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TV - Traveler
 CBR Talks TravelerTripped over a new ABC show tonight called Traveler. I didn't even know anything about this show, but I flipped to it as two college aged guys were rolling blading through a museum as they tried to get away with a prank. Chased by security, they finally make it out and disappear down the street to the corner. Safe, the one guy uses his cellphone and calls another buddy, apparently still inside the museum. He hears the other guy say "Did you make it out?" He says yes, they did, then the guy says "I'm sorry I have to do this." And then Boom! The museum explodes. A pretty fun to watch sequence even if the explosion was clearly CGI (I guess you can't blow up a museum in New York. The CGI was noticeable, but not as bad as say the fake explosion at the end of the movie Tango & Cash :) So, anyway, I was hooked into the show from there on. Watched the first two hours and now I'm going to have to watch the rest. It's about these two college buddies starting a road trip and winding up framed for a terrorist act and on their own to prove their innocence. There are the usual government agencies on their trail as well. Basically, it's a lot like 24, but better. For one, the pacing was quicker - no obvious 'filler' spots, at least not yet. Secondly, these are ordinary guys in way over their heads. No superhero Jack Bauer skills here, just a lot of desperate running, some luck, and whatever their wits come up with. The other interesting thing I found out in the article above, is that this summer series is only 8 episodes. So that explains the faster pacing, plus its not as big a commitment to follow. If it goes over well, they're hoping for more in January. The series is off to a good start, so check it out on Wednesday nights at 10 on ABC. |
posted by Eaglewing at 3:00 AM
Comments on "TV - Traveler"
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Anonymous said ... (June 01, 2007 6:35 PM) :
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Eaglewing said ... (June 03, 2007 10:02 PM) :
post a commentWell, I managed to catch the first two episodes, and they were quite good. Very exciting.
But it does not deserve to be renewed in January.
The plot is one of those stories that are self-ending. What happens when they finally figure out what is happening? What happens when they resolve things, and their lives are back to normal? The show ends.
And they have to come to some kind of end, or they become rats in an endless-pursuit maze for the amusement of the American public. And who wants to watch that?
So if it ends in some satisfactory way, say after a year of episodes, and the next season they get another adventure, you have to start wondering how unlucky these guys can be, to have a fresh international plot against their lives every year?
So it is my view that the producers should have the guts to wrap this story up in their 8 episodes. Eight episodes are enough to tell a really really good story, fast paced, action packed. And it would guarantee the viewer gets to know what happens in the end. That would show a respect for the viewer that seems to be rare these days.
Of course, I think the best, most gutsy ending to a series like this is to have both guys end up in Guantanamo Bay, without trial, for the rest of their lives. That would be a timely and shocking ending, more in line with reality.
That'd be quite the ending for sure. Doubt they'd do that though.
But TV should be changing the way they run shows. There should be defined ends before the shows start. Use the medium to tell more in depth stories than movies will allow, but still have a beginning, middle, and end instead of the year to year status of hoping the contract gets renewed, and if it doesn't, the fans are just left hanging.
They wonder why TV ratings keep falling, but like every other media they are behind the times and need to stop being afraid of change.