Seven Days

For other meanings of Seven Days, see Seven Days (disambiguation).

Seven Days
Seven Days intertitle
Format	Science fiction
Created by	Christopher Crowe Zachary Crowe
Starring	Jonathan LaPaglia Justina Vail Don Franklin Sam Whipple Nick Searcy Norman Lloyd Alan Scarfe Kevin Christy
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	66 (List of episodes)
Production
Location	United States Canada
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	UPN
Original run	October 7, 1998 – May 29, 2001

Seven Days (Seven 7 Days in the title sequence; also written as 7 Days^[1]) is a science fiction television series based around the premise of time travel. It was produced by UPN from 1998 to 2001.

Synopsis

The plot follows a secret branch of the United States' National Security Agency who have developed a time travelling device based upon alien technology found at Roswell. As the opening of the show says, the Chronosphere, or Backstep Sphere, sends one human being back in time seven days to avert disasters. The show's name refers to the fact that the Backstep Project can only backstep seven days because of limitations imposed by the fuel source and its reactor. As the fuel source is limited, there is a strict mandate that they only Backstep for events relating to "National Security". The backstep team and the equipment is stationed in a base called Never Never Land, which is in a secret location somewhere in the desert of Nevada.

Because the show was about time travel, it was unusual in that it could both dramatize a catastrophic event and have its characters prevent it in the same episode.

Production

Three seasons of Seven Days were produced. All three seasons (with the exception of a single episode^{[citation needed]}) have been shown in North America. In the UK, all three seasons have now been shown on the Bravo (satellite channel). Terrestrial broadcast of the series began on BBC2 in May 2001 and continued up to Episode 12 ("Last Breath"). They are due to resume on Monday 26 February 2007 beginning with Episode 13 ("Parkergeist") and will be shown on BBC2 every weeknight just after midnight, with the exception of Friday night/Saturday morning when the slot is occupied by Star Trek. In Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Finland and Sweden all three seasons have been shown, and the show was quite popular in Italy where it was shown in Sunday prime time. All seasons had been shown in Spain, Israel and Slovakia, but in a very untimely schedule that prevented a wide audience.

The series was filmed in California, USA during season one, and British Columbia, Canada during seasons two and three.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2001, the series was cancelled.^[1]

Cast

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Francis "Frank" Bartholomew Parker (Jonathan LaPaglia), a former military and ex-CIA operative who was brought out of a secret CIA mental institution - due to a mental breakdown he had suffered as a result of being tortured while being a prisoner in Somalia - to be the project's chrononaut. Parker's youth was spent in a Philadelphia area orphanage. He is divorced and has a son he doesn't see often. He also occasionally drinks to excess and has a gambling problem.
Dr. Olga Vukavitch (Justina Vail), a Russian doctor who worked in the Russian version of the Backstep Project, which, without any technology from the Roswell crash, never reached operational level. She grows to like Frank at times, but is almost invariably put off by some new crassness or arrogance of his.
U.S. Navy Captain Craig Donovan (Don Franklin), Backstep's military advisor/tactical coordinator and backup chrononaut. Also, an old friend of Frank's, who led the team which rescued him.
NSA Agent Dr. Bradley Talmadge (Alan Scarfe), chief of the Backstep Project and a long-time member of the NSA intelligence community. Although middle-aged, he is shown several times to still have excellent combat skills.
NSA Agent Nathan Ramsey (Nick Searcy), Backstep Project security chief. A short-tempered, highly opinionated man, he opposes Frank becoming chrononaut and is therefore made the prime target of Parker's practical jokes.
Dr. John Ballard (Sam Whipple) (seasons 1-2). The resident genius on the Backstep Project. He won a tropical island in a poker match in Las Vegas and got married but he's not sure with whom, since he was a little drunk at the time. So he took some time off to straighten things out. (In reality, Sam Whipple was battling cancer at the time he left the show, and died shortly thereafter.)
Dr. Isaac Mentnor (Norman Lloyd) (seasons 1-2, guest appearances in season 3), a scientist with a shadowy past that's tied into the Roswell cover-up, Dr. Mentnor was the man who initially conceived the Backstep project.
Andrew 'Hooter' Owsley (Kevin Christy) (season 3). A young physics prodigy whom Ballard suggested as his replacement.