History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E23Timescape

** And worst of all, Dr. Crusher has been shot by a Romulan who was actually shooting at an alien intruder in front of her, and Crusher got hit [[TragicMistake by accident]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Picard, who is normally TheStoic and has just learned that a) [[UnresolvedSexualTension Dr. Crusher]] has been shot with a disruptor and b) the ''Enterprise'' is about to explode, draws a smiley face in the cloud from the explosion and starts laughing at it. As it turns out, he's suffering from temporal narcosis.

Riker is getting a cat scratch treated in sick bay after a disastrous attempt to feed Data's cat Spot. Data, along with Picard, La Forge, and Troi, are all out at a three-day science conference. Riker gets called to the bridge, where he learns that a Romulan vessel has sent out a distress call due to engine failure. Riker plots a course with shields up, wary of a trap. Meanwhile, the conference-goers are journeying by runabout back to the ship and discussing how boring it all was. Suddenly, Picard, Geordi and Data all freeze for several seconds, leaving Troi confused.

The warbird is firing on the ''Enterprise'', but the ''Enterprise'' is shooting some sort of energy beam at the warbird's engines, which doesn't look like an attack. The crew will have to figure out what's going on. Spouting some TechnoBabble, Geordi and Data rig up some armbands that will render them immune to the time distortion. Picard, Troi and Data beam aboard the ''Enterprise''. They discover Romulans on the bridge, one standing over a prostrate Riker in a menacing fashion. Picard judges that the Romulan attack took the crew by surprise. Troi discovers that one Romulan is in the process of shooting Crusher with a disruptor, a fatal blow. She doesn't notice that one of the Romulans is not frozen in time.

As the crew continue their investigation, they notice other clues that don't point to a Romulan attack. In the transporter room, Worf is beaming aboard unarmed and wounded Romulans. But that all takes a backseat to the fact that the warp core is in the process of exploding. The ship was transferring energy to the warbird, which resulted in a backfire. Data reveals that time isn't actually stopped, just very slowed down. He can actually see the warp core explosion moving, and it will conclude in nine hours. As Data is talking, Picard draws a smiley face in the smoke and begins laughing. He's gone time-mad. They all beam back to the runabout, where Picard quickly recovers. Geordi advises that they limit their excursions to ten-minute intervals.

Investigating the Romulan ship, they discover more evidence that the Romulans were not attacking: They're in the process of an evacuation, and they're trying to stop the power transfer. Geordi and Data investigate the ship's engine, and Data discovers that it's the nexus of the time fragments littering space. Further, Data notices organic organisms floating in the artificial black hole that powers the ship. When Data scans the engine, time suddenly starts moving at normal speed for several moments, then reverses again to its original point. Everything is pointing to the idea that the ''Enterprise'' was supplying a power transfer for their stalled engines, but it caused a backlash, and the Romulans were trying to stop the transfer and evacuate before their ship explodes. As Geordi is deducing this, he's suddenly attacked by the unstuck Romulan. Troi takes off Geordi's armband to freeze him in time and delay his death.

Troi stops the Romulan from firing at Crusher. It turns out that he was firing at one of the time aliens, and Crusher just accidentally got in the way. On the bridge, Riker falls over, and a Romulan helps him to his feet. Picard orders Riker to continue evacuating the warbird and beam Geordi directly to sickbay. Data is ready to stop the energy transfer, but he's attacked by a second time alien, stunning him just long enough to fail to stop the transfer. Picard remotely pilots the runabout into the beam's path, blowing it up and stopping the transfer. Crisis is averted, and the warbird is successfully evacuated just before the time aliens phase it out of existence to reclaim their young.

'''Geordi:''' Why didn't anybody tell him?\\

* ChekhovsGunman: When time briefly starts running forward aboard the Warbird, the camera suddenly focuses on a shifty-looking Romulan who has just run into Engineering. After time reverses itself, he's suddenly standing near the console Geordi is operating, when he wasn't before...

* ADayInTheLimelight: While this is not a character episode, Troi gets to do a lot here which she wouldn't in most episodes. Her previous experience on a Romulan warbird allows her to make a significant contribution to solving the mystery, her quick thinking saves Geordi from dying, and she takes a phaser to Sickbay to keep Dr. Crusher from being shot.

* HyperAwareness: While on the Romulan ship, Geordi watches as time returns to normal and then, after a short period, reverses back to where it virtually stopped before. As the away team is amazed at what just happened, Geordi notices one of the Romulans seems to be out of place from where he was before. He's right. Oddly enough, Data, who should have the most HyperAwareness (and perfect memory), doesn't notice a thing.

* NoOshaCompliance: The "artificial quantum singularity" that powers the Romulan ship is in a tube in a corner, behind a very thin hinged panel with no locking mechanism. Geordi simply walks up and easily opens the panel, and the quantum singularity is just floating inside the tube. If it's the power source for the entire Romulan ship, it must contain an extreme amount of energy. Being so easily accessible leaves open the possibility of someone interfering with it, either on purpose or by accident. And if it emits radiation (as implied in other episodes mentioning Romulan ships), being behind a very thin panel and so near to the crew in the engineering section means the radiation emission wouldn't be properly mitigated.

The crew question the Romulan, who turns out to be an extradimensional being. He reveals that his species placed their young in the Romulans' engine, but its artificial nature makes it a bad place to nest, so they were trying to get them back, causing the Romulans' engine failure and the disastrous chain of events and all the time distortions. After the alien phases out of existence, Picard reasons that if they can make time move forward and reverse, then they can do the opposite and make it go backwards and then move forward, giving them an opportunity to change the past. They all get into position and get to work.

** The Romulan Warbird is firing upon the ''Enterprise'', but only with the intent to disrupt the energy transfer beam which is overloading their engines, and which the ''Enterprise'' [[FailsafeFailure cannot shut down]] (though it's implied, since the Romulans are busy trying to evacuate their ship, that it was the aliens who somehow got control of the Romulan Warbird's weapons and fired upon the Enterprise in an attempt to cut off the beam);
** There's a Romulan on the bridge, looming over a fallen Riker, but he's only moving to offer assistance;

* Despite their cooperation, why are Romulans allowed on the Enterprise bridge, a restricted area which should be off limits to the Romulans, and why is a Romulan allowed to have his disruptor pistol in sickbay?

* HyperAwareness: While on the Romulan ship, Geordi watches as time returns to normal and then, after a short period, reverses back to where it virtually stopped before. As the away team is amazed at what just happened, Geordi notices one of the Romulans seems to be out of place from how it was before. He's right. Oddly enough, Data, who should have the most HyperAwareness (and perfect memory), doesn't notice a thing.

Riker is getting a cat scratch treated in sick bay after a disastrous attempt to feed Data's cat Spot. Data, along with Picard, La Forge, and Troi, are all out at a three-day Starfleet conference. Riker gets called to the bridge, where he learns that a Romulan vessel has sent out a distress call due to engine failure. Riker plots a course with shields up, wary of a trap. Meanwhile, the conference-goers are journeying by runabout back to the ship and discussing how boring it all was. Suddenly, Picard, Geordi and Data all freeze for several seconds, leaving Troi confused.

Investigating the Romulan ship, they discover more evidence that the Romulans were not attacking: They're in the process of an evacuation, and they're trying to stop the power transfer. Geordi and Data investigate the ship's engines, and Data discovers that it's the nexus of the time fragments littering space. Further, Data notices organic organisms floating in the artificial black hole that powers the ship. When Data scans the engine, time suddenly starts moving at normal speed for several moments, then reverses again to its original point. Everything is pointing to the idea that the ''Enterprise'' was supplying a power transfer for their stalled engines, but it caused a backlash, and the Romulans were trying to stop the transfer and evacuate before their ship explodes. As Geordi is deducing this, he's suddenly attacked by the unstuck Romulan. Troi takes off his armband to freeze him in time and delay his death.

Troi explains what happened, and the rest of the crew investigate the phenomenon. Then it's Troi's turn to freeze, this time for several minutes. The other crew scan her and realize that she's three minutes younger than she should be. Time is stopping and starting, seemingly at random. It's time to get the hell back to the ship, but suddenly one of the runabout's engines runs out of fuel, reporting that it has been running for 47 straight days. In addition, Picard notices that a bowl of fruit has gone rotten. When he reaches for it, his hand starts aging at an accelerated pace. Data figures out that pockets of time distortion are littering the area. The runabout is almost hemmed in, but they can carefully maneuver around them to get to the rendezvous point. Except when they finally find the ''Enterprise'', it's frozen mid-battle with a Romulan warbird.

As the crew continue their investigation, they notice other clues that don't point to a Romulan attack. In the transporter room, Worf is beaming aboard unarmed and wounded Romulans. But that all takes a backseat to the fact that the warp core is in the process of exploding. The ship was in the process of an energy transfer to the warbird, which resulted in a backfire. Data reveals that time isn't actually stopped, just very slowed down. He can actually see the warp core explosion moving, and it will happen in nine hours. As Data is talking, Picard draws a smiley face in the smoke and begins laughing. He's gone time-mad. They all beam back to the runabout, where Picard quickly recovers. Geordi advises that they limit their excursions to ten-minute intervals.

Investigating the Romulan ship, they discover more evidence that the Romulans were not attacking: they're in the process of an evacuation, and they're trying to stop the power transfer. Geordi and Data investigate the ship's engines, and Data discovers that it's the nexus of the time fragments littering space. Further, Data notices organic organisms floating in the artificial black hole that powers the ship. When Data scans the engine, time suddenly starts moving at normal speed for several moments, then reverses again to its original point. Everything is pointing to the idea that the ''Enterprise'' was supplying a power transfer for their stalled engines, but it caused a backlash, and the Romulans were trying to stop the transfer and evacuate before their ship explodes. As Geordi is deducing this, he's suddenly attacked by the unstuck Romulan. Troi takes off his armband to freeze him in time and delay his death.

Some time later, Riker cautiously arrives at Data's quarters, nervous of a Spot attack, to deliver some new personnel assignments. Data is testing the human perception of time, how it slows or speeds up based on your activity. He's literally watching a pot boil, but notes that nothing he does affects his perception of time. Riker suggests taking his internal chronometer offline to get a more human experience but warns him not to be late for his shift.

Riker getting a cat scratch treated at sick bay after a disastrous attempt to feed Data's cat Spot. Data, along with Picard, La Forge, and Troi, are all out at a three-day Starfleet conference. Riker gets called to the bridge, where he learns that a Romulan vessel has sent out a distress call due to engine failure. Riker plots a course with shields up, wary of a trap. Meanwhile, the conference-goers are journeying by runabout back to the ship and discussing how boring it all was. Suddenly, Picard, Geordi and Data all freeze for several seconds, leaving Troi confused.

Troi explains what happened, and the rest of the crew investigate the phenonemon. Then it's Troi's turn to freeze, this time for several minutes. The other crew scan her and realize that she's three minutes younger than she should be. Time is stopping and starting, seemingly at random. It's time to get the hell back to the ship, but suddenly one of the runabout's engines runs out of fuel, reporting that it has been running for 47 straight days. In addition, Picard notices that a bowl of fruit has gone rotten. When he reaches of it, his hand starts aging at an accelerated pace. Data figured out that pockets of time distortion are littering the area. The runabout is almost hemmed in, but they can carefully meanuver around them to get to the rendezvous point. Except when they finally find the ''Enterprise'', it's frozen mid-battle with a Romulan warbird.

As the crew continue their investigation, they notice other clues that don't point to a Romulan attack. In the transporter room, Worf is beaming aboard unarmed and wounded Romulans. But that all takes a backseat to the fact that the warp core is in the process of exploding. The ship was in the process of an energy transfer to the warbird, which resulted in a backfire. Data reveals that time isn't actually stopped, just very slowed down. He can actually see the warp core explosion moving, and it will happen in nine hours. As Data is talking, Picard draws a smiley face in the smoke and begins laughing. He's gone time-mad. They all beam back aboard, where Picard quickly recovers. Geordi advises that they limit their excursions to ten-minute intervals.

Investigating the Romulan ship, they discover more evidence that the Romulans were not attacking: they're in the process of an evacuation, and they're trying to stop the power transfer. Geordi and Data investigate the ship's engines, and Data discovers that it's the nexus of the time fragments littering space. Further, Data notices organic organisms floating in the artificial black hole that powers the ship. When Data scans the engine, time suddenly starts moving at normal speed for several moments, then reverses again to its original point. Everything is pointing to the idea that the ''Enterprise'' was supplying a power transfer for stalled engines, but it caused a backlash, and the Romulans were trying to stop the transfer and evacuate before their ship explodes. As Geordi is deducing this, he's suddenly attacked by the unstuck Romulan. Troi takes off his armband to freeze him in time and delay his death.

The crew question the Romulan, who turns out to be an extradimensional being. He reveals that his species placed their young in the Romulans' engine, but its artificial nature makes it a bad place to nest, so they were trying to get them back, causing the Romulans' engine failure and the disastrous chain of events and all the time distortions. After the alien phases out of existence, Picard reasons that if they can make time move forward and reverse, than they can do the opposite and make it go backwards and then move forward, giving them an opportunity to change the past. They all get into position and get to work.

Some time later, Riker arrives at Data's quarters, nervous of a Spot attack, to deliver some new personnel assignments. Data is testing the human perception of time, how it slows or speeds up based on your activity. He's literally watching a pot boil, but notes that nothing he does affects his perception of time. Riker suggests taking his internal chronometer offline to get a more human experience but warns him not to be late for his shift.

** When Troi tells Picard of the first instance of the time anomaly, she gets nervous and starts tapping her neck. She showed the same move to Lt. Barclay in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E2RealmOfFear Realm of Fear]]" to calm him down before transporting.

Returning via runabout from a conference, Picard, Troi, Geordi and Data encounter strange disturbances in time. Finally locating the Enterprise, they find her in an exchange of fire with a Romulan warbird, in a zone of time that moves so slowly it appears to be still.

* TerriblePickUpLines: Apparently, Troi got hit on at the conference by a Ktarian scientist whose idea of an opening line was to invite her to join him in some [[ForScience empirical research]] for his work on interspecies mating rituals. Data [[ComicallyMissingThePoint can't understand]] why she turned the offer down -- he thought it was [[InnocentlyInsensitive a topic she was interested in]].