TV episodes review
US airdates 24 Sept; 1 Oct; 8 Oct (NBC)
UK Airdates 8 Nov; 15 Nov; 22 Nov (Sky One)

San Francisco journalist Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd) finds himself travelling into the past where he helps people straighten out their lives…

Journeyman seems intended to be a more emotionally mature version of Quantum Leap. As is the way with TV SF these days, the show is shorn of any scientific gobbledegook, with central character Dan Vasser simply vanishing in a brief flash of light, only to re-appear in the past in order to “put right what once went wrong.” Each time jaunt appears to have a purpose, but it is one that Vasser has to figure out for himself, initially.

Vasser's role is not always the obvious one, and his quest can seemingly encompass any decade from the 1960s through to the present day (suggesting that, as with Quantum Leap, Vasser can only travel within his own lifetime). For instance, in the pilot episode A Love of a Lifetime, Vasser gets involved in a character’s life only to discover his ultimate goal was to protect that character’s son so he, in turn, could save others at an accident scene in the present.

The second episode, Friendly Skies, jumps immediately to one of US TV’s great clichés: the episode set aboard a plane (right up there with the seemingly mandatory Native American episode and the boxing episode that all TV shows have to tackle). It’s a great set up, as Dan vanishes from the plane, only to appear on another plane back in the 1970s, one full of smoking passengers and kids playing with toy guns! Again, his mission is to save one person, but only because of their later positive effect on another.

The third episode, Game Three, pulls out all the stops, offering an impressive climax set amid the beginning of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. The effects in these brief sequences really convince that Vasser is in some danger of perhaps not getting back to the future. The same episode features perennial TV guest star John Billingsley as a inveterate gambler whose life must actually be put in jeopardy by Vasser during the quake so he will turn over a new leaf and become a crusading attorney, rather than a forgotten suicide.

The danger here, of course, is that Journeyman could quickly become a rather repetitive experience. However, it seems to have enough going for it to avoid that fate. It’s a glossy, well-produced series showcasing Rome’s Kevin McKidd in the central role of the journalist faced with explaining to friends and colleagues why he keeps disappearing. Thankfully, the opening episode concludes with Vasser’s wife Katie (Gretchen Egolf) brought into his confidence, convinced of his time travelling by an emotionally significant time capsule. That means he doesn’t have to keep his travels secret and it complicates their already troubled marriage.

There’s very little in these three episodes about the mechanics of what’s happening to Vasser, and very little to guide him. The one major development is the appearance of Livia Beale, Vasser’s ex-fiancée. He believed she died in a plane crash, but she starts turning up in the past during his trips, offering gnomic Obi-Wan-like guidance. Turns out she could ‘travel’ too, but before she met Vasser. There’s no indication (so far) where she’s coming from, or even if she’s actually still alive. It’s a nice touch of mystery and a better role for Moon Bloodgood, who was so ill-served by her previous time travel show Day Break.

Journeyman does a fine job of briefly sketching in the past, through music, fashion, and the inevitable newspaper headlines. Some of this can raise a wry chuckle, especially if you’ve lived through the decade in question. As with many of the current crop of new shows, whether Journeyman can survive falling ratings and a potentially prematurely curtailed season (as a result of the current writers’ strike) remains to be seen. Brian J. Robb

VERDICT
A Love of a Lifetime: 7/10
Friendly Skies: 6/10
Game Three: 7/10