Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

Not Your Average Journey
By
Joel R. Bolyard

            When I first saw the ads for Journeyman I, like so many others, thought it was going to be another Quantum Leap. A guy jumping to different times changing things for the better, you know the routine. However, like all the new shows NBC has put out this year, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. Moreover, while the jury is still out, the first episode is worth watching.

            As I write this, I’m unsure of where to start telling our Journeyman’s story. There is so much complexity to the first episode that missing one bit lessens the rest. There are references to events that have happened in characters’ pasts that, I believe, will prove important to the rest of the series. Our main character was supposed to marry someone else; however, she died in a plane crash… or did she? His brother was originally dating his current wife, and seems resentful about how that came to pass.

            His jumps through time seem to put him where he needs to be. There’s no rhyme or reason to when these jumps happen. He keeps running into the same man and making small changes to his life. However, as it turns out, the guy he kept meeting wasn’t the real reason for his time shifting. What, you expect me to tell you why? Dream on dork boy go watch it yourself.

            So what makes this show unique? We’re not sure what is causing him to jump through time. The changes he makes in the past have direct effect on the future. One of the coolest points in the episode is when he comes home from a trip to find his family and friends waiting to do an intervention. They seem to think he’s on drugs, or something along those lines.

“I’ve been where you’ve been.”
“I guarantee, you’ve not been where I’ve been.”

            One of the times he takes a journey, he is driving his car. When he comes out to the time he needs to be in, he’s no longer behind the wheel. Back in the modern era, his driverless car has crashed into two other cars and a streetlamp. It’s a little disconcerting when he shows up later completely uninjured, although they do temporarily arrest him for “leaving the scene of an accident”. This is laughable considering one of the eyewitnesses stated there was no driver to his car.

            The last jump he makes is just after picking up his wife’s wedding ring, which he is having “upgraded”. He pays a visit to his future home, where no one currently lives, with a red toolbox and a shovel. At the end of the episode, when he and his wife are about to have the expected shouting match, he goes onto the patio with a sledgehammer. He asks her if she remembers when they laid the patio. She says just after they moved into the house. He starts swinging the hammer and breaks the brick patio open. She asks what he is doing. He tells her, “Saving my marriage.” A few seconds later, he pulls out the red toolbox and opens it. He hands her a newspaper dated 1997 and her wedding ring. That’s a fucking great way to end the episode, if you ask me.

            If you want to give this show a chance, do it. I’m not sure if the overall story will be good, but the first episode at least warrants watching the second. I left a lot of the important stuff out, so make sure you find a way to watch the first episode. I think I saw a pilot DVD for Chuck, Journeyman, and the Bionic Woman at Blockbuster. Go check it out. You’ll thank me later. Until our next journey…