Stardate: 42679.2
Original Air Date: April 3, 1989
Writer: Kurt Michael Bensmiller (story), Maurice Hurley (teleplay)
Director: Joseph L. Scanlan
“Something is waiting for us out there… let’s try to determine what it is as quickly as possible.”
“Time Squared” begins with Riker cooking a an omelet meal in his quarters (old-fashioned style, without the use of replicators) with Data, Dr. Pulaski, Worf, and Geordi. The Owon eggs were acquired at the last stop on Starbase 73, and Dr. Pulaski brings ale from Ennan VI to accompany the omelets. However, apparently the eggs aren’t very appetizing (even though Worf seems to like them).
The meal is interrupted when Riker is summoned to the bride. While en route to the Endicor System, the Enterprise has picked up an automated signal from a Federation shuttlecraft. How is this possible? Where is the shuttlecraft’s mother ship? What is it doing so far out in space? The shuttlecraft appears to have humanoid life forms aboard but it is without power and thus cannot communicate. The tractor beam pulls the suspended shuttlecraft into Shuttle Bay 2 but when Riker and Worf examine it, the shuttlecraft reads “NCC-170-1D” and “Shuttlecraft 5.” And there appears to be damage on the outside of the shuttlecraft from an anti-mater explosion. When they open the craft, an identical copy of Picard, himself, is seated in the pilot’s seat, albeit unconscious. The Picard duplicate is taken away to sickbay for Dr. Pulaski to examine him. Dr. Pulaski attempts to awaken the Picard doppelganger but a normal stimulant has the opposite effect and nearly kills him. He remains unconscious. Meanwhile, Geordi and Data attempt to repair the damaged shuttlecraft and they discover the craft has a stardate six hours into the future. In other words, he appears to be from the future. And his internal bodily systems appear to be malfunctioning until the Enterprise meets up with point at which he left his time zone.
The shuttlecraft’s log shows the complete destruction of the Enterprise three hours and nineteen minutes henceforth, though there are currently no obstacles in the way of the Enterprise en route to the Endicor System. In the audio records, the Picard doppelganger claims he alone has survived the destruction of his ship.
Can the Enterprise avoid its own destruction? Worf raises the concern of the “theory of the Mobius” –a twist in the fabric of space in which time becomes a loop. Yet, the crew agrees to continue onward along the same path in order to confront the same situation again and hopefully overcome the time loop trap.
Suddenly, an energy vortex appears out of nowhere and it begins scanning the Enterprise (Counselor Troi notes that there appears to be an intelligence emanating from the vortex). At first, Picard decides to investigate the vortex, but then second-guesses himself and wonders if this could be the mistake that leads to the impending destruction of the Enterprise. The ship attempts to flee at maximum warp, but the vortex maintains a strong hold on the ship. Picard is suddenly attacked by several energy bursts from the vortex –its power seems to be immense. Picard goes to his doppelganger and leads him to Shuttle Bay 2 where he confronts the Picard of the future and suddenly fires his phaser, killing him and thus breaking the time cycle.
Next, Picard decides to turn the Enterprise so that it heads directly into the vortex. Once the Enterprise enters the eye, the duplicate Picard and his shuttlecraft inexplicably disappear from Shuttle Bay 2 (as announced by Miles O’Brien). The Enterprise is then surprisingly returned to its initial course en route to the Endicor System. The sudden appearance of the vortex remains a mystery.
My Thoughts on “Time Squared”
With echoes of TOS doppelganger episodes like “The Enemy Within” and also TOS time travel episodes like “The Alternative Factor,” I found “Time Squared” to be a darkly ominous episode that shows Picard’s frailties when confronted with a serious, impending crisis aboard the Enterprise. How will a leader like Picard handle foreknowledge of his own fate? Should he continue the time loop? Or attempt to alter the future? Can he even do so?
And how are we to understand the vortex? What is it? Where did it come from? Why does it appear to be hostile to the Enterprise? Answers are never given because the episode ends in a mystery, and while I would have liked some detail or analysis on the vortex, this unexplained phenomenon seems fitting in this case.
In “Time Squared,” many secondary characters are given a more elevated role, such as Counselor Troi who plays a more pronounced role as she attempts to articulate the intelligence and self-awareness of the vortex. And Dennis McCarthy’s score is perfectly delivered in this episode, alongside Patrick Stewart’s terrific performance as both Captain Picards –one from the present, one from the future. Lastly, I was filled with nostalgia at the vortex special effect created for this episode. For me, “Time Squared” remains a stand-out episode of TNG Season 2.
Star Trek Trivia:
- At the start of this episode, Dr. Pulaski introduces ale from Ennan VI to accompany the omelets Riker is preparing. She also mentions that “for much of the history of mankind, the breaking of bread was a symbol of friendship and community –something we have gotten away from in the 24th century.”
- In this episode, it is established that Riker never knew his mother, she died when he was very young. And his father hated cooking.
- This episode gives us a rare glimpse of an Enterprise Shuttle Bay (Shuttle Bay 2).
- The name of the shuttlepod, a lower budget alternative to the shuttlecraft, was apparently named for Farouk El-Baz, a NASA scientist.
- This episode was originally intended to feature Q, but Gene Roddenberry disallowed it.
- Maurice Hurley, author of the teleplay, intended to write a six-hour time travel story. It was given last-minute rewrites.