Anyone else tired of the time travel gimmick?

[ConRefit79]

I've been a huge Star Trek fan for years. I've enjoyed many time travel episodes and ST4. But, Enterprise ruined time travel for me. It was over used in that series. I wonder why J.J. Abrams didn't simply use a flashback tool to explain why Nimoy is in the film? Maybe during Kirks funeral or a similar crisis.

 

[seigezunt]

I've been a huge Star Trek fan for years. I've enjoyed many time travel episodes and ST4. But, Enterprise ruined time travel for me. It was over used in that series. I wonder why J.J. Abrams didn't simply use a flashback tool to explain why Nimoy is in the film? Maybe during Kirks funeral or a similar crisis.

Yeah, not as interesting. Though I agree it's used as a device a lot.

 

[Trekker4747]

Anyone else tired of the time travel gimmick?

Yes

- The entire fandom.

P.S. This goes double for you, Brannon Braga!

 

[Lapis Exilis]

Anyone else tired of the time travel gimmick?

Yes

- The entire fandom.

Someone around here dubbed it "time travel handwavium" () and it's as annoying and lazy as any other deus ex machina device.

 

[Sharr Khan]

No. Give me a temporal paradox, or a destiny loop anyday my only desire that it have some kind of lasting impact. Its not the time travel that's "over used" its the reset button that usually follows...

Sharr

 

[ConRefit79]

Yeah, I think the reset button and not revealing future guy is what turned me off of time travel.

 

[Psion]

Yep, but this probably won't be the last time Star Trek makes a trip to that well. And that's probably good ... I'm sure there's still one or two gems to be found in it.

 

[Count Zero]

Yes. It has been overused in Trek and for the most part, it was used in a dumb way. After Enterprise with its stupid Temporal Cold War* I thought we wouldn't be seeing time travel/time paradoxes in Trek for a long time. Let's hope the story won't sound contrived. But the "Famous Trek character goes back in time to save other famous Trek character because baddies have been messing with his life" is really old, especially in fan fiction.
That said, time travel/time paradox stories can be done well. There are some good Trek episodes, too. My favourite series is Doctor Who, and that's all about time travel, so I have nothing against this kind of story in general. But I'm not enthusiastic about the general plot of the film.


* This is not a slight against Enterprise. I'm actually one of the few people who liked the series. However, the Temporal Cold War really bugged me from the start and this particular story line didn't get better.

 

[shapeshifter]

No. My second favorite series next to ST is Doctor Who. If it were not for the TT aspect of this film putting the past in danger I would not be as open to all the changes within it.

 

[Dar70]

I dont think so. Time travel in Trek is like space travel in trek. Its an integral part of Star Trek.

 

[RAMA]

I've been a huge Star Trek fan for years. I've enjoyed many time travel episodes and ST4. But, Enterprise ruined time travel for me. It was over used in that series. I wonder why J.J. Abrams didn't simply use a flashback tool to explain why Nimoy is in the film? Maybe during Kirks funeral or a similar crisis.

NOPE! When you postulate warp technology and associated questions of physics, it a fairly logical jump to assume time travel questions would be quite common, and the storytelling opportunities are too good to pass up. In fact, they might actually deal with time travel in a realistic ST 23rd century almost every day!

RAMA

 

[ConRefit79]

I initially thought the Temporal Cold War had some great potential. But it fizzled out and was ended without answering key questions. I guess shorter time travel stories will work better.
ST XI time travel story has great potential, but it sounds like all future Spock does is tell Kirk to get back to Enterprise and stop young Spock from making a major mistake.

Well we have 170 days before we find know for sure. I'm just going to try not to get to excited like I did for Nemesis.

 

[Aragorn]

I'm not much for time travel on Star Trek anymore after how many times it's been played to death (mainly thanks to Voyager). What the hell makes "Year of Hell" so great if there were absolutely no consequences? And considering how easy it is to time travel in Trek, bad guys would've been able to wipe out humanity/Vulan/The Federation/etc. by now simply with time travel.

If I had a say in the next TV show, there'd be no time travel, no reset buttons (actions have consequences!!!!) and no last-second technobabble solutions. In other words, the anti-Voyager.

 

[M'Sharak]

I'm not tired of time travel, per se; what I'm tired of is seeing it done poorly, or as cheat or crutch to band-aid what is really an ill-devised story.

"Let's see... painted into a corner, painted into a corner, what to do? Ooo, I know -- I'll fix it with time travel!"

Feh. Inferior writing is not made into good writing by the addition of Magical 'Get-out-of-Jail-Free!' Time-Travel Card.

 

[number6]

Some of the best Star Trek moments have involved time travel:

TOS:
Tomorrow is Yesterday
City on the Edge..
ST: IV

TNG:
Time's Arrow
Cause and Effect
ST VIII

DS9:
Trials and Tribbleations
The Visitor

VOY:
Time and Again
Future's End

ENT:
Twilight
E2

I'm not tired of it. Those who think that all of fandom is certainly don't speak for me.

Time travel is a standard sci-fi plot device. I don't think Star Trek has overused it as much as they did the "Mirror Universe" and the "Holodeck Gone Awry." If this new film is good, what difference does it make whether or not the story involves time travel?

 

[TK421]

Some of the best Star Trek moments have involved time travel:

TOS:
Tomorrow is Yesterday
City on the Edge..
ST: IV

TNG:
Time's Arrow
Cause and Effect
ST VIII

DS9:
Trials and Tribbleations
The Visitor

VOY:
Time and Again
Future's End

ENT:
Twilight
E2

I'm not tired of it. Those who think that all of fandom is certainly don't speak for me.

Time travel is a standard sci-fi plot device. I don't think Star Trek has overused it as much as they did the "Mirror Universe" and the "Holodeck Gone Awry." If this new film is good, what difference does it make whether or not the story involves time travel?

Your ENT list is a little light. It misses out the whole Temporal Cold War arc that went on for all four seasons

 

[dru]

YES.

 

[controlfreak]

Some of the best Star Trek moments have involved time travel:

TOS:
Tomorrow is Yesterday
City on the Edge..
ST: IV

TNG:
Time's Arrow
Cause and Effect
ST VIII

DS9:
Trials and Tribbleations
The Visitor

VOY:
Time and Again
Future's End

ENT:
Twilight
E2

I'm not tired of it. Those who think that all of fandom is certainly don't speak for me.

Time travel is a standard sci-fi plot device. I don't think Star Trek has overused it as much as they did the "Mirror Universe" and the "Holodeck Gone Awry." If this new film is good, what difference does it make whether or not the story involves time travel?

Your ENT list is a little light. It misses out the whole Temporal Cold War arc that went on for all four seasons

Two episodes from each series plus two films. I was a fan of ENT. Not only did I not have a big problem with the TCW, the show really only focused on the TCW two or three episodes per season. I don't believe that the TCW was really a time travel gimmick in the sense that time travel was a gimmick in the episodes Mr. 6 lists above. I thought Time and Again was stupid. I wanted to smack that little kid.

 

[gottacook]

With respect to number6's list above:
Absolutely, "City on the Edge of Forever" and "Cause and Effect" are great episodes, and I would count separately (i.e., as a meritorious comedy) ST: IV. But is anything else on this list really that enduring? "Time's Arrow" was as contrived as could be, and all that really sticks with me is the fairly convincing Mark Twain. And although "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" had many fine moments, the resolution of the story ("replacing" the Earth guys into their lives such that they didn't remember) never made much sense.

As for the new movie, I'm really starting to wish they hadn't bothered. Something I read elsewhere today made me realize what my reaction was; I'm paraphrasing here: "My wife saw the trailer and said that the movie Starship Troopers was more like the book than this film will be like Star Trek." My main hope is that Michael Giacchino will do a great job with the music, which can redeem a lot of bad scripting - for example, most Freiberger-era TOS episodes or Goldsmith's TMP music. (Trailers generally don't use music written for the final film. They often borrow from preexisting sources - I recall seeing a trailer or TV ad for Who Framed Roger Rabbit that made very effective use of Bernard Herrmann's North by Northwest fandango. Not to mention the legendary use of the song "If I Didn't Care" in the trailer for Blade Runner.)

 

[dru]

YES.