Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 118: Cause and Effect [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was an incredibly intelligent episode. I haven't had any formal training in chaos or time theory (just that of science fiction! :-), so this episode presented the idea of time flow and time loops to an amateur like myself in a very clear and understandable way. The episode really made me think and caused me to ask alot of new questions about fate and time. This episode is similar to an earlier take on time flow done by the Twilight Zone and was simulated later by the X-files in the episode "Monday." Great script, great acting, and a fun cameo done by Kelsey Grammer of "Frasier."

The above line, and subsequent collision, still chills after repeated viewings as it did when the episode aired over fifteen years ago. Although the destruction of the Enterprise is fiction, the line resonates almost as much as did the real-life "Go with throttle up" spoken to the crew of the ill-fated Challenger.

"Cause and Effect" is one of those time loop episodes that find a welcome home in most science fiction. And it's a remarkably well-paced one, with each "revisitation" as enigmatic as the first one.

This is is first-rate in all aspects!

Directing "Cause and Effect" couldn't have been an easy task, but Jonathan Frakes does incredibly well. The Enterprise seems to be trapped in a time loop that starts with the crew playing poker, and ends in the ship colliding with another ship and exploding. How does this happen? How can they prevent it? Watching the episode, you'd think some of the repeated scenes would get old. They don't. In fact, it gets more interesting as the crew begins to realize something's wrong. The ending is terrifically smart and this episode is a TNG classic.

This epispisode is intresting in many ways dealing with Einstiens theories and the eternal questions about time and relativity. Also It is a great prelude to an engrossing novel Ship of the Line which will answer a few questions left open in the episode. But in regard to the episode itself it is action packed (intellectually)and one of those episodes you will find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat. Their is also a surprise cameo by a very famous television star (who is also a trekker himself)truely not to be missed!

Cause and Effect or the Writer's Block Episode

Kelsey Grammer makes an appearance as a captain of the Starship Bozeman from Kirk's era. He accidently stumbles onto Picards timeline and averts a disaster with the Enterprise. In this one we get to see the Enterprise destroyed at the end of each act before the commercial break. It took them a few tries before they left the endless time loop. It's plot has been repeated before in Voyager and many other Trek episodes. I like to call them the writers block episodes. They have taken the place of what I call the mysterious cloud thing where some ghost like cloud covers the Enterprise and makes the crew act unusual. When the producers get the crunch time of not being able to do location shooting... this is the rusult.. a shipboard story where some special effect wrecks havock with the crew. It doesn't require new sets or any other budget breakers.

Plot: The Enterprise is exploring the Typhon Expanse and encounters a temporal disortion. Suddenly, power goes out and a ship appears....impact in 36 seconds. Despite all attempts, the ships collide and after a couple dozen spins, our favorite starship explodes with all hands (and feet). And this is the teaser!

Overall, an excellent episode, earning it's 5 stars easily in my book (although my grandpa thought is boring because all that happened was the same scenes over and over again). Basically, the Enterprise keeps repeating a section of time (how and when, I won't tell, you'll have to watch it in order to find out). But, there are subtle differences after each repetition, including everyone going through moments of Deja Vu. An excellent episode and if you try really hard, you might be able to figure out how to solve the problem before they do.

The eterprise is in a temporal causality loop. That is the same period of time is repeated again and again with the crew having no memory of the previous loop. If they don't get out of the loop they will be stuck that way possibly forever...

This episode has a cameo appearence by Kelsey Grammer