Journeyman

This is the new fall show I've been most excited about, and blogged about once before.  Lucky us, DH and I got to initiate our "Monday TV Night" a week early last night and watch the pilot ahead of time.

 

Our verdict: KEEPER!  We've already set up the "series record" on our DVR.

 

Kevin McKidd - previously seen as Lucius Vorenus on HBO's Rome, which DH and I loved - plays Dan Vasser, a San Fransisco reporter who suddenly begins travelling through time.  (And does an admirable job hiding his very Scottish natural accent while doing so, hehe.)

 

[Some spoilers ahead.] 

 

Dan's married, though the relationship is revealed to have had some rough patches, and they have a young son.  Over the course of the episode we learn that his present wife Katie was once the girlfriend of Dan's older brother Jack, and Dan himself was engaged to a lawyer named Livia.  But Livia died in a mysterious plane crash 9(?) years ago.

 

The time travelling is spontaneous, and at first Dan doesn't know what's going on.  It messes with both his home life and his job.  After his first few disappearances, some for as long as a couple days, Dan arrives home to find Katie has staged an "intervention" with his friends and coworkers.

 

When Dan travels, he keeps running into the same man - Neil Gaines - at different points, at first saving him from committing suicide.  As Dan continues to track Neil and alter further events in his life, he also runs into Livia, his former True Love.  There's a great twist involving her that has me screaming for more episodes.  And the way Dan finally convinces Katie that he's really time travelling and not crazy or on drugs was inspired.  Classic.

 

Seems I was on my mark with my initial reaction to the premise.  This was very Quantum Leap as far as the "higher force" directing him places to change lives/history, but without the overly cheesy "future" set up and the time machine.  It seems this show is set firmly in the present, picking up in late 2007 (I assume, since Dan has an iPhone - I have to say, the juxtaposition in 1987 of him wearing his Bluetooth headset and they guy with the MASSIVE cell phone was hilarious).  The elements of TTW are there with the sudden disappearances and how they affect his present-day.

 

After just the pilot, this has already moved up into my list of favorite shows, right behind Heroes.  How convenient (and brilliant) to slot it immediately after on the TV schedule.  Whether or not it targets the entire percieved "demo" of Heroes, you have to know how many Star Trek/Quantum Leap/etc. ('cause that's a big crossover) fans make up a large part of that market and will be drawn to this show.

 

US readers with digital cable should be able to find the pilot On Demand in the "Free Spot" under "NBC Fall Preview" through Sunday, September 23.  (It airs next Monday, the 24th.)  Thanks to Brooke for that tip-off.  Those with PCs or TiVo can download it via Amazon's Unbox through the same time window  HERE.

 

And this is, of course, tangentially related to my writing, since time-travel is involved.  Heehee.