Time Trax

It is rare that I find myself looking forward to watching re-run TV programs, "Time Trax" is one of those interesting shows that I keep tuning in for on the SciFi Channel.

Darien Lambert (Dale Midkiff) is a policeman from the future (25th Century or so) who must travel back in time (usually the present) to find and send back to his time "criminals" who have also time travelled and are usually endangering the current time's inhabitants with advanced devices ("of EVIL").

Darien is assisted by his holographic computer "Selma" (smartly played by Elizabeth Alexander) who appears from his rather futuristic credit card / weapon / transporter.

This show is pure fantasy and, at times, corny, but Dale Midkiff makes his character impressively believable.

"These are the journals of Darien Lambert, Captain, Fugitive Retrieval Section, AD 2193..."

One of the first shows made for what would eventually become the WB, "Time Trax" does bear similarities to "Quantum Leap," but this formulaic SF/action show also owed more than a little to the minor classic "Trancers" (criminals time travelling with drugs, etc). Too bad it was never really as witty or as interesting, though - though it's not like that movie's writers Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson are strangers to TV shows that, though entertaining, never really flourish (witness "The Flash" and "The Sentinel").

While our hero was hardly a superman, he did have more endurance than most 20th century people (an indication of how stronger people get as time goes by), and the feature-length pilot also proposed that Lambert was something of a prejudiced-against minority in his own time, a notion that, since the series never went back to the 22nd century, was never seriously brought up again... but if it had been set back there the show might have ended before it did.

Creators (and writers) Harve Bennett, Jeffrey Hayes and Grant Rosenberg were straitjacketed somewhat by their premise - note that the villain who Darien caught and sent back in the pilot was brought back (deformed of course; the series set up the rule that it's not safe for anyone to travel through time more than twice) to give him a recurring nemesis that he could actually fight, since the head villain Mordecai Sahmbi was hardly a physical threat; and the three-person rule about Darien's holographic partner Selma (activating Selma when another person is around, making it three people in that area, isn't allowed) also got broken, though they did acknowledge it.

With Australia standing in for the entire world (even Australia in one episode), it certainly looked nice - except for the episode where Darien went to a foggy London - but the show never had what it took to be a real contender, in spite of OK acting; blame the scripts. I've always enjoyed time travel movies and TV shows (though strangely enough I never got into "Doctor Who"), but it's impossible to think this'll really develop a cult following the way "The Time Tunnel" did. But then, that show didn't have a gratuitous plug for Continental Airlines in its opening credits.

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.

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.

As a kid I remember watching, I'm 32 now and am pretty sure it's atleast a little responsible for the great movie imagination I have today!