Good-bye, Dan Vasser
Tonight was the last night for my beloved “Journeyman”. NBC is letting it go the way of other lost programming, in favor of shows such as “The Biggest Loser” and “The Power of 10″.
The finale was supposed to answer a lot of questions, but it fell sadly short. I was expecting something more, I guess, and so I was disappointed. However, it was still an excellent program.
Dan went back 4 months this time. He met a man named Evan, who was also a traveler. Since Evan was in an asylum when Dan met him, he was assumed to be delusional. Still, Dan helped him escape. Then Dan and Livia kept themselves busy trying to make sure that Evan didn’t die in September. When they tried to stop him from meeting with his former lover, whom Dan and Livia believed didn’t know Evan at all, Evan provided them with video evidence that he had indeed been married to the woman in question. The video showed Evan and his wife winning a dance contest. Evan explained that she’d been killed because he’d made someone angry on one of his trips, so he kept trying to fix the situation. Instead he kept making it worse. Finally Evan managed to travel back to the day he met his wife at Stanford and prevented that meeting from happening. His wife was saved, but she would never have any memories of their time together.
So, Evan’s mission was to try to get his former wife to remember him in some way. In a touching scene he convinced her to dance with him, and Dan arranged for the band to play the song to which they’d won the contest. Though her memory didn’t fully return, she did somehow manage to follow the dance steps and the look on her face told that she was “remembering” feeling something for Evan. When the dance was over, Evan stood holding his left arm for a few seconds before finally falling to the floor. He died of a heart attack.
Dan and Livia were convinced then that Evan was supposed to die that day afterall (they’d prevented him from getting hit by a car and then getting shot dead), so they were saying their good-byes. Then Livia and Dan saw past Dan rushing to get into a taxi and Dan remembered that was the first time he’d traveled. It became evident that Dan was selected the moment that Evan died. Then Livia went back to her wedding and Dan was left holding Evan’s backpack. He took the bag back to The Register and there looked through the contents. Evan had been keeping a journal of all of his travels and all of the people he’d helped along the way.
While all of this was happening, Jack was tracking down the Professor. The professor denied knowing Dan, so Jack went to extremes. He visited him during a lecture and asked him about time travel. When the professor played dumb, Jack announced that his brother was a time traveler and he could prove it. Before he could offer up the proof, though, security came and escorted him out. That seemed to strike a nerve with the professor.
Later, when Dan was leaving The Register, the professor was waiting for him in the elevator. He explained that there have been time travelers throughout time, using Mayan architecture as an example as well as another one that dealt with the atom, and that he believed no “person” was controlling the travelers. He did say that he was given a grant to study the travelers and that Dan was the last one. He said that he didn’t want to let on that he knew who he was because someone was watching him and those people could make a lot of trouble for travelers. He mentioned that if someone could manipulate the travelers, through their loved ones, then they could become extremely powerful. Dan said that he wasn’t the only one and when the professor asked who the other person was Dan said “I wish I could talk about it.” Nothing more was said.
When Dan got home to Katie, he explained what happened. Katie was excited because Evan controlled his travels by taking sedatives. Katie wanted to get Dan a prescription. But Dan said he didn’t want to stop traveling and that he thought this was his calling. He was convinced that he could do a lot of good in the world and he wanted to keep it up. Katie asked Dan if he remembered the night he dug up the patio and telling her that he would always come home. He said “yes”. She wanted to know where he stood on that and he assured her that he still felt the same.
In the final scene we see Dan getting out of bed, with Katie still asleep. He’s getting dressed and sits in the chair. He looks at her for a moment and then says “Katie…” When she opens her eyes, she sees him disappear. I’m pretty sure this is the first time she’s actually witnessed him leaving. The closing shot of the show was the shocked look on Katie’s face.
Some of the questions that I still have are:
What happened to Livia? Did Dan look her up?
Was he really the only one in his time to be a traveler?
And what about Dan and Teresa? I didn’t get a clear sense of closure from that.
I’m really sad to see this show close. Every episode was amazing. I think NBC is making a huge mistake. But then you already knew that, right?
I haven’t researched this, but while I was watching “Clash of the Choirs” I did see something at the bottom of the screen that I thought was interesting. It said that “Journeyman” was going to air all next week. I’m thinking a marathon of sorts? I’m still looking into this and I’ll let you know what I find out. If this is true there might still be hope for the best new show in primetime.
Update:
I just thought I’d mention that “Journeyman” has been nominated for the People’s Choice Awards in the “Favorite New T.V. Drama” category. Someone at NBC needs fired.
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If you missed tonight’s “Journeyman” you missed one hell of a show. This was by far the best “Journeyman” so far. I was hooked from minute one and stayed that way until the closing credits.
Dan went back to save a mother and son who crashed their R.V. and were suspended over a cliff. When he got the family safely off the R.V., it went crashing over the side of the cliff with him inside. Of course, Dan was sucked back into the present and was “miraculously” saved. Unfortunately, he left his digital camera in the past with the young son. When Dan got back, he was no longer a father to a son. He had a daughter named Caroline. Dan became desperate and wanted to change everything back. Katie, of course, didn’t know that she had been the mother of a son and didn’t want Dan to change anything.
During the time that Dan was gone, Katie’s sister brought in a psychic. The woman told Katie that she was dealing with a lot of emotional upheaval and her life was “suspended”. Duh. Katie didn’t take anything seriously until the psychic saw Dan and started to freak out. The psychic told Dan he was searching for something small… “Zach” she said. Cut to a freaked out Dan.
In the end it all worked out. What was interesting was how Dan’s past changed so drastically. It seems that the kid lost the camera (he was selling it and then went missing), but the people that got the camera afterward changed modern technology. So, the day Dan and Katie were supposed to be conceiving Zach Dan had instead been called back to the paper to deal with a nanotech crash. That told Dan that he would have to get the camera back from the boy and to do that he and Livia had to put their lives on the line and go up against “the buyers”. So, in the course of getting his own life back, Dan ended up saving the life of the boy and he went on to develop a treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy. All because of one little camera.
I’m sorry, but NBC is making a HUGE mistake getting rid of this show. The writing and acting are superb and the stories make just enough sense. Anyone that can suspend reality long enough to enjoy an episode of “Medium” would be right at home watching “Journeyman”. It’s too bad they’re not giving it a chance to reach it’s full potential. If it’s this good only 13 weeks into the season, imagine what the season finale would have been like. They were quite possibly on the cusp of having another “ER”- albeit more fantastic. They’re really dropping the ball by letting this group go.
On a brighter note, “Law&Order” is back on Wednesday nights starting in January. And it looks like they’ve rearranged the cast again. I couldn’t stand that chic they put in as partner to Greene. She was like cardboard, expressionless and boring. And why did they constantly have her in tight t-shirts? For 15 years the detectives wore suits, complete with jackets- including Lieutenant Van Buren. Then they bring in this chic and they’re all about the sex appeal? Bullshit. Looks like they’ve gotten rid of her and are bringing in a new partner for Greene. Also, McCoy is the new D.A. and I’m really interested in seeing what he does with the new job. I’m considering boycotting NBC, but I’ve watched L&O since 1990. Except for last season. Last season made me want to bleach my own eyeballs. Now I’m on the fence. They’re bringing back the good about one of my favorite shows, including putting it in it’s old time slot, but they’re taking away my new favorite show.
This bites. But I’m glad. But it still bites. Are you getting the picture here?
At least I have “Journeyman” this Wednesday night. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Everytime I hear it’s the last one, I hear those words at the end “Join us for a brand new ‘Journeyman’” and I get all kinds of hopeful. I’ll be crushed when it’s over for good… Please don’t let it be over for good.
*sigh*
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