Fall TV: "Journeyman" is an Intriguing SciFi Drama

"Journeyman" is a time travel drama in the same vein as "Quantum Leap." The show features an engaging plot, solid acting, and likable characters. It shows a lot of promise for future episodes with plenty of mystery setup to be explored so long as they can manage to avoid falling into a predictable mystery of the week style series.
Dan Vasser, played by Kevin McKidd, is a newspaper reporter in San Francisco. He has an attractive wife, Katie, played by Gretchen Egolf, and an adorable son, Zack, played by Charlie Wyson. On his marriage anniversary Dan disappears from a cab and reappears eight years earlier in 1999. He just misses his ex-fiance, Livia, played by Moon Bloodgood, and then wakes up in the back of a different cab. He writes the entire event off as a weird dream. He disappears from bed that night and reappears in 1987. Dan jumps between the present and the past several times over the course of the episode. In the past he seems to be helping a man named Neal Gaines at key points of his life from saving him from committing suicide to helping him start a family. In the present he's trying to explain why he's disappeared for days at a time with no explanation. It's threatening his job and his marriage.
Kevin McKidd is great as the confused Dan. He doesn't know exactly what is happening to him but is able to get past it quick enough to both keep the plot going and keep us interested. McKidd is as sympathetic as Dan as he was playing Lucius Vorenus in HBO's Rome without Lucius' more violent streak. Reed Diamond manages to pull off a betrayed loyal brother without being too heavy handed in the performance. Everyone in the show manages to deliver. Characters are consistent across the different times we encounter them, yet are different enough that it is apparent they are in different parts of their lives.
The story is very well presented. There is no uncomfortable exposition by dialog. Hints are dropped as to the characters' interpersonal history without drawing the viewers a map. We are able to gather that Katie used to be involved with Dan's brother Jack without anyone saying it outright. Unlike other time travel stories it doesn't bog its narrative down too much with the details of how time travel is accomplished or even why the character is traveling through time. The time travel isn't the story and the writers of "Journeyman" are smart enough to see that. Dan doesn't have a guide to time travel. Unlike "Quantum Leap" there is no Al showing up and telling him what he needs to do. There is, however, an unexpected fellow time traveler we encounter briefly during one of Dan's trips to the past. There are a lot of threads setup not only in the storylines taking place in the present but also in Dan's trips to the past that will hopefully be followed up on. The only potential problem that is presented with this pilot is the danger of the showing turning into a mystery of the week style series. While that may not be bad it would be a step down for a show that is, so far, extremely well written.
Dan's method of time travel is pretty interesting. Unlike in other time travel stories, it's inconvenient. He disappears from the present at inopportune times like when he's driving down a busy street. He reappears from his trips to the past sometimes days later with no way to explain where he's been or what he's been doing. There is seemingly no way for him to control his trips and no indication as to who, if anyone, might be controlling the trips.
"Journeyman" has had a strong opening. If it can follow suit with subsequent episodes it promises to become one of the best shows on television and may even replace "Quantum Leap" in my heart as my favorite time travel series. Kevin McKidd's Dan is a strong likable hero. The show is well written and the premise is engaging. "Journeyman" begins Monday September 24th on NBC. I strongly recommend watching it.