NBC's Timeless

[areaseven]

Timeless is the latest TV series to involve time travel. In this series, three people chase after a master criminal who is using a stolen time machine to change American history. It is created by Eric Kripke (Revolution, Supernatural) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield, Last Resort) and stars Abigail Spencer (Alice in Cowboys & Aliens, May in Oz the Great and Powerful), Matt Lanter (Anakin in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Liam in 90210), Malcolm Barrett (Sgt. Foster in The Hurt Locker), Sakina Jaffrey (Linda in House of Cards, Dr. Hickman in Third Watch), Paterson Joseph (Wes Leyton in Law & Order: UK, Mark in Casual+y), Claudia Doumit, and Goran Višnjić (Dr. Kovač in ER, Armansky in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), with recurring appearances by Matt "Max Headroom" Frewer.

Timeless premiered on October 3 on NBC and has been receiving positive reviews.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 84% - "Sometimes goofy but consistently entertaining, Timeless is a fun throwback action series with a kooky premise that's worth a watch."

Metacritic Score: 65 out of 100

[areaseven]

Timeless

MiddKidd Productions/Kripke Enterprises/Universal Television/NBC Television/Sony Pictures Television, 2016-

Created by Eric Kripke (Revolution, Supernatural) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield, Last Resort)

Running Time: 45 minutes per episode

Rated TV-PG for violence and mild language.

Cast

Abigail Spencer (Alice in Cowboys & Aliens, May in Oz the Great and Powerful) as Lucy Preston

Matt Lanter (Anakin in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Liam in 90210) as Master Sgt. Wyatt Logan

Malcolm Barrett (Sgt. Foster in The Hurt Locker) as Rufus Carlin

Sakina Jaffrey (Linda in House of Cards, Dr. Hickman in Third Watch) as Agent Denise Christopher

Paterson Joseph (Wes Leyton in Law & Order: UK, Mark in Casual+y) as Connor Mason

Claudia Doumit as Jiya

Goran Višnjić (Dr. Kovač in ER, Armansky in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Garcia Flynn

Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) as Anthony Bruhl

Susanna Thompson (Moira Queen in Arrow) as Carolyn Preston

Daniel Di Tomasso (Killian in Witches of East End) as Noah

Synopsis

Multi-billionaire Connor Mason has created a time machine, but when master criminal Garcia Flynn steals it, Mason and U.S. Homeland Security assemble a trio to use an earlier version of the time machine to go after Flynn and prevent him from altering history.

Episode 1: "Pilot"

History professor Lucy Preston, Delta Force operative Wyatt Logan, and tech wiz Rufus Carlin are assigned to pursue Flynn to May 6, 1937, the day of the Hindenburg disaster. Upon their arrival, the trio discover that Flynn has prevented the Hindenburg from exploding, only to devise a more sinister plot for its voyage back to Europe.

Lowdown

These days, sci-fi TV series tend to be too cerebral for most viewers to understand and sometimes too slow-paced. This is not the case with Timeless. The series keeps the plot simple and leaves complicated subplots to a minimum. Each episode is fast-paced, keeping audiences focused from beginning to end.

As for the characters, they are a very interesting bunch. Lucy is a history professor hoping to fulfill the legacy of her dying mother, only to discover that following her team's first mission, her mother no longer has cancer, but her sister Amy has disappeared from existence and she is suddenly engaged to a man she really does not know. Wyatt is a soldier still grieving from the death of his wife in 2012. Despite co-creating the time machine, Rufus is not comfortable with traveling to the past due to his being black. Garcia Flynn is a cold-blooded killer, but throughout the series, his role as the main villain turns out to be questionable when he first confronts Lucy and hints at the bigger picture of his motives. Connor Mason (a.k.a. Black Elon Musk) may be the owner of the time machine project, but he might actually be the real bad guy, as he has Rufus secretly record the team's activities.

The CGI effects are fairly good, but it's the set and costume designs that really shine. The producers spared no expense in painstakingly recreating scenes such as 1937 New Jersey, 1865 Washington, and 1962 Las Vegas.

In short, Timeless is a great throwback to time-travel shows such as Voyagers! and Quantum Leap, with a little bit of Back to the Future on the side. Good storytelling and a solid cast make this series worth watching on Monday nights.

Rating: A-

Links

Official Site

[areaseven]

And now for a quick recap of the previous episodes:

Episode 2: "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln"
Directed by Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, Westworld)
The trio travel to April 14, 1865, the day John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. There, they discover that Flynn is plotting with Booth to not only kill Lincoln, but to wipe out Vice President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and General Ulysses S. Grant at the same time.

Episode 3: "Atomic City"
Directed by Charles Beeson (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Vampire Diaries)
Flynn travels to 1962 Las Vegas, where he blackmails John F. Kennedy's mistress Judith Campbell into helping him steal a plutonium core from the nearby army base. Meanwhile, upon the trio's arrival in the timeline, Rufus spots Anthony Bruhl, a member of the time machine project who was kidnapped by Flynn, only to discover that Anthony is a co-conspirator of Flynn's main objective: to destroy the secret organization called "Rittenhouse". Edited October 25, 2016 by areaseven

[renegadeleader1]

The entire show becomes a stupid mess when you realize the giant plot hole from the first episode. They make a huge deal about not going back to the same time period and getting a do over to fix what they screwed because the same person can't coexist with their past self at the same time without being turned into some merged jellified blob.

So how do you get around this?

Send in the "B team" made up of a different group of people to fix what the "A team" screwed up and take out Flynn's team before they make a move. Given the "B team" would be armed with knowledge of their predecessor's screw ups from their reporting back it would a piece of cake to stop everything before it happens. This series should have began and ended with the Hindenburgh.

[areaseven]

This week on Timeless:

Episode 4: "Party at Castle Varlar"

Directed by Billy Gierhart (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Walking Dead)

The Mothership's location is traced to an abandoned warehouse outside Las Vegas, but Flynn and Anthony evade capture by traveling to December 7, 1944, where they are suspected to give the stolen plutonium to the Nazis to end World War II. The trio arrive in the timeline and meet British spy Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond 007. Together, they infiltrate Castle Varlar to disarm the Nazi's V-2 rocket and ensure the safety of Wernher von Braun, who would later become instrumental to America's space program. However, Flynn has Lucy and Fleming captured by the Nazis at the party.

[areaseven]

Edited November 29, 2016 by areaseven

[areaseven]

[areaseven]

Episode 5: "The Alamo"

Directed by John Terlesky

Rufus grows paranoid when members of Rittenhouse threaten to harm his family if he does not cooperate with them while Wyatt receives word that the NSA is bringing in another operative to replace him. Flynn travels to March 2, 1836 and makes a deal with Mexican President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to help bring down the Texas Revolution three days before the original end date of the Battle of the Alamo. The trio follow suit and enter the Alamo Mission, but Flynn kills William B. Travis, preventing his "Victory or Death" letter from reaching Texas and the United States. Making matters worse is the Mexican Army waving the red flag to take no prisoners in their siege. Before the Mexicans begin their attack, Wyatt and Rufus must find an escape route for the women and children while Lucy must finish Travis' letter.

Next time on Timeless:

Episode 6: "The Watergate Tape"

The trio must prevent Flynn from obtaining a key element of one of the largest presidential scandals in history.

[areaseven]

Episode 6: "The Watergate Tape"

Directed by Greg Beeman (Falling Skies, Heroes)

The trio follow Flynn to June 20, 1972, during the Watergate scandal. A missing portion of President Richard Nixon's tapes reveals Rittenhouse's involvement and a mention of a secret document. After being nabbed by Flynn, Lucy and Rufus have five hours to bring Flynn the document to save Wyatt's life. However, Rufus is ordered by Rittenhouse to destroy the document once it is found.

[areaseven]

Episode 7: "Stranded"

Directed by Holly Dale (Castle, Dexter)

The trio follow Flynn to September 15, 1754, in the middle of the French and Indian War. Just after escaping from the French Army, they find themselves in an impossible situation when Flynn's henchmen sabotage the Lifeboat before retreating back into the present day, leaving our heroes stranded in history.

Next time on Timeless:

Episode 8: "Space Race"

Houston, we have a problem.

Edited November 29, 2016 by areaseven

[areaseven]

(May not be viewable in some countries)

[areaseven]

Episode 8: "Space Race"

Directed by Charles Beeson (Supernatural, Revolution)

Flynn and Anthony travel to July 20, 1969 to disrupt the Apollo 11 mission with a modern computer virus. As 1960s technology is unable to counter a denial-of-service attack, Rufus and Lucy get help from mathematician Katherine Johnson. Meanwhile, Wyatt investigates on why Flynn is interested in a Lockman Aerospace secretary named Maria Thompkins.

Next time on Timeless:

Episode 9: "Last Ride of Bonnie and Clyde"

Lucy and Wyatt find romance in an era of bank robbers.

Edited November 29, 2016 by areaseven

[areaseven]

Episode 9: "Last Ride of Bonnie & Clyde"

Directed by John Terlesky (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Castle)

The trio travel to May 22, 1934, as Flynn is after a gold key related to Rittenhouse. They discover that the key is in possession of the infamous criminal couple Bonnie and Clyde.

Next time, on Timeless:

Episode 10 (Fall Finale): "The Capture of Benedict Arnold"

In the middle of the American Revolution, the trio and Flynn confront each other once and for all.