Intentional Time Travel ??

[Tom]

I was watching the re-mastered HD version of the 'Naked Time' on CBS.com and was just realizing that the Time Warp created by the 'implosion' start of the warp engines was a setup by the writers to have future episodes use time travel (probably mostly for Earth related senarios) as an intentional plot device. It would seem that after this they dropped that idea and instead focused on the more un-realistic 'earth like' planets that for some reason was setup to resemble and reflect an Earth time period and or historical event.

We did have some un-intentional time travel via the Guardian (a crazed Mccoy jumping into the 1930's) and also being thrown back to the 1960's and thereby establishing the sun sling shot time warp method to be used in 'Assignment Earth' , that episode being the only one where the Enterprise intentionaly went back in time.

I guess my point is, was the Time Warp device set-up in the 'Naked Time' purposely dropped? Did NBC tell Roddenberry not to go that route because ABC's new show 'The Time Tunnel' (1966-67) was already dealing with time travel?

It's also interesting how TNG as a show used the 'Holodeck' as a way not to use time travel that much, later shows DS9 & Voyager establishs that there was a Temporal Agency in place to try and prevent intentional time travel, was this type of agency around in Kirks day? could it have been established after the 'Implosion Time Warp' , 'Sun Sling Shot Time Warp' & The Gardian were discovered? or before that?

 

[Christopher]

I was watching the re-mastered HD version of the 'Naked Now'

You mean "The Naked Time." "The Naked Now" was the TNG sequel/remake (hence the "now").

and was just realizing that the Time Warp created by the 'implosion' start of the warp engines was a setup by the writers to have future episodes use time travel (probably mostly for Earth related senarios) as an intentional plot device. It would seem that after this they dropped that idea and instead focused on the more un-realistic 'earth like' planets that for some reason was setup to resemble and reflect an Earth time period and or historical event.

Actually "The Naked Time" was intended to lead in directly to "Tomorrow is Yesterday." The ending was supposed to be a cliffhanger that set up the following episode, kind of like how Lost In Space episodes ended. However, the network and Roddenberry didn't want that kind of serialization, since they preferred the freedom to show the episodes in any order due to varying post-production times for the complicated effects. So "Naked Time"'s ending was rewritten and TiY was postponed.

So it wasn't intended to be a setup for time travel episodes in general, just for one particular time-travel episode. Actually, what they should've done was drop the time-travel ending to "Naked Time" altogether, since it no longer served any purpose in the story and is just this totally gratuitous non sequitur. But I guess they didn't have time for more than a quick rewrite.

 

[Tom]

Ok, I did not know that. Just seemed like a setup to have Spock say now we can go to any time etc.. (My bad on the title typo, I fixed it, must have TNG on the brain LOL)

 

[gastrof]

If I remember correctly, even the way the episode was aired showed they wouldn't be inclined to use the "cold start" warp drive formula to achieve time travel.

When it was said they could use it to visit any world at any point in its history, Kirk's immediate reply was something like "We may risk it again...some day."

Doesn't sound like something he thought should be done casually. Possibly never again.