Star Trek: The Animated Series: The Counter-Clock Incident
Episode score
7.8
Good
The Counter-Clock Incident
- 22.
- Season: 2
- Episode: 6
- First Aired: 10/12/1974
- Prod Code: 22023
The Enterprise tries to save an unidentified ship plunging into a supernova but is dragged into a universe where time runs backwards. Their only hope to return home is Commodore Robert April, the first commander of the Enterprise, who is onboard on a retirement trip. Add a recap »
- Writers:
- Fred Bronson
- Director:
- Bill Reed
- Stars:
- DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy)
- William Shatner (Capt. James Tiberius Kirk)
- Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock)
- Recurring Role:
- George Takei (Lt. Hikaru Sulu)
- Nichelle Nichols (Dr. Sarah April/Karla 5)
- James Doohan (Commodore Robert April)
- Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura)
- Majel Barrett (Nurse Christine Chapel / Lt. M'Ress)
- James Doohan (Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott / Lt. Arex)
- James Doohan (Karl Four)
- On the DVD release of the Animated Star Trek, some episodes were accompanied by Text Commentaries from Mike & Denise Okuda. The commentary for "The Counter-Clock Incident" contains a rather notable error though. The Okudas comment on Sarah April's Capellan Flower, stating that Capella IV was visited in TOS's episode "A Private Little War," but Capella IV appeared in "Friday's Child". The planet seen in "A Private Little War" was never named on screen, but was referred to in scripts as Neural. edit »
- This episode contained a slight chronology error. In an early scene, McCoy says after giving Sarah April a tour of sickbay, "Jim, I didn't realize how many of the tools I use in sickbay were designed by Sarah." To which Sarah replies, "As the first medical officer aboard a ship equipped with warp drive, I'm afraid I had to come up with new ideas all the time." This clearly can't be true, since the Bonaventure, not the Enterprise was the first starship with warp drive installed. She must have meant something like she was one of the first medical officers aboard a ship with advanced warp drive installed. edit »
- This episode makes absolutely no sense. So what happens when Karla Four's "father" reaches the point of birth - does he crawl back into her womb?!? The accelerated de-aging also makes no sense: people don't get older faster when they travel at high warp speeds in the "real" universe - why do they get so much younger in the reverse-universe? And why do only the people and their uniforms de-age, but not anything else like the Enterprise itself. These problems are sorta explained in Allan Dean Foster's novelization but even he has Spock and others comment on the silliness of these issues. Author Fred Bronson claimed this was due to Einstein relativity, but that clearly doesn't apply at warp speed. In "normal" space the crew doesn't age as rapidly as they deage when travelling at warp. edit »
- Beta Niobe is referred to as a star gone nova. In the original Trek episode "All Our Yesterdays" this star was mentioned as going nova - a nice continuity touch. The same for the star gone nova Minara, which was mentioned as ready to go nova in the original Trek episode "The Empath." edit »
- Fred Bronson wrote this episode under the pen name of "John Culver". As Fred Bronson he wrote "Menage a Troi" and "The Game" for Star Trek: The Next Generation. edit »
- This episode's use of Robert April is consistent with Gene Roddenberry's notes as seen in "The World of Star Trek", where he identified April as the first captain of the Constellation Enterprise. This is the first and last time he is mentioned or appears, although his use here makes Roddenberry's disavowal of the animated series as canon even more inexplicable. edit »
- Allan Dean Foster's Star Trek Log novelization of this episode added on a second "half" of original material which had the Enterprise encountering a strange primitive planet that exists in the middle of deep space (with no sun) with odd contradictions while they oppose the Klingons. It turns out some strange all-powerful race are testing both races, first with the "reverse universe" and then with the non-solar planet. This explains the contradictions in the first half (and the original episode). The Klingons claim they had a similar adventure in a reverse-universe called Nognilk! edit »
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The Counter-Clock Incident
The Bottom Line: "Series finale"11/29/06 04:21am | report abuseWhile escorting Commodore Robert April to Babel, the Enterprise is sucked into an alternate universe where the young are born old, and the old get younger ...Continue »
The Counter-Clock Incident
The Bottom Line: "Exciting"09/20/05 01:32am | report abuseThis is great Star Trek ...Continue »
Show Score
7.4
good
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