Did you think I'd forgotten? No, some other news just came up in the meantime and I wanted to make sure to get to that.
So Journeyman premiered last night on NBC. The premise is a time-traveller who can't really control when or how he travels nor where/when he lands and doesn't really know what he is supposed to do when he gets there. If further shows are anything like the pilot, each episode will take us through a variation of timelines, each one changed somewhat by his interference in the previous. If it sounds a little hard to grasp, it actually isn't - I just may not be explaining it that well.
Journeyman is an interesting premise and the follow-through wasn't bad, but it takes itself too seriously. Maybe it's just me - though I really don't think it is - but I like my hard sci-fi with a bit of humor or at least a sprinkle of wit. Journeyman is far flatter than that, which is weird to me: a time-travelling TV show that's kind of one-dimensional. But don't get me wrong, it's good - it's a good show - it's just one dramatic scene after the next with no real comedic relief in sight and it tends to wear thin about halfway through.
But as long as we're here, let me take a moment to note that that may be the very thing that bothers me about Journeyman and shows like it: it's trying too hard. So what if the guy travels through time? We get it, we accept it, let's see what happens! Half the show is spent trying to make you really believe something like this could happen - trying to make it "hard" sci-fi as opposed to whatever it thinks of itself - and you want to grab the TV and go, "We get it! If we thought it was stupid or too fantastic, we would already have changed the channel! Move on!" I had the same problem with Heroes in several episodes last season.
I'm not really sure what the "cure" for shows like Journeyman is, but my guess is to either throw in a little comedic relief or ramp-up the drama somehow. Well, maybe interject more action, because Journeyman has drama in spades: there's dramatic tension in his marriage, in his previous romantic relationship, in his familial relationship, in his ability, at his job... not only is Journeyman serious, everyone around him is serious and everything he gets involved in is serious and it's all very... Serious
No, Seriously!
What, you don't believe me? It is! It really is; it's really very Serious.
I swear it!
Okay, I'm moving on...
But, I will give it this: even though my eyes had glazed-over about halfway through, the end caught my rapt attention! While the climax of the show was rather anti-climactic (and very, very Serious!), the denouement (where he "saved his marriage") left me feeling hopeful for the series. Maybe that's what it was missing all along: a little sunshine amidst the thunderheads.
Either way, good premise, good cast, decent start, Journeyman is just so very... you get the point.
So Journeyman premiered last night on NBC. The premise is a time-traveller who can't really control when or how he travels nor where/when he lands and doesn't really know what he is supposed to do when he gets there. If further shows are anything like the pilot, each episode will take us through a variation of timelines, each one changed somewhat by his interference in the previous. If it sounds a little hard to grasp, it actually isn't - I just may not be explaining it that well.
Journeyman is an interesting premise and the follow-through wasn't bad, but it takes itself too seriously. Maybe it's just me - though I really don't think it is - but I like my hard sci-fi with a bit of humor or at least a sprinkle of wit. Journeyman is far flatter than that, which is weird to me: a time-travelling TV show that's kind of one-dimensional. But don't get me wrong, it's good - it's a good show - it's just one dramatic scene after the next with no real comedic relief in sight and it tends to wear thin about halfway through.
But as long as we're here, let me take a moment to note that that may be the very thing that bothers me about Journeyman and shows like it: it's trying too hard. So what if the guy travels through time? We get it, we accept it, let's see what happens! Half the show is spent trying to make you really believe something like this could happen - trying to make it "hard" sci-fi as opposed to whatever it thinks of itself - and you want to grab the TV and go, "We get it! If we thought it was stupid or too fantastic, we would already have changed the channel! Move on!" I had the same problem with Heroes in several episodes last season.
I'm not really sure what the "cure" for shows like Journeyman is, but my guess is to either throw in a little comedic relief or ramp-up the drama somehow. Well, maybe interject more action, because Journeyman has drama in spades: there's dramatic tension in his marriage, in his previous romantic relationship, in his familial relationship, in his ability, at his job... not only is Journeyman serious, everyone around him is serious and everything he gets involved in is serious and it's all very... Serious
No, Seriously!
What, you don't believe me? It is! It really is; it's really very Serious.
I swear it!
Okay, I'm moving on...
But, I will give it this: even though my eyes had glazed-over about halfway through, the end caught my rapt attention! While the climax of the show was rather anti-climactic (and very, very Serious!), the denouement (where he "saved his marriage") left me feeling hopeful for the series. Maybe that's what it was missing all along: a little sunshine amidst the thunderheads.
Either way, good premise, good cast, decent start, Journeyman is just so very... you get the point.
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