In this new series of posts, I will be comparing briefly similarly-themed episodes and wondering what others think.
This time around, we have season 2's "Time Squared" and season 5's "Cause and Effect". Both involve looping in time. Both are by and large cleverly written, whose nitpicks are miniscule. Both have special guest appearances by someone. Both cost more than $1 million each to make. And despite that, both look very beige.
I would lean toward "Cause and Effect" (CnE) mostly because we see the time loop phenomenon from the inside looking out. That was pretty cool.
On the other hand, "Time Squared" (TSQ) gets resolved the first time around, whereas C&E had them stuck for a couple of weeks (and the poor Bozeman was stuck there for several decades.)
TSQ required a space critter to get the sequence rolling. CnE had a more plausible spatial anomaly.
TSQ had a wonderful sense of suspense. CnE got boring after a while.
TSQ was influenced by Doctor Who's episode "The Space Museum". CnE was influenced by the allegedly funny 1989 Lifecall commercial where Mrs Fletcher (the first or second of four actresses playing the role) had fallen and couldn't get up.
TSQ was resolved with wits. CnE has the magical technobabble of the week where they can even communicate and hope Data figures it out, while wondering where Wesley was because he would have solved it all even before the first loop took place. :/
TSQ was still more traditional, CnE clearly took the trope from a new perspective and is considerably fresh, even if it does wear on by the third or fourth act...
TSQ keeps one wondering how they'll get out of it despite repetition of the cliché of "That should have worked." "Okay, try the opposite doodley." "Hey wow, that works." While CnE leads the viewer along with a leash, it's more subtly done. But at the same time, the boredom settling in puts the kibosh on "Okay, how will they get out of this one?"
TSQ feels more rewatchable because it works on all levels. Had CnE not gotten boring, lots of nuances would be picked up on in rewatchings.
On the minus side, TSQ doesn't have Ensign Ro in it. CnE does.
On the minus side of that, Ro isn't allowed to do much of anything in this story.
While my vote is ultimately for TSQ, it''s not to say CnE is bad. Not by any means, it's a standout in season 5. Both are pretty fantastic on their own merits. With that context, even the nitpicks I brought up aren't too terribly bad.
This time around, we have season 2's "Time Squared" and season 5's "Cause and Effect". Both involve looping in time. Both are by and large cleverly written, whose nitpicks are miniscule. Both have special guest appearances by someone. Both cost more than $1 million each to make. And despite that, both look very beige.
I would lean toward "Cause and Effect" (CnE) mostly because we see the time loop phenomenon from the inside looking out. That was pretty cool.
On the other hand, "Time Squared" (TSQ) gets resolved the first time around, whereas C&E had them stuck for a couple of weeks (and the poor Bozeman was stuck there for several decades.)
TSQ required a space critter to get the sequence rolling. CnE had a more plausible spatial anomaly.
TSQ had a wonderful sense of suspense. CnE got boring after a while.
TSQ was influenced by Doctor Who's episode "The Space Museum". CnE was influenced by the allegedly funny 1989 Lifecall commercial where Mrs Fletcher (the first or second of four actresses playing the role) had fallen and couldn't get up.
TSQ was resolved with wits. CnE has the magical technobabble of the week where they can even communicate and hope Data figures it out, while wondering where Wesley was because he would have solved it all even before the first loop took place. :/
TSQ was still more traditional, CnE clearly took the trope from a new perspective and is considerably fresh, even if it does wear on by the third or fourth act...
TSQ keeps one wondering how they'll get out of it despite repetition of the cliché of "That should have worked." "Okay, try the opposite doodley." "Hey wow, that works." While CnE leads the viewer along with a leash, it's more subtly done. But at the same time, the boredom settling in puts the kibosh on "Okay, how will they get out of this one?"
TSQ feels more rewatchable because it works on all levels. Had CnE not gotten boring, lots of nuances would be picked up on in rewatchings.
On the minus side, TSQ doesn't have Ensign Ro in it. CnE does.
On the minus side of that, Ro isn't allowed to do much of anything in this story.
While my vote is ultimately for TSQ, it''s not to say CnE is bad. Not by any means, it's a standout in season 5. Both are pretty fantastic on their own merits. With that context, even the nitpicks I brought up aren't too terribly bad.
