Time After Time Episode 1 Review: Time To Move On (Series Premiere)

"Time After Time" is TV's newest time traveling series. It joins the ranks of NetFlix's "Travelers", SyFy's "12 Monkeys", CW's "Legends Of Tomorrow" and NBC's "Timeless" (to name only a few). I'm a BIG fan of all things time travel so I gave Sunday's two hour premiere a look.

HG Wells is having a dinner party in 1890's London. Little does he know that his guest (and BFF) Dr John Stevenson is actually Jack The Ripper. The police arrive. Jack escapes using the time machine and ends up in modern day New York. HG follows. There's the usual hijinx involving the differences in time periods. I must say Jack acclimates amazingly fast. Based on society's current violent tendencies, the Ripper calls himself an "amateur". HG attempts to stop Jack before he kills again. Wells is joined by museum curator/possible love interest Jane Walker. She's predictably quickly kidnapped. HG also meets his great great granddaughter Vanessa Anders. She seems a bit shady. Me thinks she has another agency besides geneology.

Pilot episodes have a lot of heavy lifting to do. They must almost immediately immerse the viewer in the story's universe. They must be fast paced enough to keep us interested. They must present characters we have some sort of emotional connection with (be it love, hate, lust, whatever). Unfortunately "Time After Time" doesn't do any of these things. I'm not particularly rooting for (or hating on) any of the characters. That's a bad sign when one is Jack The Ripper (one of the history's most dangerous dudes).

Grade: 2 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). I might check back later but, based on the pilot, "Time After Time" isn't for me. I'll stick with the other great time travel shows currently airing. If you're looking for a good one, I highly recommend "Travelers" on NetFlix and "12 Monkeys" on Syfy. Now this is how time travel should be done.