Time travel is awesome. If we could ever have a show come close to Quantum Leap again, I'd be in heaven. Journeyman is very likely to be that show.
Right away, Journeyman proves how smart it is and how smart it knows we are. The time jump just happens and gives us credit for noticing the visual cues that say he's back in time. You can tell by the look Jack (Kevin McKidd) gives when he sees Livia (Moon Bloodgood) when he sees her in the past that they have a very important relationship. The show's entire setup is in the teaser and we're off and running.
There are time travel rules. It appears Jack is gone in the present for as long as he spends in the past. He can bring things back with him if he's holding onto them. I'm not quite clear on the space continuum, like where he ends up in the past proportionate to where he comes from, but that's something that can remain mysterious.
It gets so complex in episode one, I just can't wait to see where this goes. Maybe we'll get to see a butterfly effect of something. As it is, just the subtle encounters Jack and other characters have that contradict each other are fascinating.
Frankly, I hope we never find out why he's traveling. Groundhog Day never explained it. It just is. Magic is magic and he has this ability, just because.
There are cool period details, like a billboard of Less than Zero CGI'd into a scene in 1987. Some PA had to find a stack of Spy magazines to indicate the past.
There is real passion in Jack's marriage. It's not just "Oh yeah, he's married." These are caring people. In fact, every supporting character is full bodied. They talk about this outrageous problem like real people, like grown-ups.
There is powerful subtlety in the acting, like when Jack notices his current wedding ring when given a chance to make love to his past fiancé. It's so juicy, it just gets deeper and deeper as he has more encounters.
Journeyman is so smart, they even find a way for Jack to prove this phenomenon to his wife in the last scene, so we won't have to spend each week explaining things to her. It will just be their reality, though they've left other characters suspicious enough to cause problems.
In addition to having to explain what's going on, the present also gives Jack a mystery of how to find out what he's in the past to do. He'll meet someone he needs to help, and then in the present do some Google-ing to figure out what happened to that person and whether he can prevent it.
You could have a little fun picking it apart. Nobody really notices that he looks 10 years older in 1997, though someone does say he looks tired. Just assume he aged well, like the fabulous TV star he is.
For a time travel junkie, Journeyman is a dream come true. It is simple enough so that general audiences will get into the drama, but techie nerds will revel in all the little details of time travel. There won't be a better new show this season.
Officia Journeyman site
Officia Journeyman site
