I realize there are a lot of unexplained things in this series, but one thing that really bugs me is this: Olga and Ballard and the other scientists always seem to know what they're doing at the control panel before a backstep. In reality, however, everything should be new to them because they've never done it before. Parker is the only one who's experienced the events leading up to a backstep. I really wish they had addressed this issue on the show.
shareSimple solution: practice, practice, practice. There will have been numerous rehearsals and, especially as Frank Parker is not the first Backstep pilot, there were failures which the crew will have learned from; there could easily be a black box which records all the data from the systems in the base, too, right up to the moment the Backstep Sphere is launched. Over time that data can be used to refine their calculations and methods.
shareEvery backstep is not the first. Time passes. Show wise it could be several weeks or months between backsteps. If there was a backstep on the 7th of the month, it would take them back to 1st of month. Parker saves day, annoys Ramsey, hits on Olga, gets drunk with Donavon. Happy Days. Then lets say on the 27th of that month, someone screws the pooch, Parker is sent back to the 20th. If though, for some odd reason, that every backstep happens the next day, then yea, it would be the first time each time. Probably the writers didn't want to put that much thought into it.
shareThat's not exactly what I meant... The Backstep Team experiences all of the conundrum calls from Parker, so they know that a backstep has occurred, but they don't know how they did it. For example, Olga always tells Parker to "engage" right before the backstep. But she would have no memory of ever saying that. Every time it happens, Parker wipes it out.
I agree it would have been very tedious to have all the scientists act like every backstep was the first time they'd ever launched the sphere, but it would have been cool to at least see Parker and Olga discuss the matter.
Actually if you think about it a little further, from the others POV, they have never preformed a backstep. they only see the sphere and Parker disappear, however they built the thing, they should know what to do in order to make it work. If we want to be philosophical, you can also ponder on why do they worry about the fuel source, after all every time Parker backstep's, he does it to a point where Element 115 was in better shape, or you can say it "immune to time".
shareI like the way you put that. That pretty much describes every show...especially the "screw the pooch' bit.
They should put that quote on the back of the dvd slip cases...IF THEY EVER DECIDE TO MAKE THEM!
Which, they should...of course.
=)
"All officers - report to the Commanding Officer's office, sirs!"
Actually, even in your example each backstep is the first one for everyone but Parker. If they backstep to the 1st of the month and he fixes things then they wouldn't need to go on the 7th(the next time it rolls around)....so when they go on the 27th, it would be their first time...it boggles the mind..
shareFrom what I remember there is a log on the sphere. Thats how the one guy keeps making modifications to it as the shows progresses. Parker brough White Roses back with him once for Olga, so we know things can be taken back besides the sphere and Parker. I'd imagine some kind of black box would be included in that, not just the data crystal Parker brings back full of info. So I'd imagine they would train after getting the new data.
shareI had not thought of that, but yes, from the world's point of view...every backstep would be the first
shareIs true because in the new timeline they never did the backstep that brings Parker from the future because the problem is already being fixed with Parker and the team, etc, maybe is a paradox because if Parker cames from the future to fix the problem so they dont need to do again the backstep to fix the problem because is already fixed before it happens in the new timeline, and if the problem never happens they never send Parker back again so how he could come from the future? this is crazy!!!
shareHmmm... in theory shouldn't there be an infinte fuel supply then also? I believe the fuel is outside the sphere itself. So when they go back in time the seven days, it would be like the fuel was never used to backstep with then.
sharePossibly like the Aliens the fuel is aware of the backstep and this means it gets used.
shareI suppose from everyone's perspective (except Parker of course), that every backstep would be the first backstep. I doubt that it would be the first time they all had done it though.
Okay, what is this fool talking about, you're saying?
I spent 20 years in the Navy. When I served aboard ship (4 in all), we drilled and practiced all the time, everything from battle simulations, to firefighting and damage control, you name it. Anyway my point is that I assume Project Backstep is the same, everyone needs to know what to do.
As a matter of fact, I believe in the episode, "The Final Countdown", Olga lies to the Panel by telling them that Frank suffered a concussion during a "backstep drill". She did this to cover for him sending the crazy e-mail he wrote while he was drunk.
no when he goes back everything that goes back with him dissappears from that timeline. or else there would be countless amounts of parkers walking around. so the fuel that they have would just dissappear from storage.
I Live in the Darkness, So You can Live in the Light
I guess you have to make everything from the past disappear along with him, otherwise...
ie: Nothing happens during the first two weeks of July 1-14. Parker is just having beers and burgers while watching fireworks, playing internet poker and hopefully brushing his teeth at some point.
An incident happens on July 14. He backsteps to July 7th. He calls in, gets picked up and briefs the team.
Where is the version that was waiting for the mission who is alive on July 7th when the sphere arrives from the 14th? With enough overlapping backsteps, there could've been a bunch of Parkers.
i think what happens is that Oarker himself dissappears. So the parker thats waiting vanishes and future parker takes his place in where the craft crashes.
shareI guess you have to make everything from the past disappear along with him, otherwise... >>>
I remember an episode where Parker got a tracking device planted in him by eastern european terrorists and when he went back the device activates and the terrorists are surprised to see their toy gone.
Bingo - That's exactly why I came to the message board. It occured to me also that each Backstep had to be the first for the team except Parker.
I just started watching the series on Spike. For whatever reason I never heard of it before. I just happened to be up at O'Dark thirty and discovered it.
Rich
Then technically, Parker is also still back at Hanson Island locked up since after he backsteps the first time and fixes everything, they no longer need to spring him from Hanson Island. An added bonus, if something ever happens to him, they can go get him again from the island.
shareThat's actually a very good point Pman. But, since (according the the show) past parker always disappears, then the one on Hanson Island should have disappeared when he went back the first time.
But the funny thing about it is that none of them would know him, except Donovan, the first time they would even know about him would be the first conumdrum call.
So they really never went to Hanson Island to get him, he just showed up after the first backstep. At least that's how it would seem to everyone except Frank.
Ramsey said as much in the pilot.
After Frank called in, Ramsey and Donovan were walking, and Ramsey had Frank's file. He said somethig to the effect that Frank was a mental patient that was reported "missing" from Hansen Island. So you would have to assume that as soon as Frank arrived in the past, his "other self" disappeared from the hospital.
The also messed up with Ramsey too. After Frank calls in, Ramsey is not convinced a Backstep even took place. He said, "it makes zero sense, the project was'nt even going to be tried for another year". In later episodes they established that when the Sphere arrived in the past, the one in the hangar would disappear. That being said, there would have been no doubt that a Backstep had taken place.
So how do they get the sphere back in the hangar? I have seen but 2 episodes so perhaps it is explained somewhere. I am curious but the show is horrible and I don;t want to have to watch more episodes only to learn that they never explain.
shareA very big truck.
shareI discovered this show years ago. My friends and I have had LONG debates on the theory. Anyway, I think the show was forced to try and answer questions as it developed thus explaining some of the discrepancies. Yes the sphere should have disappeared in the 1st backstep informing them that one had taken place. If you notice, in latter episodes there is a siren. This seems to implicate the "work in progress" evolution of the show.
Now I always wondered why you never see all these people giving Parker things (notes, etc.) to take back for them. I'd want to know what to expect in the next week. What if I said something stupid to that hot girl at the bar? Get to fix it.
Ramsey did get excited when there was a Backstep because Frank could stop his dog from dying. Which Frank did warn him about.
shareOkay, so here's something else to think about - not only is every backstep the first one, but since every backstep basically erases itself, in the 'finalized' timeline there never will be a backstep. If you think about it, the government is dumping what must be a major amount of funding into a piece of technology which can never actually be used.
shareIts not the first every time because the fuel they use in the sphere isnt infinite, thats why they only get select missions.
shareYeah, but from the point of view of everyone except Frank, they've never actually done one before, even though they're benefiting from them.
At any rate, it's an interesting observation. There have been so many good shows that have gotten killed off over the years. I miss UPN. Around the time of 7 Day they were trying so many great shows.
From the point of view of everyone in the "corrected" timeline, then yes, each Backstep is the first. But there are a few things to consider:
1) After the first backstep in the Pilot episode was successful and they stopped the terrorists, then all of the scientists know that it works. I'm sure they had plenty of processes and training developed so when they needed to backstep the next time, they at least had a plan.
2) One issue I have is with the girl saying "holy cow" in the first several episodes. Her reaction SHOULD NOT BE THE SAME. From her point of view, after the Pilot episode, she knows a Backstep is possible. She knows this because Parker popped up, they saved the President, and knowledge exists of this occurring. While from their Point of View they may not have actually DONE a Backstep at this point, they do know that one happened and that they work. So next time Parker calls, she should possess knowledge that at least ONE Backstep happened.
3) Each time a Backstep happens, while the folks in the new timeline obviously never end up doing a backstep, they do retain the knowledge of how many have happened. There should be logs of all the time Parker drops in and warns them of something.
The actual question that should be asked is,
1) Where does Frank from the current timeline go when a backstep happens? I mean future Frank will be in the present and where does present Frank go? Same question goes for the sphere too.
2) Doesn't anyone worry about butterfly effect? By changing something that happened, they might have caused something even worse down the future.
<<-- Mess With The Best, Die Like The Rest -->>
The whole 'first time for everyone except Frank' never occurred to me before, to be honest. It's a very good point.
But, as Plague2005 says, where does Frank from current timeline go? I have ALWAYS wondered that. For instance, I watched parker.com last night. At the end Parker enters timeline 2 and drives to the scientists house to stop her from getting blown up. In timeline 1 he and Olga were driving not too far behind the scientist, yet this time there is no sign of either of them!
Stuff like that always bugged me.
But I still like the show.
http://yetanothertvreviewpodcast.blogspot.com/share
They explain this in the show without actually explaining it. There are times where Frank takes something in the sphere, then when he goes back 7 days, gives it back to the owner who finds that thier item has mysteriously disappeared. There was once, for instance, where he took a guys wallet back in time then mailed it to him.
What I wish they had done is show someone talking to Frank at some point then have him just...vanish. That would have answered a few queries about what the past people see when there is a backstep.
Yeah, I was wondering what happened to the wedding ring Olga already had on, when Frank showed it to her while fighting her husband.
I'd only seen a few episodes when it originally ran on UPN, and missed the Pilot, so I'd always wondered where the "present" Frank & Sphere went when a Backstep occurred.
Thanks to the crappy-but-serviceable rips of the Spike-TV run, I'm getting caught up, but I still wonder about when the Sphere materializes somewhere.
• There's potential for a "Philadelphia Experiment" scenario when it lands in a crowded park, and fuses with a hapless bystander.
• And what if a technician is onboard the Sphere back at the hangar when it disappears?
"There's potential for a "Philadelphia Experiment" scenario when it lands in a crowded park, and fuses with a hapless bystander."
-Based on how they explain the landing, this can't happen. The sphere doesn't fuse with its surroundings, it pushes the surroundings aside. They explain this when the sphere gets caught under ground and the dirt shifts. At most, the sphere would land where a bystander is and push him aside.
"And what if a technician is onboard the Sphere back at the hangar when it disappears?"
-That's a good one. Since the sphere doesn't actually disappear, but instead moves to another point in time and space, I would think the technician would come along for the ride.
**Now for the crazies to start with the illogical arguements to my post.**
Ahhh, okay. I haven't gotten that far yet. I was up to the Russian sub episode, but then I went back to the Pilot, where Donovan explains how the Sphere doesn't actually move, but the Earth does, which is what the "flying the needles" business is all about. I thought that was a nice touch, because a lot of the people who nitpick time-travel stories refer to the fact that the Earth is constantly moving through space as it orbits the Sun (which itself orbits the Galactic Core).
shareI agree! In my opinion, as someone who has watched LOTS of time travel movies and shows, this show did the best job of explaining everything they could in a very short period (3 years). This is by far in my top 10 favorite shows of all time.:)
BTW, If you are having trouble catching them in order on tv, check them all out on sidereel.com. You should be able to check out all of the episodes there.
**Now for the crazies to start with the illogical arguements to my post.**
[deleted]
Plauge, I doubt you will read this as its two years old but…
1) Where does Frank from the current timeline go when a backstep happens? I mean future Frank will be in the present and where does present Frank go? Same question goes for the sphere too.
2) Doesn't anyone worry about butterfly effect? By changing something that happened, they might have caused something even worse down the future.
There are no alternate Timelines in this show. Frank Parker is simply rewinding Time around a gravity Well ( which is a real Theory) and forcing time to go backwards for everyone else but him.
While he still experiences Time in a linear fashion, going forward, Time for everyone else in the Universe is now reversed, going backwards.
As he is no longer physically present to be forced backwards, he doesn’t go backwards. He is not “Leaving the Timeline” and re-entering it at a different point in which we should expect a Younger Frank Parker. He is pushing Time backwards for everyone except himself.
He only appears to Vanish, he rally doesn’t. He remains accounted for, as dos the Sphere, while in operation. They simply aren’t part of the Time Reversal everyone else is.
I’ll try to explain it. Its actually simple.
OK, Time doesn’t really exist as an independent object. Its just a measurement of movement and change relative to other points. So there is no “Past” and no “Future” to travel to in the real, or Physical sense.
So, while to the outside observer, you may be having a talk with Frank Parker then suddenly he vanishes, materialising out of no where In space In the Sphere, the Truth is, he finished the talk with you, had lunch, got the call to go into the Sphere, left, then pushed time backwards for the rest of the Universe.
So you begin to walk backwards and unthink the things you thought to the point where you were having the discussion with Frank Parker. When time stops its rewind, you resume moving forward, but Frank is not there for you to talk to. He is in space.
He basically reset you and everyone else in the same positions you were in previously. He just didn’t reset himself.
What I am about to describe is not what happens, it only helps you understand what’s happening.
To help visualise this, suppose we don’t Time Travel at all. Suppose I have a box, I can destroy and recreate the whole Universe with it, save for a Sphere I am in. The Universe that I recreate can’t be original. It can only copy the existing one but can copy it from any time period its ever been in, as if somehow recorded.
It also can’t recreate missing matter, so anything I take into the Sphere will not be in the Newly created reality.
So if I take with me my Bible, which sits on my Computer tower when not being used, my Pocket Knife, which goes with me anywhere I go, and my cell Phone, those objects will not be in the newly recast Universe.
Nor will I. Nor the clothing that I am wearing.
If I hop in the Sphere, and then recreate the Universe minus those elements as it had existed a week ago, then, from the point of view of those that just came into being, I have vanished.
But I really didn’t. I was there the whole time.
Well, it kind of works that way. Except parker doesn’t destroy the Universe and remake it. He hit’s a Giant rewind button. Everything then begins to move backwards in tome except him. I will repeat, Parker, in the Technical sense, never goes back in time when he backsteps. Everyone else goes back in Time. He remains the same, moving forward at a constant rate.
Another visual aid would be, Imagine if you ad a DVD or old VHS tape, that was magic. One of the Characters learned how to rewind the tape, but exclude himself from the process. He stood and watched as Time rewound around him to the Start of the Movie. He had all his memories of how the Movie would turn out, and could now change events. But he doesn’t see a past version of himself because he didn’t leave the tape, and went back in, he just rewound the events.
A good movie to show this is “The Time Machine” by George pal, baed on the book by H.G. Wells.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054387/
I think you can even see it online for free.
If you had this Chair based Time Machine and pulled the Lever to go in Reverse, you would never go back to be able to see your younger self. All you do is see people rewinding around you.
I think I understand your point. But this is where I'm confused. Let's take your example of Parker having a discussion with me. Say that I'm having a conversation with him and then he goes into the sphere and rewinds it back. The moment where he stops is exactly in the MIDDLE of the conversation. So I would have been in the middle of saying a sentence where Parker should have been listening. But he is not there anymore since he is in a different location inside the sphere.
It is not possible for Parker to aim exactly what moment he goes back to (not the exact second if I remember correctly). So he couldn't have aimed it to be BEFORE or AFTER the conversation.
So my memory at that moment where Parker stops his rewinding would be incomplete because the seconds before the rewind moment, I have a memory of talking with Parker and seconds after the rewinding moment doesn't have the same memory.
<<-- Mess With The Best, Die Like The Rest -->>
I don’t understand the question.
If he stops in the middle of the conversation, which he does for the sake of argument but not by his deign, your memory is not effected at all. Instead, Frank Parker, to you is there one second and gone the next. He didn’t really vanish into thin air, but you perceive that his has happened. Since Time has been rewound, you were sent back to relive the past, exactly as it was, only without Frank Parker.
He appears to have suddenly jumped from you to Outer Space in the Sphere. While this did not actually happen, that’s what it would appear like to you on Earth.
You don’t have memories of the rest of the conversation because now that Time was reset, it never happened.
You do remember the Conversation up to the point where Frank appears to Vanish, because it did happen.
Again, as a sort of Mental Aid, its like when he rewinds Time he erases the past to the point of his re-entry. So he still did everything he did originally until the point of his appearance in the Sphere over Earths Atmosphere. Everything after this is New.
It's more of a verification of your theory in the scenario. And it seems like you agree with that.
You do remember the Conversation up to the point where Frank appears to Vanish, because it did happen.
Most likely yes, it would confuse hem if Frank Parker suddenly vanished into thin air. This is why they don't let him off the base all that often.
Because if frank is in Public, and is talking to some guy in a book store about the latest Novel he wants to buy, then suddenly disappears, then the other guy may have some questions as to why this happened. So would any other witness.
Though in real life I'd expect there to be more than one Chrononaught, and Parker would be part of a Team whose members are confined to base intermittently. IE, its Franks week to stay on Base one time, in case an emergency happens. he can't leave so as to avoid the above scenario or one like it. But the next week, some other guy, say for the sake of Argument Donovan, stays on the base and they send him back in Time.
Suppose they had 12 Chrononaughts. In that case 4 Could be confined to base on week one, 4 new guys on week 2, then the last 4 in week 3. Then the cycle starts again.
But that would also add too many Characters, decentralise the show, and make our connection to Frank less strong, thus hampering the Drama.
Still, if such a programme existed, and we already know that they had other Chrononaughts on the Show and Parker is not Unique, I’d expect them to keep a few guys on base for a week, then let them go about their normal lives while a new crew came in to replace them the next week.
But, where’s the fun in that for a TV show?
I was thinking the same thing. That the reason why they keep him confined to the base is not only so he can jump immediately when needed but to avoid such situations.
Anyways, nice discussion. Thanks.
<<-- Mess With The Best, Die Like The Rest -->>
Hey no worries. I love talking about Time Travel. It was always a Boyhood Dream of mine, and Loved Seven Days as it’s a more realistic depiction of what it may be like than, say , Back To The Future.
So it was pleasant for me.