Although now Doctor Who is back on TV, there was almost a year and a half of television in which the Doctor was absent. However, time travel was not.
In the interim, multiple other shows featured or revolved around time travel. Time travel has been a popular element in media for over two centuries. Although this is no new device, for some reason, recently, time travel has overwhelmed television. Here are a few time travel shows.
‘Legends of Tomorrow’
Who: The Time Master, Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill), and various DC heroes and villains.
When: From the present to any point in time, past and future.
How: Rip’s ship, Waverider, can travel in space and time.
Why: Rip recruits this team to stop Vandal Savage from taking over the world.
Where: CW starting January 2016, the second season ended April 2017.
What: Many fan-favorite, supporting characters from the Arrowverse were given their chance to shine in Legends of Tomorrow. This was an opportunity for CW to expand this universe in a way that stands out from their other shows.
Its fate: Legends of Tomorrow has been renewed for a third season
‘11.22.63’
Who: English teacher, Jake Epping (James Franco), assisted by a diner owner (Chris Cooper).
When: From the present to the 1960s.
How: A portal in a closet at the diner goes directly to a specific date in 1960.
Why: To stop JFK’s assassination.
Where: Hulu starting February 2016.
What: Based on the book of the same title (except with slashes instead of periods) by Stephen King, and was produced by J.J. Abrams. King is a prolific author, and thus has been often adapted for both film and television. Although many of his short stories have fared well in film, his novels can reach over a thousand pages. This does not always work best for film, although some of his books have been successfully adapted to film. However television could be a strong platform for works of this length. This is was a successful attempt, enough to lead to another team-up of King and Abrams with Hulu.
Its fate: 11.22.63 was a miniseries. It is contained within eight episodes, with no planned continuation, following loosely the plot of the book.
‘Time Traveling Bong’
Who: Cousins Sharee (Ilana Glazer) and Jeff (Paul W. Downs).
When: From the present to various points in the past and future.
How: A bong.
Why: At first to test it out for fun.
Where: Comedy Central in April 2016.
What: There is not really a context for Time Traveling Bong, besides that it is completely along Comedy Central’s brand. The first episode premiered the day the third season of Broad City (which stars Glazer and features Downs) ended, which happened to be April 20.
Its fate: Time Traveling Bond was a miniseries. It is contained within three episodes, with no planned continuation.
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