The series' first true misfire. The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor has long been a favorite of time-travel stories. I remember best Rod Serling's "The Time Element" where William Bendix tries to warn the disbelieving about the imminent attack. Bogg and Jeffrey are not trying to prevent the attack on Pearl Harbor, just ensure that General Douglas MacArthur survives it so he can lead American troops to victory over the course of the war. As my fellow reviewer noted, MacArthur wasn't even at Pearl Harbor at this time, so that was a major historical misstep that was never corrected.
The major misstep the series producers made was the character of Jackie Knox, the ditzy, clumsy and thoroughly self-centered daughter of the base's commanding officer. Worse, she made no attempt to look like a 1941 woman. Her hair and low-cut shirt screamed early '80s. Were the writers trying to portray Jackie as a proto-feminist? If so, the attempt utterly failed. She was such an irksome character, from stumbling into and obsessively photographing Bogg and Jeffrey to snatching away the Omni and refusing to return it even after being transported to 1860 Utah. What did Bogg see in this thoroughly unpleasant person?
What really soured me on Jackie Knox was that in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack all she can think about is herself. She displayed no shock or remorse over the 2,335 people who died on that day of infamy. As men were a'mouldering in watery graves, and FDR is declaring war, Jackie is mooning over Bogg and giddy about being hand-picked by MacArthur for a plum assignment to the Philippines.
And what were Jackie's qualifications? Shoving MacArthur out of the way as he stood in an open courtyard shooting at Japanese fighters with a pistol? That was a forehead-smacking moment to be sure. Note too that Daddy Knox was quite excited at learning his spoiled brat daughter got an overseas assignment.
Do Voyagers have a Prime Directive not to alter the course of history? Once again I harken back to a black-and-white show that taught me a valuable lesson: THE OUTER LIMITS episode "Controlled Experiment" with Barry Morse, Carroll O'Connor and Grace Lee Whitney. Changing anything in the past, no matter how insignificant it appears, can have tremendous repercussions in the future. Bogg wants to save Jackie from the Japanese attack, and even threatens to lock her in the little radar station. What if she were destined to die in the attack? Didn't the writers ever see that iconic STAR TREK episode "The City on the Edge of Forever"?
The Pearl Harbor story was a stinker and the Pony Express story was uninspired. The Billy the Kid story early on in the series was a much better Western-themed story. And didn't we just see an aged Buffalo Bill Cody a few weeks ago? It was a blast seeing ubiquitous Seventies child actor Ike Eisenmann at work a year after his memorable role as Scotty's nephew in STAR TREK II. But the Pony Express story lacked urgency and oomph. And didn't Jeffrey learn in that Billy the Kid episode not to go running off without telling Bogg?
Okay, if anything could redeem the loathsome Jackie Knox in my eyes it was her inspired suggestion that Bogg and Jeffrey take the motorcycle back to the Old West. I set aside nitpicky Prime Directive worries and just enjoyed the spectacle of mind-boggled bandits on horses chasing a cycle across the plains. Those scenes stirred up great memories of a favorite TWILIGHT ZONE, "The Seventh is Made Up of Phantoms," in which accidental time travelers bring a tank to the Battle of the Little Big Horn (alas, never shown on screen). But wasn't that a fiery explosion on an empty tank of gas?
While the episode had things going in its favor, such as casting old familiar faces like Dana Elcar, Frank Marth, and Ike Eisenmann, it had to fight against the headwinds of bad history and poor writing in the Pearl Harbor segment. This is the first episode of the series I rated below 8 stars. Something else to commend it was Jeffrey's maturing into manhood and gaining self-confidence after learning that he is and was always destined to be a full-fledged Voyager in last week's "Trial of a Timelord" (oops, Trial of Phineas Bogg!).
This episode was also refreshingly free of Jeffrey blubbering and weeping and/or pathetically crying out, "Boooogg!" Wouldn't a great drinking game be one shot each time Jeffrey cries "Bogg!"? Nobody would make it to the pause for station identification!
The major misstep the series producers made was the character of Jackie Knox, the ditzy, clumsy and thoroughly self-centered daughter of the base's commanding officer. Worse, she made no attempt to look like a 1941 woman. Her hair and low-cut shirt screamed early '80s. Were the writers trying to portray Jackie as a proto-feminist? If so, the attempt utterly failed. She was such an irksome character, from stumbling into and obsessively photographing Bogg and Jeffrey to snatching away the Omni and refusing to return it even after being transported to 1860 Utah. What did Bogg see in this thoroughly unpleasant person?
What really soured me on Jackie Knox was that in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack all she can think about is herself. She displayed no shock or remorse over the 2,335 people who died on that day of infamy. As men were a'mouldering in watery graves, and FDR is declaring war, Jackie is mooning over Bogg and giddy about being hand-picked by MacArthur for a plum assignment to the Philippines.
And what were Jackie's qualifications? Shoving MacArthur out of the way as he stood in an open courtyard shooting at Japanese fighters with a pistol? That was a forehead-smacking moment to be sure. Note too that Daddy Knox was quite excited at learning his spoiled brat daughter got an overseas assignment.
Do Voyagers have a Prime Directive not to alter the course of history? Once again I harken back to a black-and-white show that taught me a valuable lesson: THE OUTER LIMITS episode "Controlled Experiment" with Barry Morse, Carroll O'Connor and Grace Lee Whitney. Changing anything in the past, no matter how insignificant it appears, can have tremendous repercussions in the future. Bogg wants to save Jackie from the Japanese attack, and even threatens to lock her in the little radar station. What if she were destined to die in the attack? Didn't the writers ever see that iconic STAR TREK episode "The City on the Edge of Forever"?
The Pearl Harbor story was a stinker and the Pony Express story was uninspired. The Billy the Kid story early on in the series was a much better Western-themed story. And didn't we just see an aged Buffalo Bill Cody a few weeks ago? It was a blast seeing ubiquitous Seventies child actor Ike Eisenmann at work a year after his memorable role as Scotty's nephew in STAR TREK II. But the Pony Express story lacked urgency and oomph. And didn't Jeffrey learn in that Billy the Kid episode not to go running off without telling Bogg?
Okay, if anything could redeem the loathsome Jackie Knox in my eyes it was her inspired suggestion that Bogg and Jeffrey take the motorcycle back to the Old West. I set aside nitpicky Prime Directive worries and just enjoyed the spectacle of mind-boggled bandits on horses chasing a cycle across the plains. Those scenes stirred up great memories of a favorite TWILIGHT ZONE, "The Seventh is Made Up of Phantoms," in which accidental time travelers bring a tank to the Battle of the Little Big Horn (alas, never shown on screen). But wasn't that a fiery explosion on an empty tank of gas?
While the episode had things going in its favor, such as casting old familiar faces like Dana Elcar, Frank Marth, and Ike Eisenmann, it had to fight against the headwinds of bad history and poor writing in the Pearl Harbor segment. This is the first episode of the series I rated below 8 stars. Something else to commend it was Jeffrey's maturing into manhood and gaining self-confidence after learning that he is and was always destined to be a full-fledged Voyager in last week's "Trial of a Timelord" (oops, Trial of Phineas Bogg!).
This episode was also refreshingly free of Jeffrey blubbering and weeping and/or pathetically crying out, "Boooogg!" Wouldn't a great drinking game be one shot each time Jeffrey cries "Bogg!"? Nobody would make it to the pause for station identification!
