When Bradley has a nervous breakdown, Ramsey is given the chance to take over Project Backstep. However, his newfound power may make him go too far in his desire to become the permanent head of the Project.

This is a first for Seven Days: an episode that revolves almost solely around the characters rather than a mission for Frank; in fact, Parker is no more prominent , maybe even less so, than the rest of the cast. It gives Nick Searcy's Ramsey plenty to do, Norman Lloyd gets some fun material as Mentnor and even Kevin Christy's Owsley gets a little more to do than tap away at a computer.

It's really Searcy's performance that holds the show together, however, as he carefully shows Ramsey in a new light. In the beginning, he's not such a bad boss, even if he's rough on Parker, but he carefully shades in Ramsey's descent into control freak as he is pressured from above by two government officials. His final realization that some things are more important than success, cleverly drawing on the experiences he had as a child, is nicely played out after what has gone before.

It's also good to see the various plans by the Backstep team to go back and fix things before the seven day window ends, with two efforts being thwarted just as you think they're about to get away with it. It's an interesting look into the bonds of teamwork between them, and how each of them relates to Bradley and a new regime. It's also a fine choice to put Nate in charge rather than drag some kind of faceless bureaucrat in to shake things up. My only real complaint is that Donovan still doesn't get a chance to be chrononaut. It just isn't fair really...

****

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