If you need another TV series to binge, try Travellers on Netflix. They send the consciousness of people from the future into the bodies of people in the present just before they would have died. The future is messed up, but they have a super computer that contains a ton of digital data from the present. Watching Season 3 Episode 10, I realized this all sets up a conversation similar to something else I posted around here somewhere.
That is, we have evolved as a cooperative creature, but we kept that to a few hundred people for most of our evolution, then we expanded to nations and even nations helping other nations, but the idea of caring about people who aren’t born yet still hasn’t quite caught on. People love their grandchildren, but they also release themselves from the responsibility of their upbringing, with some exceptions. At some point, we feel it’s no longer our problem, they’ll have to figure it out just like we did. Evolutionarily, that worked, until we got to the point where our lifestyles were destroying the planet.
How far in the future do the dying people live? And is their death related to what’s happening now (is it a social commentary on our society)?
Sounds interesting. Unlike TimB, I tend to not like time travel- there are always way too many inconsistencies and impossible situations. I have yet to see one that I can enjoy without being distracted by the lack of rigor that goes into the storyline. This might be the one!
They did one majorly annoying inconsistency fix but for the most part, the time travel doesn’t get in the way of the story. I also don’t like it when a show starts talking about alternate timelines and has competing travellers constantly overwriting each other, but they don’t do that. The show progresses more logically because the rule is, each new traveller can only appear after the last one. This becomes an important plot line when you find out about the first person who showed up.
Also, they don’t travel back in time with their own bodies, it’s their minds that are sent back and they take over the mind of someone about to die. So all the problems of what that person would have done anyway aren’t a problem. Instead, you get interesting stories of how they maintain their cover, trying to act like people in this time, sometimes not knowing simple things, like when to buy flowers for your wife.
I don’t see how taking over the mind of someone who was about to die, doesn’t still corrupt the timeline. Sure nothing different was done by the person who was going to die anyway, except he/she DIDN’T DIE (from the perspective of the rest of the world) AND he/she IS DOING THINGS THAT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DONE.
There are alway problems with time travel movies, beginning with the grand father paradox. Eg the film ‘Looper’
I remember watching the first version of H G Wells’ “The Time Machine.” In the film it is assumed that he travels through time AND space. Not sure that assumption maybe reasonably made.
Trying to think of another sci fi series where a woman/police/security travels to the past. She interacts with the guy who invented the time travel technology, as a teen.
Also trying to think of a mind bending time travel film in which there are 3 people in a bar . BUT, they are the same person at different ages.
I’l let you know if I remember or track them down in my video library.
Wow, that Aussie “Predestination” film sounds like a brain bender. I’m surprised I never heard of it, or of that Canadian TV sci fi series, “Continuum” either.
Thanks for the recommendation. Will definitely check “Traveller” out. I personally love watching travel channels about places I want to visit. Travelling is fun, travelling is self-educating and travelling is glorious. Each day new travel enthusiasts upload their personal travel tales on Youtube.
I NEVER watch travel shows. I have done, but found they are usually full of it by seeing what they have to say about places I’ve actually visited. I DO watch Youtube clips occasionally, usually made by one of several young American couple or perhaps a student… They are often unintentionally hilarious. The kids have no idea…
I avoid travel sites. I choose where I want go to based on a combination of " I’ve always wanted to go there" together with word of mouth from people I trust. Travel channels are just more elaborate versions of travel brochures, and just as dishonest, in the moral sense. .I expect they’re covered legally.
One large apparent con is those hotel finding sites. From what I understand there is now only ONE company which owns all those sites. Might be two companies; the choices offered are an illusion.
I found I got the best deals by going directly to the airline or dealing directly with the hotel. I have had some pretty good deals booking hotels through a county’s flag ship airline.
I watched this series for a while. As a general rule time travel tends to be a turn off for my geek (except Doctor Who). Even time travel episodes of shows I like. Though I have been enjoying The Umbrella Academy despite the liberal use of time travel in it. I’ve spent a lifetime collecting tidbits of scientific knowledge and generally subscribe to the multiverse/multiple timelines version of time travel (actually I think it’s probably impossible, but if it were). These shows tend to mix and match time travel theories as it suits them, or do something outright impossible (damn you, Star Trek: Voyager!) It’s not really my thing.
But then, according to what’s popular, I like stupid scifi shows. The worst ones are my favorites, the best ones I hate. Absolutely loath Star Wars, Babylon 5, Firefly, all the popular stuff. My favorite scifi show, Stargate: Universe, universally accepted as being full of suck. I don’t get that. They were a million light years away from Earth on an ancient alien space ship full of high technology, things they didn’t understand, unopened boxes, unexplored rooms…how could that not catch a geeks interest? Apparently it’s just me.
really right I think travel with Netflix in the car is the awesome ที่เที่ยวพังงา sketch in the mind while after the covid pandemic and I decided to Travel guide in Phangnga Thailand.
Back to the future… just found this thread. We’ve been binge watching The Travellers. Great show, really intriguing ideas. A few inconsistencies and bad writing in just a couple spots, but the good stuff far outweighs the bad.
I think it's largely a Canadian production, so those are inevitable.
We are incapable of making good television up here. Hollywood comes up here and makes great movies and shows with our scenery, but somehow our artsy-fartsy counterparts refuse to learn how to do it.
@bigmouth Also trying to think of a mind bending time travel film in which there are 3 people in a bar . BUT, they are the same person at different ages.
That reminds me.
Back about 1976, Chicago’s Public Television Station showed a play that had seven characters at a bar and all were Ernest Hemingway at different stages in his life. Since I was a little familiar with his biography, I remember it as a totally enthralling show. At various times I’ve tried to find it again, but it’s difficult.
As for time travel, I’m too much of a stick in the mud physicalist to find much fascination in the idea.
Besides, who says, entropy working backwards would be just like a movie played in reverse? I sure wouldn’t bet on it. Randomness would still be the predominate player, or?
