I am – Hercules!!
I say this for “Journeyman”: I like it a whole lot better than Moon Bloodgood’s last time-hopping extravaganza, ABC’s short-lived “Lost” substitute “Day Break.” A sci-fi tale from Emmy-winning writer-producer Kevin Falls (“Sports Night,” “The West Wing”), it’s about a San Francisco newspaper reporter, Dan Vasser (the great “Rome” lead Kevin McKidd, perhaps the last modern Brit actor who still struggles with an American accent), who finds himself unexpectedly and involuntarily transported back to earlier eras in time for reasons he (like the viewing audience) does not entirely understand. One of the cooler things about “Journeyman” is its protagonist is at one point in the pilot plucked from his proper “now” while he’s driving a car, which results in all manner of present-day vehicular mayhem. So Vasser can’t really drive cars anymore. On the upside, Vasser does gets to take with him any of our 2007 gadgets he’s carrying when he’s shot into the past. The Bloodgood character is one of the series’ most interesting elements. She’s a regular even though she’s been dead for years. A fun element is how Vasser copes with his predicament, stealing antiquated cell-phone chargers from his younger self and trying (Kirk-like) to explain to 1990s cabdrivers why the picture of Andrew Jackson is so big and colorful on his $20 bills. Less interesting, at least for the moment, are the personal problems of guest-characters Vasser appears to have been dispatched to fix in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Are these episode-specific characters cogs in a greater machine we’ll get a better look at later? Are people from the future making Vasser straighten these smallish kinks in the timeline, a la “The 4400”? Has God Himself unstuck Vasser in time? If so, His motivations are not altogether apparent. Also straining credulity is the fact that Vasser manages to keep his newspaper job despite all his bizarre extended and poorly explained absences. Does the series have good answers for the many intriguing questions it poses? Will NBC keeps it around long enough to provide any? The first two episodes, at least, leave me determined enough to see what might be revealed in episode three.

Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B” and says:

… The time-travel cues are maddeningly unsubtle (lots of calendars, newspapers, and watches are employed), but overall, Journeyman is an enjoyable romp — one that provides the accessibility of a procedural as well as the continuing mystery of a Lost or Heroes. …

USA Today gives it one and a half stars (out of four) and says:

… We might accept mystery and ambiguity, as we do with Lost, if there were other compensation: a few great performances, a sense of adventure, an interesting plot. Journeyman doesn't just lack answers, it also lacks any inducement to stick around for them. …

The New York Times says:

… As in HBO’s “Tell Me You Love Me,” it is the possibility of an affair — all the talk and thinking around it — that is used to titillate, not the practice. “Journeyman” is a science-fiction series in which the scariest possible outcome is an extramarital relationship with someone who doesn’t legitimately exist.

The Los Angeles Times says:

… Much attention is paid in "Journeyman" to some details, like cellphones and currency, while other huge areas are manipulated for effect -- Dan works in perhaps the most architecturally cool newsroom in the world, yet he never seems to write a word. Perhaps because he is too busy Googling (well, not Googling -- that would be trademark infringement) the people from his fractured past. Amazingly, all he has to do is put in a name and suddenly there it all is: addresses, phone numbers and very decent photographs. This, as any real reporter can tell you, is where we enter the realm of science fiction. Forget time travel, give us Dan's search engine.

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… if you can overlook some distressing questions about how he does it without getting caught (or divorced or institutionalized), this is a series that may overcome its own contrivances to really succeed. …

The Washington Post says:

… this is one of those high-concept deals that seem to get high on their own concepts. …

The Boston Herald says:

… “Journeyman” asks you to take a lot on faith - I suspect it’s because the producers don’t have a clue, either. …

The Boston Globe says:

… Once you start thinking about how the show handles time travel, that way madness lies. … Perhaps such confusions will clear up as the series develops and the reason behind his journeys emerges. I suspect not. With its pleasing San Francisco locales and McKidd's sympathetic performance, "Journeyman" is entertaining enough. You'll have to check your reason at the opening credits.

Variety says:

… Although the series has fun spoofing the past (starting with the size of cellphones) and appears more compatible with "Heroes" than the string of lead-outs that died in its timeslot last season, the show will need to get its bearings soon if it wants to maintain its hold on this reality.…

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… fairly mind-blowing and harrowing, laying out a preposterous scenario that it makes feel nonetheless believable. The pilot premiere, penned by creator/executive producer (and "West Wing" alumnus) Kevin Falls, sets a compelling table that -- while leaving plot holes and questions aplenty -- has us fairly pining to find out what's in store. … No doubt answers to all are forthcoming in the trippy and well-acted "Journeyman," which has been handed a favorable time slot after the sophomore sensation "Heroes." If it can maintain the absorbing energy of the pilot, it could be a schedule sticker …

10 p.m. Monday. NBC.

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