# Journey Man



## Parson (Oct 9, 2007)

I've watched Journey Man's first two episodes. It seems to be a very enjoyable time travel series. But the thing that really grates any true S.F. fan is the possible effects of the actions in history. The two predominate theories are that any change you make (and you can make changes) may have a profound effect on the Future [i.e. Back to the Future]. This is the theory most often followed in SF. The other prevailing theory is that changing the past is basically impossible because the Future is somehow fated to happen and there is little to nothing that can be done to change it. 

Journey Man seems to be somewhere between the two. He can try to change some things, but finds himself frustrated at every turn. But there is always a someone whom he can help and that person turns out to be someone who does great good, or enable someone else to do great good in the world. 

Then to confuse things even worse, our hero's (he thought dead and now former) wife turns out to be a time traveler herself. There are some hints that she is more in control of the time travel than he is. But for him he has something to accomplish. 

I just want to scream, "Who's behind this?" "What's really going on?"

So I guess I'll keep watching, but would love to hear any theories there might be out there.


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## Brigitte (Oct 10, 2007)

I've got other commitments the night that show is on, but do people really think it is a good show?  I had doubts at first from the initial commercials, but haven't really heard good or bad either way (and it's difficult to trust the NBC ratings).  If it's worth the time to watch, I'll have to set up my DVR and play catch-up.


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## Parson (Oct 10, 2007)

Brigitte said:


> I've got other commitments the night that show is on, but do people really think it is a good show?  I had doubts at first from the initial commercials, but haven't really heard good or bad either way (and it's difficult to trust the NBC ratings).  If it's worth the time to watch, I'll have to set up my DVR and play catch-up.



Well, good shows, like beauty, are in the eyes of the beholder. Having said that: Yes, I think it is a pretty good show. The driving element in the show is the relationship between the main character (I'm terrible with names) The Journey Man and his family, especially his wife. Trying not to spoil the plot too much, I can say that his wife (alone among his friends) believes that he is actually making journeys back in time. Their relationship seems to me to be very believable and both characters are likable who have very understandable motives. They also have a small son (7?) who loves his Dad, and the Mom is always trying to explain his absences. Adding punch to the plot; he has discovered that his former finance, who he thought died in a plane crash is in fact a "Journeyer" herself. So there is a bit of a potential love triangle.

On the whole, each episode is self contained, and the two so far have had interesting story lines (kind of like CSI in this regard with some overlap but not so critical that missing an episode means losing touch with the plot). To this point I'd give 4 stars on a 5 star rating. NBC is clearly trying to tap into the "Heroes" audience, but I believe it would be more comparable to something like "Dead Zone" than "Heroes." Put another way, my wife refuses to watch "Heroes" with me, "too gory!" but is willing to tolerate "Journey Man."

If you decide to give it a try, let me know what you think. I plan to keep watching when my schedule will allow it.


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## Vincent Tauscher (Oct 17, 2007)

I caught one episode recently.  Honestly, I thought it was pretty good.  The bad part is that I'm always gone when the show's on and keep forgetting to set my DVR.  Is this show, by chance, posted on the web somewhere, like FOX shows and all that?


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## Spade (Oct 17, 2007)

It's at NBC.com. All four episodes are up there, along with Heroes, Chuck, and a handful of others.

I'm really enjoying this show, it's getting pathetic ratings though.


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## Parson (Oct 18, 2007)

Spade said:


> It's at NBC.com. All four episodes are up there, along with Heroes, Chuck, and a handful of others.
> 
> I'm really enjoying this show, it's getting pathetic ratings though.



Not surprising actually. CSI Miami is a ratings juggernaut.


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## ScottSF (Oct 24, 2007)

I only watched half the pilot but looks like I might have to give it another chance.  I was actually on my lunch break in downtown san francisco when they were shooting the scene where he saves the guy from the street car.  I recognized the Kevin Mckid from Rome and only knew him by the name Lucious Vorenus but I was to shy to say anything when I saw him between takes.  It's fun to see shows in your home town but it's also distracting.  Like when he wakes up in Golden Gate Park and now the park is magically above Golden Gate Bridge so that scene must have been shot from the other side of the bay.  It's kind of fun but it pulls me out of the story sometimes.  Ok done rambling maybe I'll try the second half of the pilot to see if it hooks me this time.


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## Rawled Demha (Oct 26, 2007)

just wanna point out that there is a third view on the paradox of time travel - my view.

the changes made by the traveller were "meant to be". i may have pointed this out in the heroes forum, but ill do it again. 

if you go back in time to say 1900 from say 2000. you change something. you come back. the bits that have changed are only in the intervening 100 years, where history was rewritten, and one could even argue was supposed to be rewritten. maybe the underlying force driving the universe "knew" that this traveller would appear, maybe it even "intended" it. i put these terms in "speech marks" to show that i do not mean this in the literal sense, but metaphorically. 

if we leave in the year 2000, the year 2001 has not _happened_, as such, so maybe whatever comes was always meant to come. maybe in the "original" history, the time traveller appeared, all worried about how he would change and destroy the future he came from, but what if the future he came from depended on him coming back to make this change in the first place? maybe the intervening 100 years did not change at all...

i dunno if anyone's going to understand what im trying to say here.

in most cinema, the emphasis on time travel is to prevent a disaster, or save a life that will in turn save a million lives. maybe the time travel is only to do what has already been done. fate, and predestination and all that. maybe...

lol, i got so caught up in the time travel theory that i forgot to say - journey man is awesome. i just saw the first episode, and loved it! cant wait till i can watch the next...


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