Count Dooku

And we saw repercussions.

DJariya

No you're right. 36 perished in the original disaster and only 2 died (Kate and the shooter) in the revised sequence.

That obviously screwed things up in the current timeline.

OldBoy

Used to love that show. Fucking great!

Red Dog

And then they change something else, she'll reappear, mom will be dead.

I don't know about this. I wasn't particularly impressed. Time Travel is so hard to do right. And to have it as a constant plot point makes it all the harder. And NBC's track record with these kind of shows has been abysmal. I wouldn't get too attached.

Strapped4Cash

D+

The plot and characters struck me as simplistic and disappointing. The best military man they could find immediately does the opposite of his orders?

The big worry/problem for me is that the repercussions from changing the past in this way could be huge, and they weren't explored beyond how it personally affected Lucy. It's called a butterfly effect for a reason. All the extra people, how their living will both positively and negatively affect everyone else. Someone lives, they drive drunk, and do a hit and run on Ronald Reagan in the 60's. What happens? So, so, soooo many changes that might occur. Beyond the people there could have been changes in attitudes or policies due to the "terrorist" group. And the Hindenburg disaster pretty much stopped airships, but with it now being sabotage then that might not have happened, and that could have meant drastic changes too.

I do appreciate that they explained why these particular three people could not go back in time again to that exact point, but begs the obvious question as to why they don't try three different people, and if they fail then three more people. Etc. Eventually the larger group should be able to get it right.

resinrats

Not sure how the series is planned but I could see the final episode having someone saying screw it and killing the terrorist before he stole the ship, thus negating the entire series in a way. All the changed events will revert back to the original way and the sister will be alive.

Hokeyboy

It was interesting enough to keep watching, but it's so "network TV chintzy" that I can't get past some of the acting, the barely legible character development, or the pretty-boy "Delta Force" male model wannabe guy.

I'll give the show another few episodes. Somehow it reminds me of "Revolution", and that ain't exactly a compliment.

SteveA

I admit I'm a nerd who spends a lot of time thinking about time travel (my favorite story is Heinlein's "All You Zombies"). But my big problem with this is that they don't get the time travel right (if there really is any "right"). You either have a "rolling or multiple time," that is, what you change in the past alters that timeline, but not your current timeline. Or you can have a single timeline, in which whatever you change in the past affects your own future. But, if that change happened in the past, then you, the time traveler, would have already been affected by that change before you went into the past. In this case, there is no "time propagation" of the change through the timeline. If it happened in the 1930s, then that's what you, in 2016, know happened, even if you're about to go back and make it that way. If there is some sort of propagation of changes through the timeline, so that some people know both futures, then that needs to be addressed in the show somehow. And it wasn't in the first episode.

MScottM

Steve, think of this timeline as a ping pong table and the travellers as the ping pong ball. The Ball hits the table in 2016 and all of the history that has occured til that time is what the travellers know. Then the ball is "hit" into the past and travels "above" the table until it hits the table in 1937. They then make changes in the timeline in 1937 at which point they are once again "hit" back to 2016 traveling "above" the timeline and not being part of the changes. This way, they would only remember what occured in their original timeline and not the changes that occurred where they made changes.

Personally I subscribe to a different theory where time travel is concerned. My theory supposes that what would happen when a person travels to the past would be a "branching" of history and would in no way affect that persons personal time line. In other words, you could kill your own grandfather and it wouldn't wipe you out because in your timeline that didnt happen but in the timeline where you did it, the other you would not have been born. Basically the multi-universe theory where there are infinite universes where EVERY possibilty has happened. The effect would be that while it would appear you could travel back in time, you could not really change anything in your personal timeline so what would it matter. Each and every time something or someone would travel to the past, a separate branching would occur. Think of the timeline as a string going one way, you go back to a point "6 inches ago" and where you touch it, another string starts and runs parallel to the first string, then you go back "2 inches" behind that and another string starts and runs parallel to the first two and so on. When you go back to your starting point (2016), you arrive at your original time line with no apparent changes in your past. Therefore, no paradoxes.

Overall, I liked the show. But then again, I look at TV as mindless entertainment. I can adjust to any shows rules so long as they stick to them.

hdnmickey

I too am worried this show will suffer the same way all other shows (and movies) have when they try to involve time travel to this level. The two leads are also kind of bland. So far the sidekick has been the best part given his concerns about sticking out in other times in history.

Seems like they hinted at the Kovac not actually being as bad as those at HQ lead on. They quickly made the guy that created these machines seem real shady. Could be a red herring, or not.

PhantomStranger

Time travel on a weekly basis is very difficult to pull off on a normal network schedule. 12 Monkeys has done it as well as anybody and they obviously plotted out the entire season in advance.

This was a decent pilot with a likable premise. The leads have solid chemistry. Did it play fast and loose with time travel? Yes, this is not the show for you if intricate plotting is a requirement.

Why would the government get three strangers, two that weren't even aware of time travel, go on possibly the most important mission ever? Network conventions watered this down to squeeze in the show's ongoing formula within the pilot.

While I found the pilot mildly entertaining, I do worry about its quality over a full season. NBC has spent more money on this show than any other this year, it's practically guaranteed for renewal.

The one part that gave me hope for its continued success was the twist at the end with the changed present. That was a nice touch.

MScottM

Here's the bigger question, whenever there is a time machine invented, why does eveyone want to meddle in the past? I would be jumping 100 years into the future to see what that was like. Let's get a time travel show going about that.

hdnmickey

What if the earth wasn't exactly safe for humans in the future?

As for shows (and movies) basically it becomes a budget that can't be sustained. Unless you stick to shows like BSG that are basically a navy series in space.

Mike86

I guess I've always thought because the future is unwritten and not a certainty that going back makes more sense in regards to time travel.

I didn't catch all of this but from what I saw it seemed entertaining enough. Might watch it on demand at some point.

MScottM

Yes, you would be going into the unknown as opposed to the known history but it also brings up the paradox question. What if you went into the future where you did not already exist, found that for instance an attack that changed the world was going to occur two weeks into your future, you go back and stop it from occuring which changes the future when you travel there again.

I think the past is unchangable but could the future be changed since it isnt already written?

Astrofan

Firesign Theater, "The future's not here yet, man."

TGM

I want to do filthy things to the female lead.

rw2516

There must be some future time travel in the show. The bad guy has already gone to the future to get the historian's journal she hasn't written yet. Or he could be from the future originally.
One thing about time travel shows, you can show stuff out of sequence. Like 12 Monkeys. Travel to 1950 and experience changes to the timeline you made in 1930, only you haven't travelled to 1930 yet.
This first episode may not be the first time they time travelled. They just don't know it because they haven't done it yet. The bad guy may have encountered them already in future episodes before this episode.

Vipper II

If memory serves, she was front and center in the leaked celebrity pictures/videos from a couple of years ago.

Superman07

Definitely like the premise and some threads they put in place. However, in terms of a pilot that was not a great hour of TV. It felt incredibly rushed. Easily needed another 10 minutes to help things to get fleshed out.

Where's the high power government personnel explaining things? Where's the full debriefing on the bad guy and he mission specs? Where's the top secret lab and briefing? They just roll up and break in. No way Lucy goes on that trip without any sort of proof or explanation.

Plus after its over they all just walk out he front door and get a "We'll call you."

I would have liked to have seen he other two travelers disocover something is amiss before Lucy discovered her mom. Could have been a good interweaving of scenes. What if the guy had of walked in to see his wife?

Will watch more, but I hope we get some more character development.

As an aside, for those discussing time travel theory, if you have not watched Continuum from a few years back I'd recommend a watch. Good story and good self contained approach to time travel.

whotony

It was okay. Seemed a bit watered down like others have said. Not enough set up.

Also @Joe that has been tried.

Raul3

Pilot was OK I guess.

Watched it with my wife and 10 years old daughter. They got more excited about it. My wife because she likes the male lead, my daughter because she's a huge fan of time travel and sci-fi stories. She already have some theories about the show.

And I knew the name of the female lead sounded familiar, but not her face... although I didn't look at any of her leaked pictures. I think.

DRG

My wild prediction/random theory based on nothing:

Deftones

I liked it, but it was very generic. I'll probably keep watching, though, because I like time travel stuff.

hdnmickey

Spoiler tagging predictions?

Anyway, I agree and basically posted the same thing. Connor Mason is possibly the real villain in all of this and they hinted at it in the premiere. Could be a red herring, or not.