Fall Preview: Journeyman

Journeyman, NBC's new show about a time-traveling reporter (yeah, I know, right?), left me pretty cold for the first half of the pilot. I didn't love the lead actor, the concept seemed too bizarre and out of left field, and I just wasn't that interested in where it was headed. For the first half. Then, it kind of grabbed me.

I stopped seeing Journeyman as an unfortunate Early Edition/Quantum Leap stepchild, and started seeing it as a mystery--more than just "reporter randomly finds himself traveling through time in order to help people and make things right." It became a show about an unassuming man somehow chosen for a mysterious purpose, and the affect his sudden and uncontrollable disappearances have on his relationships, his career, and his psyche, which is far more interesting than just straight-up time traveling and people-helping. I was happy to hear that there's some sort of larger purpose to the time traveling, as well, and I look forward to learning more about it (I won't say any more, because I don't want to give away one of the more surprising moments in the pilot).

I don't think Journeyman will end up as appointment viewing for me, but I think it's something I'll certainly DVR for the first few episodes, partly because I'm really curious to see where it's going. Especially since it has a bit of a troubled romance angle, with NBC even billing it as a "romantic mystery-drama," which seems pretty unusual for this type of show. All in all, it was much better than I expected, and I'd recommend at least watching the entire first episode before forming a firm opinion one way or the other. Journeyman premieres September 24th, and will air in the relatively uncrowded Mondays at 10 PM slot.