Time Trax

I loved Time Trax and saw every episode when it originally aired. I disagree with a previous post I read about the show though. Granted everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I thought the show was great. Of course, I originally started watching because of that hot hot man Dale Midkiff. Today I saw him on the SciFi channel in a movie called Maximum Velocity. While the movie was good his acting was the bomb!(That means his acting is "really good" in case you were wondering.) I really like him and will get this series someday soon. Time Trax should be updated into a TV Movie. Of course, it would "have to" star Dale Midkiff or else it just wouldn't work. I highly recommend this series and suggest you check it out in reruns. Also, check out anything else starring Dale.

Many times I remember shows being much more enjoyable than they actually were. But rewatching this series on roku channel is almost as satisfying as the first time when I was in my 20s, unlike Xfiles and UFO reruns that kind of bore me these days. I think one of the more enjoyable elements of the show, as hellraiser's review mentioned is the fun factor. It's not as dark and dramatic as Xfiles or UFO for instance. Hellraiser also nailed it IMO with a comparison to knight rider.. Although, on a much tighter budget. The writers did a good job of selling the futuristic angle and yet keeping a low budget by camouflaging the most often used items to look like current day devices. (I used to have an AT&T Universal card that looked exactly like that!) Also, by making all of Darien's future physical gifts internal, they didn't have to pay for alien makeup or anything. So this is a nice little escapism on a tight budget. Although, I do not want to discount the 2hr pilot which probably used most of the season 1 budget with its futuristic shots. It was believable enough and stands up pretty well even today. I always enjoyed Selma with her Aussie accent and formal diction. Hellraiser did possibly misunderstand some facts, which I had to pause and re-watch sections of the pilot to Understand. Sambi was getting paid by these criminals to send them back and used the money to fund his further research. His long term plans were definitely to jump back to the past once he had his team in place and try to institute a new world order. However, as seen in the pilot episode, he was shocked and unprepared for Darian's arrival in the past, but he maneuvered to try and make the best of the situation.

In spite of the fact that the "parallel universe" premise became so prevalent towards the end, Time Trax was a terrific show. First, Dale Midkiff's character had an incredible interest in history. 44 episodes to chase down ghosts of the past made for some interesting dialog.

Second, it was obvious that because of his lack of emotional bonding in his orphanage spent youth, relationships in his time travels were especially important. It was apparent in all of his dealings with those he wound up helping during each episode.

Third, the concept of exceptional intelligence and physical prowess added greatly to his larger than life persona. Darien was more than a good cop, he was in essence a superhero, one who could perform amazing acts in the 20th century.

I watched this show during the original run, which was when I was in my early teens. I remember thoroughly enjoying it and thinking it was one of the better shows on television. Years later, as an adult, I would see this late one night. I was suffering from nostalgia and decided to kick back and enjoy it one more time. I couldn't bear to watch it! I realized the acting, scripts, and direction.

Granted, the premise was definitely fresh for its time. It could have worked, and if tuned properly and all the problems fixed, could possibly be brought back today. The networks need to remember that the public as a whole really does not mind having to think while watching a program. Mindless fodder is not going to placate those of us who need mental and intellectual stimulation.

I've been reading everyone's comments on the show. I thought it was a fun show with good potential (I didn't realize it was filmed in Australia as one person pointed out). To me, admittedly, it had elements of Quantum Leap (the time travel to the past to set things right aspect).

However, I thought they did a decent job with an interesting premise - have it take place 200 years in the future, have the evil genius (Dr. Sahmbi) create a time travel apparatus to send criminals and himself into the past where law enforcement isn't as advanced, have the good guy (Capt. Lambert) be forced to pursue him into the past when his love is killed, have him take an advanced computer/hologram with him to help out (even the hologram aspect is reminiscent of Quantum Leap), and have him not able to return home until he's caught the 100 criminals and Sahmbi and sent them all back.

Where I think the show jumped the shark was two things. First - having the big confrontation between Lambert and Sahmbi happen too soon. The episode where they became trapped in an underground cavern and Sahmbi used a modified version of the TRAX substance (normally used to send people back to the future) on Darien in order to brainwash him, turn him against Selma, and turn him onto Sahmbi's side. That episode was VERY well done but should have been saved as the series finale episode, where they have the final big confrontation. A slight rewriting of the episode's ending and it would have been perfect as a series finale. By doing that episode that soon, they played their trump card too soon so of course the rest of the series would be an anti-climax.

The second jump the shark moment to me was when they started toying with the idea of Selma loving Darien and vice versa. While it was cute and the episodes that dealt with this "subtext" were funny, they did constitute a jump the shark moment in the series. I mean, Selma didn't even have a physical female form - she was a female hologram housed inside a computer fashioned as a credit card, for crying out loud. The episode where Elizabeth Alexander did a dual role as Selma and as Darien's mother and it was revealed that Selma loved Darien was, again, a cute and funny moment to watch but really!

And after that, the series started playing with the idea that there were feelings between the two. The episode where Darien was undercover with his female agent friend as a married couple and the agent ended up brainwashed, Selma told Darien to take her to the bedroom (so she could emit some rays to determine the brainwashing patterns). However, the way the scene was done was obviously meant to be a cute subtext moment.

Those were the moments that I thought the show lost its focus. Otherwise, Time Trax was a decent show.