Timeless
I've been watching a new series called Timeless on NBC. It's about three time travelers chasing another time traveler in an attempt to prevent him from changing history. Every episode they visit a different historical event, usually in America but sometimes in Europe. So far they've gone as far back as 1754 (French and Indian War) and as recently as 1972 (Watergate).
I started watching Timeless to satisfy my guilty pleasure of time travel stories but soon noticed some parallels with Assassin's Creed. The big one is a secret society called "Rittenhouse" that pulls all the strings throughout history and today. They're essentially the Templars. Another similarity to AC is that the antagonistic time traveler, Flynn, may not be such a bad guy after all. We gradually learn about his motives and how he aims to accomplish his goals. Finally, each episode introduces minor characters from historical events that you may not have heard about. For example the episode on Apollo 11 recognized the accomplishments of Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist/mathematician who calculated trajectories at NASA for decades. Johnson is also a main character in the new movie Hidden Figures.
The acting in Timeless isn't that great but I recommend you check out at least a few episodes for the backstory.
I didn't even hear about this show! Then again, I don't even have tv to watch unless it's being streamed. I'll give it a watch when I can!
Sounds interesting. Does the double time-travelling make things hard to follow? I still have to recover from bingeing Westworld the past few days. That show fucked me up big time.
Does the double time-travelling make things hard to follow?
Not at all. Most episodes begin the same way with some technician saying, "We tracked the bad guy. He just jumped to April 1885." Then the three good guys hurry to their time machine and follow him. I still haven't figured out why they have to hurry when they've got a freakin time machine. The majority of the story happens in the past, just like AC. At the end the good guys return to present day. Sometimes things are different due to their meddling with history. There aren't any mind bending time travel paradoxes.
...as recently as 1972
Last night's episode broke that record by going to 1983. There was no famous historical event. One of the good guys used the time machine to settle some personal business.
I still haven't figured out why they have to hurry when they've got a freakin time machine.
That's a damn good point.
stabguy wrote:
...as recently as 1972Last night's episode broke that record by going to 1983. There was no famous historical event. One of the good guys used the time machine to settle some personal business.
If you're looking for a reason for time travel to 1983, well... that's when the last Deloreans were produced. 
But really, that's also the year "crack" cocaine was invented and the first Hooter's opened in Clearwater, Florida. (No word on if these are related events, but I can't rule it out). Also, the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon was bombed, Russia shot down a passenger aircraft and 200 Marines functioning as UN Peacekeepers were killed in Lebanon.
Lots of famous historical events, just none made the episode I suppose.
http://home.ibbsonline.com/rwh1983/frames/main.html
“Force has no place where there is need of skill." Herodotus