Voyager - Future's End

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

This was nice timing with the reupload because I had just watched Past Tense on DS9, so I've gotten my fill of time-travel episodes.

Funnily enough this guy being played by Ed Baguely reminds me strongly of Bill Clinton.

https://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/v850.php

[clearspira]

There is great chemistry from the main cast in this ep and the setting is fun. I think this is why the story is so fondly remembered.

But this is easily one of the dumbest plots in Trek history. Man in the 20th century with access to warp drive, impulse drive, a clean energy reactor based on anti-matter, deflector shield tech, subspace radio, a phaser, a tricorder, anti-gravity, a portable hard light holographic emitter and a hologram with 400 years of medical knowledge thinks that he needs to travel one thousand years into the future in order to get hold of more tech.

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

Now... if the plot was " he needs to go to the future to abduct a scientist who understands this tech" that would work. You could give a cellphone to the smartest man of the 19th century and he wouldn't have a clue what to do with it after all. But that isn't the plot. What we have is worse.

Max Headroom had the right idea. Steal a few trinkets and bugger off (although why he targeted a military vessel is anyone's guess.)

[TGLS]

I'm honestly left wondering if the plan was to use futuristic looking computers at one point before someone in production said that'd be difficult (as that'd require a bunch of props they couldn't reuse).

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

I mean from my point of view it makes sense. He's basically single handedly fostering the computer revolution, and he's been able to supplant both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs out of their spots on the timeline in one swoop.

He has all the technology, but society needs to develop the stuff, so there is a lot of hand-in-hand coordination he has to do with the natural course of technical evolution. It almost makes sense that after like 25 years of it he decided to get more greedy.

[McAvoy]

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

I mean from my point of view it makes sense. He's basically single handedly fostering the computer revolution, and he's been able to supplant both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs out of their spots on the timeline in one swoop.

He has all the technology, but society needs to develop the stuff, so there is a lot of hand-in-hand coordination he has to do with the natural course of technical evolution. It almost makes sense that after like 25 years of it he decided to get more greedy.

There was a topic that migrated through the internet and one of them was 'What if the 2015 United States as a whole was transported to 1815.'

Now outside the obvious, well the US would curbstomp every nation. Then came the actual thinking.

As in how do you get the 2015 technology to the rest of the world? You would need to build a tool to make a tool that makes another tool that finally can make this part but it won't be as good as the 2015 version for awhile until they refine the process. And that just could be for a turbine engine for power plants. Something within the realm of understanding for even for someone in 1815. Computers? Hell no. They still think humors cause illnesses. Like you smell something it literally makes you sick sort of thing.

All of thd advanced computer tech companies outside the US?

Going back to Trek. The same woukd apply. Nevermind in 1997 he is a computer superpower that with some Windows knockoff he could hack into Voyager.

Go back to when he first discovered the ship in the 60's. How much of that tech that hundreds of years more advanced could he truly understand? Computers back then were still pretty primitive.

The only thing that I can think of is that the computer system for that Future ship basically taught him how to make super advanced computers decades ahead of its time.

Maybe he told the computer to create some computer system that wasn't out of the realm of possibility and replicate it. Then brought it in to computer scientists who would analyze it, break it down and understand it.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

I mean from my point of view it makes sense. He's basically single handedly fostering the computer revolution, and he's been able to supplant both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs out of their spots on the timeline in one swoop.

He has all the technology, but society needs to develop the stuff, so there is a lot of hand-in-hand coordination he has to do with the natural course of technical evolution. It almost makes sense that after like 25 years of it he decided to get more greedy.

There was a topic that migrated through the internet and one of them was 'What if the 2015 United States as a whole was transported to 1815.'

Now outside the obvious, well the US would curbstomp every nation. Then came the actual thinking.

As in how do you get the 2015 technology to the rest of the world? You would need to build a tool to make a tool that makes another tool that finally can make this part but it won't be as good as the 2015 version for awhile until they refine the process. And that just could be for a turbine engine for power plants. Something within the realm of understanding for even for someone in 1815. Computers? Hell no. They still think humors cause illnesses. Like you smell something it literally makes you sick sort of thing.

All of thd advanced computer tech companies outside the US?

Going back to Trek. The same woukd apply. Nevermind in 1997 he is a computer superpower that with some Windows knockoff he could hack into Voyager.

Go back to when he first discovered the ship in the 60's. How much of that tech that hundreds of years more advanced could he truly understand? Computers back then were still pretty primitive.

The only thing that I can think of is that the computer system for that Future ship basically taught him how to make super advanced computers decades ahead of its time.

Maybe he told the computer to create some computer system that wasn't out of the realm of possibility and replicate it. Then brought it in to computer scientists who would analyze it, break it down and understand it.

relevant:


youtu.be/oeqPrUmVz-o

[Lazerlike42]

There is great chemistry from the main cast in this ep and the setting is fun. I think this is why the story is so fondly remembered.

But this is easily one of the dumbest plots in Trek history. Man in the 20th century with access to warp drive, impulse drive, a clean energy reactor based on anti-matter, deflector shield tech, subspace radio, a phaser, a tricorder, anti-gravity, a portable hard light holographic emitter and a hologram with 400 years of medical knowledge thinks that he needs to travel one thousand years into the future in order to get hold of more tech.

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

Now... if the plot was " he needs to go to the future to abduct a scientist who understands this tech" that would work. You could give a cellphone to the smartest man of the 19th century and he wouldn't have a clue what to do with it after all. But that isn't the plot. What we have is worse.

Max Headroom had the right idea. Steal a few trinkets and bugger off (although why he targeted a military vessel is anyone's guess.)

I agree and in spite of all the praise this episode has often gotten, I honestly really don't like it. In particular, I really don't like the villain. I think part of that is a general tendency I have to be really bothered by villains who either seem overpowered relative to what should be possible given the rest of the context of the story, or who seem to succeed or fail based on what the writers want in any given moment rather than what makes sense within the context established by the story. For example, this bothers me a lot with a couple of the villains in Avatar: the Last Airbender (a show I nevertheless think is fantastic) and it bothers me even more in Korra, where the villains just seem to keep getting laughably and nonsensically stronger from one season to the next.

What you say about the character chemistry is I think true of Voyager in general. It so often had the worst episodes, but what does keep me willing to watch it is that in some ways I think the characters are the most enjoyable to see as an ensemble - not always, but often.

[Lazerlike42]

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

I mean from my point of view it makes sense. He's basically single handedly fostering the computer revolution, and he's been able to supplant both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs out of their spots on the timeline in one swoop.

He has all the technology, but society needs to develop the stuff, so there is a lot of hand-in-hand coordination he has to do with the natural course of technical evolution. It almost makes sense that after like 25 years of it he decided to get more greedy.

There was a topic that migrated through the internet and one of them was 'What if the 2015 United States as a whole was transported to 1815.'

Now outside the obvious, well the US would curbstomp every nation. Then came the actual thinking.

As in how do you get the 2015 technology to the rest of the world? You would need to build a tool to make a tool that makes another tool that finally can make this part but it won't be as good as the 2015 version for awhile until they refine the process. And that just could be for a turbine engine for power plants. Something within the realm of understanding for even for someone in 1815. Computers? Hell no. They still think humors cause illnesses. Like you smell something it literally makes you sick sort of thing.

All of thd advanced computer tech companies outside the US?

Going back to Trek. The same woukd apply. Nevermind in 1997 he is a computer superpower that with some Windows knockoff he could hack into Voyager.

Go back to when he first discovered the ship in the 60's. How much of that tech that hundreds of years more advanced could he truly understand? Computers back then were still pretty primitive.

The only thing that I can think of is that the computer system for that Future ship basically taught him how to make super advanced computers decades ahead of its time.

Maybe he told the computer to create some computer system that wasn't out of the realm of possibility and replicate it. Then brought it in to computer scientists who would analyze it, break it down and understand it.

I've sometimes thought about a scenario where I was to be sent back in time to the middle ages or some such time and could bring one modern invention to try to make a living off of. I've often thought that what I would bring back was ibuprofen, which I'd think would seem quite the miracle to people living in that time. Of course, I doubt I'd be able to bring back enough knowledge and skill to singlehandedly make it myself, so I have in mind something more like I somehow can bring back a supply of millions of pills or otherwise would be able to have access to it.

[clearspira]

And even the shit he did actually do was half-cocked. All he managed to do with access to isolinier circuitry (read: quantum computing) was to create Windows 95. Maybe continue with that? Y'know, how about the iPod a few years earlier? Make yourself a nice few hundred billion off that first?

I mean from my point of view it makes sense. He's basically single handedly fostering the computer revolution, and he's been able to supplant both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs out of their spots on the timeline in one swoop.

He has all the technology, but society needs to develop the stuff, so there is a lot of hand-in-hand coordination he has to do with the natural course of technical evolution. It almost makes sense that after like 25 years of it he decided to get more greedy.

There was a topic that migrated through the internet and one of them was 'What if the 2015 United States as a whole was transported to 1815.'

Now outside the obvious, well the US would curbstomp every nation. Then came the actual thinking.

As in how do you get the 2015 technology to the rest of the world? You would need to build a tool to make a tool that makes another tool that finally can make this part but it won't be as good as the 2015 version for awhile until they refine the process. And that just could be for a turbine engine for power plants. Something within the realm of understanding for even for someone in 1815. Computers? Hell no. They still think humors cause illnesses. Like you smell something it literally makes you sick sort of thing.

All of thd advanced computer tech companies outside the US?

Going back to Trek. The same woukd apply. Nevermind in 1997 he is a computer superpower that with some Windows knockoff he could hack into Voyager.

Go back to when he first discovered the ship in the 60's. How much of that tech that hundreds of years more advanced could he truly understand? Computers back then were still pretty primitive.

The only thing that I can think of is that the computer system for that Future ship basically taught him how to make super advanced computers decades ahead of its time.

Maybe he told the computer to create some computer system that wasn't out of the realm of possibility and replicate it. Then brought it in to computer scientists who would analyze it, break it down and understand it.

I've sometimes thought about a scenario where I was to be sent back in time to the middle ages or some such time and could bring one modern invention to try to make a living off of. I've often thought that what I would bring back was ibuprofen, which I'd think would seem quite the miracle to people living in that time. Of course, I doubt I'd be able to bring back enough knowledge and skill to singlehandedly make it myself, so I have in mind something more like I somehow can bring back a supply of millions of pills or otherwise would be able to have access to it.

I will forever maintain that painkillers and antibiotics are the two greatest inventions in human history. Just think... for about 200,000 years up until about 150 years ago crippling pain and disease were just something that you had to endure or die. Two of the biggest killers of all time is the dental abscess and childbirth for this reason. Now of course we have the exact opposite problem: we hand them out like candy for the simplest problem and now we are all getting immune or addicted to them.

In terms of what painkiller to bring back, you would be better off getting hold of a bag of poppy seeds and the knowledge of how to cultivate them into a nice laudanum. It would go well with the fact that for most of history water was too dangerous to drink and so they drank alcohol.

[Riedquat]

I will forever maintain that painkillers and antibiotics are the two greatest inventions in human history. Just think... for about 200,000 years up until about 150 years ago crippling pain and disease were just something that you had to endure or die. Two of the biggest killers of all time is the dental abscess and childbirth for this reason. Now of course we have the exact opposite problem: we hand them out like candy for the simplest problem and now we are all getting immune or addicted to them.

In terms of what painkiller to bring back, you would be better off getting hold of a bag of poppy seeds and the knowledge of how to cultivate them into a nice laudanum. It would go well with the fact that for most of history water was too dangerous to drink and so they drank alcohol.

Very good candidates, although personally I might plump for the humble bar of soap. How many lives has being able to have a bit of hygeine saved?