The ‘90s produced countless television series and feature films that will live in our hearts and minds for the foreseeable future. With so much memorable sci-fi content coming out of that era, perhaps it’s only natural that some of the lesser-known efforts have since faded into obscurity. Though some of the forgotten exports of that decade are still floating around the streaming space waiting to be rediscovered, others are, sadly, not nearly as fortunate.
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One property that has been effectively lost to time is the syndicated science fiction series Time Trax. The show follows Darien Lambert (Dale Midkiff), a lawman from the future who is tracking down time-traveling criminals from the year 2193. It ran for a total of two seasons before going off the air and eventually fading from our collective consciousness. Though the show has a small fanbase, Time Trax never caught on with the masses. That’s likely part of why it’s so difficult to track the series down these days. With that said, it is still possible to watch the show, you just can’t do so online.
Time Trax Is Not Available to Stream Online
We’re sad to report that Time Trax isn’t available on any streaming services, nor can you rent or buy the episodes via Digital. So, if you want to check the show out, your best bet at this point is physical media.
That’s right, Time Trax has been available as a manufacture-on-demand title via the Warner Archive Collection since 2012. The problem with that distribution strategy is that people who have never seen the show have little motivation to spend money to watch a program that they’ve never heard of.
While we wouldn’t recommend that you rush out and buy both seasons on disc without vetting the series to see if it’s within your interest set, we can say that the show is very much worth looking into for anyone who enjoys programs like Quantum Leap or Sliders.
Time Trax has a number of noticeable similarities to Quantum Leap which came on the air several years prior. However, Time Trax differentiates itself in a few different ways. Most noticeably, Time Trax‘s lead character Darien is a cop from the future who appears in his true physical form, whereas Sam from Quantum Leap is a scientist from the future taking on the appearance of a different person in each new episode.
Time Trax also sets itself apart by raising the evolutionary stakes. Within the context of the series, the people of the future are infinitely more powerful than the people of 1993 (the year when the show began airing). Future humans are smarter and faster, and possess the ability to process information more quickly, reacting with unmatched speed.
The distinction that criminals from the future are using their superior abilities along with knowledge of the past to commit crimes gives the writers plenty to work with here. The show melds the familiar with prescient predictions of the future, functioning as an enjoyable hybrid of detective procedural tropes and time travel conventions.
Speaking of the show’s prescience, the program foretold of AI years before it took hold. The series follows the lead character Darien as he chases criminals through time with the aid of his virtual assistant, SELMA (Elizabeth Alexander). SELMA’s name is an acronym for Specified Encapsulated Limitless Memory Archive. The SELMA character is rendered as a hologram projected from a credit card. She predates the advent of virtual assistant Siri by nearly two decades.
Those fond of the series have praised it as the televised equivalent of comfort food. The proceedings are totally outlandish and rarely grounded in reality, but that allows the program to function as a point of escape for viewers.
Furthering the program’s standing as enjoyable escapist entertainment is its status as an episodic series. In other words, each installment functions independently. Though serialized storytelling offers the chance to develop character arcs over an entire season, the episodic approach is perfect for programs like Time Trax. The self-contained storytelling makes each episode function like a bite-size treat that doesn’t require the viewer to recall the finer points of each episode which came before it. Shows like this often hit the spot when we’re ready to turn off our minds and disappear into a preposterous narrative.
On the whole, Time Trax touches on some familiar themes, but the show makes rather effective use of its premise. The evolutionary differences between humans of the 20th century and future humans make for some interesting developments. Moreover, the show is peak ‘90s sci-fi escapism. If that endorsement has you keen to track down the show, bear in mind that you cannot stream the series but you can find it on DVD!
Have you seen any episodes of this all-but-forgotten program? Make sure to let us know in the comments section below!
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