A Matter of Time is an episode that can be enjoyable, but ultimately is rather flawed. On the balance, the acting (particularly from Picard) is very good, as is the writing (at times). But the premise is very shaky. And the main guest character is an uncomfortable mixture of highly likable and highly irritating.

A Matter of Time tells the story of a futuristic historian who has travelled back in time to study the Enterprise and her crew during a mission to Penthara IV. The historian bears questionnaires and platitudes about not allowing the past to be changed. But as it turns out, the futuristic historian is actually a historical con-artist and inventor. His plan, after stealing some other futuristic historian’s time machine, is to travel to the future, steal gadgets from the Enterprise, and then return to his original time to “invent” the gadgets, make his millions and the future be damned.

The problem with the Professor, as a character, is that he is just way too smug, way to intrusive, and way too annoying. His pass at Dr. Crusher is entertaining, but it is also rather cringe-worthy. And by the end of the episode, you want him to just shut the hell up. He gets his due, of course, when the time machine blinks away to his own time, leaving him stranded in the 24th century, on his way to a prison term. But it’s just not enough restitution for the patience he has stolen from the audience.

The rest of the problems for this episode are its glut of “yeah but” moments. Such as:

» The Professor steals the time machine from a real futuristic historian: Yeah, but how could such a futuristic person be so easily bamboozled? And what was such a futuristic historian doing to put himself in the position to be bamboozled?

» The Professor travels “back” (forward, really) in time to the Enterprise: Yeah, but why the Enterprise? The Enterprise in the middle of space. He’s from New Jersey. Why not some futuristic version of Atlantic City? Or New York City? He can’t have stolen anything from those places? He *had* to travel to the Enterprise?

» Picard accepts the Professor’s credentials: Yeah, but how could they have verified those credentials to begin with? Why wouldn’t they be a bit more suspicious of the Professor? Especially since Riker points out that the Enterprise has had a long history of dealing with unsavory characters?

» The Professor claims that interfering with the past is strictly taboo: Yeah, but isn’t the simple fact of showing up, and telling people you are from the future an interference? Wouldn’t the crew have seen through this illogical premise? Especially Picard after his Sarek mind-meld?

Just to name a few.

The result is that there are simply too many flaws with the episode’s premise to be able to take it seriously. And make no mistake, this episode *wants* to be taken seriously. The interchange between Picard and the Professor, about whether or not Picard should act on a highly risky plan to save a planet is replete with philosophical, ethical and metaphysical ideas. And Picard nails his performance perfectly – with passion, reason, and authority. It’s unfortunate that the performance is supported by such a flimsy premise.

And really, that is representative of the episode as a whole. Parts of it are, truly, enjoyable. Even the Professor has his moments. But while the individual performances and dialogue are entertaining, the overall concepts leave a lot to be desired.

Time travel and its ensuing paradoxes are fascinating concepts to explore. But as I have mentioned in previous reviews, if a story is going to deal with time travel, it has to avoid the minefield of implausible and esoteric plotlines. With that in mind, A Matter of Time is much more akin to Time Squared than it is to Yesterday’s Enterprise. In fact, Yesterday’s Enterprise does a much better job of confronting the dilemma between sacrificing a few in the hopes of possibly saving a multitude.

Topics: Time Travel
Filed under: TNG Reviews