Friday 26 May 2017

TMP Television Edition: Time Travel


There aren't that many TV shows out there that are specifically about time travel. There may be the odd episode but... time travel, I find is more a of movie game. I did want to use Outlander again but I thought I'd challenge myself. Saying that, I think I've used all three picks before...

Don't forget to check out where it all started over at Wandering Through the Shelves


Futurama
 
I much prefer the genius of Futurama than the never ending Simpsons. I know they came first and weren't cancelled multiple times but Futurama has continous wit and personality as well as bizarre surprises and the fact its set in the future, literally anything can happen to the Planet Express team. For those not familiar with this slice of awesome-ness, it all begins on New Year's Eve in 1999 when 25 year old Pizza delivery guy Philip J. Fry ends up frozen in a cryogenic pod that opens in 2999. He has best friend, Bender, a foul mouthed alcoholic fueled bending unit robot and a friend/co-worker/later girlfriend Leela, a one eyed alien pilot (later to be discovered, a mutant). Together they are part of the Planet Express delivery crew along with other weird and wonderful characters. There are specific episodes where time travel is used, such as the episode where Fry and the crew travel back to the 40s on Earth and Fry becomes his own grandfather. With 8 glorious seasons and some comics to boot, it seems like this great show has been put on the 'what a great time that was' shelf.

Fringe 
I've mentioned this before but I'll say it all again, Fringe is amazing (except season 5). My friend got me to watch 3 episodes of season 1 back in uni, which were great but I didn't pick the show up again until years later when the whole thing appeared on Netflix. I was hooked!!! I loved this show so much I rewatched it on repeat. It was the same friend who suggested both Fringe and Battlestar Galatica which I used to rewatch every year until Fringe took over (now Sense8 has that spot, then most likely it will become Stranger Things). Starting out as a 'task force' to investigate strange happenings with an FBI agent, a so called mad scientist and his genius son, the series branched out to parallel universes and alternate timelines as well as fringe science. Seasons 1-4 were amazing but 5 was just so off, it kinda ruined it so, my advice, just watch til 4.

Ashes to Ashes 
I grew obsessed with this show during Uni (yes another one). Before TV was so readily available on the internet, every week, I'd settle in front of my laptop to catch up on BBC Iplayer, which was really new at the time. I didn't get into Life on Mars but I'm a Keely Hawes fan (from her Spooks days) and I do love an 80s era drama AND police dramas, mixed with time travel and a David Bowie theme running through. Alex, a police officer gets shot in modern day which sends her back to the 80s where she meets familiar named people after studying Sam Tyler's case.