TIME TRAX - Show Description

Portrait of a Hero: He is a man among us, but not of us.   He is a man of our Earth, but not our time.   A lonely man.   A man on a mission.   A hunter, tracking down criminals.   People he meets will not know who he really is.   But many will trust him.   He's that kind of man.   He has some suprising abilities, and a few suprising weapons.   So do the people he is hunting.   People of his time.   People who have killed.   People who have cheated and pillaged.   And a few who may just be innocent.   He will outsmart some.   He all also make foolish mistakes.   It will take him time to learn the mysteries of life in the year 1993.   Driving cars.   Ordering hamburgers.   Falling in love.   He is, after all, very human.   He is also a fish out of water.   A foreigner.   Because he comes from the year 2193.

Meet Darien Lambert, Captain, Fugitive Retrieval Section, A.D. 2193 ... and the last quintessential American hero.

"Time Trax," a Gary Nardino Production in association with Lorimar Television, is a one­-hour action/adventure series for the newly formed Prime Time Network, starring Dale Midkiff, Peter Donat and Elizabeth Alexander and will premiere in January 1993.

"Time Trax" chronicles the experiences of the futuristic yet enigmatic Lambert (Midkiff) in the year 2193, who travels back in time to track down his society's most elusive fugitives seeking refuge in the year 1993.   Accompanying him in his travels and dispensing her opinionated advice is his holographic portable computer "Selma" (Alexander).   Lambert's main nemesis throughout his journey is the insanely ingenious Dr. Mordicai Sahmbi (Donat), a sadistic criminal who continually tests Lambert's investigative skills.

While growing up, Lambert easily surpassed his peers at an excellerated rate not only academically, but physically as well.   He mastered the art of mash-ti, an ancient, more sophisticated version of karate, and also became an afficienado of American History.   It was his affection for the earliest fugitive retrieval specialists, the United States Marshals, that prompted him to enroll in the International Police Academy at West Point.

Upon graduation from West Point and utilizing his tremendous detective instincts, he was quickly promoted to the elite segment of international police work and given their most baffling case: Since the year 2181, more than 100 of the World's "most wanted" fugitives had disappeared.   The list included murderers, robbers, embezzlers, dictators and plenty of white-collar trillionaires whose money could not bribe the incorruptible establishment of the time.   These vanished fugitives all had one thing in common: each was last seen in the vicinity of Washington City.

Once Lambert researched the common denominators and the evidence, he surmised that the evil genius of Dr. Sahmbi was involved.   Through a source inside Sahmbi's operation, Lambert learned that he had created a time machine that could enable someone to travel back into time 200 years, to the year 1993.   Sahmbi used the "Trax" (an acronym of "Trans/Time Research and Experimentation") devise to send criminals back in time for their freedom in exchange for exhorbitant amounts of money.   His system was working until Lambert caught on to his scheme.   When Sahmbi escaped back into time, Lambert followed him.

So Darien Lambert begins his journey back in time to the year 1993.   At his side, or rather, in his pocket, is "Selma," disguised as an every day credit card, given to him by his mentor, "Chief."   More than just his holographic computer, Selma functions as his diary, recording events and data along with information.   Selma becomes his companion, to seek advice from, to talk to, when the situation arises.   As the pair explore the world in a new time, Lambert forms a bond of trust with Selma.   And although he's highly skilled with the best weapons and technology his world could buy, he still has an innocence about him.   A babe in the woods when it comes to present day's slang, street smarts and worldliness, Lambert has the ingenuity, and with a little help from Selma, this "fish out of water" pursues his quest for justice as he travels the world of 1993.

Harve Bennett, Jeffrey Hayes, Gary Nardino and Grant Rosenberg are the "Time Trax" executive producers.   Darryl Sheen serves as producer.

Season Production Credits

FORMAT: One-hour adventure series

STARRING: DALE MIDKIFF

          PETER DONAT

          ELIZABETH ALEXANDER

PRODUCED BY: Gary Nardino Productions

          in association with Lorimar Television

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Harve Bennett, Jeffrey Hayes

          Gary Nardino, Grant Rosenberg

PRODUCER: Darryl Sheen

CREATED BY: Harve Bennett, Jeffrey Hayes, Grant Rosenberg

DIRECTOR OF

PHOTOGRAPHY: Barry Wilson

BIOGRAPHIES

DALE MIDKIFF    (Darien Lambert)

PETER DONAT    (Dr. Mordicai Sahmbi)

Veteran character actor Peter Donat has worked extensively in film, television and on the stage.   In feature films, Donat appeared in "School Ties," "The Babe," "The War of the Roses," "Tucker: A Man and His Dream," "Little Nikita," "A Different Story," "F.I.S.T.," "Billy Jack Goes to Washington," "The Hindenberg" and "Russian Roulette."  

On television, Donat starred in the telefilms "Renaissance," "Earthstar Voyager," "A Matter of Death and Life," "The Suicide's Wife," "Return Engagement," "The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case," The Missiles of October," "The First 36 Hours of Dr. Durant" as well as the mini-series "The Captains and the Kings" and "Rich Man, Poor Man, Book II."

Donat has guest starred in numerous hours of episodic television, including the series "Murder, She Wrote," "Father Dowling Mysteries," "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" and "Hill Street Blues."

On stage, Donat appeared in Broadway productions of the "The Entertainer," "The Country Wife," "Highlights of the Empire Theatre," "Fausus in Hell," "Man and Superman," "Equus," "Six Characters in Search of an Author," "The Importance of Being Ernest," "The Staircase," "Tartuffe," "Merchant of Venice," "An Enemy of the People" and "The First Gentleman," for which he received a Theatre World Award.

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER    (Selma)

Renowned Australian actress Elizabeth Alexander has worked in all mediums of the entertainment industry.   On film, Alexander has appeared in "Ride A Wild Pony," "Summerfield," "Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith," "Two Brothers Running," "Sebastian and the Sparrow" as well as starred in the features "The Killing of Angel Street" and "The Journalist."  

For television, she starred in American productions of the telefilms "Sins," "Behind the Legend," "Ben Hall," "Sporting Chance" and "Singles."   She also starred in the series "Seven Little Australians."   Alexander's work in the theatre is extensive, having starred in Australian productions of "Macbeth," "The Merchant of Venice," "All's Well That Ends Well," "The Rivals," "Tartuffe" and numerous others.  

Alexander is also an accomplished director, having directed Australian stage productions of "The Maids" and "Shorts."   She directed the feature film "A Spy in the Family" and the upcoming "Memento."   Elizabeth Alexander is the recipient of the Logie Award, for Best New Talent.

HARVE BENNETT    (Executive Producer/Creator)

Harve Bennett is a staple of the science fiction/adventure genre, having written and produced the motion pictures "Star Trek II, III and IV."   He also served as producer on "Star Trek V."   While at Paramount, he also served as executive producer on the Emmy Award-winning mini-series "A Woman Called Golda" as well as the highly rated "The Jesse Owens Story," which received awards from the NAACP and Writer's Guild.

Prior to Paramount, Bennett wrote and executive produced "From Here to Eternity," which began as a mini-series and then as a dramatic series.   From 1971 to 1977, Bennett was associated with Universal Television and executive produced and wrote such highly rated series as "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Bionic Woman," and "The Invisible Man."   He additionally developed and produced the first mini-­series "Rich Man, Poor Man," as well as fifteen telefilms and the three hour special "Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Shepard Story."

Bennett began his writing/producing career on "The Mod Squad" after spending six years as a development executive at ABC Television.   More recently, he wrote the telefilm "Crash Landing: Flight 232," featuring an all-star cast including Charlton Heston.

JEFFREY HAYES    (Executive Producer/Creator)

Jeffrey Hayes has produced over 225 hours of dramatic television in his eighteen-year career.   Most recently, he spent two years in Australia serving as executive producer on "The New Mission Impossible."  

From 1985 to 1989, Hayes served as Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs at Paramount Television, where he oversaw the development of such productions as "Star Trek: The Next Generation."   Prior to Paramount, he spent ten years as a writer/producer for the Aaron Spelling organization, producing such series as "Vega$," "T.J. Hooker," "Finder of Lost Loves," among others.

GARY NARDINO    (Executive Producer)

Gary Nardino has been active in both the executive and production sides of the television business.   Most recently, Nardino was Chairman of Orion Television Entertainment, where he supervised the development, production and syndication of such television projects as the series "Equal Justice," "W.I.O.U," the telefilms "A Green Journey," starring Angela Lansbury and "No Place Like Home," starring Christine Lahti and directed by Lee Grant.

From 1983 to 1989, he headed his own independent production company and was executive producer of the long-running comedy series "Brothers."   Nardino also served as executive producer on the feature films "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" and "Fire With Fire."

From 1977 to 1983, Nardino was the President of Paramount Television, where he oversaw the hits "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," as well as adding "Mork and Mindy," "Family Ties," "Webster," "Taxi" and "Cheers."   He also supervised production of the motion pictured "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," as well as the highly touted mini-series "The Winds of War" and "Shogun."

GRANT ROSENBERG    (Executive Producer/Creator)

Most recently, Grant Rosenberg worked as a writer/producer at Paramount, writing for several dramas, including "MacGyver" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Prior to joining Paramount, Rosenberg served as President of Lee Rich Productions.   During that time, he executive produced the series "Molloy."   He also served as executive producer for the telefilm "Face of Fear."  

From 1985 to 1988, Rosenberg was Senior Vice President of Television for the Walt Disney Studios, where he was involved in the supervision and development of such shows as "The Golden Girls" and "The Disney Sunday Movie."   Before going to Disney, Rosenberg headed up television development at Paramount Television for eight years.   While there, he oversaw the development and production of such series and telefilms as "Webster," "MacGyver," "James Michener's Space" and "Wallenberg: The Lost Hero."