‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Timescape’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve had some pretty hefty and powerful discussions regarding some of the incredible themes that Star Trek: The Next Generation spotlighted during the tail end of season six. Simply because this series went on something of a philosophical tear, one that ranged from examinations of religion in the modern world, to the nature of murder and what it means to be gaslighted and toyed with mentally. But while that has made for some powerful storytelling, the kind that has left all of us with plenty to think about… this is a series that also understands balance and the importance of sticking with the roots of the story, and that would absolutely explain the storytelling choices made for the next episode.

For ‘Timescape’ is a journey that is devoid of deeper meaning and philosophy and instead focuses on the mysteries of the stars and the strange new life forms that are potentially out there in the void and it brought forth this kind of story, by having Captain Picard and a small contingent of his officers, make quite the strange discovery aboard a runabout when they were returning from a conference. In that, something was horribly wrong with time. For everyone aboard the runabout either watched it stop for a particular individual or was caught in these strange temporal wakes and well, after a great deal of digging, both Geordi and Data were able to ascertain that the source of these problems… just so happened to be the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Which was frozen in time, in the midst of what appeared to be some kind of battle with a Romulan Warbird and that of course, motivated Picard to take Troi and Data aboard the ship to explore what could have caused this fight. But as the minutes ticked along for them, they came to realize that this wasn’t a fight after all, but instead a rescue mission. One where an attempt to save the Warbird and her crew, via an emergency energy transfer, caused a warp core breach that was steadily leaking through time and would eventually destroy the Enterprise and all hands aboard. Which meant the away team had to figure out quickly… what the ship was trying to save the Romulans from and well… what they uncovered was fascinating to say the least.

For it turned out, that a species of alien that uses singularities to grow their young, placed some of their spawn in the Artificial Singularity Core of the Warbird and once it became clear that wasn’t a natural singularity, all hell broke loose, moving time into its current state of flux. Which meant the only way to save the day was to reverse time using the Romulan Singularity Core and do their best to cease the energy stream that the 1701-D was feeding the Warbird, since that was contributing to the problem. But that was of course… no easy task. Since one of the remaining aliens was eager to cause trouble to keep their young safe, delaying the plan and forcing Picard to get creative with it and thankfully, his ingenuity kept his ship and his extended family from perishing. 

If anything, this was just a straightforward, wild adventure through the stars. One that truly lived up to the mantra of the show and it is one that entertains you every step of the way. Because the mystery present here is top notch and incredibly engaging, and it even features some incredible stakes as well. The kind that go beyond the fact that it is a race against time to save the Enterprise, since the away team ran the risk of losing their minds and their health by finding a way to walk through time and well, you simply cannot go wrong with an adventure that engages and surprise and compels. And now that this unique story has come to a close… it is time to turn our attention to another epic TNG tale… one that closes out season six with several blasts from the past. Until next time. 

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