Exactly. I think part of the message in such episodes is that there are just some events which cannot be undone or avoided. Predestiny. There are some events which are so intense and Earth-shattering that they propel the Human species forward. Like the assassination of JFK or the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 9/11 is another such event. In the end, they could make it a success only in the same way Quantum Leap succeeded - for instance there could be a genius in the Pentagon they manage to rescue who joins Project Backstep... something like that. In all other ways, however, it's a mission which would be doomed to failure. (For story purposes, perhaps they just didn't have enough information on the terrorists & their strategy before the backstep.)
Wasn't there a comic book issue in which superheroes lamented not being able to prevent 9/11?? I vaguely recall the image of Superman or some other hero with teary eyes looking down on the smouldering remains of the towers. And... I think maybe a fireman's helmet atop the rubble.
Along the same lines - predestiny - I remember an episode of... I think it was The Outer Limits?... in which an assassin from the future is sent back to murder Adolf Hitler while he's still an infant. In the end she succeeds by leaping to her death with the baby, however the one responsible for the baby (his father? I forgot) covers up the death by replacing the baby with that of a poor Jewish woman, naming it Adolf.
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Trevor-5
13 years ago
... "however the one responsible for the baby (his father? I forgot)"...
It was a nanny who replaced the baby. Alois (Hitler's father) never knew about the change.
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TNGforever
13 years ago
Parker IS sent back to prevent 911. But somehow he is unable to stop the event. Perhaps he is knocked out or injured and when he comes to, he cannot alert people in time. As a result, the Government declares the Backstep project a failure and scraps it.
Years later, new leaders in the Government want to start the project back up. Parker is brought in, but is in a wheelchair. He trains a younger more aggressive guy (or maybe a lady) to be the new chrononaut. Some of the old characters will have guest roles, but for the most part it will be a new cast.
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13 years ago
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TNGforever
12 years ago
No not silly at all. Just a rough idea. I was just saying they could bring the show back. Parker always finds a way but even he is not perfect. Maybe he was shot or something.
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author004
12 years ago
Parker was not sent back to prevent 9/11. The last episode of the series aired May 29, 2001; roughly three-and-a-half months BEFORE 9/11 occurred.
It would make a great storyline, but it never happened.
Losers always whine about doing their best; winners go home and "eff" the prom queen
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author004
12 years ago
The story you're thinking of in your last paragraph was a Forrest Whitaker reboot of the Twilight Zone in around 2003. It left a lot to the imagination in the end. Katherine Heigl played the woman who went back in time.
Losers always whine about doing their best; winners go home and "eff" the prom queen
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