - on its own historical context. Another bold frontier for the series (previously explored, but less interestingly, in Squire of Gothos) was crossed as Tomorrow is Yesterday established the show's sense of humor by - characteristically - poking fun at its own historical context.

Fontana episode bravely goes where TOS never went before - to the time of its own creation - the late 1960s.

#STAR TREK BRIDGE COMMANDER MAXIMUM WARP EDITION REVIEW FULL#

What really makes the episode stand out, though, is its sense of fun and prescience: ordinary people's reaction to the sight of Kirk and Spock is always a joy to behold, and it's pretty funny to hear our heroes mention man's first landing on the Moon as taking place on a Wednesday at the end of the '60s: they got it right, weekday and all, a full two years before the whole thing happened. The usual elements of every good time travel story are all present: the discovery of a new age, the problems that derive from it and, of course, the discussions regarding possible paradoxes. This, the so-called 'slingshot effect', causes the ship to end up orbiting Earth - in the late 1960s! Unfortunately, a pilot working for NASA notices the ship and is taken the hostage by Kirk and Spock, who must now come up with a way to get back home without altering the course of history. The travel itself is actually just an accident: when a mission goes wrong and hostilities ensue, the Enterprise flies towards the Sun and then away from it as quickly as possible. This episode is no exception, especially as it gets more fun to watch as time goes by. After the original series, it was also used in the spin-offs (minus prequel show Enterprise) and three of the eleven - so far - Trek movies (The Voyage Home, First Contact and J.J. Tomorrow Is Yesterday introduces the most classic of Star Trek plot devices: time travel.

Star trek bridge commander maximum warp edition review