So, last week I stumbled on this new series from Netflix, Travelers. It is, to put it mildly, awesome. The premise is that the distant future kind of sucks so humans, who are living in overcrowded shelters and facing extinction, start sending their consciousnesses back to the 21st century and take over people who are about to die in preventable deaths and then perform missions to try to change the future.
It’s a fun premise to run with and it’s probably one of the better concepts of time travel that I’ve seen. All of the Travelers are great characters and show how difficult it is for someone to assume a new identity — even if they have access to all that person’s “historical records.” It also shows just how short-sighted humanity it is (at least en masse), even in the future.
I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen the show (and you definitely need to see it). Eric McCormick is great as Grant MacLaren but my favorite character is Philip Pearson, the group’s historian. He winds up being sent back into the body of a heroin addict and has to deal with that, the withdrawal, and all of the stress that comes with being in a completely unfamiliar place and having zero support (everyone else in the team has some kind of family to fall back on). The actor playing him, Reilly Dolman, does a great job of striking the balance between “genius historian with eidetic memory” and “junkie trying to get clean with no real help or support.” And yes, I may have just found my latest fictitious crush.
Aside from McCormick, the cast is all a bunch of unknowns and they all do a great job. Hell, everyone does a great job — the directors, the producers, the writers, the camera guys, the effects dudes, the music crew. Even the guy who makes the coffee for the second assistants to whatever does a great job and deserves kudos.
Travelers is available on Netflix. Check it out if you haven’t already! This one gets five — yes five rainbow farting zebricorns.
Seriously, go watch this show if you haven’t already. If you liked Star Trek (any series), Star Wars, Doctor Who, Quantum Leap, The X-Files, or any shows like that, you will love this one!
— G.K.