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cjlasky7I was having such a good time bouncing back and forth with Shadowkat about time travel, that I thought I'd start my own thread. Here's four more of my favorite time travel stories (and television episodes with similar ideas):
1. "By His Bootstraps," by Robert A. Heinlein. The other classic Heinlein time travel story that defined the genre.
Teleplay: Doctor Who, "Before the Flood". Confused about the Bootstrap Paradox and how it works? Peter Capaldi (in character) explains it perfectly in a two minute monologue pitched directly to the audience at the start of this episode. Arguably better and definitely more fun than Heinlein. (Plus: totally wicked guitar solo!)
2. "Behold the Man" by Michael Moorcock. The Greatest Story Ever (Re-)Told. Depending on your POV, either a testament to the continuing power of religion to inspire.... or depressing and borderline blasphemous. Decide for yourself.
Teleplay: The Twilight Zone (1980s version), "The Once and Future King". More shenanigans with a protagonist who gets a little too involved with history. (Amazed that the Elvis Presley estate signed off on this one.)
3. "A Little Something for Us Temponauts" by Philip K. Dick. PKD intended this as a satire about the American public's growing boredom with the space program; in actuality, it reads like a gigantic metaphor for depression. Most time loop stories these days have an element of playfulness; Dick uses the time loop as a torture chamber, crushing his protagonist with ennui. (Do not read if you're in bad mood; it'll stay with you for days.)
Teleplay: The Outer Limits (1990s version), "A Stitch in Time". If "Temponauts" uses time travel as a metaphor for depression, this episode (easily the best in the series) uses it as a metaphor for trauma. Physicist Theresa Givens (Amanda Plummer, earning a well-deserved Emmy for the role) acts out the psychological damage from the assault she suffered as a young girl across the space-time continuum, sucking Michelle Forbes' FBI agent into her temporal vortex. Absolutely riveting.
4. "The Man Who Walked Home" by Alice Sheldon (writing as James Tiptree Jr.) The birth and death of civilizations, counterpointed with the simple story of a man trying to return to the woman he loves. Beautiful, poetic, unique.
Teleplay: Star Trek (TNG), "All Good Things..." Like the short story, the action moves backwards and forward along the time stream, spanning millions of years--but it's really the story of one man realizing his place in the universe and with the family he's found on the Enterprise. Here's hoping Picard S3 can honor that legacy.
But I also wanted to end with this one because this episode has my favorite speech from Q. He tells Picard that humanity's greatest adventure isn't about cataloging nebulae and meeting funny headed aliens. When Picard grasped the paradox at the center of the episode, for a moment (just for a moment) he saw beyond the veil of what humans think of as reality. Exploring beyond that veil, said Q, is where humanity's true destiny lies. (DeLancie, as usual, killed it.)
I agree with the omnipotent asshole. It's another main reason why I enjoy time travel stories--because they take you behind that veil of normal reality and expand your idea of what's possible.
**************
Any of your own favorites you want to pass along? Please do!
1. "By His Bootstraps," by Robert A. Heinlein. The other classic Heinlein time travel story that defined the genre.
Teleplay: Doctor Who, "Before the Flood". Confused about the Bootstrap Paradox and how it works? Peter Capaldi (in character) explains it perfectly in a two minute monologue pitched directly to the audience at the start of this episode. Arguably better and definitely more fun than Heinlein. (Plus: totally wicked guitar solo!)
2. "Behold the Man" by Michael Moorcock. The Greatest Story Ever (Re-)Told. Depending on your POV, either a testament to the continuing power of religion to inspire.... or depressing and borderline blasphemous. Decide for yourself.
Teleplay: The Twilight Zone (1980s version), "The Once and Future King". More shenanigans with a protagonist who gets a little too involved with history. (Amazed that the Elvis Presley estate signed off on this one.)
3. "A Little Something for Us Temponauts" by Philip K. Dick. PKD intended this as a satire about the American public's growing boredom with the space program; in actuality, it reads like a gigantic metaphor for depression. Most time loop stories these days have an element of playfulness; Dick uses the time loop as a torture chamber, crushing his protagonist with ennui. (Do not read if you're in bad mood; it'll stay with you for days.)
Teleplay: The Outer Limits (1990s version), "A Stitch in Time". If "Temponauts" uses time travel as a metaphor for depression, this episode (easily the best in the series) uses it as a metaphor for trauma. Physicist Theresa Givens (Amanda Plummer, earning a well-deserved Emmy for the role) acts out the psychological damage from the assault she suffered as a young girl across the space-time continuum, sucking Michelle Forbes' FBI agent into her temporal vortex. Absolutely riveting.
4. "The Man Who Walked Home" by Alice Sheldon (writing as James Tiptree Jr.) The birth and death of civilizations, counterpointed with the simple story of a man trying to return to the woman he loves. Beautiful, poetic, unique.
Teleplay: Star Trek (TNG), "All Good Things..." Like the short story, the action moves backwards and forward along the time stream, spanning millions of years--but it's really the story of one man realizing his place in the universe and with the family he's found on the Enterprise. Here's hoping Picard S3 can honor that legacy.
But I also wanted to end with this one because this episode has my favorite speech from Q. He tells Picard that humanity's greatest adventure isn't about cataloging nebulae and meeting funny headed aliens. When Picard grasped the paradox at the center of the episode, for a moment (just for a moment) he saw beyond the veil of what humans think of as reality. Exploring beyond that veil, said Q, is where humanity's true destiny lies. (DeLancie, as usual, killed it.)
I agree with the omnipotent asshole. It's another main reason why I enjoy time travel stories--because they take you behind that veil of normal reality and expand your idea of what's possible.
**************
Any of your own favorites you want to pass along? Please do!
