First Impressions: Journeyman

Every new television season you inevitably hear shows being called the “new” this or that. This is done to get fans of previous shows to tune in. But whenever I hear the “new” tag I usually think why would watch Moonlight just because it is a lesser version of Angel. I watched Angel because it was great not because it was a second rate version of something else. Another new show this season that gets a lot of comparison to a past show is Journeyman with everyone talking about it is like Quantum Leap thanks to the time travel to fix things in the past.

But really, that is where the similarities end for good or for bad. There is no hologram there to give the time traveler any hints on what they should do and the Journeyman always comes back to the present at the end of the day which brings in a whole new dynamic because he has a wife, kid, brother, and job he has to juggle while unexpectingly being taken into the past. And Journeyman is certainly not done tongue in cheek like a bulk of the predecessors episodes were.

Kevin McKidd plays the time traveler in question and for anyone who has watched Rome it may take a little time to get used to his new accent. And maybe it will show up in future episodes but it is somewhat disappointing that he wasn’t able to inject any humor into the role because as seen on Rome he can make something seem funny even in a serious setting. Not only does McKidd has to deal with leaving his family without notice while whisked into the past, while in the past he always seemed to run into his ex-girlfriend who later died in a plane crash.

But to say the Pilot was mediocre would be kind. It is hard to follow at time; it took me three “journeys” to realize he was going back at different points in time. And I am not sure if Moon Bloodgood, the ex-girlfriend, could be a convincing actress even if she were playing Moon Bloodgood in The Moon Bloodgood Story. But then again her poor acting won’t seem that out of place considering the show follows Heroes and she does get as naked as any censor would allow on network television, so that is a plus. On the good side, the episode had a twist so surprising I had to rewind to see if I saw what I thought I just saw (see spoiler section at end of the post). Plus the episode ends with an emotional moment that gave me goosebumps and that just doesn’t happen that often. Darn you The Fray and your melodic tunes.

Verdict: Here is a show that can go either way. The twist seen mid way through the episode could make the series very interesting. But it could also fall into a Quantum Leap retread. If NBC.com offers the show to stream on their website I may continue to watch the show. Journeyman airs Mondays at 10:00 on NBC. You can also download the first episode for the show for free on Amazon Unbox (see below for the ad and below the ad are some spoilers so be warned).



Spoiler Section

Okay, I try to avoid major spoilers for show that haven’t aired but the major twist was so shocking I just had to write about it. From the beginning I was convinced that the ex-girlfriend wasn’t dead, but I was completely blown away when it turned out that not only was she not dead but she herself was a Journeywoman. Which brings up so many questions like is she the reason why he is now journeying? Did she go in hiding in the present after her first journey or is she constantly leaping through time like Sam Beckett? This twist alone makes the show another shot for at least a couple more episodes. But I have to wonder if him journeying back to San Francisco, where he lives, was a just a plot point for the first episode for him to run into his ex-girlfriend and will be going other places in future episode or if he will go back to San Francisco exclusively because that can cause way too many conundrums for the show.