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'Journeyman' is making my head hurt
I just spent an hour watching Journeyman. And f I went back in time and watched it again, then watched it a third time, I'm still not entirely sure I'd know what was going on.
Which is not to say I didn't like it. Kevin McKidd is always fun to watch (although I kind of expected him to strip down to his skivvies and start lopping off limbs -- what can I say, he made an impression in Rome), and Gretchen Egolf was convincingly confused, heartbroken, and then pissed off as the time traveler's wife. But between the without-warning time jumps, the messed-up web of relationships, and the cringing over former fashions -- well, it's a lot to get your head around.
I've come back from the future to save you from spoilers! Ahhh! Too late!
Time travel is problematic for all sorts of reasons. There's the constant danger of running into yourself and thereby causing the universe to implode; the horror of realizing yes, you really did wear ginormous shoulder pads; and the ticklish situation that arises when you run into your dead fiancé when she's still alive and living with you, but you're a happily married man several years after her death.
Let's get the relationships out of the way first. Kevin McKidd is Dan, a journalist who used to have a gambling problem and various other unsavory habits. He's married to Katie, who used to be involved with Jack, Dan's brother. This was back when Dan was engaged to Livia, who died in a plane crash seven years ago. Except, maybe not. This would make for some awkward family dinners, don't you think? Oh, and Katie and Dan have a kid, Zack, whose purpose is to be adorable and give Dan something to be tortured about when he's traipsing through time.
See, Dan has apparently been reading too much Vonnegut, because he's become unstuck in time. This means he blacks out and wakes up in a totally different decade. This is difficult to explain to friends and family, as he disappears for days at a time without warning, his car is involved in an accident when he wasn't in it, that sort of thing. They think he's developed a drug problem. Dan kind of wishes that were true.
Dan seems to be tracking this guy named Neal Gaines. First he saves Neal from a suicide attempt (death by cable car -- surely not the most efficient way to go), then he convinces Neal's significant other, Nicole, not to get an abortion. This involves a stopover in the 80s, and dear god, the costumers had fun digging up massive shoulder pads, shiny blouses, and the occasional Michael Jackson-circa-Thriller jacket. Ooof. The eighties, they were not kind.
On one of his sojourns back in the present, Dan finds out Neal's wife and son, Jacob, die on New Year's Eve, 1997. And what do you know, he gets sent back to that very day. Apparently he's there to help Neal again, but first he has some personal business to take care of.
Job one: Convince Katie he's not crazy. That involves a toolbox, her wedding ring, and a trip the house that will become theirs in the future. Job two: A change of clothing (saving your future marriage is wet, dirty work.) So Dan breaks into the apartment he was living in at the time, and runs into still-living Livia. This brings up the moral dilemma -- Does it really count as cheating when you're in a time when you were still together, before you were married to your wife? Dan decides it does, and ducks out on nookie. Outside the door, he runs into Livia, again, some more. But this one has straight hair, meaning she's from the future! Maybe. This is the part where I got really, really confused. FutureLivia tells Dan she didn't die in the plane crash, then scampers -- but not before telling him to follow his gut, and not to mess things up too much. Dan is confused. You and me both, buddy.
Dan has to do some juggling to get the information he needs -- it involves eavesdropping on his past and then pumping soon-to-be-dead-but-not-really Livia for information -- but he eventually tracks Neal down. Neal is looking just as close to the edge as he was when they first met -- you remember, when he was bent on getting run over by a San Francisco tourist icon. Apparently his wife and kid are moving to LA today, and he's not happy about it. Dan follows Neal, and distracts him just as he's approaching his family -- causing him to get hit by a bus. Now that is a form of public transport I can see doing real damage. Dan thinks he's messed up, but look! Neal is carrying a gun! He was on his way to kill his wife and child rather than let them leave him! So I guess Dan saved the day. Um, yay?
Back in the future... the present... our time (see what I mean about this making my head hurt?), Dan does some research and finds out Jacob Gaines saved six kids from a school bus crash. So he wasn't sent to protect Neal so much as make sure Jacob grew up. All righty then. At least he saved the right guy.
Speaking of saving -- there's a marriage to save, folks! Dan goes home to find Katie mightily peeved. She's not buying the whole "sorry, honey, I got sucked into the past to save a kid who would be a hero in our time!" story, so Dan has to prove it to her. He breaks out the sledgehammer and starts breaking up the back patio. "What are you doing?" Katie shrieks. "Saving my marriage," he replies. "Um, not really!" says Katie. I'm with her: wanton destruction of property doesn't exactly scream "Honey I'm not unbalanced, now take me back!"
Ah, but there's method to Dan's madness. He unearths a toolbox, and inside, shows Katie a newspaper form 1997 and her wedding ring. "I'll always come home," he says. Katie's convinced. Me? I keep thinking that one of these days, he's going to pull out one of the new-design $10 and get arrested for being an incompetent counterfeiter. That would throw a wrench in his world-saving duties.
i enjoyed it, too, and i was just as confused as you were. it seems the info about the kid was almost a throwaway. without that i would have really wondered what the heck happened.
i've never seen rome, so knew nothing about kevin mckidd. except i just had this itchy feeling he wasn't an american actor. funny how europeans are somehow, someway, so different from americans. i can't put my finger on why, tho.
i really liked him, too. i'm looking forward to next week, and hopefully seeing this show get a little more understandable. what was that with the double appearance of livia?
KR | Sep 24, 2007 11:49:36 PM | #i LOVE this show, oh my gosh, when the livia who didn't die in the plane crash showed up, it was the coolest twist ever i thought!! I'm soooo excited about this show!!
Laura | Sep 25, 2007 1:36:03 AM | #I'm glad I didn't give up on the show in the first 5-10 minutes b/c by the end of the episode it was pretty good; however, I think a lot of people would have given up on it in the first 5-10 minutes as it was very difficult to follow it's train of thought.
It's seems to me that the show was being nutso for the sake of being nutso not for any particular reason.
I think that the show has a lot of potential and those that stuck with it will give it another chance of 2 - I predict that the second episode will be a lot better - however a lot of people will not have been grabbed/sucked in right away and those people likely won't return/they won't give the show a second chance.
I'll compare this to Chuck which grabbed me right away and I'm sure did so with the majority of its viewers tonight and will likely retain a much greater percentage of its viewers for next week compared with the retention percentage of Journeyman.
Then again if you weren't regularily watching CSI:Miami already you likely wouldn't have started today ditto for a show like The Batchelor whereas at 8pm there are a lot more choices - kindof killed my own argument (above) didn't I?
Rishi | Sep 25, 2007 2:28:15 AM | #Loved the show! I thought they could of handled the start a little better but still it kept me entertained! I can't wait to find out about dead/alive Olivia, why they were both choosen to time travel, how he hooked up with his brother's woman and his next save. Seems like an awesome show and I am so glad I tuned in!
Bobbie | Sep 25, 2007 4:51:57 AM | #I loved this show and followed it pretty well. I don't understand what was so confusing about the show. Obviously Olivia, dare I say, "leaped" through time during the plane crash. And obviously they are not going to tell us anymore than that to keep us tuning in week after week to find out more. The episode's plot seemed pretty straight-forward without being too obvious, which worked out well.
Mike | Sep 25, 2007 6:01:28 AM | #Really liked both this and Chuck, sandwiched around my favorite show on TV. Maybe NBC is making a comeback? I just hope people stick with this one, because I think it has a lot of potential.
| Sep 25, 2007 6:03:33 AM | #It's a remake of "Quantum Leap" wherein Scott Bakula was to "right things that once went wrong" wrapped up in an enigma and shrouded in a season-long "what in the world is going on" mystery. I'd take "Tru Calling" over the first episode because you at least, unbelievable as it was, knew what was going on.
Sorry, I'm not a fan of the season-long (or series long for "Lost") overarching mysteries that may, or may not, ever get resolved since the series could well get cancelled before any resolution occurs. And, since you're wondering, I don't watch "Hero's" for the same reason.
Chris | Sep 25, 2007 6:49:15 AM | #I really liked Journeyman and didn't find it at all hard to follow. For being a show about time travel, I thought it was pretty straight forward.
John M. | Sep 25, 2007 7:24:47 AM | #It's got potential, but I'm by no means hooked. I'll probably watch a few more episodes and see how it goes.
I thought the same thing about the new money! There was such an obvious shot of him passing on cash, that the writers have to be aware of it, and hopefully they'll do something with the idea in a future episode.
Shell | Sep 25, 2007 7:55:57 AM | #So far, so good, or rather, okay. Shows some promise, but I don't want just another Quantum Leap. The wardrobe and props people need to show a little imagination though. How many people were still wearing Thriller jackets in 1987? Those were pretty over by then, if I recall. And the big hair/shoulder pads lady was way too stereotypical. It was distracting, and not in a good way. If they're going for verisimilitude, they'd spread out the cliche clothing amongst more extras. I wonder how far back the guy (I don't remember his name!) will go, if it will only be during his lifetime, and whether he'll go into the future at all. I'll keep watching for now, but the pilot doesn't exactly brim with promise. I'm not on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode. Chuck, on the other hand, was a great pilot.
Siansonea | Sep 25, 2007 8:57:01 AM | #I liked Journeyman. Sure it was a little confusing,but it's sci-fi so I expected it to be. It had moments where it reminded me of Quantum Leap, Tru Calling, Early Edition and even Aston Kutcher's movie Butterfly Effect. I think I will stick around for at least one more episode.
| Sep 25, 2007 9:00:29 AM | #im sorry lost getting cancelled???? ARE U JOKING???? Most of its mysteries are going to be solved. It coming back for three more seasons.
sara | Sep 25, 2007 9:41:35 AM | #Yeah I thought that about the money issue also. I will stick it out for the 1989 Earthquake episode where the Marina section is falling apart. That will be the make or break it episode. I really want this show to be a success...
Albert | Sep 25, 2007 9:53:50 AM | #I actually made the comment to my husband about ten minutes into this show that he was like Billy Pilgrim, who is unstuck in time. At one point, I believe it was when he walked out on his fiance in the bed and runs into her in the hall that I actually yelled, WTF?, and didn't just use the abbreviations. However, the paper and the wedding ring bit kind of makes me want to check it out next week. But, honestly, I do not think it will survive, at least in the present time.
tricia | Sep 25, 2007 10:17:08 AM | #I don't care what anyone says - this was one of the BEST pilots for a drama in a long time! It had me at HEllO! I can't wait for the upcoming weeks! The premise of the show is intriguing and the fact that at the end of the first episode, he let his wife know (sort of) what is going on; was smart! NO need to drag out telling his wife for a whole season!
Jason | Sep 25, 2007 10:21:56 AM | #Amen, Jason...I was so worried that the writers were going to take the wife and turn her into a confused idiot that I almost didn't bother watching the pilot for this very reason. I was so pleased that Dan convinced Katie in such a unique and semi-romantic way. Since the creators are playing fast and loose with time travel (forget about just changing the life of the one person you're going back in time to save or whatever; there comes the paradox of what happens if you accidentally get in the way of somebody who has to take a few seconds out of their day to skirt around you, which prevents them from getting hit by the bus that was meant to kill them, which means that they don't die and grow up to become the next Adolph Hitler, etc, etc, etc.), I didn't have any trouble with the potential anachronisms or paradoxical quandries that most likely will never be answered every time Dan jumps back. I just forgot about all the quantum, theoretical-scientific problems with time travel and enjoyed the show. The nice twist about how Neal, having been saved by Dan, then went on to become a potential wife-killer was well-done. Again, this is why time travel is so bloody confusing...what if what you do for good turns out to not be so good? I didn't see Quantum Leap as much as Early Edition with the pilot. I'm just glad the son is a normal kid and not the prototypical spoiled brat. And if he really was playing the piano at the recital, then he's obviously more talented than I was at that age. Not a bad debut, but I'll hold off on my firm critique for a few more episodes. Oh, and I had to look up where I'd seen Gretchen Egolf before...forgot she was in the first (I think) season of Martial Law, which was one of my favorite shows a few years back, before they screwed it up.
Dark Disciple | Sep 25, 2007 12:46:28 PM | #I think the show has great potential. Originally, the only reason I Tivo'd it was to watch the main character whom I miss from Rome. There are so many different storylines that NBC can conjure up for this show. I'm really intrigued by future Livia. If she's alive, what's her story and it better be good lol. Let's hope NBC doesn't scew this one up.
FightDFuture | Sep 25, 2007 2:18:51 PM | #Yah--I kinda liked it!! It was confusing at some points--to much back and forth!! Instead if it would of kept on all the way through--although I know it had to go to different years--for the story line!! I did like the ending of when he buried the box!! I think it has potential--will it last?? Who knows!! I'll give it a few more weeks as it did interest me enough to give it a try--although I'm glad I recorded it-- I did have to go back and forth alot!!
Michele | Sep 25, 2007 10:35:47 PM | #Very good show.
I wasn't sure it would be that good, but at 5:30 am, Tivo and a 9-month old wanting breakfast I took my chances and watched it.
Didn't read into anything about the show, just watched it. I think that is the problem with some people, they tend to read into a show and then can't understand it or get confused along the way.
I will admit that I knew he kept going back in time to be around Neal for some reason, but not sure why. Kept me guessing, which is why I like the show.
Hate shows that I can figure out whats going on within the first 10-15 min of it.
Anyway....Great Monday lineup NBC...
I was "lost" at first but decided it was worth watching and see how it all played all. I really loved it. I find myself afraid to start these new shows (ie Nine, Vanished, Donnelly's) because they I get involved and then BAM! they are cancelled. But its a new season and I'll give it a try once again.
Oh and where's the RECAP of "Cane". Loved that show too.
I, too, liked it some, and will watch again before deciding whether to become a "regular." I enjoyed the buried toolbox to convince his wife.
Here is my question: If Dan had not gone back the first time and saved Neal from commiting suicide, there would have been no need for him to go back again to prevent Neal from killing his wife and son. So what was the point? Am I missing something here?
A little help here. please! | Sep 26, 2007 10:25:11 AM | #Yeah, I wondered about the Neal killing himself thing too. Then I figured out Neal was in danger of killing himself before he met or impregnated Nicole. So dead Neal = no Jacob. Neal had to stick around long enough to be a dad. But they could have knocked him off any time after Jacob was born, i guess.
Sarah | Sep 26, 2007 11:36:06 AM | #next to Reaper, this is the best new show on TV. Its got a really cool spin on the time traveling aspect and i just pray enough people get tired of watching Caruso taking off his glasses and saying stupid one liners to watch this show. It really set up a lot of interesting stories to be explored in the future with the main characters and add that to his time traveling make for a very interesting show.
steve | Sep 27, 2007 1:26:13 PM | #I keep reading that Journeyman is getting bad ratings. I am confused why because it is the best show on TV right now. If you watch it from the beginning it is not confusing at all. It keeps me gripped to my seat wondering what would happen next. I love the show.
Jeff Batt | Nov 26, 2007 3:55:53 PM | #
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