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Review: 'Traveler'
When ABC unveiled its 2006-07 lineup nearly a year ago, a lot of folks left the upfront presentation curious about a show called Traveler. The clip ABC showed was intense, and the premise -- two friends on the run after a third frames them for a terrorist act -- was intriguing.
The network slotted the show for midseason. Then came the great Serial Drama Massacre of 2007-08, with plot-driven shows (including ABC's own The Nine and Day Break) dying off left and right. Word came that ABC had reduced the show's order to eight episodes, and then the network didn't schedule it until after the official end of the season. It seemed that Traveler would become a victim of circumstance, doomed to an anonymous summer burnoff through no fault of its own.
All that may, in fact, be true. But it's also true that Traveler -- which gets a one-time, in-season airing after Grey's Anatomy on Thursday night before beginning its regular run on May 30 -- just isn't a very good show.
That premise is still engaging enough. Following the end of grad school, three friends -- Jay Burchell (Matthew Bomer), Tyler Fog (Logan Marshall-Green) and Will Traveler (Aaron Stanford) -- head off on a road trip before starting their adult lives. In New York, they decide to have a bit of fun in an art museum: Jay and Tyler lace up their in-line skates and race from the top floor to the bottom, while Will (ostensibly) videotapes their antics.
Except when they get outside -- chased by security guards and following the tripping of a fire alarm -- Will's not around. Jay calls him, Will asks if they got outside, then says "I'm sorry I had to do this." Then, boom goes the museum. It's a well-executed, attention-grabbing moment (which ABC has played numerous times in promos), and things look promising for the show -- this just might be a well-executed, attention-holding thriller.
Unfortunately, things go south pretty quickly from there. Based, apparently, on nothing more than a piece of surveillance-camera footage from the museum, Jay and Tyler are the prime (the only?) suspects in the bombing, which has also wiped out a presidential art collection. And Will? Well, no one is sure he even really exists.
There are, of course, hints of Nefarious Forces at work, but the leaps in logic the pilot asks a viewer to make are Mike Powell-sized ones. Would the FBI, having not a scrap of physical evidence, really finger two suspects based on a piece of videotape that shows them doing nothing more serious than disturbing the peace? And wouldn't our advanced degree-holding heroes maybe make an effort to, you know, at least change clothes or something before going on the lam? And how do you not know "Will Traveler" is a fake name?
And, of the three principals, the most interesting actor -- X-Men co-star Stanford -- is the one with the least screen time. Marshall-Green (The O.C.) and Bomer (Tru Calling) don't hold the screen the same way, and, at least in the pilot, good actors like Sadler (Wonderfalls) Viola Davis (Disturbia) and Steven Culp (Desperate Housewives) are underused, the latter two in fairly stock FBI-agent roles.
When the history of the 2006-07 TV season is written, Traveler will probably be listed among the serial-drama casualties. The record should show, though, that a number of its wounds were self-inflicted.
Hey Rick - Don't you mean 2006-2007 season?? That is what ABC revealed almost a year ago. Next week is the reveal for the 2007-2008 season. Just nit-picking....
I'll watch the show tonight but if it's only going to be a few episodes I may not bother getting into it. I've invested (wasted?) too much of my time the past two seasons watching shows that got canned after only a few episodes.....Threshold, Daybreak, etc.....
Linda | May 10, 2007 8:00:07 AM | #I can't say that I'm surprised that ABC held off on airing Traveler until the end of the season. Their previous attempts at serialized dramas all tanked--Six Degrees, The Nine and Daybreak. I will watch Traveler and hope that ABC will allow all 8 episodes to air, unlike FOX who yanked Drive after only 4 episodes.
Next season's primetime lineup will probably have few lesser scripted dramas and more reality shows. I can't believe that more American viewers would rather watch mindless dreck like The Bachelor than well-made dramas like The Nine, Drive, etc.
Guess I have next season on the brain, Linda. Mistake is fixed.
Rick | May 10, 2007 9:17:32 AM | #The show's plotline sounds interesting. But I'm still mad that Drive got yanked after only a few episodes so I doubt I'll bother getting into a show almost certain to get yanked too.
Valeen | May 10, 2007 10:02:47 AM | #It's so hard to get into these serialized dramas knowning that they might be cancelled.
I learned by lesson from The Nine!
I loved that show, got so hooked by it, but then it got dumped.
Same thing happened with Drive.
I've learned my lesson! I'm going to wait until shows becomes a hit like Heroes
before I start following them. Then I will watch the reruns to see the episodes I missed.
That's IF they have reruns Alan! Most networks don't like to do reruns because people complain about them too much!! Not me....I enjoy a good rerun! I didn't start watching Heroes until about the 4th or 5th episode when it was a bonafide hit and NBC had a mini-marathon one night. I love when the networks take a chance and do something like that!
I LOVED SIX DEGREES, NINE &
DRIVE....WHERE ARE THEY? GONE!!
FOOL ME ONCE ETC ETC.
NO WAY IM WATCHING TRAVELER...
Folks, just tivo or tape the first few episodes. If the shows do well, you can have your own marathon and then follow with confidence. My wife & I did that with Vanished, the Nine & Daybreak among others. All we wasted was memory space.
Clovizin | May 10, 2007 1:14:35 PM | #I'll be watching. Looks like a great show!
Josh | May 10, 2007 1:30:37 PM | #Would the FBI, having not a scrap of physical evidence, really finger two suspects based on a piece of videotape that shows them doing nothing more serious than disturbing the peace?
While the FBI screwing up and placing the blame on somebody innocent, isn't exactly a too much of leap of logic (for me at least). For the sake of argument: Maybe they (in this fictional program) are staffed by the same individuals who tried to olace the blame on an innocent security guard for a bomb during the Olympics in Atlanta.
| May 10, 2007 1:45:31 PM | #Hahaha "And how do you not know "Will Traveler" is a fake name?" That is so funny. Yes, lots of under-use of the good actors seems to bring this series downhill, along with the works-on-no-evidince FBI. Oh well, we'll see how it goes...maybe it gets better somehow?
Brian | May 10, 2007 4:27:18 PM | #Not sure why you found so much fault with this show. It was very intriguing, attention holding suspense drama. I agree that Aaron Stanford should be used more. But besides that, I think there aren't too many leaps being made. Would the authorities go after suspects like this? In a bombing in NYC in post-9/11 world? You bet they would. They should change their clothes? When exactly did they have time for that? I'm sure they will change when they get the chance. Jay had a chance, maybe, at the apartment, but then he may not have had clothes there. Clearly there are people behind the scenes pulling strings to help make these two look less innocent. I think this has really good potential and since ABC is planning on airing the episodes this summer, I think it definitely has the chance to go past this summer if it does well enough. Users on another site's message boards really liked the premiere and most of us had no idea what to expect since this was only recently promoted by ABC.
So, I don't think this show has to get better, it's already very good. If it can keep up this pace, I see it lasting. It's more intriguing than ABC's more recent shows that have premiered in the last month or so.
Idiotic. If your face is plastered all over the news one of the first things you should think about doing is getting a disguise. Splitting up would also probably be a good idea. Also, the FBI let them walk over the bridge in exchange for the location of the fake bomb, but it's a federal crime and investigation. Why couldn't they arrange to have agents pick them up and take them into custody when they got to the other side?
Ellen | May 10, 2007 8:59:06 PM | #LOVED IT!!!
ONE of the BEST openings since ------------- Hill Street Blues.
Yeppers - I'm old but am a TV lover!!!!
mth | May 10, 2007 11:57:55 PM | #If you are going to write a review, PAY ATTENTION.
They DID change clothes.
They WERE NOT just allowed to walk over the bridge. The FBI had them in custody until Mysterious Bellhop rescued them and sent them on their way.
I thought it was a great pilot. Very riveting all the way through. It keeps you guessing and wondering "how are they getting out of this one". It's like Prison Break in that way, but so far hasn't had the giant leaps in logic like that show. I'd say of all the conspiracy shows like Prison Break and Vanished, this one is the best. It beats the former on the logic scale, and the latter lacked characters you care about.
I agree with Jasmine about the FBI thing. He even accuses them of chasing them without evidence and they SAY that when it's considered a national security issue, "procedure is thrown out the window".
I really like this and hope, since it's airing over the summer, that ABC will let it play out and hopefully it catches on. Last summer NBC let Windfall play out over the summer despite poor ratings.
Jason | May 11, 2007 8:40:13 AM | #That was obviously not the the FBI that had them in custody when the bellman stepped in, but rather some nefarious third party.
Angela | May 11, 2007 9:17:47 AM | #Why do you say that, Angela?
Steven Culp told the other agent that he was sending in "undercover agents" after they were supposedly letting them go.
If it was a third party, then that would mean that they had the FBI after them, some other group after them, AND whoever Mysterious Bellhop works for trying to help them. That sounds a bit convoluted. Plus, the bad guys have nothing to gain from kidnapping them. They need them to be caught so that the frame job works.
Jason | May 11, 2007 9:26:49 AM | #I fianlly watched the premiere last night, and I hope that ABC airs all the remaining episodes (there's only 8 total anyway). Yes, the evil conspiracy storyline has been done so many times already, but I like what I have seen so far.
Sorry, but I have to disagree with Rick, but I thought the lead characters were well portrayed. I have liked Logan Marshall-Green since his days on 24 and The O.C., and Matthew Bomer was quite compelling as the 'goody two shoes' friend. I believe that Steven Culp's character should get more screentime in the future, since he's the guy in charge of the FBI investigation.
Traveler definitely reminds me of Prison Break, especially when someone crashed into the FBI van to enable Jay and Tyler to escape. How many times have we seen that same scenario happen on PB when someone wanted to take off with Michael or Lincoln? Let's hope that Traveler brings us some original twists that haven't been played out on PB yet.
Paige | May 11, 2007 9:59:54 AM | #That's something I forgot to mention.
I also disagree with Rick about the acting. I thought Marshall-Green and Bomer were excellent and a lot better than Stanford, mainly because they have a lot more to work with.
Jason | May 11, 2007 11:26:56 AM | #I liked it MUCH better than any of the OTHER drivel that has been on after Grey's.
So that pretty much guarantees it won't stay around.
Jan | May 11, 2007 12:56:21 PM | #Easily the best pilot this year, and since it's a "summer" show, there's less likelihood of it getting cancelled.
| May 11, 2007 7:07:27 PM | #The government holding people without evidence? That's so far out!
| May 11, 2007 7:10:46 PM | #This was by far the best pilot I have seen in the past few years. I was just saying how bummed I was that Grey's was over for the summer and I needed a new show to get into, and stumbled upon this one last night. I was hooked for the entire 2 hrs. and could not even change the channel during the commercials. I really hope this one makes it and becomes a hit, because I really see this making my top must see shows for the fall!!
Sarah | May 31, 2007 10:18:55 AM | #Just watched the finale. Awesome show. I'm sure ABC will cancel it. They're the kings of boneheaded decisions.
Cheryl | Jul 18, 2007 10:11:39 PM | #its a good show.
but i dont think it wouldve lasted long anyways.
not too many people watch it.
oh well.. it had a good run.
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